Happy New Year

I did not make it to the Weight Watchers meeting on Dec. 28 as planned. There was too much to do and too many folks to visit. That's fine, I feel focused and on track. I am working hard to make wise choices regarding food. I will attend my regular meeting on Jan. 4. I will have to go early for my weigh-in because there is always a huge surge of people signing up after the New Year.

Sidney is still taking his medication but he is doing much better. After the first time I administered the eye drops, he was much more calm about getting them in his eyes. He would even remind me sometimes that he need them. Cleo has a cold - her nose will not stop running. Her throat hurts too. She's a trooper. There's nothing we can give her except tender loving care.

We returned to Atlanta on Dec. 29, 2011. The drive felt long, we stopped two times. Once for shopping, food and a bathroom break, and another time for gas and a bathroom break. At the first stop, we went to the Carter's outlet store and got Sidney a super cute navy track suit jacket for $11.20. Awesome deal. We got Cleo a cute outfit at the Gap outlet store. We left around 12pm and we got home around 6:30pm. Traffic wasn't so bad - we hit some leaving out from Jacksonville and as we approached Atlanta.

Yesterday, I took the kids to daycare. Then, I went to the gym for the first time! I walked on the treadmill. Then, Roger and I went to see the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I thought it was great. It's rather graphic at times and there are a handful of images that will haunt you afterward. I read all three books in the trilogy and cannot wait for the 2nd and 3rd movies. Roger has not read the books and he thought the movie was okay. The acting was great and the casting was perfect. We picked the kids up early and took them home and we played games and hung out.

Yesterday, while the kids played, I made this really good bean salad. The ingredients were: can of black eyed peas, diced cucumber (one whole), 2 diced tomatoes, red wine vinegar, olive oil, Spike, and soy sauce. I ate the whole thing. Roger had a few bites and liked it. Today, I made it again but doubled the recipe. I ate a lot less tonight.

Today, we went to Discover Mills Mall in Lawrenceville, GA. It's around a 30 minute drive from our house. We went there to go to the Skechers store. Cleo grew out of her 10.5 size light up shoes. Skechers shoes run big because in all of her other shoes she's about to be a 11.5/12. We got her a pair of 11.5 and a 12 (she can wear the 11.5 now even though they're a little big and she can grow into the 12). The store is always buy one get the 2nd for 50%. I went to Kasper because I really need suits. I tried on 20 suits and none fit properly. The 2P jackets fit but the bottoms are too tight. The 4P bottoms fit but the jackets don't fit. Some of the 4P bottoms were tight, which was a little demoralizing. The separates were not great - very cheap quality. I am still hunting for a nice, plain black pantsuit.

We ate lunch at the mall. Cleo, Sidney and I had pizza from Sbarro's. Roger got food from Panda Express. Roger shared his lunch with the kids: fried rice (Cleo and Sidney, mostly Sidney), chicken (Sidney and Cleo, mostly Cleo), broccoli (Cleo and Sidney), and steak (Cleo). We got the kids chocolate cookies with white chocolate and milk chocolate chips from Subway. They ate the cookies in the car. Then, we headed home. Sidney fell asleep in the car. Cleo stayed awake.

Sidney and Cleo are moving to the next level classes when they return to daycare on Jan. 3. Sidney is being moved up despite not showing any interest in potty training. It's really nice of the school to let him move along with his classmates. He poops in the potty at home but he refuses to poop or pee in the potty at school. Cleo was the opposite - she was great at school but was slow at home. I know in time Sidney will be potty trained but for now he's moving along a lot slower than Cleo. I know that boys typically potty train later in age than girls.

I went to the gym during the kids' naps. I did 45 minutes on the treadmill. I will incorporate weights tomorrow during the kids' naps. After the gym, I got some things at Publix and Target.

When I got home, the kids were just getting up from their naps. I made mini bowtie pasta with alioli sauce. Roger made some BBQ chicken wings. Sidney tried a few beans from the black eyed pea salad. Cleo had one bite but neither were big fans. I am the only real legume lover in the family. We had some Birdseye Steamfresh vegetables also (edamame, baby carrots, water chestnuts, and broccoli). It's one of my favorite vegetable mixes. Cleo and Sidney like to add soy sauce and parmesan cheese to their pasta - just like me! It's cute.

Now, I have Diners, Drive-ins and Dives on in the background (it's on the Food Network) and I am about to eat a ruby red grapefruit. I am still a little hungry and they're 0 Points Plus and very filling.

Tomorrow, we are going to a 10:30am church service, then home for lunch and naps. Then, we go to Cleo's pals' Alexandria and Quintin's uncle's house for a 5pm New Year's Day party. Their uncle's name is Darryl Tookes. We have met him a number of times at Alexandria and Quintin's family's gatherings. He's very nice and went out of his way to be sure that we were invited. Cleo and Sidney play very nicely with Alexandria and Quintin. They are really sweet, smart, and gentle kids.

Have a wonderful New Year!

Chocolate Peppermint Cupcake and Sinus Infection

Linda and Robin threw a great holiday party last night at their house. We played Pokeno, which is sort of like bingo. A lot of people came over, which was fun. Connye's son won the big pot of money at the end. We play with coins so it's not like anyone loses or wins a ton of money. Connye is Linda's childhood friend. She came to Hilton Head in Oct. 2011 so Cleo and Sidney are very familiar with her and give her big hugs and kisses when they see her.

I had a lot of fun playing Pokeno. Roger didn't play, he watched the kids - there were 4 kids aged 5 and under - and he watched football. The girls are fine for the most part, it's really Sidney who needs to be watched. It was so nice of him to watch all of the kids while I played Pokeno. Some of you know how much I love to play card games. I also love bingo so Pokeno is a perfect mix.

This morning, I took Sidney to a nearby urgent care center (Solantic) because his eyes were red and crusty. He was diagnosed with a sinus infection - the mucus drains into his eyes and irritates them making it look like he has a pinkeye. I already knew exactly where Solantic was because on one prior trip, Sidney had an ear infection and I went there to get the diagnosis.

After Solantic, Sidney and I went to Target and got him amoxicillin and antibiotic eye drops. He's fine taking the amoxicillin because it tastes like bubble gum but he does not care for the eye drops. He cries and yells when we administer the medicine. We have to give him the eye drops (2 drops in each eye) four times a day for 5 days. Agh!! He takes the amoxicillin 2 times a day for 6 days.

Sidney is contagious right now, not sure when he stops being contagious because I forgot to ask the doctor. I will look it up on WebMD. So, we are trying to stop him from touching Cleo and Kaelin's toys. It's nearly an impossible effort. I got some antibacterial wipes at Target. We will use them a lot at Tiffany's house so Sidney doesn't infect all of Raven's toys.

Tonight, we are going to Tiffany's house. She is Roger's cousin. She is married to Deacon and they have 2 daughters, who I wrote about in an earlier post. Raven is 5, not 6 like I wrote before. Kayla is 13, not 12 like I wrote before.

Tomorrow I am going to a 9:30am Weight Watchers meeting. There is a Weight Watchers center a few miles from Linda's house. While in FL, I have tried to make wise choices. Carol, Linda's cousin, brought cupcakes to the party last night and I had half of a chocolate cupcake with chocolate peppermint frosting. I had the other half for lunch today. That is moderate for me because I could eat many cupcakes in one sitting. The other cupcakes did not interest me too much because they were too fancy, e.g., bananas foster and tiramisu. Normally, I like vanilla cake with chocolate frosting or chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. I branched out with the pepperminty frosting. It was nice and something I would like to try to replicate in the future but I would use vanilla cake to balance out the chocolate frosting a bit. The peppermint flavor was subtle and not overpowering.

Post Holiday Shopping Adventure

We had a nice time at Carolyn's house yesterday, Sunday, Dec. 25. Carolyn's daughter-in-law Regina made a fantastic 3 layer red velvet cake. I had two small slices of it and a very small slice of coconut cake. Linda made me some vegetarian collard greens which were really good too. Cleo ate roast beef, fruity Lifesavers, and salty pretzels dipped in white chocolate (Regina makes the pretzels & gave them out last year too - they're a nice combination of sweet and salty). When asked if she wanted to eat something, Cleo asked if they had steak or BBQ chicken on the bone. She was so specific. She settled for the roast beef. She isn't a baked sweets person; she really likes candy. Sidney ate some very moist tasty corn bread and key lime layer cake. Cleo enjoyed playing with Jajarra, Regina's grand-daughter. Jajarra turned 4 in January so she and Cleo are the same age. Sidney enjoyed playing with Anthony, Carolyn's great-grandson. He's 9 and is an excellent little dancer. Anthony re-enacted Justin Bieber's dance in the "Baby" video. Sidney was trying to do the dance too. Beyond cute.

Last night, we got home around 9pm. Cleo and I slept in the same bed last night and we watched the last half hour of Shrek 3 - it ended at 10pm at which time we went to bed. Sidney and Roger slept in the same bed last night and they went to bed around 9:40pm. Roger and I take turns putting the kids to bed. Cleo enjoyed the movie. I was nodding off because I was tired. Roger and I were up until 1am on Xmas eve acting as Santa's elves. Sidney was up by 7am on Xmas morning so I had less sleep than I was used to. Cleo and Sidney let us sleep until 8am this morning so I had a solid 10 hours of sleep! Amazing, I know.

This morning, Roger and I took Cleo and Sidney post-Xmas shopping. We got some lights for the house for next year - the bigger bulbs that were popular when Roger and I were kids. We also got some snow flakes on metal sticks to stick into the ground along the walkway leading to our house. We got a metal reindeer holding a sign saying something about Merry Xmas to stick into our lawn next year. We got a light up snowman and a light up santa holding a little wand with a gold star on the top. I was looking for a light up penguin and a light up Rudolph but didn't find them. We went to Target, Hobby Lobby and Walmart. A lot of the stuff was picked over but we were lucky to get some cute things. Everything was 50% off. For the most part the kids were well-behaved. It's always a challenge to shop with Sidney because he refuses to sit in the cart seat. He was better today than he is when we go food shopping in Atlanta.

Today, Linda is having family and friends over for a holiday gathering. The house is getting spruced up while Cleo and Sidney are napping. Cleo is very excited and all morning she kept commenting on how she needs to pick out an outfit for the "family feast." When they get up, we will give them lunch, then maybe take them to a little playground in Linda's complex, then a bath. It's around 70 degrees here today, maybe hotter, and very sunny.

Christmas in Jacksonville

We celebrated Christmas early on Dec. 22 when Cleo and Sidney got home from school. They were very excited about their toys, books and clothes. Sidney especially liked a few train toys and a motorized orange car. Cleo loved a personalized rag doll that we ordered from Walmart.com. It has a purple dress and "Cleo" embroidered on the bottom of the dress. They both loved their vtech Innotab touch kiddie iPad-like toys. We got them both pillow pets too - Percy for Sidney and Cinderella for Cleo.

We left on Dec. 23 at 7:30am for Jacksonville. We got to Jacksonville around 1:00pm. Linda and Robin are a little sick but still worked super hard to make the holiday special. Dec. 24 I took Linda shopping for her remaining gifts. We were out 8:30am to 4:15pm. It was fun and tiring. It was nice to spend the day with Linda. It's rare that we get to spend time alone together just me and her.

Christmas Eve Robin coordinated decorating gingerbread trains and Roger coordinated making cookies for Santa.

Cleo, Kaelin and Sidney had a great time together. Cleo eventually tires of the "little" kids and sits on the couch and plays her Innotab but then rejoins Sidney and Kaelin once she's spent enough time alone doing her own thing.

Rodney's (Roger's older brother) daughter, Kym, may come over one day this week. Cleo, Sidney and I have never met her. She's in her 20s.

Today, once the kids get up from their naps, we are going to Linda's friend Carolyn's house. It's where we go every Christmas Day. Carolyn always has lots of cakes. My particular favorites are the chocolate layer cake and the coconut layer cake. I take slices of both and eat them together. I have planned out what I will eat so that I stay within my Weight Watchers Points Plus daily allotment.

Tomorrow, Dec. 26, Linda and Robin are cooking and having people over. They do this so that we don't have to drive all over to see everyone. There are some people who will not be able to make it to the party and we will
go visit them at some point this week.

Dec. 27, Roger's cousin Tiffany is having all of us over for dinner. I really like her. She's in her 30s. She's married and has 2 great daughters who are 6, Raven, and 12, Kayla. Cleo plays really well with the two girls.

Dec. 28, Wednesday, I plan on attending a Weight Watchers meeting. There is one very close to Linda's house at 9:30am. Wednesday is my normal weigh-in day. I need the support right now.

I read a lot of Moneyball by Michael Lewis on the way down on my Kindle. I am really enjoying the book so far. I am also enjoying my Kindle. Michael Lewis also wrote the Blind Side - the movie that was made into a movie with Sandra Bullock. I will rent the Moneyball movie from the library when it comes out on DVD. I am already on the waiting list at the library for the Help (121st on the waiting list) and Bridesmaids (26th on the waiting list). I saw Bridesmaids but I want to see it again.

I hope you are all having a wonderful holiday.

Key's Kindle Fire

So I took the plunge and bought a Kindle. So far I am enjoying learning about it. I bought one book: Cleopatra: A Life. I am able to update my blog on the Kindle, which is great. Kindle tech support is bad. I find googling my issues and reading about users' solutions has been the best troubleshooting route.

More to come.

Cleo and Sidney are getting super excited about Christmas.

Big Boy Bed

Sidney's "big boy bed" arrived on Wednesday, December 14. Sidney was very excited, especially for the Cars 2 bedding. We have Thomas the Train sheets and need to get him a comforter. Cleo was very excited for Sidney's bed too.

Sidney actually sleeping in the bed was not received as well. Roger put him to bed Wednesday and Thursday night. It normally takes around 15 minutes to put Sidney to bed and now it takes 1 to 1.5 hours. Thursday morning at 3am Sidney woke up crying. I laid with him for an hour until he finally fell asleep. He slept through the night on Thursday and he was very proud of himself. I put him to bed last night and it took him an hour to go to sleep. Sidney woke up crying at 5:30am this morning and it took Roger half an hour to get Sidney to go back to sleep. Sidney doesn't get out of his bed, he just cries and cries until one of us go in his room to check on him. Roger put him down for a nap today and after a few minutes of lying with him, Sidney asked him to leave. So maybe Sidney is adjusting to the bed or maybe he was just super tired since his nap was super late today.

We took Cleo's side bed rails and put them on Sidney's bed. Cleo was excited to have them removed because it was evidence that she was a big girl and didn't need them anymore. She was concerned that her Tinker Bear could fall off the bed but I assured her that the bear would be okay. I knew the bear would be okay because every morning I find the bear safely ensconced in Cleo's arms. She keeps it too close to allow it to fall out of the bed. Tinker Bear is a Build A Bear brown teddy bear with a Tinkerbell outfit on it. Cleo just calls the bear "Bear." She won't name it.

Today we went to Cleo's classmate's, Paige's, 5th birthday at KangaZoom. It is a party center with lots of infatables for kids to jump on. Our kids love it but Cleo always ends up crying at some point because she bonks heads with one of her friend's head. This time, Cleo did not cry or get hurt. A lot of her good school pals were there so she had a lot of fun. Cleo also got her face painted with Hello Kitty's face on her right cheek. Cleo loves face painting, I think I mentioned that in a previous post. The party was 1:00-2:30pm - smack dab in the middle of their nap time. They were not too cranky. They napped when we got home - from 3:15-5:15pm.

I won a $100 Best Buy gift card in connection with a walking competition at work. I came in 3rd place. I thought I was going to come in 2nd place so I was a bit disappointed. If I came in 2nd, I was going to be able to get a Keurig single cup coffee maker. I told Cleo that if I won I would get the machine and she could make hot chocolate on it. The day the winners were announced she asked me if I won - she remembered on her own that the winners were going to be announced on Thursday, December 1. I told her I didn't win but came in 3rd place. She was very disappointed. Roger and I explained that it was okay that I didn't win this time and maybe I would win next time.

With the gift card I won I am going to get an e-reader. I suspect Best Buy sells one cup coffee makers but I would prefer an e-reader. After doing lots of research, I decided that the Nook is a better machine. But, I want to have Amazon as the materials provider, e.g., books. The Nook is linked only to Barnes & Noble and the Kindle is linked to Amazon. I tested out the machines at Target today during the kids' naps. I was leaning toward one of the basic ones (that cost $99) of either type of machine but after testing the Nook tablet and the Kindle Fire, there's no comparison - the tablet version of both machines is so much better than the $99 versions. So, I will treat myself to a $199 version and get a Kindle Fire tomorrow during the kids naps.

Tomorrow we are going to church, food shopping and then Cleo and Roger are making cookies for Santa. Santa is visiting the Wynn kids twice this year - he's coming Thursday while they're at school and then again on Dec. 24 when we are in Jacksonville, FL. The kids will open gifts when they come home from school on Dec. 22. We leave for FL the morning of Friday, Dec. 23. I have that day off from work and then the entire next week. I return to work on Tuesday, Jan. 3. I have jury duty on Jan. 4. I received the type of jury duty summons that requires me to call on Jan. 3 at 5pm to see if I need to actually go into court. I have had this type of jury summons before since living in Atlanta and I didn't have to report in person. I don't mind either way. Work is busy but jury duty will allow me time to get more familiar with my new Kindle Fire. :-)

I joined the L.A. Fitness gym on Thursday. I will start working out when we return from FL. I cannot wait. I am also going to restart doing my P90X dvds. I went to a Weight Watchers meeting on Weds., Dec. 14 and I lost .4 lbs. I have 3.4 lbs to go until I am back at the weight that allows me to attend meetings for free. Yahoo.

Have a good week.

Roger's Birthday and Kids R Kids Xmas Show

To all of my loyal followers: My company discontinued access at work to blogs so I can't update my blog during my lunch hour like I used to. Now, I need to use Roger's apple computer and I don't know how to upload pictures yet. I will have him show me so that soon, I can include pictures again in my blog updates.

Yesterday was Roger's birthday and it was also the Kids R Kids Annual Christmas Show. Kids R Kids is the name of the daycare that Cleo and Sidney attend. Cleo did the welcome and was fantastic. She performed in the ballet portion and also had a starring role in the pre-kindergarten classes' show, "Twas the Night Before Christmans." Cleo played the mother. She sat in a little rocking chair after she spoke her part. They put little glasses on her so she looked as motherly/grandmotherly as possible. Cleo looked so cute in her costume sitting in the rocking chair. Roger shot video and will post it when he can.

Sidney's class performed "Away in the Manger" and he was one of the the wise "men" along with two of his female classmates. The second the curtains parted all the way, Sidney started to cry. He stopped at one point and then started crying again. He couldn't explain why he was crying when I asked him later. He got to see Cleo's performance because she went after his class and one of his teachers brought out the kids from his class and handed them to the parents.

I ran into Sidney's best friend's (Taylor Donald) mom after the show was over. She said that Taylor Donald started crying when Sidney was crying. I hadn't noticed it. Taylor's mom asked her why she was crying and Taylor told her mom she was crying because "they made Sidney Wynn cry." There's a Sidney Dickinson and a Taylor Hartwell in Sidney's class so those 4 kids are always called by their first and last names.

Instead of the Elf on the Shelf as the spy for Santa, we have Rudolph. He disappears in the morning and reappears somewhere in the family room once the kids return from daycare. One morning this week, Rudolph was gone as usual. Sidney asked me where he went. I told him that he went to the North Pole to report to Santa. Sidney said no, that's not where he went. I asked him where he went and he said "shopping." I asked him what Rudolph was shopping for and Sidney said, "french fries."

When I was putting Sidney to bed one night this week, we were looking/reading a book about trains and Sidney said, "watch the closing doors." He hadn't ever commented before on the NYC subway announcers' directions to watch the doors. Another demonstration of Sidney's excellent retention skills.

My boss gave me a big tin full of Thomas the Train and Friends trains and a huge plastic bin of wooden train track. His 2 sons have outgrown the toys. The tin contained 2 Percy trains, Sidney did not have one that was compatible with his train set. The tin contained some duplicates of what Sidney already has and some trains that he didn't. Last night, Sidney played mostly with Iron Harry and the two Percy's. During our bedtime singing routine, Sidney and I have made up all sorts of variation of "I've Been Working on the Railroad." While Sidney was playing last night he sang one as follows, "Iron Harry been working on the railroad. Percy been working on the railroad. Good job Iron Harry. Good job Percy. Percy." He added the 2nd "Percy" because he had the two Percy trains lined up with Iron Harry. I thought that was hilarious.

This weekend (Sunday), we are shopping for Sidney's big boy bed. We are getting him a full size, brown sleigh bed. The problem is finding full size Thomas the Train bedding. I have only seen it on line and it's pricey. Hopefully we can find some Cars bedding in a store at a more affordable price. Sidney is older now than when we transitioned Cleo to her own bed. She was 2 years and 7 months old and Sidney is now 2 years and 10 months old. I know it's not a competition but he looks so big and long sleeping in his crib. I am sure he will miss his crib like Cleo did. When we showed her the new big girl bed in her room for the first time she said, "I lost my bed. I lost my bed!" We showed her that her crib was in Sidney's room and she seemed to accept that. I am sure the Dora bedding on her new bed helped the adjustment.

Cleo was so excited for her performance yesterday. All week she was rehearsing with the other classes and working on her welcome at home with us. She did it so often that Sidney committed it to memory. We have these two inflatable microphones from a birthday party gift bag. Sidney and Cleo would stand in the family room and recite Cleo's welcome together.

Yesterday, in the morning, I went to get Cleo up and gather her clothes for school. When she saw it was me in her room, she said, "no, I want Daddy to get me up because it's his special day!" So I got Roger to go to Cleo's room and I went to get Sidney up.

Prior to leaving for the Christmas Show, Cleo helped me with "birthday business." She signed her name to her card for Roger and Sidney's name to his card to Roger. She also wrote "Daddy" on the envelopes for her and Sidney's cards. She helped organize his gifts too and when we were done she asked what other birthday business there was to be done. She's the best.

I got Roger a little cake from Publix - chocolate cake with white buttercream. It was really good. We had cake when we got home from the Christmas show. Cleo was disappointed when she saw the cake and was all, "where's the birthday cake. Daddy needs a sports cake." She expected to see a sheet cake super decorated like the ones we get for her and Sidney - and every other kid has one at the birthday parties we attend. Then we gave him his cards and gifts.

Today we are taking the kids to a book sale at the Southwest Arts Center where Cleo takes her art class. Then, home for lunch and naps. Then to dinner for Roger. We aren't sure where we are going for dinner. Prior to dinner, we may take the kids to a Christmas lights show in the building where a Macy's used to be in downtown Atlanta. I will write more about it later if we go.

Have a good week.

Weekend Update

Cleo's welcome statement at the Dec. 9 Kids "R" Kids holiday show consists of the following: "Good evening parents, family and friends. Welcome to the Kids "R" Kids annual Christmas program. We thank you for coming and again Welcome!!"

She's committed it to memory and performs it with perfect drama and flair. Sidney has memorized it too and he's beyond cute reciting it.

When I was putting Cleo bed tonight she told me that since I was putting her to bed tonight, I was the parent who was supposed to pick her up in the morning and take her downstairs to breakfast. She said that tomorrow evening, Roger will put her to bed then the following morning he is supposed to pick her up in the morning and take her down to breakfast. She explained that that is an example of a pattern. I asked her how she knew that and she said that she just knew it. She's brilliant.

I took Cleo and Sidney inside Nicholas House to drop off the gifts and Sidney was perfectly behaved. I think his shyness precluded him from trying to wander off or making too much noise. Cleo is always well-behaved. Sidney tripped on a poorly-placed computer cord and his sneaker came off but that wasn't his fault. Cleo said, "oh little guy lost his shoe." She's so charmingly condescending to him.

Now I must go watch the Good Wife. It's one of the best shows on TV. I also like 2 Broke Girls, the New Girl, Up All Night and Grey's Anatomy. In case you were wondering what my favorite TV shows are right now.

Another update about me is that I rejoined Weight Watchers. I have gained 7 pounds since March 2011. I blame Cleo's birthday party. I ate at least 2 cupcakes that day - we had it at a cupcake shop in Marietta, GA. For some reason, cupcakes are my undoing and I was never able to regain my discipline after that. I simply indulged too much since March. Then, I hurt my knee in June by over-using it doing certan exercises. I haven't been able to get back into exercising as diligently as I was before I hurt my knee. I did physical therapy for 6 weeks this summer but my knee is not the same.

My clothes simply don't fit the same and I am tired of my jeans fitting too tightly. I can't buy a whole bunch of new clothes. So, I am getting back on track.

Back in Atlanta

It took me some time to adjust to being back at work after being away in NYC for the week. We had a great time and I miss my family a lot. It was so nice seeing all of them.

All week, Sidney has intermittently insisted on being called either Christian or Percy (as in Thomas the Train's pal). Christian is Cybele's fiance's name and he appears to have left an impression on Sidney. Christian was wrestling a little with Sidney on the day we left or the day before we left and Sidney really enjoyed it. I asked Sidney today if he wanted to call Christian. He said, "no, Gabriel." Then he added that he also wanted to call Christian. Then he started saying something about Uncle Howard, my uncle. Sidney is funny.

Cleo and Sidney had a good week at school. We learned that Cleo is delivering the welcome at their daycare's annual holiday program on Dec. 9 at 6pm. That is Roger's birthday so we are celebrating his birthday on Saturday, Dec. 10. Cleo also has a starring role as the mother in her class' contribution to the program. Sidney's class is singing "Away in a Manger."

Yesterday we went to my work friend Cindy's daughter Madison's 2nd birthday party. Cindy has 4 nieces who live next door and Cleo enjoyed playing with them - their ages ranged from 8-15. Sidney enjoyed playing with all of Madison's toys. He's an old 2 year-old since he turns 3 in 2 months so he seemed a lot older than Madison who turns 2 on Dec. 8.

We have completed most of the kids' xmas gifts shopping and must now start gathering gifts for Kaelin, our niece. We head to Jacksonville, FL on Dec. 23, I have off from work that day, and likely return on Dec. 29. We are taking the kids to the movies on Dec. 30. The options thus far are Happy Feet 2, Alvin and the Chipmunks Part 3 or Arthur (he's the nephew or son of Santa). Cleo wants to see the latter but we think the Alvin movie will be the only one that keeps Sidney's attention. It will be Sidney's first theater movie. The Princess and the Frog was Cleo's first theater movie. She doesn't remember seeing it in the theater - she was only 2-3/4 years-old but she does recall seeing Tangled last December.

Both Cleo and Sidney are acting so old these days. It breaks my heart but also makes me happy that they are becoming a little more independent.

The kids are napping. When they wake up, we are dropping off some gifts at Nicholas House, which is a transitional home for homeless families. It is in the same area of Atlanta in which Roger and I lived before we moved to Southwest Atlanta.

Have a good week!