It's better when you tell the truth

Our kids really like Yo Gabba Gabba. Aside from the fact that it is kind of trippy, I like most of the stuff they sing about. Tonight's little lesson was about lying and how it is better when you tell the truth. I've been thinking a lot lately about the kind lie. The one you tell to get through the day and because you really don't feel like making the effort to say the truth. Lately, I've seen several places where this intention goes wrong. And, it starts to look less like not telling the truth and more like giving up. So that went on my list of things to change. Start by telling the truth, early and often (and not meanly, but kindly). For me, this mostly applies at work, but I love that I find Yo Gabba Gabba reinforcing it.

Today was one of those days where I had some questions about my parenting skills. I was making dinner and my son was sobbing. He wanted to go get the mail. I had told him earlier that we would go get the mail after dinner. So when I told him again, he threw a fit - which meant that we were certainly not going to get the mail until after dinner. So I went about cooking and he stomped around and cried and kept telling me that he would NOT eat dinner. Until he saw the hot dogs on Charlotte's tray and ate one. End of fit. It made me feel a lot better about holding the line because the reason I wanted to wait was that he tends to fall apart a little if he doesn't eat on time. Validation. And we were able to go and get the mail after a wonderful dinner in which we all played peek a boo, the kids ate a lot, including some green beans and I got to eat my whole dinner. That's my truth for the day. It is so tempting to give in when kids want something - keep the peace, make them happy, whatever. But, in the long run that just creates a monster that expects a sports car for his 16th birthday. So, while it is exhausting, we are going to help him learn some of this stuff early and hope that it translates into a kind hearted, patient, loving kid.

Wallowing

We had a beautiful weekend - even though it was cold, we got sunshine and plenty of it. Even today was nice - big blue sky, nice fluffy clouds. But, about an hour ago it started to rain. And not normal, misty, Seattle rain - it was torrential and gusty. So I am now sitting here listening to the rain blow against my window. I'm sort of glad to have it back. It makes it more acceptable for me to wear really comfy, warm clothes to work this week.

A note about work here seems necessary, but I generally don't blog about work. What I will say is that I took on a new job recently and it is harder than my old job. Not bad hard, just harder than my old job. As I work my way into this new job, I am trying to give myself some grace and understand that it might mean that I need to go to bed a little earlier. Which is why I am cozy right now and thinking seriously about how I early I can go to bed and still be considered an adult.

Mondays are also transitional day for us - we get in the car early in the morning and return to Seattle for the week. This week, we are driving our smaller car while our bigger car gets some much needed maintenance. The bigger car has a video player in it and the children are accustomed to watching Yo Gabba Gabba on the trip. Thomas keeps asking for it, and we keep explaining that there is no TV in this car. It was enlightening to listen to him entertain himself on the ride. Mostly he told himself stories and occasionally involved us in the conversation. It was a nice change from listening to the same video over and over again.

I know some of you are thinking that it is a holiday and I should have had the day off, but I do not get this holiday off (and I found that several of my friends do not get this day off either). The big advantages to working when everyone has the day off are less traffic and maybe time to catch up on things without interruption from the outside world. I did take an extra few minutes this morning to hang up some pictures in my office. I hadn't printed a lot of pictures in the last year - I do have a nice picture of Josh and I from our wedding on my desk - and now I have great pictures of Thomas and Charlotte on the walls. So even though I didn't get a holiday, I now get to see my babies all day long.

Just do it

I have a lot of moments lately that I call "just do it" moments. These are the times when I have to decide between my lazy nature and doing what I need to do. Sometimes that means getting up in the morning to go work out, but tonight it was folding laundry. The kids were in bed and I was trying to find any excuse just to lay down and go to sleep myself. But, I knew that it was really the last time I could get it done before we head back to Seattle in the morning. So, I did it. And, it didn't take as long as I thought it would. And, I got to watch TV while I did it, so it went by quickly... All this to say that I am finding more and more that when I just do it, it isn't so bad and when I'm finished, I feel like I accomplished something.

Today was a fabulous day. We went to church this morning and then out to lunch with my parents and then home with sleepy kids. We worked on projects while they slept (Josh cleaned out the car and I cleaned the carpet) and then we went outside when they woke up. Thomas rode his scooter and Charlotte pushed a truck around. We got to talk to 3 of our neighbors and see the neighborhood dogs. The kids were just thrilled to be outside. Then we went to Josh's hockey game. My parents came, too, which meant that I got to actually watch the game. See, fabulous.

And, finally, about the pictures above. These are two more from yesterday, but these were taken by my sister in law, who is a fabulous photographer. The photo of Charlotte will be hanging in our house for years to come.

a day off

Josh and I have wonderful parents. And we live near them. Which means that we have lots of babysitting. And, it means that sometimes they call up on Friday night and beg to take our kids off our hands. Who are we to say no? In fact, Josh's parents took our kids all day today as well. We got to go to Costco by ourselves! and we went to lunch together - just us! and we went to a movie with Josh's brother and sister in law! and then we went out afterward for pie and coffee! It felt really decadent. I fought with the guilt a little, but when we got to their house, the kids were really happy, playing outside and having a grand time. And, I think their grandparents had a grand time too.

Josh's parents have both a keyboard and a drum kit in their house, much to the delight of the children. Even Charlotte is quite the little drummer. And, Thomas and Charlotte got to play with their cousin, Catalina, which is a true delight for them.

When I put Thomas to bed tonight, we laid down and talked for a few minutes and he told me all about his day. He told me he got to push his cart and that he and Charlotte had fun with Grandma and Grandpa. I love that he will just lay there and talk to me. It gives me a little picture into his world.

So, we got a true day off today. I missed the kids, but really enjoyed spending time with my husband and having him all to myself for the day. We are truly grateful to Grandma and Grandpa for the time.

Thoughts for Thursday

The kids are in bed, the laundry is folded and put away and I am getting ready to curl up with my Kindle. I could easily sleep as well, but I have made it a goal to read more this year since we don't have a TV in our room in Seattle. I love watching TV in bed, so it took a fair bit of convincing before I agreed not to go out and buy another television. We have lived here for almost 6 months now and I don't really miss it. I love coming in here at the end of the day and reading until I can't see straight.

Another benefit to living here has been the ability to get out to the gym twice a week. We made it a priority for me to do this because I need the exercise (apparently chasing the kids around for a couple of hours after work does not count as exercise). I went to the doctor 2 weeks ago for a physical and she was pleased at the exercise regimen. I really love it because I come home full of energy and really relaxed at the same time.

One of the things that propelled me to the doctor was that I have been having heart palpitations and I had been putting off doing anything about it until I got motivated by other circumstances (more on that in a minute). At the doctor, I found out that my heart palpitations are a fairly routine condition called premature ventricular contractions. In the old days (you know, 5 years ago), they treated these with medication. But, the medication had bad side effects and didn't really solve the problem. It turns out that they are not dangerous as long as they don't occur while you are exercising (if they do, they are a clear indication of heart disease). Mine tend to occur when I am sitting still, so that is a good sign. They think the cause is a combination of factors around caffeine and stress and the recommended prescription was yoga. So now, in addition to the two days I go to the gym, I added two days of yoga. It has been awesome. I am so grateful that Josh was willing to get up early 4 days a week so I can do this.

I haven't yet written about what happened to my friend, Joanne. She is the same age as me (that is, 38) and in great shape from running every day for the last couple of years. On Tuesday, January 11, she had a stroke. Totally unexpected, nothing you can prepare for, out of the blue and life is completely changed. We have been friends for 17 years - the longest friendship in my life. Her journey has inspired me to stop putting off things (like going to the doctor) and to stop thinking that my life is hard or that I can't go to the gym because I'm tired. So tomorrow morning, when I really want to sleep in, I am going to have my just do it moment of the day and get myself to yoga class.

Language

We just had a family geek moment watching Jeopardy. In case you don't know, this week on Jeopardy, there are two contestants playing against a computer. The computer is named Watson and it is big enough to fill my living room. It was fascinating to watch and played right into what I have been thinking about with Thomas and Charlotte and language and communication.

Thomas has all the funny toddlerisms that are typical (instead of went he says goed, instead of saw he says seed, etc), but he also has his own unique ones. My favorite is "I don't know either." He says it in response to "why did you do that?" or "how do you feel?" or "where did you put the remote?". It cracks me up every time.

Charlotte is also starting to talk a lot more. She is still mainly on one word things that sound the same "doggie", "daddy", "bite", "up high", "bath", "momma", "key", "please" and the ever popular "more". She is getting so big. I noticed tonight that her little belly is going away and she is getting longer and leaner.

The most interesting thing is to see how fast they learn and acquire context and language and they sometimes shock me with how much they understand - which means I have to be a lot more careful about what I say...

Two small stories from today

1. Thomas told me a story tonight before he went to bed. He is not a reliable narrator. But, if you listen through the words you get the essence of what he is trying to say and it is such a wonderful time to hear how he is processing things. The story always starts out with him trying to sell someone out "Daddy took away my toy" and the probing brings out the truth - it was one he had stolen from his sister. "And is it okay to steal from Charlotte?" "No." He then went on to catalog all of his misbehavior from the day "I pushed Charlie." "And is that okay?" "Nooooo." This is progress for us - he used to say "Yes".

2. It is Valentine's Day and Josh bought me chocolate. He just asked if he could have one and I said, "sure, you can have the rest, there are only a few left." He took the box, held it for a second and then said, "Did you eat all the ones in the second layer?" and I said, "there's a second layer?". Which is all just to say that I hope you enjoy your chocolates and remember that a heavy box indicates a second layer.

Happy New Year, six weeks late

I like to start out every new year with a goal, a little addition to make me a better me this year. Some years it has been to lose weight, others to do more reading, last year it was to get my teeth fixed. I find this helps me not become too complacent and set in my ways. I thought this was going to be a year about fitness (and it is, a little bit) and I thought this was going to be a year about reading (and it is, a little bit), but it is turning out that this is a year about committing. These are the things I am committing to this year:

1) Reading, both fiction books and my daily devotional
2) Fitness, both going to the gym and doing yoga3) Communicating, both on and off line
4) Presence, presentness, being in the moment, however you want to say it

That means that I am going to be more disciplined about blogging. These entries are really for my kids - a record of what is happening in their lives and around them and some history for them so that they will be able to see what they were like when they were little. So, Happy New Year, six weeks late and now, I will give you some pictures and links and an update...
Charlotte is now 14.5 months old, walking around the house, getting into trouble, trying to pull everything off the counter, the table, the desk, etc. She is a happy girl with a ready smile and so much energy. She loves it when Daddy throws her "up high" and just giggles and giggles. She likes to play with her brother, but she does not like it when he takes things away from her. She loves to say please "(peas)" and thank you "den doo" and when she wants something, she knows to tilt her head to the side and give you a big smile while saying them...
Thomas is 28.5 months old and no longer a baby (although he told me the other day that he was a baby so he wouldn't have to eat his dinner "I am not a big boy, I am a baby"). He freaks us out every day with his knowledge of the alphabet (he can recognize most letters and point to the right one when we say "which one is the D or P or Q or you get the picture?"). He likes all things that move, but especially his trains. He likes to build tracks so that the train can go "up a hill, down a hill" before Charlotte destroys them. He likes to ride on his car or his "motorcycle" (which is really his bicycle) and he loves to push things - the shopping cart, the stroller, anything with wheels.

Here is Thomas with his cousin, Catalina at lunch yesterday (the big guy is Grandpa)
My sister in law, Joanne, is doing a 365 project and her picture of Charlotte was the picture of the day yesterday. You can see it here.

Since the last entry, Josh has gone back to work. He now works in the city, so we got an apartment over there during the week. The kids love it. Thomas knows the difference between "Bremerton" and the "apartment". When we leave Seattle on Friday nights, he says "bye, bye, Space Needle" and when we get close to our house he always says "Home?". I'll post some pictures of our view if we get some nice days this week.

I'm sure I'll write more in future posts about the rest of my goals for the year and how they are coming along. Feel free to ask me if you do not see updates, I need the prodding sometimes to make sure that I am on track.

It is Sunday afternoon and the kids are happily sleeping upstairs, so I will now enjoy some rare moments of peace and quiet and read my book.

The beginning of a beautiful friendship

I just love this picture. I can't believe how big my babies are getting and it is so great to start to see them interacting with each other. Some of the interaction is good and some is not so good :) We tell Thomas to be gentle a lot. We have also taught him to say "Sorry, Sissy". But for the most part, Charlotte thinks Thomas is hilarious and he loves to tickle her and hear her laugh. I can't wait to see how they develop as little playmates and I am so grateful for them every single day.

Last day at the lake

We have been blessed with great weather this week, so we have had a lot of time boating, jet skiing and going to the pool. Yesterday we put Charlotte in the pool for the first time and she loved it. Last year, we did the same with Thomas and he loved it, but this year he has learned a little fear of the water, so we are now making sure he is comfortable with it again. Josh is great at working with Thomas in the water and getting him to kick and do a few strokes.

Josh and I got the chance to take a long jet ski ride and get coffee by ourselves. It was weird to have the freedom to hang out together. Because I have been on the road and we were getting ready to go on this trip, we haven't really had a lot of time to spend together, so it has been nice to have babysitters (aka grandparents) here this week.

Yesterday I took a trip up the lake by myself and thought again of how nice it would be to live in a place like this. Maybe what I really think is that it would be nice to be on vacation all of the time :) - I usually get over it by thinking about all the disadvantages to living way out here like the lack of a grocery store close by and the lack of a movie theater (this is what I tell myself to make it okay to go home).

Charlotte is trying very hard to crawl (there was speculation that she would crawl this week, but while she is making great progress backward, she is still not able to propel herself forward). She did get the chance to eat meat for the first time (chicken - she loved it) and she continues to be our super social baby girl.

Thomas is keeping us all on our toes. He wants to be "outside" all day and night (it is very difficult to explain to him that it is too cold at 6am to really go outside). I'm thinking that two years from now we will be able to more easily have him go outside and play without having to chase him all over (at his current age he only follows the directions he wants to follow and "stay out of the street isn't one of them), but we will see.

Seems like it is time to take a walk over to the pool and enjoy this good weather for one more day!

Annual pilgrimage to Priest Lake

This is either the 5th or 6th time I've made the annual pilgrimage to Priest Lake. I started coming with my sister, Rebecca and her family and my parents in either 2005 or 2007. We come out here for a week in late June and get a great deal because the weather is truly variable. This week, for example, we are expecting everything from 55 and rainy to 80 and sunny. We'll see how it actually turns out because we can never really trust the weather report.

We started out yesterday and went as far as Moses Lake, which is halfway here and has a great water park. We had such a good time and then a bit of a tough night (Thomas refused to go to sleep until 10:30 - which was a lot of crying and asking for Mommy or Daddy, whoever wasn't holding him). Both of the kids were up around 5:30, so we were on the road by 8:30. There is only so much you can do with small children in a motel room.

The travel went well today and we got here at 2. It was unbelievably beautiful - the lake was like glass and it was about 80. Josh took Thomas swimming in the pool (I know, a pool at a lake resort, but the water in the lake is cold and the water in the pool is warm - which makes it great for kids). Charlotte and I enjoyed the view from inside the condo. She was happy crawling around on the floor (not really crawling quite yet, she kind of gets places by wiggling and scooting) and I was happy getting everything unpacked and set up.

We got both the boat and one of the jet skis in the water about 4:30 and took off for some adventure. Thomas went out in the boat with us and Charlotte hung out with her grandma back here. It was amazing. For the past couple of trips here, I have been pregnant, so even though I rode the jet ski, I didn't really take it out there and jump or turn fast or do anything crazy. Of course I don't do anything as crazy as Josh or Mike and I sat in the boat with Thomas laughing at their crazy antics.

Beth prepared a great dinner (meatloaf!) and the kids absolutely crashed. Thomas was so tired that he went to sleep after only one reading of Goodnight, Moon.

My parents and Robb and Rebecca and the kids are joining us tomorrow and if I get my act together, there will be pictures at some point. For the time being, I will say that after my last post, I was way more conscious of my stress points throughout the trip and made an effort to take a deep breath and just enjoy my kids and enjoy the moment and my stress level was really low for the whole trip.

Tired now (all that sun, wind and fun is making me sleepy), so I am off to bed.

Patience

I have been traveling way more than usual the last couple of weeks and I have discovered that I have a lot more patience these days that I used to. In the past, delays were so annoying to me that it would make me crazy. Now, I just expect them. It is possible that I have more coping mechanisms (internet access, Kindle, Blackberry, iPod) than I did in the past, but I often spend the time just staring into space. It is a nice break from all of the constant thinking and planning and I go into some sort of travel mode that allows me to just sit, be still, relax and wait.

I have discovered that this sitting and waiting also works for computers. If it is taking a while to connect to the wireless, sit back and breathe. If you get the rainbow circle (Mac) or the blue circle (Windows 7), don't push any buttons - just wait. I get the bigger message here and it comes just in time for me to go on vacation with my family. So I have decided to take this vacation slowly, to not be in a hurry to get somewhere, to listen to my kids and be sensitive when they need to stop and to just relax. No more time to waste making other people faster, I'm going to use it all to slow down. :)

New York City

I am in New York once again for a couple more meetings. Tonight I am staying at the Mansfield. 10 years ago when I started coming to New York for work, my friend Toben recommended this hotel and it became my go to place to stay in New York. I hadn't stayed here since I started working at Amazon and then it came up as an option when I was coming out here in May and I was really happy to find that in the 5 years I had been staying other places, the Mansfield got a little makeover and started including breakfast. I am a fan once again.

I must say that I don't miss traveling all the time. I really miss my family when I am on the road. I can't wait to get back to them tomorrow night :).

We go to Priest Lake on Friday and we are really looking forward to spending time together as a family and enjoying a little relaxation. The jet skis are ready to go and the boat is all clean and shiny. This trip is our kickoff to summer and I can't wait!

I should)

It was such a gorgeous day I should be posting video and pictures, but I am not the photographer or videographer of the family - that job falls to my father in law. We had a fabulous afternoon in the backyard celebrating my sister in law, Jen's graduation from nursing school. It was one of those rare days where the weather completely cooperates. It was about 80 degrees with a light breeze. Not too hot and not too chilly. We put the kids in their bathing suits and they played with the hose and ran all over the yard (except Charlotte - she just chattered a lot, I imagine, about wanting to be able to walk and play).

It was also the first day we got to make full use of our heat pump. We got our furnace replaced and had a heat pump installed, giving us the equivalent of air conditioning on days like today. I love it. We had been discussing doing this for a long time and finally made the decision to do it before the summer gets too hot. The room where we spend most of the day (our family room) gets really hot and Thomas' room also gets really hot, so we are really enjoying the new cool.

We have actually been doing a lot of home improvement projects this year. We had our house painted, we got new garage doors, we had our roof cleaned, we closed in our loft to make a room for Charlotte and we are about to get a new front door. I don't know what stopped us from doing these things in the past. It is nice to finally get some of them off of the to do list.

Okay, time to capitalize on the fact that my children are asleep and go to sleep myself.

Happy to be home!

Sometimes being a mother is terrible. It makes it so much harder to leave home every day. I thought the hard part would be going back to work after maternity leave. No, it is harder now. Each day I love these guys a little more (really, can you blame me? do you see how cute they are?). I think the traveling has made me love them even more.

Charlotte has chosen these weeks to start sleeping on her stomach. My mother will make fun of me for this, but I was really freaked out the first night I woke up and saw her on the monitor sleeping completely face down. I know I have to get over it, since this makes her sleep longer and thus makes her a happy baby, but it is taking some getting used to.

That is the terrible part of motherhood, the worrying, the love that makes me irrationally protective, the longing to spend as much time as possible. I wouldn't trade it for the world. It has taken me completely by surprise. I did not know how much I would love it and I am so grateful.

I am also completely grateful that I get to do this with someone who loves these little ones as much as I do. Josh really does all the heavy lifting and he keeps me sane. I am seriously blessed.

One more trip left and then I get to go on vacation! I got home last night at 2am. This morning I got to spend a little time with the family before going to work. Josh and I sat on the couch, drinking our coffee and watching Thomas tickle Charlotte on the floor while she laughed and laughed. Now the children are in their beds and I am about to pass out as well. Good night!

Where does the time go?

I haven't posted for a while and I have been itching to get this updated. I've been traveling a ton - I'm currently in New York for the 3rd time in 4 weeks and I'm coming back in 2 weeks. I want to get some pictures up and share a little bit of my traveling experience, so here we go...



The kids are doing great. Thomas has a lot of words and is busily communicating with us. He especially likes to say "no". He is still very active and loves to run and tries really hard to jump.

Charlotte is 21 lbs and 26 inches. She is wearing 12 month clothes (at 6 months old)! She is also very verbal and loves to chatter to us. No recognizable words yet, but I have no doubt that they are coming soon. She can sit on her own and play for a long time and then she stretches out to grab a toy, ends up on her stomach and tries to move around. She is pretty good at moving backward, so we are sure that crawling is coming within the next couple of weeks.

We are all really looking forward to our annual Priest Lake pilgrimage in 9 days. After all this travel for work, I can't wait to spend time with my family.

I used to travel for my job all the time when I worked at NavPress, but I have been at Amazon for 5 years now and have made only 2 -3 trips a year. I have felt a little rusty in the travel department and have the following observations about my latest trips:

1. These days, carry on is required. If you check a bag, you not only have to wait for it when you arrive, you actually have to pay extra. I can now fit 4 days in my little suitcase.

2. Cabs in Boston are way more expensive than cabs in New York.

3. Car service from the airport is cheaper than a cab most of the time.

4. The runway at JFK is under construction. This means that you will be waiting 1-2 hours to take off.

5. Jet Blue seriously pads the amount of time they tell you it is going to take to fly from Seattle to New York so they are always on time.

6. TV on the airplane is awesome. It passes the time very fast.

7. They really have to figure out a way for you to be able to use electronic devices while you are sitting there waiting to take off. Shielding? Different technology in the cockpit? Anything would be great.

That is all for now. I have to run to a meeting!

Back to work

I keep meaning to update the blog with the latest in our lives, but the time just gets away from me. I am definitely back at work.

The last week before I went back we made a trip down to the Oregon coast - to Yachats. Josh grew up going there to visit his great grandparents. His great aunt and uncle still live there and we went to see them. Almost the entire Canfield clan came. Josh's brother, Jeremy, had to work so he did not make the trek. We spent a lot of time playing dominoes and we did get a couple of trips to the beach as well. Thomas loved the water - he would point at it and say "Water!". Josh taught him how to run from the waves with limited success.

When we returned, I had oral surgery. For the record, I do not recommend this as the last thing to do before going back to work. I'm still struggling a little bit with the pain - it is not healing as fast as I would like. I'm just counting the days until all of this dental stuff is done.

The first week of work went well. We are all adjusting to the new schedule. I still make oatmeal for breakfast in the crockpot. It works nicely and is great comfort food. I am doing pretty well at getting up every morning and working out before I leave.

The big project this week has been Charlotte's room. We had an area next to Thomas' room upstairs that was open like a loft. We decided to close it off and make a new room for Charlotte. Our contractor came on Saturday and framed and put in dry wall. He also added a closet in the room. I'm really excited to see it all come together and think about Charlotte growing up in that room.

That is pretty much it for the last couple of weeks. Now I have to go to sleep.

So much to do, so little time

Things have been pretty busy in the Canfield house. We have one very tired and growing boy who has now proven that he can sleep anywhere. We have been out a few times lately for various reasons and Thomas is a champ at going to sleep somewhere else and sleeping in the car all the way home and going straight to bed.

First we had a great night out on Valentine's Day. It was the night of my book club, so we planned to have dinner with each other and our husbands. It was a huge hit. We had really interesting conversation and we all got a night with adults on Valentine's Day that was way better than going to a restaurant. One thing I've really enjoyed about being on maternity leave is that I have had more time to get to know some of these folks and I'm really happy about that.

Second, we continue our daily family workout time. I'm really going to miss mornings in our house when I go back to work. We all get to hang out together and eat breakfast after our play time. I'm going to continue working out, but I'll have to do it earlier and get out of the house by 7am so that will change our routine. Look at these kids - so cute :)

The other big news is that we bought a new car. We went to look at the Chevy Traverse, but they didn't have any in stock and it turns out that the Chevy Traverse, the GMC Acadia, the Buick Enclave and the Saturn Outlook are all the same car. We were looking for a car with three rows that would have decent mileage and be able to tow the jet skis during the summer. We loved the Acadia when we drove it and it turned out that they had a used Saturn Outlook with low mileage and we were able to negotiate all of the features we wanted (like a tow package and navigation).

Otherwise, we are busily preparing for my return to work - only one week of leave left. I'm really going to miss all of this great time with my family. I'm planning to really soak up the weekends with them. It is amazing how fast the kids are growing. Charlotte is really active and so chatty. Thomas is full of energy and he gets new words every day. He said a two word sentence this week - "Bye bye Doggie" to my parents dogs and "bye bye Daddy" when Josh went down the stairs. Pretty soon they will both be competing in the Olympics (Thomas on the USA Hockey team and Charlotte in speed skating). I better go to sleep so I can keep up with them tomorrow.

30 Day Challenge

This morning I completed my first 30 day challenge on EA Sports Active. It has now become a family activity :) We all get up in the morning and do our workout together. For Thomas this means a lot of playing on the slide and laughing when the program tells me to jump (I'm not sure why he things jumping is so funny, but he does). I decided to give myself a little treat for finishing. No, not food - shoes. I figure shoes will continue to fit, even as I lose the weight, so they are a good investment.

Charlotte also got in on some of the action today. We brought out her activity gym and laid her on it. She doesn't get a lot of time on the floor to exercise since we want to keep her protected from Thomas. But, he has been really good with her, so we are doing new things like putting her in her swing and using her mat. She loves it - kicks her legs, rolls on to her side and smiles at everything she sees.

My other big project this week is clearing out the storage closet in our loft. We have boxes up there that never got unpacked from when we moved in here in 2007. Most of it is my stuff and I have found myself much more willing to get rid of things than I used to be. We want to close off the loft and make it into a bedroom for Charlotte. That way we will be able to maintain a guest room in our house. The storage closet will have to be turned into a real closet, so we can't keep too many things in there. The final part will be going through all of my knitting supplies (I have tons of yarn), organizing them into projects and then clearing out some of the yarn that I'm never going to use.

This week went by really fast - probably because I spent another 2 days at the dentist. I have only 2 appointments left with the dentist and then a couple with an oral surgeon to fix up one last tooth. It is so great to get this done - even though it is not a lot of fun.

With things going by so fast, we didn't take any pictures. We'll try to be better about that this week.

Where does the time go?

Last week, on Josh's birthday, we went to lunch at Chuck E Cheese. Yes, Josh is over 30 and he picked the place - he thought it would be fun for Thomas :) We had a great time. Even Charlotte got in on the action by driving the jeep.

Friday was Charlotte's two month appointment and she is doing really well. I had to go back and check on Thomas' stats and she weighs more than he did! She is 12 pounds, 12 ounces, 23 inches - he was 12 pounds, 1 ounce and 23.5 inches. We'll have to see is she keeps up the trend. We've been trying to give her more opportunities to explore. We got out the bouncy seat for her and today I got out the floor mat with all of the hanging toys. It is so different the second time around because we have to keep her protected from Thomas so she doesn't get as much time on the floor as he did :)

We are definitely starting to see some personality from our baby girl. She smiles and coos at us and she just loves to interact. She does not like to be poked by her big brother and I'm starting to sense that he is going to have to watch out for her when she gets mobile. I think she will be chasing him down and poking him back.

Both of our kids are finally healthy again. It is great to see Thomas happy and hungry again. He is definitely starting to test his limits. He loves to climb and wants to go and explore everything. We are trying to keep a balance between letting him explore and keeping him safe. We bought him a slide that we put in the workout room. He loves it and it allows him to do some good climbing.

Josh gets up with Thomas every morning and feeds him breakfast. When I come out later (like an hour or two later) dressed for my workout, Thomas comes running over and is so excited to "work out" with me. He especially likes the running and the jumping :)

After my last post, I went to book group and had a great discussion about Omnivore's Dilemma. I also discovered a new place in Bremerton that sells local food called Fresh Local. They have produce and cheese and locally raised grass fed beef. Last week I made pot roast on Friday and it was really good. It was also really expensive. Which means that we are eating a little less meat. I also got some great lentils there and made lentil soup. It turns out that Thomas likes lentil soup, so we will be making that again. I've also been making bread in my bread maker again. I have a great recipe for parmesan peppercorn french bread and Josh and Thomas love it, so I have been making it over and over. I haven't been able to get the whole wheat bread to work right in my bread maker, so I am now off to locate better recipes for bread machine wheat bread.

It has somehow gotten late again, so I must be off to sleep.