Jump! Jump!

Jump! Jump! from Dorene on Vimeo.

Two Little Angels

Yes, yes, they are both adorable. But you cannot completely comprehend the destruction that my little ones can cause unless you experience it first-hand.

As I mentioned yesterday, today was my day to work from home. The morning was pretty successful. Although we did wake up to this:



That's right, it's the shade in Meghan's room.

Anyway, everyone was dressed, fed, dishes done, laundry started, and I even got some work done before 9AM. I'd say that's pretty darn good. And I am so grateful that I stayed home today. Ryan did not get to work until 9Am. And he left just before 7AM. For those of you who are too lazy to do the math, that is a 2-hour commute. If I had that commute (which I would have had I gone into work) I am pretty sure my first action of the day would be to quit my job.


How did the meeting go? Wonderfully, thanks for asking. The first 15 minutes had me worried. Meghan could not find Bunny, then, once found, I was told repeatedly that bunny was cute. Sean was practicing his paci removal and re-insertion technique and kept dropping the thing out of the swing. But, after 15 minutes...total silence.

Nice.

(For those of you wondering about the Leapster, LeapFrog support did respond this afternoon saying I should clean the battery connectors with an eraser and some other obviously useless nonsense. But, just to say I told them so, I will follow their instructions and respond back with a "still broken" email.)

Electronic Babysitter

Tomorrow, I am working from home...with the kids. And yes, I am going to try to work.

Interestingly enough, although I will be home the entire day I have done more preparation tonight than I do on a day when we must all drag ourselves out of here before 7:20 AM. I showered, Ryan's lunch is made, Sean's breakfast is picked out, coffee is ground and in the coffee maker. I would have even set the timer to start the coffee if the pot were not in the running dishwasher. Perhaps if it completes before I fall asleep I'll get that done as well.

I have one meeting that I must run tomorrow and there is one standby that will usually keep Meghan occupied for minutes at a time (no, it is not TV, but that is a close second), her Leapster. She loves that thing. Will bend over that thing for so long that sweat starts to drip off her nose. But, sadly, the Leapster has seen better days.

The touch screen will no longer recognize the pen, right smack in the middle of the screen. This, understandably, frustrates her completely. Meltdown follows. Of course, if she asks for it and I tell her to play with something else, there is also a meltdown. I have sent an email to LeapFrog's support center. However, their 48-72 hour promised response time will not help my 10AM meeting. Therefore, I am dreading this meeting and will no doubt be making use of the phone's mute button. And now I am off, fingers crossed, to try and put new batteries in the Leapster. If all else fails, it will be back to back episodes of Super Why!.

We Are Still Here

I've had the most hellish week of work. That on top of children who refuse to sleep much has pushed me this close to the funny farm.

Now that I have gotten some sleep (although today, Meghan woke at around 5AM, which means we all woke up at 5AM) I am starting to feel a bit human again.

Perhaps I'll post something meaningful and interesting soon. Until then, here are some pictures.

I get a treat??

Day: Wednesday


Time: Somewhere between 8:30PM and 9:00 PM



Meghan has been put to bed, which means she is playing with every toy in her room. Momma is across the hall reading.



Rumble, bang, scratch, bang.



Momma (thinking): What is she doing in there?



Meghan opens her bedroom door.



Momma: Meghan, go back to bed.



Meghan: Momma, I'm wet.



Momma: What?



Meghan: I go pee pees. My diaper is dirty.



Momma: Where did you go pee pees?



Meghan: In da room.

Momma quickly heads to Meghan's room.



Momma: Where?



Meghan (pointing): There!



Momma looks down and see puddle. The quickly realizes puddle is by trash can.



Pan to trash can - lots of pee pee in trash can.



Momma: Meghan, what did you do?



Meghan. I go pee pees in the trash. I get a treat?



---------------



That's right, in the trash can. Which, okay, she is starting to get it, good. But, other than the obvious problem of using the trash can (which I can only imagine how she balanced herself there), we had an additional issue. This is her trash can.

Notice its mesh-like, hole-y sides. Doesn't help much with liquid containment.

Breaking Meghan News

So, not to be outdone by her brother (and possibly to ensure the focus of this site returns back to her), Meghan went pee pee on the potty.

And not just that, she went all by herself, without being told to do so. I am shocked by the fact that she walked away from the TV (The Backyardagins even) to go potty.

Woo hoo! Progress.

Sean: Six Month Stats

We just returned from Sean's 6 month checkup. He is gaining weight and growing like crazy.

Here are the numbers:

Weight: 15lbs 6 oz

Height: 27 in

Way to go little man!!

Disconnected

I went the entire weekend without even opening my laptop.

Of course, that means there were no updates posted.

I did, however, get a new cell phone (but not the iPhone, pfft).

Oh, and I read more than 2 chapters of my new* book.

We are also starting to plan for Meghan's big birthday. Invites are in the mail.


* So, it has been sitting on my nightstand since February. It is still new to me.

Seaside - The Week in Pictures

We spent the week in Seaside Heights (SH) doing the usual.

Went to the beach.

Built sandcastles.

Toes in the water.

Went to the boardwalk.

Watched fireworks.

Ate.

Hung around the house.

I must have answered the question "Momma, what are you dooo-ing?" about 154 times.

If that is not enough for you, see the complete set of pictures here.

Seaside - The Arrival

My original plan was to document the week in Seaside Heights daily. That did not happen. I had also hoped to capture images of all the craziness. That also did not happen. So here is what I am left with, a general recap of the week with some pictures here and there. Your just going to have to use your imagination.


So, let's back up, the family spent the week in Seaside Heights. Yes, everyone was there at one time or another. Seven adults, 3 children and the occasional adult visitor or two.

There may be some people out there unfamiliar with Seaside Heights (which I will call SH from now on because I am a clumsy typist). I am not sure I can do it justice with my meager vocabulary. I wanted to take a picture that described the heart of the town. My first attempt came out all blurry-like. Second was not much better. So instead, here are some picture that make it look better than expected.

The Boardwalk

Casino Pier

(I suppose I could have cropped out the trash can, but hey, it was there)

But the picture that I think most captures the spirit of the town is this one:

Yes, that is the type of quality merchandise you will find up and down the boardwalk. And believe me, people not only purchase it, but they also wear it.

Our 4 hour or so trip down was as good as can be expected with a 2 year old and a 6 month old stuffed into a packed car all morning long. I should have taken a picture of the car. It was crazy full.

The house was a nice upgrade over recent SH lodging (previous homes had few bedroom, no a/c, no cable, one bathroom, etc.)

Ryan was quickly made aware of our lovely neighbors who were screaming obscenities at each other as he unpacked a car. It should be noted that the two arguing were a child (10 yo maybe?) and his mother. Nice! Welcome to Seaside!

Stay tuned....