Let's Go Fly A Kite!

Ian watched Mary Poppins for the first time tonight.  I've wanted to get the DVD for him since Charlotte's memorial service and I finally picked it up from the library tonight.  Ian was excited to watch it and sat there glued to it for all 139 minutes.  He laughed when they children, Mary Poppins, the Uncle, and friend (can't remember their names) were having afternoon tea while floating near the ceiling.  I haven't seen the movie in years and didn't get to watch much of it with Ian since I was chasing busy Miss Ruby.  After the movie was over and I was doing the bedtime ritual with Ian and we started singing "Let's Go Fly a Kite" and he said, "Mommy, you need the words."  He was right, I was really messing up the lyrics.  But it has such a catchy tune that I'm struggling to get it out of my head, wrong words and all. 

Speaking of kites, the wind is crazy here.  I sounds like it's going to blow the house away.  It poured rain early this morning but then it was warm and sunny during the day and started raining some this afternoon/evening.  Of course, the asphalt guys were here today to dig out some of our dirt/mud to repair our driveway issues.  The builder of the house thought it would be nice to have a nice driveway that was narrow torward the bottom and widened on the way to the garage.  Well, that hasn't worked.  The grass next to the driveway is always driven on and makes a muddy mess.  Plus, there's a big crack in the asphalt that needed to repaired so they are digging that out too.  But, hopefully when it's done it will look nice and be more user friendly. 

I enjoyed a nice walk around the capital this afternoon with my coworker, Marty.  She and I have been motivating each other to go for a walk daily.  Today was very pleasant and now they've taken down the temporary bleachers from the inauguration so you can actually see the beautiful capital again, you just have to look past the really messed up sod. 

I needed a walk because this morning I learned that a 2 of my coworkers are retiring within the next 6 months and my boss, who is battling a serious pulmonary illness, now is using oxygen at work (and home).  All 3 of these people are/were the core of the organization and were there when I started in 2001.  So, although it wasn't a surprise, I was sad and wanting to throw a tantrum (see we're all just socialized toddlers down deep).  I am happy for them to be able to move on and find life past "serving the children of the Commonwealth".  It kind of depresses me that I have 30 plus years before I will be talking about retirement.  Seems really far away but I'm sure it will pass like a flash. 

We had a great weekend full of fun.  I was off on Friday and enjoyed my day.  Ian was sick on Thursday so there was a moment that I thought I wouldn't be alone on my Friday off but by Friday morning he was dressed and ready for school before I even woke up.  Chris had worked from 3pm to 6am on Thursday night/Friday morning so they could work on their big project so he came home and did a run to McDonald's for breakfast.  Ian and Ruby then went to school.  I took the Pilot in for it's inspection, oil change and tire rotation.  Seemed simple enough...$547 later, it was good to go.  I guess it's worth it to keep my trusty Honda running nicely.   While the Honda was being worked on I walked across the big street (Rt. 1) to my optometry appt.  I've set up as many doctors, mechanics, dentists, possible within walking distance of my house and it worked out beautifully.  After my appt., I just walked home since Chris was sleeping.  It would've worked out nicely except I left my house key with the mechanics so I had to wake him up to let me in the house.  Best laid plans...  I then ran errands in the other car and worked on decluttering and purging baby stuff.  I have a coworker that is having her 2nd baby in March so I'm sending a bunch of things to her.  I also had a bunch of baby gear to tackle in the garage and I was pleased that I made a dent in that.  I've posted to Richmond Mommies to try to get rid of some of it. 

I had set up for a babysitter to come Friday night since I thought Chris would be working.  Shira was scheduled to come and was looking forward to hanging out with the kids.  I figured since Chris ended up being off Friday night that we'd just take advantage of having a sitter and go to dinner together.  Shira arrived with a roll of cookies to bake with Ian.  He was so excited I don't think he even noticed us leaving!  Chris and I then went to Ruby Tuesday's for dinner.  We had a nice time.  Then he went to see Avatar at the movies and I went to Wine Night in the 'hood.  We both enjoyed our outings.  Wine Night is always so much fun.  I love seeing my neighbors and we're able to complete our sentences since there are no children around.  Plus we laugh A LOT!  I had lots of fun and lots of wine.  I got home around 1:30am. 

Saturday, my dear husband took the children to the mall and to Romp 'n Roll so that I could nap/rest in the morning.  Then, when Ruby woke up from her nap, the 2 of us (Ian was still sleeping) went for a long walk and to play at the playground.  We had a great time.  She's just exploding with language.  It's so cute.  She says, "All Aboard" when she hears a train.  She loves going "outside".  She will try every word, she's just at the cutest age. 

Later, Chris went to the gym and when he returned I headed out for Girls Night Out at Pizza Fusion.  I met Whitney and a few other ladies.  We had a nice dinner and it was good to catch up.  I then took advantage of being near Trader Joe's to pick up some groceries. 

We had planned to go to Wintergreen for tubing with the Helsleys on Sunday but since the meterologists were calling for rain, we decided to postpone the trip.  Instead, Chris, Ian, Ruby, and I took a chilly bike ride/walk to the playground on Sunday morning.  It is great that since Chris got a bike, he and Ian can ride together.  It seems like Ian seems to be riding a little better (obeying the rules of the road) since he has Daddy to model.  And I feel better since I'm not running after him w/ a stroller screaming "STOP" or "BRAKE" like a crazy lady.  We then enjoyed  watching some great football later in the day.  The Vikings/Saints game was a nail-biter. 

Off to bed.  "Let's go fly a kite..." 

The Rules of Gender

Ian is full of quotes.  He told me this evening that "Boys get Mack trucks and girls get Ariels and Cinderellas".  Of course, I pipe in with, "Some girls like Mack trucks and some boys like Ariels and Cinderellas."  Ian said, "Well I like Mack trucks."  Where is he getting this?  Daycare.  It's definitely not from our house.  Chris and I have tried not to teach gender rules.  The funny thing is that he has never even watched The Little Mermaid or Cinderella, so he doesn't even know those movies. 

Chris is working hard this week.  He's feeling better and actually took a long ride on his new bike yesterday.  This was even after he'd gone to the gym.  I noticed that he'd bought some multivitamins.  I'm sure he's tired of being sick.  Chris has been on a special team for wok where they were testing a new computer system for tracking items at Kraft.  Well, the system is to "Go Live" next week so Chris is working hard to prepare for that and I'm sure he's dreading next week's actual attempt to use the system.  By the way, Kraft is buying Cadbury.  Yum!

Speaking of that, I'm doing great with my weight loss challenge.  I didn't lose that much weight this past week but I feel so much more focused this week.  I have walked around the capital every day this week.  It's about a 25-30 minute walk w/ a couple tough hills.  I'm feeling really great and I hope that I will have lost more weight next week.  I've recently reconnected with a friend from Richmond Mommies.  She has lost 117 pounds since last February.  Her before and after photos are amazing!  I'm so proud of her and inspired with her commitment and dedication to making a dramatic change in her life. 

During my walks around the capital I've encountered quite a few Fruit Loops.  On Monday there was a man dressed as Thomas Jefferson giving out material about the Revolution.  And then there was a very large group of people with stickers on them that said, "GUNS SAVES LIVES".  First, there's something wrong with the grammer, should be Guns Save Lives, at least based on what I know.  Second, I don't get it?  It seems like everytime I turn on the news, I hear how guns are taking lives.  Fruit Loops.  Third, a lot of them were wearing their guns proudly.  Yuck!  I trusted that the Capital Police on their bikes would maintain the peace so I could enjoy my walk.  Oh, and by the way, this was all happening on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.  Wait, didn't he encourage peace and nonviolence?  Ironic.

Ruby has just been so cute recently.  She says "Dance" and just starts shaking and bouncing.  She LOVES to dance.  She's saying tons of words and is just so precious.  Her teacher says she's so involved with circle time and says all of the words and is very confident.  She's so happy and loves her brother.  Her latest activity has been to yank a car or train from Ian just to get him to chase her.  And then she screams really loudly when he tries to get it back.  I try to encourage Ian to ask for it back nicely and offer her another car or train instead.  He's doing pretty well with that.  He's a great big brother!   Unfortunately, Miss Ruby continues to pull her hair out.  It's been 5 months now and I just wish she'd STOP.  Her hair was looking better and growing longer and then yesterday or the day before she woke up and a lot of her hair was gone on one side.  I was feeling somewhat "at peace" with it and had accepted that I could not do anything to change the behavior and the more I tried to combat it, the more she pulls.  So I've been ignoring it and I've encouraged Chris and the daycare staff to ignore it.  But, it's still hard.  Chris and I still worry about it and her and we don't like when she's just playing in her crib at night, morning or naptime because we think, "oh she's pulling".  I'm continuing to trust our pediatrician when he says, "It's a weird toddler thing."  I do have moments when I envy the moms that get to pull their little girl's hair up in the most precious pony tales but I guess the good news is my Ruby's hair is a lot less maintenance. 

So, today marks the end of President Obama's 1st year in office.  I think he's had a tough job for this year.  He's had a lot to deal with since Old What's His Name left office.  

It also marks 1 year since Charlotte Reynolds was diagnosed with a brain tumor.  Wow, what a year!! 

Off to do dishes and bed...