Breakfast and Lower Case Teacup

This morning, I woke up to the sounds of Keira fussing...from downstairs. She woke up early and headed downstairs to see what was going on. When no one was there and it was dark, she got a little worried. I actually found her trying to open the door to the garage. Poor thing thought maybe we had left her. Well, once I called to her, she was quite happy to tell me it was time to eat. So into the pantry we went, but I had to leave to let the dog out. When I came back, Keira had decided on her breakfast, oatmeal, and pulled out all the ingredients. Oatmeal, raisins, and brown sugar.

Jeremy took Cassidy to the doctor for her checkup. They did an eye test. Before doing the test, the nurse showed Cassidy the different symbols. Star, teacup, circle. Cassidy read the first line no problem. Then when she started on the next smaller line Cassidy read off, "Lowercase O, lowercase star, lowercase teacup." The nurse said, "I bet she knows her alphabet too". Jeremy was beaming.

Sledding Photo

 
We went sledding last weekend and the girls LOVE the snow. Here's a great shot before we went down the hill of flying death. 

The Hunt for a Family Car

Despite Jeremy's Mini being able to hold 2 car seats, it doesn't deliver 2 kids every day so well. So we have started the discussion about what we should do. Mini van? Hybrid SUV? Wagon? Well, Jeremy decided to ask the girls what they thought we should get. Cassidy was quick to answer, "a truck". Seems logical. "With mail in it. So we could be the mail man, and deliver all the mail with all the other mailmen." Hmm...sliding doors are standard.

Sledding

Something unusual has been occuring in Seattle lately. It's been SUNNY! So we decided to try and enjoy it this weekend. We headed up to the Cascades and went sledding. The girls were really excited. We climbed to the top of the hill, jumped on the sleds and pushed off. Well, we must have purchased the Olympic sleds, becuase we FLEW down the hill. Lots of fun as you're going down, but then you get towards the bottom and you aren't slowing down. There's orange fencing set up, before the 5 ft snow bank overlooking a road. *gulp* I had Cassidy with me, and I had no idea how to stop. We cracked into the netting, broke a pole, but thankfully didn't go farther. I thought, "Well, that's the end of sledding for the day". I asked Cassidy if she was all right. "Yeah. That was scary." Just as I figured. "Let's do it again!" SWEET. Amazingly though, the girls weren't into it as much as Jeremy and I. Keira managed 2 runs, and Cassidy 4. Still it was a great time heading up to play in the snow.

Less blogging

I'm sure that many of you have discovered that the biggest problem with me going back to work is the decrease in the amount of blogging going on. I think of things at work, but don't want to blog them at work. I just don't want to say something, like work was yucky one day, and come in the next day to find I'm no longer needed. ;) So here are some quick catch-up's on the girls. Cassidy came home last week and told us she was learning about "Alien-fabians", which turned out to be amphibians. Keira LOVES to sing along and dance. She also starts singing "Twinkle twinkle little star" when she sees a picture of a star. Awww.... Cassidy informed me yesterday that there is something that is always behind you, beside you and in front of you. Do you know what it is? Well, I'll give you a hint, it was a sunny day and we were outside. Your shadow! She then decided to try and get her shadow and chased it on to the garage where she finally 'caught' it. Keira is starting to get the idea of playing games as a group. Yesterday, she participated in Red Light, Green Light. It was hard to make out which color she was saying, but she loved it when we got to her. She also, mostly, followed the rules when someone else was the stop light.

An Official Seattlite

I never thought this day would come. I mean, who NEEDS a coffee every day. And when I say coffee, I mean Seattle's version of coffee, which is a latte. My new job has turned me into a Starbucks junkie. Seems all I can think about is when I'll get my "tall, non-fat, half de-caf, sugar free vanilla latte". Yes, I have an order. Even more amazing, the worker at Starbucks recognized me on Friday. My job is located a nice little walk away from a Starbucks, which is why I thought I was taking a break in the afternoons. Take a walk, and might as well get something while I'm out. Haha! I'm so hooked now, this weekend I actually went to one of the coffee huts while we stopped at a gas station. Even crazier, I can tell you that those huts are better than the big chains. Cheaper and tastier. And what ever it is they put in the lattes up here, it's got me hooked.

Birthday Party Planning

The girls have been VERY cute this week. I just haven't had a lot of time to blog it all. It all started a few nights ago, when Jeremy set them up watching one of their DVD's on his computer. Seems that Keira decided to lay on Cassidy's leg while they watched. Cassidy thought it was the best thing ever and keeps asking to watch movies on the computer so Keira will lay on her leg. *ahh* I have been busy trying to plan Cassidy's 4th birthday part. "It's over a month away" you say. Shows what you know. The whole week of her birthday is booked at Pump It Up (the inflatable party place) that is the ONLY place Cassidy wants to go. I told Cassidy that we wouldn't go to Pump It Up on her birthday (as it's during the schools mid-winter break and I didn't think a lot of her friends could make it then), but that we would have cake and presents on her birthday though. She said this, and I'm not joking or stretching the truth, "I don't care about the cake and presents. I only want to go to Pump It Up" I got the Monday after her birthday booked, phew!

The Usual

Well, at least we are trying to figure out what the "usual" is. The girls are doing great with the transition of me going back to work. Jeremy and I are trying to figure out the balance of house chores and it's been tough as he has the girls for the morning and has to get them dressed, fed and to school. My tolerance for the girls when they act up is higher. It could not have gotten much lower before. LOL So I think it was the right decision for me to go back to work.

No more babies in this house!

Otherwise known as, Keira is 2 years old!! She's been acting 2 for the last few weeks. Very stubborn and fusses when she doesn't get what she wants. She is a red head too. Whoo! Where did she get that temper?? Honestly, I was an angel. (If I'm struck by lightning tonight at least you know why, lol) Jeremy stayed at home with the birthday girl, as she was still coughing and snotty today. But after I got home from work and Jeremy got back from his doctor appointment, we celebrated. Nana and Grampa called and sang to start things off. Then the rest of Team Noonan sang, and Keira opened her presents. She really had fun opening, and was really happy when there was a toy inside. She got a Cinderella Barbie, which stopped the show for a bit. Then she got a transportation puzzle that makes the sound of the car, boat, plane, etc when you put it together from Oma. Cassidy liked that one a lot too. She also got some DVD's of her favorite shows. Then we had some cake, and it was off to bath time. She still needed to take her antibiotic though, and she hates it. So she screamed and we had to force her to drink it. Which is not easy. Then she started coughing. Real hard. And threw up the antiobiotic with just a bit of her confetti cake on our bedroom carpet. Like I said, she's acting 2, and you can't make her do anything anymore.

Happy New Year!

We survived the slightly over a week visit to Nana and Grampa. We had a good time too. Even though we brought illness with us, and had one trip to a pediatrician, and a raging fever for our trip home. Cassidy had a fever on Christmas night, not too bad, but she was warm. She also had a cough that was hanging around since before our trip, so we finally took her in, and she got some anti-biotic for a little ear infection and that was that. Seems all is going well, until Keira starts coughing on New Year's Eve day. Then her fever starts. Of course is menacing and requires lots of Tylenol, plus she coughs and says, "Owiee". We hoped she would sleep it off, but turns out she wasn't going to sleep much that night. New Year's Day and we pack up and manage to get Keira down for an early nap. Then I pass out for a little nap, which means Jeremy woke me up with about 30 minutes to go to the airport. All was well until we landed. Thankfully I gave Keira Tylenol when we landed, so while waiting for bags I was hopeful that the little furnace I was holding would shut down. By the time we loaded up the car, her fever was less, and she was singing in the car. She started a fever again in the middle of the night, and is now feeling cool, and sleeping blissfully. Fingers crossed.

What happened to Christmas?!

There are 2.25 days until Christmas. So far, I have presents for the girls, Jeremy, his Dad, and my Dad at the right place. Everyone else... well I have some of them done. And Ashley's birthday present from November is waiting with them. My Christmas cards are mostly addressed and stamped, and even have a letter on the year's happenings in them, and still sitting on the desk. What happened to Christmas? When I was a kid (or dare I say, before I had kids), I had to shop for gifts, but it was a fun outing. One whirlwind trip to the mall, and then the joy of wrapping. Then all I had to do was kick back and wait for the big day. Team Noonan has been ill since Thanksgiving. Umpteen colds and coughs, one nasty bout of intenstinal bother that would take out one member at a time, and an "it couldn't be pink eye". Which it thankfully wasn't. Then fitting in taking a new job, finding child care, and getting through daily life, and here it is with maybe 36 shopping hours left. If I had it my way, I think I would postpone for an extra week, or at least another 48 hours. Although I would settle for free Fed-Ex on an internet purchase.

Working 9 to 5

Well, I started the new job yesterday. It is WONDERFUL. It was great getting into the lab again, and seeing familiar things. After seeing what the job is about, I feel like I'll be quite comfortable in just a few weeks. I already started processing data today. :) That was fun. The commute is sort of long, but I enjoy listening to the radio, or my CD's on the way in. On the way home, I call one of my SAHM friends and we chat for a few. The amazing thing is I did some dishes and a load of laundry before I left for my first day or work, and I did some more laundry and work this morning. I love coming home to the girls who run into my arms and give me big hugs that were reserved for just Daddy before. The girls seem happy enough with our regular sitter watching them everyday now. It really is turning out to be all that I hoped. Let's hope it stays that way!

Presenting, the Great Keira

I have always called Keira 'Houdini'. Strap her into a grocery cart, turn to look at apples, turn back and find her standing in the cart just about to face dive on to the floor. Once she even wiggled her way out of the top part of her carseat. (Obviously forgot to check the position on it before we headed out, but still!) She's a girl who can't be held down, or in. Yet, she still surprised me the other morning, when about 20 minutes after putting her down for her nap, I heard her little feet padding into the family room. She has bcome quite adept at climbing out of her crib, and so no longer calls for me when she's done from her nap. "Ah, I feel refreshed. Wonder what Mom is up to. Let's go see!"

We have a french door (panes of glass if you are not designer aware) between our bedroom and bathroom. We keep it closed most of the time because Keira is fond of climbing on the counter and going through the drawers in the bathroom. This morning, as Jeremy was in the bathroom, the girls were on the other side watching. As usual, Keira was crying because she wasn't allowed to find some chapstick or play with Mom's jewelry. Jeremy thought to break the tension by pretending to walk into the glass door, stumbling and falling to the ground. Oh how the girls laughed. So he did it again. So hilarious. Then, Keira walked up the glass, pretended to run into it and fell right over. She's a quick study, and I think Jeremy was a little put off that a not quite 2 year old could do his trick.

Birthday Parties and more

Today was a crazy day, and it all started yesterday. I got a call from the company with ONE week of vacation, who said they would like to negotiate and said how about 2 weeks. Ack. Did some calendar looking, and 2 won't cut it. So I had to call them back and say 3 or no go and best of luck in finding someone. They called back, but while I was on way to a birthday party for one of Cassidy's friends. So I will find out Monday what they want. The party was fun for the kids and the parents. Talked with another Mom about doing a big party since the birthday's of our girls are one week apart. I mentioned it to Cassidy tonight (just 10 minutes ago, and I had to blog right away so I wouldn't forget). She said, "Yeah, we could invite all my friends." "Yes, that would be fun" "And Oscar too. He's not my friend, he's just someone I like to spend time with." :-O I had a feeling she had a crush on the Don Juan of El Salon Rojo. (See his description in September post Birthday Ins and Outs).
PS- We got the class photo in Cassidy's folder today, and I asked who everyone was since I didn't recognize all the kids. "Kate, Keeshav, Callie, Julianne, Austin, Oscar. He's my 'spend-timer'". No joke folks.

Snow Day!

 

It happens about twice a year. Snow in Seattle. It started during the day, which is unusual too. I headed out to the store to pick up a few things and maybe do some Christmas shopping with Keira. Well, the roads were iffy and I decided it would be best to pick up Cassidy sooner rather than later. We got home, put on coats hats and mittens and headed out. I wanted to make a snowman and Cassidy seemed interested, but it turns out she just wanted to sled. We didn't get enough for sledding. Although Keira and Cassidy did have fun throwing snow on each other and me. Especially while I worked on my snowman. At least they were kind and posed for me. 

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.