Fall Felt Fun

Fall is here and we've pulled out some of the play things from last fall.

This means fall books, a few fall movies and this perfect fall felt board.

This proved to be even more fun this year than it was last year!

He loves putting all the leaves up just right.

Believe me, I am often called out on my faulty leaf placement and 

he'll then correct my placement to suit his design.  

I'm not sure why this is necessary because the highlight of getting all the leaves up is that he then swipes at the tree to watch all the leaves fall down in a heap on the ground.

Peanut just got over a mild case of Pneumonia in which he seemed to go thru long spurts of being tired and very short spurts of crazed energy.

In any case, some easy, quiet, inside play was perfect.

If you want to see how I made this DIY Fall Felt Play Board you can find it HERE!

(or any of the other many places I linked on this post)

SeaWorld: Dolphins, Dirty Looks & a Drenched Boy

Hello friends, join me on this lovely photographic journey of a day at SeaWorld...

a wonderland of toddler emotions.

Between the excitement of being with cousins, and the constant over-stimulation of an amusement park, it's amazing we made it out without any meltdowns.

Attitude, definitely.  Meltdowns?  Only by mommy.

The Dolphin Show.

You see, shows are odd for toddlers because we sit in venues that look as if something exciting might happen and we wait for 15 minutes before anything does.

That's the equivalent of spending six toddler months just looking around and trying to figure out what in the world we are supposed to be watching..

But then the dolphins show up and you're all like....

OMYGAWD!  DOLPHINS!

I was super impressed that someone was able to train these dolphins to flip over and splash the crowd with their tails.

Peanut was insistent that it was his turn to do it next.

He wanted to sit next to that lady with the tarp.

Which makes me wonder, why do you sit in the designated soak zone and then cover your legs with a flimsy blue poncho?

Dylan was mesmerized.

Either that or he was calculating how to get out of there before he got splashed.

Riding two dolphins is not nearly as graceful or feminine as one might think but she is quite talented.

This was also something that Peanut insisted was his turn next.

This is when we buy stinky fish, wait, we didn't buy that- thank you to whatever auntie or uncle got that for Peanut!- and we try to feed the seals that are fed all day, every day.

As you can see, these guys aren't exactly racing to the edge to receive their treats.

The only logical thing to do is pelt the noisy beasts with your fish.

I'm pretty sure they're just yelling at him and not trying to eat the fish.

Unless you can find this bird.  He wants all the fish and he's not afraid to step on a seal to get to it.

Cousin love.

This was a hug.  Or a tackle.

It depends on how much space you give them and how much energy you have.

If you're tired or hot and you think it might be a tackle but noone is screaming yet, you can call it a hug and actively ignore it.

But really, this was a hug.

The Shamu show starts at 1 pm.

1 pm = Nap time

After a weekend of excitement and random schedules and noise and food and whatnot, naps are important BUT it's Shamu.

We had a whole group and you can't miss the shamu show.

So we did what every parent in this situation does.  We hype it up.

LOOK PEANUT!  IT'S A WHALE!

I look at him with that frozen excitement face plastered on.

You know, the one that involves raising your eyebrows and shoulders, mouth open in a wide grin in the hopes of getting some kind of reciprocation.
I know you're mimicking it right now.
Your excitement face doesn't seem to me working either.

WOW!  LOOK AT THOSE WHALES JUMPING AND FLIPPING!

AREN'T THEY AMAZING!

HAHAHA!  AREN'T THEY SILLY!

.................

AND SPINNING, BABY!  SEE THE WHALES SPINNING!

I clap my hands wildly, snap a few pictures and give him the excitement face again.

Um, what?

This is either the look angry celebrities give the paparazzi for jumping out from behind a bush for a surprise this unwanted picture of you will be on tomorrow's cover
  OR
he's making an obscene gesture.

You call it.

But then some Gangnam Style song came on and I guess he couldn't help but pound his fist to the beat.

He has never, to my knowledge, been exposed to this music.

I'll be honest,
I found his immediate response a bit alarming.
















Of course, daddy decided to go on a big ride with his cousins.
I knew the only way to keep him from a meltdown was the water play area.

This kid LOVES the water.

As you saw HERE.

I kinda wish that you couldn't see this area from all the kiddie rides.
It's hard to keep him away and not something I want to do repeatedly through the day.

But did you see that kid's face?

I cannot resist it.

And 15 minutes later.

Memorial

Today I went to the memorial for our next door neighbor.  He died in an accident on his grandparents ranch last Thursday.  He is the second of three boys and he was only 10 years old.

We've been living here for almost a year and I'm sad and a little embarrassed to say that we don't know the family very well.  We say hellos and exchange small talk.  I often make a mental note to get to know the neighborhood better.  Most have lived here the last decade, all of those kids growing up together, and I see the tragedy reflected in everyone's eyes.  I'm still reeling from the news.

I feel shock, tears, anger and sadness.  I play with Peanut, we eat our dinner, we go through the bedtime routine, and I cannot stop thinking that 10 feet away their family is in a living nightmare.  It's any parents nightmare.  How do you survive everyday without your child?

I want to be able to help.  I want to give them their privacy.  I wish desperately that they could have their little boy back.  Every day I'm reminded of something that they won't get to share with their boy.  I think of holidays, graduations and weddings.  I think of breakfast, baseball and passing by a room to see him reading inside.  He was just about to start the fifth grade.  I think of Peanut, and the way he smells just before bed, as I step into the pantry to cry.  Mostly I think about that little boys mother.

In the backyard there is the low rumble of talking.  It comes in soothing tones or perhaps the murmur that comes when you lack the energy to speak in more than a whisper.  The pain is so raw and deep, I can feel it through the walls.  Or perhaps I'm projecting my own visions of myself if I were to lose Ryder.  I think to myself that they will never be OK.  Never.  They may survive and they may find happiness, but they have been robbed of so much.  Of their little boy, of the future they could have had, of an innocent childhood for their 2 surviving boys.  I'm angry and heartbroken simultaneously.  I pray that their family will make it through this intact, or as intact as you can be when you're missing one of your pack.

Today we listened to his father read something written by his son.  It was a list of things that this little boy foresaw in his future.  When I am 20 years old, when I am 30 years old, when I am 50 years old, when I am 75 years old....  it made me laugh and cry.

The church was packed full of people who loved him.  People he inspired with his smiles and kindness shared stories of him.  The little boy full of "What if's"  had a big smile, a big imagination and a big heart.  There were kids wearing jerseys from teams they were on together and teachers talking about his eagerness to learn.

I don't know how to wrap up this post.  I could say something about cherishing every day with your loved ones.  I could talk about the gift of children.  Maybe I should just ask everyone to pray for this family.  Send good vibes.  Bow your head.  His loss is tragic, unfair and awful.  I wish it were also untrue.

n t

Summertime

East meets West, the Cousin edition

We spent this past weekend on a much needed vacation in San Diego.

4 whole days visiting with family that flew in from as far as China and Boston for B's cousin's wedding.  The highlight for Peanut was spending time with all his own cousins.

I've been negligent in downloading pictures this summer, and the result is 969 new pictures for me to sort through.  Instead of doing anything in an order that makes sense, I'm going to start with the last outing of the weekend.

We had dinner at awesome Point Loma Seafoods which sits just next to the docks.
It was a bit grey but the weather seemed so fitting to the scene around it.
Besides, I don't mind a bit of grey after a day in scorching SeaWorld sun.

I wasn't really sure how dinner would go considering the only nap that day was 35 min at SeaWorld.

Apparently a dinner of a crab cake sandwich and clam chowder is plenty to keep him happy.

Seriously though, the crab cakes are fantastic!

Meet Dylan!  Dylan and his family flew in from Boston and rented a house in Mission Beach that we used as base all weekend.  He and Peanut are 3 months apart and were fast friends as soon as they met.

I'm already fantasizing about a trip to Boston.

Plus, Dylan's mommy is an ER doctor in Children's Hospital Boston which is pretty much the best thing ever when you have 2 wild boys galavanting around.

I was like, don't worry about Peanut, Katie can save him if he falls down those concrete stairs!

My father-in-law commented the other day that trying to get all the kids to look at the camera for a picture is like trying to herd cats.

I'd say that's pretty much accurate.

So.tired.

And goofy.

Peanut has taken a sudden interest in my camera.

I'm assuming because it's expensive and he feels deep down that he needs to get his hands on it.

He took this picture of his cousin; I think it's pretty good.

Watching these boys together is awesome.

They are at that age where they can actually have conversations,

 and we can still marvel that they are communicating.

Stop growing kid.  Just slow down.

And then we let them run down this dock approximately 184 times.

Everyone needs a buddy to run down a dock with at 8pm on a summer evening.

But this is my absolute favorite of the night.

This picture captures the fun and giggles and squealing and friendship and breathless tromping around, all in one perfect moment.

2 weeks at a time

So I have this problem with patience.  Once I make a solid decision that I want to do something, it must be put into place immediately.  I like to plan.  I like things to happen as soon as I'm ready for them to happen.  Apparently baby-making doesn't run on that kind of schedule.

After the last miscarriage I was in absolutely no hurry to get pregnant again.  I was going to lose 10 lbs to get back down to my pre-Peanut weight.  I was going to work out.  I could not feel comfortable getting pregnant again until we dug ourselves out of debt.  Did I mention the last miscarriage and D & C cost thousands of dollars?  And then both of our vehicles needed work?  And then we found out our taxes were wrong and instead of getting $2500 back we owed $2000?  It was a really fun 2 weeks in which we received all these bills.  After that the panic subsided and we buckled down.

One day I was chatting with a friend via text message, because I often only have 30 seconds at a time to converse with people, and I was explaining why it's hard for me to maintain a pregnancy.  I was talking about my old chemo-fied eggs and how it would be like me trying to get pregnant in my late 40's and it hit me.

I don't have the time to be waiting around for the stars to align.

Sure I need to pay off bills and have more time at home and save more money and lose more weight and eat more leafy greens and align my chi and do all kinds of stuff that I can't think of right now but AIN'T NOBODY GOT TIME FOR THAT.

So here we are again and I find that despite my great efforts to not be crazy, life is once again broken into 2 week increments.

2 weeks until my period.  Will it come?  Will it not come?  Will it? Will it?  Huh?  Huh?
2 weeks until ovulation.  Then cross your fingers, your eyes and your legs and pray something sticks.
2 weeks to menstruation.  I'm sure it won't come this time.
2 weeks to ovulation.  Go! Go!  Go!
2 weeks to judgement day.  I just know I'm pregnant this month.
2 weeks to baby making time.  Do the words "I'm ovulating" make you want me?
2 weeks of crossing fingers.  Did I shave my legs for this?
2 weeks of impatiently waiting...

Lather, rinse, repeat.

Oh and the pregnancy tests.  I cannot hold on to a pregnancy test without taking it.  Do you know how much those things cost?  Like $10 each!  I'm in the wrong business.

I had to hide the tests from myself, make them hard to reach, try to forget where they are because it's just so easy to take the tests.  I must know!  It says you can detect it 6 days before you even miss your period!

So a good friend of mine got some pregnancy tests from a co-op she belongs to.  They are just the little tests you use at the doctor.  Just dip them in your pee and wish that second line into developing.  I paid less than a quarter a piece.  I feel like I won the lottery.  I had 40 of them.  40!  I'm going to start some black market for pregnancy tests.  I send my friends messages offering them up to people I know who are trying.  But who knows, in 2 weeks I might have blown through the whole batch.

Christmas in July Book Exchange!

We're doing a book exchange over at 
The Bibliophile Support Group!
(which every book lover should join, by the way)

I'm so excited about this.
I love books, I love mail and I love Christmas.
So we decided to combine them all and do a little gift giving for a Christmas in July celebration.  

All you do is send one book to someone and receive one back.
A gift exchange!  
You'll get a new book and the chance to share one of your books with someone else.  It's a win-win.

I love sharing books with people.
I love owning books.
I love giving gifts.
I love getting gifts.
I love helping other people share books and get gifts.
I love rambling in posts because I'm too excited 
to form intelligent sentences.

Just send an email and I'll respond with a few questions that will help us learn a bit more about what you like to read.

After that we'll let you know who you are mailing to and then we can spend our days checking our mailboxes to see if our package has arrived.  

Join the fun!