Lately...

Hello all, I am here again, boy, does life get busy when you have 2 mobile kids! Cooper is crawling...backwards, that is. He gets stuck under chairs, between toys, under his crib...he tries sooo hard to go forward, his little body rocking like crazy, as if he is going to take right off...he did a few times, but hasn't got the hang of it lately...
Just finished reading "For Laci", the book Laci Peterson's mom, Sharon Rocha, wrote. Wow! very powerful! I couldn't put it down. I feel so bad for their family. I remember being obsessed with this case for a while. We were in LA, watching the news everyday, and I was pregnant at the time, too. Poor Laci. Poor Conner. They didn't deserve it one bit. I would like to give Sharon a big hug right now and say how sorry i am for her loss. Read this book! You need to know who Laci is, the world missed out on a fantastic person, a great mother-to-be. She was to deliver at the hospital where i had Coop.
Coop slept through the night last night! Yay! He is getting to be a better night time sleeper! He also slept through the night on Saturday night. I am so looking forward to the nights when I get 8 hours, straight....i probably should be heading to bed right now....
My Joe is rockin'!!!! He has had 4 appraisals this week and it's only Tuesday! Yippee!!! He has a big client and he works so hard to get them done in only a few days. I think the average appraisal takes 2 weeks, but Joe is working hard to be fast! He is still working 2 jobs, too: the daytime processing the company's appraisals (and going out to do his walk throughs of the houses) and night time doing his appraisals. he literally comes home for a few hours after work and heads back to the office for a few more hours, then a little more work at home. Luckily, he only needs a few hours of sleep. I am so proud of my man! Soon he can quit the daytime office work and just rely on his clients.
OK, better go....happy birthday to Michelle, my sister-in-law, and get well soon to MOM, and can't wait to see you this weekend Jenny and oh, CONGRATS to Jen & Justin on the purchase of their first home in San Diego! Yay! Can't wait to see it!

I'm baaaaaack!

I have been MIA, so busy lately....
I have switched schedules at work and I really like it. It's nice to be done at 11:15 and have the whole day, but it has been crazy. I had a schedule all planned out and of course, my darling boys aren't following it. That's what you get when you are a mommy. They have their own schedules, so...we're playing with it. Coop is taking loooong PM naps because he doesn't want to sleep anywhere else but his crib. Spencer, on the other hand, will do anything to avoid sleeping in his bed. "Mommy's bed? TV?" He tries that every time it is bedtime. Sometimes if I am exhausted and Joe's at work, I'll let him do that because I cannot go to sleep until he is in bed. At least if he is next to me, I'm semi-awake.
We have been having dinner with friends lately. You know how you always say, "We should get together sometime.", but never make plans, well, we are doing something about it. So last weekend we went to Shea & Kristen's (they invited us and I said let's put it on the calendar right away!). Yummy steak! Then we had the Winek's over last night. They have 2 kids, so Spence had some friends to play with. They got out the tunnels and the box of musical instruments. It was a loud evening! Next weekend, we have to go to a funeral, so I am not sure if we'll make plans with anyone. Joe's Uncle Dave passed away. He is a Christian, so we know he is with God now, and in a much better place. I know those words don't make people feel better.
OK, now how 'bout some learning....here are some facts from The Week, a new magazine with news, all in one compact place...love it!

What we learned in 2005:
*Broccoli is one of the best cancer fighting foods, you can eat it OR slather it on your skin!
*TV turns kids into bullies. The more TV a 4 year old watches, the more likely they are to be mean or cruel to others by the time they are 11. (!!!)
*Smoking makes you stupid (another reason to quit!!!)...smokers performed worse on different cognitive tests.
*Old doctors provide lower-quality care. (I have had 2 young OB's and they were fantastic! Need a doc in Modesto or San Fernando Valley? I have great recs!!!!)
Anyway, that's just some of the facts I found interesting...

OK, gotta go...I'll look for a cute pic to post. Aunt Jenny has been begging for pics....

Should be...

...going to bed right now...starting tomorrow I will be the AM teacher. I have to be at work at 7:35!!!! Yikes! But old habits die hard...I have been getting into bed around 11:30 every night and sleeping in until around 9. Yes, I love my sleeper boys! hee-hee...Coop has been my alarm clock.
But I am kind of excited about the change. I will be done teaching at 11:15. I'll have the whole day ahead of me....I have already written a schedule for us thanks to Supernanny! It includes time for me with each boy, cleaning (yuck), me time, time with Joe, playing time, etc...hope it works!
I love watching that show, Supernanny. The kids are always waaaay out of control, but she gives good ideas. I think I am going to start using the "naughty spot" technique because just putting Spence in his room for time out doesn't always work.
I picked up the Supernanny book last time I was at Barnes & Noble. I met a mom at the train table that had it, too. It was funny because her son's name was Spencer, too, and he was 2. She said his name originally was going to be Cooper, but they changed it a month before he was born. Then, we started talking about girls names. Their choice was Makena, which was what Coop would have been if he was a girl. I mentioned that Spencer would have been Kendyl, and she said that was her dad's name (Kendall) and she liked it, but her sister used it already! Weird connection...she had also been a teacher, but was a stay-at-home mom now.
Speaking of, there's a phrase that irks me, I know it shouldn't, but it does..."full time mommy" referring to stay-at-home moms. OK, sorry, but I AM a full time mommy, too. EVEN when I am working, I am still a mommy! Not a part time mommy, but a part-time teacher. I don't mean any disrespect for stay-at-home moms, I want to be one, too but right now we can't (even though with childcare and medical plan contributions, but don't get me started...). So it's off to work I go...but I know my babies are happy and thriving. Spencer LOVES his babysitter. Why not? He gets to play with kids and eat good food. His mommy isn't known for being the best cook....
anyway, I'll get off my rant now. Sorry, hope I didn't offend anyone. ;-) I'll just shut up now and go to bed. But what irks you??? What are some of your pet peeves? Tell me and I'll post for fun! Good night....

Mommy thoughts

Gosh, sometimes I can't believe I have two kids. It was weird seeing them both sitting with Santa and thinking, those boys are mine. Wow. They are great kids. Cooper is my sleeping champ, starting to eat 2 meals a day, lovin' his food. Spencer is so smart and fun to be around. He is a happy boy. His babysitter says he is perfect there. Another parent that helps out sometimes even commented that it is too bad all the kids aren't like Spencer.
Then the little stinker comes home to me....he is a bit onry, how do you spell it...on-ree? Today we counted up to 20 together! Then I said, let's say our ABC's. He said, "No, mommy, I don't want to." Funny boy!
Another BIG issue we are working on his sleep, going to bed at night. He won't stay in his bed. He keeps getting out, even though he knows the consequences: a closed door, which he hates. We have a safety child proof doorknob on his door, so I hate to have it closed because I don't want him to remember being locked in his room! After he falls asleep, we close the door so he won't wander the house if he awakes at night. But once he's asleep, he's down for the night. Oh well....any suggestions??? I've asked a few friends, but seems like everyone with kiddos this age is having some sort of sleep problems.
Tonight we went to a birthday party for Spence's cousin Tyler. He's 2! Yay! Happy Birthday!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year 2006...can you believe that??? Hope everyone had a nice evening. Joe and I went out, something we haven't done in a while! I got to dance, dance, dance! "Dancing Queen", anyone? We were home by 1 AM to a wired up Spence. I guess he wanted to wish us a happy new year, too. He had been in bed by 7:15 that night, too early, I guess...this vacation had disrupted his sleeping schedule majorly...oh well, back to work on Tuesday, back to routines and schedules for all of us.
Great news to pass on...I heard about 3 new babies to be in the last week! Congrats to my sister-in-law Amber, another relative that i should make sure I can announce first, and my friend Colleen! Yay! Baby season is starting again. ALSO, a big CONGRATS to Charity & Shane on the birth of their second son, Thomas Evan. Charity was Spencer's "2nd mother" his first year and someone very special to us. :-)
Here's wishing you a special, magical year....I can just feel it is going to be a great one.