Some insight into me (Juliet)

For those of you who know me but not my family, check out this link to my Dad's blog. I think it reveals quite a bit about my family and its charming (?) quirkiness.

School Update

John is doing much better for the school drop-off. He doesn't whine long about going to school, he walks right in, and today he hugged me before I left, rather than crying and clinging to my leg.
Tony has been taking him on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and picking him up on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I think that helps all of us a lot...
So, that was about 4-5 weeks for the transition. Not bad. Have to cement that in my brain so I remember for the next time there's a big transition. I think we have one coming soon, I just can't remember what it is... Hmmmm...

Mommy decided it was that time again!

I decided to squeeze in one last photo shoot before Twohy arrives in person.
So here they are, courtesy of JC Penney's as usual...

Surprise!

Tony and a bunch of our friends surprised me (and John) with a shower for Twohy today! Evidently he had been planning it for about 2 and a half months, and this was the one weekend that would work with everybody's show schedules! I think it timed out perfectly. It was just the "pick-me-up" I needed to get me through the last week and a half...
There are no pictures, but there might have been. Before we left our house this morning, I was packing everything up (we combined the trip with a photo session at JC Penney's) I thought, "maybe I should take the camera." Then "Why would I need a camera for a photo shoot?" I have to learn to obey these little compulsions...

The party was great and it's always nice to be amongst loving, caring, and fun friends! Thanks to Shannon for the idea and the hosting!
Thanks to Diane for the beautiful diaper cake. (John was fascinated with it in the car on the way home. He took pictures of us using the dog on top!)
Thanks to the Egans and the Li-Bleuels for making the drive up to Greenville from Clemson.
Thanks to Mae for being such a good helper and co-hostess to the other kids.
And thanks, I think, to Katie and Matt for the yummy real cake!

Of course, kudos to Tony, for once again proving that he is the best husband in the world for me. ('Cause you know there were so many clamoring for the job...)

Don't Tell John

I wanted to check to make sure that no one had purchased "Fred" from the movie "Cars" yet... I'm going to try to get one on eBay for Twohy to "give" to John for a big brother present...

Let me know!
Thanks!

Zany spanks.

I mean "Many Thanks" to all those who helped us meet our goal of $750 for the Little Hearts team of the American Heart Association Low Country Heart Walk.

We really appreciate the support you gave them. We know it's because you love us!

We'll be back to badger you next year!

Whirling down

It's Sunday afternoon at 4:30.

We made it to the fair yesterday, leaving at 11:30, getting there about 2pm. We walked around and saw the Oconee State Park exhibit and the midway and rides. He liked watching the big rides, and then we went to look for some that were more our speed. We started with a toddler fun house thing. You walk up some stairs, climb up a net, walk across a suspension bridge and slide down a long tube. We did that one together. Then I finally convinced him to try one on his own. He didn't love it, but he didn't cry and try to get off...
Then he rode another that he REALLY liked. Or maybe he was just flirting with his riding partner.

We walked over to the petting zoo. They also had elephant rides, which we watched but he said he didn't want to go on. He liked it when the sheep, goats, and llamas tickled his hands.

Obligatory tractors made an appearance of course.

We rode the carousel together.

I'm sorry to say that we did not see the racing pigs, although they were there. We did not eat anything deep-fried. He mostly stayed in the stroller so I didn't worry about him getting lost in the crowds. It was cloudy and cool, and we got sprinkled on a couple of times.

All the ride operators seemed to be 18- to 20-year-old foreign guys. Not sure from where. Australia, I guess, because one person was talking about how very cold it was (57 degrees).

We left about 6, I think, and got home about 8:45. It was a good day, very few meltdowns (by me or John).

Today, Sunday, I was very beat from yesterday, and wanted to get some of the house cleaned up for Tony and get the car cleaned out from our mini road trip. I did laundry and dishes, John played with toys, and then we spent an hour and a half in a mommy-pre-schooler blinking contest over cleaning up a puzzle. He finally conceded, but I helped him with the pieces. While I was waiting, I got two loads of laundry folded and put away and the upstairs vacuumed... He mostly just ran around trying to get my attention...
We didn't make it to the rock museum open house. We did sweep the driveway and he sprayed some plants and a brick wall. He also cut a lot of paper today. That's his favorite.

I have pictures of the fair. I'll post them tomorrow when I'm less tired.
Tony is on his way home now and should be here around 9pm.

Documentation of the Whirl

Last night (Thursday), we ended up going to "Sesame Street Live: Elmo Grows Up." Actually, the title was not descriptive, it should have been called "Big Bird Flounders on Career Path" or something. It was more about how BB couldn't decide what to do, but ended up helping everyone put on the big pageant.

It went very well. John seemed to have a good time. As usual for anything new, he spent most of the time very seriously taking it all in. He asked questions about the mirror ball and studied the moving lights very closely. Whenever Grover, his favorite, came on, he would look over at me with a big grin on his face to make sure I saw too.

After intermission, the show was too loud for him, but I covered his ears and that helped. I managed to get out of there only spending $3.50 on a soda, which he took one sip of... (he wanted milk, but of course that's not a usual at a basketball arena concession stand.)

The pre-show announcements noted that there was no sound or video recording, and I thought it was weird that they didn't mention photographs until I realized that the whole show was peppered with flashes from people taking pics of their kids enjoying the show. Some of the people on the floor actually got to pose with the monsters during the show... It was a whole new world of theater for me.

I only got a couple of shots.









Today (Friday), the plan was to go to "Boo at the Zoo," trick or treating at the Greenville Zoo. I had a meltdown while I was trying to get John to pick up his toys before we left, primarily because I forgot the cardinal rules of calm parenting. You can't hurry a toddler and getting John to pick up his toys is an act that requires creativity, calm, patience, and fortitude... all of which I was running low on...
Anyway, we walked Keats, got loaded into the car and got there about 6pm. Only to be greeted by a great big sign that said "MEMBERS ONLY NIGHT CANCELLED." No explanation, no apology. I was p---'ed off, as were the other 100 or so families that showed up.

But after the initial soupçon of disappointment, John had a great time climbing at the playground nearby. He watched "Chicken Run" in the car and we stopped at Sonic on the way home. Main mission accomplished (distraction).







Tomorrow's plan is the State Fair in Columbia. I was hoping to get on the road early to make it for the 2 for 1 ride time from 9am to 1pm. We'll see. My legs are killing me and the laundry is really, I mean REALLY, piling up...

Whirl of Gaiety

Tony leaves for Hilton Head today at 11am, so I've got a list of activities for John and me this weekend, so that we are not stuck at home being cranky...

Thursday:
7pm: Juggling show at the Brooks Center or Sesame Street Live: When Elmo Grows Up at Littlejohn Coliseum

Friday:
5:30pm: Boo at the Zoo at the Greenville Zoo

Saturday:
all day? South Carolina State Fair in Columbia

Sunday:
1:00pm: Open house at the Geological Museum at the Botanical Garden

We'll see how it goes! I haven't told John about any of this, in case I poop out...

PS: You get a hundred million bonus points if you KNOW where the title of this post comes from... One hundred points if you can find it out... the Internet makes everything easy to find...

Ok, so how bad would it be ...

if we actually named him "Twohy"?

Promised pictures of Twohy

These are the pictures from last week's (10/8) ultrasound.

I think Twohy is done being cute and cooperative.
He tried to hide behind his hand and arm the whole time.


Then when the ultrasound tech prodded him to move his arm, he was very pouty.


[BTW, don't worry about his arm and hand looking so funny. The ultrasound techs have assured me he is not deformed, it's just the effect of the ultrasound.]

Amigonet post on Hornucopia

Jenny's post on Hornucopia 2009 is great!
Make sure you check it out!

Twohy

Still doing fine. No signs of anemia yet. Another appointment scheduled for next week. They checked his growth today, he is at 5 pounds, 8 oz, which is right on target.
He was not in the mood to mug for the camera today, but I'll post a couple of cute pictures as soon as Tony can get them scanned.

Hang in there for 4 more weeks, Twohy!!

Hornucopia 2009

We had a great time last week and the beginning of this with my family in town.
I just wanted to get all our activities into a blog post for posterity...
I'll try to get some pictures up soon.

Friday
Jessica and Mark and Mimi and Pa arrive
Dinner at Monterrey
Jessica, Mark, and Juliet to "Avenue Q" at the Brooks Center

Saturday
Jessica and Juliet drive to Atlanta to meet friend Christine at the Original Pancake House for the best breakfast ever.
The three of us head to IKEA
Juliet and Jessica pick up Jeff, Jenny, and Naomi at the airport
Drive back to Clemson for the official beginning of Hornucopia.
We ate chili while debating about Papa John's
This may have been when the "Wild Animal" game for Naomi and John started. (They dress up in animal costumes and run laps in the kitchen and dog den)

Sunday
Unorganized morning at the Pennas. Relaxing morning at the hotel.
Denver Downs in afternoon. The corn box is filled with wheat this year. Naomi sampled and loved everything. John liked swinging on the rope in the hay barn.
Brought in Cracker Barrel for the family "Fakesgiving."
Kids to bed, board games and football on TV.

Monday
This was our biggest, most successfully planned and executed day.
Jenny, Juliet, John and Naomi went to Abernathy park.
Jessica and Mimi went to clinic for Jessica's lips.
Mark and Pa on motorcycle ride.
Tony at work.
Moe's for lunch.
Nap for Naomi.
Rockin out with Clemson Boys, with Kerri, James, Andy, John, and Juliet; with special guests Jenny, Jessica, and Mimi
'55 Exchange on campus for ice cream.
Papa John's for dinner
Monday night football with special guest Mark K.
Board games

Tuesday
Not sure about the morning.
Coin games in the afternoon.
Photo session in afternoon.
Jessica, Jenny, and Pa built geodesic dome
Texas Roadhouse for dinner
(Tony at rehearsal)

Wednesday
Cracker barrel for breakfast
(Tony at work; Jeff asleep)
Jessica and Mark depart
Mimi, Pa, Jeff, Jenny, Naomi, Juliet, John to Pennas house for hanging out.
Naomi and Jenny and John do small Geodesic domes with pretzels and gumdrops.
Mimi and Pa drive Naomi, Jeff, and Jenny to ATL airport.
Hornucopia 2009 ends.

Whew!

Twohy's weekly ultrasound

I just finished my ultrasound for this week, and Twohy's brain blood flow still looks normal.
I got some new pictures, but these are from September 16th.
I have another ultrasound scheduled for next Thursday, and I'll just keep getting them once a week until delivery, which is 5 weeks away!!!