Oh-Bla-Di

Lots to say, no photos sorted, so that means it’s time for a Ten on Tuesday!  Here’s what’s going on around these parts…

1.  Last week, Ava’s preschool class talked about what they were going to be when they grow up.  Monday through Wednesday morning, she was going to be a princess.  But, on Wednesday afternoon she decided she was going to be a mommy instead.  When I asked her if she was going to be a mommy who stayed home with her babies or a mommy who went to work, she told me she was going to “go to work and chew bubblegum.”  She’s seen the bubblegum dispenser I keep on my desk and has decided that that’s what I do when I come to work.    Whoozers also chose her outfit to dress up like a mommy for school on Thursday…khaki shorts, cute blouse, and a headband.

2.  This week at school, Ava’s class is learning about volcanoes.  The lesson yesterday was so terrifying to her that she cried all the way through it and had to be reassured repeatedly that there aren’t any volcanoes anywhere near Las Vegas.  Awesome.

3.  Noah continues to grow like a weed and has progressed from cruising to walking with his walker.  His new favorite game is to walk back and forth on the tile from one end of the house to the other.  We’re really wishing we’d bought a more maneuverable baby walker.  Also, he’s stood on his own for a few seconds a couple of times.  No consistency there yet, but it’s only a matter of a couple of weeks before this little dude is off to the races.

4.  Doozers is really an independent kid.  Must be the second baby thing, but he’s pretty much content to be plunked down in the middle of the playroom with some toys and have at it.  That independent streak leads to frustration, though, when there’s something he can’t do.  And that frustration leads him to biting the offending toy.  We’re thinking we’re going to need to take proactive steps to keep that from developing into a habit.  Kiddos who hit can stay in school, but kiddos who bite get booted to the curb.

5.  For all the toy biting, I can’t for the life of me get Noah to eat real table food.  He’s all about the purees, oatmeal and cheerios.  He’ll eat chunky food and will feed himself, but won’t feed himself soft-cooked veggies or breads.  This is such a new thing for me…Ava flat out refused purees starting at 10 months.  I don’t know how to teach someone to like real food.

6.  I’ve got a real interest in teaching Noah to eat real food because I don’t really want to spend all the time making purees anymore.  Our schedule is hopping around here and Matt’s been at work a lot lately.  I’m thinking that any job that he could work fifty hours a week and have no night and weekend time would be an awesome step up.

7.  Speaking of a hopping schedule, we got to hang out with some great TPS friends last Thursday night and will get to go to a mini-TPS reunion this weekend at Edwards.  The Traynors are back on the left coast and we’re all getting together to celebrate their arrival as well as Sparky’s return from a desert on the other side of the world.  We’re so excited to go see these people this weekend!

8.  Just to keep things interesting (and not get too settled in at home), we took off for Mt. Charleston right after the Traynors left on Friday morning.  We spend Friday night camping on the mountain and got home mid-afternoon on Saturday.  We were wiped out when we got home and spent the rest of Saturday recuperating.  We all had a good time, though, so think we’ll go again soon.  We’re slowly working up to longer camping trips…pretty soon we’ll leave for days at a time!

9.  Since Sunday was our only day at home this weekend, we used it to get a bunch of stuff done.  Of course, nothing we did was on any of our mile-long lists of “things to get done” but, instead, we engaged in some extreme puttering.  You know, the kind where you work on tons of stuff and it’s all physical, sweaty work?  Libby got a bath, I cleaned out and reorganized the closet under the stairs (here’s where I really wish I’d taken before & after shots), Matt cleaned up and repacked the camping gear and cleaned up the garage, and the kids did their best to stay out of the way.

10.  And, now, that we’re all settled, and in between trips and visits, I’ve got to do some writing.  Dr. Ackerman, my fave professor from my Masters program, has asked me to write a book chapter with him.  It’s due on August 15 and I’ve not yet started.  Ah, Procrastination…been a long time since I’ve seen you.  Thanks for the clean closets, though.