Plomin Family Blog

10 Things I Love About My Kids

2012-01-19T09:07:00.003-05:00

I love...

that Patrick is quick to say 'please,' 'thank you,' 'sorry,' and the like.
that Karol is becoming as obsessed about following schedules as I am. I hope that sticks.
Max's general constant cuteness. He's totally aware of it, and uses it to it's fullest potential.
that they don't often make me feel compelled to beat the poo out of them (not that I would, of course).
that Patrick loves to bake. We've discovered lots of new things to eat already and he only just turned 3.
that they are all amazingly smart. Although I guess I shouldn't be surprised, since they have genius parents, obviously.
that I miss K & P when they are gone at school. If I didn't I think I'd worry about that.
that people stop us all the time to say how cute/well-behaved our kids are.
Karol's funny dancing.
Patrick's love of singing.
Patrick's amazing ability to put together gazillion-piece puzzles.
the way Max says "OVER!!!" whenever pretty much anything is over.
how Max jabbers into the phone pretending to talk.
how they can sometimes play together nicely for as much as 30 minutes without a push, scream or debate.
how Max dances whenever music is playing.
that Karol is old and smart enough to carry on a very intelligent conversation, but still young enough to believe pretty much everything I say.
that Karol and Patrick will still cuddle with me.
that for the most part my kids aren't that picky about food.
that they command Matt to stay at the front door after work everyday so that they can all run down our skinny hallway to throw themselves at him together in one giant hug.
that they jump up and yell "Mommy!" with big smiles on their faces every single time I pick them up from school.

10 Things I hate about New York City

2012-01-19T08:53:00.002-05:00

I hate...

that decent babysitters start at $20 hr and charge $5/hr more if you have more than 2 kids.
that everything costs money. There are no free activities whatsoever.
that groceries are twice as expensive.
that there are no typical American fast food chains. Taco Bell is at least a 30 minute commute. And then it costs twice as much there, too.
that I can't have a car (a.k.a. freedom to get the hell out into America once in a while).
that seeing rats and cockroaches is a common occurrence.
that there are no elevators in 95% of the subway stations.
that family and friends are so far away.
that we spend all our vacations working our @$$es off to see family, and spend about $2,000 in travel expense just to do it.
that everything below 14th street is impossible to navigate because the street plan is FUBAR. And that's where all the good touristy stuff to see is.

10 Things I Hate about My Apartment

2012-01-19T08:41:00.003-05:00

I hate...

the leak in my bathroom that started dripping on my head while I was in the shower this morning - which is a rare occurrence in itself.
the four flights of stairs I have to climb/haul toddlers up to get to it.
the $800 stroller & stroller gear parked in my bedroom, completely blocking my closet and not being used, because the landlord is a $%@# who decided we can't park strollers in the lobby.
paying 5 times as much in rent as I would for an equivalently crappy apartment in Indiana.
the 2 hour round trip commute to the kids' school I have to make every day.
doing the dishes by hand 2-3 times a day because there is no dishwasher and because there's no counter space.
the constant noise - traffic, loud music from rude neighbors, children screaming in other apartments and mothers screaming back at them, often very abusively.
the 24 inch wide hallway that makes it impossible for two people (especially a pregnant person) to pass.
the broken toilet seat that moves whenever you're too far one direction or another.
the general tiny-ness, pretty much everywhere except the living room.

Prayers Work Fast

2012-01-12T09:12:00.005-05:00

Yesterday I spent the day dragging Max all around downtown Manhattan looking at apartments that are closer to the kids school. I found two that I thought were really great and sent Matt after work to see them. One in particular really struck both our fancies.

And then came the great debate. Can we really afford this? The short answer is no, not right now. In one short month, however, there's a very good chance we could afford it easily, or even a different apartment that's even better/closer for similar money. But in a month, the apartment we are both now kind of day-dreaming about will most likely be gone. Short of a minor miracle, of course.

As what usually happens when we spend a great deal of time mulling over things and unable to come to a conclusion, we had an epiphany: this doesn't have to be our problem! Let's pray about it and see what God does. Every time we've done this in a serious way in the past, we've reaped great dividends, and avoided a great deal of stress. So this morning I sought out a couple of prayers to St. Joseph, patron saint of pretty much all things practical in life, like moving and career related stuff. I also happen to have a St. Joseph candle that I light every once in a while - it makes me feel like I'm not doing it all alone.

Then this morning happened. The leak in our bathroom - which recurs whenever the guy above us takes a long shower, I guess - was seriously threatening to cave in our ceiling when Matt went in to take a shower. We've been reminding the super about this for about 6 months. Matt got a little angry about it on the phone with him at 7am this morning. Then after I put Max down for his morning nap at 9, I noticed this had been slipped under the door:

In case you can't read it, it's a notice from the property manager saying that they will fine us if we keep our 40 lb stroller at the bottom of the stairs. I should note at this point that we made very sure we could keep it there before moving in, because it was the only condition under which I would be able to manage the 4th floor walk up. Apparently they lied, or changed the rules. Either way, I decided after reading this that we are definitely moving. Now. I expect God - and St. Joseph - will find a way.

New Year, New Post

2012-01-03T10:44:00.002-05:00

I haven't been writing here often, probably because we have been totally swamped with, well, life. With baby #4's rapidly approaching arrival, the holidays, and tons of uncertainty about whether or not we'll be moving, and where, my head is spinning. Oy! However, it's a New Year, and I'd like to start it off on the right foot by being much more organized about things.

Luckily, we didn't really put up many holiday decorations, so bringing them down isn't too time consuming.

We came home a day early to avoid getting caught in the blizzard that just swept through the midwest, driving some 1,300 miles in ONE DAY. I have to say, the kids were AMAZING. Imagine 3 kids 4 and under, plus a significantly pregnant lady & Matt, all crammed into a Ford Taurus for 12 hours straight. Believe it or not, there were no tears or complaining (well, from the kids, that is) and only a few "are we there yet" whines.

Matt accomplished a miracle feat by getting us completely unpacked on Monday, which would have been our second travel day if we'd stopped as we planned. And since we did serious cleaning/organizing before we left, we came home to a relatively clean and nice apartment. We rented it out during the time we were away, and over New Year's a group of college boys stayed here. The bathroom was surprisingly clean under the circumstances (I'm sure there was plenty o' drunken celebration, not to mention 4-6 men using one bathroom), but I still spent a good chunk of time thoroughly soft-scrubbing all of the bathroom surfaces before putting the kids in the tub.

Today is our first 'normal' day back, and it's actually not quite back to normal - Patrick is home for a doctor's appointment, so the boys are struggling to get along and I'm just trying to keep them gainfully occupied, rather than doing my normal cleaning routine. We had sent out the laundry before we left, so that's waiting to be put away and I've already sent off all the sheets and laundry from the trip. Since I did the bathroom yesterday (I usually clean the bathroom on Tuesdays) today becomes kitchen-cleaning day (Monday's usual chore). If I can accomplish that while the boys are asleep, I will be caught up with my weekly chore list and have a decent jump on my monthly tasks. The dishes are not only washed, but dried and put away. Now that I think about it, I should be pretty impressed with myself.

On the way back from Indiana, Matt and I had plenty of time to re-evaluate our life, review our New Year's resolutions from last year and make some fantastic New Year's resolutions.

As for last year's goals, well, I didn't meet my 'get pre-preggo body back' goal, obviously. But I did manage to do a lot of good reading, as did Matt. We had picked 5 books we wanted to read for the year. I think we both swapped some of those books out and added several along the way, so we blew that resolution away. Matt resolved to leave the house every morning by 7:45 and not eat snacks from the cafeteria at work, and probably accomplished that, eh, 60-70% of the time.

A resolution we made for the kids was to teach them the prayers of the rosary, and besides the Apostles' Creed and the Hail Holy Queen, they've got them nailed. Another one for the kids was to read the Bible with the kids, and we probably read thru their preschool level Bible 20 times over! I think Karol's almost ready to move up to a more detailed version, Pat is probably tired it the preschool one, but not ready to move up, and Max isn't quite ready for it. So this year we'll probably do more saints' stories (he got several great ones for Christmas) and less Bible for a while.

This year, we have an in-depth, well-thought-out, and quantifiable/measurable list of goals for the year. Using Zig Ziglar's 'Wheel of Life' segments, we developed goals that hopefully address our whole family in a whole-self sort of way. The segments are spirituality, intellectual stimulation, physical wellness, professional growth, deep relationships and giving back.

Matt's goals are to read 2 Biblical leadership books, starting with Tony Dungy's recent release, to get a little more involved in the academic side of finance by writing guest articles and maybe guest lecturing, and exercising 2+ days a week. He's renewed the 'no more cafeteria' pledge and made a couple of networking/work-related goals as well. He's also planned to 'give back' by tutoring military/former military college students for free :)

I plan to read the whole Bible this year. I've already got a jump start by listening to it via podcasts - after that I'll dive into my new study Bible. I'm going to read 12 fiction books this year, get my post-Patrick body back - which was actually better than my pre-preg figure (after Reagan comes, of course), and I have a few goals for my campaigning blog. My 'giving back' is to coordinate the silent auction for the kids' school - I volunteered at the end of last year since the person who did it before was moving away. That will definitely be a new kind of challenge.

Some of our family related goals are to read a couple's devotional together, continue to spend quality 1-on-1 time with each of the kids, and teach the kids the Memorare and the Apostle's Creed. We actually did a surprisingly good job saving up for all our holiday travel, so we're also making it a mission to continue saving that aggressively.

Pretty ambitious, right? Well, we'll see what transpires as we float through the year.

Another Sick Day

2011-11-03T09:27:00.005-04:00

Maximilian is napping, Karol is watching Tangled with her new Rapunzel doll (Paci Fairy delivered it last night!) and mommy is writing up a blog post. This is a wonderful day! As much as it screws up my cleaning schedule (the gnats can attest to that), I absolutely love having the kids at home.

When Karol is here, though, it makes me miss Patrick a ton! Karol will be well enough for school tomorrow, so I'll have a LOT of catching up to do. I'm hoping to get the heck out of the house today so that I won't be tempted to leave the house a wreck and go out tomorrow once I'm free of the preschoolers.

Karol's Teeth: An Update

2011-10-29T09:00:00.004-04:00

After a conversation with Matt, it has been discovered that Karol did indeed bang her teeth just days before the purple-ish bruising showed up on her teeth. So we suspect it was this and not the vitamins that did it. A little online research says that the bruising may fade over time, but take 6 months or longer to become unnoticeable again. I guess at least it's not completely my fault *sigh*.

The Paci Fairy

2011-10-28T19:59:00.003-04:00

Today is a momentous day. It is the day our four year old gives up her Paci.

We've tried about a million different ways to do this; this time we're letting someone else handle it.

When we returned from school today, Karol found a letter taped to her door from the Paci Fairy:

Dear Karol,
I am the Paci Fairy. Since you are a big girl now, I have taken your pacifier to give to new babies that need pacis. If you are a very good girl over the next few days, I will bring you a special present for being so good and going to sleep without your pacifier.
Love, The Paci Fairy

Karol was a little distraught over this, but the promise of a gift made her feel a little bit better. In fact, Karol wrote back to the Paci Fairy:

Dear Paci Fairy,
I am so memorized (mesmerized) with you. I would like you to bring a Rapunzel doll from Target, please.
Love, Karol

Yeah, she told the Paci Fairy what to bring. That's okay. I'd buy her a friggin' pony if this thing worked!

After a bit of a rough night the first night (which Daddy heroically tended to), we're on night two and Karol went to bed and fell fast asleep with not even a peep! If this keeps up, she'll have her new doll by Tuesday!

All I Want for Christmas Is Karol's Two Front Teeth...To Fall Out

2011-10-27T20:08:00.003-04:00

I am the worst mother in the world, and here's why:

I gave my daughter vitamins that stained her teeth brown/purple.
I didn't take her to the dentist right away because I assumed it would go away.
Turns out the vitamins stained her teeth internally, and it's never coming off.
Karol is not much bothered by this. I am. I really am.
Vainest. Mommy. Ever.

It's her TWO FRONT TEETH! Goodbye child model career! Goodbye Little Miss pageants! It's OVER. Until they fall out in 1.5 to 2 years, that is.

And the worst part is, I think it looks weird, I can't help but stare at them whenever she smiles, and I'm afraid people will think I just don't teach her good oral hygiene. I mean, I sure would if I saw a kid with two front teeth that looked rotted out.

Ironically, she has no cavities and has very healthy teeth, according to the dentist. But I would much prefer to have a hidden cavity than a billboard of a tooth stain.

Am I an even worse mother for googling "veneers for children?"

In other news, Karol was a rock star at the dentist, even did much of her appointment without me in the room, and a just-in-case x-ray shows that the permanent teeth are totally fine/untraumatized.

Unfortunately that doesn't make me feel any better AT ALL.

Patrick

2011-10-24T11:20:00.009-04:00

Yesterday was Sunday, and we spent a large chunk of the day in a (rented) car, headed back from a fun weekend visit with Uncle Joe and Aunt Judy in Maryland. You'd think this would be torture and, while 5-6 hours in a car with 3 car seats crammed in the back is not my idea of a party, it wasn't nearly as bad as it could've been. I have 3 amazingly laid back kids (although Maximilian is becoming something of a bossy-pants, like his sister) and one of which I was most especially proud of yesterday.

I've always said that Patrick - my first boy and middle child - has a naturally kind-hearted, giving spirit, and never was that more obvious than during yesterday's car trip. When Karol or Max wanted a drink, he would offer them his before I could even respond. When we ran out of cheese sticks and Max wanted more, Pat gave him the rest of his, without even being asked. Patrick is the type of child who will hold hands with his baby brother to help him calm down for a car-nap.

At home, I know I can count on him to take things to other family members if I ask, to wipe up a spill or pick up things. And if someone drops something, he'll actually get upset if they don't let him pick it up for them. Not angry upset, but the kind of upset that makes you feel so sorry for him!

This is extremely ODD behavior for a 2 year old!

Back to yesterday's car-ride, Matt and I were so impressed with Patrick's loving behavior that Matt pulled him aside before bedtime and gave him a couple of M&Ms (a pretty major treat at our house) for being so helpful, kind and well-behaved on the trip and told him how proud he was of him.

All of my children have obvious God-given traits and talents, but I don't know if anything stands out more than Patrick's amazingly kind-hearted personality.

My Wonderful Hubby

2011-08-31T10:24:00.002-04:00

This morning my wonderful hubby got up early to pick up the apartment and do the boat load of dishes that were still in the sink, on account of me nearly having a nervous breakdown yesterday. He also took care of the kiddos all morning so I could sleep in, including making them breakfast, changing/removing diapers and dressing half of them.

I'm not going to go nuts here and say he's amazing or anything, but he's definitely above average, I'd say, which is worthy of note.

Errand-mania

2011-08-26T11:45:00.003-04:00

What an insanely 'productive' morning the kids and I had today...we got out of the house at 8:30am. That's 8:30 in the morning. But that's not all, we ran pretty much every hurricane-preparation errand on my list.

First stop: Duane Reade drug store for toiletries and batteries for flashlights (and toys).

Second stop: Michael's Crafts store for crafty activities while we're stuck inside.

Third stop: Playground! There's a pretty nice playground on the way to the grocery, and since I needed the grocery store to be the last stop, I wanted them to get some play time, especially if we aren't going to be able to hit the park for the next couple of days. We'll probably do a nature walk after naptime, too, just to get a little more in.

Fourth stop: Associated Supermarkets to stock up on food. Typical grocery trip: $15-35. This one: $130. To be fair I bought a lot of non-perishables that I just wasn't sure if we had enough of already. The kids were really horrible (by my standards, at least). I don't know how many older folks laughed when I said things like "get out of the rice!" and "Your behavior is horrible, there's no way you kids deserve ice cream" and "stop grabbing things, stop grabbing things, stop grabbing things!"

They didn't get ice cream, which led to Karol crying half the way home, but I did get popsicles (on sale) for future good behavior bribery (in the freezer now, hopefully the power won't go out because then I'd have to give them to them whether they behaved or not, because I can't let them go to waste).

Now we're finally back home, the fridge and freezer and cabinets are totally stocked, and we're ready to weather the storm.

Naptime Chaos

2011-08-24T13:53:00.004-04:00

Well it's happened. I knew the honeymoon couldn't last forever, but still. Max is slowly pushing back on his morning nap, so his afternoon nap is later, and doesn't line up with Karol and Patrick's anymore.

On top of that, Karol's almost ready to give up the nap altogether.

*sigh*

I was hoping to stretch that one out 'til she was 5 or 6 at least! She's such a good sleeper, when she actually naps.

And on top of the schedule change, school is starting again soon, which means Max and I will be trekking down to the school when he should be taking his afternoon nap. I guess he'll just have to get good at sleeping in the carrier or stroller.

My BFF Babies

2011-08-21T22:09:00.003-04:00

OMG. Karol and Patrick were SO CUTE tonight, I nearly cried from laughter. Here's how my evening went.

I returned home as Matt was doing bedtime. It took me at least two minutes to unlock the door, because Matt had locked EVERY lock, including the chain lock, so I still couldn't get in. I ring the bell. He walks by and says "I'm putting Max to sleep" and doesn't unlock the door. Karol and Patrick followed him out, though, and started talking to me through the crack.

I see a face, and an arm, and assumed they went together (they didn't). After a few seconds I realized I was holding Karol's hand and hearing her voice, and seeing Patrick's laughing eyes peering around the door. And he has Karol's (clean) underwear on his head. 'Do you have undies on your head?!' I say, in an aren't-you-silly voice. Karol giggles and says 'they're bonnets!' They're both wearing them.

Matt's holed himself up in Max's room, which seems pointless since we're making noise right outside his door, so I stick my hand in and manage to unlock the chain lock from the outside (yeah, that's worrisome) and let myself in. I hush the kids and usher them in to finish their bedtime, which they are clearly too energetic to be ready for.

We read four Bible stories, because Karol's logical argument that we should read all the Elijah stories together was a good one (we normally do two), and I let them keep the underwear on their heads to bed because, well, I pick my battles.

After I do the standard set of prayers - Apostle's Creed, Hail Mary, Our Father, Oh My Jesus, Glory Be, Hail Holy Queen, and the bedtime prayer (yeah, I put them through all those - one of my New Year's resolutions was to drill the rosary prayers into them), they do their 'special prayers' which are the free-style, from the heart version. I'm pretty proud of their ability to grasp the concept, and it just might be the most adorable thing you can possibly hear on this whole earth. Karol did a very nice special prayer, and Patrick thanked God for "Max, Patrick (yes, himself), Mommy, Karol, Max (again), Daddy, and Teddy." Then they cozied up in their beds, with no intentions of sleeping.

20 minutes later they both emerge, 'bonnets' still atop their heads, asking for drinks. I deliver water, only to discover that they've both crawled into Karol's bed together (the top bunk) and are "camping." I let it go because it's just too cute and because this is the stuff memories are made of, and hopefully they'll 'bond,' plus if Patrick's sleeping with Karol, he's not sleeping with me. I just hope they'll fall asleep before me.

Looks like they did.

No Time to Post

2011-08-19T13:42:00.004-04:00

That's really not true, I have time to post updates about the kids, everyday something happens that I think I should write about that! But I don't. 'Cause I'd rather be with my kids. The kids are ALL napping now, so I thought I'd make writing a priority.

For the first time in quite a while, I am home, by myself, with all three kids. This hasn't happened for more than a day or two since last summer, and even then I had help coming in left and right because Max was a newborn. I was very scared about how these few weeks of summer break would go for us, but actually, they've gone really well. I'm lucky to have fantastically well-behaved children, and have been able to do the grocery store, parks/playgrounds, library, post office and all kinds of other errands with them with pretty much no problem - except that the stroller has two seriously deflated tires. The actual wheel has broken and we're waiting for replacements, which need to come hella fast, because pushing that thing uphill is no easy task as it is.

We've been doing a homeschool dry-run with Karol and Patrick, and they are having a ton of fun with it. We are finally starting to catch up to Karol's abilities in her math book, so we've been able to slow down a bit with it.

Max had his first birthday! And it was a blast. We celebrated while we were in Indiana catching up with tons of friends and family. Speaking of which - what a whirlwind vacation that was! I already feel like I need another one; Matt and I did get to escape the kids for a couple days, though, at the lovely Swan Lake Inn Golf Resort.

Karol is about two weeks away from turning FOUR. I'm just a bit disturbed about this. I'm really not ready for her to be four. It's already time for decision 2012: kindergarten. And we could not be in a harder place to make this decision. New York has a lot of fantastic options and a lot of terrible ones as well, and not much in between. But enough of that, because I'm sure I'll be writing about nothing else in about 9 months when it becomes a really serious decision.

Patrick is picking up communication skills hand over fist these days. He is amazing, to say the least. Usually when kids can't find a way to express what they're thinking, they throw a tantrum. Patrick will try to explain something, sigh, and then say "I don't know the words." And that is that. I assure him that someday he'll know all the words, and he can tell me about it then.

I am really soaking up this opportunity I've got to experience my kids through constant immersion. The apartment is looking a little worse for the wear, but amazingly I've been able to keep up with the regular cleaning stuff. It's keeping the kids' toys under control that seems to be impossible. Although it's amazing how quickly they clean up all their own things when there's money to be earned.

That's right, money. No, we aren't outright paying our kids to do what they should be doing anyway, but since Karol's been learning about pennies and nickels in her math book, we've had to find a reason to give her (and Patrick, can't leave him out) change to buy things in our 'store.' In order to drive home the whole money concept, I gave the kids some pennies and nickels (just pennies for Pat, he's working on counting 1-20) and they 'bought' some of their toys from the living room to take to their bedroom. They quickly ran out of money, however, so they withdrew some from the bank. Pretty soon I decided they needed to 'work' for their money, lest they get the idea that it grows on trees. Hence the living room pick up. Then the game could continue. I haven't taught them about saving yet, I figure I can wait until we cover dimes, quarters and dollars before I bust out compound interest and that sort of thing.

In other news...well, there's not much other news. Matt's still working his buns off, the kids will be returning to Nazareth Nursery in the coming weeks, and I'm just here, trying to keep people clean and fed.

Max Walks!

2011-07-09T13:48:00.003-04:00

It has happened! And totally out of the blue. Earlier today, just for something to do, I said "hey let's practice walking," and handed Max to Matt then sat a few feet away on the floor. Considering we had never played this game before, I wasn't expecting much. Much to our surprise, however, Max took off from Matt's fingers and took a good three and a half to four steps all the way to my outstretched arms!

We were shocked! After doing it again a couple of times, Max was over it and moved on to other activities.

I'm so glad Matt got to witness his first steps.

Go Max!

Where does the time go?

2011-06-16T13:55:00.003-04:00

Oh. My. God. My third child is nearly one year old. Karol is on the verge of turning four. Four. Can someone tell me where the time went please?

The Princess's New Clothes

2011-05-25T11:21:00.003-04:00

It's that time of year again - the winter/summer closet clean out.

I'm in the midst of this project now, and have made some disturbing discoveries, such as:

None of my clothes from any season really fit (thanks a lot, Max). I have no intention of buying anything new, either, since I'm still not back to post-Patrick/pre-Maximilian shape, which is my goal. Therefore, I may not be leaving the house much.
Karol has no summer clothes. Literally. She has one dress that 'works' for now from the fall. Since Karol turned 3 in September and she's pretty svelte anyway, she wore 2T clothes all last year. So we need to do a shopping spree for summer gear for K like NOW as it's 80 degrees and rising! We're skipping 3T altogether and going to 4T. Hopefully some of it will still fit next summer.
Patrick has more clothes than anyone else in the house. I'm not sure how this happened. I think it's partially due to my constant anxiety that Karol, being the girl, naturally has why more clothes (although in reality that's not the case). Thanks to Pat's poochy belly, he's been in 3T since last summer, and it still fits perfectly fine - yay!
Max will never, ever need new clothes, and soon Pat & Max's clothes will be interchangeable. He's already into 18m and he's only 10 months old!
I may as well put a permanent line for Matt's shoes in the budget, because he goes through them like water and they are frickin' expensive! I hate, hate, hate shoe shopping for/with Matt. It's impossible to get something he likes or that fits without him there.

So, I just wanted to share these wonderful new developments. Now I'll go back to boxing sweaters.

A Small Tragedy: The 24-hour dad mug

2011-04-17T12:07:00.007-04:00

I knew it was only a matter of time. In some ways I'm surprised it lasted as long as it did. And yet it's still a raw shock that it's time with us was so brief.

Last Saturday was a beautiful day, and I decided to take Karol for some mommy-daughter time to a place called Little Shop of Crafts not far from where we live. It's a really neat place where you can hang out as long as you want, listen to music, and make crafty things. But it's not cheap. The trade for not having a sitting fee or materials fee is that the pottery or other products for painting/decorating are a little overpriced. In the long run, however, it's totally worth it not to have to ration your paint or watch the clock. If you don't finish the day you come in, you can even bring your stuff back another day and continue working!

Karol spent 20 minutes picking out a small mug with sharks engraved in it to paint as a special gift for Daddy, then we had a barrel of fun painting it for a couple of hours! It would be ready for pick-up a week later: yesterday.

After a long conversation about carrying with two hands and walking slowly, Karol delivered the gift to Matt, who of course loved it and put it in the cabinet with the rest of the mugs.

Today, desperate for any form of caffeine, Matt used his new, favorite mug to brew some tea, left it perilously close to the edge of the counter and left the room.

Enter Patrick. My sweet, sweet Patrick. He came into the kitchen with a dirty dish and I told him to put it in the sink. I noticed he was due for a diaper change, so I left the kitchen to get a new diaper, just one room away. Then it happened.

*CRASH* *TEARS* I bolt back into the kitchen to find Pat a little wet from the scalding hot water and completely and totally distraught, overwhelmed by emotion. I scoop him up only a moment before Karol comes in to see what's going on and finds her precious new mug shattered into at least a dozen pieces. Emotional breakdown number 2, tears and wailing commence.

I hand Patrick off to Matt who checks him for burns from the water (he was totally fine) and scoop up the second heartbroken baby saying, "it's okay, it's just a mug, we can make another one. Yes it's very sad, but it was an accident."

And then we switch. Naturally, Matt assuages Karol by telling her how much he loved the mug, but now she can make a new one, and they begin cleaning up the mess.

Patrick is still balling his eyes out and so while changing his diaper (he still needed a change, after all) I tried to listen through the tears at what he was saying. "I broke Karol's cup, I broke Karol's cup," he kept repeating. He was obviously very guilt stricken and upset. Even though it was an accident, he felt terrible! Now that I think about it, it was a surprisingly kind-hearted and mature emotion for a (should-be) self-absorbed 2-year-old to have - but that's my Patrick :)

It was clear he needed redemption so I told him that it was an accident and it was not his fault but if he felt bad he should go tell Karol he's sorry. After a heartfelt "I sorry, Kawol" and a hug, the tears dried up quickly.

Bear in mind, this all happened within like a 4-minute span of time, at the most. What kills me is how I felt throughout this whole ordeal. It could not have been a more pitiful situation, with both children involved, and both legitimately upset, and no one really did anything wrong, per se. But to see and to know how upset and grieved they both were was more painful for me as a mother to watch than for them to experience, it seemed!

In short, a lot of good, hard lessons learned today, for everyone. I'm certainly not looking forward to the many heartbreaks yet to come, even more serious than this.

Oh, and if you're wondering where Max was for all of this, thankfully, he napped through the entire thing.

Raffle Tickets!!!

2011-04-16T19:51:00.006-04:00

Our wonderful school is very affordable (well, compared to other private preschools, that is) partly because they rely heavily on fundraising efforts like selling candy and chocolate bars to shore up costs. But that means now that we have TWO kids in school, we need to sell twice as much of everything!

On Friday Sister Lucy handed me an envelope full of raffle tickets - 20 packets' worth (10 per child). So now, unless I want to drop $200+ myself, I've got to sell them! Unfortunately, we don't have the benefit of living close by to the people children normally hit up for fundraising projects. On top of that, Matt's office has a policy against bringing in fundraisers! You'd think BANKERS could handle a bar of chocolate or a couple raffle tickets, right?

Anyway, I have to come up with an alternative way to unload these raffle tickets, so here's my plan. If there's anyone magnanimous enough to buy a few raffle tickets, PLEASE message/email me let me know how many you want. You can either mail me a check or send me a paypal payment and I'll put all your info on the tickets.

So here's how it works: The tickets are $1 for 1, $5 for 6, and they are pre-stapled into packets of 12 (in hopes that buyers will just buy $10 worth, I guess). I have 20 packets, so I have 240 tickets available.

The prizes:

1st prize - $500!!!
2nd prize - $200
3rd prize - $100 gift certificate to Toys R Us

You don't need a ticket stub or anything (as you can see in the pic, there's no number or anything on it), the school will call you, or I will.

This is my final plea and then I'll end this post, I swear. Please please please buy some of these tickets!!!

P.S. We STILL have some chocolate that we weren't able to get rid of - I'll be shipping it to my parents who'll be selling it at the Notre Dame Book Shelf in Anderson, IN - go visit them and buy some chocolate!

Nap Time Cold War

2011-04-15T11:53:00.002-04:00

So I just laid Maximilian down for his mid-day nap, basically wide awake.

This is unusual for us since he normally is out cold just from nursing, but recently he seems to have been outgrowing nursing himself to sleep. He's gotten very good at sleeping in his crib, he seems to 'get' it.

I know he's tired, and he knows he's tired...but he's not falling asleep. I laid him in his crib and stood next to him for a bit, waiting to see if he would wail, but he didn't. He just started looking around. Then he started to play coy, making a funny noise and then smiling. He's deliberately trying to make me laugh, the little imp! So I decided to just leave.

I shut the door behind me and waited right outside. Nothing. Now I'm sitting at the table, monitor close by, listening to him wiggle around. Why he isn't crying, I'm not sure. If feels like there's a weird tension, as if we're both waiting for the other to make a move.

Chances are, he'll pull himself up to standing and get stuck there, then call for me...we'll see...

My Kitchen Needs an Extreme Makeover!!

2011-04-13T21:50:00.003-04:00

I need your help. We have a really big kitchen by New York standards (most apartments have no kitchen at all). But we are totally not using the space efficiently or effectively at all. Here's the visual:

Yes, the microwave and toaster oven are on top of the refrigerator. We have about 2 x 3 feet of counter top space and I need 3/4 of that for the drying rack for the dishes (that's right! No dishwasher either!). So anyway, see that big stack of boxes in the corner? Those are mostly nice dishes, extra glasses and stemware that we don't have space for but don't want to let go off either. They are just sitting in that corner still in the boxes we moved them in, lest they get broken. I'd really like to use that corner for something else.

Then we have the fridge in an awkward position so as to allow maximum space in the middle of the floor, plus the only outlet I can plug it into is on the wall on the other side.

As you can see on the left, there are wooden shelves that have actually served quite well as a pantry type space. I'd like to have more of them.

So now that you know the lay of the land, maybe you can help me. I'm willing to buy some cheap kitchen furniture from Ikea, but that's about it. Any ideas how I can better utilize this space?

The Search for A Better Living Arrangement Continues

2011-03-25T11:48:00.003-04:00

Update: We aren't moving to JC, at least not right away. I loved the apartment, Matt loved the apartment, and the place is amazing, but every time we talked to them the price went up $50! This is mainly because we are approaching crazy season in NYC - from May 1 to mid-Aug, leases are up and people are moving all over the place, so apartments move super fast and prices go up.

And my internal debate on where to move continues - close to Matt's work or close to the kids' school? The kids' school is actually a more stable place, because if Matt's office gets moved again back to Midtown we'll still be convenient to it. But in Jersey City we can get so much more out of the money, and it'd be nice to have Matt home for dinner more often.

So I've finally figured this out. If/when we move close to the kids school (in Chelsea or the West Village), it has to be fast and furious. This is how this awful city works. We basically need to have 80% of our stuff packed, and start looking no more than 3 weeks in advance, MAYBE a month, but that's it. The best way to get a good deal is to go direct through the landlords that never use brokers (there are a lot like that, and I've finally figured out how to pin them down). But you can get amazing deals this way.

So it would require that we:

1. Stop being wishy-washy. Landlords don't want to even consider showing the apartment if you're not desperate for a place at the same time they are desperate for a tenant.

2. Pick a date, any date, and tell our current landlord we want out by then.

3. Pack as much of our crap as possible.

4. Determine how much we can really afford for rent.

5. Get all our paperwork needed for application ready in advance.

6. Spend the 3 weeks in advance of the move at the Starbucks next to the school and search online, call landlords, and view apartments all day long.

In Jersey City, it's just a matter of watching the prices online at apartment complexes we are interested in, and probably still packing most of our stuff so we can pick up and move if we want to.

Meanwhile, Patrick continues to make every commute pure torture, having recently added stubbornness and playfulness to an incredibly slow pace.

This is all so frustrating!!!

Should We Move Again?

2011-03-10T10:23:00.003-05:00

We do not live in the ideal location, or the ideal apartment building, here on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, in a 4th floor walk up. We aren't close to work OR school. Still, we don't have a whole lot to complain about in our current situation and moving is SUCH a pain in the neck to do, not to mention the cost of movers, etc. I've found a really great place in Jersey City for just $100 more per month, about a 7 minute walk from Matt's office, and I really want to move there, but I'm afraid, too. I feel like, if it's not absolutely perfect, maybe it's not worth the hassle of moving, even if it is significantly better.

So I've made a list of pros and cons, and I need your input! Peruse the list and tell me what you think.

Staying Where We Are: Pros

We've made good friends close by.
We don't have to pack everything up and pay movers, like we did just 6 months ago.
Matt takes the kids to school in the morning, saves me the extra trip.
Can get around without a car pretty easily.
Even though it's tiny, I really like the set up of our apartment. It's cozy and it's working well for us.

Staying Where We Are: Cons

I have to haul 3 small children (and a 40 lb. stroller, if I want to use it) up and down 4 flights of stairs. Every. Freaking. Day.
Matt's commute is an hour at minimum. Every. Freaking. Day.
Not close to the kid's school.
We live kinda close to Harlem. Not close enough for any real danger, but our car was broken into, there's always people and traffic noise ALL night, and Max is exposed to 'the N word' any time we go out on the street. Oh, and I'm pretty sure I saw the beginnings of a drug related transaction last week.
Can't really escape the city without spending a lot of cash.
The Super is completely useless.

Moving to Portside Towers: Pros

Washer/Dryer in the unit: save $120/month on laundry service.
Lower taxes in New Jersey.
Indoor and Outdoor play areas - and they are AMAZING play areas.
More square footage.
Less dangerous bathroom, plus there's 2 of them.
ELEVATOR!
Doorman.
7 minutes from Matt's office - WALKING.
It's quiet, less traffic, etc.
One block from an excellent Montessori school that goes to eighth grade or 2 blocks to a good Catholic school. This is only a pro if we are here for 2-3 more years, at least.

Moving to Portside Towers: Cons

I take the kids to AND from school.
The commute to the school is longer - 32 minutes versus 26, according to Google Maps.
We have to actually MOVE.
We will probably want to buy a vehicle. I already want to get one, but just don't wanna spend the money.
Bad to mediocre public schools.
I can't think of any more cons, but 1-3 are not small. Not huge, but certainly not small factors.

So, what do you think???

Sit and Be Fit

2011-02-24T22:04:00.003-05:00

So we've had this show called "Sit and Be Fit" on the DVR for at least a week now. I assumed Matt recorded it and he thought I did. We watched a couple minutes of this tonight...

Then we laughed for about 10 minutes at the fact Matt genuinely thought I decided to use this in lieu of my usual Jillian Michaels DVDs.

Mommy's Dirty Little Secret

2011-02-23T21:02:00.005-05:00

So...I've been living a lie for the past 8 months. I've been masquerading as a stay-at-home-mom, but in reality I've been working in a variety of ways: taking on freelance work, working on a political campaign, then taking on projects as a consultant. I just couldn't stop! Poor little Max (and Karol and Patrick) have not really had 100% of mommy since we moved to New York.

I realize now that I may have been exhibiting early signs of workaholism. But today I am turning over a new leaf! I've finished my last project (okay that's a little bit untrue but the other clients are so small/easy, it doesn't really count) and I'm excited to throw myself full-force into my new role as Executive Director of Maternal Affairs at the Plomin Household (still debating between "Maternal Affairs" and "Family Affairs," actually).

Maximilian and I have a full day planned for tomorrow: laundry, bath for Max, grocery shopping, reading, cooking dinner, swings, a trip to Carters or Target for a couple new outfits in the 9-12 month range, and maybe even a nap with Max!

So be expecting cleaner, healthier, happier Plomin children from this point forward.

Big Sis and the Baby

2011-02-21T19:36:00.003-05:00

Capturing a moment of cuteness: Karol is spinning in the middle of the living room and making up silly songs in front of Max, who is eating it up! He's smiling and even patting his knee to the 'rhythm' of Karol's song.

Meanwhile, I'm looking up apartments in Jersey. Not moving for a year and a half, but it's good to be prepared, right?

Mommy vs. Circumstance: A Mommy Win

2011-02-15T09:24:00.003-05:00

So my plan for St. Valentine's Day was to make cupcakes - as close to Georgetown's red velvets with cream cheese frosting as possible - as a surprise for Matt. Oh yeah, and I mean from SCRATCH, from the cake, to the frosting. And I've never done it before. It was going to be tricky to make it all happen, but if everything happened right on schedule...

I got an email from a client wanting to meet at 1pm, right in the middle of the day. But that's okay, I was expecting it, I could still make everything work.

Then, just as Max and I were getting ready to head to the grocery to pick up some necessary items for the cupcakes, I got a call from the school. "Your son's ears might be bleeding." What? Bleeding? "Um....I guess I'll pick him up then." So to the subway, rather than the grocery, we went.

I called the doctor on the way and set up an appointment for a couple of hours later. Pick up Patrick - oh, and of course Karol wants to come to the doctor's office, too - and drag all three babies from Chelsea to the Upper West Side via subway.

At the doctor's office: "Yeah...he's just really ear-waxy." As I suspected. Neither kid wants to go back to school, so we taxi back home. But it was such a nice day, I decided to take them to the supermarket and get those cupcake supplies anyway. 10 blocks there and 10 blocks back. Whew!

Now it's 1:30pm and everyone's hungry and tired. PB&J's and naptime.

It's 2:30, and dinner HAS to get made, so I start there. And somehow, wonder of wonders, I manage to make brown sugar meatloaf, red velvet cupcakes, homemade cream cheese frosting AND chocolate ganache, and do all the dishes from the day before and all the cooking....while all three kids napped. Whew.

Suck it, Murphy's Law, I win!

First Blog Post in a LONG Time

2011-01-27T12:57:00.005-05:00

Oh my goodness. It's been forever since I last posted here. Oh well, I'm just going to pick up where we are. A quick re-cap:

Max was born July 29th
Karol started at Nazareth Nursery
I worked on a campaign for Congress
We went home for Thanksgiving, stayed in NYC for the rest of the holidays
Pat turned 2 AND started at Nazareth Nursery
I'm consulting a variety of intriguing clients, from home with Max

The world continues to turn. Matt's office, which was in midtown Manhattan, got moved to Jersey City. The commute is longer, and now we live in Manhattan (and pay Manhattan taxes/rent) for no apparent reason. Life is hilarious.

The kids' school is in Chelsea, so we'd like to move there, but to find someplace we can all fit into is next to impossible, unless we want to pay upwards of $5k/mo. Which just seems silly. Moving to Jersey City is an option, maybe. We could get more space for less money, but getting the kids to school would be a weird, twice a day commute that wouldn't make sense unless I was coming into Manhattan for work anyway. Of course, anything could happen in the next 18 months before our lease is up, so I'm in no rush to change things.

I don't really have much time to blog, obviously, between Max, a growing client list and the haul to pick up the kids from school every day - but I'm getting better at it.

We've all been sick for the past month or so (and really since Thanksgiving, off and on), and I've devised a sort of cleaning/chore schedule to go along with my new SAHM image - I've yet to actually complete my daily chores in a day, but I'm getting better.

That's the update for now. I'm just trying to get back into the swing of blogging again. Maybe if I can pull it off here, I can work on my other projects, JillianShaw.com and GOPCampaigner.com (still building that one). Say a prayer for me!

Preschools, Minivans, and Other Mom Trademarks

2010-07-20T21:22:00.007-04:00

Today was a crazy day of ups and downs for me personally. I think for the other members of the family (although I haven't heard about Matt's day yet), it was pretty even keel.

Karol was very excited today because Ms. Adria was coming. Ms. Adria is our new babysitter who we found through a somewhat expensive online babysitting service (this is how it's done when you live in NYC and know NO ONE) and she was scheduled to come for the first time today.

I prepped the kids by telling them that we were going to have a new friend come over and play. Karol was very excited about this. She's been missing her DC care takers and especially her home day care best bud.

I spent the morning getting the kids fed and presentable, and trying to make the apartment look less like a tornado hit it. The sitter got there a few minutes late, and that's when the roller coaster started rolling. I foolishly left only half an hour between sitter-arrival and the actual time of my appointment, so I started stressing myself out about it around 8:30 anyway.

So I had to rush out the door, and Patrick, of course, was not cool with me leaving anyway. I had to give him an extra hug and kiss goodbye. Karol, on the other hand was like "Hi! Come play with me, I'll show you my toys!" Totally apathetic to whether or not I was there.

Hailing a cab was more difficult than I anticipated. I had to get the hang of it through out the day. It took about 10 more minutes, but I finally got a cab and zoomed across Central Park to the doc's office. I was only 8 minutes late, so not too bad.

But bad enough, I'm afraid, to have to spend over an hour there. I don't know if that was my penance for my tardiness, or if the office is usually that slow, but I had a lot of time to worry about making my next appointment with the chiropractor.

While at the examining room waiting for the doc to appear, the phone rang. Since I didn't recognize the number, I just let it go. Then I thought "Maybe that was the sitter. Maybe something's wrong." And of course slowly started freaking out inside. I called the number right back, but it was busy.

So I did a reverse look-up on the number, and much to my surprise, it was Nazareth Nursery. You may remember that this is the school that Matt and I simply adored. We've been hoping and praying that Karol would get into the one spot that may or may not exist there, depending on this and that, since our visit in March.

As it turns out, Sister Lucy called Matt right after trying me (hence the busy signal) and so I shortly got a call from him telling me that she wanted me to bring Karol down to enroll at 10am tomorrow!!! "Bring her birth certificate, baptismal certificate, and your checkbook."

I was so thrilled at this news, nothing could ruin my mood, though a lot of things tried. I don't actually have a copy of Karol's baptismal certificate, so I needed to get it faxed to me. But our phone line is messed up. So I can't get a fax. Solution? 30-day free trial e-fax service - you can receive faxes as email attachments. Whew.

But then there's the thing I needed to fax. Here's where it gets complicated.

We bought a minivan. That's right. Minivan. I should say I bought it. It's in my name, and Matt doesn't want to be at all associated with a mom-mobile. It's a 2003 Toyota Sienna. So now we have 2 cars. In Manhattan. No, we're not crazy, we're just way too busy and haven't found time to sell the other one.

So we went to a dealership, very much on a whim, last Saturday to check out this minivan I'd found through USAA's car buying service (really great way to find a car, by the way). And a couple hours later, we're driving it home. The only hiccup was that we're new here, and nothing we have says we live where we live. So I need to fax them a lease. The lease was IN THE CAR when we were there, but we didn't realize that at the time, unfortunately. So now I still need to fax them this thing.

Through the e-fax thing, I can send attachments like a fax. But to do that I need to scan a pic of the lease. And our scanner won't work. After changing a couple of inks and looking up the error message online, I gave up. The car dealership will have to wait another day.

The fax issue took up the first half of naptime, but I was actually able to get a lot of address-changing done (banks, insurance, other random places) and get everything ready with AFLAC for Max's arrival.

After that, I hung out with my babes, played games, read books, and then bedtime arrived sooner than I expected. Matt had a networking event and so I'm home alone for a while. I'm hoping today is an easier day. We'll see.

Army Strong Mom turns Stay-at-Home Mom: Day 1

2010-07-14T09:29:00.020-04:00

First day of (banker) school!

Day 1 being home alone with the kiddies was looong, but it went relatively smoothly. Matt and I woke up around 5:30 to get ready for the day, and Matt took off to take the train down to Wall Street at 6:50. I was hoping to have some time to myself to work on stuff before the kids started stirring, but I only managed about 25 minutes before Karol and Patrick were ready to start the day.

After rubbing the sleep out of their eyes, the kids spent some time looking out window and observing our new world. We talked about the garbage truck and buses that were going by, and did some people watching as well. We've bought a bird feeder and set it in this window, but have yet to see any birds eating from it.

Before changing clothes and really starting the day, we got a little puzzle action. Matt and I set up a really handy shelving set that covers most of one wall to store all of the kids more engaging toys in the main living space instead of in their room, and it's really proven to be a great tool. Everything is visible and accessible to the kids, and that makes it ten times easier for them to put things away on their own, too.

After a little play, it was breakfast time - yogurt and blueberries and Cheerios - then it was time for getting dressed and brushing teeth, always a fun adventure.

By a quarter to 9, the kids were clamoring for Caillou, and since we don't have cable TV and it doesn't come on PBS until 2, we had to watch Caillou on YouTube!

After about 25 minutes of Caillou, it was back to playing with toys.

By 10 am, the kids were deeply engrossed in play and I was on a babysitter search, since I have doctors appointments all over the city next week and no one to watch the kids yet! I also managed to fill out a voter registration form and do the dishes before snack time.

Carrots and string cheese! Mommy had some yogurt.

Around 11:30 we read a couple of Bible stories, then it was time to make lunch - PB&J's and apple slices. The babysitting service called me back as well during lunch and we (hopefully) will have some reliable help by next week.

After lunch, Patrick got to pick the pre-naptime DVD, and he chose Holy Baby. I don't know why, but these kids will sit and watch a DVD that repeats long Catholic prayers 7 times without flinching once. It's kind of creepy. Luckily, this gave me some time to do some clean up of lunch and other household chores. By ten to 1, they were ready to start the naptime routine.

We wrapped up naptime just in time for me to catch a phone call from Matt. Since he's starting a new job, and my health insurance runs out (unless we do the COBRA thing) two days after Max is supposed to be induced, we're anxious to get Matt's insurance info. So after talking to him, I got started on a bunch of admin work. I tried to get into the human resources website for Matt, but he's still not 'in the system' yet. I checked email, checked out the forms for AFLAC for Max's delivery, filled out the forms the babysitting service needed and sent them back, rescheduled my chiropractor appointment to follow directly after my OB check up next Tuesday (so we'd only need the sitter for that day), uploaded a bunch of new pictures to Facebook, and I even had a chance to vacuum the couch and rug in the living room, which was desperately needed, and broom-swept the hardwood floors in all but the kids' rooms.

Around 3, Patrick woke up but was clearly not really ready to be 'up.' So he and I laid down in mommy's room for an extra half hour. I'm kind of glad that we had that time, because I probably wouldn't have taken a break on my own!

I tried to convince Patrick that it was still naptime, but by 3:30 he was asking for 'Thomas' (the Tank Engine), so, in lieu of popping in the video, which I wanted to save for later, we printed out some Thomas coloring pages, and that seemed to do the trick. We had some strawberries for post-nap snack, and Karol was up and participating in the fun by 4.

This is Patrick's picture pose face. I love it.

Just as I was thinking I really needed to throw something together in the crockpot for dinner, Matt texted that he wouldn't be home until late. In a way, that saved me from putting together a crockpot experiment meal, but since our stove is broken (they're replacing it soon, hopefully), there weren't a whole lot of options for cooking outside of the microwave.

After coloring, we made paper airplanes which, between making, decorating, and flying, occupied them for an hour.

By then it was time to make dinner, so I gave in to the Thomas video requests. The no-stove solution? Cheesy scrambled eggs cooked in the microwave and corn and peas. I thought it was going to be a big flop, but the kids LOVED the cheesy eggs! I had to make a second batch and they literally ate about three eggs each, plus a decent helping of veggies. They both actually both ate very well all through out the day; I wonder if they're having growth spurts. During dinner I actually had a chance to read an article in the newspaper! It was the paper from the day before, but whatever.

After dinner, bath time. The kids soaked in the tub for about a half hour, brushed teeth, and put on pajamas.

I read about a million books for story time, and when all was said and done the kids were down and out by a quarter to 8. So, I ran some dishwater, put away the few things that were still out around the house, checked my email, then started this post.

Matt finally got home around 8:50 and we told each other all about the day.

Moved In

2010-07-13T19:58:00.021-04:00

My oh my, it's been a busy week and a half. We've been making the move to NYC, which in a lot of ways took a lot longer than we expected. We're still not completely out of boxes, and Max's room is kind of a temporary catch-all for the stuff we can't deal with at the moment, but for the most part we've turned this little three bedroom into a home for Karol, Pat, Matt and I. I think I'll tell the story in pictures.

Patrick and Karol are playing in the courtyard of our Arlington apartment, waiting for Mimu and Grandpa Plomin to arrive last Friday. Matt & friends spent the whole day loading the U-Haul and I had my last day at work.

We got a late start and some hiccups in the plan for driving up Friday night, so we stayed at a hotel just south of Baltimore and woke up at 5 to drive up to NYC.

Here's our U-Haul and one of the moving guys we hired to help us unload, bright and early at 9:30am.

Here's our new apartment! No, not in the Sushi shop, four floors above it.

Working on unloading...

Matt has gotten a LOT of handyman experience. He built a bunch of new furniture (this is Karol & Pat's new bed), and hung shelving and pictures.

Our new kitchen table! It has leaves to fold out and we found it in the 'As Is' section of Ikea. I think it was a display model. We got lucky, because this table (that I'd already decided was 'the one') was discontinued, so you can't get it new anymore.

Karol and Patrick arrive on Monday! Here they are exploring their new bunk beds.

Patrick's on the bottom and Karol's on the top. Thomas the Tank Engine sheets for Pat and Disney Princess sheets for Karol.

First bath in the new - much smaller - bathroom. Mommy is not a fan of the faucet being in the middle.

Karol helped me unpack some of her clothes.

K & P 'sort' hair clips while I unpack stuff in our bedroom. They made a mess, but it occupied them for quite a while.

Patrick tested the new freedom of his big boy bed for a couple of nights, getting up and sneaking into bed with mom and dad at 3am. We were too tired to put him back! These boys were so adorable I just had to snap a picture.

We've spent quite a lot of time at Ikea and Home Depot. Here's K & P working on their math skills in the children's section of Ikea. Mmm, gotta love the Swedish Meatballs for lunch!

We spent a lot of mornings at a diner a few blocks away because it took us days to get the kitchen set up. Groceries in Manhattan are ridiculous (think $8 for a small box of cereal), luckily the day before Matt started work we were able to drive out to Ft. Hamilton (about 1 hr each way, in Brooklyn) to the commissary and stocked up. The money we saved was WELL worth the drive.

Here's Karol enjoying some eggs and pancakes.

The living room is very kid-centric. Matt built all these little white shelves and all of the kids' toys now have their own special places, which makes clean up MUCH easier. The kids are getting used to putting away Toy A before getting out Toy B.

So now it's time to test out our new system with Matt going to work and me (eek!) staying home. I'm fearful that I will lose my mind, or spend every minute entertaining the kids, or become TV mom and let them watch PBSKids all day. I'm striving to find balance. I guess we'll see how it goes!

This Weekend: The Big Move!

2010-06-30T09:45:00.003-04:00

I am really looking forward to getting this weekend over with! It's going to be busy. Here's the plan:
Friday - Work, drop kids with grandparents, Pack U-Haul, drive to NYC, paint bedrooms
Saturday - Movers unload truck, un-box & organize, drive out and buy anything we still need
Sunday - More un-boxing & organizing, drive out and buy anything ELSE we still need

Monday - Any finishing touches, last minute fixes, etc., then drive back to MD to pick up the kids

Tuesday - Find stuff to do in NYC for a week before Matt starts working, yikes!

Breech Baby - The Webster Technique

2010-06-23T10:25:00.005-04:00

So ever since Max decided to be a butt, I've been looking into ways to flip him around, and one of the most legitimate looking methods is chiropractic care. I've had back issues that have progressively worsened over the three pregnancies, and according to a bunch of internet sources, spine/sacrum/pelvis can put undue strain on the uterus, which is attached with ligaments to these bones.

The Webster Technique is a specific 'adjustment' a chiropractor does to pop these things back in place and lessen the tension on those ligaments, thus giving the baby more freedom to move. I'm hoping firstly that this will end or seriously curb the lower back pain I've had off and on for 3 years and secondly give Max some room to flip around.

So I had my first adjustment this morning, and while walking is still a challenge (Max is definitely still breech) I think I feel a little better in that my back certainly doesn't hurt. I go back in two days to do other adjustments if necessary. Hopefully Max will turn head down in the next few days!

In the meantime, I hope to do some pool floating and belly rubbing, and maybe get a manicure/pedicure...

In other news, I just got a Baby Center email today telling me "your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds..." ha! try nearly 6 pounds - that could be part of why his being breech is causing me so much (pelvic) stress!

Max's Ultrasound

2010-06-19T08:02:00.003-04:00

Here's the report:

We are 32 weeks and 3 days along.

Max is measuring at 34 weeks and 1 day (so he's big).

He's estimated to be about 5.5 lbs right now, and should gain about half a pound every week until then - that's FOUR more pounds! There's a very good chance he'll be as big or slightly bigger than

Patrick was (born at 9 lbs 3 oz).

Max is 'frank breech' right now (I felt him turn into this position a few days ago and was kind of afraid they might say that). That means if he were to come out today he'd be coming out bottom first and his head and feet are up at the tippity-top of my belly. Apparently there isn't much outside of wive's tale sorts of remedies for this, but I intend to try some of them. There's still plenty of time for him to turn around, and the vast majority of babies will turn before they are born. If need be, I'll have the doctor turn him because I really don't want to have a C-section!

The ultrasound tech seems to think he'll have a significant head of hair.

Max had a good heartbeat and everything looks perfectly healthy!

This was our LAST appointment in Silver Spring with our great doctors at Capital Women's Care. The next doctor's appointment we have will be in New York! It's already scheduled for July 7th.

Last but not least - here are some pics!

Smith Family Reunion

2010-06-17T14:11:00.010-04:00

Well our quick trip to Anderson for the Smith Family Reunion went fantastically. We got to see lots of family we haven't seen in a while (some K&P met for the first time!) and then I zipped back to DC to work. Matt and the kiddies are hanging with Mimu and Grandpa Plomin for the rest of the week.

Unfortunately, this means Matt will miss an ultrasound for the first time ever on Friday. I would reschedule, but 2pm on a Friday was the only appointment I could get three weeks ago, so we definitely won't be able to get this very important one in before we move otherwise.

So I've got a few days to myself in the nation's capital...and I'm trying to pack like crazy. I have been researching the best ways to pack (what order, how to pack breakables, that sort of thing) and one thing that I see a lot is to pack the kids' room last. This makes sense, especially since they'll need to use their stuff - like cribs and beds - up to the day of the move.

Lots of articles advise taking special items that the kids find important for them to take in the car instead of pack. The only problem with that is that I can't think of any specific toy or stuffed animal or blanket that either one of the kids are particularly attached to. My kids are strangely without 'loveys' altogether. So I guess I'll just leave out a couple of their every day sorts of things.

Well, back to packing. Enjoy these pics from the reunion.

Dear Baby

2010-06-16T13:33:00.004-04:00

Dear Maximilian,

It's been almost 8 months since we started living together, and...we need to talk. I'm feeling a little like you think you can just do whatever you want around here. You stay up until all hours of the night and then you sleep all day, and you do very little to contribute to society. In fact, it's starting to giving me heartburn. I feel like I have to drag you around anywhere, and you never take the initiative to do anything for me. If you don't start pulling your weight around here, I'm going to have to start charging you rent. I love you dearly, son, but really - something's gotta give.

Love,

Your Mother

Saturday with Mommy

2010-06-05T09:50:00.016-04:00

Well Matt is getting the keys and moving the first few boxes into the Manhattan apartment today! That means I'm home with the kiddies - of course it's a free-for-all while Daddy's away!

Actually, I've done a fairly good job keeping a schedule, of sorts, today. Karol sneaked into my room a little after 7, and Patrick was just waking up in his crib at the same time, so we started the morning a little earlier than normal. But that was just as well, since the farmer's market starts at 7 and all the best stuff goes early.

The kids were dressed, fed and ready to go by 8am! But they decided they wanted to do a puzzle first. After a scuffle over piggy banks (don't ask) I managed to convince them they wanted to go for a walk to the farmer's market.

Rather than stroll, I strapped on their monkey and doggie backpacks and they walked with me. Luckily it's only one block away. We checked out all the different foods, but they were most entertained just sitting in the grass picking wildflowers and clovers.

We even got to pet a couple of dogs while we were out!

We started heading back home around 9, and Patrick demanded we stop at the courtyard for some rock pile action. Of course, they ended up completely soaked, but they had a blast.

I let them pick a flower from the landscaping in exchange for going inside and changing. Since they were already wet, I decided it was a fantastic time to brush teeth (forgot to do it this morning). Then they stripped off the wet clothes and decided to do puzzles again.

Snack time rolled around and they actually wanted cold oatmeal as their snack. My kids are weird.

After snacks, we threw in another load of laundry together.

I knew I needed to burn some time and some energy for a successful nap time, so I took the kids up to the pool all by myself. Until now, there's no way I would ever feel comfortable taking more than one kid to a pool without some back up. But I devised a strategy and I felt pretty confident I could do it. It helps that there's always a lifeguard on duty, and it's a 4-foot pool, so I can just stand.

We suited up - Coast Guard approved life jackets, sunblock and all - in the apartment. I didn't want to be stuck snapping Karol's jacket while Pat wondered off to the pool. After a pep talk about staying right next to Mommy all the time, we headed up to the pool deck. And I couldn't be more thankful we did. The water was perfect, and the kids both did a great job of holding onto Mommy, the wall, or a combination of the two. The jackets give the kids a lot of buoyancy and Karol was able to keep herself upright really well. Her big thing at the pool is propelling herself around the edge, so we did that a lot while I bounced Patrick on my hip.

The only real issue was actually the other children at the pool. There was a group of three sisters - two 8 year olds and a 5 year old - that took an interest in Karol and therefore were in my way a bit. And they were annoying. The 5 year old would take Karol's hand and inevitably she'd get a mouthful of water from losing her balance. Meanwhile, Patrick was already tired and cranky, so we needed to leave. This was simple enough, because I told Karol that we could go inside and watch Caillou. She was ready to go instantly.

Getting out of the pool was easier than I anticipated, but still no picnic. The kids were easy - I just sat them up on the edge and they walked over to our pool bag. I didn't want to be more than arms-length away for very long though, so I 'hopped' out of the pool up onto the side instead of taking the ladder, as best a 7 month pregnant lady can. I was shocked at my own ability to do it, but it couldn't have been pretty to watch.

Karol and Patrick sunbathed for a couple of minutes while I loaded up all the swimming supplies, and then we headed back to the apartment.

Caillou gave me enough time to make lunch - mac & cheese and peas - and then those kids just sat and ate. They must have been hungry because they both had two helpings of mac & cheese and most of their peas, and they didn't even talk or goof around, they were so intent on eating.

Next we caught Grandpa Shaw on Skype and then an episode of Wonderpets before stories and naps.

They are both sleeping like rocks now. Matt's already on the road back, so I'm hoping he makes it home in time to play with the kids before bedtime!

The Men in My Life: Patrick & Daddy

2010-06-03T09:40:00.007-04:00

I am really amazed to see such a transformation in the relationship between Matt and Patrick. Probably imperceptible to them, I can see that Patrick has grown so deeply attached to Matt in the short time that Matt has been with the kids day in and day out. I think Patty will definitely remain a mama's boy at the core, but the bond between father & son is already so strong.

When Matt left for New York last summer, I think we were both a little worried that he and Pat would miss out on some relationship building. In actuality, Patrick was probably too young to notice that Matt was only around on the weekends, and the time they spend together now is far more valuable than the time that was missed last summer. The quiver in Patrick's lip when Matt leaves the room even for a few minutes or the way his face lights up when he sees him first thing in the morning, it's so precious.

It really makes me happy to see how natural and loving Matt and the kids are. I'm almost a little worried that they'll be sad when he's the one going away to an office every day!

On top of being stay-at-home Dad, Matt's pulling more than his fair share after hours, too, thanks to Max putting me out of commission a good deal more than Karol or Patrick did. I'm really looking forward to meeting this kid face to face and giving my internal organs a little more space!

Mind Your Manners, Kids!

2010-05-24T14:03:00.003-04:00

I'm totally going to be a parenting snob for this post.

For anyone familiar with our children, this is kind of hilarious. Here's an excerpt from an email that I get weekly about Karol's development from BabyCenter.

Now that your child is old enough to notice how grown-ups behave and that actions affect other people, he's ready to learn some manners. Start with the very simplest, "please" and "thank you." Role model without demanding compliance. You're likely to make more progress if you heap praise on him when he exhibits good manners than you will by hectoring him when he forgets to say "thank you." You want learning manners to be fun, not a battleground.

So now is the time, apparently, to start teaching 'please' and 'thank you.'

Karol is well versed in manners and etiquette well beyond her years, I guess. Not only does she use 'please' and 'thank you,' but she does it in complete sentences ("May I have some more milk please?") and doesn't need much prompting, if at all.

And Patrick's not far behind. He actually picked up 'please' all on his own, probably because he saw his sis getting what she asked for whenever she used it. I'll never forget those precious chubby cheeks when he brought me an empty cup and said "peez?" in that same tone that Karol uses. And now when he asks for "more," simply asking "can you say 'please?'" gets an appropriate response with no hassle. I suspect he'll be doing it all on his own well before his second birthday.

A trick I've started using recently - requiring Karol and Patrick to be polite to each other. This is actually how I approach a lot of conflicts. Fighting over the same toy is a great opportunity to encourage sharing, of course, and manners naturally are a part of that.

So, all that being said, I'm sure I'm a snooty mom for bringing it up at all, but I couldn't resist the opportunity to brag :)

A New World Order

2010-05-17T10:45:00.005-04:00

This was week 1 of Daddy Duty. Since Matt's completely done with school, we've set the childcare tech free to pursue bigger and better things, and now Matt is stay-at-home-dad...I know what you're thinking - I'm scared, too!

No, just kidding. The kids survived and Matt's actually got them on a pretty tight schedule. I've been trying to help out as much as I can before work and at lunchtime, other than that, he's on his own. No surprise here, Karol is eating it up having Daddy around 24/7. She is such a daddy's girl.

Last weekend we both GRADUATED!!! And now we have Master's degrees. It still hasn't sunken in yet. Matt's got his post-grad job, now I have to figure out what I'm going to do with mine, after Max arrives, of course.

Speaking of which, he's been a pain in the back recently, literally. I've always had a little acute lower back pain during pregnancy, but in the past couple of days its been debilitating. It started Friday, and luckily, being at work is actually easier on the muscles than being at home is (Patrick loves his mommy but he's heavy!).

So now it's back to work on Monday. Only 11 1/2 more weeks of lugging this kid around the hard way!

Mother's Day 2010 and "Babies" Movie

2010-05-09T19:52:00.004-04:00

Today started out early (6:45ish), with a cranky Miss K coming into our bedroom to cozy up with us. She had a terrible time Saturday with napping (she did, but the timing was off) and sleeping (going through a getting up over and over again phase), and now she (and therefore Matt and I) was paying for it with a night of restless sleep. We all finally rolled out of bed a little after 7.

Matt managed to keep the kids at bay (he locked the bathroom and bedroom doors) while I took a shower. I really wanted to wash my hair and shave my legs today, since both were seriously overdue. Even on a good day, I usually have to choose between the two. Luckily when I'm pregnant my hair doesn't need to be washed more than every other day, and is really fine every third day, if I'm sporting a ponytail. Can't get away with that non-pregnant!

So after getting dressed and ready, I emerged to find Karol and Patrick up and at it and Matt made cinnamon rolls for breakfast - from scratch! I wanted to make 9am Mass, so there was no dilly-dallying with dressing and feeding the babes - but we still didn't make it to St. Charles until all the parking spots were taken, and we'd surely have to sit in the upper room.

Since parking was impossible, Matt saw that first communion was going on, and the kids actually do better downstairs in the main area rather than upstairs where kids can be more free, we decided to move to plan B - detour to Barnes & Noble and the Clarendon play area (although it was really too cold for that this morning) for an hour and a half. I'd planned on killing some time there after Mass anyway, so we just flipped the two. We picked up a new book I serendipitously found called 'Hello, New York City' and made 11am Mass easily with time to spare.

Patrick slept the all the way up to benediction!

When Mass was over, though, I was STARVING. So we went to Applebee's - mommy's secret obsession. We haven't been going out to eat much, so this was a big deal! After that, it was home for nap time. Mommy and daddy have not been doing nap time well recently. I don't know if our timing is off, or if we just aren't getting the routine right, or what, but the past two weekends we've totally failed at napping. Today, Karol didn't even take one. I settled for spending about an hour of 'quiet time' together, and that was it.

After a post-nap time snack, we headed to the Ballston Mall to catch a new movie. This is a pretty huge deal, in my opinion. I can count on one hand how many movies I've seen since K was born, with fingers to spare. And on the occasion I do see a movie, it's usually been out a while. But I started seeing the online buzz a couple of weeks ago for the movie "Babies" that opened this weekend, and was brave enough to take a 2.5 year old and a 16 month old to a movie that runs 1hr 20 min, in a theatre full of other people.

They actually did amazingly well. The movie has no real dialog, no narration, just a visual documentary. We sat way down front so the kids' chatting wouldn't be too noticeable, and generally they just made comments about what was going on on-screen. I was particularly impressed with Patrick's observations during the film. He was really watching the movie. And whenever an animal, food or other object popped up that he recognized, he pointed and said the name. So many words he's picked up! Banana, cows, dog, bird, baby, cat, cars...and the list goes on.

On the way home, in fact, Patrick said "please!" Can you believe it? He was asking for his drink (we could tell by his gesture) but since he's picked up on our insistence that Karol "ask nicely" for things, he said "please" without ever having been prompted! I was floored. I made sure to point out to Karol what he had said, and that he knew to say that because of her good example. She really enjoys being 'big sister' and when we note the ways she's 'big' and helpful, it encourages her, I think.

Karol was getting cranky after the movie and nearly fell asleep on the short car ride home, so bedtime was actually pretty smooth - for Matt. I got special dispensation from bedtime duties on account of the special holiday.

But I still had one baby left to take care of - Max! He was hungry! So I scavenged all the days leftovers and topped it off with some raspberry sorbet...but now I'm thinking little Maximilian wants a bowl of cereal too...

All in all it was another fantastic Mother's Day. Even though Matt was out of town last year, Mother's Day was especially good in 2009, too. I stop to think about how lucky I am to have these amazing, wonderful kids all the time, but on Mother's Day I try to really take the whole day just to appreciate the great family I've got. It's really all about them, and that's what makes it enjoyable. I think that puts me in the right mood for a 'special' day no matter what.

Missing the Baby Gear

2010-05-03T16:15:00.018-04:00

I'm getting way too attached to the kid's baby gear.

It's not that I'm afraid I'll miss it. I'm afraid the kids will. Do they really have an attachment to these things? Or am I projecting that on them? Being too attached to 'stuff' is the opposite of what I want to instill in them, but I don't want to inadvertently rip something away from them that they feel emotional about, either. With the move coming up, a lot of things are going to change.

It's really getting hard for me to come to terms with giving up our lovely apartment, but only because of the convenience it affords. I know I'll be fine emotionally. But are the kids going to miss it? I remember growing up in two houses - and the second one was my grandparents' house before we moved there, so it was already 'home' to me. I can't imagine what it would be like to up and move to a whole new city.

On the other hand, Karol and Patrick are still very young - Karol's not even 3 yet. Will she even remember? I have no idea. And who knows how much we'll end up switching apartments in NYC, as the family (and hopefully the income) grows.

So why am I feeling this way today? Well, it doesn't help that it's a gloomy, crappy day overall, but I'm thinking about selling our double stroller. It's a monster of a stroller, and has served us very well. But now I'm looking to trade it for something smaller and more maneuverable for the city. And with Patrick walking really well already, we probably won't need a stroller for every trip in New York. Plus I don't really like the idea of having them locked up and lazing in a stroller for extended periods of time while I wheel their butts around. So I want something light-weight, easy to fold and easy to get around on skinny sidewalks.

But that means I'll need to sell ol' reliable. It's been like a second home for all the lovely long walks we take in Arlington...but am I the only person who's really getting sentimental about it?

We might go stroller test-driving at Buy Buy Baby this afternoon after work (I'll probably actually buy it used) to see what brand/model works best. I figure I'll be wearing Max for the first 6 months or so. I'm looking at the Jeep Wranglerthe Combi Twin Sportand the City Minibut who am I kidding? Should I just skip straight to the Triple Threat?

Good Times in the Bath

2010-05-02T20:47:00.004-04:00

Karol and I wrapped up the evening (a terrible, nothing goes right type of day today) with a mommy-daughter bath, complete with facial masques, tea-tree oil foot scrubs, and an intense game of 'Spuh-LASH!' which is a lot like catch, but without the catching.

Luckily the rest of the night went smoothly with no tears from either toddler at bedtime. Unfortunately, Matt will be up late tonight working on one of two final papers that is due tomorrow at noon. I will be SO glad when he is done with all of this on WEDNESDAY.

As for me, I've been done with class for a week or two now (yay!). Now I'm going nuts about packing, going through the kids' clothes and weeding the outgrown and winter weather gear from their drawers for storage, and making big piles of random stuff to be donated. We are going to be losing a lot of space with the move to NYC (oh yeah, and adding a kid) and the extra stuff just isn't getting out of my apartment fast enough for my taste.

It's 9pm, and I think I'm going to go to bed. That's actually a little early for me. I'm hoping tomorrow starts off a little smoother than today did, but I'm not looking forward to Matt being MIA while he crams on final projects the next three days!

Stream of Consciousness Post about Montessori, The Kid's Development, And Moving

2010-04-26T18:50:00.008-04:00

Saturday was a crazy day. We went everywhere. We were in and out of the car like crazy. All in anticipation of a rain storm that never happened. But we were able to pick up a lot of new tools and supplies for our Montessori-fying the apartment quest. Between a 'liquidation sale' on the edge of DC's bad side, Ikea and Home Depot, we were able to get some serious deals on some makeshift Montessori stuff.

The most important thing we purchased this weekend was by far the kid-sized table and chairs from Ikea. The kids are loving it so far. Saturday and Sunday were both full of test driving some of the new stuff. I'm starting to feel more confident that this idea is going to work.

And in order to facilitate the New World Order in our family routine, I've kicked off a mad Ebay/Craigslist sell-athon. With the move to NYC fast approaching, we've been meaning to downsize anyway, and the sooner it happens, the better, I think, because this belly isn't getting easier to deal with.

Speaking of which, I have got the worst heartburn in the history of the world. It is bad. It starts around 4 o'clock and doesn't let up. Doesn't matter what I eat. Doesn't matter how I sit or sleep. There's nothing I can do but deal with it and pop the Tums like candy.

Mission 1 with Karol is going to be teaching her some preliminary skills - basically teaching her the Montessori Method procedure for approaching (school) work. This is stuff like, how to get out and unroll your mat before you start an activity, putting an activity away before taking out a new one, carrying trays properly so things don't topple, etc, etc. She's very quickly picking up on practical life skills like pouring water or milk from a pitcher into a cup. She and Patrick are both drinking out of a regular cup at dinner time (teeny tiny ones). They are also obsessed with tasks like handwashing and teethbrushing because it means they get to stand at the sink and 'play' with water.

Patrick's big lessons are going to be things like stacking blocks, nesting blocks, and beginning to learn to count. He's in an amazing language boom right now, picking up words faster than I can keep track. Just this weekend he probably said five or six words we hadn't heard him say before, completely out of the blue.

He's starting to show an interest in the potty too, although it'll be a while before he is even tall enough to sit on the training potty. He totally gets that the word 'pee' is associated with it (that's one of his new words!) and likes to pretend-pee by sitting on the edge of the potty and bouncing.

Speaking of bouncing - Patrick has a hilarious morning ritual. Typically Karol will wake up and be talking to herself or calling for Mommy or Daddy in the morning when Matt and I walk in. Inevitably we hear a bright "Good morning, Mommy/Daddy!" from Karol and Patrick starts jumping/bouncing on his bed, with a smile from ear to ear like he's so thrilled to be starting a new day. It really is a great way to start the day and puts a smile on my face every time.

Meanwhile, on the apartment hunting front, Matt is scouring the market for the (probably impossible) perfect apartment. It's almost hilarious that he's trying to find an apartment that would be cheap even here in the most expensive neighborhood in Manhattan. I have a feeling we'll be living in a shoe box at this rate. Which brings me back to the need for downsizing our stuff.

So far I haven't had a whole lot of success, but this is just the end of Day 1, really. Still, when I posted like 8 things on Craigslist this morning, I was hoping to have at least 1 less thing by the end of the day. Although there have been a couple of bites, nothing solid yet.

And books! We've got more books than the closest branch of the public library, I think. I looked into donating them to the library today, and - it figures - they just had one of their bi-annual book sales and therefore aren't taking new donations until May 10 or so, so I have to stare at these boxes that much longer, I guess.

My next downsizing task - which I plan to attack as soon as I'm done with this post, since Matt's at school until late tonight - is the White Thing. Really it's a white Rubbermaid rolling 3-drawer filing tower that I've had since college. But we've always just called it the White Thing. And now it's in our bathroom. Pretty soon it will be empty. It's already for sale on Craigslist, although Matt thinks it'll probably have to be given away (guess I'm okay with that), but it's worth at least a shot at selling it. I'm checking my email like mad, just to see if there are any new takers on our unwanted stuff...ugh.

My Son's Amazing Motor Skills

2010-04-20T21:08:00.006-04:00

So for a little distraction/treat, we went out to eat tonight at the Cheesecake Factory. Since I didn't think to bring sippy cups, the kids got milk in cups with lids. Karol rocked the cup with a straw, but Patrick practically poured it down his shirt. It's hard to mentally switch from sippy cup - where you tilt the cup up - to straw - where you keep the cup down.

So Matt asked the waiter for a small glass or plastic glass, like a shot glass. You see, Patrick has pretty much mastered drinking from a cup - taught Montessori style. Check it out:

Yes, I was totally paranoid he would drop the glass and break it. But I think he does this very well. In fact, he's better at it than Karol is right now, I think because 1) we started teaching him the skill at the right time, when he was mentally prepared to learn it, and 2) he's generally a rock star at gross and fine motor skills.

When it comes to climbing, using a spoon and fork, etc. he's doing the same things as Karol. Since Patrick apparently didn't get the super-cautious gene that Karol did, he usually is doing more running, jumping and climbing than Princess Karol is.

Montessori Mommy?

2010-04-19T21:57:00.000-04:00

I'm back to reading Montessori from the Start: The Child at Home, from Birth to Age Three and back on a Montessori kick again. I think I wrote in an earlier post that we found exactly the right school for our kids - it's a Catholic Montessori preschool - and last month we were finally able to go there for observation.

I'm even more convinced that this is where I want Karol to be next year, but alas, there's no space available. Well, Sister Lucy, the lady that runs the place, said they may have an opening depending on if one family moves...so we're keeping our fingers crossed, but won't be surprised if it doesn't happen until the 2011-12 school year.

So what do we do until then? I really don't see the point in sticking her in a different preschool for a year and then switching. That just seems like it would cause undue stress for all of us. So I'm seriously considering teaching her (as best I can) from home, in the Montessori Method.

Of course, it doesn't seem fair at all to put that kind of time and effort into Karol and not Patrick, who's nipping at Karol's heels right now, developmentally speaking. But he's in a totally different sensitive period, so the work he should be doing is totally different from what Karol is on.

Oh, and let's not forget little Max (that's Fetus Plomin's new name, now that we know he's a boy for sure)! I have the chance to start from the very beginning with him. But just taking care of the basic needs of an infant is enough work for one mom. I'm already depriving the poor little guy of much needed sleep (for mommy) most nights in order to research Montessori homeschooling, apartments in NYC and preschool options. Do I really think I'm going to be able to teach all my kids at the same time all by myself?

Well, yes. I guess I do. My plan? Be prepared well in advance. I'm going to have to tackle this 'stay at home mom' thing (makes me cringe to type that) with a strategic campaign plan. That's why I'm so glad I discovered this awesome blog, Wanting What You Have. It's written by a professional 'housewife' (cringe) who's come up with what she calls a Home Management Guide. It is the greatest idea ever. Not that its a new one. Basically, it's a business plan for the home. I've already started building mine. I've got two whole sections done, and I'm totally stoked about it.

I'm doing mine a little differently, though, since, well, every household is a little different, and in our case, a lot different. I'm planning for all my Montessori tools and research to be a huge section of this binder. I think I'm going to come up with a different name for mine though. Something like, 'Jillian's World Domination Strategic Campaign Plan.' So far I've got all my work schedules done, pretty similar to how Heather does it, and a cleaning section. I'm going to add a food section, but I still don't really know enough about cooking yet to put it together, and Matt's in charge of the groceries right now, so I'm at a loss for a price book (I'm just going to take over his). The Montessori section I'm going to start building tonight right after I write this post. As for the World Domination-specific sections, that's classified, sorry.

Happy and Healthy Babies - All of Them!

2010-04-13T22:01:00.000-04:00

Today was a 'big' day for the DC Plomins. Bright and early this morning the whole family trekked up to our old stomping grounds, Silver Spring, for a round of doctor's appointments.

Karol - not surprisingly, Karol got a gold star for verbal ability. The doctor was floored that she was answering questions like "how old are you?" and "are you a boy or a girl?" I guess those are questions a 3 year old may be able to answer. She was also impressed with the 6-word sentences she was uttering -but Matt and I know she can easily do 15-word sentences and more!
She's an expert at jumping, but hasn't mastered walking backwards yet - although that's another 3 year old task.

Patrick - Patrick is right on track developmentally, and doing especially well in the walking/climbing arena. He's off the charts for both height and weight and a very healthy growing boy. Patrick's language is seemingly ahead of schedule, too, but of course he was too shy to talk to Dr. Fishman at all. He did manage a 'high five' though.
Patrick got a whopping 3 shots, one of which being the chicken pox vaccine. The good news is that he won't need any at all at the 18 month check up. I'm hoping we can squeeze that one in before we have to leave for NYC in July.

Baby #3 - Mommy and baby got a check up today, too. I'm doing fine, of course, and New Baby Plomin has all the major organs and limbs and whatnot that they check for in the 20 week ultrasound. And of course we got the opportunity to find out what we're having. And, as I've been predicting since day 1 - the ultrasound confirmed we're having a boy! Karol and Patrick are excited to have a baby brother and Matt and I are excited to use pronouns like "he" instead of "it" when referring to "him."

Measurement-wise he is still on track with his original due date of Aug 10, give or take a couple days. I'm betting he'll be quite an average size, weighing more than Karol did (7 lbs 9 oz) and less than Patrick (9 lbs 3 oz). It'll be 'fun' to get to know all new doctors just a month before he's born to deliver him in NYC, but we're getting closer to figuring out who that will be now. Or I should say, Matt is. I've put him in charge of finding the doc, the hospital and an apartment in NYC. We'll see how that goes.

The apartment search is still pretty passive - it's still early - but we've got some feelers out. We're still pretty focused on the West side, hopefully somewhere in our between the West Village and Upper West Side. I'm not really thinking about that now, though. For right now I'm just looking forward to tying my shoes without straining and meeting my new little boy, and thanking God we are so very lucky to have such beautiful and healthy children.

So that's the update for now!

Busting Out The Maternity Gear

2010-03-18T10:17:00.000-04:00

Here's a pic of me wearing maternity clothes again for the first time this pregnancy. This was late February.

Not too bad, eh? I'm still stretching regular shirts over the belly, but maternity pants or skirts are a must since about two weeks ago.

Matt's Stepping Up

2010-03-17T20:54:00.001-04:00

I have to take a moment to talk about my husband.

Matt has really stepped up this time around. Not that he hasn't in the past two pregnancies, of course, but this time I'm a lot more needy. This baby is really draining me, mentally and physically. On top of working full time still, I am in the middle of my very last class for my Masters program.

Matt has picked up bedtime duties, probably 90% of the housework, drop off and pick up at childcare (I usually go to get them, but can't lift Patrick that much any more so he comes with), and most of the morning routine, too. When I nudge him I can usually get a foot or back rub, and he's even doing well at making me feel like I'm not horribly fat and ugly - a common side effect of having your belly go from rock to rubber. He's really making my job easier.

The down side of the situation is that I feel a little out of touch with my kids. I miss having the energy to run around with them, and the strength to pick them up, especially Patrick. It doesn't help that he's bigger, but he's still such a little baby. He loves his Mama, and he loves to be held and carried.

All in all, there aren't words to describe how grateful I am for such a supportive and loving hubby. Thanks to God for giving me such a great guy.

Mentally Prepping for Baby Number Three

2010-03-12T13:13:00.000-05:00

When you already have two little toddlers, it's easy to go for days without really realizing that there's going to be a teeny tiny baby again soon. But just the other night I was starting to feel the need for another little one.

It's really weird sleeping through the night without having to tend to anyone's needs. Now that Pat and Karol sleep like logs all the way through, and have for a while, the novelty of it has worn off, and I miss that feeling of being 'needed.' Am I crazy? Yes. I know that once baby #3 arrives, I'll be missing these calm, peaceful nights. But still, it just feels weird. I almost worry that something's wrong and go in and check on them in the middle of the night, just to make sure.

Anyway, I decided to hop on YouTube and browse through the videos of the kids as infants. Here's a good one:

Patrick As A Baby

Mommy Blogging from The Sears-er-Willis Tower

2010-03-01T20:16:00.003-05:00

How did I not get this memo??? I'm in the Windy City and have an extra hour or two (in and out with the TA-50 drop off by 8:30, yay!) so I thought I'd take the opportunity to walk around my favorite city for a while. I go to the Sears Tower to go to the sky deck (despite the cloudy day...) and it says "Willis Tower" on it! I thought I was in bizarro world where cream cheese is ketchup and metal is now rope. Now can the Sears Tower NOT be the Sears Tower? Furthermore, how could I have MISSED IT?? Nobody thought this was interesting enough to shoot my an email? Come on!

So anyway, the drop off at the 416th went splendidly, and I'm excited to be c

oming home to my family in just a few hours. Unfortunately, my phone is kaput and I left my GPS at home, too. So I had to go by Mapquest and memory to get into and around the city.

Next stop - Midway airport, then home to my babies!

Back Home Again In Indiana Without the Babies

2010-02-28T08:17:00.003-05:00

Well I’m sitting at the airport, trying not to get sucked in by all the Maryland Crab paraphernalia, missing my kids already. They napped all the way to the airport, and no matter how you explain it, it’s hard to tell if they really understand. Just a couple of hours before we left I was seriously toying with the idea of taking Patrick with me. He’s still young enough to be a lap child, after all. But that would just make things more difficult than they need to be, and the last thing he needs is to have his routine disrupted.

Getting from the car to the gate literally took about 5 minutes since I checked in online, don’t have any bags to check and there was no line in security. Seriously, zero people in line. The TSA guy had to wait for me to get my ID out because I just walked right up to him. So, no kids, no typical airport hassles…I anticipate having a lot of free time.

Usually that free time would be eaten up with talking to Matt until he got home and I took off, then talking to him again from landing to destination number one. But like an idiot, I left my phone charger on the table and my phone battery is barely half full, so it’s off until it’s time to tell everyone I landed safely. That’s a very important call.

I brought Atlas Shrugged, which I’ve been wanting to read for about ten years now (it’s an intimidatingly thick book – and yes I’m aware I just made up that adverb). And I thought I could get some serious blogging done – yay! Since I can’t get online though, I’m avoiding doing any ‘professional’ blogging for now. I thought I’d write an update to the family blog instead. Because that’s what’s on my mind right now.

So here’s an update on my lovely babies.

Let’s start with Karol. She’s pretty much full-grown now. She has a shoe addiction that’s starting to rub off on Patrick. She’s obsessed with organization, which I hope will rub off on Patrick. I stopped trying to gauge where her verbal skills are, because they are so off the charts it’s impossible. I’ve known five year olds with less grammar and diction. The really great thing is to hear her correct herself, as in, “Mommy, I bringed my…I brought my banana!” I mean seriously? Irregular verbs? Like I said, I’m pretty sure the ‘books’ declare your kid as A-OK by the time they’re doing that. So we’ve moved on to watching Patrick.

Patrick, I must admit, I was worried about in the very beginning. Maybe because all the books say that communication and language skills are harder for boys to build in babyhood because of the way their brains form differently from girls. Maybe it’s because he didn’t coo and gurgle and make as many baby sounds in the first few months. And unfortunately being the second kid, I always fear we’re not talking to him enough, reading to him enough, and that sort of thing.

But recently Matt and I have been looking back and comparing his skills to where Karol’s were at this age (I know, I know, exactly what you’re NOT supposed to do!). Apparently my kids are genetically programmed to be fascinated with dogs starting around age 1 because that’s what Karol did, and that’s precisely what Patrick is doing. He is getting interested in books, but only really wants to sit still for books about dogs. He really gets into them, and then makes us read the same book over and over and over! Right now he’s stuck on Harry the Dirty Dog, Where’s Spot, and I’ll Teach My Dog A Lot of Words. I plan to take the kids to the library soon to expand the selection.

Patrick is picking up ‘baby signs’ left and right, as well. He’s been able to do ‘eat,’ ‘milk,’ ‘all done,’ and ‘more’ for quite a while, but recently he’s picked up ‘bath,’ ‘book,’ and ‘socks’ – and of course ‘dog!’ We haven’t put a lot of energy into teaching them to him, but in my experience with both Karol and Patrick, it you wait until they show an interest in those things, they learn very fast. We simply use the signs when appropriate, and then try to reinforce with the videos.

Patrick’s motor skills, too, are growing by leaps and bounds. I don’t take for granted that there’s anything he can’t do anymore. He can climb the furniture, open doors, ‘swim’ in the bathtub, and kick a ball. All pretty astounding at the tender age of 13 months, if I do say so myself.

Then there’s baby X. We still don’t know if he’s a boy or a girl, but I’m calling him a boy for now, that’s just my guess. He’s pretty laid back right now, and doesn’t say much. According to BabyCenter.com he’s about the size of an avocado.

Well, at the beginning of this post I was at the airport in Baltimore. Now I’m in Indiana. So that’s it for now.

Taking A Trip Without The Kids

2010-02-26T15:00:00.003-05:00

So I'm leaving my entire family for the first time. I'll be flying home to Indiana to pick up my TA-50 (loads of Army gear that was issued to me years ago) and returning it to my old unit in Darien, IL, just south of Chicago. I leave tomorrow afternoon, and come back Monday afternoon, if all goes well, and I'm already stressed out about being so far away.

It's not that I don't trust Matt to take care of the kids for a couple of days, but that I'm going to miss them like CRAZY. Hopefully this time will pass quickly, and I won't lose my mind in the process. Maybe I can even take a book or something for the plane ride, wouldn't that be something? I can't remember the last time I read a book for fun. Maybe I can spend some time writing for my other ("professional") blogs. Who knows...

The up-side is that this will be a great opportunity to hopefully see some people I haven't seen in a while and hang out with my family. Maybe I'll even get to see my niece and nephew a little bit!

I'll let you know how it all turns out, I guess.

NYC, I Give You Fair Warning

2010-01-10T11:27:00.016-05:00

Well a lot has happened since I last wrote. Matt and I are officially taking the plunge and moving to the Big Apple, the Empire State. Yep, good ole NYC. I'm not talking about living in New Jersey or the boroughs either. We are moving to FRICKIN MANHATTAN. Or at the very least, Queens.

So, we're relocating from our posh Arlington apartment right next door to the greatest job I've ever had, down the street from the best child care provider you could ever hope to have for your kids, in a neighborhood just minutes away from Costco, Pentagon City Mall, the national monuments, historic Georgetown and my beloved cupcakes, to a place where we are going to be starting all over, the taxes are highest in the country, in an undoubtably much smaller apartment. I'm getting used to the idea.

Matt's job is going to be great for him. He'll be an Associate in Institutional Asset Management for Deutsche Bank. He loves the group he's working with; they're the same one he worked with over the summer. It's what he's always wanted to do and he's gonna go far, I just know it.

As for me, it's up in the air. There's a very good chance I'll go back to political consulting (2010 is shaping up to be excellent for real Republicans), and maybe start a new thing consulting small business. The job market is rich in NYC for ad/pr, so I could always do a 9-5 again, too. After the baby is born, that is.

What? A baby? Another baby? Didn't you just have one?

Yeah, I did. And we're going to have number three sometime mid-August, probably at the Eli and Abby Manning Birthing Center in the Village (thank God we still have a Manning!).

My belly right now.

My belly 8 months after Patrick. *sigh* C'est la vie.

Once we made the decision that we are indeed moving, all the other decisions had to be made. Luckily, my search for the perfect pre-school (for Karol only, for now) was a quick one. There's actually a Catholic Montessori (exactly what I wanted) right smack in the West Village that is quite affordable. We haven't visited or anything yet, but I did make a call. Hopefully we can run up there sometime in March to check the place out and get Karol enrolled. I've heard how awful New York private school admissions can be, but I think this school is an exception.

That decision led to the next one: Where to live? West Village is pretty 'up and coming' we've heard, and the subway right by the pre-school goes straight to Matt's office. It's also a little more neighborhood-ish than living in East Midtown where Matt will be working. There will be (a little) more access to shops, restaurants, and other necessary places. We're hoping to find something close to Washington Park.

Another option is Astoria (part of Queens). It's more affordable, and if we stay close to the subway line it'd be just as easy a commute as West Village for Matt, but a little further down the line for Karol's school.

It's way too early to know anything though.

The giant elephant problem with moving to NYC is that it's NOT a kid-friendly place to live. And it's not a parent-friendly place to live. Everything I see online about living in New York talks about the 'awesome night-life' and great places for grown ups to go by themselves. We don't HAVE a night-life. I'm lucky to get a day-life with 2 kids 2 and under. Oh wait, make that 3 under 3! I swear if I read another article or post about how great it is to be single and responsibility-free in New York I will scream.

Oh well. Maybe Matt will get a huge bonus and we'll be able to afford a babysitter once in a while. Until then, nose to the grindstone.

Boys Stink

2009-12-19T07:59:00.003-05:00

When my younger brother Will would have a friend or two over and they took over the living room with their sleeping bags and video games, it was only a matter of a few hours before the room would have a distinct smell of boys. And not a good kind of smell.

Apparently, this stinky phenomenon starts at around 9 months, and never goes away. Patrick sweats like crazy when he's sleeping, and after I transferred him to his own bed last night, I was hit by that icky boy odor smack in the middle of my bed.

Here's what is so confusing: Karol sweats just as much as Patrick ever has, but she's never stunk up the room the way that boy can. What physiological trait do boys have that makes them so noxious?

It's grossing me out, and making me reconsider my dream of having lots of boys.

This post by Manic Motherhood is the only thing keeping my hope alive that one day Patrick will stop stinking. At least some of the time. Until then, I'm bathing him in the strongest lavendar scented Johnson's baby shampoo available.

Karol, Potty Training Pro

2009-11-29T16:47:00.005-05:00

The potty chart is full of stickers. The training potty is a permanent fixture in our 2nd bathroom. And diapers are pretty much a thing of the past (well, except at bed time). I'm declaring Karol officially potty trained. Of course, there are and will be accidents, but in general, she let's us know when she gets the urge - "I have to peepee!" - she can pee on demand most times, and she usually stays dry during naps. The potty is a way of life for us.

I think I mentioned earlier that we planned to do the 3-day potty training program, and that's basically what we did, give or take a couple things. I must say I was surprised, but it worked pretty much like the article suggests.

There's a big myth about potty training, however, that I think needs to be cleared up right now. Having a toddler that goes in the potty is not easier than changing diapers. When a toddler needs says she needs to pee, it has to be taken care of right now. With diapers, you have a general idea of your child's 'schedule,' but you don't have to attend to a wet diaper the minute it happens. And sure, poop goes in the toilet now, but you still have to do the wiping.

For a mom that needs to actually accomplish stuff with toddlers in tow, potty training does make things more difficult.

Thanksgiving Day

2009-11-29T00:33:00.024-05:00

Matt and I have an enormous amount to be thankful for. The only things I'll bother to mention, though, are our children and each other. Even though we decided not to shell out the dough for a trip home (saving that for an extra-long Christmas visit), we had a wonderful Thanksgiving in Arlington. I made the extra special effort to dress up the kids even though 75% of the time they were bedecked it was just the four of us.

Well, Karol was dressed up. Pat's 'dress up' clothes are so restricting, I gave him a break. But he did sport a nice "Baby's First Thanksgiving" bib.

Matt spent the entire day - from 7am until 4pm - in the kitchen. Our new apartment has a phenomenal kitchen compared to the tiny set up in our place in Silver Spring, and Matt really enjoyed flexing his culinary muscles. He didn't have to go it alone though - our college buddy, Dan Wanke, stayed in town (for the same reasons we did - he's from Wisconsin); we were thrilled to have him over and he helped Matt with all the side dishes, of which there were many.

Besides an incredibly juicy, flavorful, delicious turkey, we had creamed corn, green beans, mashed potatoes and gravy, creamed spinach, chestnut stuffing, traditional stuffing, apple-topped sweet potatoes and traditional sweet potatoes (my personal Thanksgiving fave). Matt, did I miss anything? Dan brought over two pumpkin pies (I just polished off the leftovers of that while typing this, actually), I made a rather bland pumpkin bisque and a family recipe Irish coffee cake and Matt's friend Cherub brought an Indian dish (thankfully for me not too spicy!) as well.

We had a full house this Thanksgiving, since we had the honor of hosting Dan and three of Matt's friends from GWU-Anand, Ritwik and Cherub. They are from India, so not surprisingly they can't make the trip home either (and I thought we lived too far from home!). My favorite part of having friends over is seeing the interaction they have with Karol and Patrick. Karol used to be a frequent visitor to group meetings, classes, and the like, if I was on military duty, if someone was sick or if childcare fell through, so Karol is especially familiar with the GW MBA class of 2010. I love that she is comfortable playing and talking to Matt's classmates and that they are open to playing "Uncle" to K&P every now and then. And they loves the extra attention, of course!

Dan & Pat

Cherub & Karol

Ritwik & Pat

Anand & Karol

The next day we hit the Black Friday sales! I know what you're thinking, "Black Friday sales with two kids, is she nuts?" Actually, we didn't really start our shopping until after 8, and the craziness is pretty much quelled by then. We hit Target, Staples, and Guitar Center, all of which were only a little livelier than normal. Best Buy was the only place we went with any Black Friday rush left, so Matt dropped me off at the door and I grabbed what we needed while he drove around with the kids.

After that, we went to Uncle Joe and Aunt Judy's house at Karol's insistence. She absolutely loves going over there, especially when she gets to brush Dusty and give him treats!

The next day, Matt and Karol wanted to check out all the new decorations at the mall and maybe get some of our own for the apartment, so we spent all day at Springfield Mall and Tyson's Corner. The kids were both so good the whole day through (hint, hint, St. Nick) and we all had a great time. We crossed a few people off our gift list, got some cute new Christmas shirts for Patrick, and Mommy got a couple things from her new favorite store, New York & Company. Everyone except Matt has their Christmas socks for Louisville Christmas, which I'm told is a necessity. We'll have to pick up some for Daddy today.

So after a pretty packed long weekend, this Sunday we are chilling at home, writing letters to Santa, and maybe taking a long walk before Mass this evening. We are getting really excited for Advent and Christmas, and looking forward to a week and a half in Indiana. Next on the holiday to-do list: get a Christmas tree! I have no idea where we'll put it though!

I can't even count the many ways God has blessed us this year. I just pray that our good fortune continues and that we keep growing together as a family.

Happy holidays to everyone and we can't wait to see you at Christmas!

"Hold still and smile!"

Cooking with Daddy for Thanksgiving

2009-11-23T10:58:00.003-05:00

This is a big year. We decided to stay home (in Arlington) for Thanksgiving since traveling to Indiana is pretty darn expensive now that Karol can't be a lap child any more (not that it's really cheap either way, though). So that means Matt is the Top Chef this week! The preparations have already begun. There's bread pieces going stale on purpose, our fridge is full of Turkey and Turkey related accessories, and Matt got his knives sharpened by Alicia Groncki at Sharpen This. And It's a big year for Karol, because she is going to be Daddy's little Sous Chef!

Karol, already an expert pizza maker, mac & cheese crafter, and pb&j constructor, will be expanding her skills to include Turkey, sweet potatoes, green beans, and stuffing. Our boilermaker bud, Dan, will be joining us (not going to Wisconsin for the same reason we aren't going to Indiana) as well as a friend or two from Matt's class. It should be a fun time! Although I have no idea where everyone is going to sit...

In other news...Karol and Patrick are super lucky: they have already seen Santa - and it's not even Thanksgiving yet! This weekend we went to the Potomac Mills Outlet Mall to participate in a walkathon for St. Jude Children's Hospital, and afterward we did a little shopping and got to see Santa!!! And let me tell you, this guy is the real deal. Real beard, real suit, real cherry cheeks, real Santa laugh, this guy had it all. I would post a picture, but I'm saving it for our Christmas cards this year. And the best part is we weren't waiting in line for an hour. I'm betting there will be a guaranteed line after Turkey Day.

Watch for more updates and pictures after Thanksgiving!

We're Regular People

2009-11-05T16:32:00.003-05:00

For the first time ever, Matt and I were 'normal' voters: people who don't live and breathe politics, and who are even a little inconvenienced by the task of voting. Don't get me wrong, we wanted to do our civic duty, but there's work, kids, school, etc. getting in the way!

Also for the first time, we voted in our new 'home' state, Virginia, and helped the GOP here sweep the Governor, LT Governor and Attorney General seats. Republicans also faired well in the New Jersey gubernatorial race.

Here's Matt and I in our "I Voted in Arlington" stickers!

Oh Blogger, I Miss You...

2009-10-23T16:35:00.003-04:00

Well I've been a terrible blogger lately. I have about a million pictures of the kids I need to upload, there's a post in my drafts about Karol's potty training that is just waiting for a pic to be published, and only about 18,382,945 things have happened since I last updated all (2) of my loyal readers.

I finished my Ethics in PR class, and Monday I start an Applied Research class.
Matt is also starting second module, which is going to be an even heavier class load than first module.
Karol is potty training - dedicated post forthcoming.
Patrick is starting to sleep through the night in his own bed (as opposed to ending up in our bed sometime around 3am)
I've become addicted to the rush of good TV that's being made, including The Middle, Modern Family, and Glee, and still hooked on old faves like Biggest Loser. Supernanny returns tonight, and I'm waiting for The Bachelor to start up again. I just found out Jake Pavelka will be the next Bachelor, and that is the main reason I'm going to watch again! Sadly, TV is my secret luxury - but not when the kids are up! Thank God for DVR.

I promise I'll get that potty post up soon! But that's all for now.

All Aboard The Potty Train!

2009-10-14T09:48:00.009-04:00

After months and months of mental preparing Karol for the move from diapers to potty, it's finally time. Elmo's Potty Time and the Baby Signs Potty Training videos, along with observation and demonstration from Mommy, have laid the foundation of knowledge and interest...so now it's on.

We (okay, Mommy) decided to do the 3 days or less potty training method. Since this past weekend was a holiday (Columbus day off) we locked the family in the house and started first thing Saturday morning.

If was rough at first, mainly because Matt and I weren't giving it 100%. But it only took a few of times catching Karol before she went and getting some peepee into the potty for her to realize that going peepee in the potty is AWESOME.

We are also using a sticker chart as motivation, which is really what got the ball rolling. That girl loves stickers, and loves putting them on the chart!

It's now Wednesday, and besides at night and during her naps, Karol has been completely diaper free for five days! Monday we went for a nice long stroll in the morning, and yesterday we made a trek all the way to the library and home - with no accidents!

What we've learned about potty training:

1. A positive attitude (for Mommy and Daddy, that is) is critical

2. Accidents really are okay

3. Ornate stickers and a fun jump 'n' jive celebration dance after going potty seal the deal on the potty being fun

4. It's harder on the potty trainer than it is on the potty trainee.

Bob McDonnell for VA Governor

2009-09-21T12:51:00.003-04:00

It's been hard letting go of Indiana politics since moving out to the DC area, but now that we are in Virginia, Matt and I have a gubernatorial candidate we can really get excited about. I certainly miss my Congressman Mike Pence's selfless service and wholesome values, but McDonnell has reminded me that not all politicians are back stabbing poo-heads.

The McDonnell camp is also running an outstanding campaign and I hope to be able to at least knock on a couple of doors come the 72 hour campaign. Not easy with a busy schedule and two babies in tow. In the meantime, I'll do what I can to spread the message.

Check out the McDonnell campaign's blog here. I'm also adding it to my blog roll so we can check back every once in a while.

Chocolate and Whine - One Mother's Tale: Fun trip with kids? It IS possible...

2009-09-21T11:00:00.000-04:00

Chocolate and Whine - One Mother's Tale: Fun trip with kids? It IS possible...

Emily talks about some great ways to travel with kids. I plan on using them ALL when we do Christmas in Indiana/Kentucky this year.

Chris Cooley Is My Tight End

2009-09-21T09:54:00.005-04:00

In fantasy football, at least. And with Mr. Cooley bringing me like 15 points last week, I won handily. This week I'm facing Team Tanselle and that looks to be another win! I think I might be pulling into the lead for the first time EVER.

My strategy? Top secret. But on to more important things. Chris Cooley, as it turns out, has a blog here on blogger that is way more interesting than football (to me). I highly recommend it, and will be following it myself, at least through football season and probably beyond that as well.

In other news, I had the opportunity to watch CC do Washington Post Live during Advertising Week DC. If you can find the video clip (I can't), you can totally spot the back of my head on the bottom of the shot.

I do have a bone to pick with CC though. No, I'm not going to critique his football skills or tell him he should be doing drills 24/7 like some of the 'fans' that comment on his blog. This is about his upstart clothing line. I know I'm stating the painfully obvious to everyone else reading this (all two of you), but HELLO? Where is the CC47 baby gear? How about maternity wear? And I don't even have to mention that the shirt I want is kinda pricey.

Sure, there's the traditional kids' size Redskins jersey you can buy at Target or online, but what about authentic Chris Cooley gear? Come on, Cooley! Get with the program! What if I were 8 months pregnant like I was last season??? What am I supposed to wear??? An over-sized football jersey will make me look like a giant tent!

So there's my tip of the day for number 47.

Oh yeah, and the Redskins won yesterday, so - Yay!

Update

2009-09-17T10:59:00.003-04:00

It's been too long since I've written anything, so I figured I'd give my thousands of readers (ha, ha) an update on the Arlington Plomins.

Matt's back in school full swing taking primarily night classes. He's also the program's Economics tutor now, so he spends some time during the day helping other students out with test prep and that sort of thing. He's probably going to get an internship as well, hopefully only working 20 or so hours a week. It's SO nice to have Matt back at home, but the night classes are rough for all of us.

Karol is talking up a storm, and is in the emotional crazy phase known as the 'terrible twos.' They are more 'terrific' than 'terrible' though so far. She is big into "loves" "hugs" and "kisses." Matt and I are both eating it up when she says "I want to hold you!" Typically what she means is 'I want to get out of my high chair,' but it's still so sweet. She always gets lots of 'loves' then. She's also taken to giving Patrick "loves," but he's none too thrilled about it. He tolerates it at best, and starts crying at worst. We generally try to redirect the 'loves' to Mommy or Daddy.

Patrick is cruisin' like he's in the Applewood parking lot (if you were from Anderson, you'd get that). And he's very good at it. He will be walking any day now, surely. He's also firmly reluctant to say 'Mama.' He's not big on talking yet, and no matter how hard I try, he just grins at me when I say "Mama! Say, Mama!" It's becoming his favorite game.

On the eating front - he is almost ready to go pro! He had a few Cheerios this morning, and last night he sucked down a good bit of pureed carrots. He's already demanding to do it himself, but he's actually not that bad with a spoon. He gets it to his mouth really well.

As for me, I'm mid-way through my second to last class before my final capstone project for my Masters. This week I attended Advertising Week DC, and it was really informative. I'm back at work now and trying to catch up on work, housecleaning, homework and parenting (sigh). I have been feeling kind of terrible lately because I have not read to Patrick nearly as much as I do with Karol. Patrick gets short-changed in almost every other aspect, too. I'd like to say it's because I don't have the time, but that's not true. The opportunity is there, I just haven't been putting forth the effort to do it (with Patrick, it's an effort - he's more concerned with eating the books right now). And since Patrick and Karol are so different, the books we read to Karol really don't 'work' on Pat.

Okay, enough complaining! So there's your update. Hopefully I'll have some new pics or videos next time.

Karol's getting excited!

2009-09-01T08:33:00.005-04:00

Karol's birthday is coming up on the 3rd! Since she was born on Labor Day, we celebrate Karol's birthday on the Monday after (like Lincoln). But Lori puts together a birthday bash with her friends on the real day. So, yesterday, Lori put together the guest list for Karol's big birthday bash on Thursday:

Miss Lori

Mr. Israel

Sarah

Patrick

Coco

Slayter

Billy Holiday

And she also taught Karol all about CAKE! Quick video:

Matt Plomin's Awesome Chicken Soup

2009-08-27T11:32:00.003-04:00

So I got my wisdom teeth out yesterday and was whining that I was STARVING today since I hadn't eaten anything - at all - so Matt made me chicken soup out of stuff in the cupboards and fridge and it is bar none the best chicken soup I've ever tasted! He didn't write it down (he did it on the fly) so I'm going to try and capture it from his description of how he made it:

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts
Bisquick
Olive oil
Minced garlic
4 c water (approx)
Dried parsley
Thyme
Oregano
Onion powder
Pinot grigio vinegar
Frozen peas & carrots mix
Salt
Pepper

Directions:
Slice 2 chicken breasts into small cubes.
Lightly flour with bisquick, salt and pepper.
Brown in olive oil in 2 quart pot.
Add garlic and brown garlic.
Add water.
Add 1.5 TBS dried parsley, ts thyme, 1/2 ts oregano, 3/4 ts onion powder, salt & pepper to taste, and a dash of pinot grigio vinegar.
Add 1/2-3/4 c. frozen peas & carrots
Let simmer until wife's complaining is intolerable. Serve room temp (for people who just got their teeth pulled).

A Shout Out to Costco

2009-08-24T11:51:00.002-04:00

After reading about (and commiserating with) BusyMom's exasperated comments on the worthlessness of typical coupon clipping, I felt the need to say that Costco, where we shop for pretty much everything, is an exception to the coupon rule. They send out coupon books once a month or so that are awesome because:

They are full of items we actually want and need, for everyday use or even gifts.
They are worth something, usually $2-$10 dollars, rather than your typical 25 cents off 5 boxes of cereal X.
Costco is already usually the cheapest way to buy food; coupons make it even cheaper.

I usually don't make a big deal about the Costco coupon book, but this month it's loaded with stuff we needed - Oxy Clean detergent, two of our favorite cereals, a gift we've been meaning to get for someone ($10 off!), replacement toothbrush heads, and more.

I've already busted into the Oxy Clean to do laundry and the Cinnamon Toast Crunch - yum! We're going to stock up later in the month after Matt's school starts.

Aunt Abby's Wedding!!!

2009-08-12T12:36:00.016-04:00

Karol and her godmother/aunt, Abby, are kindred spirits. From their mutual love for shoes to their squeaky monkey impersonations to their matching smiles, they are truly two peas in a pod! When I hinted to Karol that we were going home this weekend, her whole face lit up in anticipation when I mentioned seeing 'Aunt Abby.'

Since Toni had been hanging out with us in DC, she flew home with us, which meant we also got to see GeeGee for a few minutes. They helped us get all our gear and load up into Grandpa Plomin's car for the ride home to Lafayette. I have a feeling fetching us at the airport was the easier job, because all the ladies were putting together flower arrangements at Penny's house - a task that involved hundreds of hydrangeas, 49 vases, and spray paint!

Patrick was super excited to see he had his very own jumperoo waiting for him at Mimu and Grandpa's house. Unfortunately it was still in the box, but Abby and I had a fun time trying to put it together (mostly without the directions)! By Friday morning it was ready to go, though.

After the rehearsal we all went to one of Colin and Abby's favorite places, Nine Irish Brother's, for dinner and fun. My arms got a bit of a break (yay!) while Karol and Patrick socialized with bridesmaids (Patrick is a lady-killer) and close friends and family. Karol was the first to spot Matt and everyone was so excited to see him! He got in earlier than we had expected!

Having Matt there was a huge relief for me. Karol had had a rough time sleeping Thursday night, but in her Daddy's comfy arms she was out all night Friday.

Saturday was the BIG DAY. Matt and Pat greeted the guests as they came in - check out Patrick's awesome 'do for the big event - and Karol and I waited nervously with Aunt Abby and the bridesmaids in a dark entrance at St. Tom's Church. Since the wedding was smack in the middle of nap time, lunch and naps were helter-skelter, but luckily there were grapes for Abby where we were waiting and Karol snacked on those.

The grapes turned out to be a pivotal part of Karol's successful trip down the aisle. I walked Karol to her starting point, handed her a grape, pointed to Mimu (mother of the bride) and said "Mimu has more grapes. Go!" and gave her a shove. It must have worked, because she made it all the way to Mimu by herself. Not many flowers got distributed though, ha! You win some, you lose some, I guess.

The kids did great at the reception dinner, and Karol chowed down on mac & cheese and chicken fingers!

Here's Karol knockin' one back for Abby and Colin. Don't worry, it's just sparkling grape juice! Don't you love the cake icing all around her mouth? Yummy cake, Penny!

By the time the band started, the kids were really ready for bed, so Matt and I took them back to the hotel where GeeGee, Nana, and Aunt Toni helped them get to sleep. Matt and I finally made it back a little after 10pm and the place was still rockin', but we had to call it a night about an hour and a half later. We're getting too old for this party all night stuff! All in all, the Plomin-Fogarty nuptial was a great event - I can't wait to get my hands on the professional pictures! I think there's going to be a video, too! Until then, though, here's some exclusive first-on-the-web footage from the reception:

Here Colin and Abby are chatting with Fr. Patrick who co-officiated the wedding ceremony with Colin's pastor, Rev. Jeff Cover.

Colin and Abby have escaped to somewhere in Michigan, and are hopefully relaxing and have lots of nothing planned! They have lots of unwrapping gifts and finding storage for wedding keepsakes to do when they return, so they'd better rest up!

Now for the video that probably tops all videos, Karol's flower girl debut!

Did you attend the Plomin-Fogarty wedding? What was your favorite part???

New Babies

2009-08-12T12:20:00.003-04:00

As we plan and pack for our trip back to Indiana for Aunt Abby's Wedding, we are also excited about visiting Karol and Patrick's newest cousin, Weston! I don't know if we'll actually get the chance since we'll be super-busy with the wedding celebration and the general business of being cute, but I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that Weston Noah Smith was born on his Uncle Matt's birthday, August 11th, at 4:23pm. He weighs in at 5 lbs 7 oz and is 19 in long.

Now that I think about it, I don't know if I've mentioned my first ever niece, Miss Maureen! Mo is about 1.5 months now (which is really hard to believe!) and we got a chance to meet her in person when we went back to Indiana for the fourth of July. Karol and Pat are STOKED to have some playmates.

Christmas is going to be awesome this year! Bring on the babies!

The Home Stretch

2009-08-03T16:45:00.008-04:00

We're officially in the final stretch of this summer's New York internship for Matt. Thank goodness! We've actually learned to cope quite well, but ALL of us miss him SO MUCH.

This weekend Karol showered Matt with kisses and hugs saying "I love you too Daddy!" and "Big kiss!" and "Big hug!" It was a tear-jerkingly adorable game to play. When Matt and I had to walk out the door to take him to the bus pick-up, Matt said "Bye-bye, Karol, Daddy's going back to New York," Karol backed away and tossed herself on the couch. "I think she knows what that means." Matt said. I think she does too. The good news is, that's the last time he'll have to say it. Next weekend we are visiting him in the Big Apple - family road trip! And the weekend after that we are meeting up in Indiana for Aunt Abby's big day!

Patrick is funny and always the upbeat, optimistic, happy-go-lucky baby boy. About a month ago, Patrick started saying dada (well it sounds like 'dar dar dar dar,' really) when Matt was home one weekend. He pretty much stopped saying it until Friday. On Fridays I start to make a big deal that "Daddy's coming home!" So when the phone rang and it was Matt, Pat started saying his 'dar dar dar dar!' He was ecstatic to get his fill of active play over the weekend; plenty of upside down, topsy turvy, nerve-racking for Mommy stuff. If you don't believe me, take a look at this video:

Sunday nights are the worst for me. Even though he's only here for two nights (one and a half, really) I get used to having Matt to talk to and fall asleep listening to ELR with. After Matt leaves and the children go to bed on Sunday, there's an erie quiet in the apartment. I find myself turning on televisions and doing chores to drown it out.

Cash for Clunkers

2009-08-03T15:53:00.005-04:00

I have no idea what this is (besides a rip-off of the American taxpayer...again), but my husband is terribly disappointed that our car doesn't qualify. Not that the program has any money left anyway. He wants to get some 'free' money to put towards a Cadillac CTS, but that certainly isn't coming before our (increasingly necessary) Toyota Sienna! <---Not my dream car (which is a Toyota Tundra, if you really wanna know) but supposedly the best family vehicle on the market.

As for Cash for Clunkers, sorry Matty. If the president has his way, we'll never be able to afford another car!

Funny People

2009-08-03T15:44:00.003-04:00

MATT AND I SAW A MOVIE LAST SATURDAY!!! Believe it or not, this is a momentous occasion. I honestly can't remember the last time I went to a movie with my husband. And we were really pleased with Adam Sandler's new flick "Funny People." It's a semi-serious movie that revolves around the lives of comedians. "Funny People" has a great cast and includes some stellar cameo appearances - one of which was none other than our absolute fave former sit-com star, Ray Romano!

We weren't sure what to expect at first, because the Wall Street Journal gave the movie a lame review, but I thought it was a thought-provoking inside look at the famous LA life.

As we were leaving the theatre, I overheard the people behind me criticizing Sandler's choice to make a "bad" (a.k.a. not stupid-funny) movie. Then I turned around to look at them. They were fifteen, at best. So, not shocked with their review.

Anyway, the movie could have been an entire waste of time, and that would have been okay too. I was just glad to be alone with my Matty :)

Aunt Toni Arrives!

2009-07-31T10:54:00.004-04:00

My sister flew into BWI yesterday evening to provide me a little bit of relief. After a trip to CostCo and some pizza and Very Berry Sundae, Karol and Patrick were very ready for bed. But Patrick couldn't sleep before a little cuddling with his godmother, of course! Here's a pic she took on her phone. Doesn't Pat look thrilled to be staying up late with Aunt Toni?

As for me, I was up late working on a paper and watching The Great Debater (Denzel Washington) with Toni. Not a bad movie, but still one of those didactic racial-issue movies I would definitely expect to see from an Oprah/Denzel collaboration.

It made me wonder at the end of the movie: was the Harvard-Wiley debate staged for political purposes? I know none of the history, and have no desire to research it, but I would not be surprised at all if it was a politically constructed event the way that Rosa Parks' bus move was.

Flower Girl Sneak Peek!

2009-07-28T19:32:00.004-04:00

Karol is in bed a little early tonight and Patrick's looking at me like he thinks he's Casanova. Anyway...

Here are a few shots of Karol's potential do's for Aunty Abby's wedding (in two weeks!). These five-minute up-do's are very unpolished and uncurled.

Check out the pretty headband I found to complement Karol's gorgeous flower girl dress:

With some curling iron action, this could be totally adorable!

This look says "Bride? What bride? Obviously it's all about me." Ha!

Confessions

2009-07-27T16:12:00.005-04:00

I'm starting to feel the squeeze.

Up until now, I've (kept up appearances that I've) been able to work full-time, go to class online, rear two children under two, keep a clean house - and my sanity. And up until the past couple of weeks that's been mostly true. In just a few days, though, I've had several new projects pop up at work, to the point that they keep interrupting each other and therefore nothing gets done. I've got a book report due at the end of the week and am praying a Cliff's Notes will get published before then. The laundry is piling up and (according to Matt) the kitchen floor is sticky (although I haven't noticed, so does it really matter?). Patrick needs to be sleep trained badly. He's getting more ornery every night. I'm sure I'm malnourishing Karol in some way, because if it requires more cooking than the microwave I pretty much don't have the energy or the time.

And on top of all that, I can't remember the last time I posted pictures, let alone printed any, which means Patrick's going to have a big gap in future family photo albums where he'll probably think I sent him away to baby boarding school.

Maybe I'm not maintaining my to-do lists and that's why I can't think straight. Maybe if I could stop thinking about work at home and home at work I'd accomplish something. Maybe I need to start working out again. Maybe I need a real vacation. Maybe I need a Mother's Helper. Maybe I need uppers!

Luckily, my sister is coming to my rescue in just a few days. My hope is that she'll bring some Mary Poppins magic with her and my apartment will be clean and my children will behave perfectly at the snap of her fingers. But mostly, it will just be nice to have a companion for a change.

First Library Trip

2009-07-23T16:01:00.004-04:00

Monday evening Karol, Patrick and I had a fantastic time shopping at Costco. We renewed our annual membership, took back some tea Matt decided he didn't want, restocked all our reserves, and had pizza for dinner!

On Tuesday, I was feeling pretty sick, so we stayed in. Yesterday I really wanted to take the kids out because I think it helps pass the time for them. It's better than being cooped up in the house. I wanted to take them to Chuck E. Cheese on Lori's suggestion (I thought maybe Karol was still too young for it, but apparently Sarah thinks it's awesome) but the closest one in the GPS was seven miles away, and it was rush hour. I'd been meaning to check out the library, and it was less than 2 miles away, so I decided this was our opportunity.

We headed to the Arlington County Central Library. It was an exciting adventure full of Dr. Seuss, Clifford the Big Red Dog, Curious George, and a variety of characters I've never heard of. We got four books, all due back on August 12th. I know that's not really pertinent, but if I write it enough maybe I'll actually get them back by then. Karol picked them out and ironically two of them are more on Patrick's level than hers (I'm sure she was thinking of him when she picked them). One book, Wiggle & Move, is a lyrical rhyme that tells us to wiggle and tickle the baby! Karol and I enjoy that very much, as you might imagine. I think Patrick gets a kick out of being the center of attention (for a moment) too.

When I was little and I visited the children's room of the Anderson Public Library, there was an older lady there who always seemed ticked off about being there. She was witchy looking, which didn't help her reputation any. I guess maybe there's a librarian like that at every library because there was one here too. I don't understand why these women work in the children's room! They are curt, at best, and never seem happy to be there, or to be around children. If I was able to have a cheery disposition serving fries at Wendy's for 3 years, they should darn well be able to be sweet to my kids!

So there's my little rant.

I wish I could have taken pictures of the occasion, but Matt has the only SD card for the camera. We have more, I just don't know where. So unfortunately the images of the children's first trip will forever be in my mind alone. So far, Karol's favorite thing to do at the library is to climb up on the footstool that's just over half her size and just sit there. She thinks its awesome. But they wouldn't let me check that out on my new library card.

Karol's Development Right on Target...

2009-07-10T15:47:00.006-04:00

I just finished reading through a Baby Center update on where Karol should be right now. Developmentally, that is.

"As your toddler becomes more self-aware, he'll likely want to do more things for himself. Setting limits is important, of course, but you can let your toddler take the lead sometimes, like choosing which clothes to wear (even if it means he leaves the house in mismatched colors), wetting the toothbrush, or turning the bathroom light on or off. By encouraging his independence now, you'll help your toddler grow into a confident preschooler down the road."

For Karol, she's definitely picking a lot of her own outfits (which is fine except when she wants to wear a winter sweater in July), feeding herself with a fork and spoon, and did I mention she can work the DVD player all by herself? I swear I'm not a TV-is-the-babysitter parent, but Karol's trying to convince me to be.

"Now that your toddler can communicate using both words and gestures, you can expect him to become quite bossy. Mostly he's experimenting with how his ability to communicate affects the people around him. Some children go through a standoffish phase around this age. They have many feelings but they can't always express them with words."

Karol's taken to pushing away peers. She must need her personal space. She does this to Sarah during the day and I've even seen her do it to children on the playground. I'm a little worried that she's exhibiting (her mother's) anti-social behavior, but I guess maybe it's too early to tell. If her kindergarten teacher wants to hold her back for being anti-social, I guess we'll know. On the flip side...

"Your toddler may delight you and a few other special people in his life by showering you with affection. He will freely hug and kiss you, and (usually) come to you when called. He doesn't totally understand what it means to cooperate, but he recognizes that it makes you happy when he does. He may even be willing to help with some chores, such as putting away books and toys when you suggest it."

Karol has started showing affection to Patrick, especially, and to Daddy and Mommy as well. She's wonderful at saying "I luff you too!" Patrick loves to collect his 'sissy kissies' and he's a great hugger, so every once in a while I convince them to get together for a hug and smootch.

The Big Move

2009-07-10T15:37:00.001-04:00

Well, the Plomin Family Blog is now on blogspot. Tell me what you think. It's not too late to move it back!

Back Home Again in Indiana

2009-07-10T14:41:00.006-04:00

Well our trip back to Indiana was fun but far to short. We had a blast visiting my side of the family, meeting some of the newest Hoosiers, and celebrating the fourth of july! I tell ya, it's hard to capture the spirit of Independence Day when you live in the nation's capitol. It's really the least American place in the country. I especially want to thank Will, Toni and Sophie who were great entertainers for Karol and Patrick! They made it a lot easier to handle the two of them while Matt was gone.

Here's a fun part of our trip - for Matt. Not so much for Karol, who was wailing the entire ride!

Mac 'N' Cheese

2009-07-09T16:55:00.001-04:00

When I asked Karol what she wanted to eat for breakfast this morning, this was her distinct reply, "Mac 'n' Cheese and a hot dog." She said this as clear as day, despite that she'd just woken up, and had a pacifier still teetering between her teeth. I talked her into eggs and Cheerios. "Mac 'n' Cheese" has become her autopilot response to the 'what to eat' question!

Second Week Down

2009-07-09T16:54:00.001-04:00

Eight weeks left with the NYC - DC commute for Matt. I just sent him packing back to the Big Apple for another week a couple of hours ago. We were lucky enough to have him home again this weekend.

Ironically, I haven't posted much about what happens during the week, and that's because, well, nothing much happens. Sure, Karol's vocab is out of this world, and Patrick is chatting so much now he could have his own radio show, but for the most part we three just sit around here waiting for Matt to come back. On occasion I'll try to take the kids on some sort of outing - anything to get out of the apartment - but it generally just ends in tears (theirs or mine; it's a toss-up) and a ruined bedtime routine. The best days are the ones where we get home from work/play, eat dinner, have some free play and then read stories until bed. Occasionally I'll have the energy to stay up and do some housecleaning, but generally I go to sleep when they do.

The weekends are the exciting time for us. Not only because that's when Daddy's home (although that's at least 70% of it) but because we can plan activities in reasonable blocks of time. This weekend we had a great Saturday: pancakes for breakfast, then out for a walk to the market and a picnic with lots of other kids and parents in the afternoon!

Sunday we actually made it to Mass ON TIME. We sat in what's called "The Upper Room." It's kind of like the cry room because it's sealed off and the Mass is piped in on speakers, but it's on the 2nd floor and is basically just overflow space. It overlooks the entire congregation and the alter, like having a balcony seat to the Mass. Karol behaved marvelously today, and really enjoyed watching the Mass from above. Patrick slept for most of it, so I got to cuddle and squeeze him the whole time. I actually got to hear the whole homily! The rest of the day we spent pretty much in the apartment chilling out.

Here I am trying to catch a pic of Patty's new tooth. It's barely a nub on the bottom front right.
In other news, Patrick is officially cutting teeth, and not thrilled about it. I can tell it's pretty uncomfortable and I just feel terrible for him. He was struggling with it all day, and (stupid mommy) it wasn't until tonight that I thought to give him any Tylenol to relieve it! Finally though, after lots of feeding, a pacifier, getting wrapped tight, and turning on the ocean sound machine, he's out.

Karol had the honor of licking the beater! Well, Mommy helped...

Karol and I had a wonderful time today baking up cupcakes for Matt to take to his office in NYC (don't ask...or ask Matt, not me!) Karol certainly likes to be a part of the action, and with my mediocre cooking skills, there's very little chance she'll make it any worse! Actually we whipped up some awesome Irish coffee cake turned into cupcakes. There was a fair amount of batter left over that pretty much became my dinner. I feel pretty icky, so I'm regretting that now, however. And yes, I had to thoroughly mop the floor tonight.

Patrick the Charmer

2009-06-24T16:19:00.002-04:00

It's gotta be rough being number two. But my little guy is a trooper. Take bedtime for example. Bedtime with Karol has been a struggle recently due to lack of consistency with Matt being away, then back, then away and back again. As you can imagine, a lot of my attention is taken up with the task of reading stories, saying prayers, fetching milk or juice, and then usually rocking Karol for a while to get her calmed down.

Patrick, meanwhile, is usually in his exersaucer or jungle gym, analyzing the toys in front of him and waiting several long minutes for a new diaper and dinner. And yet, when I finally get to pay attention to him, no matter how long it's been or how much he really wants to eat, I'm always greeted with the biggest 'I love you' smile. Last night was a perfect example:

One Week Down

2009-06-23T16:58:00.001-04:00

Nine to go. Last week was our first week with Matt away at New York. As you can imagine, it was a little bit more of a struggle, but things went pretty well, for the most part. Karol was noticeably missing him, though. What's worse is that she really can't express her feelings yet, so it all just builds into an emotional breakdown for her.

But we got a pleasant surprise - Matt was able to come home for the Father's Day weekend! We were originally going to go up and visit him in NYC, but the car has been having problems, and it was tons easier (and cheaper) for Matt just to take the bus down. We're hoping to be able to do this most weekends.

I can't put into words the difference having Matt home made for Karol. All I can say is that it was evident in her whole demeanor that she's just not at ease without Daddy around, and she's so contented and comfortable when he is.

Karol and Matt on the metro. Yes, she's totally a DC native.
We spent most of the weekend out and about, so next weekend I'm aiming to stay in most of the time and maybe utilize the lovely amenities at our apartment, like the pool. That is, if Matt's there. I'm certainly not going to attempt to take the kids to the pool alone!

This morning was...rough. Karol had a terrible time and was stalling leaving the house. She wanted to cuddle and read, but not until it was time to leave, of course. Once she got settled in at Lori's, she was fine, but I hate seeing her so upset. She was just terribly upset and I hate that I can't fix it. Maybe tomorrow morning I'll wake her up early and try to get some extra mommy-time in and see if that helps.

So the week got off to a rocky start, to say the least. Stay posted to find out how the rest of it goes!

Big Girl

2009-06-23T16:57:00.000-04:00

Big Girl. This is a term Matt and I have been using a lot recently, especially as we pull out her old baby toys or buy new ones for Patrick. "You don't fit in your exer-saucer anymore, sweetie, it's for Patrick. You're a Big Girl now! You have Big Girl toys."

I'm kind of hesitant to use the term 'Big Girl,' because I'm really not ready to accept it myself. I honestly can NOT believe how much Karol has grown; that she's mastered even the big curly slide at the playground; that she can take a bath using the entire tub; that she can put on her own shoes; how much she can say and understand; how she can express what's really on her mind.

I'm definitely digging my heels into the ground with Patrick. He's developing so differently from Karol, it's really fun to watch him grow. We thought that since we had one baby already we knew pretty much how it was going to go, but Patrick has really changed it up, and I'm glad he did. He is very much his own little person. But, he's physically developing very fast. I think he will crawl much sooner than Karol. And since he's been 'big' since he was born, it's going to be harder to keep him my little baby forever.

Matt and I are trying to drink in as much of the youth as possible, and this weekend was no exception. We had a great time going to the farmer's market, the playground, Joe & Judy's, Church, and strolling around Clarendon for most of Sunday. We didn't waste any of the beautiful weather. In fact, we're probably going to spend some time this afternoon on the roof of our building where there's a pool and an amazing view of DC.

Patrick's Catholic!

2009-06-23T16:56:00.000-04:00

Yay! I'm always so happy when the baptism is done. My excitement over the awesomeness of the upcoming dedication is always overshadowed by the anxiety I feel that for some reason they will tell me 'I'm sorry, we're not doing baptisms today, you flew out here for no reason.' You see, I went in March to fill out the paperwork to have Patrick baptized, and asked if they would for sure be having the baptism on Memorial Day weekend. I pretty much just got a blank stare in response. The same thing happened with Karol, who was baptized the Sunday after Thanksgiving.

Anyway, Patrick did indeed get baptized. Yay!

We also got to spend a nice long weekend with the Plomin side of the family. We are working on getting Karol to say "Grandma," but R's are really hard for her. My Mom, who was originally going to be 'Granny' has ended up 'Gee Gee.' And the best we've gotten so far for Matt's mom is 'Mimu!' That came from a conversation that went kind of like this:

Jill: "Karol, who's that?" (pointing to Carol Plomin)

Karol: Blank stare.

Jill: "Karol, can you say 'Grandma?'"

Karol: Blank stare.

Jill: "How about 'Mamaw?' Can you say 'Mamaw?"

Karol: "....Mi...mu!"

I think what will end up happening is that Karol's Great-Grandma Ammerman will end up being "Grandma." Since Matt, Abby and I all call her that, whenever I say something like "Oh, go show Grandma!" Karol runs after who we call Grandma!

Despite the remodel changing things up a bit, Karol still feels right at home at Grandma & Grandpa Plomin's. And there's so much room to run around! Patrick got a lot of much needed face time with both Grandma and Grandpa and I anticipate he'll be crawling through the house after Karol by the time we come back in August.

Speaking of which, we are getting SO excited for Aunt Abby and Uncle Colin's wedding in August! Karol will be serving as flower girl. Poor Aunt Abby didn't get a moment's rest this weekend, because she's Karol's favorite playmate! We were so, so thrilled that she could be with us, though, and had bunches of fun treasure hunting at Abby & Colin's pirate-theme Gourmet Club bridal shower!

Gosh, we did a lot this weekend! Now it's time to get busy with the work of preparing for Matt to leave for NYC. I'm working on a very, very long honey-do list, as we're still not really fully set up at the new apartment, and Matt's absorbing as much quality time with the kids as possible. I'm kind of dreading him being gone. 10% because I will miss him sharing the parenting work, and 90% just because we will miss him so much. Hopefully we'll get to see each other often. I guess we'll see! Please keep us in your prayers for the next 12 weeks or so as we push through the summer apart.

Army ATX

2009-06-23T16:54:00.002-04:00

I haven't posted in a while because I was at my Annual Training Exercise (ATX) for the Army Reserves. Since Matt is in Turkey, I asked my mom to fly out and watch the babies for me. It was a great opportunity for her to get to spend time with them, especially Patrick, who she hasn't really had a chance to bond with until now.

Typically, ATXes are not as strenuous as this one was. And really, it was for no reason. Just poor planning, I guess. I'll spare you the details, but in retrospect, it was a really dumb idea for me to try to attend at all. I could have told them months ago that it just wasn't logistically feasible and I'd make it up at Ft. Meade, but I wanted to be Army Strong, I wanted to fulfill my duty, blah, blah, blah. It was just stupid to put myself (and my kids) through all that. Hindsight is 20/20 though.

Mother's Day Angels

2009-06-23T16:54:00.001-04:00

Karol and Patrick were perfect angels for me for most of the Mass at what will probably be our new Church, St. Charles Borromeo in Arlington. I really liked the atmosphere, as there were plenty of families with children Karol's age. I got there a little late and the place was standing room only - 9am is a popular Mass time apparently.

I saw there was a cry room so I made a beeline for it. I'm usually anti-cry room, but with no Matt and an unpredictable toddler, I thought I'd rather be safe than sorry. The cry room is at the back of the Church with huge windows. You can see straight in and straight out. To my surprise, the children in there were actually very well behaved. There were some sitting on laps and others quietly playing with toys.

Then I realized why they were so behaved -- the windows. Just because the people outside can't hear your children, they can still see them, so parents still had to be accountable. Matt and I hated the cry room at St. Michael's because if there were other kids in there the parents just let them loose and ignored them. Not cool.

After Mass I wanted to do something extra special with my kids, since it was Mother's Day and all. So we went to Georgetown. At first I almost turned around and went home because of course there was zero parking available, but then I remembered a tucked away spot a couple blocks toward the river I'd found out about while making a video for work. Yay, free parking and there's one spot open!

So I wrestled the monster double stroller out of the trunk and the three of us went on a walk on the boardwalk along the Potomac. It was beautiful! Here are an example to show you what I mean.

We walked all the way up to the Washington Harbor, halfway back, and then over to Georgetown. I thought I would want to "shop," but there was no way I was going to maneuver that massive stroller in and out of those tiny doorways, especially since I was only half-hearted about buying anything anyway. I spotted a Ben & Jerry's and thought that would be a treat for all of us! So Karol and I got some ice cream and went back to the Potomac to eat it.

After that we walked down the River again and back to the car. This time, Karol walked. And boy did she throw a royal fit when she realized we weren't staying - but before that, I got this super sweet picture of her watching the water.

Patrick was like this the entire trip:

So we headed home, had lunch, and a half hour nap - that's right, too many catnaps in the car and stroller, none of which is really quality sleep - and read a few books. Then we went for a walk around our neighborhood - Karol on foot and Patrick on the Bjorn. Karol was getting tired and whiny until she saw the playground. All of a sudden it went from whine, whine, to "SLIDES!!" And she took off running! Well, Karol running is just a brisk walk for me, but you get the idea.

So we spent a full hour at the playground. Karol did a lot of new stuff. I'm really amazed at how much she's capable of, physically and mentally. She was climbing stairs, climbing up the slides without help. She even went down the big curly slide all by herself! That took more bravery on my part. It's very hard for me to stand back and just let her play, but as I get more comfortable with the surroundings, and more confident in her abilities, I'm starting to let her run free a little bit.

Oh, I should note for Matt's sake - she saw a lovely pink and purple bike with training wheels that she now desperately wants. I told her that would be Daddy's department and she needed to talk to him. So there you go Matt.

After about an hour, Karol voluntarily (after I suggested watching Elmo and taking a bath - 2 of Karol's favorite activities) left the park. THAT'S how tired she was! By 6:30, she was asleep on the couch.

It didn't last long though, she still needed to eat dinner and go through the bedtime rituals. She really went to sleep around 8:30. Patrick was out around 8, but I kept holding him because he's just so cuddly and sweet. After writing an email to Matt, I had to call it a night by 10.

I know it sounds stressful taking care of two babies under two years old all by myself - and it is - but I just loved spending the whole weekend with them. I can't imagine a better Mother's Day.

We are getting into a rhythm as 'the three of us' for now. I will be so happy when Matt comes home though. I don't even want to think about how hard it will be - emotionally, that is - while he's away. This weekend aside, the days kind of drag without him here. And though Karol hasn't shown any signs of distress, she had a little trouble sleeping last night, and I just wonder if that's because of the adjustment.

Ah, well, on that note, I'll leave you with this:

Lonely

2009-06-23T16:53:00.001-04:00

Matt left Friday for Turkey. It's almost 10pm here now, which means it's like 5am there. Surprisingly we've already talked a couple of times, but we're trying not to do too much phone since it's super expensive.

The kids are doing really well. Karol hasn't really noticed yet that Matt hasn't been home, but at the mere mention of him her face lights up and she gives a breathy "Daddy!" It's so cute. We were hoping to be able to skype, but I guess Matt's internet connection is pretty bad at the hotel they are at. Maybe it's just as well. Whenever we skype with Daddy or Granny, Karol thinks that all she has to do is open the computer and they will just be there, whenever she wants. Then she's disappointed when they aren't.

We actually are doing pretty good so far. I haven't lost my mind yet, so that's great, as far as I can tell. We went to the Reston Zoo today, which was GREAT. I was totally prepared. I brought the Baby Bjorn, Karol's monkey leash, the double stroller (which I had to rearrange the entire car to do -- we need an SUV ASAP), the directions to the Zoo, an entire lunch, shoes and socks, in case Karol's sandals rubbed her feet raw...I brought everything we could possibly need, and then left the camera sitting on the kitchen table. I really wanted to kick myself for that. Arg! But the zoo was so awesome I would mind going back soon to recreate the experience and get a few pics to share with you all.

I would normally stay up pretty late on a Saturday night, but that's pretty depressing to do all by myself, so I think I'll head off to bed. I have one more assignment to do for this week (started a new class this week) and then it's lights out.

Self Medicating

2009-06-23T16:50:00.000-04:00

With chocolate, that is. I had two handfuls of peanut M&Ms and a Snicker's today - and a giant Coke (I asked for a medium but I didn't realize today's 'medium' is yesterday's 'large'). I've gone off the deep end!

Actually, I've just hit the wall of sleep deprivation. I haven't gotten much lately, since I haven't gone to bed before midnight most nights (my fault) and since Patty-poo wakes me up a couple of times a night. And last night, Karol had a night terror again, for a solid half hour, and I always stay up and feel awful that I can't do anything to help her the whole time. I'm having a hard time distinguishing 'night terror' from 'demon possession,' so I say a few prayers just in case. Invariably, she woke up this morning much more pleasant than usual!

So, all that left me feeling more than a little run-down today. I'm planning to go to bed with the kids tonight, I think. I'd really like to take advantage of the sun and go to the playground with them, but I don't know if I have that kind of energy right now.

Only four days til the weekend...

Ready or Not - Here Comes the Future

2009-05-05T10:30:00.000-04:00

We are 3 short days away from Matt's trip to Turkey, and just thinking about it makes me a little queasy! It's not just that he's going to be gone for 2 weeks, it's that on top of that, Karol, Patrick, Granny (thank God) and I are all going up to Pennsylvania in the middle of that 2 weeks. This is the one area where formula feeding really is easier - when I have to be gone. I have to take off time from work, be in the car for 3 hours with 2 babies (twice) and while my Mom and the kids are having a blast at Hershey Park, I'll be at Fort Indiantown Gap doing an SRP, weapons qualification, and all sorts of brush-ups on Warrior Training Tasks. Some fun, some tedious, all stressful.

I soon as Matt gets back, we are flying home to Indiana (yay!) for Patrick's baptism. He will practically step off the plan from Turkey and step right on the plane for Indiana. That Memorial Day weekend will be too brief a visit and then we're back in Arlington, I'm back to work, and Matt will have 3 short weeks before his internship in NYC starts. I don't even wanna think about what happens after that!

I'm not ready for teeth!

2009-05-05T09:48:00.001-04:00

So I just got an email - one of my weekly newsletters on my babies' development - about Patrick and his teeth. No, he doesn't have them yet, but he's a regular drool-monster and the email says they'll be coming any time. And then I realized, Patrick is rapidly moving out of the 'infant' zone, and he hasn't been a 'newborn' for weeks. It's all happening so fast! Before I know it my baby boy is going to be a toddler like his sis. How is this happening? Karol didn't grow up this fast! I guess since I have to split my attention 2 ways now, they both grow up twice as fast :( Or maybe it's just a sign we need another baby already...

It's Potty Time!

2009-05-01T15:51:00.002-04:00

So, apparently Karol decided Matt and I weren't potty training her fast enough, so she's begun potty training herself. A little while ago I wrote about the timing and method of potty training we were going to use, and we had pretty much resolved to only 'passively' train her for now. She's only 20 months, after all! So we got her a couple of DVDs - the Baby Signs potty training DVD - a format she's already familiar with - and Elmo's Potty Time. I figure if she's got to be in love with Elmo, he's going to be useful.

We've just got the TV up and running at the new apartment, and so before bed yesterday Karol got to watch the Elmo DVD again. Today on the way back from Lori's, Karol gestured to her diaper. I asked her if she wanted a new diaper, or if she wanted to go to the potty. She nodded at both suggestions. We got in a few minutes later, and Karol went straight to the bathroom, lifted the lid, and asked me to help her with the rest! So I got her shorts and diaper off and let her sit on her potty herself. I didn't really expect anything, but when she got up a couple minutes later, there was pee pee in the potty! Of course, I flipped out. We had to make a big deal about it, but Karol was surprisingly calm about the whole thing.

So, I don't think this is a miracle; we'll still have a lot of work to do, but I guess Karol's telling us we need to step it up on moving forward with the potty training.

Home-Schooling

2009-05-01T15:51:00.001-04:00

It seems from the 2,873,401 books I've read about parenting, creating great kids is 50% good parenting, 50% good schools, and 2% luck. I think we're okay on the parenting, but I still worry about schools (and I've got 3 years til Karol even starts!). That's where kids get bullied, learn about sex (the wrong way), and spend 7 hours a day with a teacher whose attention is split at least 20 ways.

When I was working on Tom Dermody's campaign in Northern Indiana (2006), I met the most amazing woman. She was a farmer's wife who home-schooled her two children. I know that description probably conjures up this image:

But this family was nothing like it.

A five minute conversation with her made it evident that this was an intelligent, grounded, and practical woman, and her children seemed to share those same qualities (Interesting note: attending the town-hall meeting we hosted was a part of their curriculum). I have no doubt that if she'd chosen a different path she could have been CEO of a major company by now, and I got the inkling that's the sort of success she hopes her children achieve.

Ever since meeting this lady and her great - not socially inept - kids, I've seriously considered home-schooling as an option for my family.

Having spent a few months as 'stay-at-home-mom' during maternity leave, however, I really don't know how I would do it. It seems like I'm actually able to accomplish more with my kids, spend more quality time with them, when I'm working. On top of that, I see the obvious benefits they are getting from their current care situation - the perfect amount/level of socialization, exposure to another parenting style, learning that caters to and stretches their abilities, and a 'home away from home' that they are completely comfortable in.

Matt and I have pretty much decided that a Catholic Montessori school is the right fit for our kids' formal education, if we are lucky enough to find one (if we re-locate to Chicago, for example, it shouldn't be hard). But if we can't, the idea of home-schooling always creeps up in the back of my mind.

Here's the thing: I don't doubt that I would do a decent job at it, but I would want to do an awesome job at it. If I'm with them 24/7 I know I won't be able to do that and I'll beat myself up over it.

The other thing is, how would I go about doing it? What would the structure be? What if I have kids at varied stages of learning? When do I quit working to focus on educating full-time? Do I quit completely, or work part-time? How will my kids make friends?

So, friends and family, what do you think? Any experience in this arena? Any new ideas I may not have thought of? Please comment if so!

The Family Bed

2009-05-01T15:49:00.002-04:00

So this morning Matt had to be in downtown DC by 8 am. We normally leave around then, so I told him to have fun taking the train! I was extra tired because we went to bed late last night - we're still boxing stuff up for tomorrow - and so when Patrick woke me up at 4:47 am, I was not really ready to move. I got him settled back to sleep and thought, I should just stay up and get some work done...What am I saying? I only went to bed 4 hours ago! So I curled back up with Matt, who, by the way, totally slept through Patrick's little episode.
At 5:42, Patty-poo stirred again. He's way into sleeping and gets so frustrated when his little hands wake him up! He refuses to even open his eyes, just struggles to go back to sleep. This time I again thought I should get up; after all, my alarm was going to start at 6, but instead I just brought Patrick to bed with me (he's been doing very well in his pack 'n' play recently though).

As Patrick and I snuggled up, I realized that Patrick wasn't trying to wake me up. He remembered Daddy had to leave early today! So I woke Matt up and said something like 'hey you should hop in the shower now, you have to leave early.' He didn't quite hop out of bed just then, though.

Lucky for him, Karol woke up just after 6 and Matt went to go check on her. She wasn't ready to wake up (thank God) and so he brought her to bed too! So the whole family of 4 was cozied up in bed together. As soon as she was out again, Matt got up the will to go get ready, but I didn't. I decided since I wasn't responsible for Matt getting in on time, we were going to sleep in! And we did. Matt did get out on time, I think, but not before snapping this photo:

The rest of us rolled out of bed around 7:45 and got out the door around 8:30 (not too terribly late, actually). Sure, I was a little late to work, but no one noticed/cared. The whole office is late and usually I'm actually there 1/2 hour before we're open for business. I figure being a punctuality rock star 80% of the time makes up for a day here and there of taking it slow.

But after TOMORROW we will have a whole extra hour in the morning since our commute is gone! We Matt is moving the vast majority of our stuff tomorrow in a U-Haul and then we'll officially be Virginians! We have the Silver Spring apartment until the end of the month, so we have plenty of time to clean and get the little things to the new place. I CAN'T WAIT!!!

Tummy Time

2009-05-01T15:49:00.001-04:00

Oh my, there's so much to report this week! Let me run down the list:

1. Patrick didn't poop for about 4 or 5 days over the weekend. Lori and I were beginning to get concerned, but I figured as long as it looked healthy when it did come out, it's probably okay. He still wasn't pooping, but he kept getting gassier and gassier and gassier! Tuesday night I said to Matt, 'Man this kid really stinks! He must have finally pooped.' But no. No poop! Finally, Wednesday morning he let it all go. Lovely mustard-colored poop was overflowing Patrick's diaper (and they hold a lot), onto his outfit, my shirt, his sheets, his sock...needless to say, it was a mess. I was happy, however, that it finally came out. I wondered if it would be another 4 or 5 days before he pooped again. When I picked the kids up from Lori's Wednesday night, I found out that a second, equally explosive episode had occurred just minutes after I told Lori he'd finally pooped the big one. He seems to be back to normal now though.

2. Karol is learning things faster than we can keep up. She says all kinds of words now, way too many to list. And she's starting to make 2-word sentences. Some favorites are "Elmo diaper," "Mom and Dad," and "letter (whatever letter)." She's getting really good at recognizing the letters of the alphabet and can say pretty much all of them. I didn't expect that to happen until later, but then again I have no previous example to compare her to.

3. Yesterday (Thursday) night we had a package opening party. We'd gotten a box from Aunt Carol, a package from Aunt Dine, and some stuff I ordered online. Even though two of the three had been here for days we didn't have time to open them! Or maybe we just weren't thinking about it. Anyway, we decided to make an event of it. Karol has a truckload of new books, which is GREAT because she's kind of 'over' the board books that we have. She got some new Dr. Seuss, ALWAYS a favorite in our house, and a whole collection of books about a DOG named Biscuit! Naturally, we had to read a couple of those right away. Both Karol and Patrick got some awesome new clothes, too. Luckily Patrick isn't too big for them! He's wearing a lot of 6-month stuff right now, and I'm gradually weeding out the 3 month clothes as he outgrows them. The clothes he got were 6 month but they look like they might actually fit him around 6 months, because I think they're a little bigger than the average 6 month size clothes (thank goodness!)

3. Patrick found his hands about a week and a half ago, and they've been entertaining him ever since. And just within the past couple of days I've been able to get him to laugh. He has to be in the right mood, though. He's starting to get really interested in the kinds of toys you hang above him that he can bat at with his hands. He also has a little horsey/silky-smoothy thing that he likes to shake and suck on. I want to get him one of those gym play-mat things this weekend, but we'll see.

4. We are finally moving to Arlington in five days!!! It seems like it's taken forever to get here, and yet I can't believe it's actually happening either. It hasn't really sunk in yet, I guess. I am really worried about how Karol will handle it. I've kind of explained it to her, but I don't think she will understand until she can see it. I want to take her to the new apartment on Saturday just to play a little bit, but I doubt it will be open. Maybe I'll take some time Monday for that.

5. This is the last week of the sixth class I've taken in my master's program, I'm almost half-way through :)

6. And lastly, I made a little video of Patrick and Karol enjoying some tummy time together. Here it is!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djM5ctrlb6M]

An Update

2009-05-01T15:47:00.002-04:00

Karol is trying to make Patrick as addicted to the pacifier as she is.
There really isn't much to report right now, as everything is still very much in a state of flux. We're waiting to move, struggling through our classes, and lovin' our babies as much as we can.

Karol seems to be reaching a 'mommy-itis' stage (missing mommy/separation anxiety, or, inflammation of the mommy...it works either way). It breaks my heart if she gets upset when I leave but it's a real boost to my maternal ego when she reaches her little hands up, wanting to be held. How can you say no to that?

Patrick is just as content as ever. He's really strong, sometimes to his disadvantage! When I rock him, he's so tall that if he starts kicking his chubby little legs, he ends up basically standing on my lap. I have to stand up in order to bounce him. I've started reading Raising Boys and I'll probably finish it in no time. I have a pretty good grasp on what little girls are like (I have first hand experience, in fact), but I wanted some insight on what it means to be a little boy. So far it's a pretty fascinating read.

Matt is gearing up for his school trip to Turkey (yikes!) which is over the same time frame I'm supposed to have my ATX (double yikes!). Next week is the last week of my current class, and Matt have FOUR exams on Monday! Wish him luck ;)

Matt's Summer Plans

2009-05-01T15:47:00.001-04:00

I almost forgot to write a post about this, can you believe it??? Most of you already know, but in case you don't, I wanted to catch you up on Matt's BIG NEWS!

Matt had an interview for a summer internship in NYC with Deutsche Bank, and apparently they wanted him so badly, he didn't even make it back to DC before they called to offer him the job! He'll be doing asset management in the Americas (don't ask me what that really means).

This will be an AWESOME opportunity for Matt, but of course we will have to be apart for 10 weeks this summer (oh yeah, and the 2 weeks he'll be in Turkey...over MOTHER'S DAY, no less!). I'm (perhaps overly) optimistic that I will get along fine as a single mom for the summer, but I'm afraid Karol will have a rough time of it. She is very attached to her Daddy. Just this morning she was nearly overwhelmed with anxiety when he got out of the car to go to school this morning. I'm not looking forward to her reaction to spending a couple weeks without seeing him at all!

As for me, I think I'll be fine. I'll probably just work, work, work on school and the kids until he gets back. Plus, we'll be living right next to my work and Lori's by then and I know I'll have a lot of help from family while he's away. And there's always Skype and G-Chat!

Sunday Night Mass

2009-05-01T15:46:00.002-04:00

Today is my first day back to work - yay! I dropped Matt off at school, dropped Karol and Patrick off at Lori's and got into work a little bit early today to catch up on old emails and find out all the goings on since I left. However, I thought I'd recount the much more interesting events of last night, when Matt, Karol, Patrick and I all attended the 7p.m. Mass at St. Michael's.

We actually got there on time, and I was glad to see Fr. Daniel there (he's pretty much our favorite), but as it turned out he wasn't doing the homily that night; the deacon was. So here's a little itinerary of last night that is pretty standard for our weekly worship:

7:00- Arrive at Church; find a pew that's completely empty so we can take up almost all of it with our babies and baby gear; set Patrick (who's hopefully sleeping) on the pew in his car seat; kneel to pray for about 2 seconds, at which point one of us has to stop Karol from doing something; Karol makes friends with the lady sitting behind us, who she will intermittently try to talk to throughout the Mass; we stand, me holding Karol, to sing the opening hymn, Karol entertains herself with the paper program.

7:05- Karol is making too much noise with the paper program; I distract Karol and manage to hide the programs on the other side of me; I continue to use a variety of distraction methods to entertain Karol through the first two readings and responsorial, none of which I can hear or pay attention to.

7:15- Karol sees Patrick's pacifier and takes it; replaces her own pacifier in his mouth, and his in hers; she realizes they are exactly the same, so she puts his back in his mouth; Patrick basically sleeps through most of this.

7:20- Gospel reading-time to stand; I need a break so Matt holds Karol, who is showing serious signs of tiredness; she squirms, squirms, and squirms some more; the homily-sit down again; Karol wants a drink (she signs), specifically water (a more recently acquired sign); I take Karol out the back of the Church and take her on a tour of the basement of the Church to hopefully appease her appetite for adventure and go back upstairs to the water fountain. We spend at least 4 minutes going through this cycle- drink water, stick finger in water stream, water disappears (I stop pushing the button), I say 'the water is for drinking, are you all done or do you want more?'; Karol signs more; repeat cycle 5 or 6 times.

7:30- I guess that the Liturgy of the Eucharist has started; at a point where everyone is standing (the Our Father, maybe?), Karol and I return to our pew and Matt takes Karol; Karol wants water again, I tell her Daddy will take her to go get more water the next time everyone stands up; Matt tries to convince Karol she wants to sleep; Karol doesn't buy it and struggles.

7:45- Patrick is starting to stir, but stays asleep; Karol and Matt leave for more water; there is relative calm in the pew again.

7:50- Matt and Karol return just as the usher releases our pew for Communion; I carry Patrick and Matt carries Karol, both of whom behave very well for the walk down the aisle; Fr. Daniel blesses (or exorcises...?) our babies and administers Eucharist to Matt and I; we return to our seats.

7:55- Karol has reached her limit, is fighting Matt, and it looks like she's winning; I quickly pack Patrick up in his car seat and whisper to Matt 'I'm ready whenever you are.' Karol turns up the volume as we sit through the announcements.

8:00- The closing hymn begins, Matt gives me the look and we struggle out of the pew with our babies and their stuff, making it to the back just before everyone else starts clogging the aisles.

As you can see, Mass is not a smooth process just yet. We are working on a Church Kit we can bring to keep Karol occupied, but I hate to have one of those kids that crawls all over the pew with crayons and toys and food, so we're looking for Church/God related stuff for her to do. I may stop by the National Shrine's book shop for some cheap Catholic kids stuff.

Tell me, when does it get easier???