Reading

I just actually finished reading a book cover to cover in just over a week's time. How about that! I have several books started that just weren't pulling me in. One was a Christmas book from my mom that my sister and I were supposed to read...a tradition. But I only got to a chapter or so of that. I've read bits and pieces of various books with health-related themes. I'm interested in those books but my reading time is before bed and therefore it is a bad time to try to read anything that requires thought and/or processing. I had expressed my troubles to Trav and mentioned that I should read the Twilight series (finally), The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (because it seems like that book always comes up on FB when people ask for a good book), and The Hunger Games series. So Trav came home from the grocery store with the Dragon Tattoo book which I knew nothing about. It hurt my brain to read the first chapter or so, but then I got into it and looked forward to reading it each night and didn't want to put it down. So a good read, especially for a book I knew nothing about. But not really a light read. A little disturbing, a lot disturbing, actually. And I know it's fiction but I'm really bothered by how things were handled. I have a partial understanding of why some actions were taken, and a partial understanding of why some actions were NOT taken, but I want a better understanding. The most disturbing part about the book is that these types of situations/scenarios exist. There are some crazy people out there. No wonder I get creeped out at the thought of jogging in the woods. This book left me with a similar image that Lovely Bones did. (the book...no need to see that movie) except I can at least say the Lovely Bones had a message of hope to it. Dragon Tattoo, not so much. AND it makes me question an author's character when you read such a story. I don't read many "thriller" type stories so I don't know how this compares, but man, or rather this man/author had to devise some sketchiness. Don't want to elaborate on that. So when I finished the book last night I was all pissy. Crap ending. And only just now when looking online for some kind of "critical discussion" did I realize the the other books in the series are related to this one. Duh. I knew there were other books, but somehow I didn't expect them to be the same peeps. And so even though I already told Trav I didn't need to read anymore books on the whole abused women thing that this guy writes about, I just may find myself onto the next one...next time I go to the library. In the meantime I'll crack open the Twilight book from Tasha. Vampires can't be all that bad. Especially the teeny bopper kind. Right?

Germs

Germs are gross. They make people sick. We've all been sick in one capacity or another since Thursday and whatever it is likes to linger...bleh...Keller started with a fever on Thursday and by Thursday night Neko had it. Thursday night I was feeling nauseous and as I mentioned the thought to Trav I commented on how I hadn't thrown-up since being in labor with Keller...good memories of course:P We briefly discussed how humiliating of a thing it is (both puking and the whole humbling that labor does to you...) and actually, quite thankfully, by 11:30pm my stomach felt much better after running to the bathroom to throw up. I know. Lovely topic. But really, no one talks much about it and this is what Trav and I have been talking about since then...Throwing up sucks. That's all there is to it, but it sure does relieve a nauseous belly! So Friday was a rager of a fever day for me (today is Trav's rager day which means last night he puked as I lay in bed smirking...because it's a terrible horrible state to be in, but it's kinda funny?) Saturday was on and off fever, and Sunday and today have been "funny tummy" and like a dizzy kind of thing going on. Excellent. Glad the kids just seem to have had fevers and lots of lovely poops and poop experiences! Ugh. Gross. Must disinfect everything!

In an effort to keep from going stir crazy, we did make it the the library this morning for storytime, which we haven't done in over a year. I would bring Neko in his bucket seat and he hung out in that for most of the time...Then he began taking a solid nap in the morning and we have become morning recluses ever since. Even this morning I put him down for a nap, but he didn't quite go to sleep so by 9:45 I was getting everyone ready for a 10:15 departure. We made it there. Keller sat uninterested. No singing, no interest in participating. Neko stood on my lap and cranked at me any time I tried to make his hands do a motion for a song or bounce him. It was a great time:P We did hang around a little afterwards and played with toys. Neko just putzes around doing this and that oblivious to where Mommy is...and Keller found some Duplo blocks to make a castle with. I actually sat down for a breather for a few moments:) We FINALLY got Keller a library card and checked some books out. We'll see how good I am about getting them BACK to the library! I'm generally very bad at that part but I always view my fine as a contribution to an important public service!

After the library we went to the deli up the block to grab some turkey and "hapancheeeez" according to Neko or a half pound of cheese according to anyone else;) I love where he's at with his talking. The things he says crack me up. Out of nowhere sometimes he just shouts, "pancayes" (pancakes) and I laugh and say it back to him and he laughs and I don't know if he's trying to be funny or if something made him think of pancakes or if he's saying something else entirely and I just thing he's talking about pancakes. He certainly does like eating pancakes though! When he sees a pirate or sailer type person/picture anywhere he'll of course say, "arrrrrr", he mostly is on putting together 2 words, 3 if it includes please: pay.....outside. Mo cheese...pleeees. And he can certainly talk in jibberish like it's nobodies business. Keller likes to translate when he does that! Two little monkeys...

Hoping we're even more better tomorrow!

The Allergy Thing

Just to give a quick update on Keller's allergy post, we're doing well, he's doing well. We're keeping the allergens out and rotating the most prominent foods in his diet on a four day basis still. He's taking Larix (larch extract) and a homeopathic supplement every day both to boost his immune system and he has not had so much as a cold since we started this whole madness. So I'm thinking that this whole package deal is really doing the trick for him. I was dreading the whole sick all the time first year of school thing, but fingers crossed that we'll keep going strong! We meet with the doc in February and will hopefully figure out how we can begin reintroducing some of the allergy foods or at least back off a little on the rotation of things...His diet is a bit predictable, especially the breakfasts! Millet day means "millet balls" cereal and hemp milk, Quinoa/oatmeal day usually means oatmeal for breakfast and cows milk which means dairy day, Corn day is either Chex or Kix and coconut milk--there's usually corn cakes (like rice cakes) or corn wraps for lunch or dinner, and Rice day is Rice puffs, crispies, or Chex--rice day is an easier one too because there's rice bread which means pb and j is allowed! Rice cakes, crackers, and just plain old rice make it easy also. Rice wraps, not so yummy or easy for little people to use. When Travis is feeling particularly motivated on a weekend there will be rice or corn-based pancakes which is a nice treat. I gotta tell you that I can't even believe what a great sport Keller has been about all of this. He asks, "Am I allergic to this?" "Someday, can you buy me bread that I'm not allergic to?" We try to make a baked good that he can have on any given day so there's random stashes in the freezer of cornbread, Quinoa apple crisp, Quinoa muffins, oatmeal granola bars...and other random homemade then frozen goods like gluten free chicken nuggets and millet veggie burgers. It's so nice having REAL frozen food to fall back on. I REALLY want to get better at that, not just for Keller's "special" food, but for the whole family. It's so much nicer to eat say a veggie burger that I can actually identify each and every ingredient...know what I mean? If only I didn't hate to cook so much!! Maybe it's not the hating to cook part but rather the distraction of it? Or the distraction that happens when I'm trying to do so? Who the heck knows! Point being, I should make and freeze more real food perhaps even every time I make a freezeable recipe...I'll shut up now!

Scuck!

This is my current favorite thing to hear from the mouth of my nearly 19 month old. Scuck! He's on a chair, one leg caught in the rungs..."scuck!" Putting his shirt on and his little fingers haven't quite made it all the way out of the sleeve..."scuck!" Trying to get the top off a marker..."scuck!" Trying to get off a ride-on toy that's a little too high up..."scuck!" On Daddy's lap in the bathroom as Daddy is trying to brush his teeth..."scuck!" And my very favorite is when he's in his carseat, we arrive at our destination and I open the back door to take him out of his seat and he wiggles a little and looks up at me pleadingly and says, "scuck!" Little cutie pie! Makes me smile:)

This one is my all-time favorite shot of Neeks! (for now;)

Mostly About Me

I just left Keller screaming in his teacher's arms at his school this morning. That sucked. But he'll be fine. Right? Last week I locked Neko in the running car outside the doctor's office as I was rushing to get from the doctor to babysitting to get the little girl off the bus. Luckily after calling the fire department to unlock the car and the girl's mom to make sure she didn't get on the bus, all was fine. Ugh. Oh, and to register Keller for next year at school I'm supposed to arrive at 6:00 am for the 8:00 registration (If I want the 3 day a week morning class...) What??? Will the afternoon class be fine? He's slacking in the nap department anyway...Who the heck knows.

I've been working on a few things here. Namely, me. I think. Since the new year I have been to the gym twice, tried jiu jitsu twice, found a "playground bootcamp" meetup group in Stratford that meets on Friday morning (when Keller is in school) and the kids play in the indoor gym while the parents get some exercise. I'll try that on Friday with Neko. I bought a two month trial pass for Bikram yoga (the hot kind) and will be starting that when Christine returns from Hungary mid-February, and I went to a drum circle. So it's good to be getting out there, though it's not easy...I'm such a stay home kind of gal these days, but once I'm out it's okay. So the two things I'm really trying to work on are 1) exercise (really, my clothes don't fit...) and 2) people (I really need to find people near me that I want to spend time with which means I have to actually make the time to spend with them...which is all part of what I'm working on.)

What I've learned over the past week: I ENJOY exercise. This I know and have known. It's just been so hard to get it in. I'm still in search of a schedule that works for me...I liked going to the gym the other morning before Trav left for work, but typically I much prefer laying in my cozy bed for as long as I can...which is usually near 8 when Trav is up with the kids. Cozy Bed? or Gym? Must prioritize. Then comes Jiu Jitsu. Trav has been "suggesting" it for 3 years now. They even have an all women's class and a conditioning class. What's kept me away for the past three years? Physical contact, aggressiveness, disinterest, money, timing (class is from 7:30-9:00pm) and the fact that Trav is out a couple of nights a week doing his Muay Thai (kickboxing in place of Jiu Jitsu at the same facility). And so and so. I've learned that I'm terribly shy. I have no concept of Jiu Jitsu. And I'm an absolute snob as to who I choose the spend my time with. Which is why I have no new friends. Only the tried and true:) And I thank you for putting up with me and my snobbishness!! But I'm working on it. I recognize that I personally have a hard time connecting with new people because I lack that "small talk" skill that is key to "breaking the ice" which you need to do in order to find ways to connect with people. Ugh. So scientific. I also have less of a base from which to derive my small talk because generally my knowledge base is that of Mom of Two Young Boys which is a wonderful knowledge base but not very diverse. So I'm working on that, too, which is why I dragged my whole family to the drum circle (and everyone enjoyed themselves!) Maybe I can connect with some new people through that type of thing. I just have to make myself GET THERE. I just wish everything I wanted to do was just 10 minutes away. Including YOU, my friend! (I can say that with confidence knowing that only 10 people (max) ever even read my blog which is perfect:)

And so it's 9:45am. Neko's asleep. Keller's at school (hopefully fine by now:( And I'm sitting here still trying to figure things out (in a good way). I've updated my blog. My tea is still relatively warm. The house is relatively clean. I'm enjoying the sound of the rain outside. And in a few minutes, I'll be ready to tackle that giant bin of laundry to fold. And that my friends is a day in the life! Maybe my next post will be about my kids;)