winter | The Angel Forever

Category Archives winter

Weekend Wanderings and Photos (Feb. 1-3)

Posted on February 4, 2008 11:22 am by TheAngelForever

The weekend began early here in AngelLand. Friday we woke up to reports of a horrible ice storm starting just around the time I would need to pick NHL up from school. I opted to keep him home and let him rest. So NHL, JSL and I had a fun filled PJ day and stayed out of the icy mess. In addition to watching Noggin, NHL spent part of the day showing me how to use certain games on his Smart Cycle. Here are some photos from when he was pedaling up a storm.

After several photos were taken I received the following response from NHL:

Friday night both of the boys were tired and went to bed early. Here they are when they were actually sleeping in their own beds. *sigh* Unfortunately it was a long night with both of them up several times.

Saturday morning JL and I were walking, talking zombies! At around noon my parents called. They wanted to see if the boys would like to spend the afternoon with them. This way JL and I could head out to lunch and shop alone. Of course we jumped at this chance and got the troops ready to head out. JL and I had a yummy lunch at Panera (with a gift card I had) and then went shopping at Super Walmart. We needed some items that only they carried. We picked up a huge Rubbermaid tub to put our meat pots away in since we use them less than once a week. I also bought some more cotton yarn and also bought some flannel for new pillow cases for our bed. (Thanks again Mom & Dad!)

When we were done we brought our things home and went back to my parents house. Both boys devoured lunch, but JSL apparently would not take a bottle. He played with it, but refused it and attacked my chest upon return. So I think I will buy a Nubby sippy cup to have him try for emergency situations when I am not there to nurse. After JSL nursed we went with my parents to walk around the mall. The boys were getting very tired so we went to get NHL dinner on the way home. He ate and went to bed. Thankfully both of the boys slept through the night Saturday. While they were in bed I finished up my second washcloth. This is the one for NHL.

NHL was shocked to see it was done when he woke up early Sunday morning. We all were up at that point and had breakfast. JSL fell back asleep. This changed the plans. He slept and then we all went to Michaels for NHL to select yarn. After seeing JSL’s scarf he wanted me to make him one as well. I wanted him to pick it out since he is old enough. We got the yarn and then went running all over the place on errands. We had lunch out (kids eat free Sunday at Moe’s) and bought a Crock Pot at Kohls at over 50% off to replace our parve one that kicked the bucket. We then came home so I could nurse JSL.

While nursing JSL I noticed blood on his face. I mentioned it to JL and then realized I was the one bleeding. Lucky me, I had a blister from a certain teething monkey in a rather sensitive location for a nursing mother. the blister finally cut open. This was painful by the end of the evening so I put something on it and hoped it would help (it is much better this morning).

JL then went out with JSL for a little while. NHL did not want to leave and stayed home with me. He played with Play Doh and I played with yarn! I had to figure out how many stitches to cast on for his camouflage scarf. It took me two tries, but I finally got it right. This is NHL having a blast with Play Doh time:

A closer look at this fun:

JL spent a lot of time chopping veggies up, making pizza and things for the Super Bowl. The funny thing is we hardly watched any of the game or commercials. We did tune in at the end just in time to see the Giants win – we were floored! Should make for an interesting training camp for the team this summer.

When both of the boys were in bed we worked on moving the meat pots out of the kitchen and I did some knitting. Here is what NHL selected as presented by a special Muppet and the progress from yesterday:

So far I am pretty impressed with how the camouflage pattern is working out. I was not too sure how it would look. I did about 6 1/2 inches and then went to bed. Then the wake up calls began. NHL was up at 2-ish and woke up JSL. JSL would not resettle and NHL wanted one of us with him. I was asked to go with NHL (his request) and JL had JSL in our bed. It was a long evening that ended with JL ignoring the alarm for an HOUR and then all of us rushing.

On that note I am off to do some organizing and purging of things while JSL sleeps.

I hope everyone else had a wonderful weekend whether or not you watched the Super Bowl.

Categories:
jsl knitting nhl photos shopping sleep weekend winter

C’est Moi . . . the Super Hero

Posted on February 1, 2008 9:52 am by TheAngelForever

Right now it is the calm before the storm. Absolutely nothing going on outside (well maybe a little rain). However, that is not what the weather people are saying is going to happen soon. They claim that starting at 9:00 until early this evening we will have a horrible mixed bag storm with a lot of icing. Needless to say a TON of schools are already closed with nothing going on now.

Our district is open. . . therefore NHL’s program is technically open as well. Mommy decided she was not interested in ice skating her car to school between 12-1 when the storm is supposed to be really bad. Sure, it may be crazy to keep the kiddo home, but it is not worth the risk to me. NHL is only in PreK and he has been tired, so a restful day will benefit him. Now if only that would be the case for me. I am not feeling like my super hero Alter-Ego – TheAngelForever right now:

LOL – Sorry, I could not help myself. I had to get this in and it seemed fitting here!

I hardly slept all night. For some reason I was having strange dreams. Dreams of JSL not only walking, but running all over. Back into reality another reason for the sleep deprivation was oce again we had a little monkey in our bed.

*sigh*

I guess the new blankie that that Madame Squishy Yarn Guru made him our of his favorite fabric (flannel) was not a simple trick. My theory is that other pesky upper tooth next to his front one is cutting. The one on the right finally has a point out. Here was a really great shot of the little guy when he fell asleep cuddling his new Ducky Pirate flannel blanket. As you can see he is on my lap, but could have cared less about me being there:

It is nice to know that my milk still ranks up higher than his other possessions. Why you ask? Please see the photo that follows. This is JSL when he clearly did not want to pose for a photo with his new special blanket since he knew it was time to nurse.

There must have been something in the air last night. Even NHL was in a cuddle mood. He decided before dinner at my parent’s house to curl up in Papa’s lap. It was just too cute, so cameras were out in a flash!

Hopefully the day is not too long with the boys and being cooped up in the house. I am going to try to be motivated to get some arts and crafts out when JSL takes a nap to do something fun with NHL. Right now both of the boys are on the floor playing together.

___________________________________________________________________

Quick Project update:

In the evenings when I am trying to relax some I have still been knitting. Here is JSL’s finished scarf on the test run yesterday (silly hat was being an issue and did not want to stay on). When NHL tried it on he asked me to make him one as well. So we will be yarn shopping this weekend.

I also finished up my first wash cloth quite a while ago and am already half finished with a second one. This is the first one where I retaught myself to purl. The latest (for NHL) is coming out a lot better.

and

On that note I hear someone moving on the floor in the other room. He likes to crawl when I am not looking.

*** Note to all readers – If you leave me a comment I reply right here on the post. Assuming everyone is healthy it is usually within a day or less. Please check back here if you do not subscribe to the comments.

Categories:
jsl knitting nhl photos sleep teething winter

They used what with 3-5 year olds?

Posted on January 27, 2008 7:57 pm by TheAngelForever

Last Sunday it was bitter cold here. We’re talking teens (if that) for high temperature without the wind chill factored in. We had signed NHL up that morning at 10:00 for a monthly free craft and story time at our temple for 3-5 year olds. Each time they focus on a holiday and read a book and do a craft related to it. Thanks to the cold I opted to stay home with JSL and let NHL and Daddy have a morning out together.

This month they did things about Tu B’Shvat. They listened to the Lorax by Dr. Seuss. After this it was time to decorate pots to plant some seeds in.

When they arrived home JL was telling me about the craft. I was floored with what they brought for the 3-5 year olds to use. I have no issue with markers (even regular non-washable ones), glue, paint. . . they can be messy, but are appropriate for children. They used Sharpie markers for the kids. What the heck were they thinking? Sure, they thought ahead and brought shirts for the kids to put on to protect clothing, but HELLO? I teach my child that those are not for him to use. I was pretty ~~pissed~~ annoyed.

I understand that only certain items will work on clay pots, but still there are more kid friendly art supplies. When NHL came home he was upset that his hands were colored with the Sharpie. He said his one finger hurt because they were . . . (ready for my literal child) sharp!

LOL – I was trying very hard not to laugh right in his face. I was good. I told him to meet me in the bathroom and I would remove the sharpie with some magical stuff that Mommy had. I put some non-acetone nailpolish remover on q-tips and went to work. He was very protective of one finger that was hurt from the sharp spot. When I went to that finger the thin line did not budge. In fact what I received was screams of bloody murder in my ear. So what did I do? I tried it again.

Hmmmm. . . . something was wrong here and I needed light to check it out. We went into the other room and got a flashlight. Time for Mommy to see what the deal was. Sure enough it was not Sharpie – it was a splinter. Flashbacks of the HUGE splinter in his buttocks haunted me. JL was home to help me wrangle the kid and I got it with a struggle. That thing was in there more than the one last time. Thank goodness since digging into his butt would have been tricky at school.

JL took his camera with him (of course) to show what the kids were doing during craft time. Here they are. Please note my captions if you hoover over them.

Here is NHL using a Sharpie for the first time:

He certainly had a fondness for one of the colors!

As you can see a lot of the things were fine for 3-5 year olds to use:

This yet again was not one of those acceptable items.

This is the inside of the pot when NHL was finished with his seeds to grow inside.

On the top rim NHL put his name and JSL’s – too cute! And of course he had a blast using the Sharpies.

We shall see what they do next month – most likely they will do something for Purim. . . I think.

Categories:
holidays nhl ouchie stupidity winter

Even baby boys like remotes

Posted on January 14, 2008 4:28 pm by TheAngelForever

JSL and I pack up and head out to get NHL from preschool soon after lunch most days (earlier if there is snow). Typically I put his coat on first and then toss mine one quickly. Here is what happened Friday as we were about to head out. As you will see this little guy has baby radar for things that he should not get!

Quickly finds the remote that was sitting on the couch next to him. I was shocked it did NOT go into his mouth. He was very proud of his accomplishment.

It dropped out of his hands and flipped over. He now saw all of the pretty buttons and was trying to figure out what to do next.

He flipped it over to the other side to make sure he did not miss something. Seriously, it must be a Y chromosome thing.

Decides that the other side is much more exciting and thinks about moving it back.

Then he must have been feeling guilty. Suddenly he gets this face and looks the other way, as if to pretend he had not been touching something that was not for him. Man they learn this cute and innocent things early.

See what I mean . . . this next one is the real kicker. How could you ever be mad at this face?

This is my new favorite picture – thanks to the big blue eyes and smile.

P.S. A big thank you to Uncle I and Aunt M for the great hat JSL is wearing. They gave it to him as part of his Chanukah gift. It fits perfectly and I love how cute it is.

Categories:
jsl milestone photos winter

Visit to Bubbe & Grandpa – Day 2

Posted on January 4, 2008 1:01 am by TheAngelForever

Monday morning we woke up and went to have breakfast. My father-in-law went to get bagels and made anyone eggs that wanted them. I had a lox in my eggs and it was very good. While waiting to eat I decided to call my father to find out how much snow we got at home. As I previously noted in part one, when we left we were only supposed to get 3-5 inches. My father answered the phone with the following:

We got at least 9 inches!

I thought he was kidding and did not believe him. UGH! Now what were we supposed to do? There was no way that our neighbors should shovel what we later found out was 11 inches of heavy, wet snow. I made a bunch of calls to neighbors, my father, and our friends to try to find someone to plow us out. JL then decided to call his boss. He owns several rental properties near us. He called us back as I was still in the process of calling people. He said he would plow us out. The nicest part – he said there was no charge! Thanks to him and our neighbor’s doing the walkway and sidewalk we were in good shape. The problem – storm two was heading their way AGAIN with 3-5 more inches the next day. YUCK!!!!

Once this was taken care of we all took turns showering and eventually made it out to lunch. JL and I insisted that we have lunch at the amazing Greek restaurant that is located there. We have no good Greek places here that are close enough with good parking, so this is very important to us. We had an amazing lunch and took leftovers back for the next day. After this we stopped back at the house quickly to put food away and head over to Radio Shack and Trader Joe’s again. Yes, we had to head there again. I wanted to get some gifts for people that were helping us out with the snow removal.

Next we decided to head back home for a little while before going to Chuck E Cheese (wanted to change diapers and nurse JSL). NHL wanted to take Bubbe and Grandpa there to play. We were not too sure about this since he has been very skittish there in the past (thanks to the costumes). Unfortunately, he did not do well this time. We used a coupon and had 100 tokens and barely used any. NHL was very upset that this Chuck E Cheese was not the same as the one at home. *sigh* He started to flip out quickly and we finally left. Here are some photos from the few things that we did while there.

After we got back from Chuck E Cheese JSL fell asleep from all of the fun and excitement. Not to worry it did not last long. Soon after this he was up and eating dinner with everyone else.

After the "fun" at Chuck E Cheese we went back home and ordered Chinese Food for New Years Eve. My in-law’s friend S came over and once the kids were in bed we started to watch a movie. JL and I were left at about 11:00 and we were not able to finish the movie. JSL kept waking up crying. The poor little guy just could not catch a break.

JL and I watched the ball drop and then we were up for a while after taking care of JSL and listening to illegal fireworks that were shaking the house.

Day 3 and the return trip home coming soon.