Riley and Avery

Hopefully, if all goes well, I'll be sewing for Amy's brand new baby carrier business. That'll be lots of fun and will give me something to do other than wipe noses and butts. And I love making things with my hands, so it will be fulfilling for me and give me a creative outlet. Oh yeah!

Other than that, nothing has really happened around here, but that's not going to stop me from blogging about my boring day-to-day existence.


We were supposed to go to Riley's classmate Lorelai's house today, but Lorelai is sick, so it was a no-go. But we made firm plans to go over there next Wednesday. They live all the way in Fort Carson to the south, which really isn't that far away. But it's on base, so we have to go through a car search and so forth, but at least I have a military ID now, so that should make the process a little smoother.

Riley fell in the toilet last week. I keep forgetting to blog about it. It was absolutley hilarious. She refuses to use the potty seat now, so as she was climbing on and arranging herself, the hand that she was holding a stuffed animal in slipped and she fell totally in the toilet. I tried not to laugh too hard at first so that I wouldn't hurt her feelings, but she thought it was funny too, so I let it all out.

Another thing I keep forgetting to blog about: Rudi took Riley and Avery to Sportsman's Warehouse after picking Riley up from school last week while I was at my dental consultation. He's brave. Anyway, he said that they did nothing but fight. And Avery was the aggressor. Avery pushed Riley in the face, so Riley pushes Avery in the face, and then Avery grabs Riley's face and scratches her. Avery is sure fiesty. I wish they wouldn't fight, but I'm glad that Avery is sticking up for herself. Riley can be really over-bearing. And that's an understatement.


So as I was at Barnes and Noble looking at cookbooks, I notice a bunch of books on cooking to avoid food allergies and sensitivities, and usually I skip the ones that avoid soy because Avery isn't allergic to soy, but something caught my eye. It was talking about the effects of soy sensitivity and so forth and it gets me thinking. Thinking about the rash that Riley (yes, Riley) has had for about a month that I just assumed was just dry skin, until I notice her scratching the inside of her elbow where the rash is the worst. Then I think about her hyperactive behavior over the past month and how she ALWAYS complains that her stomach hurts. Riley absolutely adores soy milk, but only started drinking it in massive quantities about a month or so ago. I know she's not allergic to it, but sensitivity to soy is fairly common. So I'm wondering...So I'm having her drink cow's milk or rice milk until I can see if there's a change.

I'm working on a Hmong-style baby carrier. I don't have a really good reason why, just because. I'm having a hard time finalizing the measurements, since they're really not that common, hence the absence of sewing instructions online. I don't mind tweeking the measurements for future carriers, so this one doesn't have to be absolutely perfect, but I'd like it to be wearable.

I've been really bad about posting lately. And it's not like I have nothing to post about, I'm just being lazy.

I had my consult with the dentist on Thursday. Turns out, three implants will set us back $6200. Not too shabby. That is the absolute maximum charge, including $530 per tooth for bone grafts (yuck) when hopefully I'll only need about $250 worth for each tooth. So this is worst-case scenario. And my insurance doesn't cover implants or implant crowns, but they'll cover some of the extraction charges. The dentist said that it was fairly obvious that my dental problems are genetic since my gums are in excellent shape. He said that when people don't care for their teeth, it is evident in their gums as well. He said that I'm doing a good job there. I'm like a child, I want to get praise for brushing my teeth and flossing like a maniac. So I have my pre-op on Feb. 8th where they'll give me a whole bunch of prescriptions, including and oral sedative for my dentist-induced panic attacks and my negative experiences in the past. Then surgery on Feb. 14th. What a great Valentine's Day! Then I'll just have to live with metal posts in my mouth for six months or more until I get the crowns (and the $3000 needed to pay for them). Whoopee!

Rudi finally dragged us to Cripple Creek on Friday. He had heard so much about the place, but he must have heard it from people without children, because there were only casinos there. We stopped at a diner for lunch and Riley had her first exposure to an arcade and wanted to earn some prizes. Luckily she has a mama who is pretty good at getting arcade tickets. It was a nice spring-like day in the Springs (in the 60s), but Cripple Creek is at 9500 ft altitude, so it was pretty darn cold. I told Rudi that if he ever took me somewhere cold on a spring day again, he was going to die. Riley is her father's daughter, though. Freezing out and the kid just had to have an ice cream cone. Riley had fun just walking up and down the streets. I confess, we gambled $5 and walked away with $5, so we broke even.

Arg, just waiting for my photos to upload to Flickr...

So it looks like I've convinced Rudi to drastically change our diet. Rudi needs to lose at least 50 pounds to be at a healthy weight. I think we'll eat mainly vegetable dishes with some fish thrown in. Luckily, Riley and Avery both love vegetables, but it's always the same-old same-old. I have a hankerin' for some mushrooms, so I'm trying to find a portobello and pasta dish for tonight. We looked at vegetarian cookbooks at Barnes and Noble, but couldn't really find one that we liked. I find it really suspicious that most vegetarian cookbooks don't have pictures. Hmmm... They usually called for some really weird ingredients (like sweet smoked paprika-what the?). I'll figure it all out in time. The cookbooks gave me good ideas on what to look for online.

This isn't the greatest picture of Riley's artwork, but anyway...I'm alway so impressed by how she develops her drawings and how they evolve and get better and more realistic without any proding from me. She now draws the pupils on her people, complete with arms, legs, fingers, and toes. I'm still waiting for them to have a body.

Avery's new diaper covers came in the mail today! As did the girls' Valentine's gifts. What a great day. The diaper covers are fabulous. I am super impressed with the Bummis Super Snaps. Those are really sweet. I also really like the stacinators and am really glad that the site said that they run big. That's an understatement. I don't think Avery will ever outgrow them. The Bumkins are alright. The print is awesome, but they seem to run small and the elastic around the legs is a little stiff. I may have to exchange for the bigger size. We'll see.

The Sorting Cylinders I got Riley were described incorrectly on the Oompa site. But in a good way, for sure. The dimensions given were 1 in. wide and deep and 4 in. long, so I was expecting some really small toys. As it turned out, they are 2.5 in. deep and wide and 9.5 in long. How sweet is that?! The only thing I can figure is that the dimensions were given in inches, but because it's a European company, they assumed they were in centimeters and converted the measurements. Who knows. As you can tell, I've thought too much on the subject already. But they are really awesome. Avery's books are really cute too. Just the right size for her with colorful illustrations and no words.

We have a really complicated day ahead of us tomorrow. Rudi is coming with me to take Riley to school, then we're all going to the VA Clinic so he can have his labs done. Then we'll fart around if we have time. Then he'll drop me off at the dentist's office, which is right behind Barnes and Noble (how convenient) and go with Avery to pick up Riley from school. Then he'll take the girls to Barnes and Noble where I'll meet him after my appointment. I can't wait to get my teeth fixed. It's been a long time coming.

I saw Transamerica the other day. I thought that it was a really good movie and Rudi didn't realize that the main character was played by a woman. I watch Desperate Housewives, so I knew (and even told him) that Felicity Huffman was the main character. He just didn't believe it. I think that she did a phenomenal job portraying the nuances of a character caught between two genders. It was the first movie that Rudi and I were able to watch together in a very very long time, we both enjoyed it, and neither of the girls woke up during it. Who could ask for more?

Speaking of the girls, Riley hasn't nursed since Sunday. This whole weaning thing has been incredibly easy. I have never fought with her or denied her. I make a moderate attempt at distraction, and if that doesn't work, I just nurse her. Now she doesn't even ask. Last night she woke up at midnight and wouldn't go back to sleep and I was desperately trying to get her to, but she wanted to go downstairs and play. As a last resort, I offered to nurse her, and she turned me down cold. Ouch. So I had to get up and play with her in the middle of the stinkin' night. Bummer. I always assumed that she would nurse one more time, so it's weird to think that Sunday was perhaps the last time and I didn't savor it. I've gained five pounds since she began weaning, so that's not too shabby.

Doh! I put the camera batteries in the battery charger but didn't plug the charger in. Pictures will have to wait!

Today wasn't really exciting at all, but I'll blog anyway. I am putting Avery in the wrap a few times a day at home to get used to tying it. It may be a while before I'm good enough to attempt it in public. Nothing like the pressure of other people watching you precariously binding your baby to your back. Avery seems to like it, but she's quite the squirmer, so she manages to work the panel across her back down around her waist. I think she's still relatively secure that way but it's annoying. I think that even when I get better at it, the mei tai will still be my go-to carrier for trips to the supermarket and such. I wanted to use the wrap more for hiking and long walks. Boy, neither of us look particularly happy in this picure. I didn't notice that before. I should have picked a different one...

I did our federal taxes. Yahoo! We're getting more than 6K back, so mama is getting some new teeth. I have a dentist appointment on Thursday for a consult. I called around to almost every dentist in town. I like this guy because he is a specialist, he's close by, he's not too cheap and not too expensive, and he offers discounts on multiple implants done on the same visit. The second tooth is $400 cheaper than the first one, which makes it only slightly more expensive than a bridge, which I was going to get on my lower jaw. Implants are such a long process, though. Once the screw is implanted I have to wait 4-6 months for it to heal before getting the crown. Then I have the pleasure of spending around $1000 for each crown. Ah, dental work...I'll be itemizing these expenses on our taxes next year, that's for sure.

I spent nearly two hours wandering aimlessly around Target today. Oh, if I only had more money to spend. You know, Target has some really decent childrens' clothes. Too bad the company has absolutely horrible terrible no-good customer service. But their stuff is like crack, and it's neatly arranged and the store is always empty so the shopping is good. Now, we are obviously Walmart shoppers, against our will, and say what you want about Walmart, but Walmart is what it is. They make no false pretenses. Target makes themselves out to be better than Walmart, but their corporate structure and disregard for the consumer is infinitely worse than Walmart. Heaven forbid that you have to return something to Target, or buy something there that falls apart a week later. Ah, but the beautiful bowls and dishes, cute girls' shoes, wooden kitchen toys...

And because my children are absolutely completely spoiled, I bought them Valentine's Day presents. I'm so bad. It's like I can't go a month without buying them a gift. I got Riley the Haba Colored Cylinders because she likes that kind of stuff at her school. And I got Avery some wooden books, and because they weren't as expensive as Riley's toy, she got two; the Chelona Snail Book and the Chelona Soleil Book. Are you supposed to buy yor kids Valentine's presents? Oh, why not!? Now I just logged on to Oompa to find out if they were shipped or not (they never emailed) and I'm in a panic because they're scheduled to be delivered tomorrow! Aaaah, I have to keep these secret for three whole weeks! Oh, the pain, the pain...Watch that stinkin' tea set become available not that I've ordered something else.

So I did manage to go to the gym yesterday. I managed to drag myself for 2mi. exactly in 25 minutes. So I did step up the pace, but I think I'll slow down when I go tomorrow. I don't really like competition, not even against myself. I'm so lame...

I am so sick of winter. I am so ready for spring to be here. Not having to worry about hats and coats and mittens and warming up the car. Just walking out the door as we are. Sounds like heaven to me. *sigh*

I finally figured out how to use the baby wrap carrier that I made. I don't think I mentioned that I made one, not that it takes a whole lot of skill to make one. I went to Joanns and got a batik cotton gauze that was $5.99/yd. with a 40% off coupon (so $3/yd for $12 total) and cut off some of the width and hemmed up the edge and hemmed up the ends. And voila, a $12 wrap that people try to sell for $60+ online. Ha ha, suckers! At first I tried the Tibetan back carry which really wasn't all that comfortable, mostly because it's a high-back carry and Avery is too small to spread her legs that wide. So I tried the front-cross back carry which was awesomely comfy for both of us. She's a little lower on my back so her legs are spread around my waist rather than my upper back. I think I'll revisit the Tibetan carry when she is bigger. I'll have to get Rudi to take some pictures when he comes home from work. And I had enough fabric left over to make a carrier for Riley's doll...

Speaking of Rudi, he and Riley had a little tiff (as they frequently do) about Riley not giving one of her toys to Avery upon demand. I thought Rudi was wrong to ask her to do that at all, and let me tell you why (besides the obvious). One of Riley's favorite things to play with are "naked sticks," namely the cardboard tubes that come in wrapping paper. Rudi was holding one and Riley wanted it. Rudi refused just because he had it and wouldn't give it to her just because she wanted it. How juvenile! Meanwhile he's kind of flaunting that he has it in front of her. So back to the Avery thing, Riley was kind of flaunting that she had the pretend ice cream cone (which is rightfully hers, although it is one of Avery's favorite toys) in front of Avery, just as Rudi had done to her. So Rudi gets mad because she is enacting exactly what she had learned directly from him. This is all besides the point. They kissed and made up a day later, and when Rudi went to Barnes and Noble last night while I tackled the bedtime routine, Riley cried and begged him not to go. Then she cried this morning when Rudi went to work. When those two get along, they really get along. But when they fight, Troy burns.

Ah, I get to go to the gym again today. I have to say that I really do enjoy it. Or is it the childless hour and the stop at Starbucks on the way home that I enjoy (BINGO!)? We'll see how long I stick to it. I have to say probably for only a month or two. I'm just being realistic. On Friday I went 1.6 miles in 25 min. That's pretty slow, but we'll see if I can beat it today. I caved and started the couch to 5K so I was walking most of the time. I'm supposed to do the same routine today, but I'll try and pick up the pace. I think I looked pretty stupid in the gym, running for 60 seconds and walking for 90 seconds, over and over again. Oh, who cares?

Avery really has the walking down now. I'd say she walks 85% of the time. She's also getting faster. It's funny trying to watch her navigate the carpet-to-linoleum switch. She looks like she's on a tight rope whenever she comes into the kitchen.

Riley is being totally contrary today. Disagreement for the sake of disagreement. When are these Terrific Threes supposed to kick in? I'm waiting...

So I'm picking Riley up from school today and there's this man there either picking up or dropping off. He was fat and had a cane. Not that that matters, but it helps complete the picture. So I'm signing Riley out and he just starts ranting at me about how the liberal schools are brain-washing our children and teaching them the "gay lifestyle and global-warming crap" and I'm like is this loon talking to me? I don't agree with his views personally, but he has the right to think what he wants, but expressing them in that way, completely randomly and without provocation, kind of shows mental instability. And it was his tone, like the ramblings of a lunatic, I mean really HATEFUL. And he never really looked AT me, but I was the only one in there, so I assume I was the intended target. So I was infinitely uncomfortable around this guy and didn't like his use of the word "crap" around my child (although she's heard worse). Plus, don't I have "liberal" written all over me? Did he think I'd agree? In addition, global warming is a SCIENTIFIC FACT, so denying it is just ignorant. Now, we can debate till the end of time whether humans are responsible for it or not, but that's a whole separate issue. I think I'll bring it to the director's attention that this creepy guy gave me the willies. I hope I don't see him again. I was shocked today, but that will wear off and then I'll get angry...

So did I forget to mention that we got a vacuum cleaner a couple of days ago? This is really big news for us, since we've been without one since we moved to the Springs. Avery absolutely loves the thing and I'm sure she would hop on and ride it around while I vacuum if I let her.


I also bought cloth diaper covers yesterday online. I can't wait for them to come. I got some Bummis Super Snap covers, which are exactly like the Whisper Wrap, just with snaps. I also got some Stacinator So Simple which snap at the sides. I bought some Bummis Whisper Pants which are just the pull-up Gerber-type, but they're nylon not vinyl so they breathe. I didn't want anything with velcro, but I was tempted by the Bumkins wraps with Dr. Seuss prints, so I got one Green Eggs and Ham print and a One Fish Two Fish print. They also have flaps on the inside front that keep the diaper from creeping up, and that's a problem that we have, so we'll see if it works. Ooooh, now I just have to wait.


Riley's Holiday Program at school was cute, but very long. It would have been better if Riley didn't stand there and pick her nose for at least half the program. At least she used a tissue. She didn't do anything, which is really aggravating since she sang me "Jingle Bells" in the car so I know she knows it. She did shake the bells, but that's it. She participated a little bit with the two French songs (Riley has a French teacher? Who knew?). I think I am going to request a meeting with her teachers because Riley is totally different in school than she is at home. She acts like a complete mute dummy at school, and I'm not happy with that. She really needs to be challenged and they can't let her get away with playing shy and stupid. So there, Riley. I'm on to you!

Yesterday I remarked to Rudi that Avery really gave Riley the "stink-eye" and Riley busted out laughing and couldn't stop. She thought "stink-eye" was the funniest thing she ever heard. She also called me "little buddy" and "stink-fest" at Barnes and Noble. Speaking of Barnes and Noble, we were there the other day and Riley brought her doll stroller and Tweety Bird animal and a boy started to play with it and Riley wanted it back, so I told her to ask the boy if she could please have her stroller back. He didn't answer (he was about 4 yrs old) so she asked again and he didn't answer, so I asked him and he didn't answer. So then I get up to forcibly take it from the little brat and he moved away when I got up. So I made some comment about children left in the kids section without a parent to watch them. Just then I see his father move into my view and he's freakin' BLIND! So I guess the kid figured out that he can do whatever he wants as long as he doesn't make noises to give him away, hence the silence. Then a grandmother (not a really old one) was trying to get one of the Thomas engines onto one of the train cars and the magnets kept repeling, which to most people in the universe (including Riley when she was one year old) means just turn the car around. But the grandmother couldn't figure it out so she put the engine aside like it was broken. Good lord!

Then I go back to Starbucks because it got a juice before and now I really need a coffee and they tell me that a dog just bit a child in the face right there at the counter. I told them that I would have killed the dog with my own bare hands right there in Starbucks if it had bitten MY child. The manager, the one who I knew in Maryland, was like "totally, me too!" I really like animals, but now that I have children, I really want dogs to be leashed, and not on a twenty foot leash, that doesn't count. And why do they need to be in Starbucks? There not people, people! And I can't stand how people take dogs out in public and say "well, my dog doesn't like children" like that's a good excuse. Then don't take them around children! Or better yet, euthanize the nasty little beasts! There are plenty of people who don't like children, and hopefully they simply don't have any, but they don't go around biting children. So just because they're dogs, they're allowed to bite children. I swear, we're turning into a Retard Nation.

Secretly watching Avery play by herself is really funny. The things that she tries to do and the activities that she thinks are fun...it's like watching her brain form right in front of your eyes.

Ah, it's snowing again, so I guess we're not going anywhere. There's not enough on the ground right now to prevent us from going anywhere, but it's snowing pretty hard still and I don't want to go out and get stuck later. And of course, since I was tired of looking like an unfit mother who always takes Riley to school without a hat, mittens, and snow boots, I left her snow boots at school. I didn't think we'd need them. Poo. So we can't go play in the snow either.

Riley just asked me "Do you know what my favorite creatures are? Dinosaurs! They're creatures, you know!"

So Riley had her eye appointment on Tuesday. Nothing really remarkable. She is too young to do the color vision testing, so it looks like I'll just have to wait. I think that I'll keep working on red and green with her and if I don't see an improvement in six months, I'll seek a second opinion. Riley was really good for the appointment, especially considering all of the weird contraptions that ophthalmologists have in their examining rooms. She even cooperated when they taped over her eyes. She does have a moderate case of pseudostrabismus which only means that the bridge of her nose is extra wide and covers up a little of whites of her eyes, so it sometimes looks like her eyes are out of alignment. Her vision is perfect. They have a machine now that if they can get a child to look into it long enough, it automatically can tell if there's a need for glasses. No glasses for Riley. Hopefully she got my vision and not Rudi's.

Ah, tomorrow is Riley's holiday program at school, since it got snowed out before the winter break. I totally forgot that I was supposed to bake cookies, so I had to run out to Wild Oats and get a vegan cookie mix. I would have made the Cranberry Oatmeal cookies, but I just made those for her school last week, so I thought I'd give them a rest, but didn't have time to look up a whole new recipe.

Avery has a new habit of scratching her butt after I take her diaper off. It's really funny. If she manages to get away from me during this process, she runs away from me whilst scratching her backside.

Riley has nursed once in the past three days. And only that once because she won me over by saying something cute. When she asked to nurse, I mentioned that she hadn't nursed in so long and why don't I sing her a song instead. Then she says "I'm asking for nai-nais because I'm hungry, and if you don't give me nai-nais I'll be hungry forEVER! So why won't you give me nai-nais?" Oh god people, you have no idea what my life is like with a child who DOES NOT STOP TALKING EVER! Even today she said "you can't ignore me, you know." She just never stops, ever. She even has been talking in her sleep lately, and demanding responses. At least she has been involving me in her play in a more participatory way. She used to tell me what to do with her toys, and tell me what to say, and have me tell her what the animals (or whatever) will say next. I would say that I was her slave, but slaves are still human. She treated me more like a chimp trained to play with her toys for her. How offensive. And like a chimp I did whatever she told me, and if I rebelled she would quickly smite me. Now she has me pretend with her to be in a car driving to a picnic. I, of course, have to be strapped in my car seat with a helmet on and knee pads ("knee holders" as Riley calls them) and only Riley can drive. I wonder what kind of driver she's going to be if I have to be protected like that. Well, today she told me "I usually drive fast!"

Oh phooey, I didn't want to write a long post today...till tomorrow.

Okay, so I wrote this and kept it up on the computer and now it's a new day and I want to make a new post, so this one will be posted without pictures for now...

Like a complete retard, I bundle the kids up in the 0 degree weather, clear the snow off my car, warm it up, shovel the driveway so I can get out, put gas in the car, and drive Riley to school only to discover that it's Martin Luther King Jr. Day and schools are closed. Arg. So that was a long car ride for nothing at all.

Riley has her appointment at the ophthalmologist (ha! I didn't even need to spell-check that word for once! I'm learning!) tomorrow afternoon. I'm really eager to figure this thing out. In a completely unscientific test yesterday night, I took all of Riley's red and green crayons out of the box, about fifteen crayons in various shades. I gave them to her and told her to put the red ones in one bucket and the green ones in another. She put two red crayons in the green bucket, all the others, both red and green, in the red bucket. Seems just a little bit strange. Then I take away the green crayons and give her red and blue and she puts all the blue ones in the blue bucket first and then the ones that "are not blue" she puts in the red bucket. I looked online and only .64 percent of girls are colorblind, so the chances are really slim. If she's not colorblind, then maybe they'll have suggestions on how to teach her the difference, or something else that may be wrong. It just doesn't seem right to me. I'm usually the "don't worry about it" type of parent, which directly clashes with Rudi's "give them medicine for the smallest thing and take them to the doctor at the drop of a hat" style of parenting. But something is definitely wrong and if it's not red-green colorblindness then it has to be something else. Or maybe she's just red-green colorstupid. Who knows.

Ah, what to do today. I know I want to go to Joann Fabrics and check out some possible fabric for a baby wrap, although I'm not optimistic that I'll find something suitable. I just don't want to pay a whole butt-load of money for a wrap that someone essentially just hemmed up the ends on. It's not like they require extensive seamstress experience to make these. Man, I am so cheap...

Avery is walking so much today. She walked clear across the house into the kitchen just now. That had to be at least two dozen steps. Way to go!

Rudi is out at the Y today for the first time in several days. To be fair, he has had a pretty bad cough and the Y closes too early on Saturdays and Sundays for him to get there after work. So he's off the hook for now...

Yesterday I made some delicious tarragon chicken with apples. I got a new healthy-eating cookbook on the bargain table at Barnes and Noble. I made pork medalions with cherries a few days ago. They were both yummy. Almost all the recipes involve meat with fruit, so we'll see how long it is before we get sick of the combination, but for now it's interesting. I really have a pork addiction right now.

Rudi has his doctor's appointment on Thursday, so we'll see if he'll be on insulin or not. I hope they were just trying to scare him. Although they've tried that before and it didn't really work. He just really needs some hard education. Yesterday, he took his blood sugar before he ate dinner and it was 120, which is not normally a bad reading, but he hadn't even eaten yet.

Yesterday was a loooong day. I guess it began the previous night when I stayed up late to make cookies for Riley's birthday ceremony at school. The Vegan Spiced Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies turned out marvelously and was a big hit with the children. Riley was upset when they were gone, so I promised to make them again.

Rudi came to Riley's school and observed for about 30 minutes before Riley's ceremony began. We watched the music lesson. As the teacher handed out percussion instruments to each child and told them not to use them yet, Rudi remarked how well-behaved the kids were to resist the temptation and sit in circle nicely. Riley absolutely did not participate when the song said to stand up and shake her maraca. She was in her own little la-la land. I don't know what to do about that. Rudi thinks that she has ADD but I think it's over-diagnosed. She does have certain symptoms, but I'm sure we can deal with them without medication.

Then they lit a candle and put it in the middle of the circle and arranged calendar pages around it. The teacher gave Riley a globe and they walked around the circle three times while the teacher read milestones of her life so far as they passes the appropriate month. Then they all sang Happy Birthday and ate cookies. It was nice.

Then we went home for about an hour to feed the kids and get all of our stuff together, then we hit the road for Denver. I actually timed this, from the moment we got into the car and for 30 minutes after that, Riley DID NOT STOP TALKING not even for a moment. Finally she said that her tummy hurt and I told her that it was probably because she was talking so much, so she put her head down and took a short nap. We went to the Tattered Cover Bookstore and unleashed the kids on the children's section. Avery was a little tornado, pulling books off the shelves and yelling. She found a wolf nesting doll that she adored and yelled whenever Riley touched it. I'll see if I can find it online for cheaper. So we stayed there for quite a while and then headed to the Denver Botanic Gardens for their Blossoms of Light show.

Man, the Blossoms of Light show was absolutely fabulous. It was so beautiful. I can only guess what the Botanic Gardens look like in the spring. They gave the visitors 3D glasses that turned the lights into snowflake shapes. Oh, let me tell you, it was horribly cold. Earlier in the day it was in the mid 50s, but by the time we got to the gardens, it was 15 degrees, much lower with wind-chill!! I had brought the baby slings and Rudi's coat so I could wrap it around Avery and I, but it was so cold that we had to put the girls in their strollers and pile all of the covers we had on top of them. Riley loved looking at the statues. Avery wouldn't let us put her hands under the covers, so she had fun looking at the frozen appendages that she could see but not feel. She was pretty amazed. We warmed up in the visitors center, and then left for home. It was 8 o'clock. Avery and Riley both fell asleep on the way home and transferred right to bed when we got home.

It started snowing on our way home from Denver, and it's still snowing. But it's a normal snow so far, not a blizzard. They are calling this a bad storm simply because it's supposed to be bitterly cold on top of it. I think our highs are supposed to only be in the teens for several days now. Great.

Today we're pretty much going to stay in and clean, to make up for the lack of cleaning done yesterday. We need to go to the Whole Foods Market for more vitamins for Riley, and I'm sure Rudi will be glad to go. Rudi ran out of his Paxil on Wednesday because he was taking two a day instead of one-and-a-half, so he might not be very useful unless we can get our hands on some more. He won't get another refill for a while, so hopefully his doctor will take pity on us. And laundry, I don't even want to think about the laundry that needs to be done.

In the world of nursing, Riley has nursed twice in the past four days. Not too shabby. Although when we were at the Botanic Gardens I went to the rest room and while washing my hands and rearranging my sweater, I noticed that my right side was literally twice as big as my left. I will have to be more attentive to switching sides now that Riley is not really nursing.

I really can't fit any more pictures in this post, but I have a lot more of our trip to the Botanic Gardens, so I'll post them later, plus I drained my camera's batteries downloading these...

So were supposed to get more snow here in a couple of days and it's supposed to get bitterly cold over the weekend. This really sucks. We're going to try to go to Denver tomorrow just in case the weather gets bad later in the week.

We went to the Y as a family yesterday. We decided to drop the kids of at the childwatch at get in a little workout time for ourselves. Avery was sleeping when we dropped them off. Riley just started coloring and doing puzzles. Rudi walked 1.25 miles on the treadmill and I jogged a mile then did 100 crunches on the weight machine. That took about 20 minutes all together, so I decided to go check on Avery since I say and attendant on the video monitor walking around with her. So I get there and they tell me that Avery has been screaming for nearly ten minutes! Ah! I guess it was rude awakening to wake up from a nap with strange people in a strage place. She was traumatized by that for quite a while. So I took the girls into the locker room and got us all changed into our swimsuits and met Rudi and the pool and spent an hour frolicing in the water. Avery really likes to splash around. Riley was apprehensive at first, but then got back into the swing of things.

Riley is having her birthday ceremony tomorrow at school and Rudi is going to come too. I am trying to find a healthy snack that I can bring tht is also fun and special. That's what I'm really supposed to be doing here on the computer...

Riley has an appointment with the ophthalmologist on Tuesday. So we'll see if there's something wrong with her. Yesterday I spread the red playsilk on the floor for Avery to play with and Riley said "Why is the red and green one on the floor?" Like she didn't know if it was red or green, so she called it both. Hmm. There are some things that she has memorized, like that Daddy's car is green, but a lot of other things she just doesn't get. I know that colorblindness is extremely rare in girls, but I've just got to get it checked out. Yesterday we were playing with the game that Grandma and Grandpa got her and I told her to get the red square and she got the green one and showed it to me and I hesitated and she said "It's green, isn't it?" Well, we'll soon put the mystery to rest.

So Riley went back to school today. It was hard for me to get back into the routine, not so hard for Riley. She did pretty well, although she did get weepy when I picked her up, saying that she missed me. Little Miss Avery fell asleep in the car on the way to school and stayed asleep until it was time to pick Riley up. What a nice break, if not a little freaky that she slept for so long. And so early in the morning.

Riley's carseat has become the armchair of wisdom. Whenever we go somewhere, she offers us her little pearls of knowledge. Yesterday, as we were on our way to Barnes and Noble, she said, "Mommy, when I'm grown up, you can sit in Daddy's lap and I'll push you in the stroller. You'll have to hold your feet up and put on your seat belt, otherwise you'll fall out on the street and I'll miss you very much because then I'll never see you again." That is word-for-word. Then Rudi I were talking and Riley says "Excuse me, excuse me, I have a question. Daddy, is your toe feeling better?" That would be a couple weeks ago when Rudi cut his toe. And then she tells the story about how we were at our old house and she was walking in the street with no shoes on and stepped on a piece of glass and got a cut. That was at least eighteen months ago. What a memory. As I was wrestling Avery to sleep last night Riley says "What are you doing to my little sister? Don't hurt my little sister!"

Avery is getting mighty demanding. Whenever I carry her around, she reaches for things and squeals until I get them for her. She has this possessed growl that she uses to indicate an animal of any kind. The sound kind of freaks Rudi out. I got a good look at the teeth that are coming in and they are her stinkin' molars. They are literally the last teeth in the back. How out-of-order is that? First molars are supposed to come in at 13-18 months, which is right on target, but teeth that should have come in a while ago are still missing.

I think that I am going to call an ophthalmologist tomorrow about color vision testing for Riley. When a child who is as cleaver as Riley can't get that a green bean is green, that puts up some red flags (no pun intended). Maybe color isn't her strength. That would be a shame since she loves drawing and painting so much.

So for the past few months I have been limiting Riley's nursing to one singing of the ABCs and that has worked pretty well. Now that she had turned three, I've decided to take it to the next step. The past two times that she has asked/demanded to nurse, I offered to cuddle with her and sing the ABCs. She took me up on the offer both times and cuddled without nursing. Could this be the beginning of the end? We'll see, but I'm not pushing it. I don't want it to be traumatic.

Happy Birthday to Riley! We did end up doing cake and presents yesterday. We had wanted to go to Denver and take her to the science center or the botanic gardens, but who knows if a Friday will come without snow. I called up Walmart at two o'clock to see if we could get a cake in a couple of hours, and they said yes. We got a marble Charlotte's Web cake and a bunch of candles, penguin plates and napkins, etc. Riley has the hang of opening presents now, complete with tossing the wrapping paper over her shoulder. I got some soy ice cream for Avery and I, and it tastes pretty good. I won't have a problem eating the whole tub at all. I had grand plans about what I was going to do with the girls tomorrow, including a swim at the Y and a trip to a toy store in Monument, but to no avail. The car seat base was left in Rudi's car. Good thing I didn't divulge my plans to Riley, she would have been really disappointed. We are going to try and go to Denver next Thursday or Friday, for the fourth week running, to see the Blossoms of Light show at the Botanic Gardens. But they're calling for snow again on Friday. Argh...

Riley got a Strawberry Shortcake doll, a Doodle Bear, and a slinky dog from her great-grandparents. She really really really loves the slinky dog. Grandma and Grandpa got her a learning toy from Discovery Toys which she absolutely adores. We've played it several times. She got a pizza set and The Orchard game from Rudi and I. She likes serving me pretend pizza since she knows that I can't eat real pizza. We've played the orchard game several times last night. The pieces are really nice wooden fruit. I'm really happy with it. And she got a Memory game from Amy, Scott, and Abby so that she can show off how good her memory is. She likes putting the pieces out, but doesn't like giving anyone else a turn. Doesn't matter anyway, she kicked my butt at it three times. Little booger. She got a Frogg is Growing puzzle from Uncle Allan, that shows the development of a frog and it's a three layer puzzle that she is surprisingly able to understand, although she needs help sometimes. Really cool. Now she'll just have to endure the toy famine between now and next Christmas. Maybe I'll get her that stinkin' tea set for Valentine's Day or Easter. When is Easter? Hmmmm...

I ordered four play silks for the girls, and Avery in particular really loves them. She has always been so tactile. She'll definitely be a Montessori child. She rubbed them all over her face and neck and played a whole lot of peekaboo. Riley took a little while to warm up to them, until I tied one around her head and called her a pirate. She likes them now.

I've already attmepted once to upload photos, and failed, so we'll keep trying...until the camera runs out of batteries at least.

Riley goes back to school tomorrow. It's been a long two weeks off, so I hope she doesn't have a hard time adjusting. She should have her birthday ceremony at school sometime next week. We'll have to see. She was supposed to have it on the 9th, but since the last day of school and the holiday party were snowed out, I don't know if they are rescheduling that for next week. I'll just do at I'm told. Thursday would probably be better so that Rudi could come.

I really have to get on top of the thank-you notes. I have two birthdays and Christmas thank-yous to send out. I think I'll really get that going today.

As I walk into the kitchen to take a swig of my coffee, I look out the kitchen window and see a kid out there with a spoon eating snow. Strange.

Today we finally joined the YMCA. At first, I was just going to let Rudi sign up, but once we got there, Riley really really really liked the pool and they have some great programs for children, so we all joined. I told Rudi that he had to go to the gym at least twice a week, and the very first week that he doesn't go twice, we are cancelling the membership. I also told him that I would really like to go as a family once a week. They have crafts and other activities for kids 3+, and a pirate ship for them to play on, in the mornings. I thought we could go, drop Riley off at the activities, drop Avery of at childwatch (they have video cameras in there, with monitors throughout the gym to see what your child's doing), do our separate work-outs, and then pick the girls up and take them swimming. The best laid plans...

Then we went to Manitou Springs, which is a little town that has been consumed by Colorado Springs. More of a hippie hang-out, perfect for us. I went to a Yerba Maté cafe and got an education on Maté and its health benefits, like high anti-oxidants and a "gentle stimulant" that works on metabolism, rather than on the nervous system like caffeine. Hmmm, interesting. Basically, it's espresso made with tea. I'll have to try more of it. I got a Chai Maté with almond milk and honey. Quite delicious. They have a "penny arcade" there, and Riley had fun riding the animals for 25 cents a ride (hence the "penny arcade" in quotations, maybe the actual arcade games were a penny, I didn't look).

When we came home, Rudi went out to work out at the Y. On the way there, he decided to stop and buy some water and a CANDY BAR (!!!) because he felt his blood sugar getting low. Then he couldn't find the 7-Eleven, so he went to the Y anyway and it was 6 o'clock so he couldn't find an available treadmill (nevermind the track there) so he decided to hit the showers even though he didn't work out. Goodness! So when he came home, I put the girls to sleep, went to Whole Foods and went to the Y myself. I did a warm-up jog and hit the bikes. It was pretty fun. I haven't had a good workout in way too long. Anyway, at the Whole Foods Market I bought Rudi some fruit leather to take with him when he works out in case his blood sugar gets low. I told him that with 250 calories in a candy bar, he's have to jog three miles just to burn off what he consumed on his way to the gym. I don't think he really got it. My gut feeling is that this gym thing isn't going to help, and he's going to be on insulin very soon. He is just too hard-headed.

For and extra-special bonus, I got the new issue of Mothering Magazine and it's a BABYWEARING issue! Sweet! Nothing sucks more that anticipating the new issue and find out that it's about something that doesn't apply to me, like pregnancy issues or circumcision issues. Just in time for Amy T's babywearing bonanza! I hope it increases interest even more!:) I've been wanting to try a wrap. I like the mei tai, but sometimes you just want to try something new. I certainly don't prefer the ring-slings, the ring is just uncomfortable and never in the right place and most annoying of all, it bunches up my shirt and messes up the neckline. Yuck. And my short experience with a pouch sling was not favorable. We'll see...I know they sell wraps at the breastfeeding store here in town, so maybe I'll take Avery and try it out.

Here's one of Riley's recent drawings. Grandpa and Riley are supposed to be in there somewhere. I'll have to mail it to them once she lets me.

Argh...Rudi is going to want to get on the computer to go to Blockbuster online and order some movies, so I'd better download some pictures and wrap up...but, but, but, this Mothering Magazine has a list of sling vendors I want to see...whine whine whine...

I took the girls to Old Heidelberg Pastry Shop today, which is sinfully close to where we live. They had so many pastries that looked so delicious. Riley totally loved the chocolate covered ice cream cone filled with chocolate buttercream frosting. I also got some apple pastries for Rudi when he comes home. They also have a cafe that serves German food at nice prices, with a deli of meats, cheeses, and sausages. Mmmm. I might have to send Rudi in there to get something for dinner one of these days.

Then we headed over to Barnes and Noble where I had a store credit to use. The girls made out really well on books. Riley got three paperbacks and Avery got two board books. Avery loves books so much. I've seen her sit and look at a book for twenty or so minutes, gently turning the pages. When we go to Barnes and Noble she is more interested in the books than the train set or the stuffed animals. Rudi says we need to keep her interested in books. I don't think that'll be a problem in our house.

It is really warm today, mid to upper 60s. On our way home from Barnes and Noble we passed the park and saw kids playing. I wish I could have taken the girls. If there hadn't been snow on the ground and wet grass, I would have. I just know that Avery would not have been content to be carried in her sling while Riley played. I wish Avery were just a few months older and could walk reliably. Maybe if the weather holds up I'll take Riley tomorrow when Rudi is off of work so that he can watch Avery.

This is a post from yesterday that I had to save and publish today because I was having problems posting pictures. All is well today, but I know the formatting is all messed up. I just wanted to post a lot of pictures!

Riley and I made some really delicious vegan cranberry-orange muffins this morning. The recipe isn't a vegan recipe, so I had to veganize it by substituting the egg with 1/2 cup applesauce and a couple extra tablespoons of orange juice. They puffed up nicely, but not too much, which is difficult in both vegan and high-altitude baking. I found high-altitude flour at the store. Not sure what makes it so special, but it seems to help. Rudi was like, "oh, yeah, muffins!" until I told him that they were vegan. I shouldn't have told him and I'm sure he wouldn't have noticed. But I convinced him to try one and he said they were really good and he ate several. We did make fifteen of them and only two were left at the end of the day, so the must be pretty good at least. Score!


Wow, look at this beautiful girl! It would have been better if she didn't have a rash and a few crumbs around her mouth, but oh well. She was headed straight for the bath anyway. She was very proud of herself for figuring out that she could put crayons in her piggy and blatantly showed off her stuffed piggy.

Avery has been so happy lately, just bopping and laughing for absolutely no reason. It's a nice change. She still makes for the steps every chance she gets, so I'm getting a work-out constantly going up and down the steps. She struggles now during diaper changes, so that is absolutely no fun. I think that my Prowraps are about to fall apart. That's what I get for only having three diaper covers. I tried using the gerber pants but they are not breathable at all. I like pull-on pants better. For some reason I don't feel like I'm cloth-diapering when I use the prowrap. I think I'll try the Stacinator So Simple pretty soon. I like using the Snappis and a wrap diaper cover doesn't really cover the diaper right. Plus, the leg gussets on the prowrap hold in poo well, but they fold inwards, so they're always covered in poo. Very yucky. Although I'm tempted to try the Bummis Super Whisper Side Snap. I like snaps better than velcro. In fact, I detest velcro, except when it's on my shoes (because I detest velcro less than I detest tying shoes). Ah, who would have thought that my life would be consumed by the quest for the perfect diaper cover? The twenty-year-old me would never have thunk it.

Riley has discovered the joy of colloquial speech. She now says "ya" instead of "you" as in "I made some tea for ya." The "ya" is so emphatic and pronounced that it really sounds funny. She persuaded me to get her the laundry hamper to play with and she piled it full of towels and covers and put a tube from a roll of wrapping paper in it and said that she made rainbow tea for me. How imaginative to work on such a grand scale. I tried to put on They Might Be Giants "Here Come the ABCs" and Riley said "No, those are stupid songs and they won't stop singing the stupid songs. I'm really disappointed with that." I was trying unsuccessfully to brush her hair while she was playing with her kitchen and she told me that I had to wait until she was done. I tried again and she said "Mommy, what did I tell you? You need to wait!" Oh so sassy.

Avery took one 40-minute nap today and that was it. Both girls went down at the same time, and I thought I was the luckiest Mom alive to have some time to myself in the middle of the day. Not so. Avery woke up 40-minutes into her nap and I tried desperately to nurse her back to sleep, but she was having none of it. I decided to give up before our struggles woke up Riley too. She really started falling apart around 5pm and I was just trying to keep her awake and happy until 7pm so I could put her to bed. I enticed her with mixed fruit and she sat in her high chair and ate it while Riley sat on the floor at her feet and read her story after story, and when she was done, Riley would say "Do you want me to tell you that one again, Avery?" She can really be a good sister sometimes, when she really tries. On a side note, Riley didn't nurse at all during the day, and only for one round of ABCs at bedtime. Sweet.

Rudi was home sick today with hernia pain. I really wish that he would get that taken care of. His doctor in Columbia told him like 20 years ago that surgical repair would involve cracking his ribcage. I told him that many advances in surgical procedures would probably be minimaly envasive. I just worry that one day he'll feel what he thinks is hernia pain and it'll really be a heart attack or something and he'll ignore it.

This photo needs a little explaining. Rudi brought home wax worms for Roxy the other day. Riley always enjoys watching Roxy eat, but she was particularly interested in the worm. You can see the tiny worm beside the water dish. Riley insisted that I take a picture of her with the worm.

So we didn't do anything for New Year's. We're so boring. In fact, we both went to bed at about 11:45pm. We were up for a little while after that and heard firecrackers go off, so we suppose that was midnight. The girls went to bed at 6:45pm so I figured that I really couldn't afford to stay up too late.

Avery has discovered the joy of drinking from a sippy cup. Her favorite is white grape raspberry. Diluted of course. Just tonight she got a hold of Riley's sippy cup of vanilla soy milk and she enjoyed that too. It's funny, she's perfectly capable of drinking it herself, unless Rudi's home. She crawls over to him and hands him the cup and insists that he feed it to her like a bottle.

Speaking of Daddies, Riley and I had a bit of a fight this morning over cereal and the fact that she wasn't eating it. She then asked where Daddy was and I said "work" and she said "Well, I want Daddy because you are being mean to me!" Awww, how cute. She also called him a "silly old man" yesterday. That was funny. Then she tells me "My Daddy is so good at singing and reading. He's good at everything!" Rudi puffed up when he heard that. This kid's language skills are so advanced, it's hard to believe that she's only just now turning three. I used to avoid saying that she's advanced, because I didn't want to be one of "those" mothers, but I feel that as long as I also aknowledge her short-comings, then there's nothing wrong with praising her strengths. Her short-comings are a short temper, pig-headedness, and the persistant inability to tell red from green.

Like a complete 'tard, I didn't realize that I could hook the camera up directly to the computer without using the printer, until Jeff set me straight on that one. Duh. So that means more frequent and recent photos on the blog! Wahoo! That is, if blogger lets me post photos.