Riley and Avery

Avery has a new skill: climbing the stairs. For some reason the stairs at my mom's house are really appealing to babies. Riley learned to climb stairs when she was here for her first birthday. Avery likes sitting up on the landing and overlooking all the activity below. She also makes this really funny sound, like a possessed person, that really amuses her. I think she's trying to bark and growl like the dog. She also chases after Duke, which is made funnier by the fact that Duke doesn't know that he's being chased. He just goes around his daily activities while Avery crawls as fast as she can after him. Avery has gotten really lazy about walking, although Mina saw her take a couple of steps yesterday.

My mom watches James on Thursdays, so I thought that would be a treat. Not so. Riley whacked Jay with a dinosaur yesterday, so he was really sensitive to what she was doing today, and she was eager to prod him. Not a good combination. So we took Amy up on her offer to have us over to play with Abby. After a rough start, the girls got along really well. They ran and climbed trees, after pretending to eat ice cream for a rather long time. Riley came home covered in sap (and several souvenir sticks and pinecones), so she disrobed in front of everyone without a thought, and washed herself in the sink. Jay, Allan, and Ben are always so scandalized by her penchant for nudity. We also had one of those days where Riley pees in her pants more than she pees in the potty.

Avery skipped her afternoon nap, and Riley didn't have a nap at all. So they both went to bed rather early, around 7:30 after which I ran out to Party City and got some stuff for Avery's birthday party. No character plates, and I'm done with the pink. So Avery's having an ocean theme whether she likes it or not. I'm sure she doesn't care.

We are running rather low on money, so I think that the kitchen that I originally got for Riley will now be for both Riley and Avery. It's probably better that way since they'll both be playing with it and it's easier for Riley to share when she knows ahead of time that she's expected to. And if it belongs to both of them, she'll know that she has to share. We'll see...

We've had a pretty fun past couple of days. On Sunday we went to look at two houses with Brendan and Mina. I think we all agreed on which of the two we liked better. I'm not sure that I'm ready to start the house hunt yet in Colorado Springs. It's so full of eager anticipation and bitter disappointment. Plus we have some major debt reduction to do before then. Some people were born to me homeowners, like Brendan and Mina. Some people not so much, like me.


Amy and Abby came over on Monday. Riley and Avery got along really well, which is a relief since Riley was a bully when we visited them in NYC six months ago. I think it helps that the difference in their age becomes less and less significant as they get older. Their interests and abilities are becoming more similar. Then we went to Barnes and Noble today and I think the girls had fun playing on the train and running all about the kids area.

What follows is a conversation I had with Riley out of nowhere as she was falling asleep tonight:
Riley: Mommy, what's eczema?
Me: It's a rash that Avery and Abby get because of allergies.
Riley: Is Abby allergic to milk?
Me: Yes, she's allergic to milk, eggs, and peanuts, just like Avery.
Riley: Can Amy eat eggs?
Me: No.
Riley: Why not?
Me: Because Abby is allergic to them, and Abby still has nai-nais, so if Amy eats them Abby will get sick, just like Avery.
Riley: Is Abby going to have a baby?
Me: No, Abby is too little to have a baby.
Riley: [blank "your're retared" stare]
Me: Oh, do you mean is Abby going to have a baby brother or sister?
Riley: Yes.
Me: Not yet, later.
Riley: Why later?
Me: Because it takes a while to make and grow a baby.
Riley: Oh.

Grandma had the pleasure of this conversation before bed:
Grandma: Look what I found. Do you like Cinnamon Toast Crunch?
Riley: Yeah! I want some!
Grandma: Do you like it with milk?
Riley: No! I like it crunchy. If I have milk it will get squishy and SQUISHY! [emphatic hand gestures] And then I can't eat it if it's squishy! That's yucky. Crunchy on top and squishy on the bottom with milk.
Grandma: Here you go. [hands her a bowl of dry cereal]
Riley: Where's the milk? I can't eat it without milk! How am I supposed to eat it if I don't have milk!?
Everyone: Aaaargh!

I thought this toddler action picture was cute! It looks like a slo-mo frame from an action movie.

Oh my goodness, we got the most awesome portraits of Avery today. It was questionable since she didn't have a morning nap before leaving for the appointment and them fell asleep in the car on the way there. I hid around the corner while her portraits were being taken and she was hamming it up like I've never seen. She particularly liked the feather boa. Yeah, she's a blonde-haired blue-eyed kid. Literally all of the pictures were excellent. These are my two favorites, but I picked the one with her in the box. Man, this kid is a professional. She looked in the camera and smiled every time. A dream subject. She's so delicate and pink. I don't think that I could have two children who look more different.

So Avery's portrait appointment was the beginning of a six-hour stint at the mall. I don't know how we spent so much time there, or what exactly we did that took up six hours, but we managed to do it. Panera Bread is about the only place we could eat that didn't have peanuts, eggs, or milk in their food. Mom and I had a lot of fun at the mall on Friday trying to find something at Chick-Fil-A that was safe. Turns out they fry everything in peanut oil. So we had them grill some chicken strips for Avery. And then they couldn't figure that out either. Ugh. I hope Avery outgrows this allergy thing. I guess I'll have to get really friendly with the nutrition guide everywhere we go.

I am pretty darn tired, so I think I'll have to go to bed. Riley probably wet it so hopefully I can find a dry spot to lay my carcass down in. I don't know what's wrong with her lately. Maybe it's just the change in routine and new surroundings. I hear just about anything can trigger a bedwetting habit...I'll have to post pictures of Riley tomorrow.

My parents gave me our early Christmas present--a digital camera! Woohoo! I really couldn't believe it. I am going to be having a lot of fun with it, I can feel it! It's a really excellent one too, to satisfy my need for instant gratification and for quality. Blogging will be a lot easier too. I love cameras. I have joined the digital revolution. I always cringe when I see a redneck at the zoo with a really cool digital SLR. Then I have camera envy. My Mom said that the backgrounds in the pictures I take at home are cluttered. This new camera will give me an around-about reason to clean and purge our belongings. Strange how things work out.

Riley really really loves the blocks at Grandma's house. She only has the alphabet cube blocks at home which she basically makes a circle tower out of and that's it. She can really make elaborate creations with these ones. I may have to invest in some. But Grandma's have been collected over like a dozen years so there's a lot of variety. I'll have to see what I can find.

We braved the mall today. Actually we just braved Gymboree. I have such a weakness for that store. I haven't been in there for a long time, so everything looked new to me. They had an additional 30% off of everything, and everything that I got was already 20% off, so essentially I got 50% off of everything. They had a really cute Peruvian Doll line that I initially was getting for Avery, before realizing that it wouldn't work for her coloring. No problem, I got them for Riley. Then they had a panda line which I got for Avery. I'm not sure if she looks good in black or not, so the jury is still out on that. I'll have to try them on her tomorrow.
Avery finally has her portrait appointment tomorrow and I think that her rash is pretty much cleared up. Hopefully we can avoid a new one until then. I always eagerly anticipate portrait time, but am usually dissapointed in the results. I really hope we get good ones. She is so fair that every blemish or tear or crying spell shows up on her face. I need to be more assertive about what I like and don't like. I also get an inferiority complex when I use a coupon and don't intend to buy add-ons. Like I don't deserve good pictures if I'm using a coupon. Just one of my hang-ups. Her appointment is at Kiddie Kandids in the Columbia Mall since I have a really good coupon and you get your pictures right there. Yes, I need instant gratification. I already have been waiting for Riley's school portraits and that is killing me. Don't need to wait for Avery's too. This is a photo of the reaction I get whenever Avery sees me. Charming.

Grandpa decided to give Avery a bite of cranberry sauce today. To say that she loved them is a huge understatement. She bellowed her impatience and reached for another bite every single time. Grandpa had to go back for seconds and thirds. Thank goodness Avery isn't allergic to cranberries like Auntie Mina. This kid is little, but she had a yell that comes from the belly, and she used it to get cranberries.

I am sitting here watching the news and hearing about all the people that were injured (or shot) while shopping today. I don't think that I could give my child a toy on Christmas morning, knowing that I caused someone bodily harm in order to get it. People are seriously crazy. Stores will get more and there'll always be another sale.

Thanksgiving was pretty cool. I must say that I really enjoyed the eating. The food was absolutely delicious. I do not like having to stay home all day. That stinks. Brendan, Mina, and James came over and had dinner with us. Allan and Ben rented some video games from Blockbuster, so I've had the pleasure of watching them play. How fun. We did manage to get our Starbucks fix today. That was nice. I really want to go to the mall tomorrow, but I know it'll be a zoo. They are having a sale at Gymboree that can't be beat. Avery has a bodysuit from there that I just love and she got banana on it the first time she wore it and the stains won't come out. It's now on sale, and an additional 30% off tomorrow morning. Hmmmm, is it worth it? And if so, do I have the money? I still have Avery's party to think of.

Avery still has her rash. I know that I haven't eaten anything strange. My only guess is that I do eat things if they say "may contain traces of peanuts" and maybe something I ate actually did contain traces of peanuts for once, although I normally eat them all the time without a problem. Namely I'm talking about my granola bar habit. So it's concievable that if all granola bars in a box are from the same batch and so all could be contaminated, and if I eat, say, five in a row, that could be a problem. Just in theory. I would never eat five granola bars at a time. Wink wink.

So Riley is not ashamed of showing her true colors here in MD. Running around in her underwear at best, absolutely naked at worst. We're in the middle of the Thanksgiving celebration and she decides that she does not want undies or pants on. Sweet. Jay is of course scandlized by the whole naked girl thing. Riley held one of Uncle Allan's snakes today, which I thought was pretty brave for a two-year-old, especially considering that she did not have a shirt on. That must have felt funny.

Avery spent quite a lot of time playing with the play kitchen accesories. She also spent a while combing her hair with the fork, like the Little Mermaid. It's a dinglehopper!

The other night Riley wet the bed TWICE, and Avery managed to wriggle out of her diaper cover and she had a wet spot too. So we all woke up marinated in urine. Quite skinky I must say. At least I didn't wet the bed. I'm the only civilized one I guess.

So today was fairly boring. It rained. And rained. Being from Colorado I am just no longer used to extended periods of useless rain.


We met Mina and Jay and his friend Lindsay at McDonalds today and Riley had her first Happy Meal. She was pretty happy with the toy. Riley was still a touch too small to play on the playplace since they have these silly platforms that she can't climb. Riley and Jay are still getting along well, although sometimes they want the same thing. Jay is incredibly attentive to Avery and seems to understand her limitations. I think that he'll make a great big brother. Boys are usually naturally more tender, and then society does something to them.

I was admiring my mother's scrapbooks today and she had done a page of Riley and Avery at the park in Montana when Avery was a few months old. Much to my embarrassment, she was wearing the same sweater she's wearing today. So she's still wearing a 3-6m sweater. Sue me. It is a little small now, but not small enough to stop wearing. Plus it's pink, brown, and green. The color combination that is like crack to my senses.


Riley has skipped her naps for a few days. Then she melts down and passes out. She woke up in the middle of the night and requested a bowl of whipped cream, with graham crackers and a spoon. Not going to happen in the middle of the night, but I did oblige today. She insisted on eating the whipped cream "like a dog" so I don't know why she needed a spoon. We have also decided that Riley looks uncharacteristically goofy in pictures. I really tried to get un-goofy photos, but failed. I think it's the big far-apart eyes that make her look doofy in pictures. Oh well, she's exotic looking in real life.

Avery still has her mystery rash, so we postponed her portrait appointment. I still can't figure out what I ate that is worse than what I normally eat. My mother is really working hard on making the Thanksgiving meal edible for all of us. On Friday we have to get serious about Avery's birthday party. Maybe a trip to Party City will inspire us.


This is what a previously happy Avery looks like when I pass within her sight. Her mystery allergic reaction has made her hard to handle today, and nothing I did made her happy for long. Hopefully she'll be better tomorrow.

So I have yet to figure out the formatting on this computer so that it publishes in a manner that is satisfactory to me. I will probably redo it all when I get home so that everything is homogeneous. Plus I'm just a controlling perfectionist...

So I did manage to go to Toys R Us last night. I didn't really find all that much in Avery's age range, and didn't manage to spend my whole store credit. I did find these farm blocks, which Avery picked out herself. Even though we already have a wooden barn, this one will be just Avery's. And it's pretty darn cute to boot. So, one gift down.

We went to Arundel Mills Mall today, and Riley went potty there a record three times. We got a really awesome lined sweater jacket for Riley at the GapKids for $15. It totally rocks. And we happened upon the shoes for Riley that I ran all around Columbia last time I was here looking for and couldn't find. And after I had just spent $50 on new shoes for Riley. Riley said "I really really like these shoes, Mommy!" Brendan and Mina bought them for her for her Christmas gift, she just doesn't know it yet. I also got Avery an outfit at the Gymboree outlet for pictures, for which she has an appointment tomorrow, if her mystery allergic reaction rash has cleared up, that is.

Avery is starting to warm up a bit. Sometimes she is clearly intentionally trying not to smile, which is rather funny. She also likes to touch Duke with her middle finger like a little princess. I also realized that a rather important part of Avery's carseat base is missing. I have a feeling that it was lost by the airline. I asked Rudi to look in his car the next time he's in it to see if it's there. He removed the car seat from his car when he dropped us off at the airport and he's not really familiar with the seat at all, so maybe it dropped off and he didn't notice. If we can't find it we may have to either buy a new base or a new car seat if she's big enough to be forward-facing (which I doubt). Poo.

Ugh, I think I did something strange to my arm. I think it originated with wearing the ring sling too long. My shoulder is all out of whack and my left wrist is swollen. Now my left arm goes numb when I wear any sling, the ring sling or the mei tai. And I can absolutely only hold Avery with my left arm. I am seriously too retarded to figure out the logistics of holding her in my right arm. I just can't do it.

I think Riley injured herself about two dozen times today. She tends to go through self-destructive phases. Her legs are so severely bruised that it looks like she's abused. It's horrible. She fell and hit her face on the wood floor and got a few blood-blisters on her lower lip. She's bumped her head many times...

Oh, I really need to go to bed...

A year old (almost) and still bathing in the sink. One of the dogs left an enormous pee puddle, and I find Avery splashing around in it, having a whole lot of fun. Needless to say, she got a bath immediately. I like having a digital camera at my disposal so that I can download pictures immediately.

Hopefully Grandma will be able to watch Riley today so that I can go to Toys R Us. I have $53 in store credit that I hope to use for birthday gifts for Avery. If Riley comes, we all know how that will end. She just got a Build-A-Bear yesterday, so she does not need another toy. Plus, I always have a hard time getting all of our stuff back home after visiting here. And I never think that we bought that much stuff. I also want to get Avery's picture taken since our walls are covered with portraits of Riley since we used to take her every few months. Poor Avery, the second child.

In my rather boisterous family, I can see how serious a child Avery is. I always knew that she had tendencies towards seriousness, but they were never as apparent as now. She's such a strange little bird. She takes her toys so seriously, examining them intently. She hardly ever giggles. She's got a nice smile, though, when she chooses to grace you with one. She only has six teeth, though, and Riley had sixteen at this age. I can't believe that Avery is almost one, that my last baby is almost not a baby anymore. Thankfully she's small, so I can pretend that she's still a baby.

I am eating pretty well here. I have specific instructions from Rudi to put on some weight. He said that my thighs are too thin (although definitely not "thin", just thinner than my usual thick). My mother made this awesome hummus dip with chopped onions, cucumbers, and tomatoes. I ate the whole freakin' tray, literally. And pot roast today. Thanksgiving is going to be really nice. I love eating. And I haven't been home for Thanksgiving for six years.

So we are finally here in Maryland after quite a long journey. Both the flights went well, but our two-hour layover turned into a three and a half hour layover. Avery slept for both legs, Riley entertained herself (with a little help from the man sitting next to her) for the first leg, and also slept for the second. A little highlight, Avery took her first steps in the Minneapolis airport. Go Avery!! Riley met a girl named Mia in Minneapolis who had just come from Japan and she had a lot of coloring books and she shared them with Avery. The books were real paper, not the newsprint paper in American coloring books. Nice to color on, but probably not good for the environment. Oh well. Mia was almost four and apparently took dance or gymnastics, because she was showing Riley some cool tricks and Riley was frustrated because she would try to copy and couldn't.


Riley and Jay are getting along famously. Just six months ago they had to be constantly separated. I guess now Riley is mature enough and more socialized from being at school. They played without direct supervision for a few hours today. No one was bitten, and no one got hit. They pretended to cook in the kitchen, go shopping with the grocery cart and cash register, and even made a house out of the back of the chair.

Avery is really interested in the dogs. Duke absolutley adores babies, and Avery was reaching for him and chirping. When he came close, however, she did this panic-stricken scream. Not high-pitched, but very loud. I have never heard her make that noise before. And the look on her face! It was sad and funny at the same time. She's getting used to Duke now, but he's not sure what to think of her anymore. Avery is also not sure about Grandma and Auntie Mina. She is usually okay being held by people, but I guess she's also in a strange place with new people, so the combination makes her shy. I was changing Avery's diaper and found a surprise poo, so I set her on the floor without a diaper cover so I could get some diaper wipes, and now the dogs are licking the floor where her wet diaper butt was. Dogs are so gross!

I am seriously very tired and am looking forward to a good night's sleep tonight, if Riley and Avery oblige me. I also have to figure out how to upload photos from this computer. Should be a lot of fun.

So, one more day here in Colorado Springs and then off to Maryland! Riley went to school today. She just had to. I've been stuck in the house with them for nearly a week. She was feeling good and had fun.

Avery is not so bad. She is producing a lot of fluid. She's drooling. Her nose is running. And when she's craky she produces copious amounts of tears. For some reason she had been crying at night and doesn't nurse right away. I have yet to figure out the cause. I probably never will.

Avery likes to point now. Last night I was nursing her when Riley came over for some. When Avery noticed that Riley was nursing, she sat up, pointed at Riley and laughed right in her face. It was quite funny.

Riley got a pair of totally rockin' new shoes/boots today. They are quite snazzy. Everyone knows that I like the gaudy shoes for her right now. One day she'll want plain white shoes, so we must take advantage of the eccentric toddler years. Riley insists on dressing herself now, with frequently entertaining results. Today she did a really good job dressing herself for school (that is, in an outfit that matched) so I didn't think to double check her. Turns out she was going commando. Thank goodness she didn't have to go potty at school. The teachers would think that I'm crazy.

On the way to school, Riley asked the proverbial question: Why is the sky blue? Although I know that I've been told the answer, it comes down to the fact that I really don't care why the sky is blue, and therefore never bothered to remember the answer. Even if I knew, I doubt I'd be able to explain it in a way that would entertain a toddler's sensibility. Oh well. I told her to ask Dad. He cares about space and stars and sky and such. Not me. Sorry kiddo.

I finally finished Avery's pants, lanolized them and let them dry. She wore them for the first time today. I am really pleased with the results. They're nothing flashy, but really functional. I couldn't believe that she had a wet diaper on underneath a knit garment and the pants didn't feel wet at all. As a result, I thought her diaper was dry and went a little longer between diaper changes than normal. I'll have to get used to that.

Riley likes making her own peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. She calls them "peanut jelly and samitch". She likes making them, not necessarily eating them. Which really drives me crazy since I can't eat them for her. Speaking of cute things that Riley says, Rudi was joking around with me the other day, and Riley took it seriously and said, "Don't say that to my Mommy, she's perfect!" Horay, my little champion!

Speaking of weird things Rudi says, he's been quitely experimenting with calling Avery "Claire". It just doesn't sound right. And Avery responds to her name, so let's not confuse her.

Riley is feeling a lot better today. Usually that would be a good thing, but she is back to her difficult self. But now Avery has a stuffy/runny nose. I can never catch a break. My gut says that Riley didn't have strep, just a virus (I hate it when people say "just a virus" because I've knows viruses to be the worst). Anyway, I am debating whether to continue the antibiotics or not. True, there was a kid at school that had strep, but they don't say who the kid is and Riley might not have come in contact with this child at all. They might not even attend on the same days. The doctor gave the antibiotic because of her exposure to strep and because we have an infant in the same bed, so to stop any spreading. I just really don't think that Riley has a bacterial infection. And my family knows a thing or two about strep. I don't like taking antibiotics unnecessarily, but I also don't like people who stop taking antibiotics early and cause drug-resistant illnesses. So I'm in a bit of a quandary.

Twice I had Avery sitting in her high chair today and as I was reveling in the quietude, I realize that she has fallen asleep right there in her chair. She is so lethargic. I'm sad that she is sick, but happy because illness makes her cuddly. She has always liked to be held, but not really cuddled. She doesn't like my arm around her when she nurses. She'll actually move my arm if I have it draped over her. Several times today she has fallen asleep in my arms. How nice. Riley, on the other hand, is an unabashed cuddler.

Rudi and I detected a clear sign of jealousy from Avery today. When Rudi came home from work, Riley was still napping, so I handed Avery over to him so that I could chop some onions for chili. Avery was perfectly happy with Rudi, even when I passed within her sight. Then Riley came downstairs, and Avery instantly wanted me. Now that there was competition it was a mad rush for Mommy.

Rudi and Riley are getting along famously lately. Yesterday he actually got down on the floor with her and did several complicated puzzles with her. It was really nice to watch.

I ordered some Snappi diaper fasteners, and they are fabulous. I am now a big fan of the bikini fold as it is much trimmer, almost as trim as a disposable, and less bulk between the legs. I love cloth diapers, except when there's a little tiny turd in every single one. That's annoying.

Well, Avery is demanding something and Riley wants to be rolled up in a cover like a burrito, so I'd better go...Okay, apparently Riley is a caterpillar in a cocoon and she's about to become a butterfly. I'd better go watch...

Okay, so we left the house at 8:30am in search of a doctor to treat Riley on a Sunday. The first one we went to didn't take our insurance and the second one didn't take our insurance either. Meanwhile it's blowing snow and freezing and I'm trekking my sick child all over town. Where do doctors get off thinking that they can refuse service to a sick child with "military" insurance in a town with two Air Force bases, an Army base, and the Air Force Academy? Didn't they take an oath or something? I can just imagine these doctors at come sort of cocktail/caviar party somewhere schmoozing to their prospective mistresses about how they became doctors because they really love helping people. Meanwhile Riley is in the waiting room literally choking on her own phlegm (better than choking on someone else's phlegm, I suppose) and the receptionist is trying to make me pay up front for what is probably sub-standard service anyway. All I can say to the two after-hours clinics that turned us away: plague on both your houses!! And when you get the plague, I hope that you can't find a doctor that will take your freakin' insurance! If I practiced Wicca or Santeria I would literally be trying to cast a plague on them. But I'll just sit here and think really hard about how satisfying that would be.

So we ended up at the Emergency Room, for what is clearly not an emergency, but I was forced into it. Turns out that Riley most likely has strep throat. So the doctor prescribed antibiotics and popsicles to keep her cool and hydrated and soothe her throat. The doctor was incredibly good with Riley and because of that she wasn't scared at all. So now we have her medicine and doctor-prescribed popsicles and are finally home at 1:30pm. So no school for Riley tomorrow and probably not Tuesday either, which means that she'll only get one more day of school before going to Maryland. I know that she won't be happy about that at all.

We are on our way to take Riley to the doctor's office today. I noticed last night that she has some seriously swollen lymph nodes in her neck and she's getting drasticlly worse. Troble breathing and so forth, nasty cough. She actually asked to go to the doctor's office, so you know the little munchkin is not feeling well at all. They had a flier up at her school that a child had been diagnosed with strep throat, although the child hadn't been in school for several days, they still notified us. Riley hasn't complained of a sore throat, but she is requesting food and then refusing to eat it. We'll look like a bunch of vagabonds at the doctor's office, since Avery's rash from the peanut and a half that I ate hit a new high last night. Her face and chest are breaking out and her eyes are bloodshot. I know now that her nasty rash when she was a newborn that oozed and bled must have been from peanuts. I used to eat at least one and usually two PB&J sandwiches a day back then. Hopefully she'll outgrow it. Some preschools have started not accepting children that have allergies because they don't want the responsibility. Riley's school banned peanuts instead and they are not allowed in the school. Anyway, I'd better take a shower so that not all of us look like transients at the doctor's office...

My little Riley is sick today. Probably just a cold, nothing to worry about. She had a 100.5 temperature last night, not too bad, and she is stuffy and coughing a lot. When this picture was taken on Wednesday, it was 80 degrees out, and today it's 30 degrees. Not too good for remaining healthy. Rudi has had a cold for about a week now, so it's no wonder that Riley finally got it since she sleeps next to him in bed. Another good reason to get her bed put together as soon as possible. She always catches whatever Rudi has. The pieces to her bed are leaning up against the wall in our bedroom and she asked us to put her bed together yesterday. So I told Rudi that we absolutely cannot miss this opportunity to get her in her own bed at least some of the time. I've been asking him for literally six months, since we moved here, to get that bed ready.

Well, I was really looking forward to the Japanese Cultural Festival that's going on today, but of course Riley is sick and we are not going to go. I know that colds are worse in the morning and at night and they seem okay during the day, but I'll regret it if I take her out. I know, I've done it before. So no festival for us. I was really looking forward to the Taiko drums, but whatever. There'll be other festivals.

We went out for Vietnamese food last night. I was halfway through woofing down a vegetarian spring roll, when Rudi notified me that they had peanuts in them. I was so hungry that I didn't notice. Now Avery has a rash. Yippee. There were a booth of white people sitting behind us and they were talking about Vietnamese people and their French and Chinese origins, in front of the Vietnamese people. How embarrassing. White people are so weird. They think they're being open-minded and accepting, but really they're just being patronizing. Just sit down, shut-up, and eat the Vietnamese food. And don't ask for chop sticks. You're not fooling anybody, honky.

Rudi and Riley got along famously yesterday, all affectionate and cuddly. It was quite a nice change. They like to go to the movie store together. Rudi rented Shrek for Riley, and it's a good thing since she turns out to be sick and now she'll have something to watch. "Everybody loves parfait..."

I used to be really good and folding paper and cutting out snowflakes. So I decided to see if I still have that talent. Riley said that it's a beautiful spider web. So a failure at creating a snowflake, but at least I make good spider webs.

Ah, Halloween pictures at last! Riley still hasn't eaten any of her Halloween candy yet.

Yesterday I dropped Riley off at school and went to a La Leche League meeting with Avery. It was a lot of fun. They were having a party of sorts for LLL's 50th anniversary. The leader at our group has been a leader for 24 years, which means she's really knowledgable about breastfeeding, but not so much other things. Which may explain why she recommended giving a baby meat at 6 months of age. Eeek. One 10 month old boy there stood up in the middle of the circle and took his first steps and his mother started crying and then everyone else started crying. Weird. But really, it was a lot of fun. They had goodie bags with cards that state our breastfeeding rights, so if we're in public an encounter a problem, we can whip out the card. And two free samples of Lansinoh, which is a score because I need Lansinoh to lanolize the wool pants I'm knitting for Avery and can't find my tube (I think I threw it away during the move). And some other stuff too.


Rudi had to pick Riley up from school, and he got there on time, took Riley out to eat, and took her to Walmart and bought her a coloring book. They have fun together when it's just the two of them, but when you add Rudi to our normal threesome it totally messes up the family dynamic. He only spends a minute or two with Riley everyday and he's like a dictator, she must obey immediately. Of course she's not going to take him seriously if he's not active in her life. For instance, we were leaving Barnes and Noble last night and Riley was saying that she wanted her chocolate milk, which Rudi always throws away before leaving so that she doesn't spill it in his car. I thought that he should address the issue since he's the one that always throws it out. She kept asking for it, and Rudi yells at her to be quiet. I tell him that he should respond to her question instead of telling her to be quiet, and he says "what does she want?" AAAGH! She wants her freakin' chocolate milk! And he's like, "well, what do you want me to do, she always wants something." Because you never address her needs, she has to repeat herself over and over, hence the whinning, and so forth. ARGH! Then Rudi tells her that her chocolate milk was gone (lie), so he had to throw it away. Riley protests that there was "plenty left in there" (truth) and Rudi tells her to drop it or she goes in time out. What a joke! Double argh.

When I picked Riley up from school on Tuesday, I was talking to one of her teachers. She said that Riley has adjusted so well to the classroom, while the other three-year-olds are still making adjustments and getting used to the routine and the rules, while Riley took to it right away. It's nice to know that Riley is capable of being a sweet little angel somewhere at least. And that she's learning. Still no word on when her class pictures will be in. I really hope I'll have them before I come to Maryland.

You know, I really need to get a digital camera. It would make this uploading photos thing much easier. I was fairly confident that Rudi was going to get me one for Christmas, but now we've decided not to get each other anything and spend the money on the kids. I guess the lack of current photos will just deepen the surprise when we get to Maryland.

Sunday was my last day at Starbucks. I'm not sure that I'll miss it, but maybe I will. I really liked working there and I liked my co-workers, but it just wasn't good for my family. Riley's happy. Avery doesn't care, or doesn't know that she should care. Whatever. Rudi's happy, and said that if I ever just need time to myself, I could leave the kids with him for a couple of hours. At least he's trying to keep me mentally healthy, in theory.

Riley's attitude is really developing. I don't know how else to say it without putting a negative or positive spin on it. I sometimes am offended by her tone, but I am also glad that she's not some wallflower. I guess I have to take the good with the bad. She adds the attitudinal "a" on the end of sentences now, for emphasis. I gave her an ice cube tray (she's an ice nazi, always must have ice) and she wanted to fill it up, so I decided to make it a Montessori activity and I filled a bowl with water and gave her a medicine dropper, and had her fill the tray. I told her to fill them all the way up, otherwise we won't be able to get the ice out of the tray. So she says "If I fill it all the way up-a, it will overflow-a!" Sometimes it's cute, sometimes annoying.

Speaking of Riley-tude, her behavior has really gotten out of hand. I really don't know what to do with her, but I know that what we're doing is not working. She's such a perfect little angel at school, and a complete devil at home. She's always so darn busy. I guess I really have to step up the number of activities that I do with her. But she has a way of spoiling all of them. And then I get mad that I cared enough to even try. I think today I am going to go to Joanns and get a whole lot of felt and make a felt story-board, and cut out characters from her favorite stories and some extra so that she can create her own stories. I think that we have some extra particle board so I can make a fairly large story board. Ugh, she's really driving me crazy.

We had a playdate planned with Lorelai from school. I called her mother last night and we talked again this morning to firm up our plans. Then I found out that she's a staunch Republican, and I thought "what have I gotten myself into?" But if we talk about our kids and parenting and such, I don't see why there would be a problem. We don't have to talk about politics. Lorelai is Riley's best friend and she also has a younger brother who is almost exactly Avery's age. They had a really busy day scheduled and we managed to miss each other at the park. We'll try again another time, unless she was turned off by my being a Democrat...Hmmm

Yah for Democracy!! Isn't it great? I fell asleep really early, grappling with the kids not sleeping and finally we all crash. So I didn't hear of the early returns. So I woke up to a whole new delightful world this morning. Whichever way you lean, it's fairly obvious that Bush is responsible for his party's demise. The public has spoken and the public is sick of Bush and his cronies and have no faith in his leadership, his policies, and his handling of Iraq. So there. I voted against an ammendment that defines marriage as between a man and a woman, but it passed. I also voted for an ammendment giving domestic partnership benefits to gay couples, but that failed. Oh well, you can't win them all. People can have whatever opinion they want about gay marriage, I don't care, but I don't think that discrimination should be written into any constitution, state or federal. Enough on politics. None of it really matters in the long run anyway. Rudi couldn't vote because he doesn't have Colorado citizenship yet, but that's a whole 'nuther debacle...

Oops!..I saved this post as a draft and forgot to publish it. I think I was waiting for pictures. Well, I'll have to keep on waiting...

Darn daylight savings time! We've been getting up so early that Riley falls asleep in the car on her way to school. We usually get up right after Rudi has left for work, but now he's still sleeping when we get up. You should see Avery's face when Rudi comes downstairs in the morning. She knows that he usually isn't here when we wake up, and her face lights up. Avery has become a serial car-sleeper, which wrecks havok on our nap times. She falls asleep withing minutes of getting in the car, on the way to preschool, on the way home, on the way to preschool again, and on our way home again. Not cool at all.

Riley has her school field trip yesterday to a senior center. The kids have been rehearsing Halloween songs, and while the class was singing "Five Little Pumpkins" Riley was belting out "Twinkle Little Star." It was a nice senior center and the elderly were well taken care of, but it was still pretty sad how the seniors so much wanted to talk to, hug, and have pictures taken with the children. They must be so lonely most of the time.

Trick-or-treating was a lot of fun for Riley. I thought that she would be scared knocking on doors and asking strangers for candy. Not so. She said "trick or treat" and "thank you" every time. We went really early, around 5:45, as soon as it got dark, so I don't think that a lot of the residents here were even home from work yet. Our landlord handed out signs to put on the door if you're giving out candy, so we went only to those. Riley didn't want to stop in spite of the frigid temperatures. She made out pretty good, as people were giving handfuls of candy. Riley said, "I say 'trick or treat' and they give me candy. That's a good trade." We bought three bags of candy and have two and a half left. Not good for a diabetic and a person who can't eat dairy. Too temping. Riley has not eaten a single piece of her candy. I guess it's just to admire and look at.

Rudi really wants Riley to get into her own bed and I really want Riley to stop breastfeeding. I didn't want to do both at the same time because I thought that would be too stressful, but now I don't really see any other way. As long as she's in bed with us, I am too available and she will continue to nurse. Putting her in her own bed would hopefully discourage nursing, but I'd be okay with it if she crawled into bed with us to nurse every once in a while. She doesn't fit onto my lap anymore and I take that as a sign that it's time to stop nursing.