two sick kids

Porter has had a runny nose for a week now and Liesl has had a runny nose plus she threw up last night and this afternoon. I hope they get better soon.

Some things Liesl is doing that I want to remember.
Words for things
Baby = Blanket
milking = nursing
jacket = anything she wants to put on
please = something she wants
Liesl is also obsessed with shoes especially Porter's shoes. I have to show her every pair until she see the ones she wants. If I don't show them all to her she starts crying. She loves to put anything on like jackets, hats, bibs, bike helmet. She is really into the layering look and loves to go out with a jacket on when it 100 degrees out. I was trying to make dinner this evening so I sat her at the bar with some food and when I turned around she had on a cowboy hat and two bibs on. I should have taken a picture she was so cute.

Yesterday morning I took Porter to the dentist and he has no cavities but his front tooth is dead. we are just going to leave it in and eventualy it will fall out whe the new one comes in. She was a nice lady and I will definitly go back. When we were leaving the dentist asked Porter if he wanted a sticker and he told her he was going to take two one for him and one fore his sister. I thought it was so cute that he was thinking of her. Jason stayed home with Liesl and Porter did not really like that we were leaving without her. I wonder if he is going to have a problem going to school by himself? I am looking forward to him going to school but I am not sure about it. My plan all along was for him to go the year before he enters kindergarden but I kind of got caught up in the whole school thing. I guess we will see how it all works out.

Damages on FX

I have only watched the first two episodes but I love it already. I used to read lawyer thrillers when I was younger and I really like this show. I was out last night with some friends so I am going to watch last nights episode tonight.

tortillas

Last night I made some flour tortillas using this recipe. http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/flourtortillas.htm I used coconut oil and want to try and make them with whole wheat flour but white flour tortillas are so darn good. I am at the point where I prefer brown rice over white but I still love those white flour tortillas. Anyway, Porter swore that I was making "heart cookies" and wanted a ball of dough so I gave him one. He shared it with Liesl and said "I love it mommy I really do love it".


Liesl liked it too and kept on screaming at Porter to give her more. I had a little measuring cup on the counter that had some extra flour in it and they decided that dough tasted even better dipped in flour. I left the room and they got a bag of graham crackers and started dipping those in the flour, yuck.



Then Porter decided to put flour on Liesl.




I should not have left the kitchen because this is what I came back to.


He poured the flour on her dress and face.

The tortillas came out good.

maggots, poop, the velodrome and a photo shoot

Okay so Wednesday morning the kids were sitting up at the bar eating their breakfast and I thought I would sweep up a little since I never do. Well there were maggots in the broom and all over the floor. I was freaking out screaming so loud the neighbors were probably wondering what the hell was going on. I called Jason but he did not want to come home and clean it up. So I did what any good housewife would do I put on my yellow rubber gloves, grabbed a bottle of cleaner and a wad of paper towels and went to work. First I sprayed each maggot with cleaner but it really did nothing to stop them so I probably used a whole roll of paper towels cleaning them all up. When I was done I called my mom to schedule Letty the cleaning lady for Saturday. I am not very good at cleaning the house and it is time for a professional to come in and get the job done. So anyway my Wednesday was actually a nice day considering how it started. I went and bought a tricycle for Liesl that I can push and steer for $10 from a lady off craigslist. Porter rode his "ordange" bike and I pushed Liesl on the trike to the park. Porter was not that into the park so we rode over to the velodrome and it was open. Porter went and rode his bike around the center loop a couple of times then wanted to go on the "fast" track but only made it half way around.
Liesl has pooped in the potty about 7 times in the last week. Today she pooped on top of the potty and by the front door but at least I did not have one poppy diaper to wash this week.
So this writer for the UT is writing an article about street art and wanted a picture of me by a pole warmer. I met the photog at Influx and Jason met me there to watch the kids and it was a really weird experience. I am just not comfortable having my picture taken like that. I am afraid that I am going to have this weird smile in all of the photos but we will see.

cramps

Last night I was in pain from 9:30 until 11:30. I had to take 4 ibuprofin just so I could sleep. My cramps are so painful it feels like the early stages of labor but there is no break. I have to concentrate and breath to get thought it and for a moment last night I felt like I was going to throw up. This is what I went through from the time I got my period when I was 12 until I went on the pill when I was 19. I remember going to the school nurse when I was in 8th grade and my mom was mad that I came home and told me that I was going to have to learn to deal with it. Pain releavers would work sometimes but other times they didn't. I would take baths or sit on the couch with a heating pad but it was hell. My friends moms would take them to the Dr. and they were able to get medicine to help releave the pain. My parents said that you only need to go to the Dr. if you are having sex. I thought that after I had kids this would all be over with but they are starting again. I am going to the Dr. next week for an anual exam and I am going to talk to her about this. I don't want to go on the pill again but I also don't want to deal with painful cramps every month.

in review

Thursday morning we went to Spreckles Park in Coronado. There were not very many people from the playgroup there but it was fun. Thursday afternoon we went to the North Park Farmers Market and bought a few things for dinner. We ran into Jane and Milo there and it was a nice opportunity to get to know them better. I tried to buy tortillas at the Albertson's by our house but they did not have any without partially hydrogenated or canola oil. I have tried three different recipes in the last month or so and I finally found one that I really like. The salomon mixture, brown rice and fresh tortillas made yummy burritos. Friday morning we went to a fun park in Encinitas. There was some traffic and the parking was hard but we had a fun time.
Friday our good friends got married at the court house and had their reception in the evening. I had the 16 year old neighbor take the kids to the park so Jason and I could get ready before my parent's came over to watch the kids. Ali was great and I am definitely going to use her again. The reception was at the MOPA where the bride works and it was a lot of fun. The cake was decorated with mushrooms and there was a frog ice sculpture.


Ticey, Sara and I by the ice sculpture.


Sara and I having fun.


on our way to the Pink Elephant

We did not get home until after two and my parent's were a little tired but we had a great time.

Saturday was hard but I did alright after I got myself out of bed. We went to the Big Kitchen for breakfast but it was not verry good. Porter and Liesl did a good job in the restaurant but I did have to take them out after Liesl started crying for milk. I am so over nursing and I am trying to cut back her daytime nursing as much as I can. Saturday night we went to Bird Park with our neighbors for a free concert. The kids had a nice time and we had fun even though the music was not great. Saturday night Lorien and Val came over to sew bags and we got a lot done. We are on a roll and I can't wait for Tuesday to start finishing up some bags.

sandy hair

Today we went to Loren's house for the coop pick up. I was about an hour late for my shift and I only checked one person so I kind of sucked as a checker. I got a pair of Birkenstocks that I have been wanting for a while and I love them. Liesl and Porter went into the pool and had a fun time. Porter just wanted to pour water on Nina, Nina poured sand on Liesl and Liesl just wanted to lie in the water. I have mellowed so much in the last year it amazes me. Last year I would have freaked out that Liesl got a hair full of sand but now I just thought it was funny. I tried to get it out a little bit but I was not worried about it at all. Some of my freakoutness came from my sister and now that she has mellowed out I have started to as well. We left Lorien's and met up with Esther, Vinja and Nyssa at 28th Street for a little bit. It was nice hanging out there and the kids had a great time. At 2 I took the kids to Sara's house so I could have a little break. Even though I tell her I don't think she knows how much I appreciate it. I met up with Jason and we went to the Princess pub for a drink and food then I went home and cleaned my floors. I ordered an Ergo carrier over two weeks ago and it never arrived so I emailed them and they sent me a tracking number and said it was delivered last week. I was driving home from LA that day and did not receive it so they are sending me another one. I hope it was just a mistake because I would be really sad if someone stole it from my porch. I never had any problems living in Golden Hill and I thought we were moving to a nicer neighborhood and if this is what I have to deal with I will be sad. Blah it is 12:53 AM Jason is out with his friends and I should go to bed. Oh Porter learned how to hit the baseball tonight with Jason. The last time we were out in the yard he was kind of doing it on his own but I did not think to throw it to him. Jason did tonight and one time Porter almost hit it over the fence. Porter is diaper free at night now and he has only had two accidents but that have been in the morning before he gets out of bed.

Monday and Tuesday

I usually go to the park on Monday for the AP playgroup but for some reason I did not go this Monday. It is Wednesday night and I am on my second glass of wine so I don't really remember what I did. Maybe I will remember in the morning. Oh wait I remember I went and dropped Porter off at Sara's house and took Liesl to Whole Foods. I used Kim's menu and bought everything on the shopping list for a weeks worth of meals. It made it so east to shop and the meals have been good so far. It saves money and I don't have to think about what is for dinner so I need to start making some of my own. Monday night I missed knitting because my parent's were over helping us move the new fridge in the house. Tuesday I went to 28th Street park but we did not stay as long as I would have liked because Porter said he was tired. We got home and I told Porter he needed to take a rest but that only lasted 15 minutes and then Liesl woke up. I was kind of bummed but whatever I am used to them not taking naps anymore. We went to Target and Porter got a new helicopter and Liesl got some new shoes. When we got to the shoes Liesl started trying to get out of the stroller and was saying "shoe" over and over. I finally found a sandal in her size so she as happy for a while until she wanted the string that hold them together off.

last week

Last week we went up to LA to visit Shauna for a night. The drive up was not too bad and we just went to a park with Shauna's neighbor when we got there. Wednesday we went to LA's fashion district with 5 kids, two in a double wide jogging stroller, one in a single stroller, one in a sling and one walking. It was madness so we did not stay for a long time but I was able to find some fabric for shopping bags. Thursday I met up with a group of my playgroup friends to sew shopping bags. It took us a while to get started and we only made a few bags but it was fun. Friday night we went to a concert in the park at Trolley Barn and met up with some friends. There were a lot of people there and we had a really nice time. I lost Liesl's brown sandal so that was a bummer. So far in the last month I have lost one while sandal, one brown sandal and a pair of white sandals that were the replacement for the one I lost. I never lost Porter's shoes and I can't understand how I am losing Liesl's. I was thinking of listing the left shoes on ebay but I don't know how well that would go. Friday night I met Sara and some of her friends at Bluefoot for some drinks. I drank more than I should have but I did not have a hangover so that was good. Saturday Shauna came down and we had a yard sale. My parents cleaned out their attic for the remodel they are doing and had us take all of our dolls and junk from our childhood. We did not sell much and all of the leftover stuff went to the thrift store. I could have saved it for Liesl but the plastic was not looking so good on my cabagepatch and rainbow bright dolls. Saturday afternoon I went and got my hair cut at Stacy's new salon. It is in a house and it is really cute. I loved my hair when I left the salon then I had a few days where I did not like it so much but now I love it again. I really like short hair and think it suits me well. Sunday we went and bought a new refrigerator! We went to the Sears outlet store and found one that had some scratches on it but was half the price. Jason went and recorded so I went to my parent's house to swim and hang out with Shauna. Liesl loved playing in the little pool we set up and Porter had fun in the big pool.

new name

I don't think I was ever technically a true urban housewife but I thought I was one. I lived so close to Downtown I was able to walk there whenever I got the urge to do so. We sold our house and moved to the burbs. Now I am just a wannabe urban housewife waiting for my kids to grow up so we can really move Downtown and I can truly be an urban housewife.

no no no

Porter is saying no all the time now. It was cute at first but now it is getting old. We went to the park yesterday there was this little girl that wanted to play with him. Porter just kept walking away from her saying no no no no. We went to the zoo today and went through a section that I have never been to before. It was fun but it has been hot here so we went home around 12.
I have been going to acupuncture for my sciatica. It seems to be helping and my back pain is getting better.
I just finished reading A Million Little Pieces by James Frey. That is one of the best books I have read in a while.
The baby is kicking a lot and I am getting big. I know I am going to get so much bigger and it is a little depressing. I am excited to have another baby in the house. It is going to be crazy for a while but it will be fun.
Jason and I are going to celebrate our 2nd wedding anniversary. I had our wedding Polaroid framed for a gift but it will not be ready until Saturday. My little sister is going to watch Porter for us and we are going to go to dinner. I don't know where we are going to go or if Jason has already picked a place.
Jason's friend Josh celebrated his birthday on Friday so we went to Bombay for dinner. I love curry and it was a delicious dinner.
Thanksgiving is going to be a lot of fun this year. The last three years we went to Portland so it will be nice to celebrate with my family.

Names

I love being able to name our child but at the same time it can be hard to find the right name. The boy name that I like is Miles Elliott and the girl name is Scarlett Rose. The only problem is that my friend Michele has already said that her girl name is Maria Rose. My friend is married but they are not pregnant and as far as I know are not trying to be. I know that she wants to be pregnant but her husband thinks they should wait a little while. Michele told me a couple of weeks ago that a single mutual friend told her that she likes the name Rose as well. Michele thought that this was really weird and it made her mad. At dinner the other night I casually said that we liked the name Scarlett Rose right after she told us her baby names for the 100th time. She just got this weird look on her face and did not say anything. I started saying some other middle names and then everyone started giving me their suggestions. I just do not think it is that big of a deal to have the same middle name. I could see her being mad if I wanted to name my baby Maria but Rose is becoming so popular right now I don't think she has any right to be mad. I did not want to tell her we are thinking of that name but I guess I really don't care if she is mad. I guess I just do not understand the idea that once you pick out a name or name your child no one else can use it. I personally would be happy is someone named their son Porter. I think it is a great name and should be used more. I love the name Amelia and my sister used it and I was happy.
Friday night we went to Pasta Espresso in PB and it was so good. Jason bought some new Converse at a store there and we went home. Saturday we went up to Krakatoa and got some coffee and food but there were no empty tables so went to the park. There is this huge tree in Balboa Park that we used to be able to climb on as kids. The ground was getting to compacted and it could not get enough water so they had to gate it off. There is the same kind of tree at the park so it was fun to let Porter climb on the huge roots. I wish I had better shoes on because I would have loved to climb up on the branches. We cleaned the house and I washed all of my maternity clothes. In the afternoon we went to my parent's house to go swimming. Sunday we went over to Hillcrest for bagels and coffee. We were supposed to go to the beach in the afternoon but my friends said it was overcast so we did not go. I made a late lunch/ early dinner and then baked a cake. I just love white cake with butter cream frosting. I am probably going to eat the whole cake by tomorrow. I thought that I had gained a few pounds already but when I got on the scale today I found out that I only gained a 1/2 pound. I gained 3 pounds in my first trimester last time and I have three more weeks so I hope I start gaining some weight. I firmly believe that if you do not overeat your body will gain what it needs. I can't wait for my next appointment on the 11th.

Mojave Resort

We went out to Palm Desert for the weekend and had a wonderful time. I wish we could have stayed for a week. Things are good here. We have started working on the yard and it is a little stressful trying to figure out how the new retaining wall is going to be. I just hope it looks good and is what we want in the end. There is so much going on but I guess I am just not in the mood to write about it.

All the things we did

Friday night we had my sister's family and another couple over for dinner. I made a bunch of food that turned out alright. I did not love it but I did not hate it either. Saturday we went to Balboa Park for Bowie's 1st birthday party. We only stayed for a little while but it was fun. After the party we went to a fake wedding. Jason's friend is in a movie and they were shooting the wedding scene so we went to be a guest. It was fun and Porter was being good. Saturday night we went to The Fish Market with my family and our friends from Malta. The food was good but it is a little stressful going to dinner with a baby. Fortunately they put us in a room just for large groups so Porter and Henry did not disrupts the other guests.
Sunday we went to the Crest Cafe for breakfast. It took a while to be seated and by the time we were eating Porter was tired and ready for a nap. Sunday afternoon we went to a house warming party for our friends. It was nice but uneventful. Sunday night we went over to our neighbor's house for pizza.
We had such a full weekend I hope this next weekend is not as full.

I am still pissed of about the cat situation. I just do not know what to do about it but I know that I should not have to live like this.

Over it

I am tired of feeling like my house is not mine. I am tired of not feeling comfortable in my own home. I am tired of smelling the litter box every time I go into the bathroom. I am tired of having a litter box in the bathroom. I am tired of seeing little blue and white pieces of litter on the floor. I am tired of hearing litter crush under my shoe. I am tired of having to find a place on the couch to sit that does not have hair. I am tired of having to close our bedroom so the cat does not get in. I am tired of having the cat rub hair and dirt on everything. I am tired of having dirt marks on the cupboards in the kitchen from the cat rubbing against them. I am tired of having cat food scattered all around the food bowl. I am tired of her throwing up on the floor. I am tired of Zoey. I have not told Jason to get rid of her because I don't want to make him have to do that but I can't stand her living in this house anymore. I really admire my sister for making her husband get rid of his cats. I wish I had the ability to do that. I guess I just hoped that Jason would want to get rid of Zoey eventually. I just can not take 10 more years of this. I don't even want another minute of this. Zoey has thrown up right here in the dining room so I put a paper towel over it. Just doing that made my gag so much I almost threw up. So until Jason comes home to clean it up Porter can not crawl around and play in this room. Porter can not crawl and roam the house because I have to be constantly watching him. I don't want him to crawl into the litter box or eat Zoey's food. Zoey is a mean cat and hisses at everyone. There is only a little love in her and it is for Jason. I wish I could just take her to the pound or try and find a new home.

There is so much more I could write about but I am so mad I will just have to do it later.

Weekend

Saturday we went to Porter's swim lesson. He loves swimming so much I wish we did it more than once a week. This summer we will be in my parent's pool a lot and I can't wait. We went to Beverages and More after swim lesson and then home. We went to my parent's house Saturday afternoon since we were not going to go on Sunday. It was fun to hang out with everyone on such a nice day. John made the most delicious margarita with blood orange juice. Sunday Jason had some friends over to play Axis and Allies. They came over at two and did not leave until nine. My friend Kelli and her daughter Olivet came over because her husband Cliff was playing the game. I made enchiladas, rice and beans for dinner so it was a fun night. Porter and Olivet were playing together well so it was really nice.
Today I went to story time in the library. Porter just wants to crawl around all over and he loves this huge stuffed cow. I spend most of the time trying to keep him from eating the disgustingly dirty tail. I am okay with him hugging and touching the body but I don't like it. A high school classmate was there with her daughter who is a few weeks younger than Porter. I invited her to our playgroup so I hope she comes.

three cupcakes

Ever since I watched Victoria Gotti eat cupcakes on her show I have been craving them. I made some delicious coconut cupcakes a while back that filled my craving for a while. If they did not take so long to make I would make a batch every week. Last night I made some Betty Crocker silver white cake with coco butter frosting. I ate three if them last night and three today. I am kind of taking advantage of the fact that I am still brest feeding. I can still eat so much and not gain any weight but I know that will end soon. Porter is starting to eat more solid food so he should stop nursing as much.
I went to Walmart today with my sister. The last time I was there was when I bought my bike about two years ago. It was actually a nice Walmart because it was new and clean. I bought a pattern to make a skirt, a blue ball and an outfit for Porter. I wonder if it will be another two years before I go back. I will probably buy some of Porter's play clothes there since they are so cheap.
Tonight Jason and I are going to go out and I just can't wait.

Knitting circle

My neighbor and I started a knitting circle. We met last night for the first time at a coffee shop for a couple of hours. It was really nice and I ended my one month of not knitting by starting a washcloth. A washcloth is the most basic thing you could make and a project for a new knitter but I just had never made one before. I finished it tonight and it was a fun little thing to knit. My whole goal for February was to stop knitting or making anything so I could read more. The month started out with my trip to NY so I did not start reading anything for a while. Well I am always reading something but never finishing anything. Jason and I used to go to a coffee shop on the weekend and just sit and read for hours. Now that Porter is here we just can not do that anymore. I wonder how old he will be when we get to do that again? I hope that he will be a good kid and be able to entertain himself well. I am sure he will be since most likely he will be our only child. I am still not 100% sure but I know it will be better to only have one child. Anyway I read the da vinci code and I did not really like it that much but I could see it being a good movie. I still need to finish Our Babies, Ourselves but I read at night and there is so much info in that book I end up just going to sleep. I am really excited to be knitting again. It just feels so good to make things and hopefully I can start on my goal of making an article of clothing this year. I think I am going to make something for Porter. I really should make something for myself but it will be quicker to make something for Porter. I feel like making something for Porter is an easy way out. I set this goal for myself to make an article of clothing and I am kind of coping out by making it for Porter. It will be way smaller so it will not take as long that is why I want to do it. Oh well, maybe I will make him something and want to make myself something too. Today I went to the Science Center because it was free and they have this new exhibit called Kid City. Shauna, Amelia and Henry came to my house and she fed the kids so there was a huge mess afterwards. Henry pulled a bowl of apple sauce off the table and on to himself and Amelia was running around chasing Zoey the cat. Kid City was fun, but Porter wanted to play with the big kids so I had to keep on picking him up and bringing him back to the little kid area. I would not mind letting him play with the big kids but they try and talk to him like he understands. So I just move him because they are rough and he does not need to be playing with them yet. He can play with my niece and my friends older kids but not strangers just yet. I have no plans for tomorrow but I think that Shauna and I might go have a picnic with the kids.

trip

The flight to to NYC went well. Porter was good and only cried once because I pinched his finger when I put the arm rest down. The seat next to me was empty so Porter got to move around a little bit. It was cold when we got there but the rest of the week it was nice in the 40's. There was so much packing to do and my sister has so much stuff. Growing up I was known as the messy one and Shauna was known as the clean one. I am a lot cleaner than I used to be and Shauna is still clean but she has so much stuff. We filled so many boxes and had to go back to the store twice for more. It was nice though to spend some time with them before they moved out here. We did go to the city one day to shop. They have this store called H & M that has the best baby clothes ever. I bought so much for Porter he is not going to need clothes for a long time. I bought him some Swedish slippers and some dishes from Fishes Eddy. We spent two days inside packing and Porter got sick with a cough and a runny nose. Porter also had eczema on his cheeks and Shauna said that it is from being inside in the heat. The eczema cleared up once we got back to San Diego but he still has a runny nose and a cough. The plane ride back was good and the flight was not full so we got a whole row of seats. It was nice because Amelia sat with me for a while and Shauna played with Porter while Henry was sleeping. I was so happy to be back in San Diego with Jason.

Sick and a tooth?

Friday we went to playgroup at Lilliana and Paulina's house. Porter had fun pulling himself up and crawling around on the patio with the other kids. Porter took a nap and when he woke up I gave him some avocado and banana but he did not want very much so I put him in his room to play. I was in the kitchen and I looked over at Porter and he spit up and some of it was coming out of his nose. He was crying and just not happy at all so I nursed him. When he was done nursing he threw up all of the milk and continued to throw up all night. It was the saddest thing I have ever had to see. Early Saturday morning I woke up having to go to the bathroom and throwing up so all day I felt like crap. Jason took care of Porter and I just tried to sleep as much as I could. Three other moms, two dads and two other kids in playgroup had the same thing. It was so crappy I hope that we do not have to go through that again soon. I was feeling better yesterday so we went shopping. Jason got some new shirts and I got a shirt and a pair of jeans. I took a bunch of clothes to Buffalo Exchange and got $62 so I went back to Nordstrom and bought a sweater that I really liked. I am feeling a lot better today but I still do not feel like cleaning the house. Maybe I will do it after I go to the grocery store.
Porter is getting his first tooth so he has been fussy all day today. He let me put my finger in his mouth once today and I think I felt something hard but I am not sure. He has just been so sad and I have given him some teething tablets but I am not sure if they are working.