Thanks giving

Plans for the four day weekend finally come together, sort of.

Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving special & Pandas on PBS.

Splurging and stuffing myself on Mona Lisa pumpkin ravioli and tiramisu.

Two big books: The Mitfords: Letters between Six Sisters and Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln.

Giving myself a little bit of time off from studying.

Reservations made for January trip to Charleston.

Babies are Magical

Fingers crossed for a baby story that evolves happily for J & T.

Baby Leah visits the office again, all blue eyes and head full of hair. Everyone gushes, as they should.

Wrapping gifts, which were so fun to pick out, for a baby shower tomorrow. (Spoiler alert: A Book of Hugs is especially fun!)

KG will be an Aunt x2 soon!

My two and a half year old baby niece declares herself a Big Girl tonight as she meets a Big Girl milestone (and calls to tell me about it)! (But, I think it's OK if she wants to hold on to some Little Girl habits for a little while longer.)

P.S. Lovely gift basket made with love, sent with thanks, carefully packaged and delivered right to my desk today. When can I come spend another week with K & K?, says Aunt Cat!

Cold November

Implementing a new morning routine to get me walking again (on my way towards running again) and to work earlier (which should also help prevent some Seasonal Affective BS) - so far, so good!

Replacing my holiday ba-humbug with exciting plans to prepare my abode for Susan & Kids at Christmas this year. I am making a list of all of the cool things I'd like to do with them while they're here: the Children's museum, the Christmas Market, restaurants, playgrounds, etc. :)

Summer clothes stored; last of the Winter clothes washed.

Happy that my appointment in the morning takes me over to the Bodo's side of town.

Thankfuls - Settling in at Home

Easy flight/drive back to Cville.

Holding on to my A, despite not enough time-on-task last week (for good reason!), and realising that I'm losing my credibility since every time I say I didn't do well on a test, I do well on the test.

Celebrating the election results with Supper Club.

A nourishing Tuesday night/Wednesday morning.

Good news from KAK: she misses me, but more importantly, her new bed helped her sleep through the whole night in her own bed last night.

End of Another Fun Adventure

I woke up this morning in Charleston. I spent the night at a hotel and went back over to the Klugman house early. I let myself in and then it happened: Kallie saw me come through the door and her face immediately dropped - I think she was afraid that my arrival meant that her parents were leaving her again. So sweet - she was very relieved, I think, to learn that her parents were not leaving her after all, and I knew better than to take her reaction to my arrival personally. Things are all back to normal in the Klugman household.



After breakfast of blueberry pancakes and coffee, Susan, Kallie & Kyle took me to the airport. We all went inside and stood at the big window for a while, watching planes take off and land. And, we talked to Kallie about their upcoming trip to visit me in Virginia. She was excited to hear that Virginia has playgrounds too. :) Kallie and Kyle both gave me kisses as I left and then trotted off happily with their mother, my lovely sister.

I think that overall the whole experience was good for everyone. S & D got some much needed time together. K & K got some bonding time with their Aunt. It was all that I expected it to be in terms of the challenges, and more than I expected it to be in terms of the rewards. No, it didn't convince me to not have kids (neither did witnessing Kyle's birth, by the way, although the brother-in-law was convinced that that would be the end of my desire for children too!). And, yes, I'd definitely do it again.

Of course, the success of the experience has everything to do with the fact that Susan and Dave trusted me with their children in the first place and have such a well-equipped and efficient system in their home, and because Kallie is so smart and helpful and good, and because Kyle is so easy-going, and because Chatham provided a sense of security and affection, and because my friends and family provided me with much needed moral support.

So, tonight I'm going to sleep in my home in Charlottesville. My house feels eerily quiet, even with Garrett and Griffin keeping me company. You'd think I'd be glad for the downtime, but I'd kinda gotten used to the energy and excitement that a full house brings. I'm exhausted, and happy. Still, here's to sleeping in tomorrow....

Keeping you on your toes, is right!

Gosh, today was such a busy (and long) day that I hardly know where to begin. Let's see....

After breakfast this morning, I walked out onto the back deck and found this:



Are those not the cutest little tooshies you've ever seen? They were looking for Sugar-Bear (one of their doggies) who was sleeping underneath.

We spent some time playing outside early this morning. The air was cool and there were no mosquitoes, which is just how Aunt Cat likes it. I'm sorry to say that we had a little swinging accident - me and Kallie. She wanted to swing real high, like Daddy does it, and I didn't realize she wasn't holding on, and so up I pulled, and plop went Kallie. Flat on her back from about 1 1/2 feet. Ouchie. Her head hurt. And understandably so. Oh, that didn't make me feel good either. But, Mommy had a remedy in the fridge - Elderberry Syrup - and that did the trick. And, this is how Kallie looked shortly afterwards while eating a snack; pretty good recovery if I do say so myself.



This was my first time getting Kallie to nap at home. For the last 3 days, she was at school during nap time. Knowing about her issues with sleep, I tried to make it as appealing as possible. So, we laid her mat down on the floor, just like she would at school (I think!?), and got all of the important accoutrement: plug, blanket, Night Night Kitty, & milk. It was a little hard won, but after a few stories and laying really still, I got her to fall asleep, and I have the picture to prove it! (Pretty risky, huh? Taking a picture like that, when the flash could have woken her up? Yeah, but I like living on the edge.)



I decided that today was the best time to break out the 2nd present I brought for Kallie. Art in a Jar. And, this is what it looked like once the Art was Not in a Jar:



Kallie had fun playing with her new zig zag scissors (which scare me to death - I keep imagining cut lips...oh!). And even Kyle liked holding the two soft, fuzzy balls that came in the jar.





We did end up making it out of the house today, finally, around 3:30 p.m. We went to the playground, of course. And, I just wanted to share this photo to show that Kallie wasn't too scarred from the swing incident earlier in the day. Whew!



After swinging, and playing with some other kids on the slide, we took a very loooong walk around the park building. We explored lots of places that we hadn't seen before. Kyle had so much energy - he was running around, and skipping, and falling down in the pine needles, and doing the circle dance (a Klugman tradition), and walking on the yellow curbs, and running towards the road - he was noticeably energetic! (A little foreshadowing, perhaps?)





We did finally make it to EVO Pizza tonight - the best pizza I've found almost anywhere in the U.S. - I highly recommend it if you're ever in the neighborhood. Also, I just want to say that the folks at EVO were super nice to me tonight. It was the end of a long day, I'd just recovered from a near-lost-wallet situation (no ID means no plane travel!), and I'm sure I looked ragged as heck. The waitress took my order right away and the pizzas were ready quickly. Jason behind the bar recognized Kallie and Kyle and introduced himself to me (Dave and Susan are frequent customers there). Jason gave Kallie a pretty yellow Gerber daisy, which matched her sweater. And, the waitress, whose name I didn't catch, helped me get Kallie, Kyle, two pizzas and a salad into the car safely. We had a minor meltdown during that part of the adventure, but the waitress was really nice and I'm sure could relate since she told me she has two kids of about the same age spread at home. I just want to say that I now have a much better appreciation of what it's like to be a very tired Mom, and also how nice it is to have the help of kind strangers when you're a very tired Mom. Wow. Priceless.



Our nighttime routine was a little different tonight. Kyle went down, like usual, but then was suspiciously babbly over the baby monitor over the next hour or so. Once I got Kallie down, I went back in to check on him, but I'll get to that in a minute.

As for Kallie, I had started noticing that she gets a wee bit anxious when you start talking about night-night time. So, tonight, we scrapped that idea and decided that we'd have a girls night and stay up all night, reading in bed in our pajamas. Yep. Worked like a charm. In about 10 minutes, she was out like a light. Something about letting her off the hook from going "night-night" seemed to work. Small blessings.

But, you didn't think it'd be that easy did you? Oh, no. Kyle? You know, the sweet, lovable, awesome hugger? Yeah. Usually, you give him a bottle, read him a few stories, lay him down in his crib, say, "Good night, Kyle. See you in the morning" and walk out. That simple. Tonight? An hour after I laid him down he was up and playing in his crib. And, so I thought, hm, another story perhaps? No. That didn't work. Change diaper? Yeah, but for no reason. A little play? Bad idea - might wake up Kallie. At 9 p.m. the boy was swinging from the rafters like a man possessed. (Have you seen The Exorcist?) Good heavens. A little Gas Relief (yes, he was gassy - your nose knows!), another bottle, and finally he settled down. But, good grief!

As far as bed time routines go, Kallie and Kyle are like the Yin and Yang. I guess when one is Yin, the other has to be Yang. Tonight, they just switched places. As a wise man once said, "They sure do keep you on your toes at that age!" Yep, I reckon so. :)

XOXO

Editor's note: The time stamps on the photos are an hour ahead - my camera didn't "fall back" one hour like the rest of us did this week.

"Today is Friday"

This is the "Days of the Week" Song, one of Kallie's favorites:

Today is Friday, Today is Friday,
All day long, all day long,
Yesterday was Thursday,
Tomorrow will be Saturday,
All day long, all day long.

Depending on the day of the week, you just substitute the day, as appropriate. It's a fun song. We sang it in the morning before we took Kallie to school. Look at how pretty she is in her pretty flowery dress that she picked out to wear this morning. She has on her backpack, and her milk in hand, all ready to go.



After we dropped Kallie off at school, Kyle and I took a trip to the grocery store. We were out of eggs. Yep, in less than 3 days, we went through a dozen eggs. That's from two batches of pancakes, and two mornings of cheesy eggs. (Oh, somehow, by some miracle, I was able to make the perfect cheesy eggs this morning. OK. Well, not quite as perfect as Kallie and Kyle's Mommy can make them, but pretty darn close. (I think the trick is in the perfectly little pan!)

Anyhow, back to the grocery store. We got eggs, and soymilk, and regular milk, and pears, and bananas. Kyle loves bananas. He insisted on holding one the entire time we were using the self-checkout. Yep, I couldn't pry the little sucker out of his hands. And, having learned a lesson from the Susan School of the Path of Least Resistance, I just let him hold it. I was waiting for the cashier to say, "Oh, just go ahead and take it, no big deal." But, she didn't say that. So, after I paid for the rest of the bunch, I switched out the banana Kyle was holding for one of the bananas we'd paid for and then handed the unpurchased banana back to the cashier saying, "We didn't manage to pay for that one." (Smile.) A successful trip I'd say. Every one was happy and Kyle got to snack on banana on the way home.



We had to make the trip to the playground after school today a little shorter than we'd wanted. First we had to wait and wait and wait for a very long (and at one point, stopped) train. Then, Kallie had to pee, but after discussing all of the options - peeing at the park in the woods; going home to pee and then heading straight back out to the park; going home, peeing in the potty and then playing in the back yard - we finally opted for a short trip to the playground for some swinging and sliding, and then heading home to pee in the potty. A decent compromise.

Once home, we had cereal for dinner at Kallie's request. We also had pears, yogurt, and blueberry waffles. After dinner, we went outside and Kallie helped Mommy by watering all of her outside plants. Kallie is a very good gardener.

After that, bathtime. Followed by play (check out Kallie's cool block tower!), snack, stories and night-night time. Kallie had a hard time falling asleep tonight, but she was so happy after she hung up the phone with her Daddy because Daddy is bringing her presents from his trip to Florida! Yippee!



Tomorrow is Saturday, tomorrow is Saturday, all day long, all day long...

P.S. I forgot to mention my aunting milestone. Today, Mr. Kyle, all on his own, requested a ride in the backpack! So fun! (And, have I mentioned what a good hugger that boy is!?)

Happy Thursday - CSA Day

Today was another good day in the Klugman household. We all slept in until about 7:45, and once we were all up and moving, Kallie picked breakfast: pancakes with blueberries on the side. I had already set up the coffee pot last night, which was very smart because once everyone gets moving, it's awfully busy (but calm) until we leave to take Kallie to school around 9 a.m.

After naptime at home, Kyle and I had some extra time to play outdoors this afternoon. We played with the ball, and swung in the swing and rode in the wagon. We were also getting ready for Mr. Pete to arrive with the produce for all of the families who have their CSA pick-up right here in our yard.



Mr. Pete showed up around 3 p.m., just as Kyle and I were getting ready to go pick up Kallie at school. Kallie was excited to hear that it was produce day! On the way home, we ate a snack (fresh pear), and shared with Kyle, and pointed to all of the buses we saw. Then, once we arrived home, we said goodbye to Mr. Pete as he left and hung around to greet all of the folks who were coming to pick up their produce.



Kallie (pretty in her Minnie Mouse dress) helped me load up our new blue grocery bag with produce. Today's share included 4 pretty purple flowers, 3 sweet potatoes, 4 jalapeno peppers, a small head of broccoli, a bag full of green beans, 1 green pepper, 4 red beats, a small head of lettuce, a bunch of collard greens, and about 3 or 4 other kinds of dark leafy greens. Kallie and I didn't even know all of the names for the different types of green veggies we have!

After dinner of chicken nuggets, french fries and green beans, we watched a Pooh video, took a bath, ate a snack, read stories, put Kyle to bed, looked at the calendar, and then finally Kallie fell asleep in Daddy's spot on his bed.



Funny bath time moment: Kallie said, in the midst of shrieks of laughter: "Kyle, don't bite my tooshie!" They were both laughing. A priceless moment.

Tomorrow is back to school for Kallie and then maybe EVO pizza for dinner. Aunt Cat is especially looking forward to the pizza!

Kallie and Kyle's Big Vacation at Home - Day 1

After months and months of being followed around by them like stink on poop, Kallie and Kyle finally get a vacation away from Mommy and Daddy this week. We sent the parents off to Florida, and Aunt Cat is here filling in, making sure that Kallie and Kyle get all of their basic needs met, oh, plus she's giving lots and lots of love and hugs and kisses, too.

We had a busy day. The dogs, Aunt Cat's back up brigade, were busy keeping the bed warm after nap time today. Aunt Cat took a nap too, but used her time wisely and prepared dinner (her famous cheesy lasagna) while Kyle was still sleeping.



After nap time, Kyle and Aunt Cat went to pick up Kallie from school. Miss Amanda sent us off with a lollipop for Kallie, and since the weather had cleared up, we decided to stop by the playground - it is on the way home, after all. We had a great time at the playground. We ate snacks. We swung on the swings. Kyle helped us spot all of the buses that drove by, by pointing and saying "bus!" Kallie helped us learn the difference between a "bus" and a "truck" (a subtle distinction that Kyle hasn't yet picked up on). We went down the slide. We chased squirrels. We splashed in big puddles. We followed the birds.



Once we got home, we changed out of out puddle-wet clothes and played until dinner. Dinner was a big hit with Kyle - he even asked for seconds of the lasagna.



Kallie wasn't too hungry, she said her belly was full (must have been all of those snacks we ate at the park) but she did have a few bites of lasagna, and even went back for a few more bites after we brushed our teeth.



After dinner, we took a bath and played with a new bath toy - a little orange fish that you can wind up, stick in the water and will swim on it's own. Fun, fun. That brought lots of laughter and smiles.

After bath time, we read stories and went to bed. Kallie and Aunt Cat decided (after a good college try) that we might as well both sleep in Mommy and Daddy's bed tonight - it is so cozy and warm in there.

We're looking forward to tomorrow. Good night!