Saturday, November 12, 2016

I have been so slow to post these days.  Sometimes life just gets too hard, and you just have to sit in a chair and wait.  Jeremy’s pretty depressed.  He’s been homebound for a month, and the doctor approved his disability for another month.  The cabin fever has set in, but he’s in no shape to be out and about in the world.

I came back from San Diego recovering from a horribly painful cold (sore throat) only to find a baby girl coming down with the flu.  Last week was a 4-day workweek because of Veteran’s Day, but I only made it to school for two of those days really.  And that was pretty much a miracle.  Thursday night Jeremy was up all night puking and having diarrhea.  Yesterday I developed stomach cramps and chills.  Sometimes you just have to sit in the chair.

Selah June’s appetite still hasn’t really come back entirely.  She’s a little interested in hot dogs and the occasional half of a banana, but she’s not chowing down on anything (even french fries and tator tots. Needless to say, I’ve been pretty okay with her junking out on Paw Patrol, Bubble Guppies, and PJ Masks.  It’s hard to enforce rules for healthy living when you can’t get out of the chair.

We’ve had some adorable moments this week.  When I came back from San Diego, she didn’t really want much to do with me.  It hurt my feelings as it always does, but then she made herself so upset that she puked on herself in her carseat.  Mom’s job is to make that all better.  She quickly flipped the switch and wanted to hug and snuggle with me.

This morning Selah June and I spent some time out on the front porch.  She actually had a bit of an appetite, and I let her eat whatever she wanted.  Three mandarin orange cups and some popcorn later, she had a pretty nasty diaper…but it was delicious while it lasted.

I pulled her hair out of her face and put one of her new bows in her hair.  She said “Not Julia’s!”  Apparently, Julia is the fashionista of the 2-year-old class.  I never thought I’d be able to keep hair bows in her hair ever again…but maybe we’re entering a new era.

Friday, November 11, 2016

Last night, when the weather turned a little chilly, I pulled a sweatshirt out of her drawer.  She was totally cool with putting it on and immediately started calling it her “A,B,C shirt.”  It has “GAP” written on the front of it.  She also started saying quite repetitively “Hat on! Hat on! Hat on!”  It had a hood, and she wanted it ON her head.  That must be a hold over from her monkey costume on Halloween.

You would think she was chowing down on candy…but she mostly just wanted access to her basket so that she look at all of it.  She tried a few things but really wasn’t too interested in any of it. She might have eaten a pack of M&Ms and a roll of smarties. But she also wasn’t really interested in sleep.  I think it was 10:15 before she went to bed.  Jeremy and I were both dying. Flu and toddler raves don’t mix that well.

Thursday, November 10, 2016

Selah June had to stay home from school because she’s still not fully recovered from the stomach bug that’s ravaging St. Luke’s.  She had a blow-out diaper on Wednesday while on the playground, and they have a 24-hour rule to keep kids home until they are no longer contagious.  So….  That made for a very interesting workday. The crazy logistics combined with somebody waking up at 4:30am made for a rollercoaster of a Thursday.

It’s hard to be frustrated when you are right next to such a sleeping sweetheart. When she woke up…. just 10 minutes after falling asleep in my bed, I asked, “Did you just have a little cat nap?”  She immediately started meowing.  “I not a dragon now.  Meow.”

We left the house around 11:30 to get Jeremy’s pain meds and groceries before I had to get to school for a few meetings.  She was out before we even made it to the first stop.

And that’s when you have to wake a sleeping baby.  Fortunately, she got her very own balloon and her little world wasn’t crushed.

Unfortunately, Jeremy started showing flu-like symptoms while we were gone.  By the evening, he was vomiting.  He didn’t stop having the runs until 1 in the morning.  Looks like we’ll be going to the doctor on Veteran’s Day.  Woohoo!

Saturday, November 5, 2016

The sunrise woke me up every morning while I was out there.  It could have also been my drugs wearing off.  I developed a terrible cold or strep throat or something on the way out there. NyQuil gave me 8 hours of precious sleep every night, but it was absolutely not a second more than that. 

The view from the plane was pretty amazing.  The mountains against the ocean was pretty stunning.  I didn’t like the beach.  There were no real areas for wading into the water.  The waves were too rough.  The sand was not nearly as pretty as what we have.  That said, it was lovely, and I would go back in a heartbeat.

The food was incredible.  We had delicious Mexican, Italian, and Greek.  It was soooooo good.  They use fresh ingredients and lots of them. The corn tortillas were thick and delicious. The avocado was used generously to compliment all kinds of dishes. And Cheesecake Factory was a big hit.

Friday, November 4, 2016

My crew took an afternoon off from conferencing to visit La Jolla, just outside San Diego.  This beach had a cove financed in the early 20th Century by a wealthy woman who wanted to see a beach for children to play by the sea.  It ended up being a pretty nice spot for seals too.

How cool is this?

When the waves are not too high, you can walk along the top of the barrier.  Cindy and Steve got soaked from an unexpected wave on their first visit.  Steve tried to get us to walk the plank as well when he drove us out there to see the seals. We were smarter than that.

It was late afternoon.  The lighting provided a unique opportunity for capturing photographs of a glorious view.

Theyre not dead.  They are soaking in the sun.  Trust me.

Tuesday, November 1, 2016

i left for San Diego early in the morning with a handful of colleagues from my office.  We arrived early enough to be able to stop in Coronado for lunch, to dip our toes in the Pacific Ocean, and to check into our conference hotel for CCAS.

Coronado was so beautiful.  The houses were crazy cool and sooooo expensive!  We had sourdough bread, crab and artichoke dip, and delicious tacos.  The famous hotel in Coronado charged $30 for 30 minutes of visitor parking.  Consequently, Dean Brown drove around while the ladies went inside to see the historic architecture and beautiful courtyard.

The first panorama I’ve ever taken!!  A view from my hotel room window.

And this is a picture of my heart. She apparently had a great time doing “pieces” with Grandpa.  Look how big those pieces are!!!!

Monday (Halloween!!!!)

October 31, 2016

I received these precious pictures from school today.

Our little monkey was a little monkey for Halloween Trunk or Treat (which makes more sense as Trunk for Treat).  Daddy brought a big bag of candy with Grammy and Grandpa in the Honda Pilot.  He didn’t really process that people would show up with really fancy and intensely decorated trunks and in full adult costume.

Selah June didn’t seem to care.

It was so HOT!!!!  I think we had record high temps for late October.  It was about 90 degrees outside, and she was dressed from head to toe in complete fur.  Smart, smart, smart…

She brought her picnic basket to carry her candy.  She was so funny slamming her lid down after dropping each piece in it.

Grandpa wanted to get a picture with his two girls.  Unfortunately, we couldn’t seem to get a good picture with both of us looking at the camera and smiling.  Yes…  I am in a Star Trek costume.

This was our lame trunk….. The lame man with the lame trunk.

After she visited all of the trunks around the parking lot, the class went inside to cool off and have cupcakes.  She didn’t want a cupcake at all. She wanted to lay out all of her candy and survey it.  THAT’S MY GIRL!!!!

We dressed her up to take her trick or treating in the neighborhood with Grammy (Dory) before it got dark.  We wandered down the street toward Mr. Steve and Miss Cindy’s house.

Here she is walking on her favorite rocks.  And walking up the path to their house.

She was really brave and clear in saying “trick or treat!”

Af

I really like the doors in our neighborhood. Selah June liked the friendly people on the other sides of these doors.

At one of the houses down the street, we were greeting by a little one. She is a grandbaby of one of our neighbors. Selah June and Satie met us and went in search for trick or treat treasures!!! Sebastian was a ninja turtle and Satie was a beautiful ballerina.

Jeremy made spaghetti for everybody. The kids were focused on spreading out their loot.  Sebastian had a very sophisticated layout.  It did not make him happy when Satie swiped some of his candy… And you better believe he noticed.

This was definitely the first time Selah June was riding a full on huge sugar high.  (It ended up being a real doozy of a night.)

Here are pics from Mom’s phone.

Yes….  Those are awesome pumpkin leggings.

Sunday, October 30, 2016

Daddy has been recovering from leg surgery, so Selah June and I have been spending more quality time together.  She will go on “adventures” with me to Target, to do “pieces” outside, and to rock while listening to the birds and the breeze.

Mommy bought a huge bag of dum dums for Miss Selah June at Target.  She LOVES them.  The stick she handed back to me in the car reminded me of how long I would chew on the lollipop stick – until it was just disintegrating in my mouth.  Banks probably have good social capital because of dum dums handed out to children over the centuries.

She likes to sit on the glass-top table — not the safest thing, I know.  But that’s why it’s an adventure!!???  Jeremy would kill me if he knew I was taking pictures instead of getting her down from there.

REACH!!!!

I can’t stand all the cuteness….

October 28, 2016

Our big adventure for today was taking Selah june to Target to pick out her Halloween costume. I thought she might be interested in the princess costumes or the Paw Patrol outfits.  Jeremy really wanted her to be a dinosaur. But she had very little interest in any of that.  She liked a big hat and a monkey suit.

Here you see her reaching for Jeremy – who is in a motorized cart because of his leg.

We went with the monkey costume, and she tried it on when we got home. She was pretty happy with her monkey self.  So stinkin’ cute!!

October 27, 2016

Miss Selah June is so spent from play by the time she gets picked up from school. She’s torn between wanting to leave and wanting to stall by walking along the yellow boards and picking up rocks and acorns between the building and my car.

Grammy and Grandpa came over and brought some chicken to go with veggies and salad for dinner.  Selah June wanted to play Paw Patrol puzzles with Grammy.

They got a lot done before SJ moved on to something else. She’s becoming quite the puzzle queen!  I think she’s going to be really good at spatial relations.

October 25, 2016

Selah June experienced an awesome Oktoberfest this year.  She fit perfectly in Satie’s dress from Grammy and Grandpa that they brought back from Germany and Austria.  It’s fun to see these special outfits worn by both of the girls in the family.

Selah June was so well behaved. She LOVES being outside, and she loves watching people.  So the event was a perfect fit for her. I tried to cut her hotdog, but she would have none of it. She insisted on doing it herself.  “I do it!  I cut it!”

Eventually she pretty much gave up on the hotdog all together and went for the chips.  You can see how comfortable she was with the whole thing…decided to “put her feet up and stay a while.”

Everybody loved this little tease. Miss Cindy and Mr. Steve focused all their attention on this little bundle of energy and she milked it for all it was worth.

We focused this year on adding some group activities and games to get people interacting with each other.  One of the events was a beer hoisting competition.  SJ loved taking it all in. She would not put down her blanket for anything. I gave up on getting a good photo sans blanky.

Ab brought all the boys to the event, and little Julesy was dressed in authentic Oktoberfest wear as well.  Unfortunately he also was not in a real picture-taking mood.

Selah June soon became very comfortable with her surroundings and started engaging in all the activities right alongside everyone else. She really wanted to get into the fountain.  She wanted all the flags – much to the chagrin of the game organizers. And she kept making a beeline for the Jenga tower wanting nothing more than to knock it over in kamikazi fashion.