I’m sorry to get all “Mommy” on you all, but I have to vent a bit. I’m sick of potty training. It’s so frustrating! (Sorry Mom!) It’s also irritating, annoying, exhausting, and turning me into a mean mommy!
Needless to say, Caden is testing us. Well, I think I failed. He doesn’t tell us when he needs to pee. He can stay dry all day, but only if we’re on his case every hour or so. He hides to poop. When I finally see him after he’s pooped in his pants, he has a very guilty look on his face and he doesn’t want me to come near him. We tried bribery. Skittles, candy corn, cars, we’ve done it all. We tried taking things away from him. I now have a collection of his cars, bouncy balls, and even his beloved “Big Blue Blankie.” Nothing seems to faze him.
Well, I’m done. No more pull-ups, no more “big boy undies.” Back to diapers. They’re a lot cheaper than pull-ups and much easier to change after he’s pooped in his pants. I hate to admit defeat, but I’m just so tired of it.
For class tonight, we were supposed to research famous photographers and emulate their work. I don’t think I did a very good job, but I had fun taking pictures today. Caden and I braved the cold (and it was coooooold) to get some fun shots. I kept him amused, and warm, by having him run “races”, which he always won, of course. Here are some of the shots I got. Note the puffy jacket!
For the past couple of months, Caden and I have spent some quality time together at a Park and Rec music class. We’re in class with the little sisters of two of Noah’s school friends. It has really been fun. One week, Caden wanted nothing to do with me because he wanted to sit by one of his buddies. Today was our last day since we’ll miss next week to play with some buddies form out of town. Here are some pictures from today:
I don’t mean to harp on the weather, but it’s cold today. The sun was out, but in the winter, it usually means cold. Right now, I’m laying on the couch with two blankets over me, socks and slippers on, two layers on top, and I’m still cold. My nose is really cold. A patient yesterday said that in March, 40 degrees feels like summer, but in November, it’s like Antarctica. It didn’t even get close to 40 degrees today. It’s going to be a long winter.
Okay, I’ve lived in Wisconsin for 30+ years and I should be used to the crazy weather we can have around here. That doesn’t mean I have to like it. And I’m not really liking the weather today.
This past weekend was the beginning of the cold stretch we’re in. We sat in it for the Badger game, so I think that sort of conditioned me. It didn’t feel all that cold this morning when I went to work. It wasn’t too windy and the sun was out, so it was a decent day. About an hour after I got to the hospital, I noticed the snow flying outside. It was just light snow but it was being blown around so it looked blustery. (“Blustery” is the word meteorologists use for “friggin’ cold and windy.”) About 5 minutes later the sun came out again. A couple of hours after lunch, I was sitting in our treatment gym with a patient and it was sort of sunny again. Suddenly a huge, dark gray cloud began to pour in from the north. It almost looked like smoke. But we both knew it was a snow cloud. Ugh. Next thing you know, it’s snowing. And this time it’s sticking to cars. Double ugh. By the time I left work, the snow had stopped. I had a little snow on my windshield and some on my back window, but there wasn’t any need to scrape the car. Not that I have my scraper ready yet!
On my way to my parents’ house to pick up the boys, a large SUV was fishtailing into my lane just before I got there. So the roads were a little slick. I was still determined to work out this afternoon after being lazy this morning. I got the boys, hightailed it home, then bundled up to head out for a run. I noticed our driveway was a little slick, but the main road wasn’t too bad. I made it about a block away, then decided to turn back after slipping a few times and realizing I value my knee health. Did I mention it was dark by the time I was out running? It’s different if you can see the icy areas, but in the dark it’s all chance. I’m determined to not let this weather keep me indoors. I was not happy running on the treadmill today. Besides, I have to get myself ready for my New Year’s Eve 5K. Crazy? Yes. Fun? Definitely. I will not let this weather get the best of me!
So I started using Facebook a while ago, and I’m finding it to be a bit addictive. I became interested after my sister-in-law was talking about it. I really didn’t think I’d have much use for it, but I’m amazed at who I’ve found.
I’ve reconnected with almost every one of my (many) college roommates, including my freshman year roommate! I lived with a group of girls for a few years and after graduation I lost touch with them. Well, I’ve found them again, just by signing up with Facebook.
Even farther back, I’m reconnecting with people from high school. It’s pretty crazy, but it’s cool to see where everyone has ended up and what they’re doing. I’ve also found people from my church youth group. At times, it’s very surreal. I often wonder who I’ll find or who will find me next…
Today we braved the weather to take the boys to the Badger football game vs. Minnesota. It was about 38 degrees with some wind and occasional flurries. That’s pretty chilly for sitting outside at a football game! But the boys did great! And we won, which made it that much better.
Before the game, we went to visit our friends Anand and Crystal and their adorable little boy, Will. The boys were great with Will, who is almost 11 months old. They were having a great time playing with his baby toys, and Will was very happy to play “with” them. Here are some pictures of his great face:
Then we bundled up and headed for the game. We got there about 4 minutes into the game, and made it to the end of the third quarter. They both did really well, enjoying looking for Bucky, watching the band, eating giant pretzels (Noah’s favorite game-day treat), and entertaining everyone sitting around us. Our decision to leave after the third quarter was made by Caden falling asleep (after fighting it for the entire third quarter) and also by Noah asking to eat. So we missed the halftime rush (the score was lousy at halftime and it was really cold!) and beat the end of the game rush (we left just as the game started to turn around for the Badgers) and headed to the Nitty Gritty for dinner. We got a table right away, enjoyed our dinners while listening to the end of the game (we were too far away from a TV), then headed out of town. Both boys fell asleep in the car (as did I for a bit!), and were happy to crawl into their beds when we got home. It was a successful day!
I just got back from my friend Amy’s house, having spent the evening watching “Enchanted” with her, her four-year-old daughter, Kylie, and two of Amy’s neighbors. Since I don’t have a daughter of my own, I like to use my friends’ daughters for some “girlie” time.
I’ve wanted to see “Enchanted” for a while, admittedly mostly because of Patrick Dempsey. But I had also heard it was a cute movie. And it was. It was cute. (So is McDreamy!) We watched it eating popcorn, drinking chocolate malts, and dressed as princesses. Well, not so much me. I’m sort of lacking in the princess-y type dress-up wear. But I was greeted by Kylie in her Sleeping Beauty dress, which was later replaced by her Snow White dress. Amy had on a shimmery sweater and a feathery boa. One of Amy’s neighbors was in a Romeo and Juliet type headpiece and cape. The other neighbor came in a floral skirt, a sequined sweater vest, a tiara, and fake baubles. Me, I wore jeans, a seafoam green sweater, and sneakers. The best I could do was a sparkly heart shaped necklace, and slightly shimmery nail polish. I couldn’t even find my tiara from my bachelorette party. Kind of pathetic, huh. I’m having a hard time fighting this cold, so I wasn’t too inspired to do more. And, I’m the mother to two boys, so I could have dressed in pirate wear, or a police uniform, but I’m not too big on the princess stuff around here. Sadly, I don’t even have anything shimmery/pink/sparkly in my closet at this time! I think I have an idea of what I may want for Christmas this year!
Nonetheless, we had a great time. Kylie kept us a couple of steps ahead of the storyline, but she was really cute to watch, obviously enjoying the movie for the 7th or 8th time! I didn’t have my camera with me, so I don’t have pictures right now. But I’ll try to remember to post something once I get a copy from Amy. I really had a great time!
I just got back from my photo class, and I really need to get going on my portfolio. Our final project is a portfolio that shows the type of photography we’d like to do. Our instructor wants us to put something together that we could use if we wanted to become professional photographers, which could be something I’d like to do. I need quite a bit more practice, but it’s not completely out of the question.
As for the type of photography I prefer to do, obviously I love taking pictures of my kids, so I think some type of portraiture would be a possibility. My only problem is I don’t like dealing with professional lighting. I like using natural light, or shooting outdoors. This isn’t the best time of year for being outdoors, though! I don’t think I want to get into wedding photography. I love weddings, but I don’t want to end up with some Bridezilla! I suppose I could be convinced. But I don’t have time to find a wedding to shoot! I also love scenic photography (see below). We’re hoping to go to Chicago in a few weeks so I may be able to get some stuff done then, but I don’t want to spend the weekend figuring out my exposure, shutter speed, lighting, etc.
Anyone out there have any ideas? Or does anyone have a subject for me to work with? I’m open to suggestions!
Again on the topic of Proposition 8 in California, my dear sister-in-law posted this video on her Facebook page, and my dear aunt sent me the link of Keith Olbermann commenting on Proposition 8. No offense to Catheroo and her friend Jenni, but I think Olbermann has really hit the nail on the head.
