The Wunderful Wunderlich Blog

Abby's next dress.

2012-02-04T20:39:00.001-08:00

Here it is. I remember why I hate working with fabrics that have linear patterns- there is no give for any mistakes. Thankfully flowers and ribbon cover my sins.

That's the front of the dress. Nice flower huh?

That's the back of the dress. It has a great bow with jewels on it. I love having jewels around and a little girl to put them on.

Jon's basketball team.

2012-01-20T10:47:00.001-08:00

We love to do things as a family. One of the things we do is go see Jon's work team play basketball. For a bunch of middle ages desk jockeys they aren't too bad :) Abby and Nicholas spend the time cheering and wondering how long until half time when they can run around on the court.

I spend my time laughing and heckling the guys as they play. Most of them I used to work with, so they know me.

In case you were wondering, yes they are all nerds in the best sense of the word. They all work with the budget and named their team "Prime Numbers."

Abby's first pony tail!

2012-01-18T09:06:00.001-08:00

Abby has her first pony tail today. I tried for 25 minutes in the house before realizing that moms do kids' hair in the car, when they are strapped in and can't move for a reason. Shes growing up so fast!

And here's the reason we now paint outside!

2011-11-07T10:00:00.000-08:00

So ,we like to do messy art projects at our house. Normally I'm all for it and love it. But while the weather has been decent, I have redone my perspective on things. Mainly - we now paint outside instead of inside. Nicholas can paint inside. But Abby must paint outside. Or else I am investing in a very large tarp to cover everything. Thank goodness it was all washable. Although the red didn't really wash out of the grout. Anyone know a good grout cleaner?

Nicholas and Abby painting inside.

Abby painting outside.

My recent craft projects.

2011-11-05T18:41:00.000-07:00

So I have been working on a few projects, all for Abby's room.

The first thing I worked on was a princess thing to cover her crib. The while walls in her room - in all the house - are driving me nuts. I feel like I am in an institution.

So, 10 yards of tulle, 8 yards of ribbon, 200 sequins, 14 beads and a heart charm later I am done. There is enough fabric in this that when she is older I can hang it from the center of the ceiling over her bed and tie it down to the bed. I can add more sequins balls on the top if I need to, or attach more tulle to the bottom.

All I did was use the white tulle to cover the ball and stitched it together underneath. Then I alternated the purple and blue tulle, gathering it and then stitching it to the white tulle. The ribbons are pinned into the ball with pearl headed pins and hang down on the inside and outside. The ball is covered in sequins and ribbons. It's quite pretty up close. There is a heart charm hanging in the middle off a beaded chain. At the moment it looks less than graceful because I have to tie it up to prevent Abby from grabbing it. Her new name should be grabby Abby.

The princess thing came from seeing all those netting things that cover little girls' beds. But they are all so delicate and white, and I certainly didn't need any more white in her room.

The idea for the A came from a friend's house. She had these letters in her girls' bathroom and had ribbons hanging down. On the ribbons hung their hair clips. So I decided to do the same for Abby.

The purple paint has glitter over it. The ribbons are odds and ends from other projects (it is nice to be able to use them for something!). Now I can see all her hair clips. Which is the only good thing about them since she doesn't like to wear them much. This way, they at least brighten up her room instead of sitting on the shelf doing nothing.

It turns out that I should definitely stay away from anything involving painting. First, I'm not patient enough for it. Second, I'm bad at it. There's nothing to make your self confidence fall to the bottom faster than having your 3 year old son say, "Mommy, that doesn't look right."

And he's right - it stinks. I got these canvases from Michael's on a $1 sale. They had some paint (I also used the paint I had at home because it was better) and were like coloring book pages - the drawing was already on it. All I had to do was paint it. And I couldn't even manage that. It really does suck.

But for the time being, Abby won't notice so they are hanging in her room because that's where they were supposed to go.

So what did I learn? Stick to fabric and sewing and stay away from painting.

My Little Pirate

2011-10-26T09:41:00.000-07:00

I love my little pirate! He's decided that his costume has to be worn all day long. So if you see us running errands today, don't be surprised about the pirate I have along. He's excited!

Sacramento Children's Museum

2011-10-24T20:11:00.000-07:00

So, for our preschool field trip we went to the Sacramento Children's Museum. It is a blast. I am totally sure our membership is going to be worth it. There is no way we won't use this place.

First, it is all of 10 minutes from our house. Second, it is across from Costco. This means, to avoid fights out the door, I can offer the incentive of getting Costco food for lunch. It is totally worth the $2 for pizza to get out of the door without a fight or a temper tantrum.

This place is nice. They have all the explanations for the various scientific principles taking place on the walls or attached to the exhibits. This means we can read about the exhibit and explain it to the kids without appearing stupid :) It is always a plus to be able to answer the "Why?" question with honesty and without having to resort to google-ing it. Nicholas actually can tell you to "Google it," when you tell him you don't know the answer to something. I guess I have taught him something about computers after all!

While you are paying your money and checking in, they have this giant light-bright thing. Remember the toy where you put up the sheet of paper on the lighted screen and poke holes through the paper with the pegs? Well, it is a giant one of those. Although the holes are already poked and the pegs just go into the holes. It is great because it means the kids aren't pestering me while I am paying/checking in.

They also have family bathrooms. This is a plus for me because they have changing tables and I can go in with Nicholas without him complaining about going into the "girls" bathroom. Happy days!

This giant vacuum toy is on the wall first thing. You put the scarves and balls into it and it sucks them around and spits them out. Abby happily sits here and giggles as everything gets spit out. She chases the scarves and balls around to collect them .

They also have this store area. There is a little register, a scale, and lots of play food to play with. It comes with baskets and a wheelbarrow. Nicholas was kind enough to load up the wheelbarrow for Abby before taking off to go play somewhere else.

Then Abby decided that the wheelbarrow had an off-label purpose: a climbing toy. She insisted on getting in and climbing in it. She actually climbed onto the counter once. I pulled her off and she complained. That was that for Abby's climbing day.

She also was upset that the fruit wasn't real. She would put it in her mouth and try to bite, then not get anything, and be annoyed. It was amusing, but I did feel bad for her.

There is also an art area. They have this big window between the art area and the play areas were the kids can paint on the window. It is great. Nicholas loves to do this because it isn't something you get to do at home - I'm not insane enough to let him paint on the windows. But here, he gets to paint on the windows. It was fun putting my face on one side and then he would paint over me looking through the window. Then we'd move on.

There are also tons of other projects to do in the art room - we just didn't get around to them because, right next to the art room is.......

THE WATER AREA!!!

My children love water. Except Nicholas doesn't like swimming pools that are so deep he can't stand in them. But otherwise, water is great. They never want to get out of the pool in the yard, the bath tub, and if the hose is turned on you have no chance of turning it off without a fight. Every container we have in the back yard has been filled with water at some point. Water is great.

So imagine their joy with the water play area. The best thing was, they have these seats (see where Abby is?) that are for little kids to sit in and play. Abby loved this. I tried getting her out and she stuck her legs out so I couldn't get her out and grabbed on so hard while screaming. I imagine her words would have been, "Not on your life mommy!" It's a great play area. They have some explanations here too, but we just played.

Anyways, we love it here and will be back, multiple times.

Jon's week off.

2011-10-22T19:58:00.000-07:00

Jon had last week off. It was a blast. I got a lot done. I had a goal of one room cleaned a day, plus the gym, plus sewing, plus the yard. And some of that list even got done!

We also did a lot that week. We went to Apple Hill, to the Sacramento Children's Museum, and a ton of other places. We were quite the busy family.

We went to the same farm we went to last year in Apple Hill - it's #20 in case anyone is interested. It has some great Halloween stands to take pictures in, a pond to throw rocks into (for Nicholas), some animals to pet and feed, a hay maze (although it was closed because of the rain), nature trails, great BBQ sandwiches (or just the meat in my case), and great deserts and stores.

Abby liked the dirt the best. I am lucky she is so easy to please. Just put her down in a pile of dirt and she will be happy. She will also be dirty and will eat the dirt, but oh well. It is a small price to pay to be able to make her happy.

We also went to the Sacramento Children's Museum. It is a blast. We immediately got a membership there. Nicholas loves it, Abby loves it (more on the museum in a later post), and it is small. Small enough that I can play with Abby in one part and watch Nicholas in another. There is only one way in and out, and they don't let people come in without kids. They also have roaming staff members to help out. We have been back 2 other times since last week. it is fabulous.

The kids also did a lot of playing outside. They love the sandbox in the back. Who knew Crabby (that's the name of the sandbox, courtesy of Nicholas) would be so great. Best money spent on a back yard toy yet - except for the pool.

And so our week with Jon ended. Too bad. Now his busy season at work starts back up and we are lucky to see him at all once that starts.

Things we all know can happen in less than 3 minutes....

2011-10-21T11:59:00.000-07:00

Like with kids is filled with fun events that happen in under three minutes, like:

1. The older child filling a bowl of water and dumping it on the younger child - on the carpet - and calling it a bath.

2. Poop poop everywhere (this should need no explanation).

3. Every drawer in the kitchen opened - and they have baby locks on them - and everything pulled out.

4. Cheerios placed everywhere. You might mistakenly think our house is made of bubble wrap form the sounds.

5. Milk from the fridge was helpfully "poured" into cups for everyone.

So this all adds up to 15 minutes of fun for the children and about 3 hours of cleaning for me. I realize they are having fun. My mother just smiles serenely when I tell her these stories. I know inside she's laughing like a hyena. But at least she tries to commiserate.

Just to brag

2011-10-20T19:53:00.000-07:00

I've been absent from blogging for a while. It seems to take more energy than I have at the end of the day. So I'm trying to catch up. But for the moment - we took these pictures formally yesterday.

Yes, I made the dress. It's her Christmas dress. I made the top stretchy, so I hope it still fits at Christmas time. I was finishing it (by hand!) the morning of the pictures.

But it was totally worth it.

I have the cutest kids on the whole planet.

But then, every mother thinks so.

"In our religion, martyrs die."

2011-09-16T12:55:00.000-07:00

Ok. I admit to feeling a little strange right about now. I am feeling worn out over all the activities. We have a joy school preschool group, gymnastics and dance (at the gym), and friends to have playdates with. We have skills I need to teach Nicholas, time I need to spend with Abby, a house to clean and yards to upkeep. This doesn't count all the other things I do, or Jon does, or the kids want to do. Finding time for all of us together is hard.

But I was reading about the new movie with SJP - "I Don't Know How She Does It" - and thought to myself - Wow! I don't want to be that mom. I want to be the mom who is cool and does enough - not to be the mom who is constantly apologizing and trying to do way too muchl.

I only have 2 kids. I don't want to be the perpetual taxi mom who falls into bed exhausted at the end of the day from being everywhere, all the time, for everyone. Sometimes things fall into the cracks.

Which is why this quote hit me so hard. "In our religion, martyrs die." They do. In every religion. That's the definition of a martyr right? (see the article here). It is so true.

So here's to feeling less like I am not doing enough and more to feeling like I am doing enough. And enough is all I have to do.

Professional photos and books....and other random stuff.

2011-08-29T09:39:00.000-07:00

I just want to say thank you to my wonderful friend Erin L for taking these pictures and sending them to me. These are the first professional pictures I have of my children and they are great. It reminds me why you should have professional pictures taken every so often.

It just so happened that she came to the stake softball game with a new lens and wanted to try it out. I am certainly not opposed to my children being guinea pigs for photographers. If there are any other photographers out there, my children will happily be your guinea pigs.

On a side note, stake softball is over. I am sad. We have spent our past 3 Saturdays playing softball and it has been great. I have forgotten how much fun it is. Our ward's team won - by quite a bit - every time. Not that I am competitive or anything :)

My editor sent me a letter a few weeks ago at the beginning of August. It started with, "I like your book but..." Essentially, I need to add 20,000 - 30,000 words to my story. She had some suggestions for where good additions would be and what types of things I should add. So I am working my way through it. Unfortunately, the deadline is September 1, 2011. It is August 29, 2011 and I have 10,000 words to go to hit the minimum. So I guess I know what I am doing all night long. I will know by October 15th if the book is going to be published or not. So if not, I guess I am starting on a new book and seeing where it goes from there. Maybe I will submit this one to Amazon and Barnes and Noble for epublishing. Who knows. I am a little nervous to have people I know read my writing. People I don't know are fine, but people I know I am nervous about. So we shall see.

Our family is doing great. We are just having fun and hanging out as a family. I am enjoying this time of year. We get to go to all the fun attractions around Sacramento and they aren't very crowded because school is in session. So it is fun.

On the to-do list for this week is the zoo and sewing and book writing. Today is the zoo because it is free admission day. Nicholas and I spent Abby's morning nap looking at animals on various websites (for more information, see our homeschool blog). It was a blast and I am looking forward to taking him to the zoo and seeing all the animals in person. Everything else can wait until after the zoo.

The Nevada County fair

2011-08-16T07:41:00.001-07:00

We went to the Nevada County fair on Friday. We decided against going to the State fair this year because it was too expensive for what the kids would get out of it. And it is a big fair. Really big. We had also heard stories about some of the kids and teenagers there, and we remembered how true those stories were from last year's visit.

So I looked around for other things for us to do as a family, and found the Nevada County fair. It is a bit of a drive from Sacramento (it tooke an hour and 20 minutes to get there; and hour and 45 minutes to get back). But it was totally worth it.

First, it was only $9 for entry and $7 for parking. And they let you take in all your food. In fact, people take in so much food that they have covered picnic spots all over. That was very nice. Second, it is smaller, and very family oriented. They have face painting and all kinds of kids stuff for cheap or free. It is very family oriented. We loved it.

Of course our kids had to eat soon after we got there. That was fine. We put them in the stroller with snacks and meandered our way to the horses. The horses were great. No one cared that we stopped by every horse (in and out of stalls) and petted them. We talked to them all. The owners all came up and talked to use about the horses and Nicholas got a bunch of his "why" questions answered by the owners (somehow, he didn't want me to answer them).

Then we went to see the cows, pigs, goats, chickens, and rabbits. Everyone was super nice and let Nicholas pet anything he wanted to. They had some saddles sitting on hay bales that the kids could get on and use ropes to rope sawhorse bulls. Nicholas had a blast. I finally got a good picture of them both where they are looking at the camera.

The US Forest Service and CalFire all had fire trucks there. There was a nice young man who was a CalFire firefighter that talked to Nicholas for a LONG time. He put Nicholas up on the fire trucks, showed him where the wheel and horns and sirens were. Answered a TON of questions like, "Why are fire trucks red?" He was very nice and very good with kids. I am continually amazed how good firefighters are with kids. Although I guess they see a lot of them.

It was a great fair. They had a dog show that was great. After the dog show we had some meltdowns by both kids and decided to leave. On our way out we got cotton candy and some cold water and only spent $4! I mean, you can't do that at bigger fairs.

It was a blast and I am glad we went and will totally put it on the calendar to go next year too.

Motherhood

2011-08-03T09:47:00.000-07:00

There are sometimes when I think I am blessed to be a mother and sometimes when I know I am blessed to be a mother. Don't get me wrong, motherhood is very rewarding, but sometimes I do forget that most of all, I want to be a mother.

Those days are few and far between. I have my moments: When the neighbors know my children's full names and people on the other side of town can probably do an impression of me saying, "What in the world happened here?" But those moments always fade from memory once the offender curls into my lap and says sorry (usually after he has to clean up the mess).

Motherhood is filled with all sorts of fun. When else do you get to go to a park and run around as an adult? Or have a good excuse for playing in mud, building sand castles, playing in a kiddie pool, and cleaning the kitchen floor with sponges on your feet? Or playing hockey with ice cubes on the kitchen floor, watching cartoons, and snuggling in a bed with stuffed animals? There are the fun times with reading and art, watching kids build new skills, and being proud of them when they do something great.

But then there are the other times: The late and never ending nights, the days when everything a body can produce has been produced and dumped on you, the frustration of wondering if a record player could do just as good of a job as a parent since you spend all day saying, "What are you doing?" and "Really?" and "No," and "Why did you do that?" and "Stay away from the road," and "be nice to your sister," and all those repetitive phrases. And the nights where you finally get to sleep, only to be woken up by someone at your bedside saying they are scared and won't sleep unless they are in your bed and cuddling with you - not their father who is blissfully sleeping, but you.

Anyways, sometimes it just helps to remember that motherhood is a blessing overall.

And when all else fails, put the kids in the back yard with some dirt and trucks and watch them make a mess :) It will bring a smile to anyone's face.

Davis Ranch Sweet Corn Festival

2011-07-19T17:51:00.000-07:00

On Saturday July 16, 2011 we went, for the first time, to the Davis Ranch Sweet Corn Festival. I have been on a country music kick, and heard about this festival on the radio. Then I checked it out online. I saw the words "free" and "tractor rides" and knew Nicholas was going to love it.

Look - Jon and I actually got a picture - taken together - with no kids! We can now have one from our wedding, and from 2011. It seems that between the 2 kids, we hardly get any pictures taken anymore. As a side note, I was standing on a hay bale with my boots on (1 inch heel - western boots). That's why we are almost the same height. I don't think this would fool anybody who knows us. And I fit into my western boots - which means I have been losing weight :)

Nicholas did the pony rides. At first he didn't want to. Then he saw that the ponies were "little horses" and thought it would be fun. These were not free, but I ponied up (haha) and let him ride. Oh my, the fit when the ride ended. I think someone is going to horse camp next summer.

He had a blast on the tractor rides. They did 2 in a row. Nicholas had no intention of getting off the tractor. They rode forever and ever. Which was fine because I held Abby and we wandered around and she yelled with excitement. Then she crashed in her stroller and took a nice nap and I got to sit in the hay bales, in the shade, and smell the cows.

I got a picture of me and Nicholas too. I don't have many of those since I am normally the one behind the camera. This picture was taken at the hay bales where you could sit and listen to music.

They had free bounce houses too. Nicholas probably spent an hour or so bouncing while Jon and I sat and watched and Abby napped. We got to talk - which we don't often get to do during the day with the two kids. And then the band started playing. I am all for giving people a chance, but the music wasn't that awesome. They had sound problems (the lead female vocalist had her mike up WAY too loud), and they simply weren't that good. I don't mind semi-professionals, or even people who just do it for fun, but then you shouldn't be overly ambitious with the songs that you pick as a band.

We did stop by their produce section before leaving. They have fabulous produce at great prices. Nicholas and Jon picked strawberries and we ate them all that day. We also have corn galore and love it. Nicholas even eats the corn. So I have found my new produce spot.

We loved the festival and will return next year and for the gourd festival in September.

Things you forget...

2011-07-01T13:57:00.000-07:00

There are things you think you will never forget about kids. yet by the time the second one comes around, you have forgotten them.

For instance - I have forgotten how messy they get when they are first learning to eat. And how they get into EVERYTHING when they start crawling - simply because they can.

Abby is quite the proficient crawler right now; at least when she wants to be. Sometimes she decides it is not worth the trouble and cries until you come get her, but when she wants to, she can move. I left them in my sight while I went to the bathroom, and when I got out, I knew she had crawled away. To the diaper bag she went, in search of food. She found the Cheerios, emptied the container out onto the floor, and was happily munching away. This is about 10 minutes after she ate strawberries, a chicken nugget, yogurt, and some baby food. Nice to know both my children can be motivated by food.

Nicholas doesn't like that she can crawl and reach his toys. He likes to have "races" with her while they crawl outside. But not when she's trying to get his toys. He's getting a quick lesson in the reasons he needs to pick up his toys instead of leaving them on the floor. That quick lesson is called Abby. if he has it, she wants it. My girl likes cars and trucks - since that's what her brother has. I tried to get her a doll, and she has no interest. She does like the stuffed cow. She tosses it around and rolls all around the floor with it. She always ends up on top of it, holding the horns, eating the cow. So I figure she's going to be a rodeo super star and a carnivore. Not a bad combo.

Jon and I are doing well. The gym has been a great savior for me - it gives me "alone" time every day I go. Not time by myself to do what I want, but time alone - without the kids - to just focus on working out. It's a great mental stress reliever. And physical stress reliever too.

Hope everyone is doing well and Happy 4th of July (almost)!

Dresses and skirts

2011-06-14T18:59:00.000-07:00

I have been on a sewing kick lately. I have made 2 skirts and 2 shirts for me, and some clothes for Abby. I have a problem buying daisy dukes for babies, and those seem to be the only shorts that exist for little girls, so I make hers. I also make skirts and dresses.

On the left is the newest dress; a heather gray jersey 2-way stretch knit with ruffled shoulders, gathered skirt, a black and white bow with fuchsia sequins and a black and white waist band with fuchsia sequins. The top has an elastic band around it so that I can simply adjust the back velcro when she gets bigger and the top will expand with her.

It is important to me to make clothes that she can grow with because then it isn't a waste of fabric or time to make her clothes. She's currently wearing 24 month clothes, and she's only 7 months. It is also why I make the dresses longer. I don't like showing off her diaper, and I don't know how to make the pants that go under the dresses, so dresses get made longer.

Isn't this a cute picture of her in the dress with her headband on? She got her picture taken right before church and right after a nap so she's still happy and smiling.

Next up is her purple skirt. This started as a tiered summer dress and ended as a skirt. I cut the fabric, then waited 2 weeks to sew because things kept coming up. So the top of the outfit didn't fit her. So I cut off the skirt portion, put in an elastic band at the top, edged it with some ribbon, and now she has a happy summer skirt. The fabric is really lightweight so I had to double it (or line it). It's simply gathered with elastic, nothing dramatic. No tulle or anything.

My next project is a new top and dress for me. Hopefully I will get to cut it sometime this week and sew this weekend. We shall see.

Our potatoes are in!

2011-06-13T18:43:00.000-07:00

Today, while we were outside to try and make everyone happy, I realized it was time to harvest potatoes. I use harvest slightly loosely, since I have about 10 potato plants in a planter box on the ground in our yard - I don't have to walk far (about 10 steps) to get them, and there are not a lot of them. But it is fun to plant them because they always grow for me (this is not true of everything).

Nicholas decided he wanted to help. After he pulled up a strawberry plant, thinking it was a potato plant - and no, I don't know how he got those mixed up - I put him on washing duty. He loves playing with the hose, so this would be perfect for him. See his surprised face when the water splashes from the potato onto him? This happened the first time when he held the potato too close to the hose while cleaning them, then it happened again and again. I figured he could only be surprised so long, but he loved it.

Hoses are great toys for kids in the backyard.

I heard a news article about how hoses are bad for kids these days. Yeah right, I lived through hoses as a kid. I had no problem with them. My son can handle the "problems" that come from a hose. I love hoses for kids - he loves them, he gets to cool off, he drinks water (for a change), and he gets clean. How much more can a mom wish for?

He put all the potatoes on the grass and then gathered them into his lap for a picture. He wanted a picture with "his" tomatoes.

He also spent some time inside today. We are dealing with a sick baby girl, so sometimes we have to spend time inside that I would rather spend outside. And here's a great picture to explain why I prefer outside - there are no toys to cause problems with. He gets rather creative with new uses for toys.
This used to be his bouncer, and is now his sister's. When the seat cover had to go into the washer this morning, he decided it was his new "exercise" gym. He hangs in the middle and bounces, then he lays himself over the top and bounces. Who knew bouncers for infants were really for kids?

Rolling and teething.

2011-06-08T17:08:00.000-07:00

Abby is moving and teething. Unlike other children, Abby has to move by rolling. I joke that it is because she's so big she doesn't have the muscles to support her crawling. But really it is because she simply prefers that way. Plus, it is faster. I was standing about 20 feet from her, talking to Nicholas when all of a sudden she was pulling on my jeans. So she can move when she wants to. She would rather scream and cry until someone comes and gets the toy she wants, picks her up, or whatever she needs. Nicholas generally is the obliging one. I like to try and get her to stretch herself before I do it for her.

She's also teething. For those people who don't have a child who has gone through teething I will tell you this - kids are so different. With Nicholas he cried and whined, but with Tylenol and some teethers he would calm down and sleep. He didn't get sick or refused to eat. He just kept on eating a ton, drooling a ton, and the teeth came in. After which I would promptly get bit.

Abby, on the other hand, doesn't want to eat thank you very much. It hurts. Even with Tylenol. She's not a good teether. Yes, she likes to munch on teethers. But she prefers cell phones (if anyone is crazy enough to leave them out for her), fingers, shoulders, your clothes (preferably the ones that get ruined or see-through when wet), paper, and toes. When none of those are available, her older brother will do. Nicholas doesn't like this much, which results in some serious crying from Abby and a scolding by Nicholas. Nicholas says "Abby. mouths are for food only. And apple juice." (Can you tell we have gone through this before with him?) It is kind of funny. It would all be funnier if it was happening to someone else, or at some other time.

I'm still going to the gym most days. I had to skip today. I had great plans today. I was going to go to the dentist, then come home and get the kids, go to the gym, go swimming with the kids, do Costco, then do our UC Davis visit, then play outside. It's a nice day outside - not too hot. well, the dentist appointment turned into a root canal. So Costco and UC Davis got done, and the rest didn't. This root canal really hurts. It hurts even more when people "snuggle" against my face because they are tired and refuse to take naps when their sibling is still awake (both children refuse to go to sleep if the other one is awake - makes for fun at our house).

Anyways, that's the news from the Wunderlich's. I will try to be better about blogging, if only because it lets me get some of our funnier experiences out there for records.

Weight loss saga continues...

2011-05-19T18:11:00.000-07:00

So as everyone knows, I'm trying to lose weight. And at the moment, I am having a lot of success. Some of it comes from having to eat gluten-free; all the junk foods you know and love are gone. Your snacks are cheese, yogurt, apples, and maybe some salami. Your meals are mostly healthy and made at home, because it is too hard to go out and find gluten-free stuff. So it is easier to moderate the food.

However, I have also joined a gym and started working out recently - I am in my second week of the gym now. I made going on walks part of our daily routine before the gym; I would pick a letter and we would go on a walk, finding things of that letter. I also made it a point to play more with Nicholas at parks and at home. So I was doing more.

Between the limiting food and burning more calories I am now down 68 pounds. I have gone from a ridiculous size 24 to a size 18. That's a lot of inches and pounds. I have done this once before. In the 2 years between Abby and Nicholas I lost 100 pounds, so I know it can be done. It just takes some serious will power. It means not enjoying snacks whenever they are offered. It means leaving butter off vegetables (and that really sucks) and working out, even when I am tired. It is difficult, but it can be done.

Now, I need to find a really good pair of shoes and a new workout bag since I think I deserve it. Hopefully, in a month, I will lose another 8 pounds and be down another size. I have figured it out, a size is about 2 inches off my waist, and 2 inches is about 15 pounds or so. So I can do this, I just have to have willpower. Thanks to everyone who is supporting me in my quest to do this.

Almost a month.

2011-05-18T18:05:00.001-07:00

It has been almost a month since I posted on here. I got into the habit of posting, and then - Savior of the World happened. I got out of the habit of posting, and haven't been back into it. But here's the recap of the past month to catch everyone up on what we have been doing.

I did a lot of sewing for the production. It totally wore me out of sewing. Yet, I promised Nicholas a Lightening McQueen sweatshirt.

It even has a hood, a zipper (red naturally) in the front, and a big McQueen car on the back. Needless to say, he wanted to sleep in it. I drew the line at that. But it has been worn everyday for a month. It is holding up to the washing rather well. Until the last wash. Jon did the last wash and used warm water. The sweatshirt shrunk. Now it is a little tight around his tummy. Nicholas says that he can just wear it without the zipper so it won't be tight.

I also made Abby's Easter dress. It is a little longer than most little girl dresses because I don't like having her diaper show. It's not my thing. It is cute on some kids when they have those cute little bloomers over their diapers, but I ran out of time and couldn't make a set to match, so the dress was simply longer.

They are growing up so fast! Abby turned 6 months on May 8th (the day this picture was taken was May 1). Coincidently, that was also the day my son decided to be sick and spend puking everywhere. I have a Mother's Day curse. My first Mother's Day Jon made me breakfast in bed - and gave us food poisoning. So I packed Nicholas up - he was only 2 months old - and took him down to my mom's. The next mother's day was horrible too - everyone was sick. Then I was studying for my comprehensive exams and having horrible pregnancy related problems last Mother's day. The curse needs to be broken. Or else.

I made Nicholas a new fort. What wonderful things you can do with PVC pipe and some fabric. He really likes it and hides in it all the time. It looks a lot better in our living room than the cardboard box.

We finally put the sandbox and wading pool up in the backyard. Our backyard is Nicholas' favorite place to be. He likes to run around naked and play in the wading pool and sandbox. I try to get him to put clothes on, but he thinks it is so much easier to play in the water when he is naked. And if I send him out there with clothes on to play in the sand, all of a sudden clothes come flying into the house and I hear splashing.

We joined California Family Fitness last week. This is the best decision ever. I have gone every day (except the weekend) and love it. They have "Kid's Club" aka childcare. You can leave kids for 2 hours, no appointment necessary. And they have all these fun activities for kids - art, ballet, dance, gymnastics, noodle hockey, crab soccer.....So Nicholas loves it. At first Abby would only go for 30 minutes, but today she went for a full hour. So I can get quite the workout in. I added weights to the routine today and I am really feeling it. But this was a great decision.

Our family is doing well. We are just waiting for some summer weather. It was slightly sunny today so I mowed the front lawn and planted some lilies. We shall see if they grow. I tend to kill things that need a lot of care, so we shall see.

So that's been our month. I will get back into the habit of blogging and it will be better.

Savior of the World - the recap

2011-04-19T09:18:00.000-07:00

Well. It is over.

In a way this is nice - I have my Saturday's back, I'm not running around, I'm not listening to the same music over and over, trying to figure out where we are going wrong and how to fix it.

In a way this is sad - I miss the people and friendships involved.

And there is always a let down after putting 7+ months into something.

But the production is over.

It went well. Everyone was great, the audience was great, and there were no major disasters. The audience was full each time. It would be considered a great show by any standards.

People felt the spirit and were really experiencing the feelings that occurred to Jesus' closest friends and apostles after his death. The cast did a great job with the closing number; truly showing the joy that people had upon learning of his resurrection.

Tera Nelson - as Mary Magdalene - made me cry every time as she performed her "Where is He This Morn" song. The best line in the whole thing is "Where is he who walked with us, where is he who prayed?" She sings this song while at the tomb, wondering where Jesus' body is. This was a very moving moment.

The choir was fabulous! They did everything that was asked of them and worked really hard to get to the point where they were. The women worked hard, at the last minute, to learn multiple accompaniment parts. The men worked hard to be strong and lead in the various songs. They sounded wonderful.

I'm just excited I got to be a part of it. I felt a little bad sometimes, knowing that everyone was a volunteer and I was being tough on them. But hey - someone has to be the heavy and make sure all the little things are being taken care of. That someone was me :)

And now I am excited it is over. I need a little break, and then maybe I will be ready to tackle this again.

Thanks to everyone who made this such a great performance.

If you are looking for pictures, visit: www.savioroftheworldcordovastake.shutterfly.com

What we've been up to

2011-04-09T19:58:00.001-07:00

It has been a while since I have updated the blog, so I am going to try and update most of April (so far) in one post. It's not that I don't like updating my bog, it's simply that it takes time - which I do not seem to have these days. I seem to be losing time. I know there are 24 hours in a day, but I never know where they go. Or rather, I know where they go and I wish I had more. I have tried going without sleep, but that doesn't accomplish as much as I wish it would.

Nicholas learned about making forts from chairs, blankets, and pillows. So now, if we want to sit down on a chair at our dining room table, first we have to destroy a fort. Jon showed Nicholas how to do it to try and keep him occupied while General Conference was on TV, so he could watch, and it has now turned into a whole new thing in our house. Evidently the cardboard fort that mommy built isn't enough. He needs one fort with the sofas, chairs, pillows, and blankets, and another fort out of cardboard.

He says the pillow fort is to share with Abby and daddy (but not mommy) and the cardboard fort is for "me only" - meaning only Nicholas. But he does share with his sister.

We finished our first set of workbooks. I got a bunch of the preschool ones because I'm simply not creative enough to make up worksheets all the time to help him practice. Kids learn through repetition, and so I thought workbooks would be great. He couldn't decide which was cooler - that the certificate had a number 1 on it or that it had his name. Needless to say, it is now posted on the wall in our school room.

We go to library time at the Rancho Cordova Library now. The woman who does it is great. They do an hour of songs and stories and a craft. This was from the rainbow craft. I really like it for him. He says he doesn't have fun, but woe betide you if you try and take his craft away or not let him go. And he sings that silly apple song all the way home in the car. Want to know how many times a 4 line song can be sung from the library to our house? A lot.

We planted. I built some boxes and we planted the first set of plants. And an orange tree, a lemon tree, and an apple tree. And hydrangeas, three different types of lilies, and gardenias. It was a long day of work. And while I am happy with the result, it was hard. I carried 21 cubic feet of dirt from the car to the back yard. Abby liked it too - I put her in her playpen outside, under a sun shade, and she fell asleep for the longest nap she has ever taken on her own. Now I know the trick - put her outside.

And the best fun we've had with friends all month was our Teddy Bear Picnic - or stuffed dog picnic because most of the kids brought stuffed dogs. We did it with a bunch of mom's from the area at a local park. I made signs, and we all got together to eat lunch and play at the park for 2 hours. I cannot wait to get together with these moms again.

Oh yeah, and what else has been consuming my time? A little musical called "Savior of the World." It goes through the three days from the death of Jesus to his resurrection. And when I say consuming a little bit of time, I mean all of it. I'm happy to do it; I love musicals and I like directing and planning them. But, like with all productions, I am ready for it to be done. It has been almost 6 months of planning, practicing, rehearsals, and the like - so it is time for it to be done. I cannot believe I am considering undertaking a production of Handel's "Messiah" for Easter next year. All I need is a little down time.

I also have some projects near completion - Nicholas' Lightening McQueen sweatshirt and Abby's Easter dress are the two big ones. If only there was more time!

The Lightening McQueen cake

2011-03-23T19:18:00.000-07:00

The request Nicholas had for his birthday party was a Lightening McQueen cake. I desperately tried to get him to go with cupcake, but no way. I took him to Michaels, intending to show him that there was Lightening McQueen cupcake toppers to use instead. But on the very bottom row, in a picture that was maybe 2 inches by 2 inches (and he was in the top of the cart, moving when he saw this) - he saw a Lightening McQueen cake pan. That was that.

I got everything the instructions said to get. I was sure I was going to be able to do it. I took some great advice and baked the cake early on Friday afternoon. It was a homemade chocolate cake. Nicholas, as the birthday boy, got to eat the batter off the mixer things. He look so sad about that.

But that morning I had been reading the directions and thought that maybe, just maybe, I was a little ambitious. I mean, who knows how to make stars all over? And why should there have to be blue in the windows instead of white? Why can't I just paint color all in? What is a crumb coat? Why do the stars in one spot have to be bigger than the others? Needless to say, my frosting experience is with cupcakes - not cakes.

So Hannah - bless her soul - volunteered to come over that night. She was awesome. She made the red (which I could not get going) and took over so I wasn't a complete head case. Shee how gorgeous it is?

I take full credit for the messy white frosting (home-made buttercream), the stars and sprinkles. Those were all me. And I did some of the other stuff too (like the black outlining in some places).

Nicholas was seriously excited when he saw it all done and was happy to blow out his candles. He had a great time eating Lightening McQueen.

He even asked for another Lightening McQueen cake. Not in this lifetime.

The birthday trip

2011-03-17T19:51:00.000-07:00

Nicholas' 3rd birthday was March 12, 2011. Our birthday tradition is to take him someplace and have fun for the day. We don't get him presents, except a souvenir from the place we went. This year's destination: SF Zoo. We left Abby with my mom for an Abby and Grandma day, then we went off.

I remember this place being bigger than it is. First off, he was disappointed there were no elephants. But they have this African savanna area where the giraffes and deer and things get pretty close to you. He thought that was cool. The gorillas were awesome too. They were playing. And the biggest, oldest gorilla was sitting on a rock, staring at the visitors.

The lions and tigers were all asleep. Asleep in the sun. Nicholas called them "lazy cats." I wouldn't have really called them that, but they were sleeping.

The zoo got a new hippo in January, and this thing loved to show off. He would swim from one end of the pool to the other, bring his face out of the water - all the way out - and open his mouth nice and wide so you could see everything in it. Needless to say, there was a photographer there who got some great pictures. That person was not me.

We saw the grizzly bears being fed. They released live fish into the pond and the bears were released 10 minutes later. Then the bears ran through their enclosure to the pond and started hunting for the fish. It was pretty cool.

We ate lunch there. And got cotton candy. Then we hit the playground and kid's zoo.
Jon also played on the playground. This was Nicholas' second day of potty training. He reached the top of this structure and yelled, "I have to go potty." So Jon then climbed up to get him.

We fed the goats at the zoo. They also had brushes you could use to brush the animals (which we did), and rakes and buckets the kids could use to clean up the farm (which we did not do). Then it was time to go to the store and pick his presents. He got a penguin that is almost as big as him - which he named penguin - and a little elephant that makes noise when you press it. Why, oh why, do I get him toys that make noise? That elephant sound is so obnoxious.

We finished the day going to grandma's for a small family party. He got this cupcake that he loved. There was also a gazillion balloon - which we took home with us and are still serving as fun - and a HUGE Lightening McQueen balloon that is still inflated and huge. It sleeps with him every night.

So it was a good birthday. We had fun, and so did he.

Potty trained!

2011-03-17T08:39:00.000-07:00

Friday was a big day for us. We went to Target to get Abby some new pants (someone needed 12 month clothes and she's only 4 months old). Nicholas saw Lightening McQueen underwear in the place where they keep all the baby clothes and toddler underwear. He went nuts and asked for it. I agreed, but said he had to use the potty if he wanted the underwear. He agreed.

We got the underwear, and he made me put it on him in the Target bathroom. We promptly went out on the rest of our errands, and I was cringing. But there were no accidents on Friday. He told me when he had to use the potty, and we went.

Saturday was hazardous, but we were at the SF Zoo, so that was understandable. But there have been no accidents since.

No accidents! I promised him a toy if there were no accidents Sunday through today, so now we get to go and get a new toy.

Everyone said that when he was ready he would do it, and that it could be done in a weekend. I didn't believe "everybody" but I should have. Nicholas did it in a weekend. We only had 3 accidents on Saturday, and we are done. He is even dry throughout the night.

So, now he's potty trained. He told me he would when he was three, and since that was Saturday, I guess he just decided. If I had known Lightening McQueen underwear would make the difference, I would have gotten it for him long before then.

Coming later today - Nicholas' birthday pictures!

My addiction to iPod apps

2011-03-10T09:22:00.000-08:00

I have to confess - I am addicted to iPod apps.

When I first got my iPod, it was just the free apps I was addicted to, but now I have found some paid apps I really love.

I use Boggle to keep myself occupied when I am rocking Abby to sleep. I sing to her, but then she needs quiet, so I play Boggle.

I use the LDS Scripture apps to read during church and follow along with lessons.

I use the Elmo, Toy Story, and various other apps to keep Nicholas occupied. He currently is in love with the Dr. Seuss books you can get at the app store.

I like just looking at the apps. If you search LDS in the apps, you get so many options. There are things for ward leaders, kids, primary kids, musicians and everything.

If you search the books, you get tons of options too.

Apps are just really cool. I have the news apps (Fox, Drudge, and assorted news programs), The Economist (since I subscribe, the app is free). I have gmail and facebook. I have a calendar that syncs to my phone. I have the Nook app - so in case I don't have my Nook with me I can read on the go.

I just love apps. My bank account doesn't love apps. But I do.

Does anyone have favorite apps? I think Nicholas' would be the Elmo monster maker app. Mine is Settlers of Catan and Boggle. I just love apps.

Our developing garden

2011-03-03T19:10:00.000-08:00

One of the things about buying a home in a development is that they all look related. In some cases, exactly the same. There is a home 2 streets over that is exactly the same as ours. Luckily there are no homes on the same street that are exactly the same. There are some that are the same color, and some that are the same look, but none that are the same color.

So I have started to personalize our home. As you can see, I added a little log trim to the front to separate the grass and planting. We added lights and star lights (the stars were picked out by Nicholas). The star lights charge during the day and change colors at night. They are his favorite thing to look at during nighttime. He calls them his "everyday Christmas lights." There's also a flag with a ladybug. I wanted one of the big flags, but I couldn't see myself changing it every season. So we have a little flag instead that says "Welcome."

You cannot see them yet, but the picture below is of my hydrangea bushes. I planted them towards the back (since they are full shade bulbs). They are in between the regulation green bushes.

Hopefully they will grow. It will lessen the look of the whole development at our house. If they grow I am going to have some gorgeous blue flowers behind green bushes against a brown half-wall. I thought it might look nice.

I also had Jon pull out some of the dead plants and we replaced them.

Slowly, but surely, our front garden is developing into something that doesn't look like everyone else's. It is getting a personality all its own.

Now if only the backyard's personality said something other than "messy area where toddlers play."

Meet Spot

2011-02-25T22:12:00.000-08:00

We went to IKEA. I thought I was watching Nicholas, but when we arrived at the checkout counter I realized my very stealthy son had done something - he had put a dog and a dog bed (stuffed of course) into the bag. I asked him what it was. He told me that he was "a good boy for sharing his stroller" and he wanted a treat. So I caved.

He thinks the one-child stroller is his because he has used it all the time. When I put Abby into it, and make him walk, there is a revolt in the Wunderlich household. But if I take the 2-child stroller he doesn't want to ride (normally). So when travelling to a store where the 2-child stroller won't work - like IKEA - I try the one-child stroller and a bribe for Nicholas. It's just this time he chose his bribe. He really was a good kid about it, especially because it was raining at IKEA.

So meet Spot. The newest member of the Wunderlich household. Spot sleeps in his bed, in Nicholas' room. Or in Nicholas' fort. It turns out that since Spot is Nicholas' baby - his words not mine - Spot also gets to hang out in the play pen when Abby's not there or in Abby's swing.

Who knew stuffed animals were such a chore!

Solid foods!

2011-02-25T12:42:00.000-08:00

We are eating solid foods now - well Abby is. The rest of the family was already eating solid food.

She started needing to be fed 4-5 oz of formula every 1-1.5 hours, so I decided to introduce rice cereal. She was okay with it at first. However, once I mixed a teaspoon of bananas in, she gobbled the stuff up. I'm not that shocked. Both my kids love bananas. Plus, when Abby is eating "baby bananas" (Nicholas named them), then Nicholas will eat bananas too.

I'm wondering if that is going to work for vegetables too?

Rainy day conversations.

2011-02-17T14:34:00.000-08:00

Nicholas is a bargainer. He likes to try and bargain his way into things. Or talk his way into things.

So today it is storming in Sacramento. Lots of rain, hail, wind, and freezing temperatures. Needless to say, I think it is a perfect day to stay inside. He thinks it is a perfect day to go outside.

"Mommy, I want to go outside," he says. "No, it is yucky outside," I reply.

He thinks hard and says, "But mommy, the raindrops are lonely. I need to keep them company." I say, "No, they have all the other raindrops and grass and trees and leaves to keep them company."

He doesn't even miss a beat before he says, "I need to blow bubbles outside so they can fly with the wind." I repeat an earlier reply, "No, it is a yucky day outside."

Needless to say, this whole conversation was while he's wearing shorts and a t-shirt because he didn't want to wear any of his clean pants this morning. He wanted his dirty jeans, which were in the washer.

Still not one to quit he says, "But it is not yucky outside. It is only raining a little bit." He says this as the rain is puddling and pooling in our yard and is being blown sideways because of the wind.

A little while later he says, "But mommy, I have to go outside." So I finally give him a choice (see the Love and Logic philosophy working here), "You can go outside in your rain jackets and rain boots or stay inside and do puzzles with mommy." I thought the puzzles would be a big hit - normally I cannot get him to stop playing puzzles with me. But quick as can be he gets his rain jacket and boots on - I have never seen him get dressed so fast - and runs outside. It takes all of a minute before it starts hailing again and he comes running inside saying "I'm all done. The ice cubes falling on my head were cold."

I should've just let him out earlier and he would've been done.

Gardening buddies

2011-02-14T15:54:00.000-08:00

So we spent some time gardening today. These were my gardening buddies. I have Abby in her black and white stripped leg warmers and Nicholas and his dump truck.

Nicholas took all the clippings from the bushes and trees and put them into his dump truck and made a pile. I tried to get him to make a pile that was closer to him, but he wanted to take the clippings all the way across the yard in his dump truck to the one pile.

What you don't see is his pliers - those he brought out to help me cut. He would place them on a branch and go "snip" and then tell me he cut some branches. He would also use the pliers to grab branches and put them into the bag at the end of the afternoon.

Abby fell asleep shortly after we started. She has a pavlovian response to being outside - she sees the sun and she closes her eyes and goes to sleep. Unless, of course, you want her to do that. Then she stays awake.

So Abby slept for our 2.5 hours of gardening. But so it goes. Nicholas and I got a lot done.

Jon finished up later by pulling out the dead plants and actually cutting the grass. Now we just have to get new plants and put them in the holes where the old plants were.

Lowe's - here we come!

Family pictures!

2011-02-13T15:58:00.000-08:00

We took some family pictures before church one Sunday. Here they are. Aren't my kids growing up? How in the world do they grow up so fast?

Abby's baby blessing.

2011-02-12T15:44:00.000-08:00

Today was Abby's baby blessing. We had a great time with lots of support from friends and our ward family and our family.

I spent most of last night finishing Abby's dress. I feel like I have been "finishing" it for weeks. I have had the dress part made. But last night was spent doing the details and hemming and everything. It turned out beautifully. I wanted her to wear leopard print socks underneath, since the dress was long enough no one would notice. Her father vetoed that option, and she wore pink ones.

Abby was such a beautiful girl . And she looked great. Nicholas behaved beautifully. Her dad gave her a great blessing and even got her name right. I have heard stories of fathers who do the wrong name at the blessing, so that's the name the child is known as in the church. Good thing Jon got the right one.

Thank you to our Bishop for letting us do it at our home, and for Br. Suoafoa (sp?) for being here so we could do the blessing. Now Jon just needs to fill out the paperwork and hand it in. Then she's officially on the records of the church.

If you are unaware, Mormons do not baptize children until they are 8 years old. It is a doctrinal choice made because children younger than 8, according to the Church, are unable to tell the difference between right and wrong. Therefore, it doesn't make sense to Baptize them and cleanse them of sin before they can sin (The original sin doctrine is not held as a belief in the Mormon church). So instead babies get blessed - "dedicated" is what some other Christian denominations call it - to God. The father - traditionally - does the blessing.

We had a lot of fun and loved having everyone around. Thanks everyone. And yes, she will be in her dress tomorrow at church. I didn't spend the time to make it for her to wear it once.

Egyptian riots

2011-02-02T08:37:00.000-08:00

The whole thing about violence is that it begets violence. When the riots in Egypt turned violent it was a horrible turning point. But did anyone expect it to go differently?

In order to have peaceful protests you have to have two things: A respect for the law and a police force willing to keep things peaceful. Neither of these things exist in Egypt. Therefore, violence occurs. If you think the police would be effective, look at the footage - the security forces had their tanks out to keep the two groups separate and then sat on them, watching, while the violence was occurring.

Perhaps the most interesting side of these riots is this - there are no women involved. At least, none in the footage that is shown to the world. If you look at the footage of riots and protests in Europe, Russia, and here, women are always there. Women consider themselves part of the society, and so they are part of the protests and riots.

In Egypt, women aren't part of the riots and protests, which means they aren't part of the society. It is telling that in that whole area of the world (Middle East) the place where you can see women voting and protesting is . . . Iraq. Not Saudi Arabia, not Iran, and not Egypt. But Iraq.

Think what you want about that little fact. But it is an important note.

They are growing up.

2011-01-27T18:58:00.001-08:00

The kids are growing up way too fast for me. There were times I thought I would never feel that way, but I do.

We took Abby's first park trip on Friday last week. This is her reaction. I am glad to see that she enjoyed it. It was a little chilly out for her, and she needed a nap, so she took one.

Nicholas loves the park. I am teaching him how to pump his legs on the swing so I don't have to push him. Sometimes he gives up and turns over and swings on his stomach. We use the big kid swings now, and he loves them.

This is Abby and Nicholas as we are ready for church on Sunday. He's a little tired (hence the glazed eyes). She's in her first dress. It is a 3 month dress, and is retired as too small. She's wearing 9 month legging underneath.

Either Carters has their sizing off or I have a big girl, or both - but that 3 month dress was too small at 2.5 months and the 9 month leggings were just right.

Today we went to feed the birds. This is a pond off Sunrise, and there were tons of birds there. Tons. Nicholas saw it from the road and made me stop so we could feed those birds. I tried to get him to wait and go to the pond in Anatolia, where he might actually be able to throw the bread into the water, but he wouldn't. So he tossed it as far as he could. I could make the water.

He wanted to run into the pond and feed the birds by hand. But I told him that's not how you feed birds at a pond. Maybe we will have better success next time. The birds did come eat eventually. As we were driving home they were all over there and Nicholas was proud to have fed the birds.

This is a picture of Abby from today. She's super big. Notice the red halo of hair on her head. We are proud parents of a red head. And she already knows that mom loves her - just read her onesie!

Baby driving

2011-01-21T20:36:00.000-08:00

No, I don't mean letting the baby drive. I just mean it is different driving with a baby in the car.

I don't mean that you are more cautious (because I hope you are cautious whenever you drive). I just mean it it different, and it is different depending on the baby.

Both my kids are extremely sensitive to stopping. Not just stopping, but stepping on the brakes at all. Nicholas will sleep through most stops. But when you come to a complete stop at the light, or start slowing down on the off-ramp to the freeway, he wakes right up.

Abby will wake up if you tap the brakes. Her wakings tend to come with crying because she doesn't like her car seat. She would much rather be held or played with thank you. But she quiets down the minute you start driving.

So I drive differently when I have them in the car. With just Nicholas, or with just me, I go the quickest route. When they are sleeping, or I have Abby, I go the route with the least stops. This sometimes means going straight at a stop light when you wanted to turn left simply to avoid the crying. Or making 3 right hand turns and 2 U-turns to avoid waiting in the left hand turn lane. Or sometimes it means going way around a different route so you can avoid stop lights and stop signs. It is amazing how many different routes I know to common places - Costco, Target, church, stores - in order to prevent the crying baby syndrome in the car.

When she cries, he starts doing something - normally singing "Old MacDonald" - at the top of his lungs. As if the louder he sings, the quieter she will be, when it is really the reverse.

So baby driving - it is the term of the month and a skill I have developed. Never thought I would develop new driving techniques, but kids make parents do the darndest things.

Costco and the American flag.

2011-01-21T08:30:00.000-08:00

There were two events this week that got me thinking about the state of society.

First, I saw someone putting up an American flag. But when they were putting it up they had laid it down on the ground to make it go up the right way. After years and years of things like Girl Scouts and the military, I know the American flag doesn't go on the ground. To be honest, I knew long before that because in elementary school we were responsible, once a month or so, for putting the flag up and down. We were told "The American flag cannot touch the ground or it must be burned." While that's not exactly in the flag code, the code does say that it shouldn't touch the ground, and when it is work it has to be burned. (See the full flag code here).

How do people not know this? I know there are people who don't follow the flag code. For instance, the code says the flag shouldn't be used for advertising. But almost everyone knows the flag is flown upside down only as a sign of distress. So how do people not know that the flag cannot touch the ground?

What made this particular incident all the worse was that it was at Mather. Mather is an old military base which is now a mixed-us airfield. It has civilian businesses, military units, and an in-use airfield. This flag pole was in site of a bunch of soldiers doing a pre-flight check on a helicopter. In fact, the soldiers were yelling at the guy (I had my window down to yell at the guy too, but the soldiers were doing it much better). I imagine if there hadn't been a huge fence in the way the soldiers would've taken care of the situation. But the guy quickly put the flag up the pole and ran inside. It was clear he heard all the yelling and wanted out as quickly as possible.

It's a sad state of affairs when the flag gets laid on the ground just because it is easier. I have put a full-sized flag up a pole by myself. It's not easy, but it can be done. It just takes some careful work. Moral of this story - don't put the flag up unless you are sure you can keep it from touching the ground.

Second incident happened at Costco. I am a huge fan of the store. Especially when they have great samples up. But when they only have one line open and expect everyone else to use the self-checkouts, it can be a bit hazardous. This is especially true when you have 2 kids in the cart, with one in a car seat. So if you see someone in front of you with 2 kids in the cart, you probably don't want to get behind them in line at the self-check. Or if you do, try not to huff and puff as if huffing and puffing is going to make me go faster. It won't work - it will probably make me go slower. And when you ask me, "Are you done yet?" The answer is no. Especially not if you see the big red diaper box under the cart and stuff in the cart. It just takes longer. So wait your turn or don't get in line behind me. When did it become okay to annoy people just because you think they are taking too long at the checkout line? How annoying.

Neither of these experiences make me think that society is doing well. I always open the door for people with strollers - even before I had to use one. It's polite. So is not huffing and puffing at people in front of you in line, and keeping the flag off the ground. If we cannot be polite to each other, what is next? What are you teaching your children if you cannot be polite yourself? Then don't be surprised when your children are rude to you if you cannot be polite to others.

Half of January is over.

2011-01-19T14:06:00.000-08:00

We have had lots of fun in the first half of January. Yes, there have been trials, but we have had lots of fun.

Nicholas loves art. We do art every chance we get. In fact, sometimes the art gets out of hand. But that's what 2 year olds do. The other day he wanted to paint outside. What he was really asking for was paint and sponges so he can paint the patio. We have a patio out back and I let him paint it during the summer months. He paints it one day and the next day he "cleans" it with water, pails, sponges, and lots of splashing. This is a "green" activity because it saves paper. But it really just saves me the hassle of cleaning and setting things up. So we did this one day and it rained that afternoon. He was upset that the rain did the "cleaning" for him.

We also went to Marine World. We got season passes last year and I wanted to go one more time before they closed. So Jon watched the Rose Bowl with his dad and Nicholas and I went and played in the snow. And saw the animals, went on rides, went into the Shark Zone, and fed giraffes. It was a great outing for us. It didn't even rain while we were there, although it did rain on our way there and after we left.
Another favorite activity to do is puddle walks. He likes to splash. What better way to splash than jump in puddles? He really enjoys this and so do I. He wanted to go puddle walking a few times this year. Every time he puts on shorts. I think one time we went in pants and they got wet and cold, so he prefers shorts. And his fireman boots and fireman rain jacket. The rain jacket is something I insist on. So we bundle up, I put Abby in the Moby carrier and zipper the sweatshirt over her and we go on walks. He enjoys himself, I enjoy myself, and I think Abby would if she would just wake up. I put her in the carrier and she goes to sleep. Much like she does with tummy time.

We also play cars and trucks. He got this great construction truck set and I find myself making things out of blocks that he can "build" or destroy with his construction trucks. He has fun and I get to use a bit of imagination. Abby watches us from her bouncy chair and smiles every so often.

My cousin Angie got Abby a Madonna shirt and I just had to post a picture of it. What girl can be a true girl without a little Madonna in her life? This was the first time I have gotten Nicholas to hold Abby up right in a picture. He wanted to play with her and was reading her a book before I took the picture.

As a side note - I am so glad our couches are brown. I was reading this month's "Family Circle" magazine and they said a white-on-white decorating scheme is chic. This is a family magazine suggesting white furniture. They must be insane. Thank goodness for the brown microfiber. I can clean anything with a wet cloth and the brown hides things until I can clean them - don't worry, I do keep the couches clean. It's a nightly job for me. Just one of those things.

The second half of January is looking great too. Nicholas has new Sketchers shoes - courtesy of Grandma - and they light up. We went shoe shopping for me (I got the new Sketchers Tone Ups and they help my ankles and arches a ton so I am in a lot less pain). But Nicholas picked out new shoes too. The sales man brought out a ton of shoes in his size. The first ones he put on Nicholas jumped around in, saw they lighted up, and said he wanted these ones. Forget that the others lighted up too, or that one pair had flames and lights on them (how totally awesome). He wanted the first ones - which are cute too. Thanks mom!

We have plans, great plans. Mainly to get me enough sleep and well enough so I can make the transition to full time mom instead of part-time mom part-time work. So we shall see how this goes. I am looking forward to it and nervous about it in equal parts. But January is looking great.

Single motherhood

2011-01-18T13:54:00.000-08:00

I know for many people single motherhood isn't an option, it is a fact of life. My mom was a single mom. Having been a single mom for all of 4 days right now (with 2 more to go before the husband gets home) I can say with authority - it sucks.

I don't know how my mom made it look so easy. I recall laundry always being done, the kitchen was clean, the floor was vacuumed, the bathrooms were spotless, there was food in the fridge, meals were relatively on time, and we had a schedule. These are things that have been dropped in my house. I feel like it is all I can do to keep the two kids clean and fed and happy and non-destructive (although I loose that battle a lot too). And bed time was a mess of course - Nicholas is used to his dad putting him to bed. In fact, he asked if he dad didn't like him because daddy was gone at bedtime.

He's too young to understand that Jon left to take his dad (Jon's dad) to Utah to see his sister - who died before they got there - and is staying for the funeral. So I resorted to something he understands - dad had to go away for work. Yes, this is a complete lie - although Jon is working via blackberry I am sure. But what else do you tell a kid? I had tried explaining it a few different ways and obviously none took. He loves his dad and his dad loves him - I certainly don't want him to think any differently. This morning he thought his dad left because he was bad and didn't put his toys away. Can you imagine the sadness I felt when I heard that? He's just too young to understand. So, daddy had to go away for work.

Now comes the confession - I certainly wouldn't want to be a single mom. I know it just happens for some people. And some people are forced into the role. But I have at least 2 friends who have chosen to be single moms. They got pregnant with the goal of being a single mom because they wanted a kid but couldn't find someone they wanted to marry. I thought they were nuts when they told me this - I now think they are certifiable.

I love my husband. He is a rock. He keeps me sane and stable. He helps with the kids, the dishes, the laundry, the chores, the errands, the playing with the kids, the running around the block after the 2.5 year old who thinks its funny to run away while going for a walk...but most of all he's there for me. He's stability. I know that when I simply need 5 minutes, he can handle whatever the kids throw at him. I also know that he's there to share. That is such a relief.

It sucks knowing there is no one around to help right now. I was afraid to go to sleep last night because I didn't know when the kids would wake up or if I would hear them (I eventually fell asleep and heard the kids wake up 2 hours later, then 3 hours after that, and 3 hours after that). We all got to where we had to go this morning.

But it took all morning to get laundry going and get food in the house. The kitchen and rooms are still a mess (thank goodness for friends who will come watch the kids Thursday AM so I can clean). I really don't know how single moms do it. It is not a state I like. It is simply something I have to deal with.

However, I do know that Jon arrives home in 2 days. And when he finally books his flight home I am sure I will know, to the minute, how long it will be before he comes home. Just two more nights of madness (hopefully). Then my support comes home.

Blogging block - aka Abby

2011-01-13T09:02:00.000-08:00

So, sometimes I have to write a bunch of blogs about our activities and schedule their release. It's because I get blogger's block - also known as Abby. She does this catnap thing and wants to be held and then does baby things, and times it with her brother, so I rarely get time to blog. But I do this morning.

In case you are about to have kids, have kids, or are thinking about having kids you should know this - it is okay to not like your kids. You will always love them. But sometimes exasperation, annoyance, grumpiness, crabbiness, and all the other emotions add up to simply not liking them for a period of time. I'm have that time this morning.

It seems that they sense there are two of them and one of me. And things start going. At the same time Abby needs to eat Nicholas just has to have "coincidently" knocked over his milk/juice/non-water drink. He then says "Its an accident" and it really might have been, but I am suspicious none the less. Then Abby decides to start screaming for no reason right when I have to change Nicholas. It just gets going all day long.

And have you ever tried to take a toddler and make him sit for a whole day? He's got a soft tissue injury on his foot, and so he needs to sit and rest it or it will never get better (this sounds like familiar advice). But he won't sit. So I have to resort to Mickey Mouse Club House, Cat in the Hat, Handy Manny, and Super Why. That obnoxious high-pitched voice that sings and makes kids' songs is really annoying. Super annoying.

It's also okay to let kids cry and take a time out. My person timeout spot when I have the kids is the pantry. I just go in there for a few minutes. Beforehand I make sure everyone is in a safe spot, and then I go inside for a few minutes. Just a few minutes and I can come out all nice and relaxed. Or I throw them in the car and we go driving. Then they both end up going to sleep and I can drive through some nice scenery in the mountains.

Well, today is just one of those days. I just thought everyone should know. Tomorrow I will start posting with pictures again, since those posts are just so much cuter.

What a wonderful Wednesday

2011-01-12T09:29:00.000-08:00

So most people make New Year's Resolutions. I am a few days behind. I am going to chalk it up to learning to be a stay at home mom with 2 kids. So everything runs behind.

My New Year's resolution is rather unoriginal - lose weight. How unoriginal actually.

After Nicholas was born it took me 2 years to take off 100 lbs from pregnancy and bed rest. I am praying it doesn't take me that long to do it this time (although it won't be helped by eating pizza for breakfast - since I am unsure if I get lunch I eat a big breakfast - yogurt, pizza, a banana and milk today).

So my resolution is to buy my summer clothes at Eddie Bauer and Down East Basics. Why these places? Because their stores don't carry plus sizes. I have been a plus size since I moved to Sacramento and went to law school. Before that I was large, but not that large. So I want to buy my summer clothes at a store that doesn't carry plus sizes. As an added bonus, if I can lose that much weight, my husband will have no choice but to let me go on a spending spree.

So here are my rewards - the first 10 lbs I get new shoes. Every 10 lbs after that I get new shoes. Why shoes? First, they are not food. If I give myself food rewards I will be perpetuating the problem. Second, I love shoes. Third, I love shoes. Fourth, shoes don't change (for me) with losing weight, so I can keep them. Fifth, shoes can really make outfits fabulous. I already have my sights set on my first pair - a leopard print, pointy toed, heel from Nine West. I'm happy.

I would use purses as a reward, but with a baby and a toddler I am going to be using diaper bags as purses for the foreseeable future. So purses would be fun to have, but rather useless for the next 2 years. Oh well.

So we will see how my journey goes. I took a before picture but there is no way I am showing it unless I also have an "after" picture to post. Otherwise, it is just a bad picture that makes me look HUGE.

Day one was yesterday. I ate okay and did the Day 1 of 3o Day Shred, so we shall see if I can keep that up. Not today - I am sore. So today we will walk. Which will be good for all of my family. Keep watching for more reports.

In her own room

2011-01-04T21:46:00.000-08:00

Tonight is Abby's first night in her own room. Previously, she had been in her bassinet in our room. Her every - adorable - noise woke me up. This included the unadorable noises - like crying. But the adorable noises were keeping me up. And I would then get up and just stare at her.

She's now into her own room, in the crib. It turns out she is growing like a weed and so she's too long for the bassinet now. At least her father thinks so (I think she could've stayed in it for a few more weeks). New room, new bed, new sounds.

Now that Jon has set the baby monitor up, I need to find the power strip to set up the night light, the lamp, and the stars on the ceiling thing that plays music. It is my nod to the fact that she likes music but I am too lazy to go get another stereo for her room (Nicholas has one in his and it plays classical at bedtime, and fun songs all day long).

So we are excited. Our room is our own again!

Christmas!

2011-01-04T21:39:00.000-08:00

Christmas was great at our house. Santa came.

In fact, Nicholas woke me up in the middle of the night to tell me that he heard bells and Santa's sleigh on the rooftop. This is due to one to many readings of "Twas the Night Before Christmas" during December. He really liked it, and can recite it, so he heard the sleigh since it really was the night before Christmas.

Besides the grand old gifts from family at Christmas Eve, Santa was great to him. He got a new tool set (see the picture). The saw and drill and light even really work. They make nice (annoying) sounds and work with all the stuff that came with the bench. He loves the tools and takes his cars over there to fix them all the time. Recently, the airplanes have started breaking down too.

Christmas was filled with fun - we only wish the child had slept in more. But he woke up and ran into our room to ask if Santa really had come. He didn't believe us until he looked downstairs and saw the packages under the tree and said "All for me?" He didn't much like that Santa brought mommy and daddy presents too - and that he wasn't allowed to unwrap them. But he got over it and played with his new toys all day long.

Jon got his iPod shuffle (amazing how Santa knows just what to get him). And Natasha got some Sonny and Reed teething bracelets (actual jewelry that is really made out of teething material). I had determined that I really like wearing jewelry and that I hate having it (1) stolen by my son to wear and being told to "share"; (2) having it covered in spit because it is the new teether, and (3) having it broken. So I asked Santa for Sonny and Reed stuff, since it is made to be teethers and unbreakable (or fixable with elastic cord if it breaks - it doesn't actually require me to work with jump rings and tools).

It was a great Christmas all around.

Christmas Eve

2011-01-03T21:54:00.001-08:00

My family celebrates Christmas Eve. We are Polish - and Christmas Eve is the big day. So Nicholas, Abby, and I went down to stay at my mom's house for a few days (Jon was super busy with work, so this had the added bonus of giving me people to help with the kids).

My grandmother always tries to make me put away the camera. But it was Christmas Eve and she was holding Abby so the camera came out. And what a great shot this is!

When we arrived a few days early my mom and sister already had Nicholas' presents out and wrapped. We decided early on that Santa comes to the house, and Grandma, Great-Grandma, and Aunt Debby/Uncle Wayne get to give presents from themselves because Santa wouldn't visit Grandma's house.

He got books, a car play mat, boxes, Bob the Builder Legos, new pajamas.....and a car. Every book he got he immediately wanted my mom to read to him. He would unwrap it and say "Read this one Grandma." Then climb into her lap and sit patiently while she was reading.

This is the car. He drove it around the house. In fact, he drove it all around the evening of the 23rd (when he got it). Wayne was just going to give it in the box and make Jon put it together, but my mom begged to have him put it together - so he did. Wayne brought up his tools and my sister set out to put all the decals on. When who should appear but Nicholas - "Uncle Wayne's tools?" he asked. Then he said, "I want to help" and proceeded to pick up the power drill. Wayne took it away, and my mom gave Nicholas an ice cream cone to get him to leave Uncle Wayne and Aunt Debby alone to assemble the car. It turns out the helping takes a poor second place to ice cream when you are 2.

In fact, when he went to bed that night, he asked if his car was parked. Then when he woke up the next morning the first thing he did was run out to his car and start driving it again. And he drove it when he got it back to Sacramento. And every day we take a "drive" around the block in the car.

And, due to poor planning on my part (I figured 2/3 a can of formula was enough for 3 days), we had to go to the store to get formula. My mom wanted to go to Toys-R-Us. There were also other assorted problems which made Toys-R-Us, which happens to have a baby/maternity section inside, the best option.

There my ever resourceful son picked up even more construction trucks. Because he didn't have enough already, he now has a full set - complete with a crane, road signs, cones, and barrels.

And this is Lofty - the Bob the Builder crane. The set also came with Scoop. And a booklet of all the other Bob the Builder Lego sets which he tried to convince his Aunt he desperately needed.

Needless to say, Nicholas raked it in. Abby did too - but her stuff came early (like when she was born). Jon and I got free baby sitting - which is the best gift we can get most times.

Christmas Eve was a blast!

Dec 18th: Cookie Decorating Party

2011-01-03T21:45:00.000-08:00

I held a cookie decorating party on Deb 18th. It was just for fun. It happened to be the same Saturday as a BYU game, so it gave me something to do while Jon watched the game. Actually, I love throwing parties and I love Christmas, so this was a good combination. Lots of people came and went, and lots of cookies were decorated.

Even more little kids were decorated. For some reason I thought that spoons were better for frosting than knives would be. After all, kids would range in age from 1 on up (there were younger kids there, but I figured they wouldn't be doing any cookies decorating). So spoons it was - plastic ones (easier to clean up after). Paper plates and cups - everything was disposable.

Adults ended up making cookies too. It was great. Sprinkles, M&M's, chocolate chips, frosting . . . you wouldn't believe how much can be piled on a cookies and still kids will eat it.

And some kids ate just the frosting. Or just the sprinkles. Poor moms - I sent all the kids home sugared up. Way sugared up. And they all played too.

There were arts and crafts for those that didn't want to do cookies - or those who tired of cookies.

I loved every minute of the party. It was fabulous, and I had a ton of fun. I hope all the people who came had fun too because it was a total blast.

Christmas truly is the most wonderful time of the year and it was my pleasure to share it with so many friends.

Way behind

2011-01-03T21:44:00.000-08:00

I am so far behind in posting things to the blog. It comes with having a new baby and little time. So I am going to post our Christmas party, Christmas Eve, and Christmas blogs today/tomorrow. Then I will catch up. Sorry!

Merry Christmas

2010-12-15T10:34:00.000-08:00

Just in case I don't get the Christmas cards out on time - here is what the newsletter would have looked like, had you gotten one. I think you have to click on it to make it larger.

Our Christmas photo

2010-12-14T21:09:00.001-08:00

Here is the photo that we took for Christmas. You will notice that neither parent is in it - mainly because we are too scrappy looking to be in a photo with our cute kids.

This was the one picture out of 10 that had Nicholas giving his "cheese" smile and had Abby's face - when she wasn't bawling. For some reason she didn't like being held by Nicholas this night. Normally, when we let him hold her, she stares at him and babbles something at him. He just kind of looks at her for a few minutes, says "Hi Abby" and then says "I don't want to hold her anymore." But he was really good for the pictures.

Why are they in Christmas pajamas? Well, I haven't finished the Christmas clothes yet. Nicholas' Christmas tie is cut out, but not sewn, and Abby's Christmas dress needs the other half of the zipper put in and the hem done. I have to put in the zipper by hand because I have forgotten how to do it on my sewing machine. So they are in Christmas pajamas - and they are super cute. But I am not biased or anything.

In other news, we have Christmas decorations up. So that is a big plus. I managed to get the house decorated in what I affectionately call "Christmas lite." Normally I am a huge Christmas decorator. I pull everything out the day after Thanksgiving and by that night there is no doubt that Christmas is coming to the Wunderlich household. I even did it when I lived by myself. This is a wonderful time of year and the only time you can be totally gaudy and it is acceptable and I love it.

But this year is "Christmas lite" because of the c-section, the new baby, the lack of sleep, the ever "helpful" 2 year old.....and I am simply out of energy. But we have some Christmas, a tree, and some outside lights. So I am somewhat satisfied. I am more satisfied when it is night time and I am exhausted because of the two kids and husband than I am in the morning when I am still fresh and have a lot of energy (comparatively).

We survived!

2010-12-06T16:56:00.001-08:00

Today was Jon's first day back at work. I was concerned about how today was going to go; I cannot go up and down the stairs once I get down and Abby is suffering from a serious case of gassiness (she is always fussing if she's not upright). So I was concerned. I was worried I wouldn't be able to get her to stop crying, that I would need something from upstairs, that I wouldn't get to eat.....the worries go on.

But we survived!

Yes, it meant that for breakfast I ate jam on bread (what Nicholas calls a jam sandwich) at 9am and didn't eat again until 2:45pm. It means that the house is a mess - not dirty, just messy - because I have various projects in various states of being done. It means I got nothing done - other than making dinner, keeping myself and Abby fed and clean, and some Christmas decorations. I wanted to get some sewing done, but I couldn't get it done because Abby wasn't cooperating.

Yes, I had to walk for 3 hours with Abby between feedings. She ate 6 times today between 7:30 and 3:30. That is a lot of food. She needed lots of gas drops and burping, but I did it.

So what did we do all day? I find it amazing that people ask me that question. It is obvious that they have never had a newborn when they ask. Because that is all I got done. I mean, she needs food and diaper changes - which takes 35-45 minutes every 2-3 hours (more if she has a huge poop). She needs cuddling and talking to and singing. She needs holding. I need to take care of myself- eating and bathroom and drinking water. So what is left? About 30 minutes when you desperately hope that she will sleep so you can get a nap.

Since she's not sleeping, and she is in her swing for the 10 minutes she will sit there, I decided to write this post. Especially since the sound of a keyboard seems to soothe her better than FoxNews. Who can understand that?

Teething necklaces

2010-11-26T20:41:00.000-08:00

Every mom knows the complaint - I cannot wear nice jewelry because my kids pulls/tugs/teethes/bites (insert your choice of verb here) on it. In fact, my son broke my favorite necklace when he was in the teething stage. I learned after that one. However, you also have to give up dangling earrings and some bracelets. I had to give up bracelets because my son always wanted to wear them - who wouldn't want to wear mom's jewelry. If mom is wearing it, it must be cool.

As I flashed forward to Abby going through this stage, and since I was looking for something Jon could get me and put in my stocking, I remembered hearing something about teething necklaces.

As I will do when I am trying to find something, I googled it (teething necklaces for mom). I got three types of results:

1. Actual necklaces that can double as teethers (which is what I wanted).

2. Something called a "nursing necklace" - which is a necklace made of colorful and tactile beads for a baby to hold while nursing - but not for teething on (which I did not want).

3. Amber necklaces - which the makers claim helps pain relief for teething babies when they wear it close to their skin.

So I picked out a few websites that had option number one and I was in love!

Smart Mom Jewelry makes a variety of necklaces (and matching bracelets) that can be teethed on. These come in donut shapes (a latex-free string with a donut pendant on the end) in multiple colors.

Uncommon Goods has the chunky bead-like necklaces that are made in three colors (blue, black and clear) for babies to chew on. These can go in the dishwasher when they need to be sanitized.

And then there is the Oh Plah! teething cuff - for those of you who like to wear bracelets and have babies who like to chew on them.

Anyways, I thought I would do other moms the favor of posting this here.

The second child

2010-11-19T19:59:00.000-08:00

I was the first child for my mom. There are lots of pictures of me as a baby doing everything from sitting up to laying down. There are pictures of me with my eyes closed and open. There are pictures of me that seem to have been taken because there was simply nothing better to do. And then there is my sister - there are fewer pictures of her, much fewer. But she's the second child.

So I told myself, I would take as many pictures of Abby as I did of Nicholas. Nope. Not even close. I didn't even have the camera around today when Nicholas did the cutest thing - gave Abby a series of kisses on her head. Now I am going to have to account for the lack of pictures of Abby to her when she is an adult. And here I was going to be so much better at this than my mom.

Speaking of Nicholas - he's doing great. After a few days of being a total pain in the butt he seems to have adjusted. It helps that we have adjusted too. We have been making him a bigger priority when Abby is sleeping and dividing the Abby duties when she is awake so Nicholas gets a lot of attention. And we will read to Abby, but let Nicholas sit on the rocker too and pick the book. We also have Abby cheer on Nicholas while he is playing golf outside, riding his bike, or simply being "Super Nicholas!" This has helped Nicholas feel much better about his little sister. He even said "I love Abby" today. It was very cute.

I am recovering well. Not fabulously, but well. The thing about the second c-section is that it is much easier. You already know what to expect and you don't have to recover from 28 hours of labor plus the c-section. I have also avoided a serious staph infection this time, which helps recovery. I feel better because we caught the allergic reaction early so it wasn't as strong and I don't have a multitude of infections at the same time as I am trying to recover from major abdominal surgery. Amazing what a difference that makes.

The stairs in our house are the big problem; along with picking things up. You never realize how much you have to bend over to pick up until you cannot do it any longer. I can finally see the bones in my feet again (the swelling is down) and I cannot bend over to get socks on. I finally could get down on the floor to play with Nicholas, except not really. This is the problem with a c-section. For 6 weeks you don't get to bend down and pick things up. Things like your other child. But we find ways around it. We cuddle, we hug, he sits next to me on the sofa........

All in all the Wunderlich household is adjusting nicely. Now, if only they would synchronize nap schedules. Then we would be great.

What we have learned in a week

2010-11-16T12:10:00.001-08:00

So, today is Tuesday. Abby has been alive for one week, and boy have we learned a lot. It is surprising how many things you learn about a baby in a week.

1. She smiles when she wets her diaper. This is a key indicator that a spout of crying is about to begin because she doesn't like being wet.

2. She wakes up and searches for Nicholas when she hears his voice. She can be dead asleep in my arms, but if Nicholas comes into the room and starts talking, she wakes right up and starts moving her head as if she is going to find him (good luck, since her eye sight is really bad right now).

3. She likes to eat - a lot. When in doubt about why she wakes up, it is probably because she needs to eat. Especially if she has a dirty diaper - then she really wants to eat.

4. She smells great - just like a baby should.

5. She knows who her mom is and loves to cuddle with me.

6. She has a Pavlovian response to hearing a bottle being shaken near her. Her father can bring out the bottle to feed her and she can hear it being shaken, then she calms down and opens her mouth and give you this look that says "You are taking too long to get me my food."

7. She eats her hands. All the time.

8. She much prefers to be held and cuddled than sleep on her own. And she will let you know this as well.

9. Her lungs are just fine. Ask anyone within a mile of our house.

10. She doesn't like hats and will push them off her head.

These are just some of the things we have learned about her in this week. Isn't having a new baby a wonderful journey of discovery and fun?

Breastfeeding trials

2010-11-15T07:50:00.000-08:00

Breastfeeding.

The bane of my existance.

It didn't work well with Nicholas and I was very upset about it. Although I think the nurses at the hospital made me more frustrated and upset than I would have been if it hadn't worked and everyone had been supportive about using bottles, instead of focusing on giving me more "help" to breastfeed.

So going into it this time I was very laid back. If it worked, great. If it didn't work, fine. But it turns out I have to remind myself of this attitude.

Abby latched on great at the beginning, but wasn't getting anything. Then, within 18 hours of being born, she still hadn't pooped. For those who are unfamiliar with hospitals, if you child hasn't pooped within 18 hours of being born they want you to switch to include bottles to prevent jaundice. Jaundice means that your child goes to the NICU and sits under lights until the bilirubin - the stuff turning them yellow- is processed out of their system. Nicholas had to do this and I didn't want to leave Abby there, so we added a bottle.

I was fine. We did bottle and breastfeeding, with the breastfeeding just not going well. It wasn't Abby's fault, she tried. I just had no milk. So we started the pump.

Let no one tell you that pumping is easier. It stinks.

All I am saying is breastfeeding is a trial. It's not the "most natural thing in the world" - no matter what the La Leche League or hospital nurses say.

Some people do it well and great, others struggle, some quit, and most people are somewhere in between. It is the dirty little secret that no one talks about with pregnant women.

But I want to make it clear - there is nothing wrong with bottle feeding or breastfeeding. You do what you can, when you can, and the child will grow up great so long as there is lots of love. To all the new moms out there, or my friends who are about to become new moms, take heart if you have breastfeeding problems. You are not the only one!

Things you forget about babies

2010-11-14T07:40:00.001-08:00

Abby is the second baby in the Wunderlich household. We made it through Nicholas, and so we assumed certain things about Abby based on our experience. We also decided that we knew what we were getting into this time. But there are things you forget.

1) How much laundry is there? We forgot how much laundry there is for a newborn. Between spitting up and all the other bodily functions that get all over clothes and blankets and hats and socks, laundry piles up.

2)What does sleep feel like? Nicholas was such a good sleeper and knew the difference between day and night from the beginning. Even though he would wake up frequently to eat at night (for the first few weeks) he would go right back to sleep. Abby has a witching hour about midnight - she desperately needs to eat but won't go back to sleep. She wants to he held and talked to and cuddled. Then, about 2:30 am, she will go back to sleep. Which means she's up again at 3-ish to eat.

3) Where do I get to go? I had forgotten that I don't get to go anywhere. Between feedings and pumpings I am tied to Abby about every 2 hours for 30+ minutes for feedings. Not to mention the cuddling and then the holding while Jon deals with Nicholas. So really, I get to do nothing. Nothing at all but bond with my cute little girl. And while I enjoy that, it is sometimes nice to get to do things like type a blog (which I am squeezing in) or have a few moments to myself.

We have just forgotten some things. But having Abby reminded us of them. The most important thing of all we haven't forgotten:

All children are loved in this household and there is always room for more love.

Abby is here!

2010-11-09T02:47:00.000-08:00

Abigail Scarlett Wunderlich was born on 11/8 at 6:36 am. She is 6 lbs, 12 oz, 20 inches and has red hair. She really looks like her father. As soon as I upload pictures, I will post some here so everyone can see her. But she's adorable!

She slept her whole first day in this world. Slept and cuddled - with me, with her father, with the grandmother and grandfather, and even Nicholas got in on the holding action (his dad helped him).

My water broke at 3:03 am so we headed into the hospital. We were going anyways because the contractions were 10 minutes apart, but we assumed they would stop and they would send us home. Then my water broke. I found this a hilarious experience and was laughing super hard while it was happening and standing in the tub so it didn't get everywhere. Funny thing is, no one ever tells you what to do once your water breaks. I mean, how do you get new clothes on without getting everything all over? What about walking to the car?

Jon was a great driver, going as fast as he could. Which was perfect because the contractions were super strong and every 3 minutes. And getting stronger. Who knew things happened so fast? I was induced last time, so this time was totally different.

Kudos to Kaiser for having me in the operating room with the spinal in place by 6:15am. Then Abby was born. And since I kept complaining about pain, they knocked me out and put me to sleep. When I came to, it was 8-ish and no one had held Abby yet because her temperature was super low. Finally everyone got to hold her. Dad first, then grandfather, then grandmother. Then me.

She spent most of her first day sleeping. She occasionally opened her eyes to see the world. But she was basically asleep - and not really eating. So we shall see how the eating goes on day two.

I am doing great - I am feeling amazing. This time is so much better than the last. And the swelling is going down, the headaches are gone, the kidneys are functioning.....everything that was going wrong is much better. My blood pressure is back down nice and low. It is really going great.

Abby is such a love. It is a good thing that Jon and I love her so much. Jon is great with her, holding her and looking at her with such love.

We are so blessed to have her and we are super excited that she is with us.

Going to church

2010-11-04T20:00:00.000-07:00

We go to church on Sundays. Well, recently I don't, but Jon and Nicholas do. And we have discovered the way to not have to fight about church clothes (since it generally means changing out of comfy Elmo pajamas, airplane pajamas, or dinosaur pajamas)...........simply let him choose clothes. He wants to dress like his dad. So since his dad wears a shirt and tie, so does Nicholas. When his dad wants to wear a sweater, so does Nicholas. So he picks out his own church clothes and we help him get dressed. And then we are treated to a round of statements about how he looks just like daddy because they are in white shirts, black (or whatever color) pants, sweaters (or vests), and ties. So it makes my day!

The recliner

2010-11-02T19:55:00.000-07:00

My mother and grandmother got Nicholas a child sized recliner. It came in today. I told him he had a present from grandma and great-grandma. He was super excited, ate all his dinner (including veggies) and was jumping up and down to get his present. So Jon and I abandoned our dinner and Jon got the box. It was a huge box and the first request was to "please add another room to my fort." The box is going in the recycling because the fort is big enough. But he loves his chair. He got in it right away. Then he saw the cup holder, ran and got his water bottle, put his water bottle in the cup holder, sat down - and didn't move for 15 minutes. He had us get him books and sat in his chair, reading. I told him I wanted to sit in it and he said "No. It's for me, Nicholas, only." And when his dad accidentally brushed by it, he got very offended and told his dad "No touch my chair."

So he loves it. Another successful present from grandma and great-grandma. I can never get him presents this good.

Why not do this?

2010-10-27T08:36:00.000-07:00

I have been getting a lot of criticism for my decision to home-school Nicholas. After all, he's only 2.5, who knows what the school system will look like when he's ready to go to school? Why shouldn't he have to go to the school and go through things like everyone else....the critiques go on and on.

But here's the thing - the Elk Grove School District, even though it is good, isn't good enough. The gifted and talented programs don't start until 2nd grade and are rarely challenging enough because they only meet infrequently. The class sizes are large, the teachers are undertrained. The teachers teach to the tests and have to work to raise the lowest students to the middle, rather than working with the middle to make them better and the top to make them even better. It's not fault of the teachers' - it is the system that needs fixing.

There are school districts that have been fixing things. One of the things that can be done to help fix the problem is to eliminate summer vacation. Our school systems were set up when students still needed to go home and help with agriculture things. They were intended to make the transition from an agriculture-based society to an industrial one easier for the coming generations. Well, that transition has been completed, but we have still held onto the same traditional calendar.

The first simple fix for schools is to have year round schools. If places such as Chicago and Houston can recognize this, why can California not recognize this? Here's an article about the situation: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39748458/ns/us_news-life/

John Locke and parenting

2010-10-21T19:32:00.000-07:00

So most people into politics, or who have studied American politics, know who John Locke is. He's a philosopher whose ideas helped form the ideas of America's Founding Fathers. But, he's still a philosopher . I bet you are thinking, "What does this guy have to do with parenting?"

He said that a person recognizes himself as the same being throughout his life, but in different times and spaces.

Anyone who is a parent will feel some kinship with this quote. See, we tend to think of ourselves as mothers, wives, women (or fathers, husbands, men), workers, students, etc. And we think of these people as separate beings. However, if you take Locke's approach - these are all the same sides of the coins.

The mom who does everyone's laundry while replying to work emails and having her children color with crayons is multi-tasking - doing everything at once. Nothing wrong with that. All too often we get caught up in thinking we have to separate out the things in our lives and the roles we play, and then we stress out because we don't get everything done or cannot separate everything out.

So here's my new goal - find ways to combine everything. I am going to be mom and woman at the same time sometimes. Nothing wrong with giving myself a pedicure while talking to my son who is taking his bath (at least when I am unpregnant and can see/reach my toes again). Or doing my work typing while he's engaged in block building and doesn't want me to do anything but take a picture of him with his finished creation. Finding ways to meld all the things together will make our lives easier.

Let's stop trying to be separate people and be ourselves, our whole selves, all the time. I think it will make life easier.

Engineering with cardboard and duct tape

2010-10-18T18:54:00.000-07:00

There comes a time in every boy's life when cardboard boxes are the best thing ever (besides food). Today was that day for Nicholas.

My wonderful sister has been sending us things for the baby. And Target and Babies R Us send things in these huge boxes. I mean, they are big boxes. So Nicholas helped unpack the boxes (and so did my mom who was here. They piled everything up at the bottom of the stairs (Jon has to take it upstairs because carrying things is taboo for me).

Then Nicholas got into one of the boxes. He saw it and emptied it of the plastic bag things used in packing, and had my mom help him carry it into the living room, and then sat in it and played with his cars until it was nap time. After nap time he played with it again.

So when Jon came home, I built Nicholas a fort while they were eating dinner. These are two huge boxes taped together (thanks duct tape) and I cut two windows in so there would be light. And then it is a fort. You can see Nicholas sticking his head out of one of the windows.

Then he stuck his new bumble bee pillow pet out the other window. Mom and Debby had bought Abbey (the baby) a pillow pet and Nicholas kept trying to steal it. So they got him one too. It hasn't left his side all day. He even cuddled it in his nap. So he, naturally, took it to his fort.

And then the snacks and milk had to go into the fort. And then come out of the fort. He's such a cutie.

I guess this means I am saving cardboard boxes from now on for building things. Thank goodness I'm an okay engineer with cardboard and duct tape - not that I want to try building anything big, but a fort I can handle.

Random things in the Wunderlich house

2010-10-17T09:07:00.000-07:00

So, we have been "babysitting" a piano for 2 years now. I love it. It gives me a chance to play and we don't have to pay for one. But now the piano's owner wants it back. We are going to lose our piano :( It is a sad time for me, since after 2 years of playing I am just getting back to a proficient level (I hadn't played continuously for 6+ years, so it takes a while to get back into shape). And now I am going to lose my access to a piano. There is one at church, but I can only practice there on Wednesday nights, not whenever I want like I can at home. Piano playing has been my relaxation, and I am going to miss it. Of course, right now, with my super swollen fingers, I cannot do much piano playing, but I can at least pick out melodies and play simple toddler songs and teach Nicholas. Now that is all gone :(

Nicholas and Jon made race cars yesterday. Target has a $5 kit (from RoseArt) to make "bouncy bumper cars." They go forwards when you pull them back and bounce off things. Jon and Nicholas made them together yesterday and had a ton of fun. Needless to say, one car is daddy's and one car is Nicholas' - mom is not allowed to touch them. I get a very opinionated toddler telling me "no mommy, that's not yours," if I try and play with them.

We have been cleaning the house. While Nicholas sometimes refuses to pick up his toys (and sometimes he helps) he does always love to clean - if you are cleaning. If I am dusting, he needs a rag to dust with. If I am washing floors, he needs to help. And what is even better is he thinks this is all play. He loves washing floors. Some warm, soapy water and a sponge can keep him occupied for 45 minutes. He says "I'm making a soapy mess!" And I say "Yes." he giggles and loves it. Then he will even help dry it up by walking towels around the whole kitchen. He adores it. Which is nice because it keeps him occupied and gets something clean all at the same time. Which is not something that can often be done in our house.

Well, I am counting the days until I can have this baby. I want it out of me NOW! If anyone thought that being a mom might give me more patience, I can tell you that pregnancy takes it all away. I hurt, I can hardly move, and I am swollen like a marshmallow. My husband says that I look great and I think he needs new glasses. Nicholas tells me that I am getting big, like a cow. Or he calls me "mommy cow." So, I think that when a 2 year old is calling you a cow, it is probably time to have the baby. Plus, I am tired of being pregnant and my health is getting bad. So hopefully, on Thursday, I can convince my doctor that I need to have this baby NOW! Then the next post will be all about my gorgeous baby girl.

Did I mention Fairy Tale Town?

2010-10-13T13:37:00.000-07:00

Every parent in Sacramento knows of it - Fairy Tale Town. Parents either love or hate it. I think as kids get older parents hate it more and more. However, for a 2 year old - or even a 3 or 4 year old - it is perfect.

It is this little park over in Land Park that is centered around fairy tales. They have things to climb on, play with, and animals to see. If you go at the right times they have puppet shows and other live action performances.

A friend and I took our kids (1.5 and 2.5) to it on the Friday when Jon's work had their picnic next door in the park. Nicholas can only handle so much standing around and watching things, so Fairy Tale Town was a good choice since he could run around and it was next door. Also, I had a 1/2 off admission coupon so the kids were free (under 3) and we split the cost of a tickets ($2 a piece since it was a weekday).

Nicholas loved it. He got to run around things and climb on things and be told fairy tales. The park was just the right size that he walked the whole thing.

The funniest thing was watching him try and drink from this hippo water fountain. He was so impressed that it was a hippo, he wouldn't leave until he got a drink. But the thing is the fountain wasn't all that strong, and he wasn't tall enough. He finally gave in and asked for help.

Nicholas and Joey had fun climbing all over stuff and really enjoyed the horse and carriage, the cheese, and the train. They love that stuff. At least it was a great time watching them have fun. And there were benches everywhere so I could sit and talk with my friend while they were playing.

He was totally worn out (so was I) at the end of 2 hours there. It was just the perfect size and the perfect time to be there. It was afternoon, around nap time for everyone else. Hardly anyone was in the park, it was great. And he fell asleep before we hit the freeway - he was that tired. I fell asleep too. It was a great afternoon!

Bike riding

2010-10-09T13:25:00.000-07:00

My mom got Nicholas a bike a few months ago. He has loved riding it around the house and sitting on it and being pushed. But recently, he has taken to riding it outside and is loving it. Of course, the helmet is required.

He always starts at the front door, and this requires Jon to help him down the step onto the sidewalk and help him stop the bike when it gets to the bottom of the small slant on our front walk. But from there, Nicholas takes over.

He does this strange thing where he tries to pedal for a while, then takes his feet off and watches the pedals move. But then he's not paying attention to where he's going and eventually hits something. He looks at which ever parent is with him with a confused expression and says "I hit it" or " Why I stop?" But then he gets back on and keeps going.

He gets Jon to push him sometimes so he can work on his steering.

But he really enjoys the bike. I am not sure what we are going to do now that it is Fall. He's going to try and talk me into letting him ride the bike in the rain. I know he is. And if his dad goes with him, I might just give in.

Our trip to Apple Hill

2010-10-05T13:11:00.000-07:00

On the second Saturday in September we took a trip - a trip to Apple Hill!

Apple Hill, for those who don't know, is this great area in the foothills of apple ranches and other ranches. (visit www.applehill.com for more information). They have all kinds of activities. Based on what we discovered, we chose to go to Apple Ridge Farms. They had all kinds of stuff - including farm animals - that should interest Nicholas.

The drive up was great. It was quick and easy. We were there around 10-ish. We got there and saw there was a little market/fair on the grass, and Jon got some homemade beef jerky that he insists is great. I don't know, I can't eat the stuff.

Our first stop was to try and get Nicholas to ride the pony ride. He wanted to see the ponies, pet the horses, even tried to feed them, but riding them was a no go. I think kids see the horses and think they are so big, but oh well. Onto the hay maze.

Now, the hay maze isn't huge, but it was perfect for Nicholas. Just the right size. It had some hay bales to climb on, and lots of different ways through, but not enough different ways for him to get confused. He has a ton of fun. He loved hiding behind bales of hay and having me and Jon "look" for him. Then he would pop up and say "Here I am!"

The next big hit was the farm animals. They had cows and pigs (who Nicholas said were lazy because they wouldn't come talk to him). And they had goats and sheep. Nicholas fed the animal food to the goats and sheep. He loved it. I ran out of quarters for the food (50 cents a cup) and he wanted to keep doing more. But he loved it. Then he ran to the cows and was mooing at them, trying to get them to move. Same with the pigs - but he oinked at them. He tried climbing the gates to get into the animals, but Jon stopped that. It was such a great time seeing him have so much fun.

We took a hike. It said easy, and I am sure it was for someone who wasn't super pregnant. But it was in the sun, I was pregnant, and it ended with this hill. I mean, Nicholas did the hill without a problem. But all I could think was "Does this hill ever end?" Note to others: Don't try hiking while 7+ months pregnant. It is a bad idea.

We ate their tri-tip sandwiches too. They had great BBQ sauce, but told me they didn't sell it. That was too bad. I would've invested a lot of money in the BBQ sauce.

They had a little pond on the property. Jon showed Nicholas how to skip rocks. Nicholas took this to mean "throw rocks." We had to sit and wait patiently as our son threw every rock he could find into the pond just to see the splashes. He had so much fun, it makes me wonder why I ever pay to take him anywhere. Just take him somewhere there is some water and rocks, let the kid throw rocks and see splashes every day, and he's perfectly happy.

Nicholas was getting tired, and Jon put him on his shoulders.

And then, because it is Apple Hill, we had to go shopping. We went to their shop and got homemade apple juice, an apple pie, a caramel apple, some apples, and an apple lolly pop for Nicholas. He loved this lolly pop. Jon loved the apple juice - and once Nicholas tasted it at home he loved it too.

The lolly pop - Nicholas ate it all the way home - at least until he fell asleep and I could steal it from him so it didn't get the car all sticky. Then once we got home he had to have it back. Last year he grabbed 2 apples out of a bin - one for each hand - and ate them all the way home. This year he graduated to a lolly pop.

As for pictures of me - well, I was taking the pictures. And there are a few, but those all make me look as big as a whale, which I was, so I am not putting those onto the blog. Besides, Nicholas is so much cuter.

It was a great way to spend a Saturday and we had a ton of fun. Apple Hill is a family favorite of ours.

Silly things husbands say.......

2010-09-16T15:26:00.000-07:00

So my husband has to be king of saying silly things to his pregnant wife. After the last pregnancy, I didn't think he could get any -well - more ridiculous.

See, while I was in labor with Nicholas, after 4 hours of full-blown level 10 contractions, my husband says "Can you get the epidural? I am tired and want to go to sleep." I mean, really? He still hasn't lived that one down. Who says that to a laboring woman? Like I was not tired or something.

But today, he has reached new heights. Things aren't going great and I needed him to come home for my emotional well-being (which is currently in doubt, as is my sanity for doing this again!). So we were sitting there (Nicholas was playing) and he had his hand on my stomach. He says:

1) Wow, your stomach is so big.

2) Do you feel that/do you see that?

3) That must not feel very good.

4) Wow, she's really going for it.

5) What part of her is this that is hitting me?

I mean, really?

I don't need someone to tell me my stomach is big. The views in the mirror, the lack of ability to bend over, the inability to see my feet, and my aching back all tell me that. As do the elastic pants I wear and the stretch tops. I really don't need to hear it from my husband.

And what would make you think I didn't feel that? I mean, if you can feel it on the outside, and see it, chances are I am feeling it. She is inside me, kicking through me to get to you. I am pretty sure I feel it. And it is a little disconcerting to see the baby move. I know husbands and older children think it's cool - but that baby is inside me. It is my stomach moving. It is a little strange.

I know she's going for it. Once again, it's my stomach.

And how am I supposed to know what part of her is hitting me? It's not like there is a ton of room in there. It could be any part of her. Unless the baby is known to be head-down or butt-down, it could be any bumpy/angular/round part of her. I mean, really.

What is worse, is he was laughing as he said all this. I mean, I understand laughing on your own. But doing it while it is occurring, while your wife is wincing, seems a little inconsiderate. I mean, there I was, wincing, and he's laughing. It's not like I don't have bruises on my stomach from her already. You can stop laughing now.

Anyways, I told him he should refrain from those things. He said "sorry" and then proceeded to give me the afternoon off. So I guess he's forgiven - I get a whole 2 hours to myself!

The best shows for kids - well my kid.

2010-09-10T08:36:00.000-07:00

I have been looking for great TV shows for Nicholas. He's 2.5 now, and I am seriously tired of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (although they have started putting new ones on, which makes it bearable). So I looked at PBS. I haven't watched PBS for a long time, but I figure, why not check it out. It certainly has to be better than anything on the other channels.

I have found the following programs to be delightful, and even fun for me:

SuperWhy: A show based around reading. They have cartoon characters turn into super heroes who use letters and reading to solve problems. The problems always relate to a book, and the super heroes "jump" into books to solve problems. The show introduces kids to reading, letter sounds, spelling, phonics, and classic stories. This is a great show.

Sid The Science Kid: This show can be a little older than Nicholas really likes. Although they did a show based on simple machines that had Nicholas running around the house building levers out of everything for an hour. They cover science topics, tell some jokes, and learn some things. Nicholas learned about fog and clouds from this show, and even I learned the names of all the cloud types again. We then had a great discussion yesterday - when it was super cloudy - about all the different types of clouds.

The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That: This is a new show that just started this week. It is 2 shorts, 15 minutes each, with a little 1 minute skit between the two. The 1 minute skit can be about anything (my favorite was the one with the skunk and learning why a skunk sprays....Nicholas ran around pretending he had a tail afterwards that he could "spray"). The shorts are great. It uses Cat in the Hat as the main character, which is perfect for kids who are acquainted with Dr. Seuss. And they learn a lot.

I still love Mickey Mouse Clubhouse for its comfort value, and Little Einsteins has some great shows - and some that are not so good. But can you really beat Thing 1 and Thing 2 running around and jumping on eggs, then having the eggs hatch and Thing 1 and Thing 2 fly off the egg? Or having Cat in the Hat explain what a beach is, with crabs, sand castles and stuff?

Anyways, these are a few things we are watching these days. In addition to football - which he complains if I put on without his dad home because football is for "daddy and Nicholas."

Homeschooling

2010-08-24T12:21:00.000-07:00

So, I have already told many people, but I am firmly convinced that I am going to homeschool my son. I am not sure what approach I am going to take, but I am going to do it.

Some people think I am crazy, I am sure, and others will be shocked that I want to homeschool my son. But here's the thing - who better to teach him than I?

I cannot teach him everything, and I won't try. There are numerous distance courses and things to help with what I cannot teach him. And my son will probably do a lot of reading and visiting things, because I like to do that too. But I can certainly teach him and guide him better than school can.

Homeschooling isn't for everyone. Not everyone has the time or inclination to do it. But I have the time, the support of a husband, and the desire to do it. I want to be there for all his "Why?" questions and to watch him learn. I don't care if he learns how earth worms function, how to write cursive, or what it means if someone has two mommies (there is a book that is on the reading list for our school district called "My Two Mommies" - which is something I not anyone else, should teach him about).

I do care that he learns, and excels, to the best possible level. I can teach him to read, he is already doing some of the basic reading of "sight words" and things. He understands what a story is, and can tell them to you. He knows his letters and numbers and can count, sing, and enjoy life. Aren't these important things?

Think about your best learning experiences. Not you best school experiences, but the things you did where you really learned. What were they? Were they in school or out? Mine were all out. I had teachers who believed that the best way to deal with a smart kid was to give them more of the same, so I got bored, and then became a problem child. I don't want that for my son. If his best learning experiences are going to be outside of school, then I will make sure he learns outside.

I remember going to the opera with my grandparents and learning about opera. I remember learning about physics and motion from trying new gymnastics tricks. I remember learning about dodecahedrons and encasing carbon molecules from a special lecture my mom made me attend. I remember air and space from the Smithsonian Museum. I remember learning more from reading than from school. If these are the learning experiences I remember and learned from, then I want my son to have them all.

Not that he won't be forced to learn other things. If I can force him to eat vegetables and go get shots because they are the best things for him, even though he doesn't like them, then he can learn another language, math, science, spelling, and all the things he might not really care about, but he should still learn. If he wants to learn fractions from cooking instead of worksheets, fine by me. But he will learn them somehow.

It's going to be one heck of a ride, a fabulous one I hope, and one that is going to be filled with mistakes. But I am really looking forward to it. And I don't think I will change my mind. Especially after hearing that kids are getting in trouble at the local elementary school for talking during lunch. That just seems so ridiculous.

Anyways, this is what I am going to do. I hope it doesn't rub people the wrong way, but I am really looking forward to this journey.

San Diego 2010

2010-08-11T11:13:00.000-07:00

We went on a family vacation to San Diego. It was Jon's family's "Cousin's Camp" where everyone gets together, and it just happened to be in San Diego. Well, it was in Palm Desert for a few days, but we didn't get there.

We had a blast. It was great to spend time as a family. Planning and packing were a pain, but it went rather well. As a side note - what did our parents do with us in car rides before DVD players? I mean, I don't know what I would've done with Nicholas if not for 6 hours of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse each way. the rest of the time he either slept or sang songs with us. I mean, it was a 12 hour car ride, each way (I blame this on LA traffic which is disgusting and makes me never want to live in LA).

So we left on Monday AM, and we stopped at a military plane museum in Atwater.

I highly recommend this as a stop for everyone. It was great. It had tons of planes to look at, and a little jet plane for Nicholas to ride in. We should've saved the little ride for last, but we did it first (silly us). He also got a t-shirt out of this visit that says "pilot in training." He also ran and grabbed a foam yellow airplane, which was under $4.00 so Jon and I bought it for him. He loves that plane. It didn't leave his hands for 4 days after we got it. It is still the most requested toy in the house (other than play-doh).

We got to San Diego late, then fell asleep. The next day we spent doing what we would do all days - the beach. Nicholas is a beach bum. He loves the beach. He loves building sand castles and having his dad fetch water for him. We built, and knocked down, lots of sand castles. This would've been the only thing Nicholas would want to do if we let him.

Jon took Nicholas, with the rest of his family, to the Wild Animal Kingdom. Why didn't I go? Well, I am seriously pregnant and not a good walker when I am pregnant. The Animal Kingdom is a lot of walking, and if you have seen it once you have seen it. It is fun once, but that's about it. I mean, it is a super large zoo :) I am sure they won't appreciate that comment, but it is. I loved it the first time, and had no desire to go back. Kind of like "It's a Small World" at Disneyland. You have to do it once, but that's all I am obligated to do. So I spent the day at the pool reading, and resting. It was a great day. We still hit the beach after dinner.

We hit the beach EVERY day after dinner or during the day.

instead of going to Sea World, we went to the Scripps Aquarium. Nicholas loved it. He got to touch and feel things - including a real live starfish. Then we hung out at the beach and waited for everyone to get back from Sea World.

Janis took Nicholas for a few hours so Jon and I could hang out. She drew him pictures of fire trucks. Now, Janis is a professional artist. I cannot draw like her. Nicholas loves the pictures and slept with them for a few days. Now they are in a special place of honor on the fridge where he can look at them and say - "fire trucks putting out the fires" - which is what Janis drew with him. I love that Janis draws, I just wish she lived a little closer so she could draw with him more often.

We had a ton of fun. The drive back was less fun, simply because all I could think about was the amount of laundry I was going to have to do. But it was still fun. And Nicholas was fabulous the whole time. He even took naps.

It was a great vacation!

Confidence Cup and first dentist visit

2010-08-09T11:02:00.001-07:00

Friday August 6th was a big day at our house. It was Day 2 of potty training (which wasn't going so well), Confidence Cup and gymnastics, and Nicholas' first dentist visit. I did not expect all these things to go so well. Nicholas' old gymnastics teach had left, so this was our first class in the new gym (Tricks in Folsom instead of Tricks in Sacramento) and with a new teacher. Potty training had been going occasionally well, but not really well, and who likes to go to the dentist? I certainly don't.

But amazingly, everything went great!

Nicholas loved the new gym and had no trouble adjusting. His old teacher, and I, had warned the new teacher that he's an "independent spirit" - he doesn't always do what he is told, or sometimes engages in activities he is not told to do - like playing on the equipment during warm-up. Trick's doesn't discourage this, as they consider his class to be a "child-led" class, and Nicholas is happy to lead.

He did so well though! He did the warm-up just like he was supposed to, sat on a polka dot just like he was supposed to, and did everything great. His favorite activity of the day was jumping from a stack of mats to this ring, suspended from the ceiling, that he could make swing hard and swing him around depending on how hard he grabbed it when he jumped. He had a blast.

Needless to say, he did well :) He showed a lot of confidence.

He did great jumping on the trampoline with the other kids, and wouldn't hold still to get a good picture. So I got an "action shot" where he was jumping. Better than nothing right?

He didn't have a ton of patience with getting his trophy. When his name was called, I shooed him up to the platform to get his trophy. He took off running, got up there, and held his hand out to his new teacher, asking for "mine." He then proceeded to not put it down. The Confidence Cup trophy went to the dentist, in the car, to his nap, in his bed, to his grandfather's the next day, and was just left at home on Sunday for the first time - his dad didn't let him take it to church. He knows it is something cool, and he loves it.

The dentist visit went great. We went to Kid's Care Dental in Folsom. They are a great staff that loves kids. If you have a kid who needs a dentist - this is the place for you. Their waiting room is filled with kid friendly things, and the exam rooms are too. His exam room had a stuffed zebra that was bigger than him, but the dentist even examined the zebra so Nicholas could "help" before Nicholas' exam. They let me hold him, and did the whole exam while he was on my lap. It really helped keep him calm. I love this place.

Anyways, that is a smallish update on our lives. Our San Diego trip update is coming soon. And if he potty trains, I guarantee that everyone I know in the whole world is going to hear my shout of joy, no need to look to the blog for it.

Weird toddler behavior unexplained

2010-07-15T10:27:00.000-07:00

I love my son, and generally I am able to understand him (except when he doesn't want me to understand him). Just when I think I have a handle on his behavior, and what I need to do with him, he starts being all strange.

This morning, he hopped around the house yelling "Ribbit" and "I'm a kangaroo, kangaroo." I am unclear what prompted such a joyful hopping. And I don't know how to stop it either, because when it came time to put his shoes on to go to day care, he wouldn't stop hopping. when I firmly grabbed him and planted him on the sofa, he started bouncing as best he could. I am so confused!

And this combines with last night, when he was bear crawling around the house (hands and feet, bent in half) and yelling "roar, big boy lion" and "dinosaur." He didn't tell me why, he just kept doing it. Up and down the stairs he went, around the house....it was so odd.

He also does the following things:

1. Eats food and says "yum I love it" but then doesn't want to eat it after saying "yum."

2. Runs naked around the house whenever he gets a chance (shocker).

3. Uses the potty occasionally at day care, and refuses to do it at home because he says he likes diapers.

4. Giggles like a maniac for no reason.

5. Clings to my leg and tries to pull my pants down.

6. Plays catch with his stuffed animals.

7. Sits and cuddles with his bouncy balls.

8. Insists that pianos should be played with his toes - and then gets mad when I don't allow this.

9. Tries to color with the crayon between his toes.

10. Opens and closes doors randomly.

Some of his odd behaviors I understand - his shirts go on inside out because he wants to dress himself. His pants go on backwards for the same reason. He likes to play with play dough...who doesn't?! He loves to see his artwork on the wall, so we have a ton of it posted all over our house. If you come over - you are going home with a Nicholas original.

He is a very smart, verbal, intelligent boy. But sometimes I just don't understand him. He needs to have a balloon over his head so I can understand what he means and what he wants. He cries and says he's not hungry, but if you put food out he eats it all up. Or he says he's hungry, but he won't eat.

Two-year olds are a mystery that have never been solved, and regardless of what the experts say, I think they will remain a mystery that is never solved.

It's a girl

2010-06-26T11:21:00.000-07:00

I had my ultrasound yesterday and .... IT'S A GIRL!!!

I am really excited. Since this is our last child, and I really wanted a girl. It isn't so much that I wanted a matched set, as that I just wanted a girl. Plus, I really don't know what I would do if I had two boys. I mean, Nicholas runs me ragged the whole time and has so much energy....what would I do with two of them? I mentioned that to Jon, who warned me that it is likely that the girl will have just as much energy because she's going to want to take after her big brother.

I also want to pick out names (no, we are not taking suggestions). At this time we already had Nicholas' name picked out - and the room panted blue - long before we knew it was going to be a boy. But I want a name picked out so we can start calling her by name instead "baby girl" or whatever term we happen to be using.

When Nicholas was told it was a girl he looked at me and said "Uh-uh mommy. It's a baby." I laughed so hard. But this morning he said "hello baby girl" to the baby. We gave him one of the ultra sound pictures yesterday and he went to sleep with it. It was cute. He wouldn't give it up.

So we are super excited!

Marine World

2010-05-24T11:34:00.000-07:00

We went to Marine World this past Saturday. It is $43.99 for a one-day adult ticket and $49.99 for a season pass. So we went for the season pass. I figure we will go twice (at least) which totally makes up the cost of the season pass. It is only an hour away from here, so it is totally do-able as a day trip. Plus we got a whole bunch of coupons for 1/2 off tickets and even some free tickets. So that was nice. We went to watch Nicholas have fun. I thought we were going to get to see some of the shows - but was I wrong. We didn't see the dolphin or killer whale show - we only saw the short tiger show. Nicholas was not a big fan of sitting and watching animals, so we had to find other things to do. Like go on rides in the Looney Toons area.

We actually got there a little early. I couldn't wait to leave and go, and then there was no traffic on the way there. So we parked and got into the park about 10:00 - but nothing opens except the main area until 10:30. But that was fine. Nicholas spent almost 30 minutes staring at the fountain, running on the bench around it, and yelling "fountain!"

Then Nicholas and Jon went on rides in the Looney Toons area. Since I am pregnant, I didn't go on any. The first ride was this balloon ride that looked great, until I realized the balloons go in circles. But Nicholas liked it. He also liked the merry-go-round and the playhouse they have. He was not a huge fan of the kid-sized roller coaster. But that is fine.

Then we went to the Thomas the Tank Engine area. I thought this would be great, since Nicholas is a fan. He ran to the Harold the Helicopter ride. And we couldn't get him off. However, we then had a huge meltdown when he realized there was a Thomas store and ran in, grabbed a train, and wanted us to get it. He looked at me, with a mean face, and said "Grandma do it." Well, I promptly told him that I was not grandma and we weren't there to get toys. We had to leave because there was a huge meltdown. once we left we gave him some food - even though we had just had a huge snack. He simply needed more food, and then I got my cheerful son back. We went to see the tiger show, and then ate lunch.

After lunch we walked around and saw the elephants, tigers, baby animals, lions, and the kid's jungle area. Nicholas found this ride that had jeeps they could ride in. There wasn't much room for Jon, but Jon gamely went on it 4 times in a row. Nicholas was in love, and we had to finally leave. He cried until we told him we were going back to see the giraffes (which he loves) and feed the giraffes. Then he ran away from us to the giraffes as fast as his little legs could go. Luckily, his dad runs faster.

And then here is the giraffe feeding. Nicholas had a blast. He fed them carrots (big carrots as he says), kale, and green onions. He had so much fun and didn't want to leave. But I was tired, and so was he. Jon was also tired.

Jon lost our car! I told him where it was, but he didn't listen to me. He couldn't find our car! It was pretty funny because he came back to where I was waiting for him at the tram place and told me he couldn't find the car. I told him it was in "B" and faced away from the front of the parking lot. He told me he didn't see it. I told him to try again. He found it. We got into the car and hadn't driven but 100 yards when Nicholas was already asleep. It was such a great family outing.

My first tomato!

2010-05-22T10:55:00.000-07:00

I went out to my garden to water today and there was an actual green tomato on the vine! I was so excited. This is my first time growing plants (on my own) and having them survive to the stage where they actually produce veggies and fruits. I am happy. Now if only my strawberry plants would work too....

It is brownie time!

2010-05-20T10:51:00.000-07:00

We recently made brownie cupcakes at our house. Jon and Nicholas enjoyed working together. I got all the ingredients together, put them in the bowl, and let the two of them do the mixing. I think there was more eating than there was mixing, but it was a fun family activity.

Nicholas really enjoyed the end, right before I cleaned the bowl. He got to sit on the kitchen floor (with a towel underneath to prevent too much mess) and eat everything that he wanted.

Needless to say - the next stop was the bathtub.

I am finally done!!!

2010-05-17T10:40:00.000-07:00

I know, people thought I was crazy doing school, a job, and being a mom. But I am finally done. I finished my comprehensive exams last 2 weeks ago on May 3rd, learned I passed one on May 5th and the other on May 10th. Then I just had to attend one more class and do my two take-home finals.

I can officially say I am done. I just printed the second take-home final, and put on my shoes so I can go deliver them to my professors at their offices. Who agrees with me that if a professor gives a take home final at the end of a semester they should have to accept emailed submissions? But I am finally done.

It feels great to be done. Now I can focus on finally getting the boxes in the house put away, doing some sewing that I want to do, cleaning the house, and growing this second child of ours - who has made my life miserable with sickness and all kinds of things so far. Hopefully this means it is a girl, and will be a great sleeper since I am miserable now and shouldn't have to be miserable later too :) Wouldn't that be nice.

Anyways, it feels great to be done and thanks to everyone - especially my family - who supported me during this time. I am truly blessed with friends and family who are great supporters.

We are expecting a 4th member of our family!

2010-05-04T19:59:00.001-07:00

Just so everyone knows, we are expecting the 4th member of our family in November. November 18th to be precise. However, I am expecting the baby to come a month before - at week 36 - because I get horrible blood pressure during pregnancy.

I am feeling fine, now that I have accessed the great medical drugs that prevent my all-day sickness. Jon is excited and happy, although he is nervous too. We told Nicholas, so he randomly picks up my shirt, looks at my tummy, and says "no baby there mommy." So it is clear he doesn't really understand, so we are working on that.

We are very excited about this 4th member of our family, and we hope to share the joy with all our friends. I will refrain from putting up any ultrasound pictures, since those are interesting to me and Jon only - so they are on our refrigerator. No one else needs to see those.

Best wishes to everyone and my friends who are pregnant too! At least this time I won't be the only one I know who is pregnant.

Pigs are flying!

2010-04-26T14:26:00.000-07:00

I never thought this day would come. Ever since we put Nicholas in a big boy bed in early March, he hasn't taken a nap in it. Sure, he takes a nap on me or Jon after he falls asleep in the car, but never in his bed.

But I still put him down for "nap time" every afternoon when he's home. Nap time normally means he reads to himself, plays with his stuffed animals, and does strange things in his room. He was making tons of noise in there today, and I could hear him reading "Cat in the Hat" to someone (maybe just to himself). So I left, went downstairs, had lunch, and then came back to check on him. I really came back to take him out of his room and go play....but he was sleeping!

I quickly looked out the window to see if pigs were flying, but no. Nicholas had removed all the blankets from his bed, all the sheets, and is sleeping on the mattress cover. But he's napping! On his own, and in his own bed! I thought this day would never come!

On a side note - 3 days until comprehensive exam #1. Then 3 days after that I have comprehensive exam #2. Then my life will be back to normal, although I forgot what that is. I haven't read a book that's not exam related since January. I haven't played many games, had fun, or done things that aren't exam related since January. I wonder what it will be like, having this time back.

Today's day

2010-04-19T20:28:00.000-07:00

There are some days you don't want to repeat. This is one of them.

I had to wake up at 6:15 to make sure Nicholas and I were ready to go about 7 to get the car to the "car doctor" (repair shop) at 7:30 for it's 10k oil change and check-up. This was after an awful night where Nicholas ended up falling off his bed twice, and not wanting to sleep in it after the second time until we laid EVERY stuffed animal he owned under it. It was a trying night, and a more trying morning.

They told me it would take 30 minutes. It ended up taking 1.5 hours. How do you occupy a kid on a car lot for 1.5 hours? Luckily a fire engine came to be serviced (or something) and so he spent 20 minutes looking at that. We spent 20 minutes looking at some ambulances. We took a walk on the street, but Nicholas complained about the noise and that it was too cold. We colored. He played with his Elmo car - to the annoyance of everyone else in the waiting room who had to hear "zoom zoom goes car." Then we watched the car doctors at work. All this while I was still trying to wake up.

On the way home he fell asleep, but the drive home is only 30 minutes. So when we got home I was hoping he would stay asleep, but no - he woke up. So we had 30 more minutes of crying. He wanted to paint, so I got out the paints. He made 2 pictures, then starting painting the table. So painting time ended. He was a total ball of energy today - and cranky energy - and I was tired.

At this point it is only 10-ish. So I threw him in the bathtub. Which was fine until he wanted to jump in the tub or throw water out of the tub. Neither of which is an acceptable activity, so, with a huge fit, he got out of the tub. Then he cuddled on me and let me sing him some songs. That part of the day I am happy to repeat anytime. But then came time to put on a diaper.

Does any other mom feel like a rat when they put their kid down for nap time and they scream? It makes me feel horrible, even though I know he won't remember it. He has this way of yelling "mommy" that makes me want to go back in there and cuddle with him, even though I know leaving him alone is better. So I put on my iPod for 20 minutes, then went back in. What didn't surprise me was to find him reading to his stuffed animals.

Then we took a walk. And another walk. And another walk.

Then came the best part of my day - Evan came over to take care of Nicholas so I could study! Evan then got stinker, I got a nap, and then I got to study at the library at CSUS until class time. As a bigger plus, I got an A on my last midterm ever. I am not going back to school after this. I was thinking of going for a PhD, and have decided maybe some other time, when kids are grown. But not now.

So now its bedtime again. Nicholas is sleeping. Jon is helping do laundry, and I am tired.

My new favorite item in the house

2010-04-17T09:19:00.000-07:00

So, everyone has a few favorite things of theirs in the house. In the past mine have included (and still include) my laptop, my sewing machine, my son and husband (when they are home), pictures and some of my favorite shoes. But I have a new favorite item - my Serta memory foam mattress topper.

See, my mattress is old. Not that old, but old. It has gone through a few moves, and has been used on a regular basis. So the springs are getting creaky, there are dents forming in it - all what happens as a mattress ages. I thought we would get a new mattress soon, but then I started looking at prices and said, "let's put it off." In the meantime, you wake up with all those aches and pains you get when you mattress isn't that great.

Enter the Serta memory foam mattress topper. I got mine at overstock.com, although I am sure there are other places you can get them. I got the 4 inch one, since it was not that much more expensive than the 2 inch one. And what a difference it makes.

You simply place it over your old mattress, under your mattress protector and your sheets. Then sleep. It i so fabulous. You don't even know there is an old mattress under it. You wake up feeling great, the way you should after a good night's sleep. Even better - it doesn't transfer motion. So when the husband rolls over, or Nicholas jumps on his dad in the morning, I don't move because there is no motion transfer. It is nice.

Anyways, it is my new favorite item. I just wanted to let people know they are out there because it is MUCH cheaper than buying a new mattress and makes the bed just as good. On the other hand, the bed is not 4 inches taller.

How time flies

2010-04-12T09:26:00.000-07:00

Is it really April 12th already? Time flies so quickly.

Happy late Easter everyone. Michelle and Eric (Jon's brother and wife) were here with their five kids this past week. Wow. You know how one kid makes a mess, and two kids make more of a mess....imagine 5 kids and the noise they make. I am continually amazed that Eric and Michelle are sane. I certainly couldn't do what they do.

We had an Easter egg hunt for the kids on the Saturday before Easter. Nicholas has never done it before, and he just had a bag to put them in (which he didn't care about). Nicholas and Micah (they are both 2) were given a head start and Nicholas ran to an egg stared at it, then picked it up and looked at me with a look that said, "Now what am I supposed to do with this." So I showed him how to open in. That was the end of any reservations Nicholas had. There was candy, bubbles, chalk, and play dough to find in the eggs. Nicholas was an "egg finder" as Jon says. He would find an egg. Open it into the bag (or the ground) choose something to eat, then move on to the next egg. He had a ton of fun, and I really want the pictures Eric took because I forgot to bring my camera.

The Wednesday after Easter we went to UC Davis' Mind Institute. Nicholas has been going there since he was 3 months old. If anyone has kids, you should go there. They need kids to participate in experiments all the time. They watch movies and this thing tracks their eye movement, or they play with toys and someone watches how they do. Or they can sit and talk with an interviewer and answer questions. It is great. You help them understand how children develop and your kid gets a prize - Nicholas chose a little bendable frog this time. The coolest one we ever got was a t-shirt (6 month size) that said "I graduated from UC Davis Mind Institute." Older kids get giftcards to Target for participating. Here's the link: Mind Institute

Click on the link to get there. Everyone who can should participate it is great. They even will rate your child's vocabulary and development.

Well, as usual, I am working on my comprehensive exams. They are in 17 days and 21 days. If I can only pass them both I will be good.

Jon is slaving away at the Department of Finance. He's looking at some serious work time next week, but until then he's going the 8-5 thing and Nicholas and I love having him at home.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

2010-04-02T05:30:00.000-07:00

It took forever to get a picture of him looking at the camera. He was trying too hard to eat the cookie dough! He totally takes after his Cwalina side in this; Cwalina's love cookie dough. Nicholas and I made cookie dough (Nestle makes nice containers to store it in). He poured the chocolate chips in, cracked eggs, and put everything (pre measured) into the mixing bowl. Then he stood there while the mixer turned. When I went to put the dough into the plastic container (to keep the extras safe) he started eating it. So I got him a spoon and he totally enjoyed himself!

Who knew - kids like cookie dough. Except he's been asking for it for dinner ever since. That's too bad.

Vinegar - a woman's best friend

2010-03-30T08:53:00.000-07:00

I recently rediscovered the benefits of vinegar. Not to eat - but to use as a cleaner.

First - if your kid gets into it, no big deal. They get a nasty taste and spit for a little bit. Okay, I can deal with that.

Second - if you freeze vinegar ice cubes and then put them into your garbage disposal, they will sharpen the blades (while the blades are chopping them up) and clean out the nasty smells. Fabulous!

Third - Vinegar in a little hot water in your washing machine cleans out all the smells too!!!

I just wanted to say that vinegar, its on sale at Target for 99 cents a bottle right now, beats buying those garbage disposal cleaning packs I used to buy and the washer cleaning packs. Fabulous!

Nicholas' big boy bed

2010-03-30T05:21:00.000-07:00

So early in March we went to IKEA and got Nicholas his big boy bed. We had to do it, he was able to easily climb in and out of his crib.We thought taking him to pick out his bed would help with the transition. Little did we know there wouldn't be a problem with the transition (until a few days ago).

The choice was down to 2 different beds. The one with the cat and dog (above) and the blue one (below). He actually wanted the pink bed - but Jon said no. He told Nicholas that a girl can have a pink bed, but that boys have to have blue beds. To which Nicholas asked "Why dada?" And Jon said "Because I said so." Nicholas said "okay." Jon loses all sorts of points for trying to end the argument like that :)

The blue bed is the one we ended up with. I knew we would. It is blue! It is a big bed! It is cool looking. It was a hard choice for Nicholas, but he made the right decision.

We took 2 cars to IKEA - mine and Jon's. Jon and Nicholas rode in his, and we put the bed in mine. Nicholas is waving at the camera now. From his smile, you wouldn't know that in just a few minutes he would be having a fit because he wanted to be in the car with mommy and the bed. Jon had a fun ride home for the first 5 minutes, after which Nicholas fell asleep.

I was forbidden from taking pictures while Jon was putting it together. Nicholas did try to help - but he wasn't helpful. Until Jon figured out that he could hand Nicholas something and then ask for it, and Nicholas would give it to him. That made Jon and Nicholas happy, and I sat and watched my guys working at building a bed.

Nicholas jumped on it and ran up and down it as soon as it was put together. He wouldn't even let me put on the sheets before he wanted to lay down on it!

And here's the finished product: Cars sheets and pillow, Thomas the Tank Engine comforter. We have a true toddler boy!

We are gardening

2010-03-27T17:04:00.000-07:00

Our whole family spent some time gardening today. Nicholas, earlier, planted tomatoes - which didn't grow :( But he also helped plant onions, potatoes, and strawberries - which are growing. So he takes special pride in watering them. So here are some pictures from our gardening fun today.

This is my wonderful garden. I noticed the tomato plants were turning yellow, so I gave them some more food. I don't really understand why they have decided to turn yellow. They get enough sunlight. They are in a hole dug, and completely filled, with new, fertilized soil. I mean, I dug a hole that was HUGE for each plant, so that their roots could expand into good soil, rather than the clay we have back there. So they should be growing. Who knows what their problem is. All my onions are coming up (on the right) and some strawberry plants (on the left) and even a few potatoes (in the middle).

Nicholas likes to water the garden. Good thing I already really did the watering and fertilizing of the garden, since just as much water went on the patio as the garden!

After all the gardening was done Nicholas wanted to water the grass. He made Jon fill the watering can up again, and again, and again......and again. It lasted almost 30 minutes. Nicholas had great fun watering the grass and then yelling "grow" are the grass. Our grass is tall enough (it needs a trim), it doesn't need to grow anymore.

And that was our wonderful gardening time on Saturday!

The balancing act of life

2010-03-22T17:42:00.000-07:00

I have been having a real hard time lately balancing all my roles, goals, must-do lists, and want-to do lists. Not to mention finding me time in there. So I have created some things for myself, and I wanted to share them with everyone else in case others are having a hard time balancing work, school, family, life, family, kids, school, work, house stuff, kids, and all the rest of the fun stuff that comes with being a working mom. But this doesn't just apply to working moms, all moms - and dads - have to balance a tremendous amount of things.

John Locke said that you are one person, and at different times in your life different aspects of your person will come to the forefront. This is essential to remember: The same person who works is the person who is a mom. Don't try and separate the two, but try to be the person you need to be when you need to be it.

This means it is okay to take time out of your work day - like your lunch break - to call the sitter for Friday night date-night, to pay the bills, to take a walk around the block so you get your exercise in, to listen to music, to research what your child is going to do this summer. Don't feel bad about doing it on "company time" because lunch hour isn't company time. You aren't getting paid for it, do what you need to do.

Kids need exercise too. Sometimes they just need to get outdoors. That can mean tossing them in a stroller and walking outside with them. Not every moment of their day has to be filled with "doing" something. Taking them for a walk, or a bike ride, can be a way to teach them to enjoy the world around them.

Organize yourself. If you are organized, everything else can be organized too. If you don't know where your keys, purse, clothes, etc are, how can you expect your kids to know?

A two-year old does know where his shoes are, where his clothes are, what he is supposed to be doing, and how to clean. No kid is too young to clean. Give them a rag with water, and have fun wiping the floor, kitchen counters, or table down. As they get older, let them strap sponges to their feet. Who cares how it gets cleaned, getting it cleaned is the important part.

Make decisions and let them go. Don't harp on what you should've done. Just accept what you did do, and move on.

Extras in the car are a good idea. This means an extra pair of shoes for you, clothes, food, snacks, and diaper bag. Anything that might get ruined while you are out should have an "extra" in the car. And if you think shoes cannot get ruined, let me tell you that kid poop does weird things. Keep an extra pair in the car.

And finally - use what works. You have to do this to maintain your sanity. If this means your children want yogurt and applesauce four days in a row, well, there are worse things they could eat. If this means that night clothes are actually the favorite Elmo shirt and dinosaur pants, instead of the nifty pajamas, that's fine too.

But devote quality time to what you are doing. Actually focusing for 30-60 minutes on one task can get it done quicker than if you tried to do three things at once.

I multi-task all the time. When I need to get reading done for my comprehensive exams, I read to my son. He likes to read, I need to read. So what if he hears "institutional presidency" and "rent-seeking behavior" and vocabulary words that most college students don't use? Reading is never put to waste.

But enjoy life. Don't forget that life isn't just a series of lists to complete (although I do love my lists) but there is enjoyment in life too.

Our new house

2010-03-05T09:58:00.000-08:00

So the first picture is a picture of our new house. I love the stone work in the front - and the colors are pretty awesome. It has a covered porch and some great windows. The windows now all have blinds on them - thanks to Dale and Jon. White blinds.

See the garage? We love having a garage. It means not having to walk in the rain with tons of groceries and Nicholas. It means we can go directly from the car into the house - and Nicholas can do it without his shoes on (which is good because recently he has been taking his shoes off in the car). It also means we have some storage space - the garbage cans and all the boxes we haven't gone through yet are out there. Some of the boxes are Christmas decorations - the rest I am kind of unsure about what they are. But the bikes are inside now too.

I love the simplicity of the yard. The automatic sprinklers do all the hard work and Jon does the mowing and occasional weeding. Although since there is bark, I don't know how much weeding we have to do.

So the next two are that kitchen and pantry. I love having a pantry. And all the drawers and space in the kitchen. We haven't even filled everything up yet. I am sure that will change since I love all gadgets to do with cooking. And the kitchen island is great too. We had the Super Bowl party here and served from the island.

The pantry also extends under the stairs - so it has a Harry Potter cupboard. I promise not to stick any kids under there. Although Nicholas does like to play there.

There are our stairs :) I love them (except when I was on crutches and the cane - then I hated them). They are a "u" shape, so Nicholas can only fall so far. Nicholas has his "time-out" stair (thanks for the idea TJ). It's the bottom one. When I tell him he is on time out he runs there, then lays down on it and starts to hum to himself. I guess he likes time out. He also likes to throw temper tantrums on that stair. He puts his head down on it, and then looks around to see if you are watching him. If you are, he keeps going. If you are not, he stops. He does the stairs all by himself whenever you make him. If you let him, he will ask you "up please" and get you to carry him up and down the stairs. His father and grandmother are particular suckers for that trick.

And just because, I included a shot of the Master Bath. It now has a blind too. Can you imagine taking a shower in the glass shower without blinds? Or a bath? My favorite fixture in the whole house is in this picture: the tub. It is HUGE. I can fill it up, put in some bubble bath, and have it all to myself. There is a door I can close to the rest of the house (and lock) and it is all mine! I love that tub.

Anyways, that is the house for now. More pictures to come.

My tomato plants!

2010-03-04T21:05:00.001-08:00

The pictures below are of my tomato plants! I am so excited that we have a yard where I can plant them. No sooner did I stake and put in the supports for the second plant then...well...it started to rain. Hard. It's not like it was particularly dry before (take a look at the mud on my clogs) - but it was really a dirty job. And I loved it. What do I love best - that Jon is going to do all the weeding!!! I get to plant, fertilize, teach Nicholas about gardening, and Jon gets to do the labor of weeding.

Life is good.

Time for a new bed!

2010-03-02T10:42:00.000-08:00

So, it is time for a new bed for Nicholas. We have been lucky, thus far, in that he only gets out of his crib during the day. But since he can get out, it is time for a new bed. Luckily, his birthday is on the 12th, so this all works great.

I made a mommy-mistake and asked him what type of big boy bed he wanted. He said a "car" bed. Those are over $300!! Everyone is onto the fact that kids want a car bed. So we are going to ignore that and get him a blue bed from IKEA. He loves that one every time we go.

But we went to Target today to get the comforter and sheets. I pulled all the comforters off the shelf and put them down on the ground. I pulled him out of the cart, and we walked along the line as I told him what each one was. Then I said "pick one." He ran to the Thomas the Tank Engine one and grabbed it in a big bear hug and said "This one mine." So that one is his.

The sheets were a harder sell. I pulled them all out, again (and the Target people were watching me do this and staring at me like I was weird. Evidently, they don't have a very opinionated 2 year old who needs to be involved in EVERY decision about himself or he throws a fit). I said, "Pick one." He had the choice between animals, basketballs/footballs, Cars, Thomas, and dump trucks. He grabbed four of the five and said "Here mommy, mine." I said, " No Nicholas, pick one." He looked at me, put them all down, picked 2, and said "Mine mommy." He had the most adorable look on his face, and I was totally wanting to give in. But I stuck to my guns and made him pick one.

He chose the Cars sheets.

So in the end we have a Thomas the Tank Engine comforter and Cars sheets - and two waterproof mattress covers that are going to come in real handy.

Now we just need the bed (Saturday) and for him to sleep in it. This is going to be a hard sell, maybe. Sometimes I think he's going to be difficult, and he's easy breezy. So we shall see. I am hoping for easy breezy. I am also a little concerned that he's going to play with his sheets and comforter and not really sleep - but we can handle that. Eventually he crashes.

Nicholas' construction outfit

2010-02-13T14:27:00.000-08:00

What little boy doesn't want a construction outfit, tools, and all the fun that comes along with it? Thanks to his Uncle Wayne, Nicholas is now outfitted like a true construction man.

I had to hide the tools - Nicholas kept hammering things in the house trying to "fix" them. It was pretty funny. At least until he started hammering things that are better left unhammered - like the TV, dishes, my foot, my leg, my head, my glasses (sensing a theme?).

But he did look pretty cute in the outfit. He really likes the hammer and screwdriver. He says "screwdriver" but it doesn't always come out right. He just likes to be "like Dada" and "fix it."

Nicholas' new haircut

2010-02-11T14:21:00.000-08:00

So Nicholas has always had a lot of hair. Tons of it. While he was a baby, it was easy to cut - because you could hold him still. Now that he's older it is a lot harder. He wouldn't sit still to cut it all. So we would end up with various stages of cuts in his hair. It didn't look horrible, but it wasn't cute.

Jon has wanted to buzz his hair for a long time. I finally gave in at the end of January. My leg has been hurt and I couldn't get him to sit for me so I could trim it. Nicholas' hair was below his ears, in his eyes, and getting kind of long in the back. So I gave in to Jon.

We put on the Mickey Mouse clubhouse show, gave him an Oreo, put the size 8 guard on the clippers, and away went Nicholas' hair. He lots a ton of hair. But his new haircut is much easier to do - and to upkeep. The only problem is......

.....he doesn't look like my baby, or even a toddler, any more. He's a full grown boy!

An update on the house and family

2010-02-01T20:41:00.000-08:00

So I found the camera today. I will post the pictures tomorrow. I have pictures of the new house while it was empty (before the toys started spreading out). It has been an interesting two weeks since the move.

Jon has recovered from being sick. I have a torn calf muscle and have been on crutches and in a soft cast for 10 days. The house is in boxes, and I am still trying to find things (like cleaners and all). I have most of the important things...which don't include all my shoes since I cannot wear them anyways.

Nicholas has to be at day care all day long. Which he doesn't mind until you pick him up and then he wants to "see mommy" but mommy has been at school on Monday and Tuesday nights. He is getting really mad at me when I cannot pick him up (my leg doesn't handle his weight well).

Nicholas got a hair cut, we cut it with the 8 clippers. He looks way too old with the new haircut. I miss the toddler - well I miss the baby. But since the baby is gone, I miss the toddler. He simply wants to do a lot of things by himself.

He likes to count the stairs as he goes up and down them. The stairs are a new thing for him, which is great because he can tire himself out goig up and down them - which he does. The first thing we did was to set up his room, which he likes and ven calls "mine room."

What is really nice is to have a seperate bathroom from Nicholas. Everytime we want to take a shower we don't have to clean his toys up and everything. It's super nice. He has his own bathroom, and woe betide you who think you are going to use it while he is around. It is "mine" which means no one can use it but him. He hasn't tried the toilet yet, which makes it a regression from the last house, but we are going to try again.

That's the news of late. Pictures and more news tomorrow.

Moving day is coming!

2010-01-11T11:09:00.000-08:00

Moving day is coming!

When Jon and I first got married we bough our current place - a condo with no yard. It was perfect. We both worked full time, there was an extra bedroom for a - hypothetical - child (and was an office/reading room/storage room. It was in our price range. It didn't have a yard we had to upkeep, since we both worked. It was in a safe-ish neighborhood, we had friends who lived nearby, it had a pool and spa. It was perfect.

Then Nicholas came along a year earlier than expected, and we made his room, and it was still great.

Then Nicholas grew up - it is amazing how that happened so quickly! If anyone reading this has, or will have, a baby, let me tell you - that time goes by so quickly. So the day when you are upset because he/she won't stop crying and just wants to be held . . . well the day comes when they don't want to be held anymore and want to do everything "by self." It is sad, but it is part of them growing up.

So now we need a yard. And a bigger house. So we went shopping and found the perfect house - it's from Lennar. It is brand new. It's the Willow model (in case you are getting online to check it out). We love it. And it is ready to be moved into!

We should be closing on Thursday and moving on Saturday! So we are really excited. It is our Christmas present to ourselves. Along with new couches (I love Ashely Furniture Store) and new curtains. There is this big window over the master bath tub (a huge oval tub I can soak in, all by myself, with books, candles and som Ben and Jerrys), that needs curatins so we can shower and change. A huge walk in closet.

I will post pictures of the empty - for now - house tomorrow.

Wish us luck in moving everything.

Finally its over!

2009-12-16T15:30:00.000-08:00

Finally - the semester is over. Teaching is done. My last paper just got turned in. I am done. Not that this semester wasn't fun at school; I got to write a paper on energy security and that was really interesting. Do you know what the future of energy is? It looks pretty grim since it is projected that in about 10 years almost 95% of the world's energy supply will come from the Persian Gulf - a region of complete instability. And there are signs that the largest oil fields in Saudi Arabia - which produce 40% of the world's oil - are drying up and aging. How unnerving is that? Like I said, fun but hard work.

And now it is over. The stress is off for a while. My thesis proposal is in and awaiting approval by my advisor so that I can start on the research. Now all that I have to do is work and family - not that those are small things.

I get to enjoy the spirit of Christmas just in time for Christmas!!! I am really excited. I love Christmas time and have missed all the candy and cookie making that I normally do. So now I get to go full-throttle into that to make up for lost time.

As a Christmas present to ourselves, Jon and I are going househunting on Saturday. Hopefully we fall in love with something that is available.

Let it snow!

2009-12-07T17:53:00.000-08:00

Let it snow! Incidently, those were the words to the last Christmas carol I heard last night before going to bed. Nicholas woke up at 11:15 and was crying for his father so he got his father.

And then the power went off. I called SMUD on my cell (strange how I have SMUD's power outage line on my cell phone) and they said it would be back on at 2:30am. This is on a night where the lows were predicted to be low enough to have snow in the morning. Nicholas went back to sleep, so did Jon. Jon promptly stole my covers and then I couldn't get to sleep becuse it was cold.

So I did the next best thing - read by flashlight. This was a little difficult because I have to use the light of my cell phone to find the flashlight - because Nicholas plays with flashlights and puts them in odd places. That makes it hard to turn the pages, but oh well. I woke up twice more with Nicholas. The last time - around2:15 am - I looked out my window...and there it was....snow in Sacramento!!! It didn't stick, so there was no use in taking Nicholas out, but it was fun to see.

I saw pictures of St. Mary's - my alma mater - and they had snow sticking on the ground, the hills, and the roof. It was pretty.

Maybe we can get one more night of snow, and let it be on the ground in the morning. But the power should also stay on that night.

Family pictures

2009-11-30T05:41:00.000-08:00

What better time to get some family pictures than Thanksgiving Day? We wore nice clothes - then changed before we ate - and had a blast. So here are the newest Wunderlich family photos.

BYU and Nicholas

2009-11-28T17:45:00.000-08:00

The BYU v. Utah game was Saturday. It's a big day for Jon. Normally we have a party at a friend's house and everyone comes, we all have fun, and laugh as Jon and Steve get really into the BYU game. It's hilarious.

This year, the big game was on a day when people were gone on vacation for Thanksgiving. And I had 3 papers to write, along with grading to do. So, instead, Jon and Nicholas went over to Steve's place (while Steve wasn't there) and watched the game with TJ and Orion.

Want to see how into the game Jon gets - he even tried to get Nicholas to wear BYU gear :)

The Day After Thanksgiving

2009-11-28T17:30:00.000-08:00

Look - Nicholas can build towers like you wouldn't believe. And woebetide you who thinks to help him, or knock his tower over. He gets very protective.

Some people go shopping the day after Thanksgiving. Not us. We went to a museum.

Not any old museum - the Bay Area Discovery Museum. It is made for kids ages 0-8 (although Jon and I had a lot of fun too) and is a hands-on museum. They have a special toddler area for kids under 3 and 42 inches - and they have people there that enforce the rules. The toddler area has a great fake stream (real rocks, just elevated and no real plants or animals) with plastic frogs, crabs (what are they in a stream for) and fish to play with. The kids can splash around in it and the water flows down the stream, through rocks, under a bridge, and down two waterfalls. There is a special toddler playground, and two inside rooms (one has a frog theme and one has a hampster theme) where they can build things, run around, lay on lilly pads and make bubbles. Then there are the other rooms: the have one whole room devoted to trains!!!

We loved it. Nicholas didn't want to play with mom and dad, he wanted to play with everything and everyone else. In the playground, he didn't want us - he wanted the sand, then the rock/gravel building zone. He wanted to play with the trains and blocks, and beware the parent who tried to play with him. Jon and I got to see some cool stuff and watch Nicholas have fun. We are total fans of this place.

Nicholas loved playing in the stream. He got totally wet. The trains were a big hit too.

Jon tried to stack the cargo containers that Nicholas was using a blocks, and got yelled at. Nicholas likes to stack his own things.

He loves shovels. He prefered using the shovel to using his hands to put the rocks into the dump truck.

First encounter with BBQ sauce

2009-11-01T06:00:00.000-08:00

Nicholas had his first encounter with BBQ sauce. I put some on a plate for him to try dipping his chicken nuggets into. It turns out, he really likes it. He proceeded to dip carrots, cheese and more chicken into it. I think he even got a few bananas into the BBQ sauce.

Apple Hill 2009

2009-10-30T20:27:00.000-07:00

Jon took the day off work on the 23rd and we went to Tahoe to go hiking, and then to Apple Hill. It was great. We had a blast. Nicholas ate part of Jon's apple pie at the restaurant, and then proceeded to pick 2 apples out of the bins and eat them. He ate them all the way from Apple Hill to our house. It was hilarious. He would stop at random moments and say "Yummy." He also tried to feed them to his stuffed animals in the car. He really likes apples.

We originally went to the USFS Visitor's Center when we were in Tahoe in August. They told us to come back when the salmon were spawning, and it would really be a sight. Boy were they right. We went back on the 23rd of October to see the fish. There were tons of fish. Since these salmon die when they spawn, if the wind blew just right, there was also a horrible smell. But it wasn't bad when you were right down by the river. There were so many salmon, and some of them were even jumping out of the water.

Nicholas convinced his dad to carry him part of the way. See Nicholas' smile - that's why.

Nicholas hung out with me on a bench in the middle of the walk. He wanted to climb the bench.

My son collected pinecones. He really made a big pile of pinecones. He carried them around and then piled them up.

And then he played soccer with some of the pinecones. Little did you know that pinecones could be soccer balls.

So that was our day up there. It was great. We might go back up soon to get more pie and cider.