Mid-March

 My mom went home yesterday. So I've been sad. I think it's awesome, and kind of funny how woke she's become. We had a lot of fun swapping Instagram reels.  We didn't do much of consequence, shopping, small house projects, mostly of the cleaning variety. Made a couple trips to Savers to drop off donations.

Bron has been doing awesome at school lately.  (Knock on wood). She has 13 consecutive school days where she has not been sent home. I know she's working hard at it, and it's difficult for her.  But she told me "I got upset, then I calmed myself down". She's been getting a lot of praise and small tokens (unicorns, cats vs pickles, macca's trips etc).  And, to my surprise, she doesn't require a teacher conference for this cycle.

But also, to my surprise, Bertram does need a conference. Which is somewhat difficult, since his teacher has been on long term leave for Covid. I think it's been 2 months at this point. They haven't had a long term sub (for a variety of regulatory type reasons), so I'm not sure how this will go. I do know the meeting is with the vice and/or principal. I'm not looking forward to it. Mostly because I feel like whatever they're going to tell me could likely have been addressed soon, and not become an issue.  It seems like he's been keeping up (at least, according to him), but I don't really have anyone I can check in with on a regular basis.

Eevee, the electric car, has been working perfectly. A contractor with Chevy came out and installed a charging port beside the driveway. This was included in the purchase of the car. We also found out that we're eligible for an electric car rebate. Not sure how much, but it should be arriving in a month or so.

March has been a very rainy month. Our drought may be over, for now.

Two weeks ago, Aaron and I decided to try a tik-tok challenge. It was an epic fail, and I fell on my head. Oh man, it hurt. I had a light black eye for a couple days. I felt like an idiot.

My poor head

Black eye

End of October

Aaron fixed my shift key!

 We all successfully got our flu shots. Aaron and Bron had to wait for an hour. Bert and I went to a different Kaiser, and only waited five minutes. Bert didn't do well, which I expected. Though, he told me I wasn't going to have to pin him down.  We all have our covid booster appointments as well. So we're ready for Winter.

Mom and I had fun while she was here. We just have a good time doing normal things, and hanging out. We cleaned out my closet, and went through both kids shoes and Bronwyn's clothes. She got home safely, though she got Bertram's cold. Somehow, the rest of us avoided it.

I tried to donate platelets again, but my hemoglobin was still too low.  Boo.

Bertram had a long writing assignment this week. A narrative about Pokemon. I had to do the usual of micromanaging him while he wrote. Otherwise, he wRiTes Like THis.  So I had to keep reminding him to do lower case.  His teacher is very much about "third grade standards" which means not wrinkled work, and neat writing. Both are challenging for him. But it's good, because he needs that. She is really on top of things, I like her a lot. We did probably 50 minutes one night, and 45ish the second night. He did really well on night two, he did much better staying on task. (ASD+ADHD is a challenge, so we work hard). 

Rough draft and final

Bronwyn had her walk a thon last Friday. She trudged a long. We came to cheer her on, and her face lit up when she saw us. The night of the walk a thon was the school's fall festival. The kids had fun at that. Bert did a spin art and got a snow cone, Bron decorated a pumpkin and got cotton candy. We walked to and from the school each time, so I had a lot of steps that day. 

She won the ring toss game

It's getting time to put Fiona down. She's getting less continent. She isn't able to jump up anymore, and she can't hear much. She's super thin and doesn't like to eat. We've been feeding her cat food, because that's the only thing she'll eat consistently. But neither of us want to make the move to put her down. She 17, and her quality of life is low.

Yesterday Bronwyn said she wanted to go to the mall with cotton candy. There is a robot vending machine that makes cotton candy (fresh) at Eastridge.  From the time her got up she kept asking how long til she could get cotton candy. So while Bert (and I) went to soccer, Aaron and Bron drove to the mall for the express purpose of getting cotton candy. Aaron didn't realize that the machine didn't give change, so I also got a cotton candy. After that we got lunch at McDonald's (kids' choice) and Aaron and I went to Outrageous Outgrowns. We didn't get many clothes this time, but we got a lot of books, and one puzzle. I took a nap.

Earlier this week, Bertram pulled the towel rack out of the wall and took some of the dry wall too. Aaron spent some time fixing that today.

Another week

 still having the "shift" key problem.  so, few, if any, capitals.

Last week the kids had fall break.  

sunday, i tried to donate platelets, but my hemaglobin was too low.  It's always disappointing when it doesn't work out.

On monday we went to the Monterey bay aquarium.  it was probably the least busy i'd ever seen it.  we got to watch them feeding the fish, and cleaning the tanks.  there were not crowds of people taking videos, or a million pictures and blocking everyone else's view.  the kids had a lot of fun, and we did too.  we got lunch at carl's jr, per tradition.  both kids did very well.  no meltdowns, pretty good behaviour.  we stopped by the new 5below on the way home.  they finally opened one in san jose, no more having to drive to salinas.  

he fell asleep on the way home.

she did not.

tuesday my mom arrived in the morning.  i don't think we did too much that day.  

on wednesday, we went on a long walk in the morning (nana, the kids and me). in the afternoon, we drove to great wolf lodge in manteca.  the drive was good, we didn't run into much traffic, and no one needed to stop for a potty break.  check in was easy, and you can do everything with your wristband: unlock your door, and pay for things.  our room was really cute.  there was a little nook cut out for a set of bunk beds and a twin.  the kids and nana slept there.  there was a queen bed and a couch in the other part of the room, aaron and i slept there.  the first day we went to the waterpark.  there were a good variety of slides, none of which the kids were interested in.  But they liked the wave pool, the activity pool and the splash pad.  bert liked a couple of the little kids slides.  after we played in the water, we left the hotel and wet to chilis for dinner.  i expected the kids to fall asleep quickly, but they didn't.  and they woke up early, of course.

there was a dunkin donuts in the lobby, so we got breakfast and coffee from there.  we played at the waterpark more.  aaron and i got to go on one slide by ourselves, which was fun.  we stayed til lunch time.  we went back to chilis for lunch, because it was a lot cheaper than food at the hotel.  after lunch, we had a siesta.  we played mini golf and arcades.  mom met up with her friend, and they got dinner together.  we got a family pizza meal at the hotel.  and went back to the waterpark for a while in the evening.  again, the kids weren't sleepy.  

we mostly hungout in the morning on friday, to wait out traffic.  the kids were waterpark-ed out.  we had dunkin again, and watch some tv.  (when it was time to go, the kids wanted to go back to the waterpark). 

my father in law was supposed to be taking care of the animals.  while we were gone fiona repeatedly went to the bathroom in the house.  and for some unknown reason he didn't think he needed to clean it up.  so we walked into a literal shit-show.  and spent an hour picking up poo, wiping up pee, and scrubbing the floor.  i was livid.  i left the house very clean, and came back to a nightmare.  there were flies, and the smell was awful.  i don't know why he thought that was ok.  or, if he didn't want to clean it up, put her outside.  ugh.

saturday bert had soccer.  we tried to go get flu shots in the afternoon, but the line at kaiser was about 50 people long.  so we abandoned that idea and went to target instead.  in the afternoon the kids got much needed haircuts.  we got bron's pretty short, because she kept putting in her mouth.  

sunday was kind of a lot day.  we didn't do much.  

today, while bert had aba, bronwyn and aaron got their flu hots.  i'm going to go with bertram tomorrow after school.

Mom and I did a lot of cleaning. We cleaned out the pantry, finished a puzzle, culled Bronwyn's shoes, and cleaned the bottom of the linen closet. I also tried to go to the bank, but I forgot it's indigenous peoples day.

November

Aaron's arm finally got better.  It seems like it took a long time, but it's back to normal now.  He starts a new position on Monday.  It's mostly a lateral move (but he loses his office, and is back in cube land).  But there are more opportunities for advancement in the new position.  I think he's a trainer, it's hard to tell, all jobs within the county seem the same to me.

My mom has been here for a week.  I love when she visits. 

We went to the aquarium at the beginning of the week.  This was the first time that Bronwyn was interested in the fish.  It was a good trip.  We were all tired by the end of the day.  And the kids slept a good bit of the drive home.

We had a good Halloween.  Bertie was dressed as Tracker from Paw Patrol and Bron was a flamingo.  And Aaron was Gandalf.  I didn't dress up this year.  We had a trunk or treat at church on the Friday before, and the kids went trick or treating on Wednesday.  We bought a bunch of candy, but only had about 30 kids come by.

 
Bertram has been doing pretty well at school.  He had been having some separation anxiety, but seems to be doing well lately.  He's made some friends.  He was upset at one point, because there was a "new kid".  Then, he made friends with the new kid, Kunal.  Now, his friends are Kunal, Mayson and Millie.  I still can't get a ton of information about what he does at school, but he's always happy at the end of the day.  His writing is really improving.  And he is really loving reading.  He reads on his own a lot now, as well as being read to.

Bronwyn is getting into reading too.  She likes lift the flap books.  Tonight she had Aaron read her a book (Where is Spot?), then she brought it to me to read, then my mom.  But, she loves to get books off the shelf and look at all the pictures.  She is repeating more words.  Her current vocabulary is: mama, dada, ball, dog, hi, bye, num num, up, down. Pretty good for 15 months.  She is walking all the time.  She loves carbonated water.  Tonight she started climbing, and standing on a little chair.  Then she'd smile, in a very cheeky fashion.

My sister is running a half marathon next week (her first).  She inspired me to do the same.  I signed up for the Silicon Valley Half Marathon in April.  I've read that 6 months is enough time to train (from 0).  I found a training program to follow.    I start on Monday.  I'm nervous about failing.  I'm nervous about my stamina.  But I'm glad about being proactive for my health.  And I've paid the fee, so I'm committed.

I have a bad memory

I want to write all about our trip to Virginia, but I don't have my daily journal in front of me, so I probably won't remember enough details.

The flight out was good.  The kids both did very well.  We only had 55 minutes to make our connection in Chicago (well, less.  It was 55 minutes til the next plane left).  So I had to hustle Bertie across the airport.  We had a long way between gates.  The second flight was pretty bumpy.  And of course, on that one, he needed to go to the bathroom 3 times.  (Three times in 2 hours.)  I felt bad for him though.  He really needed to poop.  And it was when it was bumpy and the flight attendant was serving drinks.  I push the call button, and she moved for us, but it was just a little too late (just a skid mark, but he never has accidents). 

My mom has a port-a-crib for Bronwyn (in the room where I was sleeping) and a twin bed for Bertram.  Bronwyn slept well overall, especially after I moved her crib into the walk in closet.  She was sleeping for 8-9 hours a night!  Bertram did so-so.  Every night at bed time, he would start a chorus of "I want to go home".  He was really sad, and I felt very sad for him.  We gave him melatonin most nights, to help him settle.  Once he was asleep, he did fairly well.  But he did wake up early quite a bit.

While we were there, I started and stopped eating wheat.  It seems to be what is upsetting Bron.  She gets rashy and gassy.  (Being wheat free is really annoying.)  So I found different gluten-free things to eat.

The weather was dreary for most of the trip.  Drizzle, rain, and a lot of cold.  So we didn't get outside as much as I would have liked.  Usually we do a lot of walking, but hardly did any this time.

We got to see my Nanny a couple of times, and two of my aunts.  We did a fair amount of shopping.  I got to hang out with my sister a lot, and see her new house(I can't believe my little sister is a homeowner).

Aaron flew out after a week to hang out too.  We took Bertram to the trampoline park one day.  I am very out of shape.  He had fun, but he's still not jumping. 

The flights home were fine.  We had to get up at 4am, but other than that there were no issues.  Both kids did fairly well.  Bertie slept for an hour or 2.  He had a small melt down, but he's 3 and a half, and sitting still that long is no fun.

Since we've been home, his sleep patterns haven't been very good.  He's very tired and will be asleep by 8 every night, but he'll wake up between 5-6 and not go back to sleep.  Then he is really tired throughout the day, but won't nap.  And then is a really grump.  Hopefully, he'll get back into the rhythm soon.

Bronwyn is 4 months old today.  She is sleeping 7-9 hours at night, and naps throughout the day (not really on any schedule yet).  She rolls over both ways.  She likes sitting in the bumbo seat, and holds her head up well.  She pushes up onto her arms when laying on her tummy.  She loves smiling.  She doesn't laugh much (only Rebecca has made her laugh so far).  She doesn't vocalize much either.  She loves sucking on her fingers, or thumb.  Her eyes are starting to become a grey/brown/green.  I think she looks more like me, at least for now.  She is still a great nurser.  And I'll probably wait until 6 months to start introducing food (unless she really shows interest earlier).

Bertram has gotten really interested in maps.  He loves geography.  He can name all the states and most (or all) the capitals.  He knows some of the countries/continents, and oceans.  He also likes the solar system.  He knows all the planets, some of the moons, and some dwarf planets.  He knows a lot of sight words, but isn't sounding out words yet.  He watches a lot of youtube videos about these subjects.  He likes Phineas and Ferb, SpongeBob, and Teen Titans Go.  (Though, we really only watch Phineas and Ferb regularly).  He loves reading, and we go to the library every two or three weeks.  He still can't really say "S" sounds.  (Mississippi sound like Mi-i-i-ppi).  He likes a lot of different foods, lately he's been into cheeseburgers and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.  He loves Bronwyn, and being a big brother.

I have to say, as hard as it is sometimes, I really love being these kids mom.  I think about a third sometimes (already).  And, I'd love to have another.  But I think two might be our number.  Our house is fairly small, and there is a lot of expense that comes with a third (bigger car, traveling gets harder and costlier).  Plus, I worry about Bronwyn becoming a middle child.  As a middle child, I can say it's not a great place in the birth order.  However, I love my little sister, and can't imagine how things would be without her.  It's still up in the air, and there is time to decide.  But that's where I'm at currently. 

Waiting to get on the plane

Rebecca loves baby snuggles

Blurry, fashion baby

Bertram and Rami

The night no kids wanted to sleep

Bertram and Nana

Reading

Four generations (all ladies)

Four generations

Bronwyn's fuzzy head

Bertie fell asleep across my lap, and Bron was nursing

Another cute outfit

I love them.