Cheez-Its for Breakfast

Karol is not much of a breakfast eater. It generally takes at least an hour of being up and about before she's really ready to put anything away. Unfortunately, it means she usually doesn't eat much of anything until she gets to Lori's. This morning was no different. I made some oatmeal-banana-yogurt for Karol, like we do most mornings, but she was much more interested in cuddling her dog (Halloween-costume-turned-stuffed animal). So we decided to pack up the oatmeal concoction for later along with a baggie of Cheerios and get dressed and ready instead. On the way out the door, however, Karol spotted Matt's baggie of Cheez-Its (I pack his lunch most days, too) and started squealing and signing "more," which I guess can also mean "gimme some of that!" So, Matt packed a second bag of Cheez-Its for Karol and a calm and pleasant car ride followed.

This weekend was an exciting one, because it was mainly a Mommy-Daughter weekend (usually weekends are Daddy-Daughter time, since I've been drilling every other weekend). Matt had a very insightful Wall Street Prep Course from 9-5 Saturday and Sunday, and so Karol and I got to spend the days together. On Saturday there was a lot of driving around running errands. I think the highlight of this part of the day was our first stop: Ikea. I needed some storage containers for Karol's old clothes, and so we got there right as the store was opening at nine and had most of it to ourselves for a while. We brought Monkey (Karol's backpack/leash) so Karol could run around. And boy did she! The long aisles with bins of stuffed animals sprinkled throughout the store, made perfect little runways for her. I soon realized that Monkey is not a Karol leash, it is a Mommy leash. After a while, Karol wanted to expand this new found freedom by wriggling her hand out of mine to walk/run along 'by herself.' This was accompanied by squeals of excitement, too.

After about an hour and twenty minutes of Ikea fun, we decided to buckle down and get the rest of our errands run or else we'd be out all day. So it was off to Home Depot for Matt's window sealing kits, Costco (which turned out to be a nightmare, so we abandoned the cart and turned right around), and Target. Karol and I discovered a new Target (Greatland-Silver Spring) that is twice as awesome as the Wheaton Target we normally go to. If I had it to do over again, I'd have skipped Ikea and Costco and just gotten everything there. They may have even had the window sealing kits, had I looked, and Target can be just as much fun to run around as Ikea.

We finally made it home a little before noon, I think, and Karol and I both were ready for naptime. Luckily I woke up about an hour before she did, which gave me time to do some much needed cleaning (well more like picking up/organizing) around the house. That brought the Hurricane Karol effect down to a light drizzle...for now.

Sunday was laundry day. And, oh, our plumbing decided to back up all over our kitchen, too. Matt and I woke up around 5 to a huge mess of raw sewage on the countertops, floor, stove and in the sink. Matt got it all cleaned up before he left (no, I wasn't much help, except for moral support) AND managed to carry all the laundry down to the laundry room before he left for his prep course.

Karol and I spent the morning in the laundry room washing and drying all the laundry (Matt brought it back that afternoon). I CAN'T WAIT TO HAVE A WASHER AND DRYER! The issues we have with doing laundry at our apartment are too numerous to list here, so I'll spare you. Needless to say, it's a real pain. BUT, we managed to get everything washed and most of it folded and put away.

For the rest of Sunday, Karol and I worked on Christmas Cards!!! NOT an easy task with a toddler vying for your undivided attention. I think from now on I will seriously limit my weekend goals when Matt's not around to help wrangle the tot.

Well as I type this, Patrick is making himself quite cozy in the ribcage-cubby-hole Karol carved out for herself while she was there. Karol would simply stretch her legs into my ribs, where as Patrick likes to use them as a unique percussion instrument, thumping away with his little feet.

The past few days have really been challenging ones with contractions and aches and pains galore. I didn't really have any of this with Karol, so I guess Patrick is making up the difference. Matt has definitely been doing his share of back and feet rubbing. What a trooper. And I've gotten REALLY slow at picking Karol up nowadays, so I try to leave that to Matt as well. It's not holding her that's the problem, it's the bending and lifting that challenges me. Oh well, just 8 short weeks to go, right? I can't wait to have my body back! And of course I can't wait to have little Patrick out here where I can squeeze him :) I'm really hoping he'll decide to make an early (but not too early) debut, but we'll see.



Here are some pics Lori sent to me just today of Karol and Sarah squirrel-watching! I guess Karol spotted him first, that little nature girl.