Tonight was SUCH a great night! The kids were outside in the afternoon, and Amanda came over too. This was an excuse for Pumpkin to show off his toys (Amanda doesn't come over much now as she's entering 4^th grade and Pumpkin is no longer amusing to her.) So basically everything we own is scattered around the yard. Daddy comes home and we go inside to eat, then we all go downstairs to play with playdoh and talk. I keep looking outside and thinking, we have to get the toys in before it gets dark, but assume we've got time. All of a sudden I hear this noise - ohmygosh Hubby, its pouring! We've got to get the toys! So Hubby takes off out the back to cover the sandbox and grab stuff while I tear out the front door to grab Pumpkin's bike and helmet. SO Hubby runs around the front to help me try to stuff toys into our shed. It was SO funny! We looked like drowned rats! Even Hubby, who thinks he's a sugar cube and will melt in any rain situation- except for sporting events or fishing - saw the humor in our predicament. There was no wind or lighting or anything - just a heavy raid. So, he decided to grab the ladder and clean out the one gutter that was obviously clogged. So I'm outside talking to him up there and the kids come to the front porch to see what is going on. So I motion to Precious to run out to me. At first she tentatively does - so I grab her and spin her around then make a big show (arms flailing above my head) of running back to the 'safety' of the front porch Oh, you should have seen the delighted look on Precious's face when she realized we were going to play in the rain. She and Pumpkin both thought it was so great to be outside playing in the rain! So we ran around like idiots jumping in puddles and running through the mud and chasing each other generally being silly. Soaked!! Hubby went inside and changed clothes and grabbed Stealth Baby and sat on the porch. It was so much fun! I spun the kids around and then they'd try to walk and fall over and get muddy. I was having SO much fun!! OH! The look on Precious's face. What a memory I'll have. She was SO delighted by this turn of events. Running out in the rain. I love being a mom.

I think I've mentioned that I've now got an Avon lady. Isn't that funny? I wanted to get some Avon stuff for my mom, since now that she's moved to Cow County she doesn't have one anymore. So now I've got another mom friend. Anyway, (Sue is her name) Sue has a daughter a bit younger than Precious, so she has started to bring her daughter with her to our house- it's been great fun. She also told me of this great playground - the Fantasy Playground (Yes, that is it's actual name!). It's HUGE! And all wood. Really really neat. SO I've taken the kids there a few times, and they really enjoy it. I even met my friend Kathleen there with her son Nick once. I just take a pound of grapes and several containers of water and we're set. The one time I went - what a wonderful scene. Pumpkin and Precious played ~together~ for like 2 hours. It warmed my heart. The one time I brought her home and she went straight to bed. When she woke up I changed her diaper right away - and there was gravel in it!! It's not a great day at the park until you have rocks in your underwear!

I've turned into e-bay woman recently. It's this site on the internet where people sell their used baby clothes - well, used anything really, but I mainly look at clothes for Precious and myself. Unbelievable stuff out there! I'm just addicted to it - not so much for buying, but because I am fascinated what other people are willing to pay for things. Especially because you have to pay 2 or 3 dollars shipping on everything. But, I do admit, I've bought quite a number of things. I found a beautiful suit from a brand I love (Norton McNaughton) for 8 dollars, and an equally wonderful pantsuit (Norton again) for 13 dollars. Another brand I love is called Coldwater Creek - and you can search the site for just those brand names. But everything from CC has been too small. Meanwhile, there are over 10 thousand (!!) things for sale in the girls/toddler section. Yes, 10,000 items! There are over 2,000 dresses! Needless to say, I've bought a number of things for Precious. I have learned my lesson though. My first purchase I didn't read the description as well as I should have. The pictures were good and the price was right -- 1 dollar plus shipping! But I was disappointed by what I got. Doh, that would be why it sold for a dollar - everyone else read the description! However, I've promptly turned around and sold it to a consignment place by me for a profit! But I got 5 pairs of pants for Pumpkin plus 2 shirts (the shirts are so-so but the pants were in Mint condition) for 5 bucks plus shipping. I also got 3 really neat pairs of stretch pants for Precious (7.15 including shipping.) Anyway, I just have to say that I'm totally fascinated by the site. Happily, my desire to buy things was quenched by going to the consignment shop where I am also able to get nice outfits for 3 or 4 bucks. But I still love seeing that people are paying 20 dollars for used Gymboree items. Hubby makes serious fun of me. After the kids go to bed we both head to the computer room and I log on just to see what is there. "What? Are you on E-bay again?" SO I get off and immediately(!) Hubby logs on. Of course, all he does is search for windows drivers and read computer mags online. We are quite the pair!

There hasn't been nearly enough noise in the house, so Hubby and I bought a used piano. Actually, it was more of a gift from Craig and Kathleen. Craig is a panio tuner, and somehow he got a hold of some pianos. SO he sold us one very cheap. It's got scratches on it and a hole in the wood base - but the kids LOVE it. It's a shame, somebody painted it so it's a truly ugly color. Also, we had to put it upstairs - I feared if we put it in the playroom the kids would beat the living daylights out of it. So as a result, the one room in the house that I just loved, my living room, is currently in a state of flux. I mean, we have lamps sitting on the floor since we had to get rid of our end tables. But both kids enjoy it and understand (so far) than they can only use their fingers to play and not stuffed animals.

He's still not eating much in daycare. Only 10 to 12 ounces. This just strikes me as unbelievable, but he seems to be ok. (This may also be why he likes to nurse so much at night) I've brought in different nipples - but he's not into the whole bottle thing. And it's not like the dear ladies in the infant room aren't trying! He gets fed 4 or 5 times a day - it's just that he only eats 2 ounces at a time. Really, so they offer him a bottle every 2 hours or so! Plus, he's starting to get that look ~ you know, where he intently watches me eat. So, Hubby and I discussed that maybe it was time to start Stealth Baby on solid foods. I was somewhat sad, since I like to wait until 6 months to give any solids and I really felt like I was failing. I also thought, my pediatrician will be disappointed. But I got out the highchair and scrubbed it down with steel wool. But I was sad. And then I talked to Aunt JoAnn - and she was like, look you dumb butt (she didn't say it quite like that) your other children thrived on breastmilk alone. Why are you doubting yourself? It was really neat. She gave me so much confidence again. Why do I feel like I'm doing the wrong thing when every study says it's best to wait till they are over 6 mos? I mean, he doesn't fully sit up yet? Why am I trying to give him food? So I'm going to wait until my mom comes to visit on Sept 13 and let her be the first one to feed Stealth Baby. (I thought she would really like that.)

Sleeping is going much better. (Not at daycare. Precious is 2 and still doesn't sleep as well in daycare. As for Pumpkin, it's the only place he'll nap.) First off, I've got him on a bit of a schedule! Yippe, 3 is a charm! He gets up around 6:30 and will take a very brief 45 min nap from 8:30 to 9:15 (ish) and then he'll take a long nap from around 11 to 1 or even close to 2. Just like Precious! Yippee! SO I'm down to just Pumpkin. (Who no longer naps, most of the time) The key is to have Stealth Baby and Precious have some sleep overlap. That way I have a snowballs chance of some downtime! Stealth Baby might take a brief cat nap in the afternoon - really a half hour at most. He is asleep by 8. We (ha ha, as if Hubby has anything to do with it.) I but him to bed in our bedroom, that way I can read Precious her story and put her in the crib. So then when I go to bed (which is any time from 9 to 11, depending on what is going on) I move him to the crib. Invariably he wakes up and needs to be nursed. So he may get up at both 12 and 4, or only 12, or only 3. So he's somewhat random at night. Like last night I nursed him at 11, and then he slept all the way till 6. But then he was wide awake and talking to us at 6. Oh yeah - he is very much into sucking his thumb now, and is able to put himself to sleep at times. (Never in the middle of the night of course, that ALWAYS requires mommy's assistance.)

Stealth Baby go his first tooth on Aug. 15. Wow. He was barely 5 months old and that tooth just popped right in. It seemed like he started teething at like 2 weeks or something silly. His second tooth came in on the 29, so he already has his two bottom teeth. It was weird how the second one came in. He was obviously teething and going bananas, and boy was his gum swollen. Every day for a week I would say to Hubby, that tooth is coming in today. So then I get home from work and just looking at him smile at me I could see that second tooth. It didn't just break the skin - that tooth came all the way in.

Stealth Baby has been somewhat able to support himself sitting up for a while now. The fist time I left him sitting on his own unsupported for any length of time was Aug. 24 - but I think I could somewhat sit before that. But he's still somewhat hunched over. And heaven forbid he reach for anything, because then he loses his center of balance and over he goes. We started putting him in the high chair while we had dinner on the 24^th, and he seems to enjoy in. I stuck him in the high chair and gave him a baby spoon to bang away with. He would probably most prefer to be on my lap during meals, but I don't want to drop food on him. He's now in the grabbing stage (he's already eaten our mortgage statement this month) so having him on my lap is a sure way to get dinner there as well. Amazing how fast babies move.

Well, in past months I've complained that trying to get Precious to put her hair 'up' in any type of fashion was impossible. Screamed her head off about it and promptly pulled it out. Well, she's has totally chanced her mind. On Aug 12 I got her hair in pigtails, and it was so adorable you want to die! More than that - now she wants her hair up all the time. So every morning we brush her hair (she still hates that with a passion) and put it 'up'. And when I get her home from daycare the rubber bands are gone. Oh well.

She is so wonderful - I can't describe her. I am so in awe of this little stubborn creation of mine. And her smile! Anyway, her new 'must have' are colored diapers. See, I bought these diapers that are blue, yellow or purple with different colored stars on them. I thought they would look cute during the summer under her dresses. Of course, being me, I never found an occasion worthy of the "pretty diapers" so here it is August and we've used none of them. Until we ran out of diapers and I grabbed one in a pinch. She was in one of her fits about not wearing clothes (a walking time bomb) so I showed her the diaper and said, "don't you want to wear a pretty diaper?" I've created a monster! So now she consistently insists on wearing a 'pretty diaper'. And that's just what she says! She covers herself with her hands and says, "No! Pretty Diaper!" It's a real struggle to get anything else on her. So now I'm going to have to go and buy more of these dumb things! What a child! Does she get her way or what! I cannot describe my joy, even when she is deliberately pushing my buttons. It's something to stand back and say, I am being masterfully manipulated by a 2 year old. Awe truly is the right word. I am 2, hear me roar!

Just to brag - Precious counts to 20! No lie! Of course, she has no idea what the numbers mean.

It's amazing how much I've let Pumpkin 'go' this summer. I remember how uptight I was the first time he went to play in Amanda's front yard without me standing right there - and now I let him run to Kenny's front yard every day (not in Kenny's house). Hubby and I even let him play outside while we're not outside too. There was once I came inside to put Precious to bed and feed Stealth Baby - and when I came outside I couldn't find Pumpkin. Oh my gosh I thought I would KILL him when I found him at Kenny's (this was before he went there every day. This would have been one of the first times.) Happily there were neighbors outside and I didn't want to make a scene in front of them. So instead of giving Pumpkin a richly deserved spanking I kinda grabbed him and told him how very scared he made me, and how important it was to tell me where he was going all the time. I must have made a big impression on him, because now he never leaves the yard without telling me. 100% of the time. And more funny, even if he's on Kenny's front porch, he'll race home to ask if he's allowed inside Kenny's. So he understands there is a difference. I often say, yes, you can go inside Kenny's because I know Kenny's mom is going to say, "It's a gorgeous day outside, get out of the house." Which is exactly what I say. So I'm very at ease allowing him outside without me for at least some part of the day.

Recently Hubby got Pumpkin this little stuffed animal thing. At first I was annoyed - why can you not walk out of the house for any reason and not come home with worthless, unnecessary shit? However, Pumpkin has not let this thing - it's one of the Pokemon creations, called a Wychoo - out of his sight! He sleeps with it, takes it in the car to daycare, and needs to have it with him all the time. It's pretty funny. Whychoo sits under his chair while he eats dinner, helps us play in the playdo. The works. Kenny has one too - so they run around outside with their matching Whychoos and try to throw them into trees.

And Pumpkin has no fear of anything. He love crickets - so every now and then we manage to catch one and Pumpkin (and even Precious) go bananas trying to hold it and have it hop up their arms. Well, poor Kenny. He has so many fears - which just goes to prove that by loving your kids and keeping them close to you, you don't create dependent, scared weaklings. Instead, when kids are well grounded in love and know that when they are scared you're right there to help them, they grow up to be adventurism. So Kenny is scared to death of crickets and runs away screaming when Pumpkin tries to share them. (Kenny is also afraid of the dark, which is a real downer for Pumpkin who loves to hide in boxes.)

Our song singing continues. It was pretty cool - I was singing "Did you ever see a Laddie" and Pumpkin pipes up from the backseat - No! Tigger. So I say, "Did you ever see a Tigger, a Tigger. . . (bounce this way and that.)" And when I stopped he says, "Pooh Bear", then "Rabbit!" and he went through the entire list of Winnie the Pooh Characters, even including Eeore and Christopher Robin! I was pretty amazed.

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Last updated: October 2, 2000