Numbers

As you all have read, we have been struggling with a lot of sickness in our household. Randy is doing much better, but Danny continues to struggle with his cold. This last weekend we took him to the doctor to make sure that his breathing and lungs were ok. He checked out just fine, but the doctor shared some interesting statistics with us. Most kids Danny's age are sick about 140 days of the year. Usually the sickness falls in the time period between mid-October to April. In those months there are approximately 180 days, so... you got it! Danny can be expected to be healthy for only 40 days from October to April. Now those are some interesting numbers!

I think of this because Danny woke up in the middle of the night with a 101 degree fever, complaining that he was hot. He was so hot, and I felt so bad for him. Fortunately Motrin works wonders in bringing that fever down, so he seems to be doing well this morning. School policy is 24 hours without a fever, though, so unfortunately no school today.

Stay-at-Home Momdom

As we have been getting back into our regular daily routines the last couple of days (after traveling, sickness and visitors), I have been thinking a bit about my life as a stay-at-home mother. I realized that other than summers (which is more than a lot of moms have), I have been working since my college graduation, and even during Danny's first 3 years, albeit part-time.

People often ask me how I like it, and I don't know how to answer. I'm not the gushing mom type who would give an "Absolutely wonderful!" reply, but I don't want to seem like I am dissatisfied, either. I remember days when my alarm would go off at 5:30 so that I could pump and nurse before I had to be to work by 7:15. Not all of those days were very satisfying. Or the times when my teaching responsibilities were overshadowed by immense amounts of paperwork, usually brought home to be done in the evening or on weekends.

I thought I might share some recent observations:

As a working mom:
*Showered by 6:30am
*Make-up on from the beginning of the day
*Wore at least two outfits each day (work and "play" clothes)
*Exhausted
*Stayed up late grading papers/planning lessons/preparing for report cards or conferences
*Did errands/cleaning/projects in evening or weekend
*Relied on others to help care for Danny
*Made friends apart from my kids
*House was often a disaster
*Worked with other people's kids
*Felt rewarded for making a difference

As a stay-at-home mom:
*Showered by 10:00am
*Sometimes make-up is on in the morning, sometimes never
*Rarely look at the clothes hanging in my closet, usually only get into the t-shirt drawer
*Exhausted
*Stay up late to have some alone time and think
*Squeeze in errands/cleaning/projects when I can, but those often get left for the evening
*Weekends are fun family times
*House is still a disaster, but it is much easier to stay on top of things
*Get to do fun things with my kids (museums, library story times, playgroups, etc.)
*No papers to grade! (lessons to plan, report cards to write, etc.)
*Have to look harder for the rewards, but I know they are there

Notice some similarities like, exhausted? Just some thoughts. I think I will go back to teaching full time, but I am enjoying my two little ones and all the fun we have. They do grow up so quickly, and I know that this is time I will never be able to get back. It is great that I can have a choice that so many moms don't have.

Einstein

Randy and I have loved this statue ever since we first laid eyes on it (December of '05). Little did we know we would be living so close and would run into good old Albert on our sightseeing adventures.

S'mores

Oh, the fun of a wood-burning fireplace and a chilly evening! Danny had his first s'mores experience, and it was challenging convincing him to be patient enough to wait for the toasted marshmallow to put with the cracker and chocolate. When he finally got his s'mores he loved it!

Annelise at 8 Months

Today Annelise turns 8 months. It is so amazing how quickly the time has gone. She is crawling so quickly all over the place. She is very funny when she tries to stand up. Sometimes Annelise pulls herself up on furniture, but other times she just straightens out her legs with her arms on the ground and her butt in the air. It looks like she is doing the downward facing dog yoga position. Then she puts her knees down and looks around like, "Why didn't that get me up and standing? I straightened out my legs!"

We thought it was so cute how she was holding her little care bear, waiting for everyone to finish dinner today!

Randy and Annelise at the aquarium, overlooking Baltimore's Inner Harbor

Can We Build It? Yes We Can!

Last Friday we took a trip to DC to do some more exploring. Randy wanted to show me the Library of Congress, and I had been wanting to go to the National Building Museum to see an environmental house exhibit. We went to the building museum first, which we all loved. They don't have many exhibits at one time, but the Green House and symbols of DC exhibits were both excellent. They also have a fun room for kids to build. Danny and Annelise loved it, as you can see!

We had lunch at Union Station and enjoyed the hustle bustle of the lunch crowd (I think a lot of government employees go to this food court for lunch). The L.O.C. (as locals call it) was absolutely beautiful. Our whole day was perfectly clear and crisp. We had a great time!

Bacteria

Because we have all been sick, last Thursday when I took Danny to library story time, I decided to get a few books on germs and sickness. Since Danny has been in preschool he has gotten 4 colds (that is in 2 1/2 months). With his struggles with mild asthma, I am always concerned that one of these colds will turn into something greater, so I thought, "Why not educate him on germs and healthy habits? Maybe he won't get as sick."

Flash forward to tonight's bedtime routine... Danny is in bed, trying to go to sleep, calling for us. I go in to his bedroom. "Mommy, I have a question," he says. "Why is bacteria so small?" I explain that they move through our bodies and try to make a nice home. Then I reminded him about antibodies and said that when you are really sick you need antibiotics. Then Danny tells me, "The antibiotics fight the bacteria with sticks, trying to break them up. It makes the sound, KERPLOW!" And I said, "You're right." I mean, what else could I say to that? Thanks, Bill Nye.

Pneumonia and Other Events

Well, the last week has been a whirlwind of activity. We have had visitors, including a friend from college (staying with us during a conference) and Randy's mom visiting for the Thanksgiving holiday. It has been fun to visit and have an extra set of hands around the house.

In the midst of this we have all been sick. Randy actually got sick while we were away in Oregon. Unfortunately the cough has lingered, so he made a trip to the Urgent Care Clinic yesterday. After a very long appointment including x-rays and lots of listening to his breathing, the doctor determined he had pneumonia. In fact, the doctor said that he was surprised Randy looked as good as he did for being so sick. I chalk it up as being the parent of two young kids... you are used to doing all kinds of things when you feel like crap. I told Randy that I haven't heard of many 30- somethings getting pneumonia, but I guess it can happen to anyone. I feel like we are getting a great big hug from Maryland right now (I'm totally being sarcastic...).

Funny Things

Randy and I have recently noticed how creative Danny has gotten at trying to cover his own mistakes. Sometimes he makes a joke out of it, or sometimes he gets rather inventive. While we were in Oregon, I was having Danny write a card for our friends that just had a baby (Hi, friends!). Danny was drawing pictures of all of the family members. He did great with the boy, J, and the dad, M. Then he drew the mom's picture on the back and it didn't turn out so well, so he said, "Look, this is a picture of L swimming in the ocean!" While drawing the new baby boy, Danny accidentally drew a third leg. Then he said, "I drew baby J standing next to a stick." Three-year-olds are pretty funny.

4 Months in MD

OK, this post has been long in coming. The last 4 months I couldn't help but notice some differences between California and Maryland and some general pet peeves I have. So, here goes...

*You know those dividers at the grocery checkout line? Most stores rarely have them.

*Many drivers are not very good (see the patterns I have noticed below).

*People go into the "suicide" or turning lane with half their car hanging into the driving lane.

*People turn on the wrong blinker (so when they want to turn right, their left blinker is on!).

*People drive with part of their car in the other lane.

*People park and wait at the curb of grocery store parking lots (thus creating mini-traffic jams in the parking lot).

*People back into parking spaces (I actually could see the advantage of this in bad weather).

*Instead of going around the block to correct a direction blunder, drivers make drastic moves across multiple lanes.

*In general, customer service is bad (long lines, inattentive employees, etc.).

All of these pet peeves have been observed numerous times, and have been the topic of discussion between Randy and me. I'm missing a few, but this gives you a good idea of some of the things we face each day. Very different issues than in California!

We're Home!

Danny, Annelise and I arrived home late on Saturday night. The time difference is still posing challenges, especially for Annelise who could care about light and dark, or how many naps she takes in a day.

Annelise has been busy, though. Just a day before we left for Oregon, she began pulling herself up on her knees. Then on our first day there, she was pulling herself up to her feet. On Sunday she began "cruising" around, holding onto our furniture. The crawling is going great, and she is picking up speed.

When we returned to Maryland we found that many, many leaves had fallen while we were gone. Some trees are bare, while others continue to lose their leaves. Everything looks so different without leaves. We do have a huge yard with a lot of trees, so Randy and Danny have spent a little time raking on non-rainy days. Danny is enjoying the leaves!

You can see how bare the trees are in our backyard. Danny enjoys being buried in the pile of leaves!

Time Travel

On Thursday morning the kids and I made our first cross-country flight without Randy (actually our first cross-country flight other than our move). We left at a ridiculous hour, but were in Portland by noon, their time. Everything went so perfectly well, with both kids. Annelise had a seat, which made the long leg of the trip (Cincinnati to Portland) much more bearable.

Unfortunately, the time change has been a challenge for all of us. I would be fine if the kids weren't getting up in the 5 o'clock hour. The first morning, Annelise actually woke me up at 3:45 ready for the day! I try to keep them up at night to help them adjust, but so far they keep waking up early. They'll probably get used to this time zone just in time for us to go back to Maryland! At least they'll be sleeping in when we go that way!

Little Sisters

I love this picture! As you can see, Annelise is starting to flex her muscle with Danny. She is capable of asserting her opinion and trying to get her way. Up until this point she has been at the mercy of her big brother, but now that she is crawling... watch out, Danny! (Danny doesn't really know what to do with all of these changes!)

Cute Factor

We all had so much fun last night at Halloween. Danny wore the clown costume that I wore when I was 3 and 4 (my mom made it). Annelise was a cute Dalmatian puppy, courtesy of Gramma.

The day had been beautiful, in the high 50's low 60's, so we didn't have to bundle up or prepare for rain. We decided to trick-or-treat at a housing community across the road from us (our neighborhood doesn't have any sidewalks). Let me tell you... it was a lucrative night for Danny! They said that they usually have tons of kids come through, but it was quiet, so Danny got handfuls of candy at almost every house (although Randy and I believe there was some cute factor involved!). We didn't stay out that long, because we don't need a ridiculous supply of candy. Everyone was worn out from a busy night!

Pumpkin Carving

On Monday night we carved our pumpkin. Danny had been home from school because of a cold and cough, so there was a lot of anticipation for this event. We each have our roles: I like to scrape out the pumpkin and help with the design, Randy likes to cut out the design, Danny likes to scrape and cut (go figure!) and Annelise was content with sitting around looking cute!