Science Fair

After a long day of wild cat research, we have finally finished Dillon's science fair project.

He is really proud. So am I.

A little note..

This snowy weather in Spring time is not good for my waist line.

I got caught eating ice cream in the afternoon yesterday.

Today a batch of cinnamon rolls were made. Mostly eaten by the kids though.

What's next on my plate? brownies?

ARGH!

A report by Dillon

Pumas
Kingdom: Animalia
Species: Concolorit
Phylum: Cordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Felidae
Genus: Puma ´s a large graceful cat, of the family Felidae, that is exceeded in size only by the jaguar among cats of the New World. The name puma is derived from usage by the Inca Indians.
Pumas are one of the eight species of bigcats. A male puma may grow to be 1.8 m (6 ft) long, plus a tail of 60-90 cm (2-3 ft). Cougars' long tails may be one-third of their total body length. An adult male cougar weighs between 63 and 90 kg (140-200 lbs), and a female cougar, between 40 and 50 kg (90-120 lbs). The coat ranges in color from reddish to brownish yellow or gray. Black stripes reach from the mouth to the eyes, and the tail tip is black. The head is small and round with a black spot over the eyes.


Cougars are usually quiet, but under some circumstances they do communicate through vocalizations. Sounds they make have been described as chirps, peeps, whistles, purrs, moans, screams, growls, and hisses. When frightened, kittens emit a series of short, high-pitched peeps. Kittens and mothers keep track of each other with whistles. Females signal their readiness to mate by yowling or caterwauling.

Cougars are usually quiet, but under some circumstances they do communicate through vocalizations. Sounds they make have been described as chirps, peeps, whistles, purrs, moans, screams, growls, and hisses. When frightened, kittens emit a series of short, high-pitched peeps. Kittens and mothers keep track of each other with whistles. Females signal their readiness to mate by yowling or caterwauling.

By: Dillon

Information copied from www.marencolodge.com and "Big Cats PUMAS" by Don Middleton.

A snow day?

What??? This was not in the forecast for this week! We have had a great Springtime week! A visit to the zoo. Playing outside with the friend down the street. A walk to the nearby stores. It has been beautiful.

Now it is beautiful in another way. Happy Snow Day!!

Avery's day

I am working on a page right now about A Day in the Life of Avery. What a life she leads.

On this day, she miraculously slept from 8:00 last night until 5:00 this morning. (did you hear the angels singing? I did.) Then she got up for the day a little before 8:00. She had some milk and went back to sleep with Dad.

After about an hour she woke up and played on our bed for a while. This is a favorite thing for her to do. Our bed is her happy place. She cuddles right in and plays and plays. Or sleeps. Her best naps are on our bed, snuggled in with lots of pillows surrounding her.

Dad also gave her The Hockey News, so she caught up on the latest hockey going ons. Then downstairs to roll around the kitchen floor. For a child that is on the cusp of crawling- she started "rocking" on Saturday- she can really get around. She doesn't really "army" crawl, but she has a version of it. She rocks to one side, reaches and digs with her toes. Then she rocks to the other side, reaches and digs with her toes. So she can go forward, but really she does back much better. Often she backs herself under tables, cabinets, beds, and sofas. It is quite frustrating to be stuck under the sofa.

More milk came her way and then more rolling around on the floor. This time playing with a toothpaste box. Watching "bo bo" and "sissy" is an activty that is quite entertaining. They move fast, but almost always have a second to stop by for a kiss. By the way, Avery just got to move into Sissy's room. So far they both are enjoying the arrangement. The only setback has been that Avery went to bed before Bailey so I have to read to Bailey in my room as to not wake Avery. But I am hoping to read to both of them at the same time, so that should not be a problem.

It is time to get dressed. We are going for a walk to get D & B's hair cut. Avery is wearing one of my favorite outfits, her pink one piece. It has flowers and a small pocket. Very cute. Now I tuck her into our Baby Bjorn and walk over to the strip mall a mile away. It is windy, but sunny so she also wears her jean strawberry hat. The haircuts don't take too long, and it's time to walk home. Everyone is hungry for lunch.

Avery gets pears, sweet pototo puffs, and practices with her new sippy cup. It is just for fun right now, only hold a small amount of water. We are practicing so when I take some courses this summer, she will be able to use a cup with my milk in it. Avery loves to eat pears. She also likes bananas, sweet potatos and squash. She hates peaches, applesauce, and any cereal. The texture of them doesn't agree with her mouth. She gets a funny look, and then gags.

After lunch is more floor time. Oh no, bo bo and sissy are running away. They say that she stinks. Yep- she needs changed. A blow out...which aren't too often anymore. Thank goodness because for a while they were a daily event. Now she is wearing the outfit that I loved Dillon and Bailey in when they were her age. Jean overalls with a red striped shirt. It should keep her warm this afternoon while we are at Sissy's soccer game.

Nap time starts around 1:30. We read with Bailey and tuck her in and then Avery and I head to my bed. She gets some more milk, and then get tucked in too. Sometimes I sleep with her, but not alot lately.

Today's nap is cut a little short because we have to take Dillon to his play date. Dillon and Bailey are out of school this week for Spring Break, so they have been home playing with us. After we drop Dillon off, we head to the grocery store. It's just a quick trip, and then we head back home.

More time on the floor to play. Bailey sits with her for a while and then goes off for her own snack. It's milk time again for Avery. Then we are off to take Bailey to soccer, and pick up Dillon from his play date. Then back to the field to watch Bailey play.

Home again, home again. Just in time for dinner. Tonight the family is having taco dip because it's already past six when we get home. Avery, though is getting squash. And she loves every drop of it. yum yum. She gets a little more milk and gets ready for bed.

It is 7:30 and Avery is headed to bed. A few more cuddles, her favorite pink blanket, and it is off to dreamland for her.

Good Night!

2 faces of mom

(a self portrait)
Can someone be a good mom and a bad mom at the same time? I know it can happen in one day...believe me...I've done it. But at the same time?

Dillon has decided this year to take part in the science fair. Quite fun, and a 1st for me too. He wanted to do a research project on wild cats. More specifically jaguars,leopards, lynxes, mountain lions, and bobcats. We are comparing their habitats, their speed, their size and finding out other goodies on the way.

The first thing we did was go to the library. We found the wild cat section and pulled out about 20 books. We were able to narrow that down to 7 or 8 that we thought could help the most.

Our next step was to plan out the display board. Why was this next? So that we could nail down what we wanted to display and therefore know what we had to research. Okay, so we got that done.

Next we went online. We found lots of information on wild cats. And Dillon took great notes about it all.

Our next step was to visit the Denver Zoo. Which, by the way, on the first day of Spring break is not a really good idea. But travel there we did. They only had a jaguar and 2 leopards, but we took notes and watched with glee. Aren't their coats just the most beautiful thing?

We also took in the polar bears, seals, wolves, camels, elephants, giraffes, zebras, tapirs, rhinos, etc... It was Avery's first trip to the zoo after all. And since we were there for Dillon, I didn't want Bailey to feel left out so she got to pick one exhibit that she really wanted to see. (She picked the seals)

Okay so here is the part about me being a terrible mom. So far I haven't done too badly right? Well, while we were traveling all around looking at the animals I knew that it was a sunny day. That is why we went today. Monday and Tuesday are going to be the nicest days of the week. Before we left the house, I lathered up Bailey with sunscreen. Dillon never really needs any because he tans so well. And I don't think you can sunscreen a child under 12 months- just stick with hats and shade for them.

Well...Avery got burned. Not badly I think. Her arms and legs were covered, but the only hat I had with me was a cap. It would have been too hot for her little head. So I tried to keep her covered, but I failed her miserably. She is hot. A little feverish, I think. And has a reddish face and head. I gave her a dose of Tylenol and she is sleeping well now. I hope she is okay by tomorrow.

I am putting a hat in the car tonight. Just so I have one handy.

Oh the guilt. Maybe I will be over it by the time I have to help Dillon finish working on his report. Maybe.

A Good Night

I know that you all are probably tired of hearing about my sleepless nights. Sorry, but this is a place for me to rant and rave when needed. Feel free to skip over this one. =)

After 2 horrible nights working with Avery, I think we had another breakthrough. Last night she slept from 9:00 until 3:35. And then until 7:40! After getting up with her every few hours for months now, I will take the 3:30 feeding!

The problem with last night was I am so conditioned now to waking every few hours for 10-15 minutes that when I could sleep last night, I kept waking up. I was up looking at the clock every hour. So if I truly did have a break through with Avery, and she is ready to sleep most of the night, I now need to condition myself back into sleeping through the night.

At least I won't need to "cry it out." =)

PS- We think Avery got her first tooth yesterday. We just aren't positive because she won't let us look.

Snack Time!

Really over it

I am really angry, frustrated and worn out! This child seems to want the death of me. I am ready to switch to formula just to help her sleep.

Crying it out is not working. Last night she was up in the 12:00, 2:00, 4:00 and 6:00 hours. I let her cry it out at midnight. At 2:30 I fed her. At 4:30 I only let her eat on one side and at 6:30 she ate on the other.

The reason behind the 1/2 feedings was the idea of if she is just used to having a full meal, maybe giving her smaller amounts will get her used to less and less at night.

I am up for anything at this point. This is a huge cry for help!!!!

Tough love

Another fun thing about parenting. Crying it out.

Okay, since Avery was sick last week, we got into some pretty bad habits. Waking up and nursing every hour and a half one night. Two and half hours the next night, and then back to every 3 hours. At 7 1/2 months old this child should be sleeping through the night. So it was definately time for some tough love.

Usually this is very difficult to do, but the first night, I was unusally cranky which made it easier. Kinda paybackish. The child cried for over an hour! 12:30 AM to 1:45ish. But then she slept for 5 straight hours.

Last night, another dose. This time it was only 40 minutes. Then she slept 4 hours.

We are thinking tonight, 20 minutes? But then she better not be up in 3 hours, or another dose will be handed out.

We have some very stubborn children. But my mother in law tells me to "get them before they get you!"

Cousins playing

Today

Today, so far, is not good. I have one incredibly whiney baby that is literally sucking the life out of me at hour and a half intervals. And has been doing so since 8:00 last night. How can I turn this day around?

I need to find the good. Oh..it is another beautiful Colorado day. Maybe we could get out and enjoy the Spring sunshine. We need to clean up the yard, so when the bushes start blooming, I can see their beauty clearly. And it would be something to cross off the list of things to do. That would be good.

Then working in the springtime sun and fresh air will make us tired and ready for naptime. A great nap with the window open. Oh- that sounds nice.

A restful day with an easy family dinner. I think it might work.

I'll let you know how it goes.

PS: The day ended up just fine. We went out to lunch...yum. Then came home got the yard started, napped, and just had a nice time together. The power of positive thinking comes through once again!

bath time

Avery just got out of the bath. A big girl bath. She just learned how to sit up on her own on Monday. By now, of course, she is a pro at it. So today she got to use her bath seat for the first time.

It's a whole new world!

She will now start the age old ritual that is a female rite. Enjoying a nice bath.

Next step in this learned ritual?

Bubbles.

Another hard decision

Once again I find myself in one of those tough parent positions. Do I do want is right, or what is easy?

Dillon is in Krav Maga, which is a karate discipline. He really enjoys it and has been going for over a year now. They meet at his school as an after school activity and in the summer, Dillon attends the Krav Maga school. Every once in a while they are tested so they can advance in the belt system. Dillon has worked his way through a white belt, a gold belt, and is currently a green belt. It is time for his next test. He could be a orange belt before long.

There is a problem though. In order to be tested he has to have us sign a pledge that says he has been respectful at home. Has done what he is supposed to do, and is ready to move on. His teacher also has to sign to say that he is respectful et al at school. Let's skip me for a moment and focus on the teacher part...

If I were a teacher in the school and a student brought me a signed slip from the parents, I would feel required to sign it as well. Even if the behavior was not what it should have been. In my opinion, it is the parents responsibility to make the hard choices. But in today's world, most parents would just say "yeah, yeah. My kid is perfect" and sign the paper. I don't think that is the right thing to do. Easy definately, but not right.

I think you probably know where this is going, don't you?

Dillon's behavior lately has not been up to par. When he brought me the paper last Tuesday, he wanted me to sign it immediately. I told him that I wanted to wait and see if his behavior improved. I gave him ample warnings. "Dillon, this is the kind of behavior I have been warning you about. You are being disrespectful to me again." Smart alec, smart mouth, back talk...all those really hard lessons for a 7 1/2 year old to learn. When is it okay to yap back, joke around, and when is it not. Not horrible things, but life lessons that need to be learned. And with a week's worth of warnings about it, Sunday night I had finally had it. "Dillon, I am calling Mr Johnson and letting him know that I will not sign your paper. Your behavior does not warrent a promotion at this time." Tears flowed from him.

Now, today is the day that the paper needs to be returned. I put it in his backpack this morning, and told Dillon that he needed to give it to Mr Johnson. I even warned him that I would call Mr Johnson ahead of time to let him know to expect an unsigned paper. I don't plan on actually calling. I am sure he will be shocked to actually see a paper not signed. I hope he actually has the backbone to understand the situation. Kevin assures me that he does. That is why there is a paper.

Tears again from Dillon on the way to school. Now he is in a really hard place. He has to show that paper to Mr Johnson. I hope he has learned something.

A great day to play

Today was a beautiful Colorado day! Beautiful blue sky. Clear view of the snow topped mountains. Near 70 degrees. Gorgeous! I love these Spring time days.

Where was I today? In the yard cleaning up? In the yard, soaking up the sun? Anywhere outside at all? Nope. This morning and then again this afternoon, I sat at my dining room table to scrap. I have been feeling the need to get working on my scrap book. Really working. Not just talking about working. I just have a hard time nailing my butt to the seat. Why is it so hard for me to sit there? I love doing it. I love all the colors, and the ribbons, and remembering the moments. But I just can't seem to sit and work on it.

My sister dashes out cards and pages in a moments notice. Works on it all the time. Making beautiful fun things. I know that I shouldn't compare myself with her, but I do. Sibling rivalry.... not really. I really appreciate what she does, not angry or jealous...well, okay, I am a little jealous. Oh well.

Tomorrow is another beautiful day. I will be at Dillon's school...stapling math pages together. And then at the ice rink for Bailey's lesson.

At least I get to enjoy it as I drive around. I do love these Spring days!

Citizenship by Dillon

Citizenship is very important. Citizenship is very easy. Like, you can do it anywhere. People don't appreciate you and they hurt people. And you help people, that is citizenship. I have done it at my school. It's easy. You look over there and see someone that needs help, and you just go do it. At my school they give out REACH cards. REACH stands for Responsibility, Empowerment, Aspiration, Citizenship, which is what we are talking about. And the last one is Honesty. Well, I am not talking about all the REACH stuff, I am just talking about citizenship.

People are mean. They want to hurt you, but others want to help you. You may not like them, but you help them anyways. For example, a girl in my school found a pencil at recess that had a sharp eraser holder and she started stabbing people. This one guy just got stabbed by the girl, and I helped him back over to the recess line.

Cookie Cutter Cuties part 2

My mom says that I make cookie cutter kids. After looking at those pictures on the last post, you'd have to agree.

Sometimes I am just amazed. When I am scrapbooking, and I go back and look at pictures, I get lost in who is who, and have to use environmental clues to identify the child. What season is it? Clothing? Household items?

After looking through pictures and trying to decide which ones to post, I'd have to say that Dillon and Avery look the most alike. And even though Bailey's hair is red, you really can't tell in baby pictures, so that doesn't set her out. It's her chin and eyes. Her eyes are more round, and her chin is definately more pointy. Both Dillon and Avery have tear drop shaped eyes with rounded chins. They all have the same pug nose, and hair line. Or lack of hair until after 1 year.

It is funny to look at them now. Dillon and Bailey still have some similarities, but really are all their own. You definately can't mistake them now. And I'm sure Avery will find her own place as well.

I am going to love watching it all play out.

Cookie Cutter Cuties

A little test for you today... which baby is which?
A.

B.

C.

creative day

I get to be creative today. I am making time, even though I have so much to do around here. Bumbleebee will be late today, she has swim lessons after her ECE class, so I have a whole extra hour to myself (kinda). So I have to go. I am going to scrap now. See ya!

Pretty toes

I love getting my toes done! It has been a luxury that I have not been able to afford for quite a while now. I even have a lady, Diane. She is awesome. And when she does your toes, they are done right. And they last forever, or so it seems. I cheated on her once or twice since I saw her last. Please don't tell. I really do feel like it's cheating. You see, I am attached to her. I even dress up on my toe days, and make sure my legs are shaved. It's kinda like a date to me. Maybe it is the way she makes me feel. She has this incredible memory, and she makes you feel like she is all yours while you are in her chair. I even get jealous when she gets a phone call during my time. I have even told her this. She just laughs.

Anyways, I have not been able to see her since way before I got pregnant with Avery. And I would think about her every once in a while, and know that if she knew I had gotten pregnant, and hadn't come to see her for "pretty delivery toes", she would be mad. Or at least give me an ear full. So I haven't seen her, and I am worried, so I didn't try to see her and the situation got worse. Now I have a seven month old. How can I see her now? Oh, am I going to be in trouble.

Then my hubby goes to her and gets me a Valentines surprise. I get to go visit Diane! I am so excited that I call within minutes of getting my gift certificate. Ah oh, Kevin told her I had a baby. I get an earful, but it's okay. She is just happy to see me again. So I got to go today. It is as great as ever.

I love getting my toes done, but only by Diane.

weekend report

So, I got home yesterday from Dallas. What a nice weekend it was. I really got a chance to relax and be quiet. I only made it to 2 games. I secretly feel that it was because I was there that things went so bad. They did win the 3rd game after all, and I was back at the hotel. But for me, the weekend was all about me. =) Sleeping in, eating at restaurants, sudoku, movies in the hotel room.

Kevin and I had 2 evenings by ourselves. We had no idea what to do with ourselves, but we did have the time. So we wandered around, ate dinner, and came back to the hotel room and watched movies. We also got to see our friends several times, and were spoiled by his cooking (oh, so good), see their new baby "Q" (oh, so sleepy and sweet), and see Lily, their daughter (oh, so cute). It was really nice.

Avery learned how to clap while we were there. Dillon and Bailey had a great time with Maga and Papa, who were throughly worn out, but happy. And like a good mom, I brought presents with me home. Bailey is wearing her new cowboy hat in that picture.

I wrote those happiness things yesterday when Dillon got home from school and I realized how happy I was to be back. D and B were running around laughing, and I loved it!

Isn't it funny how happy we are to go, and yet just as happy to be back?

My little pleasures...

There is nothing better in the world than hearing your children laugh!

Smelling a baby after a bath.

Seeing a field of pansies in bloom.

Feeling the touch of someone you love.

The taste of your favorite ice cream =)

The Bean

I just fell for an infomercial. Hook, line and sinker. Turned on the TV, and flipped the channel, and I was hooked. Couldn't wait for the telephone number to pop up. I can't believe it. I think I am in shock, but in 6-8 weeks I will have a slimmer waistline.

Professional athletes endorse it. Professional trainers endorse it. Regular mom people love it too. It works easily, and the pounds just drop away. You won't even notice them until their gone. Or something like that.

The Bean will get you lean. There is even a triple guarantee! Money back, shipping back, and free shipping for the return. How can you lose? Well, if they could have seen my waist before they made that offer, the offer might have been, "we guarantee you too can lose inches. Oh sorry, not you Tara Whalen."

Well in 6-8 weeks we'll see.

So, you start counting the weeks after you make the call, right?

You win some...you lose some (part 2)

Yep...sad to say, it happened again. And this time it wasn't pretty. 8 to 1 final. Against the host team.

Ouch!

Serious referee problem. One kid was tossed from the game for spearing a referee. It was all on tape- no spearing! Even the tournament officials say that there was no spear. One time they called a penalty on a kid that was sitting on the bench. Kevin asked him how number 27 did it when 27 was sitting right here. The referee just rolled his eyes. Kevin's team was down at the end of the second period 31 shots on goal to our 13 shots! It was just sickening.

They only have one more game now. Hope they make a good showing for the final game of the year.

Oh- I forgot...

More progress with Avery today. She actually opened her mouth when I was feeding her. She liked the squash. And I think she is getting the hang of this eating thing! Yeah!

You win some...you lose some

Yep- sad to say. They lost their first game 5-4. All is not for loss though. They still have 2 more to go. They need to do well tomorrow!

The boys did spend 12 hours in an airport yesterday just waiting for their flight. Kevin and Coach Ricci caught an earlier plane, but the boys plane was delayed and they were put through the ringer. So sad I didn't travel with the team...

I got up this morning. Caught a ride to the airport, thanks to Kevin's dad, bright and early. 5:15AM we left. Got to the airport, checked in, found my gate. Slight delay. No big deal. Here is the best part though. I was on a tiny plane. Not a prop plane, but tiny one none the less. I go to my seat, and there was already someone in the seat next to me. Looks like a business man. Oh no! Tiny plane, no room, business man! How am I gonna nurse Avery?

So I sit down and smile at him. "I just want to warn you ahead of time that I am going to nurse her while we take off. I just don't want to offend you." He laughs. "I am an obstetrician!" Can you believe it? How great is that! So needless to say, he was not offended, and we ended up having a fabulous conversation most of the way down to Dallas. It was a great flight.

Now we are settled in for the evening at the hotel. The boys just had their nightly meeting about how they are gonna do well tomorrow. HAVE to do well tomorrow. Now Kevin is doing bed checks. Making sure the boys are in their rooms. I asked if he also tucked them in and read them stories. He said he sure did. ;)

Well, good night and wish us well for tomorrow's game.


BTW- our house is still standing. Maga and Papa are still in control- mostly. And everyone made it where they were supposed to go today. Yeah!