Sunday, April 26, 2009

Big-Boy Bed

We finally switched Jeremy over to a big-boy bed. I know, I know, it was a long time coming. But we had taken down the side rail of his crib, so his bed was more like a daybed than a typical crib. But he still used a crib matress. And we figured that maybe he'd start sleeping better with an actual bed. (We could dream, right?)

The last picture of the crib, that has been in use for 5.5 years.

Papa and Doug (our contractor and Papa's childhood friend) came out with a mattress and box spring for Jeremy's new room (along with other items of furniture). We put the bed together later that weekend, and I got a little choked up.

Checking out his new bed.

And Jeremy was giddy to have his "new" hockey curtains and blanket (thanks Uncle D). He doesn't like the large, adult-size pillow and still uses his miniature pillow from his crib. He is sleeping a little better, but that's partly due to him not napping and going straight to bed. He doesn't quite understand that he can pull the blankets up himself, though.

But it was something that needed to be done. I'm just still having a hard time watching him grow up. I have a feeling this is something I'll be feeling for a long time. *sigh*



Saturday, April 25, 2009

Kindergarten Orientation

Earlier this month we had kindergarten orientation at Riley's soon-to-be elementary school. We were lucky enough to have some neighbors watch the kids so Phil and I could go to the school and hear what the kindergarten program is all about.

We learned there are about 1,100 children in the entire school, and that is only for K-2! There are roughly 375 kindergartners in the school. That's a long way from my two kindergarten classes in my elementary school! It's going to be a real wake-up call, that's for sure.

The entire district is all-day kindergarten, although they do offered half-day sessions. But those who choose half-day just miss out on the full-day activities. There is no specialized half-day program. I feel comfortable having Riley attend all-day classes, mainly because she'll be one of the older kids in the class, and I feel that she's just ready. She has stopped napping and is bored oftentimes at home (yeah, let the fun times begin this summer!).

Lunchtime is 40 minutes long, with the kids going outside to play after they finish their lunch. They don't do recess; instead, kids have PE 5x a week, as well as art 2x and the library/computer lab 1x a week. They also get snacktime and there are drinking fountains in every room.

The school days at her school are 9:00-3:55 and with the bus system, she'll get home about 4:15. She has an open house on Aug. 19 where she can bring in all her school supplies (that reminds me of growing up!), and then her first day is Aug. 21. Why they have the kids start on a Friday is beyond me!

I'm looking forward to seeing if any of her preschool friends will be in the same class. We won't find out for awhile, but I sure hope so. It's going to be a lot for all of us to adjust to, but I have a feeling we'll do just fine.

But when Jeremy starts preschool in the fall, that's a different story!

Easter...Finally

Sorry for the delay in getting this posted. Easter was roughly 13 days ago, and I'm finally getting around to posting about it!

The day began with the kids searching for eggs in the house. This is a new tradition to me, as I never grew up searching for eggs. I vaguely remember doing it once or twice at my grandma's house when I was younger, and my two older cousins and I started an Easter egg hunt for our younger cousins, but I never searched the house for eggs. I digress.

The kids were excited to find the eggs and were even more excited to find their Easter baskets compliments of Grandma via the Easter bunny. After diving into the candy and presents, we loaded up the car and headed to Grandpa's for an afternoon of family.

We stopped twice along the way, both times along a farm road, for the kids to pee. I think from now on we'll bring the portable potty in the car--it's no fun trying to position children in the wind. Anyway, we made it down there right before lunch, and the kids ate so much food! Jeremy is a fan of Aunt Nga's homemade salsa and her spring rolls. They did miss my cousin's kids being there, but maybe for the next family gathering. After lunch, this is what they did:

Teetering and tottering.

Good thing there's two of them!

More on the teeter totter.

Sliding.

Ready to slide again.

It was nice outside, so Phil and Nana took the kids to a nearby park. I must say, it was nice to have a little break. It was a little windy, but overall a beautiful day. They helped Nana plant a rose bush at Great-Grandpa's and brought him back some flowers.


Enjoying the daffodils.

Great-Grandpa and the grandkids and me.

Four generations.

Monday, April 20, 2009

Life with an Older Sister

Poor Jeremy. He's subject to all kinds of interesting experiences due to having an older sister. Case in point:

Today, I'm in the kitchen cleaning up the mess after returning from Target. The kids are playing upstairs. Jeremy comes downstairs, without pants on, and with a dress half on his body. He turns to me and says, "Mom, I don't want to be fancy." I think that meant I was supposed to help him remove said dress.

Later, I was upstairs with both kids and Jeremy got into Riley's lip gloss. I told him that's not for him and that it's for girls. He says, in all seriousness, "When I'm a little girl, I can use it, OK?"

And I couldn't forget all the pictures I've taken of him dressed up so beautifully. He makes a pretty girl, don't you think?

Princess Jeremy

His interesting ensemble.

Riley and her prince.

I love the look on his face.

He'll probably be mortified some day that I have all these pictures. But it's a rite of passage for those with older sisters, right? And if we can't take a few pictures for posterity (and perhaps to show his future wife someday), then what good is it?


Sunday, April 19, 2009

Jeremy's Birthday Party

After the Egg Hunt, we headed back to the house to prepare for the party. The festivities began at 3:00, with Grandma arriving first. Shortly thereafter, the rest of the clan showed up. We had a wonderful time with friends and family, and we even enjoyed having the deck opened up for a bit.

The highlight for Riley was Nana letting her
use her camera and take pictures.


Riley and Uncle Steve.

Uncle Steve and his girls.

Jeremy scoping out his presents.

Beautiful Bella.

We had a buffet-style dinner of sandwiches and other assorted side dishes. The kids had a great time playing, except for poor cousin Ethan who came down with a cold a few minutes after they arrived at our house.

The one picture of Ethan before he became ill.

We then opened up presents, and I had to remind Riley nicely that this was Jeremy's party, not hers. She tried to "help" open a few presents, but I was quick to stop her. Then it was on to cake. I felt bad because Jeremy wanted a "Race Car" party (a.k.a. Cars party), but I didn't have the time or energy to make him a cars cake. So I went with the stand-by--a nice homemade round cake. I did let him pick out the type of cake, though, and he chose yellow.

Jeremy's abstract cake--you can almost make out his name.

Post cake.

As always, we had a wonderful time with our friends and family. We don't get together nearly as often enough, but with both kids' birthdays about six months apart, it works out well enough.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Mini Plug

I do a lot of searching online for my freelancing gigs. If you want to earn some nice stuff (gift cards) while doing searches, click on this link. They're include top results from Google, and most of the time Swagbucks gives you good results, although at times I still use Google. But I've been using them for about two months and have enough for a $25 gc. Can't complain about that. And if you use my link, I get a referal. :)

Regular post coming shortly....

Easter Eggs

**Just a brief note that Grandpa is doing much better. He was released from the hospital on Friday, and is currently in the nursing home that is literally a five-minute walk from his house. He'll be there for 20 days due to Medicare restrictions, and then he'll most likely be back home. They're planning to have a nurse come out 2x a day to help get him in and out of bed and help him with anything around the house. All in all, he's doing well. We saw him for Easter (more about that in another post), but he has some limited vision loss. We aren't sure if it's permanent or temporary, but he can still get around fine otherwise. We are very blessed at how well he's bounced back.**

OK, backing up a bit to Saturday, April 4. We attended the annual Lake in the Hills Easter Egg Hunt, which has been a hit with Riley. Jeremy was old enough this year to really enjoy it, and although it was held at 8:00 a.m., we did have a nice time.

I took Jeremy, who was in the 3-4 division, since he just had his birthday, and Phil had Riley in the 5-6 section. Each child was allowed 10 eggs, each filled with some sort of treat. There aren't any pictures of Riley, since I was the one with the camera! Afterward the kids played on the playground, which was covered with frost still, while we waited to hear if we won a raffle prize. Turns out we did--something Phil has dubbed the "jiggly chicken". It's a rather obnoxious contraption, and Jeremy has already broken off part of the chicken's faux feathers, but it was free.

Jeremy bracing for the egg rush.

And then it was back to home to prepare for Jeremy's birthday party!

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Thinking Good Thoughts

We received word last night that my 92-year-old grandpa suffered a minor stroke. He's coherent and can walk fine, but his vision isn't as strong as it should be. He's currently in the hospital, and they're hoping he can go home on Friday. We're heading down to see him and some of my mom's side on Sunday for Easter, and I'm hoping he'll be able to join the festivities.

I sometimes take for granted that he's around, which I know I shouldn't. He's my last surviving grandparent, which is tough, but I'm grateful that he's so prevalent in my kids' lives. Riley and Jeremy both know who he is, and Jeremy even talked to him on his birthday. I hope Grandpa is doing well and will be strong enough on Sunday.

I know it's been a tough start to the month for him as on April 4 it was five years since Grandma passed. For those who don't know, I was due with Jeremy on April 5, 2006 (4/5/06, how cool is that?!), which was a day after Grandma's passing anniversary. If Jeremy was a girl (we didn't find out beforehand what the gender was), the middle name was going to be Susan after my grandma.

Keep fighting, Grandpa. We love you.

Grandpa and the kids at Christmas this year.

Friday, April 3, 2009

Oh Happy Day

Someone else in the house had a birthday this week, and contrary to what Riley claims, I did not turn 44. (I liked it much better last year when she told people her mom was 2 and 3. Far be it for me to correct her!) Anyway, I fondly recalled a birthday nine years ago.

Phil and I spent the day downtown, eating a delicious lunch and then capping it off with a walk to Buckingham Fountain. That's where he got down on one knee and proposed. This picture was taken right after.

It seems so long ago.

I tease him to this day that he took the easy way out by proposing on my birthday. That way he didn't have to buy me a birthday present since the ring was my gift.

I kid.

Things have changed over the years. We got married, moved into a townhouse, had Riley, moved into our house, and then added Jeremy to the family. Throughout it all, he claims that I am the rock of the family. I am what holds us together.

But without him, and his ability to know when I need a break, when I need to be pampered, I would be a shell of what I am today.

For my birthday yesterday, he took the day off, scheduled an 80-minute massage at my most favorite spa (and for the record, I am SO not a girly-girl, but when it comes to the spa, I could live there), and told me to enjoy my day. And I did--after we took both kids to the pediatrician, though. Jeremy was scheduled for his three-year appointment and Riley had two leftover shots she needed. Turns out both kids have ear infections, and Riley has a double EI. Her one ear was blistering. Poor girl. That explains why she whined all during the night and I slept in her bed with her. So now they're both on antibiotics.

Anyway, the spa was heaven. I even enjoyed a steam and shower afterward. And a free makup application to my eyes and lips. I then ventured to the library without children. That was so nice, too.

The evening was capped off with Chinese takeout, a buy one get one free Blizzard from DQ and watching Lost on the DVR. All in all it was a decent day.

And the previous day saw a package arrive from Amazon.com from my brother and his wife all they way in Lebanon. It was so thoughtful. And Derek passed along a link from a recent study about having a sister. Nice timing that it was published on my birthday! I should ask him if he feels that way. He called the day before to wish Jeremy a belated birthday and to wish me an early birthday. It was a very pleasant surprise.

Now it's on to Jeremy's birthday party tomorrow!