Awake

If Aidan is awake then I am awake.

Aidan is awake.

Therefore, I am awake.

It's 12:20 am right now and when I say Aidan is awake - I mean AWAKE.  The little tugboat went to bed around 930.  He woke up around 11 pm.  He was up upset, not sure if it was a nightmare or if Natalie had woken him up while she was fighting me about going to bed but he was coughing as well.  I gave him cough medicine, milk, talked with him for a bit and he laid back down with little fuss.  Natalie fell asleep instantly.  About 10 minutes later - upset again.  I settle him down and just when I finally get comfy and asleep - he is awake, out of bed and trying to wake me up.  I bring him out to the living room and we lay down together which usually helps calm him down a little bit.  After he's all calm down, I tell him it's time for sleepy and put him up into bed - no argument from him.  He lays down, cuddles up with his blanket and closes his eyes.  I assume victory, lay down, fall asleep - and guess who is tapping my arm asking for me?  You betcha, the little tugboat.

I ask if he is hungry and he says yes.  I get up, make him up some food, sit with him at the table, and he eats nothing.  Not the roll, the mandarin oranges, nothing!  His favorites!

He ran off, grabbed Thomas trains and imagination and is now contently playing at the coffee table unaware of my scouring looks and dislike for his awakeness at this very juncture.

Playing around with Photoshop

Came up with this... I think it looks pretty awesome

Sick - Hope I am the only one!

Definitely sick.

I just feel really tired and disoriented - but not too crappy.  My fever was 102.6 last night.  It's down to 101.9 right now.  I woke up around 2 am this morning in a pool sweat, took a shower at like 2:30 am and then went back to sleep with a new pillow!

Aidan went to bed at 8 pm last night, I went to bed around 9 or so, Daddy and Natalie went to bed around 9:30 I think.  The kids let me sleep in!  It's like they know I don't feel well.  Natalie came in last night to give me a hug before she went off to bed too, it was really sweet.

They are visiting their mother this weekend, I can get a good amount of rest in during that time.

Wireless

We've got it, and it feels SO good to have it again.

Christopher had his laptop out on the futon without a cord reaching across the floor (aka jumping rope).

I had my laptop set up on my sewing desk (with internet!)

Of course... I write about how we finally have wireless and to make this post, I am sitting on the desktop :)  Hehehe

Water.

Aidan is in screaming, fit-throwing tears over water.

In his sippy cup. :)

He keeps handing me his sippy cup telling me "all gooooone" and when I shake it and hand it back to him and say "drink the water" he throws himself upon the floor and declares war with the carpet.

Well, he will just have to get over it.  I can't imagine how bad their teeth are from drinking all that damn juice/soda and never once drinking water combined with their lack of teeth-brushing.

I'm sick and tired of them not drinking water.  So - I have filled every clean sippy cup with waterand stuck them in the fridge.  They get water.  And from now on - it's only water at the meals, they don't get anything else until the finish the water.  Start of the next meal - they get water again.

This is a war he will not win!

Makin' Music - Homemade style!

Enjoy the video!

Halloween Costumes and Natalie's new Princess fascination

Finally nailed down that the kids will be with us for Halloween so we picked out/bought Halloween costumes for the kiddies.  Natalie decided she wanted to be a pirate (and still wants to be one!) and we chose a cowboy outfit for Aidan.

I had always imagined sewing outfits for the kiddy costumes so I'm a little sad that we just went and bought them but I have to take in Natalie's costume.  We went with a 4-6 for Natalie because Chris didn't want her walking around in a mini skirt but she's too thin for the 4-6 size, so I get to take it in!  I'm going to try doing it in a way that she'll be able to use them as play clothes at a later time.

Aidan's chaps are wonderful, I'm going to 'hem' them a slight amount, they would be okay but the poor kid falls over his own feet without the help of chaps covering his shoes.

Halloween decorations

Here are our wonderful 'junkolanterrs', as Natalie calls them, hanging out on the patio door :)

Natalie was inspired by a Caillou episode and wanted to make a scarecrow :)

These two faces are actually their smiley faces for taking pictures.... but I think they're rather scary!! :)

[Sketch, Cut, Hold In Place, Scrap and ReDo]

Natalie has decided that the slippers Christopher got me last Christmas are the coolest things on the planet.  She walks around wearing them most days and calls them 'Renee's Boots that are Comfy' -- Soooooo for Christmas (and maybe even her birthday if I can get them done quick enough!), I am making her a pair!  From scratch.  [Insert headache]

I've designed a pattern using my own very scientific method that I call S.C.H.I.P.S.A.R.D.

After about 5 tries, I think I reached a pattern that will stand the test of a soon-to-be 5 year old... or, at least keep her happy for the 10 minutes after she rips off the wrapping paper and puts them on.

Pictures will come tomorrow!  I promise!

grapefruit

grapefruit
Originally uploaded by foreveraining

It's sour, it's bitter, it's sweet, it's chock full of cheek squeezin' flavor!

This is my hunger-kicker. If I start getting cravings or I am still hungry after eating, I turn to my handy dandy tupperware of pre-cut grapefruit. Could you honestly think of a better way to kick cravings to the curb? I sure can't!

A favorite of Queen Elizabeth II and certainly a favorite of mine. This is definitely a must-have in my home.

Manipulation

"Manipulate: To influence or manage shrewdly or deviously, to tamper with or falsify for personal gain"

And it is it the best weapon in our arsenal.

Parents, step-parents, grandparents, babysitters, day care people, whatever they are - anyone looking after kids uses this on a daily, if not hourly basis and it's just fact.  It works.  You don't even know you are doing it, but you are.

Car window button never existed - end of story.

Billy Blanks Tae Bo

It's the most ridiculous thing to watch - ever and I swore I would NEVER do it.  Never, never, never.

Well, you know what they say... Never say never?

Well, today - I did it.

It kept my heart rate up, I sweat enough to fill a bath rub and I looked like a ridiculous fool.  I looked like a ridiculous fool in good company, the tots tried to work out with me.  Natalie pooped out halfway through but became my own personal cheerleader ("keep going renee!!  almost there!!  you can do it!!!  i can't do it, but you can do it!  do it!  punch! punch! punch!") and Aidan decided the workout would be better with some weight added onto my legs, so he latched on.  Shortly after that, I was done.

And never will I make fun of the Billy Blanks Tae Bo people.  Oh - who am I kidding?  Those people look like idiots!!

So far so good!

This is Natalie's third night wearing underwear to bed and no accidents yet!!  :)

Natalie is still brushing her teeth every night and both of them are brushing their teeth in the morning.  So good, so good!  I have to figure out a time Aidan can brush his teeth at night, he gets a little wired after brushing so it's not good for just before bedtime.

The two of them are drinking more and more water, which is awesome.  They like drinking out of my cool new water bottle Chris got me from W-Store and I'm glad!  We're talking about picking up a couple more for the kiddies sometime in the future.  How did I get them to start drinking water?  I've totally been depriving them of apple juice even if they begged for it, I am so cruel.  I feel so bad....

Okay, no.  I feel fantastic about it!  Water!  In Natalie's sippy cup, there's water in it tonight!!  And guess what?  She drank from it.  Insane awesomeness.

It's 1 am and I have an awesome update :-)

Natalie and Aidan are asleep right now... and tonight the 2 coolest things happened.

Natalie is wearing underwear to bed.  It's the slightly padded kind just in case, but it's underwear!  We'll see how she does with it in the morning.  I laid down some flannel backed vinyl under her sheets in case of an accident.  For the last month, she only peed her pull up at night I think maybe once.

After her shower, she was very upset about the lack of pull up (she hates change) because she knows she usually wears pull ups to bed, not underwear.  It was the routine we have done since she started wearing underwear.  However, Daddy was brilliant and reasoned with her, she caved and we got her in underwear.

Craziness ensues for a while, 1 'pre-bedtime' movie later, kids are in bed without the TV on and falling asleep.  I hear Natalie call me, asking to go to the bathroom before bedtime.  I start thinking she's going to ask for a pull up and plan out what I'll say if she asks, but nope!  She pulls up the underwear, washes her hands, brushes her teeth with tooth paste and goes to bed!

Okay.  This morning - she brushed her teeth voluntarily.  Tonight - she brushed her teeth voluntarily.  Whaaaaa?!  I am loving it.

Who is this big girl wearing all of Natalie's clothes?!

Netflix

Instead of cable TV - we've got Netflix.  We have the 2-at-a-time, unlimited online plan and it is fantastic.  I've gotten to watch a few movies I've always wanted to see, found some new ones I would not have normally tried and of course, 'tested' some movies on the children who are certainly very picky what they watch.

I've made a list of everything I've watched off of Netflix over the last few months... and needless to say, I'm sort of in shock that I sat in front of a TV or computer this much watching movies.  (This does not include shows/movies that the kids enjoy and I just happen to see from being in the same room)

Instant movies:

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Matilda

Jeff Dunham: Spark of Insanity

The NeverEnding Story 2

Return to House on Haunted Hill

Beetlejuice

Space Jam

Men in Black

Jumanji

The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill

Singin' in the Rain

Outbreak

Falling down

The Sum of All Fears

Hearts in Atlantis

Jerry Maguire

The Contract

The Contractor

March of the Penguins

The Core

Ghostbusters

Coral Reef Adventure

2010: The Year We Make Contact

Alice

Hook

The Fifth Element

The Evil Dead

King of California

Meet Bill

Nature: Birds: Parrots: Look Who's Talking

Cashback

The Life of Birds: Episode 1

I'm Reed Fish

James and the Giant Peach

Ghost Rider

Meet the Robinsons

DVD movies:

The Bucket List

The Other Boleyn Girl

Monsters, Inc.

Charlie Wilson's War

The Prestige

The Da Vinci Code

Ice Age

P.S. I Love You

Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring

Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

The Incredibles

Lord of the Rings: The Return of the Kind

V for Vendetta

300

28 Days Later

Finding Neverland

28 Weeks Later

Bee Movie

No Reservations

Seven

We currently have The Golden Compass somewhere in this apartment that Aidan has lost and we will be receiving Over the Hedge shortly if it's not already in the mailbox already.

Insane.  Absolutely insane.

But definitely getting our money's worth :)

Oh my goodness, I am SO bloated

That's all.