2004-11-03-2:36 p.m.
Halloween, Halloween, Halloween. This was really Ro's first Halloween as I never took him out on past halloweens. I wasn't sure about taking him this year because of the stupid time change and it interfering with his bedtime but when kids came to our door, he got interested so Daddy got him into his fireman gear and took him out. He was pretty amazed that you could just go up to someone's house and get candy. In fact, he was so amazed that he was satisfied with his haul after a mere three houses. He rarely gets candy so even the few pieces he got were quite impressive to him. Now he holds up pieces of candy and stays "Trickertreat".

I also took Ro to the kid's museum Halloween party on Friday. We spent the first half hour stalking Arthur, a PBS cartoon character, who was wandering around dishing out candy. Every time we drifted out of sight of Arthur. Ro would start saying "Arthur please! Arthur please!". Initially, he was too scared to go up to him but he finally worked up the courage and then I had a hard time getting him away. I think he hugged Arthur like five times. I did get the money shot though.

The last half hour of the visit, didn't go quite as well because Ro ran into another little boy dressed as Buzz Lightyear. He basically went into shock for a few seconds and dropped his fire hose. Then, he started tugging at my coat and demanding I take it off. Then, he threw off his costume and started crying that I didn't have his coat. Why did he want his coat you may ask? Because -- Ro will only wear hooded coats or jackets because Buzz always wears a hood. Ro will kick up a mighty fuss if you try to get him to wear a hat or a jacket with no hood. Anyhow, I neglected to bring his coat so he was all misery for awhile. I felt really bad but I thought a Buzz Lightyear costume would be too hard to make and I didn't want to trouble my mother in law with it. I also didn't want to pay for one either as they're pretty expensive. And, I visualized Ro and I fighting about him wanting to wear it every day. So, that's why we didn't go with a Buzz costume. Ro loves firemen too but not as much as Buzz, who is the apex of all that is coolness. However, Grandma is going to try to whip him up a Buzz play outfit for Xmas I think. I'd like something more machine washable than a Disney costume is likely to be.

Oh yeah. You know how bags say THIS BAG IS NOT A TOY. I always that was dumb because I couldn't visualize why a child would put a plastic bag over his head. Anyhow, I'd bought some fancy bread and was slicing it at the table. Ro was sitting there watching me and swinging his feet. I glanced at him and saw he'd put the clear bread bag over his head. He was smiling at me and pointing at his head saying "Helmet!" He was so happy and pleased to have a big bubble around his head like Buzz. Sadly, mommy had to burst his bubble and tell him not to ever, ever do that again. I'd be worried he'd try to find a bag and go to sleep that way or something - hence the discouragement.

2004-10-28-9:15 a.m.
Cleaning is so futile when you have children. My mother came to watch the baby on Tuesday so I could go to the farm with Roey. So she wouldn't freak out at the state of our house, I spent quite awhile cleaning it on Monday so that it was upgraded from filthy to pretty messy. Anyhow, on Tuesday morning, I set Roey's clothes out on the couch for dressing. He watched me and then ran out of the living room. He came back with an armload of baby clothes and hurled them at the couch. "What are you doing!?" I yelled at his retreating back. He returned with another armful of clothes and just beaming with joy. He said, "I helping Mommy." Then, he hurled those clothes on the couch too. He then spent half an hour gathering up all the clothes he could find, which was a lot, and throwing them on the couch. After every load, he'd run off saying "More clothes! Need more clothes". I was alternately laughing and frustrated but I just let him keep at it because I didn't want to discourage him from helping and I had a ton of stuff to get ready. By the time my Mom arrived, I think the couch was a foot deep in clothes and she got to see all our dirty laundry -- literally. So, yeah -- cleaning is futile.

2004-10-26-2:03 p.m.
We just got back from a morning of agri-tainment at a local farm, where Ro and his preschool class selected pumpkins, jumped in hay, and petted goats. It was a good time. I especially enjoyed watching other three year olds interact with their mother because they're all such little freaks. You never know what they're going to do. The emotions of a three year old almost seem worse than two year olds. One little girl was punching her mom and then crying and saying she was sorry and then punching her again followed by an apology. She didn't want to hurt her mommy but she was sooooo angry at her and you can just see all these different emotions at war. It's totally fascinating - when it's not your kid. It's frustrating when it is. I had the rare luxury of a non-tantruming child today so I was happy. It really was a girly sort of tamtruming day though. Besides Punching Girl, another little girl threw herself down in the mud and made her heavily pregnant mother get down on her knees and drag her out of it. Tantrum Queen was there though and she always makes sure she retains her crown just through sheer volume. She's really an awesome little girl though. She just explodes in rage now and then - but then it's over and she's back to being sweet.

Little girl tantrums seem worse than little boy tantrums. Ro's involve flailing and lots of screaming. The little girls do the same thing but they can hit some more annoying pitches with their screams and they're usually yelling something at you too -- like "Mommy, I hate you!" The boys just seem to stick to screaming or yelling "Nooooooo!". Almost all the kids start saying "Ouch! Ouch! Hurts! when you try to hold their hands and they don't want you to hold them. Ro has been doing this a lot lately and it drives me nuts. There's nothing like walking through a store with your kid shouting "Ouch! Ouch! No! Hurts!" to garner everyone's attention and have them stare at you like you're the worst sort of child abuser, when you're only trying to hold your kid's hand. So, it made me feel better to see it was in such wide spread usage among preschoolers.

2004-10-25-9:51 p.m.
Today, Ro and I were drawing on the window with window markers and I drew a boat. After I draw something, I usually write the name of it as well. I asked how do you spell boat and Ro said "B...O... T". It really startled me as I wasn't expecting any answer at all. Although not correct, it's really close for a three year old.

About this time last year, he got interested in letters and words and I know he learned to read the words apple, cat, and yo-yo. Then, he got bored and wouldn't play any letter or word games at all. He's been showing interest in letters and numbers again but it still ebbs and flows. Seems like he's picking it up though.

2004-10-22-10:48 a.m.
Why is it so hard to keep a house clean and stay organized? There are piles of laundry everywhere which I'm determined to make a dent in today. Although I'm not sure which are clean or dirty anymore.

You know your kitchen is out of control when the dishwasher and sink are full of dirty dishes and the only thing you can find to butter your bread with is a pie server. Oh yeah, and a tupperware lid was the closest thing I could find to a plate.

I am so tired.

2004-10-19-10:54 p.m.
Sim is four months old now and I've started feeding her solids in the hopes that she'll sleep for more than 2/3 hours at a stretch. I was shocked at how different it was from feeding Ro baby. (Don't ever expect your kids to be anything alike, eh.) Anyhow, Ro baby's first meal was this exciting nirvana moment for him and he chowed through three bowls of rice cereal before being satisfied. He also ate properly and neatly. I was so impressed. On the other hand, Simmy doesn't eat much at all. She only tolerates five or six baby spoonfuls and then she spits out at least half of each bite. However, she finds it entertaining so I am persisting. I bet she doesn't even get a tablespoon full of cereal at any given feeding though -- so more sleep is probably just another pipe dream.

In general, Sim is really a mellower baby --- except for the car. She can't stand the car. She starts crying as soon as she feels me lowering her into car seat. She still sobs through half a car trip at least -- but that's down from 100% of the trip. It's very nerve wracking especially on longer trips.

Another difference is that Sim likes having her diaper changed whereas Ro intensely hated it from the get go. I think she just likes activities that give her the opportunity for exclusive face time. She wants to stare into my face and talk, talk, talk. For the record, I've noticed it takes longer to change a baby girl's poopy diaper than it does a boy's poopy diaper.

2004-10-05-11:33 p.m.
A month or so ago, Husband's best friend came to visit. He "passed some gas" at the table and told Roey all about barking spiders. I think Husband possibly used the barking spider farce on him another time or two. Anyhow, this morning, I was a bit gassy myself. Roey stares at me and then points and says, "Mommy ... Spiderman". Snerk

Oh yeah, today is my birthday and I'm 33. whee. So far it's been good. Husband had a little party for me last night, which was lovely. Zedebia look me to lunch today. My son was in a pleasant mood for the first time in five days. My daughter was easy to deal with and slept four hours in a row last night. My Dad got me a necklace and shoe gift certificate. I'm considering these as I'm a chunky shoe fan. My mom bought me a gift certificate to Burpee, so I can pore over flower catalogs and plan for spring. And --- I managed to do a little knitting. I really couldn't ask for a better birthday than that.

2004-10-02-9:52 p.m.
It's already October and I realized I haven't written much about Simone. She's a funny little girl. She's quite ticklish and it's easy to make her laugh by pretending to eat her arms and hands.

She loves the swing. She's been swatting toys since she was two months old and now that she's three months old, she can hold things for short periods of time. She sat up by herself for about 30 seconds yesterday.

She loves for people to look her in the eyes and talk to her (and listen too). She's started waking up to jabber at night recently. She sounds like a chirpy little cricket. In fact, I usually call her Siminy Cricket -- or just Cricket. Sometimes Simmy or Sims or Little Miss Sim.

She loves Itsy Bitsy Spider with the hand motions and a song I learned at Ro's nursery school called Funga alafia, which is a Swahili chant. You can hear it on the web link or download the mp3. That version is a bit slower than we sing it though.

The funniest thing she tries to do is nurse and suck her thumb at the same time. She'll latch on and nurse happily for a few minutes but then she'll try to stuff her thumb in her mouth too. This isn't very comfortable for me, so I have to always block her hands. Occasionally she'll try both of thumbs at once, then I end up pratically fighting her off sometimes when she's really insistent on it. Her determination to suck everything at once makes me laugh though.

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