Ambitious

I think it's safe to say this will be my last post before Christmas. Which I'm sure is a total shock to all of you since I've been posting so often these days...

And because I'm lazy mostly I'm just going to use pictures to catch you up on the goings on around here as well as to entertain you.

First of all, I'd like to introduce you to our Christmas tree. It's um... huge. I'm kind of the one in charge of picking the tree. My requirement is that it be almost tall enough to touch the ceiling, however, because we have a rather small living room the Christmas tree usually takes up a considerable amount of room. I was sort of in shock after we brought our tree in this year and it began to warm up and the branches began to fall into place. Enormous. It is beautiful though and worth the amount of space it takes up. A has defined it as perfect and B has amazingly left it alone mostly, only pointing, smiling and touching it occasionally. It's a good thing we have two entrances to the room because it fills almost half of one of them.




We taped 'The Polar Express' off of television and Miss A has been watching it once a day. It's pretty astounding to look at even though it's a few years old already. It's also rather frightening in several parts. I still haven't figured out why kids movies always seem to have to have scary stuff in them, it makes no sense to me. As far as I'm concerned if it was that stressful to get to the North Pole I'd rather not go, however it does seem like the kind of dream Miss A would have.

Which reminds me, the other morning she woke up early crying. I went in to see what was wrong. She told me she had a dream that Santa was here and had brought presents and Baby B had opened hers already. I asked her if that upset her. She told me no, that Santa had said B was guilty. I asked her if Santa was angry with B. "Him was." I have to admit that my heart was warmed by the fact that she is protective of her sister, even in her dreams. Even when she had a right to be angry with her. I have no idea where the 'guilty' part came from but it amused me.

Baby B still continues to struggle with sleep and I continue to struggle with having so little of it. I fantasize all the time about the summer when my sister has volunteered to keep them for a couple of nights. Two. whole. night. With uninterrupted sleep. Heaven. Here she is sleeping in each of her beds. Her crib and her playpen. I really don't care which one she sleeps in. I'd just like her to stay in one for the duration of the night.




I can do what you are doing is going strong around here. Which make me insane some days. It seems B is constantly screeching about something that her sister has that she doesn't. Miss A is extremely patient for the most part but occasionally goes in her room, shuts the door and plays by herself. B has recently learned to say her name in her own way and I don't think I'd be giving away to much by sharing it. She stands outside her door and yells "AUDRA!" It took me a while to figure out she was saying her name and not just yelling some random thing because it sounds a lot like other non-words she says. I do think she's on the verge of really talking because she seems to be coming out with several things lately like, shut and gum. (um!) (thanks to my mother, the gum lady.) Anyway, I often repeat a mantra to myself - enjoy, enjoy, enjoy, but when she's crying or screeching yet again it's sometimes difficult not to wish her older and less whiny.



Anyway, hope you all have a very Merry Christmas, and enjoy the season rather than stress about it.

More Twilight Related Drivel

So I was sitting at my third viewing (that's right, lets just establish I'm a dork/freak and be done with it, shall we?) of New Moon on Tuesday and couldn't help but notice the kinship I felt with Robert Pattinson. I think it was specifically apparent this time because of my viewing companions. They were heavy with the appreciation on Jacob Black/Taylor Lautner. Not that I didn't appreciate him, and I will say I sympathized with his character in this movie more than I ever did while reading the book where I was all blah, blah, blah, you're nice or whatever but where's Edward? Honestly though, I found his body kind of distracting in a freakish kind of way. His abs looked like six grapes bunched together under his skin and his traps were like, up to his earlobes! I kept whispering to Peter "Dude! His traps are CRAZY!!" which I hope he didn't misconstrue as "which is hot!" because is was more like "He looks like some sort of mutant." Many people have been confessing their guilty (due to his age) love of him and while I think he is adorable if I have to choose a wolf I firmly choose Paul/Alex Meraz (on the far right).

ANYWAY, It really struck me during the Edward reveal part (which after seeing on the big screen I am forced to admit that perhaps his "abs" were enhanced in some way as they were rumored to have been, even so, I don't care!) when my friend muttered "His body just doesn't look as good as Jacob/Taylor's does." to which I replied very defensively - "He's genetically incapable of achieving that physique, and he more than makes up for it with his brilliance in all other areas!" Sensitive? Yes, I do believe I am. On his behalf and mine.

It's pretty obvious that Robert (and his trainer) put a lot of hard work and time into making him look that great and as he adorably told Ellen DeGeneres it's the best his body has ever looked and he was proud of himself. He'll never achieve the results Taylor has no matter how hard he tries and shouldn't be held up to that standard anyway. I personally feel his pain since my own hard work gives me subtle visible results and I must settle for the knowledge that my heart and lungs are strong even if my body doesn't appear to be 'fit' when compared with the general standard of what that looks like according to society/the media.

In a nutshell, Robert and I are kindred spirits in that we are expected to look different than we were ever designed to and if we held ourselves up to those standards we could never hope to succeed. Also, we are both awesome.

And This is My Review

The first thing I feel I need to say is that Chris Weitz is a genius. Seriously, I feel like tracking him down and embracing him like a long lost loved one. I feel that strongly about him. When I heard that he was going to be directing New Moon I had high hopes because of his film adaptation of this book to this movie which I felt was nothing short of brilliant. (I chose to ignore some of the lower points in his career.) He not only lived up to my hopes but surpassed them infinitely.

It had everything that was lacking in the first installment. It stayed true to the book, rather than feeling like someone picked what they deemed were the best and most interesting parts of the story. It contained mostly dialogue directly from the book but also interspersed new dialogue that was current and sometimes comical.

The attention to detail was impressive except for the odd decision to have Edward driving a black Volvo something or other (looked more like an SUV than a car to me) instead of silver. Peter and I had a lovely moment during the scene when Bella goes to Emily and Sam's place and Emily puts the platter of HUGE muffins on the table. We looked at each other and said "Muffins!", thrilled to see something we'd imagined from the page translate so perfectly to the film.

The special effects were so close to perfect that it's almost not worth mentioning it's tiny short comings. The wolves, all things considered, were pretty awesome. Sam-Wolf in particular looked odd to me at times, I'm not exactly sure why, but the phasing and movement in general was spectacular.

Despite the (expected) lack of Edward in this movie it contained an eternity's worth of beautiful moments between he and Bella which didn't feel rushed at all. This was a huge source of comfort to me as I was nearly devastated by the fact that during Twilight every time it even came close to touching the intensity and passion of their relationship BAM! new scene, moving on to more important things. Um, excuse me, there is no more important thing than that. It's kind of the entire point dudes.

As Bon mentioned in her comment on my previous post, watching it on opening night in a packed theater full of crazed fans is an experience in itself. I refused to be annoyed by any of them, knowing that I'll be seeing it numerous times I couldn't possibly be concerned about missing anything. Peter and I both found it incredibly amusing to hear the whoops and hollers during various parts most of which included any male without their shirt on. (which incidentally is A LOT!) It was a total blast to be in a theater buzzing with so much excitement and energy.

In the risk of building it up too much I venture to say it is about a billion times better than the first and I do believe it is going to break even more records in the money making department. And where Twilight made it's money from the sheer joy fans had seeing their beloved book come to the screen rather than the fact that it deserved to do so well, this movie will deserve every single penny it makes due to its extreme excellence.

The Only 33 Year Old Sobbing in the Theater

In approximately six and a half hours I should be watching the opening credits to New Moon. In all of my excitement leading up to it's release I think I failed to consider one thing. That thing is the emotional devastation I am likely to experience during the film. Somehow the hype had totally distracted me from the memory of first reading the book and how I spent a good 100 pages of it in a weeping, blubbering, sobbing state. I'm not exaggerating. It wasn't until today when I thought about the fact that seeing this all come to life on film may in fact be worse than reading it was. (I do doubt this, but you never know) I am comforted by the fact that I'll likely be surrounded by over one hundred emotionally fragile teenagers who will likely be hysterical. My sobs will almost certainly go unnoticed, except by my husband who will quietly squeeze my hand and wonder to himself how he ended up being dragged into this whole phenomenon. My answer to him would be "Because you are a better man than most." While some people are annoyed by the crowds and the fact that the majority are so young, I find it entertaining. I giggle when I hear the cheers and gasps as the male leads appear on screen. I enjoy the whole experience. I can't wait.

I'm polling my two readers. Shall I write a review? Yes? No? I mean, we all know what happens right so what could I possibly spoil?

October Stuff in November

Here are some of the photos I never got around to posting in October.

These were taken at a local pumpkin patch. It was a beautiful day and we had lots of fun riding on the little 'pumpkin train' (incidentally the seats in said train were NOT designed for adult bottoms!) and walking through the corn maze and the spook house.(Miss A insisted we go through like, five times. One of the times as we were about to go through again a boy who looked to be about 8 came out crying. I couldn't help but wonder why it didn't bother A.) A tried out the miniature zip-line, which of course, she loved... adrenaline junkie.







Pumpkin cleaning. Mostly she just spread the "guts" on the outside of it, giving the pumpkin a "bath". A's red eye is often so nuts that I can't get rid of it.



These are pictures I took the day of A's Halloween party at preschool.







This is a picture taken at work on Halloween. It is the reason I left my camera there and didn't get any of my kids on Halloween night. Boo me. Oh well. My friend took a couple when we were at her house trick or treating. I was a 'Mod' girl, in case you were wondering. I was asked several times that day "Who's Maude?"

I'm Still Me

I am planning on posting cute pictures of the girls from Halloween but due to the fact that I am a dumb@ss I left my camera at work on Saturday. You know, because it's more important to take pictures of my coworkers in their costumes than my children. Mama fail.

Anyway, I just watched this video and I realized that by this time when Twilight was SEVENTEEN DAYS away from opening I would have posted tons of fan related stuff. So, for those of you who dig this, enjoy.

The Twilight Saga: New Moon Volturi Featurette

Trailer Park | MySpace Video

AND for those of you who are crazy, like myself, I realize that the content of this video confirms a change to how the whole Volturi thing actually goes down. For now, I am filing this under "liberties taken which I can live with". I can justify it currently by stating that it will certainly make things more exciting. And also Robert doesn't have his shirt on, so how bad could it be?

My Girls

Seriously I am disgusted with my lack of postage on the blog recently. I'm not sure what my problem is. Stuff is happening. Perhaps too much stuff yet nothing of much actual interest? Another reason that comes to mind is that Baby B has been taking the notion to switch off the power bar while I'm on the computer recently. Just one of the many charming things she's been doing of late. Which leads me nicely into the first subject of this post.

B. Seriously. This kid is MAKING ME NUTS! I know this is redundant because I mentioned it in my last of infrequent posts but it bears repeating because crap sakes she really, really is. I am trying so hard to enjoy her right now. You know, because that is what people tell you you should be doing because "they grow up so fast, before you know it they'll be grown up." Honestly, I know this. I have a living, breathing, vibrating with energy example of this in my 4 year old daughter. Evidence that they do indeed grow up and learn to entertain themselves in constructive, rather than destructive ways. Right now B is in this majorly mischievous phase. I feel like I have to sneak around my house sometimes so that she won't follow me and get into trouble. We keep both our bedroom and bathroom doors closed at all times now because she cannot be trusted. She seems to be magnetically attracted to everything that she isn't supposed to touch.

I realize I'm coming across like a first time mom here. Or a mother whose first child was a perfect angel (subjectively) who always did what she was told, sat quietly and played with her toys etc... which of course any of you who've been reading since A was a toddler, know that I didn't. But I can honestly say, as shocking as it might seem to any of you who remember A's shenanigans, that B is more active, more curious, more... exhausting. Peter and I have discussed this whilst shaking our heads wondering aloud how we created yet another child who is this wild.

I am so happy that A is in preschool because it allows her to have a break and be able to do things without her sister climbing on top of her to get to her toys or food or craft or whatever. Other times she just goes in her room and closes the door so she can have a little undisturbed playtime. I am amazed at how loving and patient she can be though and I try to take some inspiration from her in that department because it seems my patience is running dangerously low these days. When I lose it with B I can see that it upsets A which in turn upsets me both for losing it and for upsetting both kids... Ah, good times. As difficult as she is right now, she is also a sweetheart. She's fun loving, good natured, and hilarious. Oh yeah, and she still doesn't sleep worth a darn.





And then there is Miss A. I have been having many of the opposite kind of moments with her lately. Moments where I am astounded, and stupidly saddened, by how grown up she is. I watch her doing something amazing and remember that she was once this tiny helpless squawking baby in my arms. And then I'm struck by the fact that I am one of the people responsible for bringing her to the place she is today. This incredible little person that I helped to shape.

The other day we were heading to the optometrist for her yearly eye examination. I was asking her if she remembered what the eye doctor did during the exam. She had him confused with our regular doctor. Then she piped up about this dream she had about a bad doctor and how "he took off all my skin and drank my BLOOD!!" I, as I often am when she tells me about her dreams, was flabbergasted. I told her that sounded like a terrible dream. She agreed and told me that once she woke up and saw that she still had her skin and blood she was okay. I swear that I don't allow her to watch horror movies in her spare time. I have no idea where this stuff comes from. I fear that she has inherited the vivid dreams from me. I recall having nightmares often as a child but I always thought it might have had something to do with my tumultuous childhood. It seems I would have had them regardless just as A does.

She is loving preschool and gymnastics and the kids seem to flock to her in both places. I'm happy to say that she stands her ground and sticks up for herself when the need arises which was never something that I was good at (I'm still not very good at it) and I feel is an important skill to have. Her teachers have given me excellent feedback about her without me needing to ask which I take to be a good sign. She is still a very intense person but she seems to be getting a better handle on her emotions all the time under normal circumstances. If she is tired or hungry however, it's an entirely different story.



I am completely comfortable saying that we are done, our family is complete. I know in my soul that I do not have it in me to do it again. I have reached my limit. I am not cut out to be the mother of more than two. Sometimes I doubt my ability to be the mother of two but I think (hope) it's normal to feel that way sometimes.

Also, 29 DAYS UNTIL NEW MOON!!!!

More Watching And Waiting

My last post was regarding Baby B's eye issue. I've been meaning to write about the other appointment we had last week. We saw a podiatrist. Why? B's left foot (to match her left eye, coincidence??) turns in rather severely as she walks. I was a bit concerned because it hasn't been improving as she has been walking longer and sometimes her toe drags as well. It seemed like yet another thing I should have checked out. The podiatrist told me she's walking that way due to a bowed tibia. The good news is that she'll very likely grow out of it although she figured we'll probably need to put an orthotic in her shoe when she's around four. Fine with me, as long as we get it straightened out. Literally and figuratively.

Poor kid though. Seriously. I know this stuff can be character building but honestly it pains me to think about the razzing that she could suffer if we are still dealing with this by the time she goes to school. sigh.

On a less sympathetic note regarding the little one... SHE IS DRIVING ME CRAZY RIGHT NOW!!! Honestly. She climbs up in to her high chair repeatedly and then can't get out. She has started messing with the computer which looks cute in the picture but in reality... She is always trying to steal her sisters food, which, often she can't eat anyway because she only has THREE TEETH! (all of which you can see in the last photo!) She is becoming increasingly bored with mushy food so I'm finding I have to get continually more creative with what I am feeding her. And finally I still need to use the living room as her second bedroom halfway through the night otherwise she wakes her big sister too frequently resulting in a very grumpy Miss A and thus a very grumpy Mama. On the bright side, for the most part she's keeping her clothes on.

So Far So Good!

Our appointment regarding Little B's Ptosis went well. You know it's a good sign when after the physician asks you to remind him why you're there and you explain "Her eyelid is droopy." and he replies "Well, hardly at all." Also, sitting in the waiting room for one and a half hours seeing all sorts of other children with various, often more serious eye conditions, is very humbling and has a tendency to put things in perspective. I kind of couldn't help feeling a bit silly for being there at all actually. The doctor did a variety of things during the examination both before and after the pupil dilating drops were given. (Which I swear made her cranky, I had to have those once and they made me feel almost ill, it's such a weird sensation.)

He seemed to think that things look fine for the moment. He brought up the possibility of surgery but it didn't sound as though it was anything he'd even want us to consider for some time. He thinks that it will improve as she ages and wants to see us in another 6 months. Whew! Glad to have that appointment behind us for now. It is a relief knowing that her eyesight is not being compromised in any way and that it isn't hindering her development.

By some cool coincidence one of my friends was also there for an appointment with her kids. The neat part about it was that we both have to travel about two hours to the office so the likelihood of us being there on the exact same day at the exact same time was strange. It was so nice to see a familiar face and talk to someone who "knew the ropes" so to speak. Peter and I were a little frazzled when we arrived because we weren't completely sure where we were going and accidentally cut it a little short for time. We ending up getting there exactly on time but it was nerve wracking just the same.

B was really well behaved in her incredibly busy kind of way. Having had this sort of toddler already we are always prepared to take turns following her around as she is constantly moving from one thing to the other, climbing, wandering, smiling and poking at random people. Understandably she did not enjoy getting the eye drops but she did very well all things considered.

Before heading home we treated ourselves by going here which is a restaurant we don't have in our city and one we highly enjoy. The best part is that though the food tastes gourmet it is delivered at the speed of fast food, therefore it is perfect when you have an impatient toddler tagging along and you don't have any time for dilly dallying. She enjoyed gnawing on garlic bread sticks and sampling my portabello mushroom ravioli. Mmmm! She also traveled well napping some on the way there and the way home, which is a welcome change to the crying for two hours straight she did last time we came home from the city.

Unknown

So next Wednesday we have our appointment (finally) for Baby B with the pediatric ophthalmologist. I am both excited and nervous. Excited to finally be seeing a specialist who will either reassure us that it is really nothing to be concerned about or that it is problematic and we can finally DO something about it. That's where the nervous part comes in. Doing something.

I'd like to be prepared for the appointment. I've read up on Ptosis, seen photos of different severities and treatments etc. We are seeing one of two doctors. Apparently one is quite nice and the other, while being an excellent doctor/surgeon is kind of an @ss. It honestly doesn't matter to me which one we see except that my experience dealing with 'difficult' physicians is that you really need to be on top of your game, so to speak. As in, know the questions you want to ask, get to the point, don't waste his time, etc. And the thing is because I have no idea what he is going to say about her eye, I find it very hard to be prepared.

I have given a lot of thought to the possibility of surgery. If it is recommended, how would I feel? What would I want to do? It is really difficult to say. I'd really have to weight the pros and cons. If the cons are really not all that great I may consider putting it on hold until later when she could actually make the decision herself. There are possible side effects to surgery that would be unpleasant and almost make it not worth doing.

Sometimes I look at her and think her eye looks perfect. That we'll be told that it's really not worth doing anything about. And other times, when I'm doing red eye reduction on a photo or when I'm holding her and see her reflection in a mirror, I realize I must simply be used to the way it looks now and only when I see it in a different way do I notice how droopy it really is. All I want is the best for her, and we'll do whatever we need to do to make sure that happens.

Yippie

I'm ALL about 1:34. I mean COME on!



That's what I'm talking about.

Party of Insanity and First Day of School

So. I'm not sure what got into me but for some reason planning Miss A's fourth Birthday Party turned me into some sort of crazy person. It all started with the booking of a wonderful lady who I hired to come to the party dressed as the Fairy Godmother. She brings with her tons of pretty dresses, shoes, gloves and jewelry. She paints their faces and does a magic show. All this for $60! Anyway, I kind of took that theme and ran with it. I think the pictures speak for themselves.

















King Edwardo and Princess Rainbow Cinderella



Helping perform the final magic trick by dancing around a pot where candy necklaces magically appeared for her friends!





And yesterday she started the first day of her last year of preschool! Ack! I can't believe it. I can't believe the difference in her in only one year. Frightening. It was strange going back even for me as the parent, with so many different kids in her class and therefore different parents to sort of get to know. I'm excited for her though. I think it's going to be an amazing year for her. Her teacher already told me today how smart she was. Which is, you know, always nice to hear.

Celebrate

Today was my seventh Anniversary. It's hard to believe we've been married that long already. We celebrated by going out for Sushi (I ate eel!) (not a fan!) and then going to the laughable Final Destination 3D. (which officially proves I am the best wife ever!) It's nice to know that when we get the time alone, strip away the stress of kids, work, everything... that we really truly have a great time together and enjoy each others company just as much as we did when we first started dating twelve years ago, right around when this picture was taken. (babies?) (I have this tendency to smile with every single tooth when I am REALLY happy. It's kind of weird, don't you think?)



These are from our wedding day. Which was a very nice day indeed. Happy Anniversary to my sweetie!

Summer

I am such a blog slacker. I think it's coming from my inability to balance my time. Also, I am freaking out a little because last week I started going back to work on Fridays. This means several things. It is the first time I've had to leave my baby with a sitter for the entire day. I have to get up early TWO mornings instead of just one, regardless of the amount of sleep I get. And when I say get up early I mean, get up early and have to get my butt and the small butts in gear and out the door. It's going to be an adjustment. The only positive that I can see is the added cash that I'll be making. I'm finding the whole 'baby at the sitter' thing a lot easier this time because her big sister is with her which I'm sure will make it less traumatizing and also because I LOVE the sitter we have lined up. I am fighting the urge to be pessimistic and think that it's too good to be true...

So. Here are some photos I've been wanting to post but I've been too lazy to get around to posting. They pretty much catch you up on the goings on of our family this summer.

Bathing Beauty



Miss A aka Fish



Ready to Bike!



Miss A never fell asleep in the highchair once. B does it frequently.



When wall climbing is easy, do it backwards!













Happiness is...



What I did on my summer Vacation





The Zoo







Riding Bobbi the Pony (led by an extremely unenthusiastic boy)



The Childrens Museum