Random Things

I'm writing this at quarter to 11 when I should be going to bed, but I just finished reading Alisa's blog and really enjoyed it and want to see if I can figure out how to get videos from my new camera onto my computer. While the pics are loading here are some funny things:

Caleb recently started saying Holy Cow. It really cracks me up. I say it...if you're wondering where he gets it...

Caleb likes to eat the little beans out of his green beans. We have been eating a lot of beans from the garden and some days he won't eat them, but often when he decides to eat them he'll break them apart and eat the beans in the inside. I think he got that from eating peas in the pod?

When I sit Annika on the lawn on a blanket she will pull the blanket up close to her so it's out of the way and then she'll pull on the grass and eat it. My mom doesn't like it...perhaps I shouldn't like it either, but I think it's so funny. Plus usually I put her on the blanket so I can concentrate on something else, i.e. ignoring her...so well, that's how she gets the grass in her mouth in the first place.

Caleb started gong to the Snow College day care twice a week, Mondays and Wednesdays from 2-5 in the afternoons. He went for the first time on Wednesday but we didn't get him down for a nap in time and so he ended up falling asleep and didn't wake up until almost four. My mom took him down and he had a great time for the hour that he was there. They close at 5 so he's there for clean-up time (good thing because I don't enforce that enough at home) and my mom said he was such a good little helper cleaning up (hint, hint... :)). I think he'll really enjoy going to play there for a few hours a week and it will help my mom feel a little less overwhelmed. We went to the open house for the Snow College day care and were impressed. The only concern was Caleb getting sick and bringing it home and us all getting sick, but we're risking it. :) Andy pointed out that he's just as likely to pick up something in nursery.

Annika loves to give kisses by sucking on my chin. She'll grab my face and suck. I love it. I might have mentioned this before. But I really love it. I love her smile. I love how happy she is to see me or Caleb or anything that makes her happy and excited. I love how she grabs at everything and how you can see her examine things by the look in her eyes.

In the back yard (no blanket), enter Caleb with cup. Caleb wanted to help Annika and if you look careully you can see she's actually scowling because she doesn't want help (another one of those things that starts young and goes on forever...) and then at last free to do it her own way.


Cute outfit, cute smile, cute girl. Notice the trucks in either hand. In the thrid picture she's doing her little "motor boat" thing and blowing bubbles. I really want to get that on a video and not just a photo.




The other day I went to the park with my friend Jill and her kids. Annika enjoyed the swing and Caleb who's been scared of them this season got in after he saw Annika being brave. Also a highlight at the park was a big hill of dirt where Caleb and the Cox kids played for...a long time. At one point Caleb came over to Jill and I who were sitting on the bench talking and said,

"Katie said I'm a king. I'm not a king!" She had made a little throne and Caleb still talks about it a week later. He'll say, "Katie told me I was a king." Or talk about the "chair" she made.

Caleb "helping" Grammy unwrap her presents. Since Andy's birthday is right after my mom's Caleb was in the birthday present-opening mindset and when we went to Walmart (not a lot of shopping in Ephraim so not a lot of choices) I asked Caleb what we should buy Daddy for his birthday. Caleb was very decisive and said a birthday drink. So we bought a birthday drink and when Andy came down they drank it together in celebration of his birthday (it was V8 Splash). Unfortunately I forgot to pull out the camera when Andy was here this time.


I really love my kids. I often feel really bad for the situation they're in. Tonight I was trying to get my quiz and test ready and took the kids with me over to the office I share with the other adjunct teachers. It was after 7 when we headed over and it just took me way longer than it should've and Caleb got tired, Annika was tired. I was ignoring both of them and trying to get things done. Finally Caleb crawled down and pushed the power button on the computer. I was really upset because I was stressed and felt like a bad mom and was taking way to long to do fairly unimportant details. I got mad at him and he started to cry. I felt so bad. Annika started to cry too. I just loaded everyone up and headed home. As we were walking away from the Noyes building Caleb was crying "I want my Dad. I want my Daddy home," over and over. I felt so bad. I just told him I was sorry and that he was wonderful. Then I left two crying very, very tired children with my parents and went back and finished. Only to find that since I hadn't scheduled with the testing center there were too many tests this weekend and they were booked. I've told all my students the test would be Fri-Mon in the testing center and made my son cry trying to get it ready in time, only to not have done what I should have done weeks ago in scheduling all my tests. I came home and sent an email to the lady in charge of the testing center with a schedule of my future tests--hopefully the time slots are still open and in the mean time I'm waiting for inspiration on what to do to not get behind and still test the students on chapter 3...But anyway, I reallly love these kids and while I sometimes wish their lives could be perfect, or even just better, I am so grateful for the joy they bring me. I'm a lucky girl to have such amazing and wonderful children. (And helpful grandparents who managed to have both kids asleep by the time I got home.)