11.26.09
Posted in Uncategorized at 7:54 pm by kellgaston
Traveling with small children is hard work. I keep thinking it will get easier, but really, the challenges just change. Really, it is just so much easier to stay home where things are set up like you need them to be. But we need to visit . . .
So, I packed off and on all day Wednesday and had more to do Thursday morning.
We managed to leave shortly before 9 and arrived in Durant around 11:15. We had McDs in Norman and had a brief break in Ardmore. Kids were good. Watched tv and Ava eventually fell asleep.
Lunch was yummy, as was dessert. Dressing and hominy casserole!
Then, naptime. Ava went down easily in the crib but there was nowhere for Thanny. So, I ended up napping with her and Thanny went in the crib. No one slept well and they were cranky.
Kids did not play well together today. I don’t think they felt well. Thanny did hug Journey once and Joshua followed Ava around and tried to tickle her. Stijl was all smiles in his cowboy garb.
Had to stop at evil empire on the way to Lane. Thanny threw a fit. Ugh
But he did use the potty before his bath for the second night in a row. Yeah!
It is good to come visit, but . . .
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11.24.09
Posted in Uncategorized at 9:01 pm by kellgaston
I still remember the first episode of J&K+8 that I happened across on TLC. I’d never heard of them (I was kind of preoccupied in the spring/summer of 2004), but I was somehow drawn in as I watched this mom cook/freeze organic meals for her large brood in preparation for her tummy tuck.
The kids were endearing and the banter between mom/dad entertaining. I was hooked.
I found myself tearing up as I watched the finale. Divorce is so . . . awful. Sometimes it is necessary (that I know well) but the destruction left in its wake is far reaching and long lasting, especially for the kids. Jon was disgusting! It’s too bad the kids have to spend any time with him. The way he is acting, he doesn’t deserve them right now.
Anyway, I thought the finale lacked closure. I would have liked more commentary about when the segments were filmed (especially of Jon) and a better idea of where they go from here.
I did like the choice of music used for promotion of the episode and during the actual episode — Francesca Battistelli’s song was very appropriate. I just wonder if Kate chose it or if the network did? Was she sending a message to Jon? Are we seeing the beginning of a “spiritual” renewal for Kate? Early on, church seemed so important, but in recent seasons, that seemed to disappear. I guess we’ll see.
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11.21.09
Posted in Uncategorized at 6:01 pm by kellgaston
Ava has started fighting back at last.
In fact, she has started instigating trouble with her brother. Her favorite thing to do is disrupt his train play. For that reason, dh has christened her “Trainzilla.”. It fits her!
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11.18.09
Posted in Uncategorized at 7:36 pm by kellgaston
a DVD player in my car. And that is what I received, about a month and a half early.
Ever since we bought the Acadia in August 2008, we’d meant to add a dvd system. After my last couple of trips to Lane, I decided it was time! So, after quite a bit of shopping around, we ended up purchasing a unit at b*st buy and having them install it. There’s a little bit of an issue with the audio (it transmits through the radio) but otherwise it is great. It has a 12″ flip down screen and a side load dvd player. Thanny was scared of it at first, but now he loves it (except when the sun interferes with his watching).
Thanks dh!
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Posted in Uncategorized at 7:29 pm by kellgaston
If anyone needs suggestions, I’ve tried to put together a short list for the little guys.
Nathaniel:
anything train related
memory game
dressy shirts (size 2T/3T)
dvds (wubbzy, curious george)
Thomas backpack
anything Curious George
Ava:
black hairbow
light pink hairbow
white hairbow
brown shoes (size 3)
jewelry box
tops (size 12/18months)
solid jeans (12 months) — all of her jeans that fit have pink on them
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11.12.09
Posted in Uncategorized at 1:06 pm by kellgaston
Every morning, Nathaniel greets Ava with, “Hi baby! I’m Thanny.”
Everything he says has Thanny attached to it.
Caught him singing along with the radio this morning. He also sang along with some tv commercials, including Expedia. He really got into the “dot com” part.
Funny boy!
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11.11.09
Posted in Uncategorized at 11:10 am by kellgaston
Thanny has really impressed me lately. I’ve been able to spend a LOT of quality time with him lately (since I’ve been stuck at home because of the lice outbreak).
He can carry on a conversation fairly well and surprises us with his vocabulary and other skills. Last night he couldn’t “reach” something. This morning, he was separating skipbo cards into separate stacks based on color. The wildcards were kind of tricky though.
If you ever need a laugh, watch him dance. It is absolutely HILARIOUS! His favorite movie right now is Madagascar (okay, it’s the only movie he will actually sit still and watch for more than 5 minutes). He loves “Move it, move it” from the original movie, as well as the second Madagascar. Both he and Ava will dance and dance to those songs. There’s also a version on You Tube with penguins that he is crazy about. Oh, You Tube. He loves it. He alternates between calling our office machine a computer and a tv. He “also loves that song” called “It’s a wonderful world” by Louis Armstrong. I had to purchase it from iTunes.
He is very good about saying “fanks, mommy” and is telling us more and more when he needs to go potty. He doesn’t generally cooperate in actually using the potty to do his business, but we’re making progress. We have to be!
They’re so much fun.
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11.10.09
Posted in Uncategorized at 11:25 am by kellgaston
With all the hubbub over the lice infestation, I had forgotten to mention that Ava is walking!!!!
Early last week, she started getting more daring and letting go of things. By Wednesday, she was ready to take steps. We even caught her trying to run on Sunday afternoon. Of course, she’s not quite ready to run and ended up on the floor. But, she’s getting faster all the time!
Heaven help me now!
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Posted in Uncategorized at 11:21 am by kellgaston
So sometime back, dh broke the screen on my mac. Since that time, I’ve been using it as a desktop. That’s fine, but it means I have to work in the office which isn’t always convenient.
We’ve been looking for me a new laptop. Because the program I use for real estate is web based and will not work with a mac, I decided to go with a pc. But, I wanted a small one. I like the new netbooks, but after looking at quite a few (and even ordering one from Amazon that I ended up canceling), I decided that 10″ is just too small to work with.
So after months of shopping, I ended up with a Toshiba Satellite. My first laptop was a Satellite too and it served me very well. It has a 13″ screen but weighs only 3 pounds (no drive). I love the machine, but thought I was going to have to take it back Saturday night. I could not get the mouse to work. Dh made some adjustments to the settings and it is working better now. Seems to be a problem with dry skin and this mouse. Stupid dry skin.
But it is really nice and light. Perfect!
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Posted in Uncategorized at 11:15 am by kellgaston
So, Nathaniel and Ava had lice the weekend of her first birthday. Then, Nathaniel had another case last Monday. He’s been lice/egg free since last Friday. We thought we were in the clear . . .
I asked dh to check my head Sunday, but he was busy. By the time he thought of it again, we were in bed. On Monday, my head was itchy, but I’ve been paranoid the whole time and wanting him to check me all the time.
While I was at the gym Monday night, I was really, really itchy. So itchy in fact that I decided to leave and go home.
Dh was ready to check me when I got home. He looked and looked and wasn’t finding anything. Then, “well, I finally found one.” He ended up finding three live bugs (I think). Other than that, I’m not sure what all he found. But I definitely have them now. It took dh about 1.5 hours to finish combing me out.
This morning, I shampooed with the lovely shampoo. Right now, I’m sitting here with olive oil and a shower cap.
So much for treating myself with three rounds of lice shampoo in the past few weeks. That stuff is worthless in my opinion.
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