I am not very original in storytelling, so I usually tell Costas the story of "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" before bed. I was at the part where Goldilocks is about to enter their house and eat their oatmeal. Tonight he told me, "The bears are not very smart." I asked him why not and he said, "Because they keep leaving their oatmeal there." I guess he thinks the bears do this on a daily basis since he hears the story every night. I thought it was cute.
Rules for the “Five Random Facts”: Each player starts with five random facts/habits/stories about themselves. Anything will do. Be creative. The person who is tagged needs to write a post on their own blog (about their five things) and post these rules. At the end of your blog, you need to choose one person to get tagged and list their name/blog. Don’t forget to leave a comment on their blog telling them they’re tagged and to read your blog.
1. I love being a stay-at-home mom. I love listen to Costas while he plays alone with his toys. I love when Actaeos gives me a big smile. I love the big hug I get when I pick up Costas at preschool. I love nursing Actaeos. I love to read with both kids and go on walks on the trail near our house together. I love getting (and giving) hugs and kisses from my boys. I like doing fun things together, like going to the zoo or hunting for bugs.
2. I love to sing. I don't like to sing in front of other people, but I got up the nerve to take a singing class at the community college in Arizona where we had to take turns singing solos in front of the class and being critiqued by the teacher. I don't think that I'm very good, but I enjoy it and that's what matters. I have always wanted to try karaoke, but have never had the guts. I especially like songs from Broadway musicals. I love to watch American Idol because of the singing.
3. I have always been very shy. As an adult, it doesn't show as much because once I know someone, I feel comfortable and I talk more. When there is more than one person to talk to, I clam up. When I was a kid, I would cry when "Happy Birthday" was sung at my birthday parties, because I didn't like the attention. My mom usually had the kids stop singing.
4. I hate to cook and clean. If I was rich, the first thing I would do would be to hire a cook and a housekeeper. My house is usually pretty messy, not dirty, just messy. If someone is coming over, I clean up very quickly because I don't want people to see my messy house. I love going to someone else's house that is messy. It makes me feel very comfortable and at home :) And I do cook, because we have to eat; I don't buy fast food or takeout.
I am going to tag my friend Kelly.
Actaeos has finally decided to roll over from his tummy to his back. He rolled over three times in a row. We cheered for him and he smiled. With Costas I was obsessed with him meeting developmental milestones, but this time around I decided to relax. It makes the whole experience much more enjoyable.
I bought the Magic Bullet after my blender and food processor broke on the same day. It looked like it could perform the functions of both appliances so I bought it. I tried it today to puree cauliflower and it did not work very well. It only held a small amount, so I had to run it many times. Then, it wouldn't chop everything up very well, so I had to constantly shake it to get the pieces down to the blade. Even after that, I had big pieces that I had to run through again. I am taking it back to the store today. If anyone reading this has a Magic Bullet, let me know how you like it.
Costas and Actaeos enjoy making silly faces. Costas makes silly faces on command (and when I don't want him to). He especially likes making a silly face while pretending to be a statue and freezing. Actaeos has been sticking out his tongue recently. He will stick his tongue out if I stick out my tongue out at him. It takes a lot of concentration, but he can do it. I have two very silly boys!
When Costas was sick last week, I told him a story of how our white blood cells work and how they need our body to sleep to work well. Last night he wanted to hear about the white blood cells again. While telling the story, Costas said, "The cells could buy things, because they are cells." It took me a second to figure out what he meant, and then I realized he meant "sale." I explained how words can have more than one meaning, like bat. He grasped the concept, because he said, "like sailboat." He's been obsessed with rhyming lately, but now it seems he has homonyms down as well.
I want to add that I mispronounce a few words. Tom pointed out that 'cell' is not pronounced the same as the other words. I confirmed this by looking in the dictionary. Try as I might, I cannot make the words sound differently. I do the same thing with 'whale' and 'well.' I don't know why I do this. I will have to try harder to pronounce these words correctly so Costas learns them properly.
Costas loves to use sidewalk chalk in our driveway. We drew roads for his cars to drive on. Later, Costas drew a picture of himself. He said, "This is me with my hair sticking up." I went inside to get the camera and when I came back out the picture of Costas became spider boy with multiple legs.
The theme at Costas' preschool today was pirates. Costas brought home a pirate hat that he made, along with a telescope. He has been playing with his knights since then, and I hear him saying, "Walk the plank" and "Ahoy, Matey." He also brought home some treasure (a plastic, purple coin) which he tells me, "I love my treasure very much." Pirate day was a big hit!
Yesterday Actaeos began laughing when I was playing with him. It was a deep, from the gut laugh that lasted for a few minutes. It was the best sound ever. It was the first time that he laughed so much. I hope that I can entertain him enough again for a repeat performance.
I bought the book, Deceptively Delicious, a few weeks ago and I finally decided to try a recipe. The recipes require pureeing fruits and vegetables into the recipes. I put some fruit in the food processor, turned it on, and nothing happened. Then, I couldn't even get the lid off. So, it went in the trash and I used the blender. Later, Tom put some water in the blender to clean in out, without realizing that I had a spoon in there. The blender made a strange noise and now it no longer works. Two appliances in one day. I hope there are some good sales for President's Day!
Ever since seeing the Operation game at Target, Costas has used the term "cracked open" to refer to surgery. He always asks why people get cracked open and if he would ever have to get cracked open. I always told him that people get cracked open when they are very sick. On the way to Tom's surgery, he said, "I don't want to get my arm cracked open or my head, because my brains are in there." Tonight, Tom was cracked opened and the surgeon said that the procedure went well. Hopefully recovery will go well and he will be able to write again soon.
Tom went to see the wrist surgeon and the doctor said that his wrist is broken in four places. Since it is such a bad break he will need surgery to realign the broken bones and to implant a titanium plate and pins to maintain proper position of his bones. The surgery will probably take place on Saturday. For a few days after the procedure the pain will be worse than when he had the bone set, but he will soon regain the use of his fingers. He won't be able to lift anything for 2 months. He is actually doing really well and is able to do everything himself except for getting on his shirt. He was even able to take care of the kids while I went to the dentist. Wish him luck!
We went to Target yesterday and I let Costas spend some time in the toy department to look at the toys. Costas is pretty good about not asking for toys or food at the store, and when he does ask, he understands when I say "no." This time, when he saw a toy that he liked, he said, "I really like this toy. But I don't need to buy it, I have plenty." He did this numerous times. It's nice when I can go shopping and not have to hear, "I want it!!!"
Tom went snowboarding yesterday at Sierra Summit. On his last run he fell pretty hard and broke his wrist. On his way down the mountain, he called me to tell me that he broke his arm. I didn't believe him, until he told me to meet him at the hospital with his insurance card. I met him at the hospital and saw his arm in a sling. His arm was deformed in the shape of an 's,' as you can see in the picture. It made me queasy just looking at it. The poor guy didn't get pain medication at the ski resort, so he went over 3 hours in severe pain. It was determined that he has a complex fracture. They pumped him up with morphine and set his wrist. He has a temporary cast on now and will see an orthopedic specialist on Monday to see if surgery is necessary. We will see if he tries snowboarding again next year. Fun times.
Actaeos had his 4 month checkup today. He weighs in at 17 lbs., .5 oz. which is the 90% percentile. He is 26" long, which is also the 90% percentile. His head circumference was in the 50% percentile. I compared him with Costas at the same time Costas was exactly the same length and head circumference, but Costas weighed 1 1/2 lbs. less.
Actaeos went to storytime for the first time today. We were 15 minutes late (it's only 20 mintues long). In Nottingham I started when Costas was 4 months, but this one the adults sit in chairs and the babies sit in the laps. I just didn't like it. It was the usual librarian, whom I love, but it just didn't feel the same.
After church on Sunday, Costas was hanging out with some big boys. He loves big boys, but these boys always seem to get into trouble. The boys went into the parking lot and Costas was frantically waving his arms, saying, "Don't go in the street, guys!" over and over again. They didn't listen, but I was proud of Costas for not going in the street himself.
Lots of pictures-maybe too many. This was Actaeos' first time in the exersaucer. He loves it! He smiles all the time, but not for the camera.
I was looking at my blog and noticed that I don't really have that many pictures of Actaeos and I felt bad. I really haven't been taking many pictures of him, either. Second child syndrome, I guess. I'm better at taking pictures at events, rather than everyday moments, which are just as important.
Anyways, Actaeos is a wonderful little baby. He is always happy. I put him in the car and he either sleeps or is sucking on his fingers (the cutest sound to hear). When I go out, I put him in the sling (which he loves) and he instantly falls asleep and stays asleep until I take him out. When I carry him in my arms, he gives big smiles to anyone who looks at him. He loves getting attention, and shows it by smiling and kicking his legs. He loves Costas and will always stare at him, waiting for Costas to give him attention. People always ask me if he is always so content and the answer is yes. I am so happy to have another little boy. I will make sure that I take pictures more often. He won't be a baby for long.
