A Bit of Cyn

Yep, that’s who we’re going to see today. I always get a little nervous about doing our taxes. I’m always afraid we’re going to find out that we owe so much more than we’ll have. What’s crazy about this is that we’ve only had to pay in a couple times (and that’s when I was self-employed and not paying taxes until tax time).

Then I get excited, wondering how much we’ll get back. Planning what we could do with the money. Then thinking about what we SHOULD do with the money. Like, we’d love to buy a new iMac to put downstairs. Ron’s laptop is slowly dying, and he’d like a desktop. We have the perfect place for it, close to where we all hang out, but we can close some doors to make it more quiet. But, we had to replace our furnace last month. We took out a Home Equity Line of Credit to pay. So we should pay that back. Or put money in savings, or into the kids college funds. But I always want to do fun stuff with it.

Oh well, here’s to hoping we get good news from the tax man. And perhaps enough to do the things we should do as well as the things we should do…

Today was actually a very good day with the kids. If only they had slept a little later… I met Katie and her nanny-ing kids. We all went to a train museum nearby. Sophia had a GREAT time with Liam. All morning she asked if she could see Liam and Charolette. So cute. Liam and Phia ran around the train museum, screaming and jumping, they were so excited. (Katie had the older kids and I had the little kids.)

Drew and Charolette hung out at the Thomas train tables (they had 2 for kids to play with). They would look at each other and get the biggest smiles on their faces. It really was cute. They kept aking toys from each other and trying to shove them in their mouths.

After the museum we went to a coffee place called Java Train. They have a wood caboose with toys in it for kids. It’s two stories and has a train going around the top. It’s pretty cool. So the kids all played while Katie and I chatted. Unfortunately the little ones were getting tired so it wasn’t quite as relaxing as it might have otherwise been.

I brought the kids home, and they both CRASHED for their naps. It was so nice to have them both nap, without fighting, and get a little time to myself. Even better, Ron came home from work about an hour early! So we went to my parents for dinner tonight. We got to see my mom, sister, and niece. It was actually pretty fun!

Having things to do, and people to do them with, sure makes having both kids at home easier and happier for everyone.

We had a nice weekend. All of the girls spent the night on Sunday and that was fun. Ron is so great with the kids. He played an advanced version of “Simon Says” and the kids had a blast. Then he made up a Twi*ster-type game up. When all was said and done, he got on the floor to let the kids ride on him. He’d then proceed to try bucking them off. It was hilarious!

In the morning, the girls made breakfast (with a little help for me). They made us pancakes and eggs. It all turned out pretty well! Then we went to my sisters work where all of the girls (and Ron) got their nails done. (My sister is a nail technician.) And I got my hair cut! We went to the play place in the mall where the girls all ran around with Sophia. I think they enjoyed that. Then we all went to lunch, came home, and the girls napped (including Sophia).

That evening my sister came to our house and made us stir-fry and cream cheese wontons. (My sister is Korean, and wasn’t adopted until she was 11, so the food she makes is real!) All the girls helped and had a great time doing that. All in all, it turned out to be a great weekend!!

I did develop a rash over the weekend. I think it’s from some Aveda lotion I’d never used before. It itches like crazy!! I finally went to the doctor and she thinks it’s related to ecxema (sp?) and told me to take Claridin and Benedryl for it. So, I’m doing that. It seems to be helping a bit. I sure it hope it clears up quickly. Ugh…

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Sophia came up to me yesterday, while we were eating dinner, and said, “Mommy, can we talk?” Wow, I didn’t think she’d ask me that for quite some time! I said, yes, of course we can talk. So she proceeded to tell me what she had for dinner. So cute… LOL

And, she loves her baby brother! It is so cute, and yet such a pain some times. She’s always hugging him and kissing him. He usually goes along with it the first time, but after that he wants to be left alone. But I’d really like to capture these moments so I can prove to her that at one point in her life, she LOVED her baby brother! hehe This morning she woke up and I went to get her. She looked in Drew’s room and whispered, “Drewie’s sleeping.” I said yes. She went in and gave her one of her cherished babies to sleep with. (Ahhh, so sweet!) Then she told me we needed to cover Drew and the baby, so we did. We left his room and she said we needed to shut the door, and that she would do it. hehe She’s growing up so quickly!

DH and I saw “Walk the Line” today. It was quite what I expected, though it was entertaining. I think Reese and Joaquin did great jobs with their roles. And it’s pretty amazing that they actually did the singing. Pretty cool. (It was pretty educational since I didn’t know much about Johnny Cash.)

The babysitter (who, have I mentioned, we LOVE) took the kids to a train museum. Katie checked the website and it said it was open until 6 pm. So they headed over. When they got there, it was closed (due to a special event). Katie told Phia it was closed and Phia said, “I know how to open the door.” She was pretty disappointed that they wouldn’t be going. That is, until they went to the coffee shop for ice cream.

Completely unrelated… Ron and I are thinking about putting Drew in daycare 1 day a week. That will give me at least one full day to focus on work, without any interuptions. If I need more time during the week to work (or run errands, or clean) our babysitter is available on Fridays. So, I could potentially have 2 days a week to dedicate to work. The reason we’re hesitating a bit is that I’m not guaranteed to have work, and if I don’t have work, it’s harder to pay for daycare. Ah, the decisions… (Okay, and personally, I’m a bit sad to send him off for a full day. I know the daycare provider, it’s the same one Sophia had, and I completely trust her. I know that it’s a good experience and I honestly do think he’ll have a good time there. But I’m just not sure I’m ready to let go of my at-the-moment-completely-dependent-on-mom baby. Especially since he’s probably my last…)

Yes, that’s right. Along with everyone else in the whole world, my children are sick. I took them both to the doctor on Wed. The verdict: Sophia has a sinus infection, Drew has ear infections, and they both have pink eye. Joy, oh, joy! They are both on oral antibiotics, and I picked up eye drops for Drew today (the oral stuff just wasn’t doing anything for his eyes).

As many of you may have guessed, not only have the illnesses brought about whining, but lack of sleep for everyone as well. I am so.tired. Drew has been waking up every 30-45 min. Sophia’s been waking up 2 or 3 times a night. I just want to sleep, people!

I’m looking forward to this weekend (other than the freezing weather!). Tomorrow afternoon/evening Ron and I are going to a movie. Not sure which movie we’ll see. Katie, our regular Sat. evening babysitter, will be here to entertain the kiddos. We’ll probably do dinner as well.

Sunday our niece and 2 other girls (who are like nieces to us) are spending the night. It should be fun. They love our kids, and our kids love them, so it should go pretty well. We promised them we’d do something fun on Monday, now we just have to figure out what is fun… Hmm… Ideas? The girls are between 10 and 13.

Time to put the older child to bed, then Ron and I are going to play a video game together. Hopefully the kids will cooperate tonight and let me sleep a bit more than I have.

So tell me, how do you see me?

http://kevan.org/johari?name=abitofcyn

Well, I know what my kids are doing (usually). They both seem to be doing new things lately and I want to document it. Lucky you, you get to read all about it.

First, Drew. Wow, he’s doing new stuff all.the.time. He’s crawling everywhere. He pulls up on everything. He starting to walk holding on to things (like chairs). He climb three steps the other day. He can stand by himself for about 10 sec. He likes playing on his own. He’s becoming more and more verbal. He can now say “baba” and “dahdah.” Every once in a while he’ll get a “g” sound in there. He kind of screams and waits for an answer back. He’s starting to eat more solids, but he’s still not completely sold on the idea. He’s starting to eat, I mean suck, on crackers and Ger*ber puffs. He nurses quite often. He loves laughing at his big sister. All in all, he’s a lot of fun! (Now, if only he’d let me sleep more…)

Now, Phia. She’s sooo funny! I wish I could remember all of the things she says, but I can’t. She’s talking in complete sentences. She’s jumping off of everything, climbing on everything (moving the chair to the counter so she can get to the stuff she’s NOT allowed to have). She’s always had great facial expressions, but they’re getting better because she’s starting to use sarcasm. It’s too funny. She’s day potty trained, and very nearly night trained as well. (She’ll call out to use at night so we can take her.) I’ll update more on Phia later, she’s wanting Ron and I to play a game with her!

Sophia had her first dentist appt. today. I’ve been “prepping” her for a week or so, getting her used to the idea of what the dentist was and what they would do. (Honestly, I had no idea what they were going to do with a 2.5 year old.) I told her that they’d ask her to open up wide, and then they’d count her teeth. We even practiced. And guess what? That’s exactly what they did!

Sophia was a bit scared, especially when she’d hear the polishing brushes. She sat on my lap while they gave us a “ride” on the chair. She cried a bit and got a little shakey. But she opened her mouth and let them count her teeth. She also got to pick out a toothbrush; she picked the Piglet one. Then they took her picture to hand on the board of “cavity free” kids. She thought that was pretty cool! Oh, and she got a sticker.

They were very good with her; patient and understanding. They explained things to her and took time to let her warm up to the idea. When we were done, they showed her what they would do next time, using the polishing brush on my finger to “tickle” my finger. I wasn’t sure she was paying attention, but she mentioned it when we got home. All in all, I think it went pretty well. Phia has 10 teeth on top and bottom, and nothing that looks to be a problem at this point. We have another appt. scheduled for her in Aug.

Remember that proposal I had to write and just couldn’t get motivated to do it? Well, I did it, because it was due today. I stressed and stressed about it, knowing I wasn’t doing it right. I finally talked to my dad tonight and guess what? It’s not due until Sunday. Ugh… But the good news is: It’s done!! I’m going to review it again tomorrow and make some changes, but the big part is done. I’m so thrilled.

As I was talking to my dad about it this evening he said, “Cyn, you know what I hear? I hear a lack of self-confidence. You only know what you know, you can only do the best that you can do. No one, including me, is expecting any more from you. This is supposed to be fun, a challenge. It’s not life or death, it’s gaining experience.”

To hear that was freeing! My dad, he loves me! (Okay, I never had any doubt, but my dad is someone I want to be so proud of me. The sad part is that I worry because really? He’ll always be proud of me!) And, I was able to let go of some of the insecurities I had about writing the proposal. *sigh* Maybe I’ll be able to sleep tonight.

Oh, and just to point out, Ron said my dad would say just what he did! (Ron said this when I was telling him about my fear of failing my dad. Guess Ron knows me and my dad pretty well. Thanks hon!)

PS - Anyone have suggestions on what we should do while in FL? We’ll be in the Orlando area, but we’re not real interested in the Disney stuff yet. (Kids are a bit young, and it’s pretty pricey.) We’d love to do a beach day, so if you have suggestions, let me know!

Big news for the day… Drew can stand on his own! We’re talking pull himself up on something and let go with both hands for about 10 sec. Then he falls or grabs on again. Granted, I’ve only seen him do it twice, but the babysitter saw it as well. I can’t believe he’s able to do this already; he’s my baby!! *sigh*

More news for the day… I think we’re going on a real, true vacation! My parents have access to two condos in Florida in April. They are using one and invited us to go and stay in the other. We have a ton of frequent flier miles, so the trip would basically be free. I’m so excited for so many reasons. My parents have already offered to watch the kids for an evening/day so that Ron and I can have some time alone…in Florida! Hip, hip, hooray!!

Tonight the family is heading off to “swim lessons.” It’s a blast to watch the kids in the water. Drew splashes and chews on the toys. Phia plays the little games that are used to teach the concepts needed to swim. It’s a nice thing to do as a family.

See, I told you it wouldn’t always be serious! Oh, and I haven’t even started that proposal I need to finish! Ah well…