Yesterday, I took Sidney to a 9:15am doctor appointment. He had a worsening cough and labored breathing. He did not get a specific diagnosis but the doctor said he had a virus and told me to give him liquid Allegra and Albuterol breathing treatments. After the medicine, Sidney's cough did get better and his runny nose improved. Sidney was so well-behaved at the doctor office. I think he's beginning to understand that when there is no shot involved the visit and exam is not painful.
During breakfast before he and I left, I told Sidney we were going to the doctor office. He seemed to accept that then started saying he didn't want to go. At one point he said, "I feel better, no doctor." I told him we still had to go to the doctor.
We returned home and I administered the first breathing treatment. Roger made sugar cookies and peanut butter chocolate chip cookies with the kids. The kids had lunch, we put them to naps, and I went to the gym. I did some shopping beforehand at Target and got a $8 shirt at Old Navy. I had it in red and wanted it in blue. The non-sale price was $16.94. I got the red one for 25% off of the normal price. I love a good bargain.
I had a great work out. Then I went to Publix for a few things, e.g., milk and juice. Then home to shower. Roger made the beds with the kids' help - changed sheets and comforters. Sidney now has the following sheet and comforter sets: Cars 2, Spiderman and Thomas the Train. Cleo has 2 different Tinkerbell sets, Princess & the Frog, Dora and Disney Princesses.
After showering, I played Kerplunk with Sidney. Roger played Cleo's Princess Friends Forever game with her. It was so cute to watch them play. You never think about those moments when you meet someone and get married. I joked with him that our vows should have been "in sickness and health, and playing Princess Friends Forever." He laughed. Sidney is not truly interested in playing Kerplunk, he just wants to play with the marbles.
We had dinner and gave Cleo and Sidney baths. Then, we had movie night. Last night was the Fox & Hound 2. The music is really good in it. The kids had popcorn and Skittles, the latter they insist on chewing super loudly; I think the loud chewing is part of the fun. They were nice and shared some of their Skittles with me. After the movie was over around 7:30pm, I gave Sidney Allegra and another breathing treatment. It's much like giving him the breathing treatment when he was 1. He is still squirmy and wants to hold the mask that the steam comes out of. Last night, toward the end he held the mask steady and stopped squirming as much. Cleo likes to help with the set up of the nebulizer machine. She's such a great helper.
I developed a cold all day yesterday and it's worsened overnight. I woke up at 5:45am and took some Dayquil and I feel a little better. We will go food shopping later but I am going to suggest to Roger that he go with Cleo and I will stay with Sidney. Sidney is typically poorly-behaved during food shopping. He won't hold my hand and wants to touch everything, including glass jars of food. Last week, he and I had to go to the car while Roger and Cleo finished up shopping. Today, I am not up for a repeat of that.
Today, I have a 12:30pm hair appointment at Salon Red. It's super close to where Roger and I used to live. I have been seeing the same stylist, Alana, for 4 years. I am getting my hair trimmed and dyed. I am looking forward to it.
Seventeen kids have RSVP'd for Sidney's birthday extravaganza next weekend. It will be fun. His cake will be ready at Publix at 8am. It's a Thomas the Train cake, of course. We will take tons and tons of pictures. I will post some for sure. I keep forgetting to ask Roger to show me how to post on this Apple computer. For Sidney's class party on Feb. 6 we are going to get 18 cupcakes on Sunday from Publix - just generic birthday themed cupcakes, not a special order like we are doing for his Feb. 4 party.
Feb. 7-9 we will be in Hilton Head. On Feb. 8, I have a court hearing for work so we are driving down Feb. 7. We are staying at my company's condo. While we are there, the high is predicted to be 60 degrees and low of 40 degrees so it's definitely not beach weather. I am sure Roger will find some way to entertain them on Feb. 8 when I am at court. The hearing is set for 9:30 am and I hope it does not take all day. It takes 5 hours to drive to Hilton Head from our house.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Princess Party
I wanted to update my blog with some things that Cleo and Sidney have said this past week.
Cleo to Sidney : If you don’t want milk, don’t say you want milk.
Sidney catching Cleo saying dinner blessing incorrectly: Oh, oh, Cleo, no! God is gracious not God is bless you!
Sidney is a champ at listening in on Cleo’s and my conversations. He usually chimes in with something loosely related. One example is his overhearing Cleo’s and my discussing her assisting me with making banana pudding. Sidney tells us that we need to call it “Diesel pudding” instead. He is fascinated by diesel trains and likes Diesel, one of Thomas the Train’s pals. Cleo asks if we will make the vanilla cookies that will go into the recipe. Sidney then asks, “Cookies for Santa?”
Sidney told me to put on my slippers. I get up to put on my slippers but I put my jacket on first and slowly put my slippers on. Where Sidney is sitting, he cannot see that I am putting my slippers on. He says, “not your jacket, your slippers!”
Roger and I take turns putting the kids to bed each night. On the nights that I put Sidney to bed, he asks whether he’s putting me to bed instead of asking whether I am putting him to bed. He knows he’s saying it the wrong way because Cleo corrects him each time he says it that way.
Last night, Sidney finished his dinner before Cleo did. Cleo had 4 french fries left (Friday nights we let them have chicken nuggets and french fries for dinner). While Sidney is munching on his chocolate Santa on a lollipop stick he says, "So close Cleo, so close" in his best imitation of me, Roger and Cleo. The 3 of us are always encouraging him to eat a little more at dinner. He eats dinner around 2 times a week. He appears to eat enough before 6:30pm on most days because he continues to grow. He does not gain weight very fast and has been around 29 pounds for a very long time. Cleo is a slim little thing too so I am not worried.
I was sitting with Cleo in the bathroom while she pooped. I was browsing through facebook on my Kindles because Cleo wanted to see what my Kindle looked like. I came across a post by Isabelle, my sister Ahnya’s childhood friend. Isabelle posted that her three year-old son threw a rock over the fence and it broke the neighbor’s car window. I read it to Cleo and showed Cleo a picture of Isabelle’s son making a little pose showing off his bicep muscles. Cleo’s response to the story and picture was, “wow, he’s strong.” She was extremely fascinated by Isabelle’s son’s breaking the car window and asked a lot of questions.
It has been raining on and off all day. It was seriously thundering and lightening a few times. Cleo and Sidney watched the thunderstorm and rain from the windows. After breakfast, Cleo and Sidney helped me make banana pudding. I used Jell-o Instant Pudding (one box of banana and one box of white chocolate), 1/2 a cup of Silk Coconut milk, 1 cup of Silk unsweetened soy milk, 36 vanilla wafers and 3 bananas. I topped it with Cool Whip. It is pretty awesome. Sidney liked it too. Cleo did not want to try it. But it's 6 points a serving - I only get 26 points a day with Weight Watchers. In order to eat it and eat other food during the day, I dip into my extra 49 points allotted for special events and treats.
After making the pudding, we let them play on the computer a bit, some educational games on the PBS website. Cleo has gotten very adept at maneuvering the mouse. It's a little too big for her hand; we need a smaller wireless one. We had an early lunch, put them down for a nap and I went to the gym. It was seriously raining when I drove to the gym. Roger worked out at home. Soon, we will get the kids up from their naps, get them dressed, then go for an early dinner at Golden Corral. Cleo has been requesting that we go there. We have not gone in a while.
When we get home from dinner, we will have a movie night with the kids. We will watch Over the Hedge, which I picked up from the library after work yesterday. Later, Roger and I might watch Thor, which I got from the library. I requested it from the library months ago; it takes a long time to move up on the waiting list. I am still waiting for the Help, I have a while to go for that one because I am low on the waiting list. Roger already saw Thor but is happy to watch it again.
Cleo and I are attending a princess party on Sunday, January 22 at the Little House of Art. It’s the same location that we’re having her 5th birthday party. Her best pal at daycare, Alexandria , is also attending with her mom. The princess party will be hosted by Aurora aka Sleeping Beauty.
Three families have RSVP’d thus far to Sidney ’s party. This year I am not going to badger people about RSVP’ing for the kids’ parties. In past years, I call, email and leave notes for people (in the daycare kids’ cubbies) in an effort to find out if invitees are coming. This year, I am going to fight my need to obtain a concrete head count. We will give the party sites our best guess for “final” headcount and hope we are close to the number that actually come. I always RSVP for parties by the requested RSVP date. I do not understand why other people don’t extend that same courtesy. We have not sent Cleo’s party invitations out yet but I am sure we will have the same problem with getting people to RSVP.
Cleo to Sidney : If you don’t want milk, don’t say you want milk.
Sidney catching Cleo saying dinner blessing incorrectly: Oh, oh, Cleo, no! God is gracious not God is bless you!
Sidney is a champ at listening in on Cleo’s and my conversations. He usually chimes in with something loosely related. One example is his overhearing Cleo’s and my discussing her assisting me with making banana pudding. Sidney tells us that we need to call it “Diesel pudding” instead. He is fascinated by diesel trains and likes Diesel, one of Thomas the Train’s pals. Cleo asks if we will make the vanilla cookies that will go into the recipe. Sidney then asks, “Cookies for Santa?”
Sidney told me to put on my slippers. I get up to put on my slippers but I put my jacket on first and slowly put my slippers on. Where Sidney is sitting, he cannot see that I am putting my slippers on. He says, “not your jacket, your slippers!”
Roger and I take turns putting the kids to bed each night. On the nights that I put Sidney to bed, he asks whether he’s putting me to bed instead of asking whether I am putting him to bed. He knows he’s saying it the wrong way because Cleo corrects him each time he says it that way.
Last night, Sidney finished his dinner before Cleo did. Cleo had 4 french fries left (Friday nights we let them have chicken nuggets and french fries for dinner). While Sidney is munching on his chocolate Santa on a lollipop stick he says, "So close Cleo, so close" in his best imitation of me, Roger and Cleo. The 3 of us are always encouraging him to eat a little more at dinner. He eats dinner around 2 times a week. He appears to eat enough before 6:30pm on most days because he continues to grow. He does not gain weight very fast and has been around 29 pounds for a very long time. Cleo is a slim little thing too so I am not worried.
I was sitting with Cleo in the bathroom while she pooped. I was browsing through facebook on my Kindles because Cleo wanted to see what my Kindle looked like. I came across a post by Isabelle, my sister Ahnya’s childhood friend. Isabelle posted that her three year-old son threw a rock over the fence and it broke the neighbor’s car window. I read it to Cleo and showed Cleo a picture of Isabelle’s son making a little pose showing off his bicep muscles. Cleo’s response to the story and picture was, “wow, he’s strong.” She was extremely fascinated by Isabelle’s son’s breaking the car window and asked a lot of questions.
It has been raining on and off all day. It was seriously thundering and lightening a few times. Cleo and Sidney watched the thunderstorm and rain from the windows. After breakfast, Cleo and Sidney helped me make banana pudding. I used Jell-o Instant Pudding (one box of banana and one box of white chocolate), 1/2 a cup of Silk Coconut milk, 1 cup of Silk unsweetened soy milk, 36 vanilla wafers and 3 bananas. I topped it with Cool Whip. It is pretty awesome. Sidney liked it too. Cleo did not want to try it. But it's 6 points a serving - I only get 26 points a day with Weight Watchers. In order to eat it and eat other food during the day, I dip into my extra 49 points allotted for special events and treats.
After making the pudding, we let them play on the computer a bit, some educational games on the PBS website. Cleo has gotten very adept at maneuvering the mouse. It's a little too big for her hand; we need a smaller wireless one. We had an early lunch, put them down for a nap and I went to the gym. It was seriously raining when I drove to the gym. Roger worked out at home. Soon, we will get the kids up from their naps, get them dressed, then go for an early dinner at Golden Corral. Cleo has been requesting that we go there. We have not gone in a while.
When we get home from dinner, we will have a movie night with the kids. We will watch Over the Hedge, which I picked up from the library after work yesterday. Later, Roger and I might watch Thor, which I got from the library. I requested it from the library months ago; it takes a long time to move up on the waiting list. I am still waiting for the Help, I have a while to go for that one because I am low on the waiting list. Roger already saw Thor but is happy to watch it again.
Cleo and I are attending a princess party on Sunday, January 22 at the Little House of Art. It’s the same location that we’re having her 5th birthday party. Her best pal at daycare, Alexandria , is also attending with her mom. The princess party will be hosted by Aurora aka Sleeping Beauty.
Three families have RSVP’d thus far to Sidney ’s party. This year I am not going to badger people about RSVP’ing for the kids’ parties. In past years, I call, email and leave notes for people (in the daycare kids’ cubbies) in an effort to find out if invitees are coming. This year, I am going to fight my need to obtain a concrete head count. We will give the party sites our best guess for “final” headcount and hope we are close to the number that actually come. I always RSVP for parties by the requested RSVP date. I do not understand why other people don’t extend that same courtesy. We have not sent Cleo’s party invitations out yet but I am sure we will have the same problem with getting people to RSVP.
Saturday, January 14, 2012
MLK, Jr. Birthday Weekend
Sidney and Cleo have been learning about Martin Luther King, Jr. all week. Sidney can sing some refrains from the African American national anthem, "Lift Every Voice and Sing." It is a precious thing to witness him singing it. We don't recognize what Cleo is reciting at home, it may be a poem. We will ask her teacher next week.
The kids have adjusted great to their new classes. Cleo and Sidney both miss their old teachers but they see their old teachers often. Cleo's class is much larger now - it used to be 10 kids and now there are around 21. Cleo gets 2-3 homework sheets Mon.-Weds., which are due in class the next day. Thursday night she studies for her spelling test - 3 "sight" words she learns about all week. We practice spelling them and having her put them in a sentence. This week, the words were: they, must and now. Thursday evening I asked her to put them in sentences and she busted out three awesome sentences, using the spelling words perfectly in the sentences. I wish I had immediately written the sentences down but a rough example would be, "They must get ready now because it is time to go." She's a genius.
Today, we went food shopping and I went to the gym while the kids napped. After naps, we played games. I played Kerplunk with Sidney and Roger played Disney Princess Chutes and Ladders with Cleo. Cleo wanted to play Kerplunk after playing Chutes and Ladders, which is a longer game and more educational - finally something related to Disney and to Princesses that is educational. It's educational because it makes her count spaces and learn about taking turns. Roger asked Cleo if they could play Chutes and Ladders again and Cleo said, "But Daddy, I thought you loved football." Ahh, the birth of a great debater. They played Kerplunk then we all played Hungry Hungry Hippos.
We gave them baths today around 4:30pm, then Roger gave them dinner. I left the house around 5:15pm because I had a 6pm dinner date with my friend Michele Merkel. Dinner was really nice. I had a mixed green salad with bleu cheese crumbles and candied walnuts. And a glass of riesling which tasted awesome; usually the rieslings at restaurants are not sweet but this one was perfect and even smelled sweet. After dinner, we saw a 7:15pm showing of "Young Adult" with Charlize Theron, Patton Oswalt and Patrick Wilson. It was really good. Don't rush out and see it in the theater, it will be fine viewed on the small screen.
Roger orchestrated another movie night with peanut butter M&Ms and popcorn for the kids. They watched "Rio." Sidney wanted to watch "Lion King" again and Cleo said they could watch Thomas the Train but Roger explained that it was a movie night and they would watch a full length movie. Thomas the Train episodes on the DVDs we have are short.
Friday night I watched "Bridesmaids" on DVD. I had seen it once in the theater in May with Roger at the drive-in as part of our 6th wedding anniversary celebration. I didn't love Bridesmaids the first time I saw it, but it was great seeing it a 2nd time. Kristin Wiig's character's attack on the big cookie at the bridal shower is awesome. I also forgot that little yellow labrador puppies were the gift given out to attendees at the bridal shower. I got the DVD from the library. I am on the waiting list for the DVD of "The Help." I can't wait. I read the book but have not seen the movie.
Sidney has started asking, "why not" when we tell him he can't do something. His delivery is somewhat dramatic. For example, if we tell him he can't keep all of his trains all scattered about on the rug in the family room. He will then ask, "why naaaahwt?" And we tell him why and then he says, "Oh, okay."
He is still not enjoying his big boy bed. He still likes the idea of the bed but not sleeping in it. He has stopped getting out of bed after we have put him to bed, which is nice. When we are walking him to his bed to put him to bed, he will recite, "Do not get out of bed. Stay in the bed." He likes reading a book titled, "Subway" at night. There's one page that reads, "Rock left. Rock right. We hold on tight. Rock, rock, rock. In the subway." I act it out with him, holding onto him and moving left, then right, then rocking a bit. He enjoys it and so do I. He wants me to read it a few times. The other book he likes right now is, "Thomas' Christmas." It's about 4 important deliveries that Thomas the Train has to make on Christmas Eve. One page has Percy on it so we end up spending a lot of time examining everything on that page since Percy is Sidney's favorite train. His 2nd favorite is Diesel. He's a much more obscure train but Sidney is fascinated by diesel trains (as opposed to steam engine trains) for some reason.
Tomorrow morning we are going to church. I will go to the gym during the kids' naps. The kids' daycare is closed on Monday (I have to work) so Roger is entertaining them in some fashion. He may take them to story time and crafts at one of the libraries providing activities in honor of MLK, Jr.'s birthday.
I have the ingredients for banana pudding so tomorrow I may assemble that with the kids. I am not making the pudding from scratch - I got some instant Jell-o banana pudding. I have low fat Cool Whip and low fat vanilla wafers. I hope it comes out okay.
The kids have adjusted great to their new classes. Cleo and Sidney both miss their old teachers but they see their old teachers often. Cleo's class is much larger now - it used to be 10 kids and now there are around 21. Cleo gets 2-3 homework sheets Mon.-Weds., which are due in class the next day. Thursday night she studies for her spelling test - 3 "sight" words she learns about all week. We practice spelling them and having her put them in a sentence. This week, the words were: they, must and now. Thursday evening I asked her to put them in sentences and she busted out three awesome sentences, using the spelling words perfectly in the sentences. I wish I had immediately written the sentences down but a rough example would be, "They must get ready now because it is time to go." She's a genius.
Today, we went food shopping and I went to the gym while the kids napped. After naps, we played games. I played Kerplunk with Sidney and Roger played Disney Princess Chutes and Ladders with Cleo. Cleo wanted to play Kerplunk after playing Chutes and Ladders, which is a longer game and more educational - finally something related to Disney and to Princesses that is educational. It's educational because it makes her count spaces and learn about taking turns. Roger asked Cleo if they could play Chutes and Ladders again and Cleo said, "But Daddy, I thought you loved football." Ahh, the birth of a great debater. They played Kerplunk then we all played Hungry Hungry Hippos.
We gave them baths today around 4:30pm, then Roger gave them dinner. I left the house around 5:15pm because I had a 6pm dinner date with my friend Michele Merkel. Dinner was really nice. I had a mixed green salad with bleu cheese crumbles and candied walnuts. And a glass of riesling which tasted awesome; usually the rieslings at restaurants are not sweet but this one was perfect and even smelled sweet. After dinner, we saw a 7:15pm showing of "Young Adult" with Charlize Theron, Patton Oswalt and Patrick Wilson. It was really good. Don't rush out and see it in the theater, it will be fine viewed on the small screen.
Roger orchestrated another movie night with peanut butter M&Ms and popcorn for the kids. They watched "Rio." Sidney wanted to watch "Lion King" again and Cleo said they could watch Thomas the Train but Roger explained that it was a movie night and they would watch a full length movie. Thomas the Train episodes on the DVDs we have are short.
Friday night I watched "Bridesmaids" on DVD. I had seen it once in the theater in May with Roger at the drive-in as part of our 6th wedding anniversary celebration. I didn't love Bridesmaids the first time I saw it, but it was great seeing it a 2nd time. Kristin Wiig's character's attack on the big cookie at the bridal shower is awesome. I also forgot that little yellow labrador puppies were the gift given out to attendees at the bridal shower. I got the DVD from the library. I am on the waiting list for the DVD of "The Help." I can't wait. I read the book but have not seen the movie.
Sidney has started asking, "why not" when we tell him he can't do something. His delivery is somewhat dramatic. For example, if we tell him he can't keep all of his trains all scattered about on the rug in the family room. He will then ask, "why naaaahwt?" And we tell him why and then he says, "Oh, okay."
He is still not enjoying his big boy bed. He still likes the idea of the bed but not sleeping in it. He has stopped getting out of bed after we have put him to bed, which is nice. When we are walking him to his bed to put him to bed, he will recite, "Do not get out of bed. Stay in the bed." He likes reading a book titled, "Subway" at night. There's one page that reads, "Rock left. Rock right. We hold on tight. Rock, rock, rock. In the subway." I act it out with him, holding onto him and moving left, then right, then rocking a bit. He enjoys it and so do I. He wants me to read it a few times. The other book he likes right now is, "Thomas' Christmas." It's about 4 important deliveries that Thomas the Train has to make on Christmas Eve. One page has Percy on it so we end up spending a lot of time examining everything on that page since Percy is Sidney's favorite train. His 2nd favorite is Diesel. He's a much more obscure train but Sidney is fascinated by diesel trains (as opposed to steam engine trains) for some reason.
Tomorrow morning we are going to church. I will go to the gym during the kids' naps. The kids' daycare is closed on Monday (I have to work) so Roger is entertaining them in some fashion. He may take them to story time and crafts at one of the libraries providing activities in honor of MLK, Jr.'s birthday.
I have the ingredients for banana pudding so tomorrow I may assemble that with the kids. I am not making the pudding from scratch - I got some instant Jell-o banana pudding. I have low fat Cool Whip and low fat vanilla wafers. I hope it comes out okay.
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Movie Night
Saturday, we checked out the Little House of Art. We liked it so we are having Cleo's birthday party there on March 17, 10:00-11:30am. Then, we went to Party City and got party supplies for Cleo and Sidney's parties. I had a coupon and there was a sale on certain Thomas the Train items. We got Cleo some Disney Princess items. Then, we went home for lunch and nap. I went to the gym and had a great workout.
After the kids woke up, we made play dough movie food, e.g., popcorn, french fries, popsicles, ice cream sandwich, gummi bears. It was fun. Then, we had an early dinner - pasta and vegetables. For dessert, Sidney had a train shaped piece of chocolate that I found at a sweet shop in an outdoor mall not too far from our house.
After dinner and baths, we watched the Lion King, we have it on DVD. We had popcorn and the kids had Skittles with it too. Sidney and Cleo would jump up and dance during many of the music parts.
Today, we went to church and then food shopping. We got Sidney some belts because he's in between sizes and his 3T and some of his 2T pants don't fit him. For his birthday, we are going to ask for 3T size clothes even though he's not a full on 3T yet.
I went clothes shopping during the kids' naps. I got 3 dresses - one was $6.49! I got it at Ross. The other 2 were $24.99 and $19.99. I needed church dresses. I got a cute black sweater from TJ Maxx for $24.99. I never ever buy clothes for myself. I got two workout bras for $8.98 each! One was purple and one was neon green; they were 50% off the normal price.
I got home from shopping around 3:30pm and Cleo woke up. She and I went up to get Sidney; he was awake in his bed. They played while I made some spinach and refried bean enchiladas. I made 12 enchiladas - 6 filled with spinach and 6 filled with refried beans. I hope they come out good. They are 6 points for 2 enchiladas; I calculated the points on the Weight Watchers recipe builder tab.
I have been jonesing for some banana pudding with nilla wafers. All the from scratch recipes call for homemade pudding with egg yolks. I decided to make packaged pudding with Cool Whip, sliced bananas and reduced fat vanilla wafers. I haven't calculated the points yet on the Weight Watchers recipe builder tab. I will make it later or some time this week.
I am going to go do an activity with the kids while Roger makes them meat loaf.
After the kids woke up, we made play dough movie food, e.g., popcorn, french fries, popsicles, ice cream sandwich, gummi bears. It was fun. Then, we had an early dinner - pasta and vegetables. For dessert, Sidney had a train shaped piece of chocolate that I found at a sweet shop in an outdoor mall not too far from our house.
After dinner and baths, we watched the Lion King, we have it on DVD. We had popcorn and the kids had Skittles with it too. Sidney and Cleo would jump up and dance during many of the music parts.
Today, we went to church and then food shopping. We got Sidney some belts because he's in between sizes and his 3T and some of his 2T pants don't fit him. For his birthday, we are going to ask for 3T size clothes even though he's not a full on 3T yet.
I went clothes shopping during the kids' naps. I got 3 dresses - one was $6.49! I got it at Ross. The other 2 were $24.99 and $19.99. I needed church dresses. I got a cute black sweater from TJ Maxx for $24.99. I never ever buy clothes for myself. I got two workout bras for $8.98 each! One was purple and one was neon green; they were 50% off the normal price.
I got home from shopping around 3:30pm and Cleo woke up. She and I went up to get Sidney; he was awake in his bed. They played while I made some spinach and refried bean enchiladas. I made 12 enchiladas - 6 filled with spinach and 6 filled with refried beans. I hope they come out good. They are 6 points for 2 enchiladas; I calculated the points on the Weight Watchers recipe builder tab.
I have been jonesing for some banana pudding with nilla wafers. All the from scratch recipes call for homemade pudding with egg yolks. I decided to make packaged pudding with Cool Whip, sliced bananas and reduced fat vanilla wafers. I haven't calculated the points yet on the Weight Watchers recipe builder tab. I will make it later or some time this week.
I am going to go do an activity with the kids while Roger makes them meat loaf.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Jury Duty and Split Pea Soup
I appeared for jury duty today. I was in the first group of potential jurors called for a trial. Along with 17 other potential jurors, I went to a courtroom and was asked questions by the two attorneys and the judge. I was not selected for the trial - it was a personal injury damage lawsuit regarding a car accident. I was released by 11am! I am done with jury duty for now and I do not have to go back tomorrow. I should not be called for another 18 months.
I went to Publix to get some things, then home for lunch. Then I went to the gym. I worked out for one hour - 20 minutes on stair master, 20 minutes on rowing machine, 20 minutes on leg nautilus machines. It felt good. Then, home to make split pea soup from scratch for the first time. I loosely followed a few recipes I found on the Food Network's website.
I headed out at 4:45pm to pick up the kids from daycare. I got home around 5:20pm. The kids played a bit then we gave them baths. Sidney's bathtime started bit later because he had a 30 minute tantrum. He's been prone to those lately. When the tantrum storm is over, it's like nothing happened and he's back to normal - but it takes a while for the storm to pass. He is so MOODY lately. I am sure the transition from toddler to little boy is hard.
Sidney and Cleo begin the transition to their new classes on January 9. They will spend a few hours in their new class on January 9 and then increasingly longer periods of time throughout the week. Their little pals are transitioning with them. Sidney is still not expressing any interest in potty training at school. Tonight during dinner, Sidney told us he had to potty and he peed and pooped in his potty in the downstairs bathroom - which adjoins the family room.
After dinner, Cleo did her homework work sheet - there were predawn pictures of various items and she had to color yellow the things you eat, e.g. pizza, color red the things you wear, e.g., shoes, color blue the thing you ride, e.g., train, and color green things you sit on, e.g., couch. I did homework with Cleo tonight because it is my night to put Cleo to bed. Roger and I take turns putting the kids to bed each night. Sidney occasionally gets homework too but he did not get any for this week.
After 4 hours of simmering, my soup was finally done. The recipes all said simmer for 1 hour to 1 hour and 20 minutes. But at the 1.5 hour point, the split peas were still way too al dente. I used an immersion blender to blend it a bit. It came out fantastic. I am so impressed with myself. I am taking some with me to work tomorrow for lunch.
We got Cleo and Sidney a computer for Christmas. It's for both Cleo and Sidney but Cleo uses it more than Sidney. Tonight, Roger was teaching her how to read emails and send emails. I sent her one and so did he. Roger helped her write one to my dad. I will send you her email address so that you can send her emails. Tomorrow after I get them home from daycare, we will let Sidney use the computer. He asks to watch videos, e.g, of elephants or trains. We discovered some educational games on pbskids.org that Cleo enjoyed. The offerings on the Disney website are incredibly uneducational - of course that's the website that Cleo always wants to venture onto all the time - she remains very interested in princesses.
I went to Publix to get some things, then home for lunch. Then I went to the gym. I worked out for one hour - 20 minutes on stair master, 20 minutes on rowing machine, 20 minutes on leg nautilus machines. It felt good. Then, home to make split pea soup from scratch for the first time. I loosely followed a few recipes I found on the Food Network's website.
I headed out at 4:45pm to pick up the kids from daycare. I got home around 5:20pm. The kids played a bit then we gave them baths. Sidney's bathtime started bit later because he had a 30 minute tantrum. He's been prone to those lately. When the tantrum storm is over, it's like nothing happened and he's back to normal - but it takes a while for the storm to pass. He is so MOODY lately. I am sure the transition from toddler to little boy is hard.
Sidney and Cleo begin the transition to their new classes on January 9. They will spend a few hours in their new class on January 9 and then increasingly longer periods of time throughout the week. Their little pals are transitioning with them. Sidney is still not expressing any interest in potty training at school. Tonight during dinner, Sidney told us he had to potty and he peed and pooped in his potty in the downstairs bathroom - which adjoins the family room.
After dinner, Cleo did her homework work sheet - there were predawn pictures of various items and she had to color yellow the things you eat, e.g. pizza, color red the things you wear, e.g., shoes, color blue the thing you ride, e.g., train, and color green things you sit on, e.g., couch. I did homework with Cleo tonight because it is my night to put Cleo to bed. Roger and I take turns putting the kids to bed each night. Sidney occasionally gets homework too but he did not get any for this week.
After 4 hours of simmering, my soup was finally done. The recipes all said simmer for 1 hour to 1 hour and 20 minutes. But at the 1.5 hour point, the split peas were still way too al dente. I used an immersion blender to blend it a bit. It came out fantastic. I am so impressed with myself. I am taking some with me to work tomorrow for lunch.
We got Cleo and Sidney a computer for Christmas. It's for both Cleo and Sidney but Cleo uses it more than Sidney. Tonight, Roger was teaching her how to read emails and send emails. I sent her one and so did he. Roger helped her write one to my dad. I will send you her email address so that you can send her emails. Tomorrow after I get them home from daycare, we will let Sidney use the computer. He asks to watch videos, e.g, of elephants or trains. We discovered some educational games on pbskids.org that Cleo enjoyed. The offerings on the Disney website are incredibly uneducational - of course that's the website that Cleo always wants to venture onto all the time - she remains very interested in princesses.
Monday, January 2, 2012
Chipwrecked!
Yesterday, we went to a 10:30am church service. We left church at 12:40pm because the kids needed to eat lunch and have a nap. There was at least one have hour left of the service. One woman behind us felt the spirit a few times and would shriek. I assured Sidney that she was fine and she was happy. Eventually, she seemed to fall asleep. Later in the service, another woman shrieked with joy and Sidney immediately turned around to see if it was the same woman behind us. He asked me, "who was that?" I told him that it was someone else who was okay and happy. He seemed to accept that explanation.
After napping and lunch, we went over to Darryl Tookes' house. Darryl is Alexandria and Quintin's uncle; Darryl's wife is named Venus and she made all of the desserts. He has a huge annual gathering on New Year's Day. He lives nearby in a pretty big house. Cleo had a blast playing with Alexandria. Quintin was around but not running around with Cleo and Alexandria. Sidney ate food first with me and Roger and then joined in the fun and games. There were some other kids there who were our kids' ages and it was fun for them. Roger and I had a nice time too. Sidney and Roger ate the following: steamed white rice, corn, black eyed peas, baked chicken, corn bread muffin and a wheat roll. Sidney had 3 little cupcakes for dessert: key lime, pineapple and chocolate. He didn't love the cake part of the pineapple one but ate the frosting. He had a few bites of the cake part of my red velvet cupcake. The caterer is a close family friend of Leslie and Quintin (Alexandria and Quintin's parents) and she remembered I was a vegetarian. She made vegetarian black eyed peas and some corn. I was so touched by her thoughtfulness. In addition to the black eyed peas and corn, I had some steamed white rice. I found some sweet chili sauce and put it on the rice; it was really good. I added some hot sauce too. For dessert, I had half of a red velvet cupcake and half of a small chocolate cupcake. I had two cups of the homemade banana pudding. In that past few years, I discovered that I LOVE homemade banana pudding. I will eat the banana pudding at Golden Corral but it's not as good as homemade. The pudding was so amazingly good yesterday. Cleo had one roll and 5 peppermints for dinner.
We left Darryl's house around 6:45pm and headed to Derrick and Kim's house. They live close to Darryl's house. We stayed there until around 9pm. Cleo and Sidney enjoyed playing with Kennedy a lot. We watched an episode of Unsung on TV One about Big Daddy Kane. He was one of my favorite rappers back in the day - Derrick liked him a lot too.
Today, we took the kids to see Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked. Prior to the movie, we had lunch at Sbarro's - again. The kids like pizza and it's so much healthier than McDonald's or Chik Fil A. I got a 7 layer burrito from Taco Bell. Roger got a slice of pepperoni pizza and the kids ate all of his pepperoni. If we had gotten them a pepperoni slice to share they would not have eaten it - the pepperoni was attractive because it was not theirs.
We saw a 12:15pm showing of Chipwrecked. We brought in Goobers, Skittles in a plastic Santa shape (one for each kid), fruity candy canes (one for each of them) and water in the kids' thermos-type sippy cups. At the theater we got Cherry flavored Sprite and a medium popcorn. The theater we went to has these big Coca Cola machines that allow you to make your own soda concoctions. Sidney and Cleo enjoyed carrying their own tickets and handing them to the usher to tear in half.
Cleo was great during the movie and just sat in her seat and watched the movie. She enjoyed the movie. Sidney would not sit still - he sat in my lap for most of the movie. He claimed he had to poop or that he did poop so we got up twice. When we got to the bathroom he said he didn't have to poop and the 2nd time I discovered that he had not pooped. He was very bored during the movie. There was a lot less singing and action in this one. He really liked the 2nd one. He was not ready for an in-theater movie experience. We will see if he's more ready next year. We only take Cleo once a year around this time to see a movie in the theater.
Cleo and Sidney return to daycare tomorrow. I will provide an update regarding the transition to their new classes which will start this month.
I have been called for jury duty. I have to call after 5pm tomorrow to find out if I have to go in on Jan. 4. I am fine if I have to appear and go in. I am busy at work but ready to fulfill my civic duty. In New York, I was picked twice for a jury. I think Georgia is not as open to having attorneys on a jury. We shall see.
I went to the gym 3 days in a row. I am not going today. I will go again on Saturday and Sunday of next week. This week, I will do some routines at home on Comcast On Demand - I will exercise after the kids go to sleep. I cannot go to the gym in the morning because I have to help get the kids ready and I can't go at night because the gym's parking lot is sort of sketchy and very dark.
Have a great week!
After napping and lunch, we went over to Darryl Tookes' house. Darryl is Alexandria and Quintin's uncle; Darryl's wife is named Venus and she made all of the desserts. He has a huge annual gathering on New Year's Day. He lives nearby in a pretty big house. Cleo had a blast playing with Alexandria. Quintin was around but not running around with Cleo and Alexandria. Sidney ate food first with me and Roger and then joined in the fun and games. There were some other kids there who were our kids' ages and it was fun for them. Roger and I had a nice time too. Sidney and Roger ate the following: steamed white rice, corn, black eyed peas, baked chicken, corn bread muffin and a wheat roll. Sidney had 3 little cupcakes for dessert: key lime, pineapple and chocolate. He didn't love the cake part of the pineapple one but ate the frosting. He had a few bites of the cake part of my red velvet cupcake. The caterer is a close family friend of Leslie and Quintin (Alexandria and Quintin's parents) and she remembered I was a vegetarian. She made vegetarian black eyed peas and some corn. I was so touched by her thoughtfulness. In addition to the black eyed peas and corn, I had some steamed white rice. I found some sweet chili sauce and put it on the rice; it was really good. I added some hot sauce too. For dessert, I had half of a red velvet cupcake and half of a small chocolate cupcake. I had two cups of the homemade banana pudding. In that past few years, I discovered that I LOVE homemade banana pudding. I will eat the banana pudding at Golden Corral but it's not as good as homemade. The pudding was so amazingly good yesterday. Cleo had one roll and 5 peppermints for dinner.
We left Darryl's house around 6:45pm and headed to Derrick and Kim's house. They live close to Darryl's house. We stayed there until around 9pm. Cleo and Sidney enjoyed playing with Kennedy a lot. We watched an episode of Unsung on TV One about Big Daddy Kane. He was one of my favorite rappers back in the day - Derrick liked him a lot too.
Today, we took the kids to see Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked. Prior to the movie, we had lunch at Sbarro's - again. The kids like pizza and it's so much healthier than McDonald's or Chik Fil A. I got a 7 layer burrito from Taco Bell. Roger got a slice of pepperoni pizza and the kids ate all of his pepperoni. If we had gotten them a pepperoni slice to share they would not have eaten it - the pepperoni was attractive because it was not theirs.
We saw a 12:15pm showing of Chipwrecked. We brought in Goobers, Skittles in a plastic Santa shape (one for each kid), fruity candy canes (one for each of them) and water in the kids' thermos-type sippy cups. At the theater we got Cherry flavored Sprite and a medium popcorn. The theater we went to has these big Coca Cola machines that allow you to make your own soda concoctions. Sidney and Cleo enjoyed carrying their own tickets and handing them to the usher to tear in half.
Cleo was great during the movie and just sat in her seat and watched the movie. She enjoyed the movie. Sidney would not sit still - he sat in my lap for most of the movie. He claimed he had to poop or that he did poop so we got up twice. When we got to the bathroom he said he didn't have to poop and the 2nd time I discovered that he had not pooped. He was very bored during the movie. There was a lot less singing and action in this one. He really liked the 2nd one. He was not ready for an in-theater movie experience. We will see if he's more ready next year. We only take Cleo once a year around this time to see a movie in the theater.
Cleo and Sidney return to daycare tomorrow. I will provide an update regarding the transition to their new classes which will start this month.
I have been called for jury duty. I have to call after 5pm tomorrow to find out if I have to go in on Jan. 4. I am fine if I have to appear and go in. I am busy at work but ready to fulfill my civic duty. In New York, I was picked twice for a jury. I think Georgia is not as open to having attorneys on a jury. We shall see.
I went to the gym 3 days in a row. I am not going today. I will go again on Saturday and Sunday of next week. This week, I will do some routines at home on Comcast On Demand - I will exercise after the kids go to sleep. I cannot go to the gym in the morning because I have to help get the kids ready and I can't go at night because the gym's parking lot is sort of sketchy and very dark.
Have a great week!
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