Home and Garden Show- the unofficial start to Spring

Today we ventured out to the Home and Garden Show- AKA "the unofficial start to Spring" at our house.

Typically, Mam and I get through the show in about 1.5 hours. With Bug being the interactive toddler/little boy that he is, today's trip took 3 hours!!!!

Bug thoroughly enjoyed the show- the tractors to test, the building equipment to test and the playground/swing sets to test- not to mention the Fountains AKA "water features" to sample

I would really like to buy Bug one of these swing sets/ adventure sets for Bug, but this one was $2500.00!!!!!! While I like it, I don't like it that much. I think we will be getting a metal swing set instead.

This was the only disappointing thing in the show- the Harley-Davidson Motorcycle was off limits- behind a chain. Bug was not pleased- he was actually quite upset and refused to speak to anyone until he got to the playsets.

They gave him a hard hat. It is now the hat of choice

Of course, the Home and Garden show would not be complete without snow falling. Granted it was just flurries, but it was typical. We have about 6 more weeks before actual Spring planting can begin- but we are getting excited.

Love and hugs,

Deb

fun with T and Y- long time coming

Tonight T and Y came over to have dinner and play. We have not seen them since before Christmas- life has been busy for us all. Y turns 3 in 2 months and boy has she grown up- they were having fun driving together.

Best Buddies

We took a walk around the neighborhood. Lots of fun and entertainment as the mommas tried to herd the kids.

Pretending sleeping on the couch.

Growing up. We played outside before they arrived. actually Bug played and I grilled steak for dinner. YUMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Bug decided that playing in the wagon was fun- he really wanted me to pull him around. He got 15 minutes of being pulled around, 15 minutes of being swung around and then Y arrived.


It was a good evening. I am looking forward to the days getting longer so we have time to play outside before bed. I am also looking forward to warmer weather so we can be outside.

Love to you,

Deb

Cute as a button and a Poll for you to take

Some cute pictures from this week- Picture 1- drumming. He was going to town drumming for me. Of course when i joined in, I was promptly told to STOP MOMMABack in overalls. Little boys in overalls are the cutest thing. These are size 4/5- yes, not 4T or 5T- but 4/5's. They are a little long, but not by much. He wants to wear them again tomorrow- that would be 3 days in a row. Clearly, potty training is done at our house, because there is no way he could have worn these while we were potty training.









ON TO THE POLL- see the top of the right hand side bar to vote.



I am participating in a quilt swap- I have to send out 8x8 inch squares of fabric with a wish to other participants. This swap is countries and the fabric below is for Ethiopia.



The fabric is usable on both sides- which allows the receiver to pick, but the wish has to include a piece of the fabric adhered to the wish. So, help me decide- the muted side or the side with the gold design on top of the print- I have provided 2 views of each fabric


Choice A: close up of the gold design on top of the print design

Choice A: from further away

Choice B: the reverse side- no gold design on top of the print design

Choice B: from further away.

Voting ends on Friday night as I have to get the fabric and wishes out to the folks I am swapping with.

Love and hugs,

Deb

Little sponge

Bug was wandering around this evening muttering "she-she...." When I finally broke down and asked him what he was saying and where he herd it, he replied "Ni hoa Ki-lan". Yep, 3 episodes of this kids how and the little man is saying phrases of Chinese.

yes, he is- "she, she..." is repeated multiple times during the show. I am not sure if it is the word for grandfather or the word for thank you. heck I could be totally wrong on all accounts. I can't figure out the meaning because the character never translate - unlike Dora and Diego where 99% of the Spanish words/phrases are translated by the main character- Ki-lan does not translate her chines words on a regular basis. So I am lost trying to figure out the words.

Also heard tonight form Bug "time to let go"- a phrase from Nemo- Bug's new favorite movie.

It worries me what will come out of his mouth after we had movie afternoon on Sunday. I decided that I wanted to watch a DVD I have had since November/December- Prince Caspian. I should have watched it in the evening rather than during the afternoon when Bug was awake. I had to "explain" a few things and hide Bug's eyes a few times. Overall, I was disappointed with the movie. I need to get the books again (I gave them to a friend for her son about 4 years ago) and read the books to Bug.

Love to you,
Deb

Playing with Friends

Before we get to the pictures of our play time with friends tonight- here is a flash back to just over 2 years ago.

Yep, Bug got a scooter. I confess when I first saw this picture, my heart stopped. I was screaming in side "he is too little, he is just a baby". But, I knew that Popi, Mireya and the girls would keep him safe. Look how tiny he is, such a little boy. Fast forward- 2 years, 1 week and a different country to this!!!

Same toy, bigger boy. All I can think now "Bug, you are too big for that scooter". It took him almost the entire night to find this toy, but I saw it as soon as we walked into the house. Amazing the signs and coincidences in our lives.

See how much more interesting this is when you lay down on it - leave it to a boy to try this.

We spent the evening with friends. Dave and I belonged to the same singles group after college. His wife, Sherriann (they were not married then) moved to town the same time I left to go to Michigan.

They live on the other side of town- I live on the northwest side, they live on the southeast side. To get to their house, by the fastest route, I have to go across the river into another state and then come back across the river and it still takes me 45 minutes to get there.

Bug had a great time playing with Dave and Sherriann's boys- J who is 7 and B who is almost 4. Bug is about 4 months younger than B, but he stands half a head taller.

J on the floor, Bug running up to him and B following. See the height difference??

They wore themselves out. We left at 8 pm- Bug's bed time. I knew if we stayed longer, Bug would get over tired and that is one of the triggers that causes him to lash out by biting. So rather than have him bite J or B or ME, we left.

As we were driving home, Bug said the following:

"Momma, I like Susi, she loves me"

"Momma, I like the girls, they love me"

So Susi, Karla and Nigua- you were in Bug's thoughts tonight. I hope that you are well and that Bug's love reaches across the miles and warms your heart.

Love to you,

Deb

Growing up- STATS for this month

Little man is growing up: here he is from referral until now:

Referral: March 27, 2006 (but the picture is from Dec 2005):
March 2006 stats: 28 inches tall (65 cm) long, 16.8 pounds
December 2005 stats: 27 inches (63 cm) long, 14.8 pounds

Homecoming: June2007

June stats: 34 inches (86 cm) long, 25 pounds

Feb 2000 stats: 39 inches (99 cm) tall (41 inches according to the chart at Target), 30 pounds.

In the last 20 months - Bug has grown 5 inches (maybe 7 inches) and gained 5 pounds. he has gone from size 24 month clothes to almost being out of size 4T clothes. His shoe size has gone from size 7 to size 10.5/11.

according to the charts- Bug is in the 10th percentile for weight (no surprise there), the 50th percentile for height (or the 90th if I use 41 inches) and he is below the 3rd percentile for weight to height percentile.

I thought he had grown more inches- I guess the movement through clothes sizes is deceptive in terms of how much growth is actually occurring. Although 5-7 inches is a big jump. We saw some friends this evening and they said he looked like he had not grown at all since he came. I am not sure what they were thinking, but I think anyone who looks at him can see the difference from June 2007 to Feb 2009. Heck anyone who saw him last year can see the difference in him.

Love to you,

Deb

changes are coming

S is thisssssssss close to seeing her referral. YES, thisssssss close. I am thinking that she will hear us all screaming with joy when her referral comes- which it better be this week, cause the wait is angonizing for some of us in blogland.

I am praying for today's news to be a sign and to be a positive sign. here is to smooth sailing and to a daughter revealed. Oh and in case I forgot to say it- HAPPY BIRTHDAY S!!!!!!!!!!!!


Love and hugs,
Deb

Repercussions

Traveling for work has repercussions at home. The ripple effect of changes to our routine and to Bug's sense of security are felt for days and weeks at a time. I see the patterns now, I see the need in his behaviors and in his eyes for time with me and I am getting better at redirecting both of us to better behaviors before things get really bad at our house.
What I have not figured out is how to get us there faster. Case in point, I got home at 1 am on Friday morning, Bug was at my parents' house. I was able to pick him up on Friday afternoon at the regular pick up time on a work day. By this time, I am exhausted and he is tired of being away from home. Our weekend is really spent trying to catch up on things around the house- cleaning, laundry, yard work. There is no time to just sit and be still. I am lost in the fog of exhaustion- from travel, from work, from being a single mom, from fighting off a cold/illness. All I want is to sit and be still. All Bug wants is to play and be with me. Do you see the conflict? do you see the battle lines being drawn? I did, but I could not find the energy to break out of the exhaustion.
So, the behaviors driving both of us spiraled and we became adversaries for a day. But looking at my computer screen this morning, I realized, this was not what I wanted for this week. I did not want to be fighting and struggling through the week- praying for the weekend to arrive before we had a major melt down. So I took what I saw as the only choice- I took 1/2 day of vacation and picked up Bug from my sister's. We spent the afternoon hanging out at the aquarium, laughing and talking. We took a nap and rested, we watched some TV (Dora and Diego), we played cars- we had time together with no one else, no agenda, no limit.
We made a video for Abby, we read some books, we snuggled. We reconnected as a family. Life feels better. I did the right thing.
Some days I have to put work first but most days I need to put Bug first. This was one of those days.


Some pictures of the skyline from the Levee where the aquarium is located.

My little guy- worn out from seeing the fishes and worried that Momma might make him touch the sharks

Happy little frog

Turtle picture by Bug. All the fish, turtles and other things were moving around. I guess we went at the right time- lunch time!!!!

Octopus- you might have to open up the picture to see it better. It was cool. We were not allowed to use flash cameras to get pictures of octopus. But I love how the suckers on the tentacles are soo white on the glass.

Sea Horse picture by Bug


Love to you,

Deb