Riley and Avery

Yes! A new rock climbing gym opened up and they offer classes for 5-6 year-olds! Yippee! I think I'll sign Riley up for the upcoming session. I've been meaning to get her into rock climbing for a while now, but keep forgetting. Since she is strong and limber, I think she'll be good at it and enjoy it. It's not too expensive either, and is offered on a day and time that doesn't conflict with anything. What more can a person ask for? The session starts on 1/14, so let's see if I actually follow through! We'll be going ice skating again on Wednesday, so I think one non-structured activity (ice skating) and one lesson activity (rock climbing) is a good balance.

So, Rudi's blood sugar has been out of control again. His doctor is not pleased. But I noticed a pattern. I got him a new meter (by "got" I mean, signed up for a free one and was shocked when it actually came in the mail) so he's been checking his blood sugar more often. Nothing like a new gadget, even a glucose monitor, to get a man excited. Anyway, he tested one afternoon and it was through the roof and he hadn't even eaten anything yet. This happened again the next day. It was elevated nearly to the same number. Both times right after he had coffee. Rudi never really was a coffee drinker until recently, and until recently he drank decaf. Now he drinks 2-3 cups of caffeinated coffee a day. I checked online regarding caffeine's effect on blood sugar and yeah, it's not good. Essentially, it raises blood sugar about as much as oral medication lowers it. So the coffee, in effect, was canceling his medication. So, off the coffee.

Now we have a problem with blood sugar that is too low. Although the caffeine raised his blood sugar, at last it was consistently high :) Yesterday he was sitting outside smoking and I went to take the dog for a walk. When I came back, his cigar was outside and all of his paraphernalia. I come in and he is shaking uncontrollably, trying to take his blood sugar. It was 47!!!! Luckily I had just made a mouth-watering tray of iced brownies (brownies with ICING people! How awesome is that?!) and he was happy to shove some of those down his throat. The day before yesterday, his blood sugar was down to about 80, so it's not just a one-time occurrence. The other times that he's been taking his sugar before eating, it's been right in the range it's supposed to be. Nice. I told him to be very careful about when he takes his insulin. If the bottle says "take before meals" he normally gives the shot at mealtimes, but not neccessarily when he is actually eating. He needs to pair it with food from now on to make sure his blood sugar doesn't get too low.

Fun stuff. And I would like to know where I can pick up my medical degree because his doctor never thought of caffeine. Oh, yeah, I'm awesome!

It must be really yellow inside that store, as all the pictures have a yellow cast to them. Oh well.

The girls woke in the morning asking to go to the mall to make their bears. They could not wait! I thought that if we waited until a bit later in the day, we'd miss the mad post-Christmas mall rush. Boy were we wrong! It was a zoo! Build-A-Bear was filled with kids. Nuts!

Avery picked out a snow leopard which she named Sparkly Baby and Riley picked a Panda that she named Black Spot. Gotta love names that kids come up with!





Riley said "Hey, don't take a picture of my bear while she's getting her underwear on!":


Two very happy girls:


Apparently, Daddy lets them ride on the train when he takes them to the mall while I'm at school, so...


This was a really neat thing that Rudi bought Riley for Christmas:

It comes with glacier molds. I didn't read the directions when sprinkling the snow on, so it actually should be even cooler! I'll go by the book next time.

Unfortunately for Lola, dress-up isn't only for human girls. She just lay there letting the girls torture her. Yes, she's wearing undies. (Ignore the mess in the background!)


Ta-Da! The Build-A-Bear shoes fell off her, though!

I know, I'm a little behind, but I'm catching up (okay, not really, but I'm trying!).

The girls were totally spoiled this Christmas. This was the first Christmas that Rudi was really excited about with the girls, and he really got involved. I think he becomes more active in their lives as they get a bit older. The downside of that is that I am used to doing all the Christmas shopping, and Rudi and I failed to communicate about what we had each gotten the girls. As a result, we had WAY too much stuff under the tree! I mean, waaaaaaaaay too much stuff. Way.

The big hits were the dress up chest that I put together and the one that Auntie Mina, Uncle Brendan and the boys sent, as well as Riley's roller skates, and the music/jewelry boxes that I got them. They were, of course, DYING to go to the mall the day after Christmas to use the Build-A-Bear gift certificates that Grandma and Grandpa sent them. They also really dig the "computers" that Daddy got them. They have been playing dress-up nearly non-stop since Christmas. They really liked the assortment of lip gloss, nail polish, and (gasp) eyeshadow that I put in their stockings.

The night before Christmas was a doozie. I didn't get started on wrapping presents until about 11pm. Riley wouldn't sleep and Avery kept having nightmares. Yippee. Then I find, at midnight, that I am out of tape (or, more accurately, that the girls used all my tape). So I had to run out and search multiple 7-Elevens until I found tape. I had to settle for packing tape. I didn't get to bed until after 5am. Wow. That sucked.

I've been trying to upload this video to blogger for nearly a day now. I had to reduce the file size, so hopefully it's still watchable. Riley is reading a book that was in her stocking. No one has ever read this book to her, she has only read it to herself. She still has trouble with a few words, like "through," "town," and "along," but I think she's doing pretty darn well!

So, I figured out what the ice skates were that we wore at the rink. They're called "soft boot" (sometimes). The boot is padded on the inside so they are more like inline skate boots. Nice. Now I know, and you do too. Not that you wanted to know, but still...



I made a deal with Riley. I told her that if she went ice skating 3 more times before her birthday, I'd "consider" getting her ice skates for her birthday, but she has to show a commitment first. She was pretty psyched that (she thought) ice skating is easier than roller skating. So, we'll see!

We went to the Sertich Ice Center in Memorial Park today. Rudi didn't skate because he said his ankles couldn't tolerate it. Avery put on skates, but that was it. She was terrified of the ice. Riley was nervous about not having double-bladed skates, but was surprised once she stood up that it wasn't hard to balance at all. Then we went out on the ice.

An early fall:
We were a quarter of the way around the rink and Riley wanted to let go of me and the wall. It was still slow going, though:

Then we saw these nifty things. It got her moving and made her more comfortable:

On her own:


Skating:

Skating:

Skating to me:

Well, since this is not a video camera, you can't see that Riley is doing a (clumbsy) spin. She did several of them, and by the look on her face, was very proud of herself:


And the best part, watching the zamboni!:





So, all-in-all, a great deal of fun! It was only $3/person including skates. We seriously need to go, she and I, every week. I'm hoping to make this a mommy and Riley regular event. She really enjoyed herself and seemed to take to it really well. The good thing is that she still wants roller skates. The bad thing is that she wants ice skates too! Well, she does have a birthday coming up. She was NOT thrilled with the "boy" skates she had to wear! I really liked the skates, though. They were far more supportive than the regular figure skates. Perhaps I can find a pair like them that are white, while also being supportive.

And for the record, nearly 20 years after the last time I skated, I did NOT fall on my butt (or face, or any other part of my body)!! Go me!!!

Nuff said. I really don't want to write anything. All I'll say is that besides the icing, Riley and Avery decorated the whole thing totally by themselves. They looked at the box for inspiration and cooperated so both sides would look the same!