mom wants more about preschool

hmmm. more about preschool...hmmm. well it's at the church down the street from us - maybe a 1/2 mile. certainly walkable when it's not raining, so that's nice. i have two friends that send their kids there and they love it. I guess there are two schools of thought when it comes to preschool (well at least two i suppose). On the one hand, there is a get your kid used to other kids, a teacher and this whole schedule idea. so in those preschools it's mainly playing and learning to get along and not hit and kick each other. certainly a valuable skill. and on the other hand, there are 'academic preschools' that aim to get your kids writing and reading and whatever they can teach them to prep them for kindergarten. that is a little more up my alley. i figure i can teach ellen to not hit and kick on my own time. if i'm paying to send her, she should learn something academic. so it sounds like this place seems to be a good mix of the two. when we went in to sign her up the director showed ellen what room she'd be in and how each kid has their own little cubby drawer with their picture and homework etc. ellen was very excited. she'd like to start as soon as possible, and is not quite sure about this waiting until september bit. i had to sign a release so she could go on fieldtrips, which really kinda freaked me out? my little baby is going in some strangers car to some strange place without me???? yes, i know i could go along as a chaperone, but you're not allowed to take any other kids. it took me a couple days to realize i could have isaiah play at a friends house. but, in actuallity the fieldtrips are nothing to fear. i was imagining they were going to the zoo or some similar place an hour away. really they just go to the firestation (a three minute drive) when they are four. so that's acceptable i guess. so i think it will work out well. hopefully.

sampling

this morning we ran some errands. i enrolled ellen in preschool. and then we went to winco (yay for winco! i'm munching on bulk candy...chocolate covered orange things...even as i type.) while we were there ellen kept having a slightly guilty but quite pleased with herself smile everytime i looked back at her. finally i watched close enough to see her pretending to sample food as we walked past. i asked what she was doing and she said she was eating all the food that looked good. on the baking aisle she went back for seconds on the cake decorations.

personal dna

okay, i did it too. i must say i was suprised by My Personal Dna Report i wonder how much your mood at the moment affects the result?

tartlets are yummy

have i mentioned that i really enjoy baking? this demarle thing is rockin because i get to bake to my heart's content and the clean up is so incredibly easy. and that's always been the part i didn't like. so it's good all around. today i was breaking in my very own tartlet tray (the one before was borrowed). here's some cookie's-n-creme tartlets (cool whip and smashed oreos) and then i tried some egg - like a little quiche i guess. a little too much bread for the amount of egg for my tastes. i need some more ideas...anybody??? one thing i've noticed so far - if you cook the shell by itself (like without the filling)then you need to watch them a little closer because they will brown much faster than when you cook the filling and shell together. (see these wonderful things i'm learning?)

orange streusel muffins (loaves)

made these today. they're a bit chewier and not as flavorful as i'd like. yesterday i made some lemon poundcake muffins and they were significantly better the second day. so we'll see how tasty they are tomorrow. i really like little mini loaves for some reason.

chop chop

isaiah got his first hair cut last night. ellen's never had hers cut, so this was kinda a big deal in my head. he was happy as long as he got to hold his toothbrush. the lighting is funny cause my finger is over the flash, but you get the idea. i think we did a decent job for a first time hair cut on a squirmy little kid.

dave's head update

dave went into the er last night after he decided if someone was going to mess with his head it was probably better sooner than later. he came back with six staples in his head!!!! the dr. put three in and then was suprised at how long the gash actually was. apparently he gave just enough anesthetic for three staples, but since more were needed decided more anesthetic would be just as painful as the actual staples - so he just went for it. dave did not agree.

another video for your viewing pleasure

that last video went up so easily, i thought i'd look for another to post. This is rather old, and its from the days when i used to let ellen make huge messes and not clean them up till the end of the day, but it makes me smile. One of dave's coworker's gave ellen that keyboard, and this is her first experience with it.

ellen does an ant dance

she thought the ants might like some entertaining and felt this might be right up their alley.

another bloody injury

you can kinda make out a little blood drop on isaiah's shirt - there's more on his pants. but this time the blood wasn't his. it's dave's. he stayed home with isaiah this morning while i took ellen grocery shopping. when i came back i found isaiah crying in his crib and couldn't seem to locate dave. i found him in bed lying on a towel with his eyes shut. (there's a scary picture for you.) found out that dave had put up the baby gate and went into another room for some homework papers. as he came back he saw isaiah standing up, pulling on the gate about to fall over. he pulled it on top of himself and dave started to jump over the gate and isaiah so he could pull him out but something went wrong and somehow dave's head connected with the door frame and he fell over the top of isaiah and landed behind him. we think he was out for a few seconds because there was a bit of blood stain on the carpet when he got up. he managed to clean up the carpet before he started to feel it and decide he better lay down. so he put isaiah in his crib and that was how i found them. (he said it had only been a couple of minutes.) poor guys. looks like a pretty good sized gash - an inch or two long i think. it's kinda hard to see cause of dave's hair and he's not real thrilled with the idea of moving his hair around so i can get a good look. i looked up head injuries on the internet and we think he's gonna make it, but we're thinking it would be a good idea for him to head over to the dr's tomorrow to get it cleaned up so it won't get infected or anything horrible.

sigh

we've met a lot of cool people up here, and i've made connections with lots of them. the one person that i feel like i click most with in the last few months put their house up on the market and it just sold. they are going to move across the country in approximately two weeks. poop.

truck fun

i never really understood the concept of playing with trucks, but isaiah is showing me that pushing trucks and cars and motorcycles around on the floor is in and of itself great fun. this motorcycle/atv (the little red one being propelled off the seat) is a huge favorite. the one bummer is that he gets really really frustrated when he can't sit it flat on its wheels so he can wheel it around. my little isaiah has a bit of a temper. when he can't stand it any more he starts crying and throwing it and then crawling after it to try again. he's also started arranging toys and hiding them from himself. he's playing with a yellow star in this picture. he kept dropping it in and pulling it out and dropping it in and pulling it out. during all this isaiah excitement ellen was learning more sign language.

when i get rich - baby edition

dave and i frequently talk about "when we get rich" as though that will be a definite time in our future. granted, it is completely normal to have no money at this stage of life and to have substantially more when you're more established and older. but i digress. we talk about what we will do when we get rich, who we will share it with, what we will be sure to buy - all the normal stuff. this is my list of what i will give to people having babies when i get rich. the normal stuff: 1. an adorable outfit 2. an ultra soft blanket - for some reason i always find myself giving blankets. i think i love them 3. thick cloth diapers - these make the best burp cloths out there. the less normal stuff: 3. bum paste -this is really called butt paste, but we shy away from that word around my house. this stuff is awesome. way better than desitin. 4. satin hands kit by mary kay - my hands normally get dry in the winter, but since changing diapers has become a full time job i've been putting lotion on every couple of hours. this stuff is awesome, and i've only had to use it about every other day before i feel like i need another fix. 5. a baby pouch like the ones made by kangaroo korner - these are a bit pricey, and you need to make sure you get one that fits you well, but they are soooo worth it. soooo worth it. a snuggli has a place also, but when they're just very little kids seem to fit better in a pouch and it's more natural. plus once you get good you can nurse them in a pouch and they can be in it until they're two or three instead of 9 or 10 months. 6. signing time videos - these teach kiddos sign language. we've taught ellen since she was a baby, but we checked one of these out at the library this week and she picked up another 4 or 5 signs in two watchings (she already knew all the rest). really good videos and help kids to talk before they have speech. really really good. so if you're having a baby soon know that if i was rich this is what i would get for you.

i had my first demarle show last night. one of my friends let me practice on her and her sisters and neighbor. i still don't have all my facts completely memorized, and i made too many desert-type dishes (who, me?) but it went pretty well i think. especially for a practice run.

sweater weather

the sun has been shining, the sky has been a beautiful blue and there are just the right number of puffy white clouds high in the sky. the one bummer is that it is freaking cold. so cold in fact, that ellen has actually asked to put a jacket on. normally she will only accept one if it is raining hard enough that her head will get wet in the dash to the car. yesterday, while we were inside the heated house she actually put on a sweater. i believe its been in the mid twenties, with some fairly strong winds so with that factored in, it's been in the teens around here. sweater weather for those of us (ellen) who are used to this climate.

valentines day

dave brought home flowers for me today (ahhh) and gave one to ellen in her very own vase for her room. we're both pretty excited.

mary kay

so i got the information for hosting my mary kay spa day thing and now i kinda want to do the mary kay business thing too. can't you just see me cooking and makeup-ing?? okay so that's a hard picture to conjure up, but i'm learning. :) i wonder how many direct sales jobs i can do at one time.

bedtime snugglies

every time isaiah goes to sleep he snuggles up with his special striped blanket. as of today he clutches his blanket to his face with one hand and holds a block tightly with the other.

makeover

yesterday, i ditched my cleaning schedule for the cooking experiments. and today i ditched it to go to a mary kay makeover. the deal with that is that they have this computer program that you input your info into and then it gives you recommendations for colors and things to try. and then the consultant person tells you how to put it on if your silly like me and have no clue. so i have officially learned how to put on makeup. and it even looks semi-decent. problem is now i want about $150 worth of stuff. so i made a deal with the lady that we'll trade parties (she'll host a demarle thing, and i'll host a mary kay thing) and then we'll both get what we want for free (or at least discounted). i've always been rather standoffish toward all these party/show type things but they're actually rather fun! alright, off to two days worth of cleaning.

check me out

last night for dinner i made three cheese stuffed shells. and we even ate some vegetebles too. aren't you impressed?

more cute food: a tartlet study

(fillings: strawberry cream cheese, garden herb cream cheese, applesauce - i ran out of cream cheeses) lemon pudding (i've heard these are really good as little pumpkin pies also. so maybe come thanksgiving i'll try that.)

spanish and isaiah

i got this teach-me-spanish-program at costco to satisfy my desire to become bilingual. ellen loves it. a lot. tonight, i didn't get a picture of it, but we played spanish candyland (dos morados! un verde!) isaiah's not totally back up to par yet, but at least he's smiling and eating again.

little yellow cakes

check out my cute little mini loafs (they're about the size of a twinkie) this is, of course, yellow cake. next i'm going to try corn bread and then little banana breads. ellen was so excited to have her own little cake. i told her she could have it after dinner and she just kept talking about it. "that's my cake. my ellen cake." i put the frosting in a ziploc bag and cut a little hole, trying to be decorative. but i cut the hole too big, so i got these big lines. then i tried again and cut a tiny hole, which believe it or not, puts a lot of pressure on a thin little ziploc bag. it split open after a couple minutes. and after all that, i remembered that i have a wonderful set of decorator tips that jill gave me a bit ago. i'm going to try those next. little daisy cakes

zillow

check this out...it combines a satellite image with real estate market information. i wasted a good hour on it last night

grown up

in the last week or two i have grown up. i started planning dinner and cooking everynight. dave's been suggesting this for months, thinking it would be easier then trying to come up with an idea at 4 o'clock and then having soup and grilled cheese again instead. turns out he was right. it's also easier when grocery shopping to have a list of things you need for the week instead of going up and down the aisles looking for things that you might want. i don't know how many times i went to the grocery store thinking we didn't have anything to eat at home and walked up and down the aisles and left with about twenty dollars worth of food cause i just didn't know what to get. i've also started cleaning the house. i made out a list of all the things that need to be done regularly and divided them up by cleaning product and then assigned myself roughly one cleaning product per day. so far i've done it for a week. the biggest change that i've noticed so far, since growing up, is that i am freaking tired. it's a lot of work to be a responsible adult.

candyland

ellen played candyland with diego, dora and swiper (a fox on the dora movies). see them there? she didn't want to be included in the picture. somehow, miraculously, ellen got all of the candy cards. i had to sneak a picture of her

this morning

isaiah's not feeling well. he's got a fever and a cold (which he's had for a while) but he's just not happy. this is kinda weird, because he's almost always sick (with his allergies or asthma or whatever) but today he's just snuggly and sleepy and just sick. poor guy. he barely even ate one little apple slice (normally an entire apple is one of the things he eats in a sitting) ellen had waffles, apple and goldfish for breakfast. don't ask me why we have these crazy combinations of food. it just sorta happens. and she has continued her love of dipping, dunking her apples and goldfish in the syrup. i'm also not sure how she got three drinks, but somehow she did. don't be fooled into thinking these are in a haphazard location. they are strategically placed. she spent a great deal of time this morning lining them up, drinking from them one by one and moving them.

school

i'm kinda over school. i suppose this happens with all long drawn out things, but i'm reaching a place where i'd really like to not have homework. i'd like to rent movies or be crafty or take a spanish class (well there i go with school again). i dunno. nevermind i guess.

sun

i'm suprised i've neglected to mention that for four (almost) entire days we've seen the sun! very very exciting. on tuesday the kids and i went to the zoo to celebrate. it was full of sun deprived moms and toddlers. we had a good time - i really like having passes because then i don't feel like we have to get our full 9 bucks worth and see everything in the entire zoo. the highlight this time (somehow we missed the bats this time) was the leopard. there was a little house like structure with a big acrylic sheet where you can get right up next to him. ellen hung out there for probably twenty minutes. i pulled her away once and about twenty steps away she asked to go back. so we watched the leopard pace for a long time. ellen was very thrilled. (we had been looking for cats the entire trip, so once she finally found one she wanted to really enjoy it i guess) and we're becoming reaquainted with a couple of our local parks. ellen has gotten rather shy about climbing up the structures again. i'm guessing it will take going with one of her friends and watching them conquer it before she'll really feel comfortable.

quiche

i decided that it would be a good idea to practice making some of the things that i might cook at these demarle shows. so tonight i made a crustless quiche and it was pretty stinkin good. i tried to take a picture of it's perfect doneness (lightly browned, done all the way through - i hate runny egg dishes) but the camera is pooping out. it will only stay on for about two minutes per charge. i guess it's time for new batteries. at any rate the quiche was a success.

conversations with ellen

randomly at dinner tonight: ellen: mom, it's really important! me: what's important? ellen: it's really important to obey God me: (totally suprised) yes, it is. why? (meaning why are you saying that?) ellen: because God is the president! dave: ellen, if isaiah was an animal, would kind would he be? ellen: an elephant! dave: why? ellen: because an elephant has a trunk. (dave asks her this a lot about different people, and they are almost always an elephant. he started with me and when she said i would be an elephant i was wandering if i should be offended. but now i see that we should all be elephants because we should all have trunks)

diego and concerts

ellen is quite thrilled with diego. she talks about him constantly. she opens these books and props them up to the pages that he is on. she carries them around and asks at least 100 times a day who's this? what's his name mom? and i'm supposed to answer some crazy name (like oscar or telly or matilda) and she says in a you-are-so-silly-voice "no, that's diego!" she also set the books up in front of the mirror and then started dancing and singing a little diego song (diego! diego! dieeego! diiiego! diego!) and yesterday she gave us a little concert, too.

too busy

me: ellen, time to change your diaper. can you please get a diaper and the wipes? ellen: no i can't do that, mom. i'm too busy. me: you're too busy? what are you too busy doing? ellen: i'm too busy not obeying.

isaiah's favorite toys

blocks/legos trucks ellen's pink doll stroller

dora

ellen has become obsessed with dora. it started when we rented a dora movie from the library and i unwittingly forgot to remind her that we only borrow from the library, we don't keep. for two days whenever she remembered the dora movie we had some major tears. so i thought, hmmm - she seems to really like dora. maybe i'll actually buy her a dora movie. so we got one from target today. and this still continues my educational movie bent because for those of you that don't know, dora is all about teaching kids spanish. so now sometimes when i can't understand exactly what ellen is saying it's because she's speaking spanish. and now she's asking how to say everything in spanish - "what does diego mean in spanish?" (diego is dora's cousin who rescues animals.) "how do you say baby jaguar in spanish?" "let's hit the road jack. vamanos!"

more birthday shopping

i've been wanting to wear skirts. i'm hoping these will satisfy that craving. i'm so excited to start labeling the entire house!!!

demarle seems easy

so this demarle stuff is going way better than i had hoped. of the five people who came on tuesday, four so far are going to host shows. i was hoping for one. and four people ordered something. and i 'qualified' to move up to the next level which means i make more money on each sale. so far this is really easy. of course i haven't really had to do anything yet. my sponsor did all the work on tuesday. the real test will come at my first show, which is in two weeks. i'm kinda excited.

rain

i'm over the rain. it's been raining a ton. more than normal, apparently. last year it didn't rain much at all and this year there's been enough for several years. on my drive into school on one side of the road there's what used to be a wheat field and is now a huge lake. there's a big tree in the middle of it and it's covered about half way up with water. on the other side of the street there's car junkyard for salvaging in which you can barely see the roofs of some of the cars. yesterday it was sunny all day and i was really quite thrilled about it. i didn't realize i was over the rain until it started back up today. i am so over the rain.

books i'm reading

luann recommended this one...i like it. it tries to get at the reason behind your disorganization. she says that everybody's got some place (however small) that is organized. (that doesn't mean neat, that means you know where things are and where they go) and encourages you to figure out what is particular about that that enables you to keep it organized. she then encourages you to work with your habits instead of trying to discipline yourself into new ones to create a system which will work for you. after reading the first half and skimming the second i've decided that i am a highly organized individual who lacks space and money to get myself up to the level of organization i crave. this one i'm reading a page or so at a time before bed. so far i've learned that if dave's work offers a matching program we need to start contributing to his 401k right away and that a roth ira is way better (for our situation) than the traditional ira that some banker talked me into a year ago.

i love yellow cake

a new storytime

on wednesday mornings we generally go to a ladies bible study in the next town over. one of my friends there, Teresa, does a storytime at the local library right after. so the last couple of weeks we've gone. they just completed construction on their new library/city hall and the kids storytime is held in the city hall meeting room. isaiah absolutely loves going to storytime. he gets a big smile and takes off crawling discovering everything, like the heater vent for example. he's not at all shy about crawling right into the middle of the action. Teresa gave him his own orange pompom, but really he just wanted to be in the middle of all the fun. ellen is a bit more shy, making sure she stays close to me, even as i chase isaiah all over the room

a new skill for my resume

this morning i learned how to dig a car out of the mud. i parked on the grass last night because i wanted to leave room for people coming to my demarle show. but it turns out parking on the grass after several months of rain is not a good idea. it took me about an hour to figure out just the way to do it. i tried putting cardboard down/under the wheel. i tried shoveling rocks under the wheel. and more. and more. and then i decided the rocks were probably just as slippery now that they were also muddy. i tried digging a bit and putting new rocks down. i tried digging a bit more. and a bit more. and a bit more. i tried digging enough room to put a piece of wood down. and a bit more. and a bit more. and then i put rocks on top of the wood and it worked!!! and then i stopped suddenly when i realized i was about to back my front wheel right into the hole i had dug myself out of. so then i was stuck again. but luckily this one wasn't as bad so a little tiny bit of digging with some rocks and wood solved the problem quickly. the kids were either eating breakfast, taking a nap (isaiah) or reading books in their bed until the last try and then they wanted to come join me. ellen was very proud of me - "you did it mom!!" i kinda made a mess of the yard.