My little "Chewy"

Ever since Callum was tiny he has been a "high maintenance" baby. Even with his fussy temperament we have loved every inch of this little man. He will be all peaches and cream until something doesn't go his way and then he begins to whine and moan in a way that sounds a lot like this guy:


Exhibit A: (use your imagination ;)



With a move to a full-size crib, medication to help keep him "regular", and the breakthrough of 2 teeth we have seen a lot more of this:



I am "knocking on wood" as I type hoping that maybe we have outgrown some of his Chewbaca wailing. Hold your breath with me and I'll keep you posted!

Crazy??

My mind ---- seriously I think I've lost it... probably never had much of it to begin with, but what is left is certainly gone. My Family is coming out for a short visit with one request -Tickets to the Christmas Spectacular at Radio City. I dutifully purchased tickets for all 6 of us back in October in anticipation.

This week is packed with random events in addition to the upcoming visit and so I was carefully planning it all out on Sunday. As I attempted to print our tickets I realized they were for December 18th NOT December 4th and then I promptly panicked. I spent a full day leaving messages at "guest relations", e-mailing, and attempting to make contact with Radio City. I just needed to know if a swap was even possible before I ran out and sold our tickets to the highest bidder and purchased new ones for the 4th. No Response - really. By this morning I was a little worried. I still hadn't heard a thing in response to my many messages...After a minor (or major) meltdown and lots more phone calls I had secured new tickets on the correct day and time - WHEW!


Why the breakdown? I don't know...it really wasn't that much of a problem. I knew all that in my mind, but just couldn't pull myself together. You know the straw that broke the camel's back, but I'm pretty sure that makes me the camel. I think I need help...preferably the kind that comes with an airline ticket to a tropical location, massage, and a babysitter.

30-30 Over the Hill

Yes, my little "man" has turned 6. What a sweet guy I have. As I put him to bed last night our conversation went a little something like this:

Carson: "Mom, I don't think I'm ready to turn six"

Me: "Why, Bud?"

Carson: "Because the last five years have been really great." (hint of sadness in his voice)

Me: "What do you mean?" (Trying desperately not to burst out laughing)

Carson: "Well my early years have been so good, I don't think it will be as good now that I'm so old!"

Happy Birthday Carson...I promise we'll make the next five years just as good as the last.

29-30 I just need my bed...

I wish this was it...a little more sleep and I just might kick this cold....

28-30 Little People...

Still feeling a little under the weather so I'll just post a few pics of these sweet kiddos of ours! The first two are of the kids at the pool during our recent trip to Florida. The picture of Cal is recent.

27-30 Feeling "Fuzzy"

When we spent a week with my sister-in-law and her kids in Idaho my niece Alli spent a lot of time with Callum. She loved to play with him, hold him, and talk to him. Cal could only handle small amounts of "Alli Attention" before he would begin to fuss and whine (note: It wasn't only Alli Attention that caused him to fuss ; ) At this point she would look up at me with her big brown eyes and ask, "What is wrong with him Aunt Jenn? Is he getting fuzzy?" With a hidden smile I would reply, "Yes, Alli he is fuzzy." He really was (and sometimes still is) a very fussy baby. There really was nothing in particular that was bothering him. He seems to need things just so or he is just not happy...

Well, today I took a page from Cal's book and have been feeling "fuzzy" as Alli says. I woke up still tired with a headache that has only continued to increase in intensity... I discovered that my camera lens was broken and I didn't accomplish anything on my to do list and grumped and complained to anyone who would listen to me today. I think I need a big dose of Vitamin C and a good rest. Call me tomorrow, hopefully "fuzzy" Jenn won't answer your call....

26-30 Back on the wagon...

Well, I knew it.... and I blew it.

Every time I had a minute I kept telling myself that I should post, but in the end I just ran out of energy and time. Dan spent the day at a "case competition" at Columbia in the city (he was a judge - not a participant) so I had a wallow in self pity day followed by an evening with some girlfriends. It didn't help that when Dad is gone I am on soccer duty. We hit Carson's game at 9 and Erika's at 12:30 -- by 1:10 it was rained out and we came home to warm up and shower. I just missed it yesterday, but when you fall off the wagon you jump right back on, right?

25-30 I'm exhausted...I'll blog about the house soon

Don't let the sweet face fool you. He's out to destroy me! For the past month or so he has been waking up around 2:00am and crying til you pick him up. All he needs is a little snuggle and he falls directly back to sleep. Unfortunately for me he continues this cycle every 40 minutes until morning. If you try to calm him without picking him up he throws an enormous fit and refuses to stop screaming. I feel some tough love coming on...

24-30 Finally!

***I will return to answering questions tomorrow***

Today I decided I had to get Halloween out of the way. After all the work I put into our costumes I realize now that I did a lousy job of getting pictures of my "blue crew", but since I was on the Activities Committee and Dan left the camera in the car I didn't have many opportunities to sneak away for photo opps. We went as:


Yes, the Smurfs + Gargamel

Most of these were taken during clean-up of our ward Halloween Party so Carson (Hefty Smurf) had eaten off most of the makeup around his mouth, and Callum (Baby Smurf) had been slobbering all over my (Brainy Smurf) shirt and neck so we all looked a little scary-crazy by the time we took the picture.



Carson during his school parade.


Lovely "Smurfette"


And of course Dan was Gargamel because the kids couldn't talk him into being Papa Smurf.

The kids really wanted to be Smurfs this year and after searching high and low for pre-made costumes to no avail I told them "no". After much begging, I decided this may be the last year for a while that one of my kids would want to have such a crazy costume. So Smurfs we were! I spent three days madly trying to make a pattern and then sew Smurf hats, pants and "boots", and a dress for Smurfette. Gargamel was a little easier to do... It was fun to watch the people at church try to figure out who I was (in real life not my character). It was fun and the kids loved having their friends ask who they were. Hopefully I can scour out a few better pictures to post another time.

23-30 My Feet...

How are your feet?

***First, feet are gross...

I will explain....I have crazy feet. They are flat, but usually I am fine with that. My toes are shaped strangely, but I can't do much about that either. About 2 years ago I started having pain in my left foot when I would run. Then the pain became increasingly frequent until now when it is almost unbearable at times. Finally, in August I had enough and saw a Podiatrist. After a thorough examination and an MRI it was determined that I have a large Neuroma in between my 2nd and 3rd toes on my left foot.

Neuroma: A neuroma is an enlarged, inflamed nerve mass occurring most commonly at the ball of the foot near the 3rd and 4th toes. Symptoms usually consist of a sharp, stabbing or burning pain under the ball of the foot with radiating pain into the toes. In severe cases, a "clicking" sensation can be felt while walking. This is the nerve mass moving between the adjacent metatarsals.

My neuroma is a little larger than my pinkie finger. I had a round of shots that were horribly painful as well as useless. Last resort? Surgery to remove it. Unfortunately, my Dr. is going to be out of commission until the end of November and I don't want to do it over the holidays particularly so I am looking at having it done in early January. I am hopeful that it will relieve the pain and allow me to get back to a more active life!

We went to Disney World in September and I was really worried that it would be tough, but it wasn't as bad as I anticipated as long as I wore a certain pair of shoes and alternated with my flip-flops. Thanks Liz for asking and hopefully it will be better soon. (I know you can sympathize...)

22 - 30 My favorite color...

I love the color of the water in this picture...I really don't like pink and never have. Even as a kid I wouldn't wear anything pink if I could help it. Blues and greens are always my favorites.

21-30 Answers...

1. How much longer do you think Dan will be in I-banking? Is he loving it? Are you loving New York and do you see yourself there for the long haul?


* Well, I hope no one from UBS is reading this.... I don't know howlong he'll stay. He HATES the hours. For those of you unfamiliar with his hours I will briefly explain. Usually he leaves before 8:30 am and returns home between 11 - 2 am (16-18 hr days) on average -- Monday to Friday. On the weekends he works 10 -25 hours from home or office depending on the deal. To compensate for the long hours they are usually paid pretty well, but Dan is too low in the pecking order to get the crazy bonuses you hear about but high enough for them to cut the bonus he does get when times are tough. If you average out how much he works with how much he is paid (or will be paid) it is sad. On the up side he still has a job and in the NY market that is a blessing. We took this job thinking he would stay long enough to pay down our student loans, but that is proving harder than we anticipated due to current conditions. So we are contemplating our options...any suggestions???????



*As for NY...hmmm. I am torn. Surprisingly, Dan really likes NY and our neighborhood. We both think:

Negatives:
- we hate that we pay the highest property taxes in the US (#1 or#2 is Westchester county). It is really obscene.
- paying to go to stores like Target. (I have to pay to park almost everywhere and it is annoying.)
- NY state Taxes! (taxes in general are a big complaint around here)
- Babysitters that cost $10 or more per hour. This limits our ability to have "date night" very often when you know you have to fork out $40-60 just for the sitter.
- The weather...I don't like cloudy weather and it is cloudy here WAY to often.
- everything is just SO expensive.
- our house..too small, too old, too expensive

+ We love the great schools the high taxes pay for.... Both the kids have fabulous programs and teachers.
+ the beautiful, green landscape out here.
+ being able to have NYC so close...I don't get in as often as I would like, but just knowing it is there is great.
+ having so many airports so close - you can go anywhere from NYC
+ our neighbors...they are amazing and dote on our kids/ward...love the wards we've been in outside UT/ID (nothing against the others, but our other wards have just seemed closer.)
+ our house...you kind of love it like a prisoner becomes enamored with his captor ; )


As you can see we are split here too...I guess much of it depends on the first question - his job. So I guess I haven't actually answered anything have I? Well, we are open to suggestions...

Thanks for the questions Molly... We miss the Philly days too. We loved our time spent there and think about it all the time. Funny, because Dan is at Wharton recruiting tonight as I type.

I'll tackle #2 tomorrow...

20-30 What do you want to know????

I can't blog Halloween quite yet because I am search of a certain picture so besides Halloween, what do you want to know? Anything? Help? I will try to answer the questions that are put on this post....so let the ????'s commence.

19-30 Part TWO - Success

Hurray!!! My baby was "good" for a babysitter tonight...what does this mean? Freedom...unfortunately I can't afford one as often as I want one, but this is a first step! Seriously, this is a great thing.

19-30 A clue....

Many of you already know what our family did for halloween this year, but while i am waiting to find a few pics of the whole famiy, here is a clue for you. the above picture is one i took while "creating" our costumes.

18-30 Happy Halloween!

* one trip to the grocery store

* two school parades and parties

* two missed naps

* one Christmas Kit to get out

* one trick-or-treating gathering to prepare for

* a little service done

* trick-or-treating

* a husband home at 8:00

All good reasons today's post will not be lengthy...full report on this year's costumes and candy to come!

Happy Halloween everyone!

17-30 The Great Pumpkin Experiment

The past few years we have been paying through the nose for pumpkins that were rotten before Halloween. Thus prompted "The Great Pumpkin Experiment". We carefully purchased pumpkin seeds last spring, planted them indoors til they were a vine, transplanted the small plants, watered and fertilized them, and then 85% of them were promptly eaten by these: (I should clarify that they ate the vines before the pumpkins were fully ripe)



But luckily we were able to salvage three cute little pumpkins from the havoc of the squash bugs. The were medium, small medium, and small....just right for my three little people (OK, Erika, you aren't "little" anymore)



We opened them up and found them FULL of seeds. I think it was about 5 cups of seeds from three small pumpkins. I decided on the spot we must roast them for a treat. So we carefully separated "guts" from seeds and then I seasoned them and popped them in the oven.



The kids quickly drew out their designs (I assisted Cal of course) and we carved them up lickety split. Carson insisted on scary eyes and mouth and Erika wanted hers to look "old fashioned". It is scary to think that the pumpkins I carved as a kid, i.e. no fancy patterns, are "old fashioned". Every time we popped a piece out from Carson's pumpkin he would take a bite of it and declare it to be delicious. He then concluded he would like me to send raw pumpkin slices to school for his snack time. Hmmm.... Cal's little pumpkin had to represent him so we included one of his favorite accessories on his pumpkin.



What do you think....was our experiment a success or failure???

16 - 30 Isn't it funny...

Isn't ironic that the "hump" day of my 30 in 30 falls on a Wednesday the "hump" day of the week?

Anyway, I found a few pics of a Halloween we had while living in Colorado. We were home visiting in Idaho and took the kids trick-or-treating at the zoo and my mom's office. I snapped some shots of them while there. Erika was almost 6 and Carson the Crocodile wasn't quite one. She was so excited to be wearing a little makeup. I think she liked that more than the costume at times. I miss those chubby little cheeks and sweet little six year old....


My little kitty cat. (The only pic I had was one I had "played" with in Photoshop. Sorry)


He had no clue what was going on, but he loved his little tail and kept trying to turn around to see it. Look at the sweet chubby cheeks on Carson Crocodile! Cal is so different...he is like a little elf. No chub on him.

15-30 The Road

Book Club was very interesting this month. We read "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy. If you are looking for good writing and thought provoking reading then I must recommend this book. I have am conflicted over the overall story, but it was engrossing and our discussion was very interesting. If you have read it I would love to hear your thoughts on it! All I know is that I felt like adding to our food storage when I finished it...

14-30 Oklahoma or Bust!

So Dan is in OK for a few days and we are really on our own. His trip consisted of a flight to TX and then a drive to OK....I guess it is better than the work he usually does every day. It does make me laugh that he is travelling approximately 8+ hours each way for a 2 hour meeting. I don't know why these trips out of town always feel so far away...he is never home 'til the we smas when he is here during the week so I don't know why it feels so different. I guess I just miss the warm body crawling into the bed sometime in the middle of the night. So I'm on my own for a few...Night.

13-30 lower case madness

so lately my typing has really become a sorry mess. why. i am pretty sure it has a lot to do with typing with only one hand. you see this third child of mine has relegated me to typing one-handed. he does not like to sit quietly and play on his own. he wants to be held much of the time so i check e-mail and blog with him in my arms. this makes it nearly impossible to add capital letters or any thing beyond a period or the occasional dash for punctuation to my e-mails or messages. it also means i can't generally do work related typing when he is awake....hmmm. to tell you the truth the sloppy typing brought on by text messaging is a pet peeve of mine, but i must give in if i am going to stay in touch with the world. so as i sit here typing with cal on my lap, just know that cal and the shift key don't mix in my world.

12-30 Wanna Rock-n-roll all night....

Carson has declared himself "King" and loves to share his "mad-skills" on Guitar Hero. He loves to play and has mastered Easy and is half-way through Medium. I have decided the violin lessons must be assisting him on his way to video game fame. Too bad mom and dad don't let him play very often or he may have been well on his way to guitar hero stardom by now. As you can tell by the above pics, he loves to rock out when he has star power. We aren't sure where the "moves" came from, but he is hilarious to watch. Now, if only there were a Disney version of this game...

11-30 Whoever said....

Making our Halloween Costumes was a good idea? Don't answer that - I think it was me. I shall be back with a full report (with pictures) on a later date.

10-30 A little Homecookin'

A few weeks ago we did a little apple picking... It was a perfect day for apples and we enjoyed them immensely! They were yummy and lovely, but after a few weeks we still had apples lining the drawer of my fridge.


I do not really like fruit pies...in general. Unfortunately, Dan loves them. I have only attempted 2 fruit pies in the past both of which were so-so. This past weekend the apples we picked were calling to me to put them to use. I called the queen of pies and requested a crust recipe...researched a good filling and this is the result! It looks a little messy - in the future I shall tidy up the edge - but very delicious! I received rave reviews from my husband...I may have to mend my ways and add pies to my list of "can dos"!

9-30 Contents of a boy's pocket...

* 7 "beautiful" rocks

* a lucky penny

* an acorn top

* a screw with a "minus" sign on top instead of a "plus" sign

* a seed

This is what I pulled out of Carson's pocket today. You can imagine what the washing machine sounds and looks like when I forget to check the pockets of our pants before washing. The rumble and crash of a load of laundry reminds me that I have forgotten to empty them first. I guess I'm glad that he is curious enough about the world to want to bring a little home every night. The real question is what to do with all the "treasures" he finds. Usually, it all ends up in the trash....until he happens to catch me and then I am called to task. I guess I'm glad he doesn't deposit any living items in his pockets!

8-30 Home Early!

So I am begging off on a long post tonight. Dan just walked in and its only 8:40!!!! Miracle of Miracles! So we are going to enjoy a rare treat... See you tomorrow.

7-30 Whoa Nelly!

This is what I did yesterday as I was coming downstairs to take care of Carson:



All the way from the top to the bottom of our hardwood stairs. I am sure it is all because I was running around the house in a pair of these:



I would post a picture of what the results are, but that would make this post a little more than "G" rated and let's get real, my parents read this blog and it would be quite shocking. Let's just say I have an enormous bruise on my "seat" and my ego is quite bruised as well. Dan did a great job of holding back all smirks until after he determined that I was OK and in one piece. I think this warrants a new pair of slippers!

6-30 Hmmm

Carson spent the day like this:



Hopefully we'll be up and running again tomorrow.

5-30 Living on Fumes

A gallon of paint for 2 very small closets. Seriously. It has been an entire week of snatching moments during naps and carpools to paint the two small closets in our bedroom, but it is done! Unfortunately I have the rest of the room to finish. At this rate It should take...ahhhh....about a month.

4 - 30 Love these...

I need to write about my favorite baby products. This time around I have just been "getting by" with a lot of things because he is the last one. These have been two of my favorite current items to have around since having Cal. If you are in the market for a great gift add these to the list of things to checkout...



This little music and lights crib toy is a life-saver!!! I had a fish version when Carson was little and he loved it, but they have made vast improvements. The old version made loud "cranking" noises when the fish moved around. In the new model the animals silently sway and move to the nature noises or music. Cal loves watching the waterfall and the animals move. He is soothed by the music or nature sounds. It is a winner. If you have a baby, or are buying a shower gift I give this full marks. (It is made by Fisher-Price.)



This is another great product that I couldn't live without, especially when he was tiny. It is well padded and has 2 positions. I loved it for sleeping when he was little and for eating now that he is just starting food. It vibrates and has an ipod hookup so that you can play any music you want. (It does have built in music too - the digital corny kind) I don't love the toy bar, but it is in a good position and I can add my own toys from other baby toys that I have. I have loved this little seat. (Made by Combi)

3 - 30 My thoughts on the Election this year....

I was so excited this year! I am always excited about politics and this Election will be so interesting that it just makes me grin. I couldn't wait!




Here it comes... the issues, the debates, the news coverage, the VP selections....




How does it all taste????????????? A little sweet, a little bitter, a little surprising---




But in the end, it all just has a bad aftertaste.

2 - 30 Columbus Day - the best "Jewish Holiday" of the year...

On Columbus Day, we went here:





With these fun people:



Brian, Heidi, and Parker - By the way, isn't he just the cutest little bit of humanity? Just 3.5 weeks younger than Cal...



We saw this Familiy Plot: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow - Author



Cal loved the ride...don't you just love the hat...not necessary, but cutenone the less.



The kids loved the cannons we found. This was taken in honor of Grandma and Grandpa Cannon. (Note: Not sure what the cannons were protecting.)



A rare shot of Mom and baby enjoying a lovely afternoon with family!




Carson declared on the way home, "Mom, Columbus Day is the best Jewish Holiday there is!" And I had to admit, he was right.

(Note: In NY most Jewish holidays are celebrated with a day off of school, like Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah)