Dreaming of Eating

Well, not actually dreaming. Just looking forward to it. Thanksgiving! Thursday! We're going over to Jill & William's house for eating festivities. We'll be bringing the non-meat 'roast' (as always) and, of course, sweet potato casserole. This year, though, I need to make it vegan since one of the eaters cannot eat dairy and egg. I think it will still turn out delish.

Last night, we were meant to host a PEPS get-together, but Malcolm has a full-force cold with congestion and coughing. He still has all the energy in the world so now I have to keep the kid entertained while avoiding play dates. His school is closed this week for the holiday. I've got activities for Tuesday and Wednesday mornings and was planning on filling the rest of the days with play dates but now I'll have to figure something else out until he gets better.

Vaishali is having her baby today! Now everyone in our PEPS group has 2 kidlets except us. And they all are singing the same song - it is really, really hard having two small children! Some say they think it's insane to have two children. It's easy for me to tell them that it gets easier :p

Time for a Weekend

Today was a typical Friday - preschool in the morning and then a play date in the afternoon. It was a very fun day for Malcolm. This weekend, it's time for Momma to get stuff done. I get a bit of 'me' time tomorrow: haircut and then book club meeting. Sunday, I'm meeting with the other grant writer for Malcolm's preschool to hopefully make some progress and then we're hosting a PEPS get-together in the evening. Busy weekend, y'all!

And, I'd also like to wish a very happy birthday to Carolyn! I'm guessing that her and Dad are celebrating properly right now on their cruise.

Malcolmspeak

Malcolm's pronunciation of words continues to improve. In many ways, we wish he'd slow down. The way he used to say 'motorcycle', 'bicycle' and 'popsicle' would kill us. But now he pronounces them correctly. There are a few words that he says that just kill me. 'Yogurt' is pronounced 'Ogurt'. 'Stool' is 'Stoon'. 'Lemonade' is 'Wummywade'. If there are any more, I'm going to have to write them down right away before they are gone.

Two-year-olds are so much fun to have around. Seriously.

Outside Time at Preschool

At the end of Malcolm's preschool day, the kids get to go outside after snack time if it's not raining. Malcolm takes *maybe* two bites of his snack and then proclaims that he is done. He is always the first kid with his shoes and coat on. A few weeks ago, when telling us about his day, he started talking about crashing trucks with Daniel & Yoni. I always thought that he was talking about the cars & trucks that they play with inside until I witness their play routine today. The three boys each have their favorite big truck and they never try to take each other's truck. Malcolm's truck is the big, yellow dump truck. They then proceed to stoop over their trucks and drive them back and forth on the sidewalk for the majority of the outside play time (20-30 minutes). They pause at one end of the 'road' and laugh together and then they start driving down the road again in a line. It is the cutest thing.

Nap Post

It's nap time for my sweet boy, Malcolm. So, I thought I'd take a minute and pop out my daily post instead of waiting until right before my bedtime. I'm also taking a break from straightening up the house - we're hosting a play date today. I chose to skip exercising today so the house would be more presentable. Jillian's 30-Day Shred really does kick your ass in less than 30 minutes. I worked out on Thursday and Friday during nap time and still had time to eat my lunch and do some other things. Perfect!

All of the ski resorts around here have already opened up. Our friend, Chris, went to Baker this weekend and was blown away by the deepness of the powder. Three years ago, we would have been up there with him. I miss the days of snowboarding every weekend. I am very eager to get back out on the slopes and really want to make it happen more than once this season.

I have a very strong urge to attempt daily to-do lists again. First item on the list: write daily to-do list. Second item: menu planning. I think about doing it but never actually do it. I've made a couple of attempts at starting to do it, but have yet to follow through. Third item: follow through on things.

Sitting in the Balcony

Friday evening, our dear friend, Natalie, came over to hang out with Malcolm while Tony and I went to see the Pixies show. We discovered that he will go to bed for other people (yay!) When I purchased the tickets oh-so-many-months ago, we decided to buy assigned balcony seats instead of general admission on the floor because, well, I was meant to be 7.5 months pregnant right now. Not only was the show a reminder of my high school and college days, but it was also a reminder that I am no longer pregnant. It was an awesome show, but there was a sadness to the evening.

I'm Getting Old(er)

I just can't hang like I used to. We went to the Pixies show last night. Great show. Super fun. But I've been working on 2 cylinders today. I'll do a real post tomorrow.

The Biggest Loser

The tv show. That's my excuse. I watched it last night and then also watched the Jay Leno Show and I completely spaced on posting yesterday. It happens. Happened a couple of times last year (yes, I checked).

Sherry left today. The house always seem so empty after guests leave. I neglected to take any pictures save one with my camera phone today. I really need to remember to take photos when guests are here.

My bed is calling me and I need to answer it.

Exercise? What's that?

I've fallen off of the exercise bandwagon. It happened officially when I cancelled my membership to the gym. Unfortunately, my body is getting its revenge. I'm so achy! I have this idea that I will work out at home but I haven't been able to find the time. All of the workout videos I have are around an hour long or longer. These days, Malcolm typically naps for just over an hour. Unfortunately, his nap time is the only opportunity I have to work out.

I was reading one of my favorite blogs the other day and she mentioned Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred workout. I had heard of this before, but had never heard that it is under half an hour. Just what I need, right? A workout that I can do during nap time and still have time to do other things. So, I signed back up from Netflix (there are other DVDs that I've been wanting to see) and the DVD arrived the other day. I'm currently ripping it and will give it a go on Thursday since I'm pretty sure Sherry has no interest in watching me work out in our living room :p

The Force Against Me

Otherwise known as a fried power supply. I have no way to charge my laptop. LAME! It will make posting a lot more difficult until we get a new one. Argh.

WEATHER!

We have been getting some crazy WEATHER! here for the past few days. Wednesday was a lovely day. We went to the park in the morning and to a play date in the afternoon. Thursday was met with heavy rain. We may have gotten a little wet getting to and from the aquarium, but it kept the crowds away. Thursday evening/Friday morning brought us crazy hail storms that made for little sleep that night. The noise from the pounding hail woke Malcolm and scared him...multiple times. Poor kid. We saw a little bit of sunshine on Friday during the day but then the rain started pouring again in the late afternoon. Today, more heavy rain.

WEATHER!

I Like Art

Tonight, Tony and I went to the opening of an art show of a friend of ours. Sharon Arnold makes the kind of art that makes some people crazy even when they love it. I suppose you have to see it to understand what I mean. Me, I see it and want to touch it. I want to go home and make repetitive cuts in paper/sew paper/etc.

It's way past my bedtime and that's all I'm up for writing tonight. Must sleep now.

Preschool Meeting

Tonight was the first monthly parent meeting at Malcolm's preschool. Since Sherry is in town, she hung out with Malcolm so both Tony and I could go. I expected something different, but not really sure what. I suppose I thought we were going to talk about specific details on what the kids are doing in the classroom. It was the first meeting, so maybe future meetings will go differently. There were lots of laughs as parents told stories about their kids, though. Kids sure are funny. I also got to hold baby Gregory (one of Chandra's twin boys) for almost the whole time. Now my upper back and arms hurt. I'm out of practice!

TeeVee

Wow, there is a lot of bad television out there. Why do they still use canned laughter? There is one comedy that I really enjoy - The Office. That show never fails. It has always been funny, entertaining and often uncomfortable. And no canned laughter!

*this post brought to you by "New Adventures of the Old Christine" and "Gary Unmarried". I know there are some of you out there that may find these shows entertaining, but they just aren't my cup of funny tea.

Vote! Vote!

Did you get your vote in today? We had a big referendum on our ballots - to keep the domestic partnership law. It looks like it will pass without question. I'm for equal rights for everyone.

My battery is about to die and my bed is calling my name. I need to remember to write my posts earlier in the day :/

Visitor!

I've been busily getting the house ready for Sherry. She'll be arriving for a week to hang with the Johnston clan. We're excited! We don't have anything major planned - just our usual goings on. Preschool, play dates, parks, you know. Tony and I will probably try to sneak out for a date or two.

This post is being cut short by tiredness brought on by cleaning and the time change.

Malcolm Watching Football

Malcolm is really into things 'crashing'. We had no idea this would transfer to football until the other night. I took video of only a short portion of his reaction and Tony added to it. Enjoy!