Spring Goals

Dear Spring,
Welcome!  I hope you treat us well.  Please do not allow your fresh pollen to attack our sinuses this year.  Do note, however, that if you decide to attack us we will be prepared, for we are armed with Claritin and Sudafed and plenty of tissues.   We do invite you to bring plenty of warm, happy, sunshine-filled days to play in.  We eagerly await the buzzing of bees and blossoming of flowers.  And when the occasional rains fall, we will be grateful to the Rainmaker, for from that rain comes life.  Also, Lady Spring, please do remember that it is now your time to shine.  Do not let Old Man Winter bully you into bringing more snow!  He has had his turn. 

Respectfully Yours,
Crystal & Family

That was fun! :) I do hope to reach these goals this spring:

*to find a church
*to make some spring/Easter crafts with my kids
*to plant and grow some kind of veggie
*to do something for myself
*to have a date night (or day) with my hubby

I met most of my goals for winter:
*If we get enough snow, make a snowman with my kids
H and I made three snowmen this year, and for the first time ever, Hubbs was able to make one with her! Very exciting! C just ate the snow.
*Take more pictures
I felt like I took a fair amount of pictures. :) Will most likely continue this goal.
*Have a date night with my husband
We had a fun night out together!  I just wish I could have relaxed and enjoyed it more.

Now for the goals I didn't quite reach:
*Give to someone else on my birthday
I attempted (during moving time chaos) to assemble a blanket drive shortly before my birthday, and it didn't quite come together.  So when the Haiti earthquake hit, I decided to send info about another drive to the few who were interested.  Moving is not an excuse, and I guess I got discouraged when so few responded to my initial attempts.  I foresee another attempt in my near future.
*Get a tattoo for my birthday
Again, with moving expenses, etc, I was unable to reach this goal.  I have an idea of what I want, and now we have only to save up the money for it and to find a reputable place around here.  Or, we might just wait for a return trip home, so that we might go with what (who) we know.

So, that's how I fared for winter 2010.  How did your goals go?  Did you meet them all?  Some?  Forget about them altogether?  Well, if you fall into the latter group, the good news is that spring is here! - a time for new growth and a fresh start.  So what are you waiting for?  Make a goal list.  I promise it'll make you feel great to cross them off as you meet them!

Sea Monkeys

Yesterday was our family day.  We played at Pump It Up and went to the mall to stroll around.  Then we went out to eat at Famous Dave's and Hubby decided it would be nice to get H a little gift on the way home last night. Sea Monkeys. I never had sea monkeys as a kid, and don't know much about them, so I googled them. Have you seen what a fully-grown "sea monkey" looks like?? They're not pretty. They actually kinda remind me of silverfish, which grosses me out!  Here's what the adult sea monkey is supposed to look like:

Gross, right? They look nothing like the cute little drawings on the box. 

So, I'm thinking, "What are these things, exactly?"  I mean, all we know is that they are easy to grow on your own.  They eat some kind of special fish food that comes with the kit.  Then what? How long do they live? According to the website, they have been scientifically engineered to live "longer than ever before" - approx. 2 yrs.  I don't know if I want to take care of some weird alien-bug for two years.  H is all excited about it, though. So that's cool.  I just hope she doesn't get weirded out by them.  I just hope I don't get weirded out by them!  Because I'm sure I'll be the one taking care of these things. 

Well, we prepped the tank this morning, so tomorrow we will add the eggs and sometime within the next week we should have baby sea monkeys swimming around.  I'll be sure to post pics as we go!  Wish us luck!

Growing Pains

Today, my baby boy transitioned from a crib to a toddler bed. I am so proud! Hubby put the bed together this morning and C was able to sleep in it at naptime. He was very excited about it, and did surprisingly well both at naptime and at bedtime. I use the sit in method (from one of those "Nanny" shows) and it took a grand total of only 20 mins for him to fall asleep at nap and 15 mins tonight at bedtime. I only had to lay him back down about three times. I was very impressed with him.

My daughter seemed just as excited as C was about his new bed. I actually had to calm her down before both nap and bedtime tonight. With the two of them sharing a room, I figured things would be quite crazy at this point, but surprisingly it's not. They're getting so big. I can't believe they're going to be turning 5 and 2 soon.

H's birthday is next month, so we've been asked for a list of what she wants. Gigi (my mom) suggested we let her look online at a toy website and write down all of the things she would like to have. So we went to toysrus.com and let H browse the pages (category: age 5-7, subcategory: girls). I have a list so far just shy of 30 items. I think we have enough.

My furbaby, Onyx, is getting big too. She's seven months old now and probably just shy of her full size. She still has a lot of kitten in her, so she's very mischievous. There have been several times in the past week or so that she's gotten out when we've come in or out of the house. She's not "fixed" yet, so we don't really want to let her outside just yet. She's also very intrigued by water, and will make a mess in the toilet, sink, etc at any chance she gets. Just a bit earlier tonight I heard a crash coming from our bedroom, and found that she had knocked the top of the gerbil cage off. Luckily only the top came off, and Scamper is doing fine.

Hubbs and I are planning to get her fixed soon and hopefully that will help with some of the mischief. Overall, she really is a sweet cat. She's cuddling with me right now as I type. She loves to play and cuddle with the kids, too - as long as they're nice to her. I guess she understands somehow that they are little like she is.

All three of my "babies" are getting bigger. And the best part? I don't have to sit back and watch. I get to be a part of it. I can't wait to see what happens next.

Here a Tooth, There a Tooth...

Molars. They're necessary for chewing, of course. But what a pain! Literally! For the past couple of days my son has been cranky, throwing things, barely eating, and very much wanting to be held by Mommy. It dawned on me this afternoon that he must be getting his molars. He's nearly 21 mos, so it's about that time. I even felt around in his mouth a bit and he said "ouch!" as my finger ran across his gums. Nice. I feel so sorry for him... especially when he tells me "I hongry, Mama! I want!" I know he's hungry, but eating hurts right now so he ends up only taking a couple of bites, if any. I read about these "teething tablets" that dissolve in the kid's mouth and relieve the pain. I wonder if they're any good? They're supposedly all-natural, which translates to "costs an arm and a leg." Anyone have any experience with these? It's been about three years since I've had to deal with this. I feel like such a noob! *Sigh* Well, here's hoping that the crankies end soon!