Friday, February 15, 2013
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Valentine's Day 2013
It's Valentine's Day! I'm not one of those overly crazed V Day people, nor do I hate the Hallmark Holiday. I just think it's a sweet day to remember and remind people you care and love that you do in fact care and love them. What's the harm in that? We had a rocky start today. Logan was just miserable. Not sure what was going on, but I was not sad to say bye to him at preschool this morning. Of course his teachers said he had a great day and that he actually followed friends around and wanted to play. This is huge people....HUGE! His class didn't have an official party, we just made Valentines for his friends and sent his teachers a little gift and flowers.
Isabel was very very excited about Valentine's Day. She loves the little conversation hearts. I went to 4 different stores trying to find her some that didn't have the dreaded peanut/tree nut allergy warning. I looked online and Target supposedly carried the brand that is safe. After a couple of attempts I found some! I bought 24 boxes because her teacher wanted 14 boxes for the kids for a graphing project. I think I might have yelled out YAAAAYYY and YEEEESSSS in Target when I found them. She had a little V Day party and handed out Valentines and had a cupcake. She is on a massive sugar rush right now.
I ran about 6 miles and then did some yard work today. After a super quick shower I headed back to the school for Izzy's party. The hardware for the cabinets came in today (holla to the USPS....LOVE them!) so I'm anxious to get that put on.
A sweet friend from Isabel's class is moving to Ireland next week and his mom is hosting a play date tomorrow to say goodbye. Logan has 2 hours of therapy, so I'm hoping Izzy and I can swing by in between. After the play date Isabel is having her school BFF come over for a couple of hours. Should be fun! Grammy and Papaw are coming this weekend too, so we need to finally get the sheets back on the guest bed!
Isabel was very very excited about Valentine's Day. She loves the little conversation hearts. I went to 4 different stores trying to find her some that didn't have the dreaded peanut/tree nut allergy warning. I looked online and Target supposedly carried the brand that is safe. After a couple of attempts I found some! I bought 24 boxes because her teacher wanted 14 boxes for the kids for a graphing project. I think I might have yelled out YAAAAYYY and YEEEESSSS in Target when I found them. She had a little V Day party and handed out Valentines and had a cupcake. She is on a massive sugar rush right now.
I ran about 6 miles and then did some yard work today. After a super quick shower I headed back to the school for Izzy's party. The hardware for the cabinets came in today (holla to the USPS....LOVE them!) so I'm anxious to get that put on.
A sweet friend from Isabel's class is moving to Ireland next week and his mom is hosting a play date tomorrow to say goodbye. Logan has 2 hours of therapy, so I'm hoping Izzy and I can swing by in between. After the play date Isabel is having her school BFF come over for a couple of hours. Should be fun! Grammy and Papaw are coming this weekend too, so we need to finally get the sheets back on the guest bed!
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Almost there! *an out of order post*
I'll be starting the LAST section if our cabinet project tomorrow! Instead of taking it slow I've been going non stop. I use every single 'free' moment in my day working on them and then beg Brian to hang cabinets/remove cabinets/help me glaze, etc etc after the kids go to bed around 9 or 9:30. Yes, bedtime is being slowly pushed back these days. I'm still keeping the naps for as long as I can, so a later bedtime is ok with me. As soon as this last installment if cabinets is dry after the protective coat it's on to the last section!!! The easiest part is the painting and the hardest part has been the deglossing and the final protective coat. It is so hard to put on and make look good. It's really thick and will get tacky after being put on in about 30 seconds. You have to move fast and absolutely cannot go over a section you've already finished to try and touch it up. I do this almost every single time. You would think I would learn 'NO touch ups with the protective coat!' But no.
Logan has been doing really well with OT. He has stopped stuffing his mouth! Yay! I've been doing facial sensory exercises with him and it seems to be helping. He also seems to be done with his potty regression. Thank god! That was so frustrating.
Isabel has been growing up way too fast. She's so smart and funny. It just kills me to hear what comes out of her mouth. She's also getting so much better at saying 'hi' 'bye' 'please' and 'thank you.' She was having a really hard time with shyness and it seems to have made almost an overnight improvement. We'll see. Izzy climbed all the way across the monkey bars by herself at the playground!!! It was pretty amazing. She did it about 3 times and I got a video the last time. She was making the boys a little jealous. It was so funny.
Logan has been doing really well with OT. He has stopped stuffing his mouth! Yay! I've been doing facial sensory exercises with him and it seems to be helping. He also seems to be done with his potty regression. Thank god! That was so frustrating.
Isabel has been growing up way too fast. She's so smart and funny. It just kills me to hear what comes out of her mouth. She's also getting so much better at saying 'hi' 'bye' 'please' and 'thank you.' She was having a really hard time with shyness and it seems to have made almost an overnight improvement. We'll see. Izzy climbed all the way across the monkey bars by herself at the playground!!! It was pretty amazing. She did it about 3 times and I got a video the last time. She was making the boys a little jealous. It was so funny.
Cabinets and hutch
The cabinets are mostly finished! It feels sooooo good to not be racing around in a filthy house trying to get that next coat if paint on before doing A, B or C. The house is getting a deep clean and laundry is getting put away. I don't want to see a paint brush again for a long time! Brian ordered the hardware for the cabinets online and got a stellar deal. He got it all for about 1/3 of the retail price with free shipping and no tax!
So now we 'just' need to put all of the knobs and pulls on, but that can be done when Brian has some time a little bit at a time. I won't even attempt to install them. Things that require measuring and precision are not my strong points anymore. Which is weird because that's all I used to do in the lab.
I also ordered Isabel's hutch for her dresser. Way back in 2009 we purchased a very expensive dresser from a baby boutique here in town. We couldn't afford to buy the hutch at the same time (and we needed the space for the changing pad) so we were assured that after registering the furniture we would get an email at least 6 months before anything was discontinued. As I was searching online for a bed for Isabel I searched the site that manufactured her dresser to see if we wanted a bed from the collection I came across the hutch. It was cream (her other furniture is white) or blue and about 60% off. I got excited thinking we could fine the hutch in white elsewhere on sale. No such luck. Even if we were willing to pay full price no one has the hutch! It was discontinued. Grr. Unfortunately the store we bought the dresser from has gone out of business and there are no other stores in town who sell the line.
After searching online and through Craigslist we decided to buy the cream color and paint it white. Darn, there might be another paintbrush in my future! I called the manufacturer and she wasn't sure why we didn't get an email, but is sending us out a wood sample of the color of our dresser so that we can take it to a paint store and get it color matched. I didn't have to pay tax and they are going to 'white glove' install it. Basically set it all up in Isabel's room and take all if the packaging away.
Even with having to paint it the price was so good that I think it was the right decision. We really like the hutch and that was the reason we bought this dresser!
Still no bed for Isabel. I'm going to keep shopping Craigslist and maybe hit up some stores in Houston the next time we're there.
While I was showing Isabel how to use the peeler it got caught in my fingernail about 1/2 way down the nail. Ouch! It did not feel good. That was the end of our lesson.
We had a play date valentines day party yesterday. Here are the kiddos.
So now we 'just' need to put all of the knobs and pulls on, but that can be done when Brian has some time a little bit at a time. I won't even attempt to install them. Things that require measuring and precision are not my strong points anymore. Which is weird because that's all I used to do in the lab.
I also ordered Isabel's hutch for her dresser. Way back in 2009 we purchased a very expensive dresser from a baby boutique here in town. We couldn't afford to buy the hutch at the same time (and we needed the space for the changing pad) so we were assured that after registering the furniture we would get an email at least 6 months before anything was discontinued. As I was searching online for a bed for Isabel I searched the site that manufactured her dresser to see if we wanted a bed from the collection I came across the hutch. It was cream (her other furniture is white) or blue and about 60% off. I got excited thinking we could fine the hutch in white elsewhere on sale. No such luck. Even if we were willing to pay full price no one has the hutch! It was discontinued. Grr. Unfortunately the store we bought the dresser from has gone out of business and there are no other stores in town who sell the line.
After searching online and through Craigslist we decided to buy the cream color and paint it white. Darn, there might be another paintbrush in my future! I called the manufacturer and she wasn't sure why we didn't get an email, but is sending us out a wood sample of the color of our dresser so that we can take it to a paint store and get it color matched. I didn't have to pay tax and they are going to 'white glove' install it. Basically set it all up in Isabel's room and take all if the packaging away.
Even with having to paint it the price was so good that I think it was the right decision. We really like the hutch and that was the reason we bought this dresser!
Still no bed for Isabel. I'm going to keep shopping Craigslist and maybe hit up some stores in Houston the next time we're there.
While I was showing Isabel how to use the peeler it got caught in my fingernail about 1/2 way down the nail. Ouch! It did not feel good. That was the end of our lesson.
We had a play date valentines day party yesterday. Here are the kiddos.
Friday, February 8, 2013
Speech Therapy
Today we had Logan's speech therapy evaluation after his usual OT. The evaluation went really well. The main areas of concern are, surprisingly, muscle tone in his mouth/face and his sucking vs pushing reflex when eating. The therapist noticed that he would push his tongue forward when eating (rather than it going back and sort of 'sucking'). She also noticed that he sounded 'wet' and coughed right after a bite. Honestly, I'm not sure if the coughing is due to all of our colds or if it's something that he usually does. She said that that is a sign that he is getting food and liquid stuck in pockets in his throat. Since he hasn't really been choking, she said it's not a huge problem, but needs to be addressed. She said the tongue going forward usually causes lisps when the kiddos are old enough to enunciate the r's and s's. Since we're working on correcting it now it may help deter any future lisp. She said his vocabulary was average to above average for his age and his pragmatic speech seemed to be on target. All good news. She said she saw progress just in the 90 minutes they spent together today, so she didn't think he would need speech therapy for that long. Yay!
Occupying Isabel for 2 1/2 hours was a challenge, but she did GREAT! She was so helpful and cooperative. I was impressed. I can't imagine that sitting in a waiting room while her brother got to play on some fun equipment was easy for her. After OT Logan gets a 'candy cane' (a peppermint) and Isabel gets a starburst. Logan decided that he wants a starburst too so Isabel bites off half of hers and gives him the other half. Every time. It is so stinkin cute and sweet. She is really starting to look out for him in public situations. Privately she still likes to terrorize him, but it's getting a little better. She has grown up so so much in the past couple of months.
We are on the last section of kitchen cabinets. We glaze tonight and then seal tomorrow and that should be it! We still need to put on new hardware, but we're having a discussion about which handles to buy. I just want it done. It has taken up so much of my life and time.
I went looking for some ballet shoes at the resale stores in town and found the cutest little cowgirl boots. Isabel puts them on and pretends she's Jesse. Might have to take her to the Houston Livestock Show this year! I know Logan would love it too.
Video of Isabel going across the monkey bars!
Occupying Isabel for 2 1/2 hours was a challenge, but she did GREAT! She was so helpful and cooperative. I was impressed. I can't imagine that sitting in a waiting room while her brother got to play on some fun equipment was easy for her. After OT Logan gets a 'candy cane' (a peppermint) and Isabel gets a starburst. Logan decided that he wants a starburst too so Isabel bites off half of hers and gives him the other half. Every time. It is so stinkin cute and sweet. She is really starting to look out for him in public situations. Privately she still likes to terrorize him, but it's getting a little better. She has grown up so so much in the past couple of months.
We are on the last section of kitchen cabinets. We glaze tonight and then seal tomorrow and that should be it! We still need to put on new hardware, but we're having a discussion about which handles to buy. I just want it done. It has taken up so much of my life and time.
I went looking for some ballet shoes at the resale stores in town and found the cutest little cowgirl boots. Isabel puts them on and pretends she's Jesse. Might have to take her to the Houston Livestock Show this year! I know Logan would love it too.
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Super Bowl Sunday
More cabinet painting in the am and then a 6 mile run, playground, cleaning, more cleaning, subway picnic on the floor and watching the game.
Friday, February 1, 2013
Monsters Inc. Faces
Wanted to post a few pictures. These are the kids doing 'Monsters Inc.'. Tough day in mommy land. All of this therapy/research/homework, etc has gotten me stressed and down.
We went to Isabel's playgroup for the first time in months and it was brutal. Any plans after OT usually are. Logan spent most of the time screaming on the ground throwing mulch on his face and Isabel pooped her pants. She said she needed to go potty and I said 'ok, we will go home' and then she assured me she could hold it. This happened a couple weeks ago at the playground and she did actually wait about an hour to go. Not today.
TGIF. For real. A phone call from a friend who might come visit in a couple of weeks makes me super excited! My patience has officially run out this week. I'm tired and cranky. Looking forward to a low key weekend looking at carpet and cabinet hardware. No plans in the immediate future to replace carpet, but someday soon. We're going to have to bite the bullet and replace the carpet rather than replacing everything with wood like we had planned. Just too costly right now and our carpet is getting really nasty.
We'll get our traditional Subway subs for Super Bowl Sunday and have a picnic in the family room watching it.
It's a certain someone's 80th birthday tomorrow!!!!!! We finally got a little envelope in the mail today and hopefully the Shutterfly card we made is there. We've been practicing our Happy Birthday renditions.
We went to Isabel's playgroup for the first time in months and it was brutal. Any plans after OT usually are. Logan spent most of the time screaming on the ground throwing mulch on his face and Isabel pooped her pants. She said she needed to go potty and I said 'ok, we will go home' and then she assured me she could hold it. This happened a couple weeks ago at the playground and she did actually wait about an hour to go. Not today.
TGIF. For real. A phone call from a friend who might come visit in a couple of weeks makes me super excited! My patience has officially run out this week. I'm tired and cranky. Looking forward to a low key weekend looking at carpet and cabinet hardware. No plans in the immediate future to replace carpet, but someday soon. We're going to have to bite the bullet and replace the carpet rather than replacing everything with wood like we had planned. Just too costly right now and our carpet is getting really nasty.
We'll get our traditional Subway subs for Super Bowl Sunday and have a picnic in the family room watching it.
It's a certain someone's 80th birthday tomorrow!!!!!! We finally got a little envelope in the mail today and hopefully the Shutterfly card we made is there. We've been practicing our Happy Birthday renditions.
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