http://www.fertilethoughts.com/forums/blogs/ktj/ Infertility and Adoption online interactive support community for your family-building efforts. Information and discussion includes infertility, adoption, pregnancy, parenting and surrogacy issues. en Thu, 23 May 2013 10:32:26 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.fertilethoughts.com/forums/images/misc/rss.jpg http://www.fertilethoughts.com/forums/blogs/ktj/ http://www.fertilethoughts.com/forums/blogs/ktj/71593-9-4-09.html Fri, 04 Sep 2009 11:55:56 GMT We went to Charlottesville on Tuesday. I met two friends and their kids there. Get this - I originally made the acquaintance of these ladies on FT. At the time, R had one child, M and I had none. We were all TTC. Now we have eight kids between us. M left one with her mom so there were seven... We went to Charlottesville on Tuesday. I met two friends and their kids there. Get this - I originally made the acquaintance of these ladies on FT. At the time, R had one child, M and I had none. We were all TTC. Now we have eight kids between us. M left one with her mom so there were seven on our trip. We went to the Discovery Museum on Tuesday and the kids played for several hours. We took a break for ice cream on the Downtown Mall and then they played some more. After we checked into the hotel the kids went swimming and we had dinner delivered poolside. It was a little chilly but the kids still had fun.
Wednesday we went to Monticello. We ended up spending almost four hours there. The tour we had reserved was "Family Friendly", but still was geared toward ages 6- 11, and I ended up needing to remove Joe. The girls enjoyed it. We wandered the grounds of the home and also visited their Discovery Room and lunched in the cafe. I had been to Monticello when I was in 7th grade but not since. It was a beautiful day to be there.
Yesterday I took them to the Outlet Malls for some shoes and a little back-to-school shopping. Joe knocked over a mannequin in Old Navy. :rolleyes: ]]> KTJ http://www.fertilethoughts.com/forums/blogs/ktj/71593-9-4-09.html http://www.fertilethoughts.com/forums/blogs/ktj/71497-8-30-09.html Sun, 30 Aug 2009 12:54:55 GMT We got home from Hershey Park yesterday. It was exhausting but the kids had a great time! We arrived Tuesday afternoon and checked in to the hotel. We relaxed for a bit, then had dinner in Chocolate World. We went in to the park with a "Preview Pass" on Tuesday evening from 8PM to closing - at 10. Then we were there for 7 1/2 hours on Thursday. We were trying to herd the kids toward the exit but they kept finding more rides to ride. Plus we were in a section with no lines - so it was easy for them to just jump on ride after ride.
I'm glad to be home! ]]> KTJ http://www.fertilethoughts.com/forums/blogs/ktj/71497-8-30-09.html http://www.fertilethoughts.com/forums/blogs/ktj/71396-8-24-09.html Mon, 24 Aug 2009 19:50:08 GMT We came home from the beach today. Charlotte has a lingering cough, and obviously Joe is still suffering from his allergies, but they're mostly better. I, on the other hand, was sick the whole week. Achy, low energy, bad cough. I started using Joe's nebulizer on myself yesterday! It's a great appetite suppressant - that'll be my new diet plan - ha ha ha. I'm going to go to the doctor tomorrow. I was afraid to call this morning because if we had hit bad traffic anywhere I didn't want it to interfere with making it to the appointment on time. By the time we were back in VA they were booked for the day.
We leave for Hershey Park on Wednesday, so hopefully I'll be feeling better soon! ]]> KTJ http://www.fertilethoughts.com/forums/blogs/ktj/71396-8-24-09.html http://www.fertilethoughts.com/forums/blogs/ktj/71257-8-15-09.html Sat, 15 Aug 2009 14:23:49 GMT Bad nights in parenting land two nights in a row. It's like having babies again. My poor Joe and Charlotte. Last night Charlotte had awful diarrhea. I'm not sure if it was from her antibiotic, or a virus. One of her school buddies was home with diarrhea on Thursday - so it could be either. She just kept crying that her tummy hurt. At 9PM, I was nebulizing Joe for his cough, and she was on the toilet just crying. They both finally zonked out right after that and slept until 8:45 this morning. Joe is still coughing but is perky. Charlotte is a lump on the sofa. I thought I was going to crack last night but since they were okay overnight, at least I got some sleep. ]]> KTJ http://www.fertilethoughts.com/forums/blogs/ktj/71257-8-15-09.html http://www.fertilethoughts.com/forums/blogs/ktj/71210-8-13-09.html Thu, 13 Aug 2009 13:32:03 GMT I have two kids with a bad, bad cough. Poor things. We're headed to the doctor at 10:30. I nebulized Joe at 3 AM when he crawled into my bed coughing. Then Charlotte came in at 7, crying because she couldn't stop coughing. So I nebulized her, too. I wish I'd done her when I was awake with Joe at 3.
Now they seem "okay" - not great. ]]> KTJ http://www.fertilethoughts.com/forums/blogs/ktj/71210-8-13-09.html http://www.fertilethoughts.com/forums/blogs/ktj/71151-8-10-09.html Mon, 10 Aug 2009 12:08:08 GMT Went to my Mom's yesterday. She wanted to have a "pre-beach dinner". She said she was going to cook seafood, and then when we're all eating seafood at the beach (we go in a week) that we can discuss how much better it is at the beach! My cute Mom. Anyway, I took the girls and Joe stayed home with dh. My sister had my 6 1/2 year old niece "L" there, my BIL came later. My niece always seems to be a pistol when her parents are around. She's prone to these screaming fits that are more appropriate for a 2 1/2 year old than a 6 1/2 year old. She's fine with everyone else. She was in a little fight with Campbell (happens all the time - can be either one's fault) and was sitting on the pool ladder saying she was having a "crappy" day. My thought is "what language!" but my sister seemed to be pleased that she was "verbalizing her issues" rather than having a fit. Later, when we were inside, I'm not sure what happened, but I heard her SCREAMING at my girls. She was in the playroom screaming at them that she just wanted to be alone and how she "never" gets to watch TV alone. Excuse me? She's an only child. My sister told her to go in the sewing room but L said there were too many "needles" in there. So my sister made her go sit on the deck. A little bit later she came in and crawled into her Mom's lap - I thought all was well. Next thing I know she's having some other fit about my girls - I have no idea what it was about. My sister made her put on her shoes and they basically dragged her out crying, yelling "no", and trying to hit my BIL! I honestly think that those two have reached the point where they need professional parenting assistance with her - family therapy or something? Clearly their techniques are not working and it's affecting their quality of life! Plus that child just seems so miserable and she often asks me if she can come live with me! Why, because I put more limits on my kids?! It's very sad; and I know my mother lost sleep over it last night.
Oh - and did I mention my sister is a teacher of pre-K kids in the public school system? She is firm with her students yet seems to be unable to do the same with her own daughter. ]]> KTJ http://www.fertilethoughts.com/forums/blogs/ktj/71151-8-10-09.html http://www.fertilethoughts.com/forums/blogs/ktj/71080-8-5-09.html Wed, 05 Aug 2009 15:24:21 GMT Today I watched Campbell swim all the way across the pool in the deep end! She did it on her back, also. I was such a proud mommy! Today I watched Campbell swim all the way across the pool in the deep end! She did it on her back, also. I was such a proud mommy! ]]> KTJ http://www.fertilethoughts.com/forums/blogs/ktj/71080-8-5-09.html http://www.fertilethoughts.com/forums/blogs/ktj/71047-8-03-09.html Mon, 03 Aug 2009 16:52:07 GMT The twins started "All Stars" camp at preschool today. Drop-off was relatively painless. Campbell had swimming at 10:30. She took "Starfish" in the spring, and graduated to "Seahorse", but we haven't done any lessons since she completed "Starfish". I reminded her occasionally to practice putting her face under the water but otherwise she's just been having fun in the pool, and practicing floating on her own. Today they had about 15 kids and they split them into three groups with three instructors to evaluate their abilities for grouping for the rest of the session. I guessed she would come out in the bottom group since she JUST graduated into this level. The instructor said "She might surprise you." When it was over she said "She is in the WRONG level." She needs to skip Seahorse and go straight to "Otters"! That was exciting for Mom. So tomorrow we go at 10:00 for Otters - and that's a better time for me, anyway. Way to go, Campbell!! ]]> KTJ http://www.fertilethoughts.com/forums/blogs/ktj/71047-8-03-09.html http://www.fertilethoughts.com/forums/blogs/ktj/71026-8-1-09.html Sun, 02 Aug 2009 00:17:35 GMT It's August! This morning we went hiking at Great Falls Park. We've been a lot this summer but today we drove over to the MD side of the park. It was very picturesque but very touristy and crowded. I think the problem is that they only have ONE big overlook of the Falls, and the VA side has many. You walk on a boardwalk out to the overlook and it's just packed with people going both directions. It reminded me of the tourist hell I encountered when I visited Niagara Falls in 2004.
We did find a nice hiking path above the canal tow path; but by then the kids were tired and whiny and it was getting hot. I did get a few pictures I liked - I only ever bring my little camera phone so it's tough to get good ones. The one of the rocks isn't "The Falls", it's just a gorge that runs around the edge.
We went swimming in the afternoon.
16 days until I take the kids to the beach with my family; 38 days until public school starts, and 44 days until the twins start school! ]]> KTJ http://www.fertilethoughts.com/forums/blogs/ktj/71026-8-1-09.html http://www.fertilethoughts.com/forums/blogs/ktj/70966-7-29-09.html Wed, 29 Jul 2009 18:40:41 GMT We had a play date yesterday - one of Joe and Charlotte's buddies from preschool. His name is ALSO Joe - no confusion there. Turned out he was afraid of dogs. He was at the wrong house! So the boys stayed in the office almost the whole time playing "Cars" on the Playstation with the doors shut so the dogs couldn't go in. I apologized to the mom but she said he was just thrilled to not be hanging around his big brothers.
I fed him lunch and I had to shut Sam (dog #1) upstairs in a bedroom so he wouldn't pester Joe while he ate. Then I had Madison lie down next to me - she's a well-behaved dog. I was secretly relieved when he went home! Nice family, though. One of the brothers was in Campbell's kindy class.
Today the twins were allowed to dress up for Pirates and Princesses camp.
Campbell has had a slight cough for a few days. No other symptoms - maybe it's allergies? ]]> KTJ http://www.fertilethoughts.com/forums/blogs/ktj/70966-7-29-09.html http://www.fertilethoughts.com/forums/blogs/ktj/70937-i-caved.html Mon, 27 Jul 2009 17:12:30 GMT I finally joined Facebook. I've been holding out for a long time, for various reasons. I've come to realize that a lot of my friends who are "missing" on email are regulars on Facebook. So if I want to be more involved in their day-to-day lives; Facebook is where I need to be. I sort of feel like I sold out or something!! ]]> KTJ http://www.fertilethoughts.com/forums/blogs/ktj/70937-i-caved.html http://www.fertilethoughts.com/forums/blogs/ktj/70911-swaps.html Sat, 25 Jul 2009 15:12:00 GMT Campbell needed swaps for next week's girl scout camp. I'm NOT creative so I just bought one of those little foam kits at Michael's - we made insects. The girls and I worked on them for two hours last night. This morning dh wrote her name and troop number on all of them. Then I cut them out and he punched holes in them. All that's left is to tie them onto the safety pins. Phew - what a job! When we were making the bugs last night Campbell made six, Charlotte made five, and I made 15! It was very detail oriented work and I'm surprised they lasted as long as they did.
We're still working on her sit-upon - Girl Scout camp is turning out to be a lot of work for Mom! :laugh: ]]> KTJ http://www.fertilethoughts.com/forums/blogs/ktj/70911-swaps.html http://www.fertilethoughts.com/forums/blogs/ktj/70892-7-24-09.html Fri, 24 Jul 2009 12:10:51 GMT Sam keeps waking me up to go out every morning. I guess he has old dog bladder, but geez . . . . Sometimes I think he holds it longer during the day than he does at night! Bruce puts the dogs out for the last time at about 11:30; and sometimes Sam wakes me up as early as 5:00. Last night... Sam keeps waking me up to go out every morning. I guess he has old dog bladder, but geez . . . .
Sometimes I think he holds it longer during the day than he does at night! Bruce puts the dogs out for the last time at about 11:30; and sometimes Sam wakes me up as early as 5:00.
Last night Campbell crawled into bed with me in the middle of the night. I think Ladybug's missing again so she gets scared. I had to make her move - it's a king-sized bed and she thought she needed to sleep about 3 inches from me. Finally got her settled with a space between us, fell asleep. Sam woke me up at 6. So of course Madison came along and they BOTH went out. Came back up, got back in bed, was drifting off, when I heard little feet going downstairs. I found a half asleep Joe looking for me down here. I ended up putting HIM in Campbell's bed and falling back asleep in there. I didn't wake up until dh got in the shower after 7. I think Madison was confused as to why there was so much bed swapping occurring. ]]> KTJ http://www.fertilethoughts.com/forums/blogs/ktj/70892-7-24-09.html http://www.fertilethoughts.com/forums/blogs/ktj/70873-7-22-09.html Wed, 22 Jul 2009 20:04:30 GMT The doctor's office called and said that Joe's hip x-ray was normal. Woo hoo!! He hasn't been limping for two days; so I'm hoping it was just a muscle strain or something.
We went to the grocery store and Joe was being a terror. At one point I made him ride in the cart because he wasn't listening, and he was running ahead. I had one of those big car carts because the girls were already riding. When we checked out he found a display of Matchbox cars and refused to take "no" for an answer. At one point he took one and started running toward the door. I was FUMING inside. I just looked at him and started counting and he came back. By the time we were leaving I had HAD IT. I was pushing the cart behind a woman who was going very slowly. I didn't realize she was carrying a cane and leaning on her cart. I was walking slowly behind her when she stopped and looked at me. I said "Did I hit you with the cart?" She said "Yes, you ran it into the back of my leg." I was mortified. I felt so bad. I said "I'm SO sorry, the cart is longer than I thought. I'm really sorry." (Of course, throughout this event, she's not moving, and there were people behind me.) She said "Have you ever had that done to you? It's really painful!!" I said "I am very, very, sorry. I didn't intend to hit you." By this point I was about to cry. I was so frustrated with Joe and then I already felt bad about hitting this woman, without her lecturing me, plus I was mortified! I obviously was repentant, and it's not as if I jammed it into her with force - I was moving very slowly. Anyway, she started walking again and I parked my cart. Charlotte said "Mommy, I'll carry your soda for you." I said "Thank you Charlotte, it's nice when someone is nice to Mommy." I guess that woman heard me because she started saying something else, but I just walked away. Obviously I felt very badly about hitting her but I was about to break down into tears. Ugh, what a day! I'm not the sort of person who goes around running people over with shopping carts but I guess today was not a good day for her or me! ]]> KTJ http://www.fertilethoughts.com/forums/blogs/ktj/70873-7-22-09.html http://www.fertilethoughts.com/forums/blogs/ktj/70865-my-childs-rich-imagination.html Wed, 22 Jul 2009 12:22:21 GMT Campbell's favorite "friend" is her beanie Ladybug - her name is Ladybug. She comes from a place called Bugland. Campbell just asked me if it's going to be 90 degrees today. I said "No, just 87". She said "Oh, that's too bad. When it's 90 degrees, Ladybug and I go to Bugland and they do tours of the beach. We hunt for seashells and there is a magician who pulls candy out of his hat. But if it's not 90 degrees they cancel it. There are no sharks in the Bugland ocean, but there are fish that pop out of the water and give your hand little kisses." ]]> KTJ http://www.fertilethoughts.com/forums/blogs/ktj/70865-my-childs-rich-imagination.html