Benny's Morning Poem

I went to turn off his fan and he was standing at the corner of the Pack n Play (yep, still in there!). He said

"hi mama"
"go downstairs"
"eat bar"
"drink milk"
"watch TV"

He was very cute.

Meeting Santa

My friend and I went to a charity event with beautifully decorated trees and no line for Santa! Victoria liked him, but Benny wasn't so sure. I think not having close contact like his lap helped a lot. Plus it is easier on Santa.

Benny-isms

Daddy got home shortly before 9:00 pm and dropped him off in his pack-n-play. He protested, started crying, then yelled clearly across the house "Daddy, you come back here!".

I was folding up the cuffs of his too long shirt this morning. He was drinking milk and trying to watch Ruby & Max. "No thank you Mama, no thank you".

Two and half years old

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You like to push buttons on everything. The remote control, the garage door, the lights, my keyfobs, and especially the automatic trunk closing button on the Flex. You ask to push the button from your carseat, from the store, from everywhere.

TV is your favorite (oops). You like all the Nick Jr shows. Peppa Pig is your favorite.

You like to dance. I put on music often and we just all dance. I'm trying to find a dance class for you at the right date and time.

Watermelon is waning as your favorite food. I think it is now cut up grapes.

You still won't drink from a straw but WILL drink a juice box.

Drooling is still a big problem for you.

I can't get you to sit on the potty or stand by the potty or go near the potty without a big tantrum. You HATE the potty.

You like to climb all over me when I am sitting on the couch trying to do something. You launch yourself off the table onto my lap like a superhero.

You know most numbers, some colors and many letters.

You love to eat ice cream now!!!!! Finally.

I've started you in gymnastics - Mommy & Me. you tantrumed through the first class but last week you liked everything except summersaults.

You call Victoria "Toria". If she is in trouble for something, he will repeat our words to her in a scolding voice. So, so funny.

Mama, is used as a noun, verb, adjective, etc.

THe pack n play is where you sleep. After a tough week of putting you back in the big boy bed multiple times a night, Daddy put it up. You can stay here until you are six for all the hassle it was. I've accepted it and moved on.

Fall

Wordless Wednesday

School Update

The fall has flown by. V is liking school She never says that she doesn't want to go. I think she really likes the mental stimulation of learning all the new things. P drops her off at before school care for 20-30 minutes and she is at after-school care for approximately 1.5 hours. It for a pretty long day for her and you can tell when she gets home. She is very, very tired and mainly wants to veg out in front of the TV. Also, she has been so, so hungry. She also asked me to make her lunch everyday, but I much prefer that she eat hot lunch, since it forces her to expand her horizons and eat new foods. Plus, I have so little time in the evenings, it is much easier for her to buy food. On Tuesday she has music, on Wednesday PE, on Thursday is art, on Friday is library.

Her behvavior in school continues to be good. At home, it remains challenging. I've learned a few ways to deal with the frequent tantrums and meltdowns. They are usually (75%) food related and involve unhealthy snacks.

Benny continues to do well. He is still sleeping the pack n play at night. (Hey, I like sleep). He can hit the baseball off the tee like a boss and dribble the soccer ball. He too, continues to have some massive tantrums, but he is two. They usually occur when you take something away from him. He can count and knows some letters. He is in more of a pre-school program now and seems to be really happy. Just don't try to make him sit on the potty. At all.

Out of the mouth of babes this weekend:

V, talking to P’s 92 year old Grandma, at her house: “what’s your name again? “cause I don’t really remember”.

Benny, when I opened his car door, “Gracias”. (he likes Dora the Explorer)

When I pulled in the driveway last night and hit the garage door button, “Mama! Mama! Push that button. Daddy, no push the button. No Daddy”.

I was unpacking the suitcase and he ran over to get his swimsuit, “Let’s go swimming mama”. Funnily enough, he cried for the first 10 minutes in the pool.

Ice cream came with his kid’s meal. He usually refuses ice cream and makes a face because it is so cold. I put a small bite in his mouth and he made a face. I reached over for a bite, “ and he shoved me away with his hand. "Mine mama! No mama, no bite!”. Then he proceeded to eat the entire thing “Yum”.

V, “I thought we were staying here for two more days”. Me: “ yes, Saturday and Sunday”. V: “no, two REAL days”.

V turned six in mid- August. Last year, I was getting everything ready and set for Kindergarten when she turned five. At that time, it was a bit of a surprise that her Pre-K/Preschool teacher didn't feel she was ready for Kindergarten. She recommended keeping her back to gain more experience with things like writing, maturity, adn reading. Plus, all of the other children going into Kindergarten at that time were older, almost an entire year older than her. Which at this age, makes a difference. It was a bit of a difficult decision, (not to mention expensive), but we did keep in pre-K for an extra year. Now, I'm glad about that. I have seen several differences in her, and being older and more confident makes the transition to all day kindergarten easier.

She is going to the local public school, right down the road from daycare. It is quite highly ranked, and in my opinion, a huge building. Her first day was a half day - I had to take off from work - which involved parent orientation and a great deal of paperwork. She didn't cry or fuss at all (I spent the first day of kindergarten crying next to the teacher's desk, I remember it vividly).

The first week was tough people. There are 27 kids in her class and NO AIDE. I repeat, no AIDE. Apparently there was a funding problem with the district. I find this unacceptable. She came home exhausted and starving. It was difficult for me to drop off two different places (Dad was out of town).

But hopefully week 2 is easier on me!

Friday Night Leftovers - Labor Day Weekend Edition

* Our workplace dismisses at 2:30 pm today. YAY! Time for a workout and then a little grocery shopping before I pick up the kids.
* P has been gone a lot this week. Monday afternoon - fly to Canada, fly home Tuesday night. Wednesday morning, fly to Boston, fly home Thursday night (home at 10:15), leave for the airport on Friday at 4:30 am to fly to Chicago, fly home Friday afternoon. I won't even comment about next week.
* Benny has been the KING of tantrums. Doesn't want to get dressed, doesn't want to brush teeth, doesn't want to put on shoes, doesn't want to wear a coat, doesn't want to get in carseat. I'm tired.
*Is it too early to put up Halloween/Fall decorations? I'm ready, but I don't want to be THAT person.
* I really wanted to go up North and visit my family for Labor Day. There is usually a TON of traffic going North, and thus it becomes a stressful, unpredictable mess. So I'm staying home. It's supposed to be 90 F and thunderstorms. What am I going to do with those kids for three days??

Friday Night Leftovers (with pictures)

* It feels like summer never came this year. I'm not complaining about not having super hot days, but it just feels strange. Like an extended early September (which is my FAVORITE time of year).

* We've called two different landscaping companies to help build some retaining walls in our yard. When we bought the house a year ago, in February, we inherited the landscaping too. Which is okkaayy. But could be better. Don't ever get rocks instead of mulch for flower beds. These people did and it is everywhere. It looks messy, it is messy, and it drives me nuts. This is a picture of our driveway after a rain, when all the rocks float down the mini-hill.

* Speaking of September, V starts Kindergarten in three weeks! Dad will be out of town, and there is only a half day of school with no aftercare either, so I will be taking the entire day off. She had her pre-K graduation today (complete with cute mini-cap and gown!) and it was sad and happy at the same time.

* I just finished reading a book called Swan Song. It is post-apocolyptic fiction, of which I'm a big fan. It was Meh. I give it 2.5 stars out of 5 stars. There are couple of different subplots that converge at the end, some of which are better than others. It does feel good to read again. Any other recommendations?

*Someone likes cupcakes. And balloons.

2 YEARS OLD

I started this some time ago, and only now am finishing the post.

You are two years old and I can’t believe it.

You still don’t talk that much. Your favorite words are “mama”, “All done”, “go outside”, “milk”, “Ipeeed” (Ipod), and “elmo”.
You love to go outside. To run, to kick a ball, to swing, to slide, to hit a ball off the tee, to run the cozy coupe down the driveway, to play in the water table.
Your favorite foods are watermelon, cut up grapes (red ONLY), yogurt, and “fries”. You still dislike ICE CREAM!!!!!
You still can’t/won’t drink from a cup or straw. Grrr. You also drool a lot. Still. Even with your tonsils out.
You like to watch Elmo and Peppa Pig on the Ipad. You love the Ipad. I have to hide it.
You have been sleeping in your big boy bed which is both wonderful and sad (for mama).
In shirts you wear a 2T and in pants 18-24 months (still a little big).
Balls are your favorite thing, soccer balls, baseballs, basketballs, golf balls.
“Little Hippo’s New School” is your favorite book.
Your hair is starting to come in blonder and curly.
Playgrounds are your idea of heaven. If they don’t have toddler swings you get really mad.
Leaving playground results in a tantrum 75% of the time following by me having to carry you back to the car.
You hate bicycle helmets and forced teeth brushing.
When I sit on the end of the couch you like to climb on the end table and launch your body on top on my lap. While laughing. Again and again.
Sometimes you get snotty and yell “no” at least three times in succession. If you are really mad, you will toss your hat on the ground in protest.
There is zero interest in using the potty and you won’t even sit on it.
Your favorite toys are balls, sorting shape toys, and the very old 1970’s Little People Castle at my mother’s house.
You try to turn away when mom gives you kisses because you are very busy.

Angry Angry

Daycare was closed for the week for vacation. Since I took time off the week of the 4th, I didn’t want to take off again. P is in North Carolina for work. I hired a girl (aged 17) that had sat for us twice before, once went poorly, I gave her another chance, but then she did much better. Well this week didn’t go well. I instructed her the main issue is to take the children outside. It was sunny and nice. TAKE THEM OUTSIDE. She did not. For the entire three days. They basically watched movies all three days. She didn’t clean up after lunch. She gave B unlimited milk (Despite my warnings) and V unlimited soda. V gave her a very hard time. I think she knew she could run her. It’s like Caesar the dog trainer says – someone needs to be the pack leader. When there isn’t one, the other dogs will be very uneasy and try to take over. Every day when I got home, B’s diaper was soaked. He developed a terrible red burn/chap from his butt not being wiped properly. When I contacted her she listed all the places she would take them. I installed car seats in her car. Finally after much probing I called her out on and she admitted she was not comfortable driving them around. JUST SAY SO. I was angry. The very worst is how poorly behaved the kids were every night at home. Crazy, crabby, short-fused. I told her I didn’t need her on Thursday and we were done. What a disappointment.

Big Boy

Before Benny's surgery I had P move a bed into his room so I could sleep next to him and administer medication and watch for bleeds. It's not a huge room, so we moved out the changing table and I sold it. The bed is a double which it huge for little kids (his sister has one too), but wonderful for us. We can read to the kids, sleep there if need be, give it away to guests. I highly recommend it instead of a twin bed. SInce then, he has kept sleeping in the crib. At night, I've been hanging out with him in the bed until he falls asleep and moving him to the crib. Wednesday night he kept crying a lot and so I moved him to the bed and slept (haha, not really) next to him. Last night he fell asleep in the big bed, and I left him there. He slept all night! Then he opened the door and came downstairs like an adult human, quite pleased with himself. The negative is that he won't be able to sit in his crib and read until someone comes and gets him (giving mom extra sleep time).

Right now, he has a quilt from the Pottery Barn Outlet on his "big boy" bed. It's sharks. It is so so cute. I'd like find the other pieces of the set, but the outlet is over an hour away, and "who's got time for that"?

When the crib is no longer used by this baby I will be sad. It was given to us by friends - a beautiful, blonde wood Italian made Ragazzi. No one wants a drop side crib. I want P to make it into a porch swing ala Pinterest, but it probably won't happen.


Here he is eating yogurt:

Poor sick wee man

So I have been waiting to write a long post about B's tonsilectomy. Unfortunately, again, no time to sit at the computer and work on it. Other people's posts about tonsilectomy and their children was a big help in preparing for this.

Since day 3 of the tonsilectomy recovery, B has had a cough. A bad, hacking, choking cough. 30 coughs in a row cough. Waxing and waning over the last few weeks. I've talked to Otolaryngology three times. No help. Not related. I've brought him into the primary care office urgent Saturday clinic twice. The last time, they gave him an inhaler that seemed to help. His cough was back with a vengence last week. Daycare called me to pick him early early on Tuesday (15) because he was vomiting. They thought it was due to coughing rather than an infective process and allowed him to come back the next day. The next day, he had thrown up three times while coughing and had me pick him up by 10:00. I called his primary care office and there was an appointment with his primary care MD in 30 min. did I want it? YES! I picked him up and he was a bit clingy. He ate a few goldfish and drank some water in the waiting room. When we were called back we read a Highlights magazine and he had fallen asleep on my lap. He lay on my lap and I noticed he was breathing fast. His doctor came in and listened to his respirations (double normal), his heart rate was very fast, he was lethargic and non alert. She stood him up (while sleeping) to see what his heart rate would do. He turned gray and vomited all over the floor. Without opening his eyes. She laid him flat on my lap and he was very pale. The MD told me he had to go to the ER now. By ambulance.

This was very alarming. She called for help, they picked his finger to check his glucose and got Oxygen on him. His blood pressure was low. The paramedics showed up and were very nice. They went out and got his carseat from his car (they don't have restraints that small?) and loaded him. He was fairly out of it. After that, we waited in the parking lot while they tried twice to get an IV in. Of course he screamed. The driver didn't use the siren or lights or anything. Riding in an ambulance is scary and bumpy. (disclaimer: I've been an ambulance once before, about 20 years ago after a car accident). The paramedic in the back was very nice.

We got to the ER, and they gave him more fluids, and all the usual things. He lay there like a wet rag. He had a chest X-ray, abdominal Xrays, a nasal swab. The diagnosis was appendicitis, pneumonia, or whooping cough. Chest X-rays were negative, abdominal Xrays were negative. During this time, I had NO phone battery left. Just enough to call Paul and tell him to come up later, when the decision was made to keep him or not. SO ANNOYING! While he slept, I finally ran out to the adjacent (crowded) cafeteria and grabbed a Diet Coke and some chips. They didn't have a single thing a CELIAC could eat. B drank juice and milk during this time, but just lay there pathetically. He finally spiked 102 fever so they gave him Tylenol. They gave him a breathing treatment which they absolutely hated, but helped a lot. P came up about 6:00 and brought me some food (YAY!), a phone charger and the IPAD which B was thrilled about. They were supposed to bump us up to the floor, but then ended up keeping us all night in the ER. It was a rough night with about 4 hours of broken sleep. They came back and told us that his nasal swab was positive for enterovirus/rhinovirus complex. Probably picked it up i the hospital after tonsillectomy.


They let us go home about 6:30 am. P was busy getting V ready for school and he had a doctor's apt so they could pick us up until around 9:00. I wasn't waiting that long, so we took a long taxi ride home. And then I missed the rest of the week of work.

He still has a bad cough.

Bubbles!

I need to spend some time writing about the tonsilectomy surgery and the recover. But of course, there is no time. Benny is back to school and I am back to work. Here are some pictures of the "bubble machine". I bought it for Benny's 2nd birthday (also need a post about that) and it is a hit. I bought it at Target and the kids can turn it off and on themselves. It attracts a fair number of neighbor kids too which is fun.

on themselves.

Home

Benny had his tonsils and adenoids taken out yesterday afternoon along with ear tubes placed. A trifecta of otolaryngology surgeries.  We were discharged today.

Will post more later when my head stops hurting.

Mother's Day Tea

Victoria's school had a Mother's Day Tea. The kids were soooo excited! V wore a dressy dress and picked out a summery dress from my closet for me to wear. They had a little tea with sugar cubes (which V dunked into the tea and ate plain, some little cookies which she wanted to gulp all down, and songs for us. The book was a hoot. Did you know my favorite food is fried chicken? I haven't eaten fried chicken in probably 20 years. Hahahha. And that I like to do math? :)






,

I don’t’ write about it much but we have been having behavior problems with V for some time. She is great at school, but at home it is a mess of tantrums, crying, whining, hitting, disobeying, rudeness, scratching, kicking, throwing and general all out anger. I’ve met with several physicians/therapists over the last year. They think she has some traits of several things going on: some OCD, some ADHD (which I find surprising), a few autistic traits (but definitely not with interpersonal communication but more social interaction), some tics, along with an underlying mood/anxiety disorder. We need more appointments, and more evaluations. She was found to be very bright and very charming. So we just don’t’ know right now. We love her so much and just want her to be happy and normal.





After the appointment she asked to go to coney island for dinner. Since Dad was out of town, I obliged. Here is her brother rocking a plaid shirt and finally some hair. He ate so much food.

Working Mom Blues

I feel like a crummy mom. Kindergarten registration in our district was back in February. I left work early to sign up right around 4:00, a few minutes after school let out. The woman in the school office was NOT pleased as she was “off the clock”. She ended up giving me some info and telling me that I could sign up tomorrow around 8:00 am. I sent P back with the stuff and later I find out that registration hours were something like 9-2. What? Okay. So fast forward to April 29th, Kindergarten Orientation. Which they didn’t tell P about when he registered and that I found out by reading on the school district website. And you guessed it – times were only DURING THE DAY. When I called to ask about it, they were quite rude. All the other schools I looked at had an evening program. WHAT ABOUT THE WORKING PARENTS? Sigh. I guess this is how it is going to be. There are a LOT of stay at home moms in my sub. Because I was gone twice last week to take V to GI appointments (more on that later), and once to go to the Dentist this week, I just couldn’t miss more work. P had VIPs in to his office from out of town. We have no grandparents or aunts nearby. So she didn’t go. I feel like the worse mom in the world.

Coloring Easter Eggs

Victoria got really into coloring eggs this year. She was disappointed we only had a dozen to color. Too bad she can't eat them. Benny was sleeping.

Crabby ... but assertive

I’m a mood today. So watch out! I’m tired of putting up with the mediocre. Very tired. This weekend we had lunch at Mongolian BBQ or Grill or whatever they call it now. The women’s bathrooms were really dirty. The food on the bar where you make your stir fry was old and dried out. So I sent a complaint form via the web letting them know.

I called the Health System Peds GI clinic that we’ve seen in the past for Victoria (her encopresis. Something I rarely talk about, but really should). They wouldn’t schedule until we have a new referral (the old was for a different location in the SAME system), the lady was unfriendly and appointments are for 3 months from now. I’m done. I called another health system and got her an appointment IN our town for the end of April. Maybe they will actually do something to help her. Then I put in a web suggestion form letting them know the lady I spoke to was unfriendly and not helpful.

Then at work I fought back with a sponsor about ridiculous forms on a ridiculous timeline. I told them they get what they get. Too bad, so sad.

Another thing I did is call the Parish I am thinking of joining. I came in to Mass at 10:15 for 10:30 and a large number of seats were "saved" with scarfes and books, etc. Not coats so the people weren't even there yet. I was carrying a heavy, screaming toddler and it made me so angry! I called the parish and complained about that too.

Watch out for me today.

Friday Night Leftovers - This CRAZY Week

* P was in Atlanta for three days.
* While he was gone we had another snowstorm! In mid-March! With bad driving, and driveway clearing!
* I had Benny home with a cough on Monday, called the MD, his left ear hadn't healed from the infection he had in California. He is now on a Z-pak and very crabby.
* Tuesday I because dizzy at work, I took a meclizine and became sicker. I came home with dizziness, dry heaves, nausea, and then the headache. It was a Vertigious Migraine. I get a few each year. P was gone and I had zero help so I realized I really, really had to get it together to pick up and take care of my kids.
* Benny sure had a large number of tantrums this week. Mostly about ELmo TV and goldfish crackers.
* My mom was hear to cover Benny while V had a sleep study on Thursday and I was in Atlanta. She stayed through the weekend (I"m tired) and then her car wouldn't start for the four hour drive home on Monday. I had to deal with calling assistance (no big deal), but it was a big deal dealing with her freaking out.
* So much laundry to but away.

My labwork.

Things are crazy and stressful and I won't even get into all of that. Because it would tire you out. Massively. So here is some great news and some lesser great news. I finally went and got my fasting lab work done. My cholesterol was aweseom - 179, my HDL (good cholesterol) was high, and my LDL (bad cholesterol) was low. My ratio was 2.4 which is well below the 4.5. My family has history of hyperlipidemia despite exercise and good diet, so I was thrilled!

My iron saturation was still really low. Still anemic. Also, my Vitamin D and Calcium were really low. Sigh. I haven't been on supplements since before Benny was born, so it looks like I will be starting back on them again. Ugh.

Everything else looked great! I'll take it.

10 Things Tuesday

1. We have more snow. This is the most snow I've ever seen living here for the past 11 years.
2. We need to get outside. It's been really, really cold or we would at least try and get outside.
3. I have always kept a neat desk at work. Well, it is awful. I had to pick it up this morning. I just couldn't concentrate anymore.
4. My hands really don't like hand sanitizer. They crack and dry out and bleed. I have to put Aquafor healing ointment on them several times a day.
5. We just came back from a week in California. It was bliss being in the sunshine!!! It makes me want to move there so badly, but I know the $$$ and traffic make it pretty crazy.
6. Have gotten into watching Breaking*Bad on Netflix. We just started season 3 and it is such a good show. Please no spoilers :)
7. Lent is starting. I am going to try not to complain. It's going to be tough, but I'm going to try. It's easy to get into that trap of complaining and being negative. I'll have to avoid certain people though.
8. Benny is really getting into watching Elmo. He will bring me the remote control for the TV and grunt and groan until I put it on. Only musical episodes only, please.
9. Next week I register V for kindergarten. What? Where did the time go? Sniff.
10. I am craving toast and biscuits. I try not to eat carbs. What does this signify?

Cheese!

The deli lady at Meijer gave me a piece of cheese.  Yay!

Cute (baby) Toddler Picture

He wanted to come upstairs with me when I put away (YET MORE) laundry. He ran down the hall in anticipation of.... a bath! Here he is peeking out the bathroom door, hoping I was coming to give him a bath. We had one last night. So he didn't get another one. But I almost gave in.

Toddler SLeep Study Post

V had seen an Ear, Nose , Throat doctor (Otolaryngologist) because she had very large tonsils. She’s been referred for a sleep study several times. I kind of blew it off like, “she sleeps fine”. Her large tonsils aren’t particularly causing her any problems at this point. Benny has also seen the Otolarynologist because of his frequent ear infections and very large tonsils. Remember when he was choking on and refusing to take solids or mixed texture foods? Although he has not had enough ear infections to qualify for tubes, which I find difficult to believe, we continue to follow up with them in case this may change. The MD kept talking about him getting a sleep study because of his big tonsils. Again, I was doubtful because he is 20 months old! P offered to take him (wow – awesome) and so he did. Attached are some pics from the sleep study. You show up at the unit around 7:30, and basically sleep there, hooked up to all the stuff. It took them 45 minutes to hook him up to the electrodes and wires. They monitor brain activity, oxygen saturation, heart rate, and many other things. He did not like it, oh no he didn’t. He slept there just over eight hours with Paul in the room in a recliner and then they came home the next morning. P had to give him a bath because of the sticky stuff in his hair, but it went fairly well. Except for the 45 minutes of screaming of course.

Well, you know where I am going with this. I saw his results last week and he has Moderate Obstructive Sleep Apnea. His tonsils and adenoids are blocking his air flow significantly. He had something like 57 apneas in 8 hours with 37 lasting longer than 10 seconds. His O2 sats dropped to the low 90’s each time. Poor, poor baby. I read that can be responsible for falling off the weight charts. His body burns so many calories trying to breathe at night.


Now what? I am very, very reluctant to do a tonsillectomy/adenoidectomy on a 21 month child. So are they. He can’t really use CPAP, do they even make them for tots that small? We have the next available consult on Feb 10th and we will see what is going on. Oh, and as a result of this, V is scheduled for a sleep study too. I feel silly for blowing it off. Maybe it would explain some of her behavioral quirks? Is tonsillectomy x 2 in our future? P has no tonsils or adenoids. They used to chop them out of everyone in the 60s and 70s routinely. I still do. My tonsils are big.

Victoria - funny

V has a real sweet tooth and is constantly whining and asking for sweets. I really, really keep my eye on this. Yesterday, I ran into Kroger and happened down the ice cream aisle. I found these Acitve D'Lite Ice Cream Bars. They seemed lower sugar, had 5 grams of fiber (which she desperately needs) as well as probiotics. So I bought some. Last night we had a great deal of picking up to do before the cleaning lady came today. So basically, I bribed her with one. She LOVED it. The funniest part came this morning. "Mom, can I have another ice cream bar today. That ice cream bar was da*mn, da*mn, da*mn good".

Who taught her that?

Friday Night Leftovers

This has been a crummy week. Over 12 inches of snow, terrible driving conditions EVERY day this week, negative temperatures, super long commutes (usually 20 min), blowing winds. I am so glad it is FRIDAY! I’ve lived in this area for 10 years and it is the worst I ever remember it.

P took Benny for a sleep study last night. He said the worst part was the 45 minutes it took two techs to wire him up. He offered to take him back when we scheduled it, so I was thrilled. Especially since he hasn’t slept worth a darn the last three nights. Poor little guy. Also, poor big guy because he didn’t get much sleep.

The holidays seemed long this year because we were shut in. Can’t Christmas be in the middle of summer? I guess we have to move to Australia for that. I had to work Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, but they were kind enough to let us out a few hours early. We had both families over on the 28th, and boy, was it hectic (and crowded). P made some awesome food – homemade NY style cheesecake, fried brussel sprouts, fingerling parm potatoes, pear/pomegranate salad, rack of lamb, homemade green bean casserole. If you follow me on instagram, the pics are on there. They make me drool.

For Christmas, P bought me a FITBIT (LOVE IT!), a IPad Mini, a device to project Videos onto the big screen TV, and a Keurig! I loved all the gifts. So nice to be loved at the holidays. Why is taking down the decorations a downer yet putting them up is so much fun?

I sure haven’t been to the gym. I have been walking inside/climbing lots of stairs at lunch. My record is 352 stairs during a 20 min walk.