Curly Straight

TJ asks me every now and then if it's Groundhog Day.

Today it is!

He's at school now but I can't wait to talk about it with him.

After coming in after taking a shower and and finding TJ on my bed doing a puzzle, I put him back into his bed.

Five minutes later, he sneaks up behind me as I am on the computer.

I turned around to look and he has his ABC blankie over his head.

I take him back into his room and put him onto his bed. "You ruined my ghost clothes," I am informed.

Two seconds later, he comes clomping up the stairs.

"I'm thirsty." I give him a sip of my water and pull out the big guns..."go into your bed or else you won't get to go to go see Dora on Friday."

We'll see what happens next.

Update: Two minutes later. He's tapping on my shoulder, saying "tap tap tap." I am ignoring him and trying not to laugh. Now he's on the back of my chair, tapping me through it. I am ignoring him.

Put him back into back and locked the gate.

Now I can hear him, he's downstairs playing with his racetrack.

Update #2.

I went down and he asked for hot chocolate, as he was drinking it, he noticed a creamer on the table from my coffee earlier. "What's that?" he asked, so I told him it was sleeping cream and added it to his hot chocolate.

Two minutes later, he was pretending to fall asleep at the table - "I'm so tired because of the sleeping cream, Mama."

Mama: My belly is messed up.

TJ: Maybe you drank too much alcohol.

Just finally completed my monthly newsletter for Guard.

This one kicked my butt for some reason - I'm blaming it on the pdf files.

Glad it's done and it looks good and I don't have to worry about it anymore.

Until next month...

Mama: TJ, eat that yellow pepper.

TJ: No, I don't like it.

Mama: Eat it, it will make you feel alive.

TJ: No. (puts it in his cup)

Mama (pretends to drink the yellow pepper from the cup): Woowoo, woooh!

TJ: Why you say Woowoo?

Mama: I feel alive right here (points at belly) from eating that yellow pepper.

TJ, pretends to reach into Mama's belly and takes his hand and puts it behind his back: Stop it.

Mama: You don't want Mama to feel alive?

TJ takes his hand and pretends to eat what's in it.

You really know someone when you can tell their mood by the way they are typing on the keyboard.

I have just discovered this site - tripit.com - it seems really good for vacations - gathers all the info for you and adds weather info, etc.

Although I cannot find my orbitz confirmation at the moment...that's not good.

But once I do, I can just email it to them and they put a whole itinerary together for me. I emailed my flight confirmation, just the number and all the info popped up.

I'm thinking they are definitely going to rob my house while I'm gone.

I just realized that I end up buying clothes when I need to do laundry.

C'mon global warming, bring it on!

Kidding. Totally kidding.

I recycle.

Thanks to the internet, I get to watch the Superbowl commercials days later. The commercials are the best part. I do feel a little bit like I didn't pay my dues, I hung out in my room while John and his friend watched it.

Thanks, hulu.com!

How I love everything polka dot.

One of my favorite things that Julia does right now is point. She points like she means it. She'll point at you, then at herself.

She'll point at the pictures in books, repeatedly.

My all time favorite is her baby gang sign, where she takes her finger and points it down with her thumb sticking out, almost like she's doing a gun, but she points her index finger down. Each time she does it, I cannot resist saying Whassup.

You would too.

Mama: TJ, you are going to start brushing your own teeth.

TJ: I will do it when I'm older.

Mama: You are older now.

TJ: I will do it when I'm bigger.

Mama: You are bigger now.

TJ: I will do it when I am giant and I can crush your bones and crush Daddy's bones.

TJ, spitting out the very, very diluted mint mouthwash: I don't like it. It's too spicy.

A couple of years ago, on a trip to A Store That Sells Things That I Don't Really Need But Buy Anyway, otherwise called Ikea, we bought some alarm clocks.

No ordinary alarm clocks, these. These are recordable alarm clocks. You can say whatever you want, set the time and boom! you will hear it again the next morning. It's a cute concept and apparently, we liked them at the time because we bought multiples. We only have two left, not sure exactly where the others ended up.

I can't remember what we used to say to wake us up before TJ. Probably something optimistic and cheerful. "Time to start your day," in a gentle voice seems to ring a bell.

Now it's one of TJ's hobbies, talking into the alarm clock. He'll come upstairs in the morning, climb into bed, completely ignore my request for a morning hug and kiss, grab the alarm clock and start with something nice like "Wake up Mama and Daddy." It's cute, really, when it's something like that.

He gets more and more wound up as he progresses, and by about the 10th time, it's basically just a primal scream that we wake up to the next morning.

It's the cutest primal scream you ever did hear, but still.

He told me today this is his favorite song. Learned it at school.

His rendition:

January, February, March and April
May, June, July and August
September, October, November and December

The twelve months of the ear.

Boom boom.

Julia waved and said "bye bye" to an old lady at Newport Creamery today!

She said it about seven times, so there was no doubt.

She also did her sign for dog, which is the sign for cat, when she saw the cow.

TJ is looking at the family portraits that John made of the whole family, including the pets.

I ask him if he knows who everyone is.

"Yes," he tells me "Mommy, TJ, Daddy, Julia, Amadeus, Georgia, Spike, Taylor and the other cat."

Flew across the country today with a 12-month-old (well, almost) and a 3-year-old. They handled the flight surprisingly well. TJ was immersed in his dvds (Dora, Nemo and Toy Story) and only had a meltdown once.

For some reason, the flight was actually longer than I expected - 6 full hours - and it coincided right with their mealtime. I only brought snacks, not sandwiches or anything and when he really needed something to avert the impending meltdown, like apple juice or peanuts, there was a medical emergency on board and the flight attendants wouldn't bring anything. Ay.

Luckily the woman in front of me heard what was going on and slipped me some jello jigglers that did the trick. Thank goodness!

Julia decided not to sleep the entire day. She did fall asleep in my arms for about 10 minutes with her little thumb planted firmly in her mouth and my heart melted and I fell in love with her even deeper. Seeing her sweet little self in my lap, sleeping, so innocent and trusting and beautiful and knowing that she is such a part of me is just really amazing.

TJ kept on asking me if he could push the button that reclines the seat. Of course, I gave him permission, he wasn't even moving the seat, just pushing the button. By the end of the flight, he was convinced that he was flying the plane and pushing that was making the plane go down.

Hotel is beautiful. Hoping for nice weather, because neither John or I like casinos, so we were hoping for some pool and some hiking action, we'll see.

Both kids crashed out in cribs (!) and I think we will be shortly on their trail. Is that the saying?

It's about 5:30 here. I'm talking a.m.
TJ woke up about two hours ago and announced "I'm not tired."
He's ready to go see the lions, the tigers, the dolphins and the flamingos.
I made up a lullaby about the lions, the tigers, the dolphins and the flamingos and that worked, he slept for about another 30 minutes.
Now we are all awake and I'm going on a coffee hunt.
Maybe I'll throw a quarter into a slot machine on the way.

Drove to Las Vegas Blvd this morning at about 7:30 after stopping at the grocery store to stock up on stuff for the room, like snacks and microbrews. Yes I bought two six-packs before 7 a.m.

Then we hit Dunkin' Donuts where I turboed my coffee (added a shot of espresso - can I do that in RI?) and we drove about 20 minutes or so to get to the strip.

Drove around for a while, looking at the hotels and trying to figure out where to go and where to park. Everything is in bright lights - even the sign for CVS (open 24 hours! film processing!). Seems like overkill to me, but hey, it is Vegas. Or Begas as TJ calls it.

Wanted to see the fountains at the Bellagio, so we park there and look for them, can't find them. Get directions, see the fountain area, but it doesn't go off until 3. TJ is still psyched because there is an area with a bull made of leaves and a giant Asian statue.

Walk from there to the M&M store, 4 floors of M&M merchandise, after saying no to the time-share guy, Sheldon, who was practically ready to give us his first born child if we took a tour of a place.

Didn't buy anything M&M, didn't want to. TJ ignores the giant fuzzy red costumed M&M out front but once we leave is obsessed with knowing where he is now. "Where's the M&M? Where? Where?"

Short distance away is the MGM Grand, which we know has the lions at 11. We get there and it's only 10:15. Oh boy, what should we do? There's a sign for a monorail, let's follow that. Ooops, meltdown along the way..."I want apple juice!" so we do a u-turn and end up at a buffet. I am never eating again. Still full now. Yummy desserts in funny little containers.

Walk over to see the two lions behind the thick glass, who allegedly cannot hear any of the casino binging and banging, just the four waterfalls in their habitat. You can actually get into a tunnel under them, so I am now the proud owner of some photos of a lion from a very strange angle.

Take the monorail back to Bally's, which is supposed to be across from Bellagio. A lie. We walk and walk and end up at a sign that says "monorail - Bally's" which is where we started.

Las Vegas is the City of Escalators. They are everywhere. TJ loves that! It would not be easy to maneuver a stroller.

So many sights to see! Interactive ads projected onto the floor. Stomp on the "bubbles" and they pop, then turn into fish, then sparkles. TJ and I love it! Stomp on it for at least ten minutes. People walking by, giving us the isn't that cute smile.

Walking at one point, TJ says "Mommy!" - I look and he's standing there bare-legged with his Sponge Bob boxers on - his pants have totally fallen down around his ankles.

He and Julia have crossed new territory lately - he is into making her laugh and she loves it more than anything.

Suddenly she is pulling herself up all the time. She slept so soundly last night and was so chill in the backpack all day long. Dream baby.

Back in hotel now. We like not being on the strip. Our view is mountains and Las Vegas Boulevard and at night, thousands of lights, like Christmas. There is a complimentary shoe shine and I already packed up my short black boots for them to shine up.

High of 50 for our time here. Isn't the desert supposed to be hot?

This is a big casino hotel. They play techno music in the elevators that you just can't help dancing to, especially if you are me.

The bathroom in our room is marble with a big huge deep tub with very cool fixtures. The water shoots out in a beautiful stream. You never thought water filling a tub could look sleek? You should come here.

Vegas Baby

Some crazy amount of crystals are in the lobby. I have to go look it up because it's really crazy, like 300,000 or 3 million.

Flashy.

There are eight pools, too bad the weather is not cooperating.

This morning when we were up at the crack of dawn, (thanks Pacific time), I popped in the Suite Vinyl cd into the Bose system in the room. It's a cd on the night stand, open, and it's for sale for $20. This is what it says on the back of the packaging - "our hip, upbeat, sensual collection of tantalizing tracks features some of the finest electronica beats in music today. Bring this enchanting music home and relive your most decadent moments from Las Vegas over and over again."

So, the sun is rising and this crazy music is playing and I grab TJ and start moving. Due to the position of the sun, we can see our shadows dancing on the wall and we add more movements to make it fun.

He gets sick of it by the end of the first song because he wants to watch the numbers change on the cd, rather than dance with me. I know, I can't believe it either! So I'm grooving all by myself, because I seem to be the only one in the family who appreciates my dance skills and I am watching my shadow and I realize I possibly may have missed my calling as a gogo dancer.

Totally spending the 20 bucks.

Kids woke up again at the crack of dawn, before, actually.

Julia woke up crying and coughing in the middle of the night, a bit of a barking cough. Scares me, she is only coughing sporadically now.

Anyway, it took us forever to get out of the hotel and into downtown. Is that what the strip is called? That's what I call it.

After planning our route for the day, Mirage, Flamingo and Bellagio, we drive around looking for the Mirage (oh the irony) we finally got into self parking and walked a long way to the Secret Garden.

The first thing we saw were the dolphins. We were there for about five minutes when TJ decided he wants to see the flamingos RIGHT NOW. He tries to take off up the stairs and out the exit. Luckily, we manage to corral him in and convince him to walk to the tigers.

To our delight, the first thing we see is a giant King of the Jungle, with a big beautiful mane.TJ looks up at me and says "we are in the jungle!"

I just asked TJ what else we saw. He said "the tigers in the jungle, because tigers live in the jungle and lions live in the jungle. All the animals live in the jungle."

Flamingos after that, Margaritaville after that.

Stopped into a store to get a t-shirt for TJ and a sparkly sweatshirt for Julia. Walked out with a Vegas snow globe instead. Seems fitting. Yesterday was a beautiful sunny day.

Today hiking at Red Rock Canyon.

highlights of our trip:

hiking at Red Rock, wish we had done it at least two more times. We should scooted there when the kids were awake at 4 a.m.!

Vegas in general - there is really so much to do there for kids. Something for everyone. TJ loves the animals. Julia likes seeing people.

The pretty mountains all around.

The kids behaving so well on the plane, both ways!

Our nice hotel.

Brewery across the street.

Lowlights (is that a word?)

Julia getting sick.

3 hour time difference, messing up the kids' schedule.

People smoking inside. Euw.

Cold weather, didn't get to use the big pool(s), the main reason we went.

Three day weekend made for a pretty busy Vegas. The first day we were there (Thursday) vs. the Saturday was a huge difference in the number of people visiting and driving on the strip.

In the airport on the way home we ate at the Jose Cuervo Tequileria. Good service! We were psyched about that, and to get food in our bellies and the kids' bellies before the flight.

TJ was raring to go after eating, ran out of there and started to "snap" people - as alligators do - he uses his two hands and grabs a part of your body in between them and yells SNAP!

He did it to at least five people before I caught up to him.

Julia turned one today. We had the official party yesterday and she had a grand old time.

She is such a sweet baby. She's one, but she's still a baby to me, even though she is getting so big and so agile.

In Las Vegas, on our vacation, she pulled herself up to standing the whole time. Here at home she's not so much into doing that. Fine with me, I don't want her to grow up too fast.

She's such a sweet little girl. She gets happy to see people she knows and will smile and laugh. People she doesn't know it takes a lot of effort to get her to crack a smile.

She knows what's going on and doesn't miss a beat.

We are so lucky to have her in our life. People say "enjoy that age, it goes by so fast" and it does, it's really true. I appreciate every moment I have with her sweet little self.

Happy First Birthday, Squee.

I wonder why the leftover beer in my refrigerator is so tempting but my treadmill is not.

When I want TJ to do something, I have to bribe him with a Dora bandaid.

Works sometimes.

I am still not completely sure why I see our Christmas tree from 2007 when I look out of the bathroom window.

We woke up nice and late today, yay!

TJ is playing with his train, Julia fell back asleep.

I had high aspirations of getting out of the house and going to the gym, which I so need.

We'll get there.

She'll wake up and he'll get dressed. Sounds so easy, right? But it takes SO long sometimes.

TJ gets easily distracted by his toys, books, life in general. So if I tell him to go get dressed, it really doesn't happen. He may make it into his room, but will start playing or reading or looking at something before he makes it to his bureau.

In the meantime, I'll be doing something - cleaning up, checking email, getting coffee, etc., and I do exactly the same thing, get distracted on the way. Like momma like son.

Hopefully he'll grow out of it and learn how to focus.

When I was one, I was boring (Mom's note - that means born)

When I was two, I slept in a crib.

When I was three, I stopped wearing sleeping pants and I had a birthday.

Soon I will be four.

TJ, walking into the gym and seeing the ladies on the treadmills: "Those are mamas."

It's hard on the body having a baby.

It's hard on the body after having a baby, too. It truly takes a long time for a woman's body to go back to normal, and I'm not sure it ever really does. It needs a lot of help, that's for sure.

I ran my first (and hopefully last) half marathon when TJ was 10 months old. I worked out when Julia was in my belly, up until the week before I had her, and started again when she turned 8 weeks old and I could take her to the daycare at the gym. I am by no means a fitness freak, I am in ok - not great - shape but I love going to the gym for the social aspect, as well as the physical feelingI get from being there. Plus it helps negate my beer and chocolate habits. I like to think so anyway.

Back at the gym today for the first time in a long time, due to vacation, family obligations, etc. Walk with the kids into the daycare so I could go work out. Another mom brings in her little baby - he looked like a king, the way his hat was perched on top of his head. Of course, being the chit-chatty thing that I am, I comment on it and this led to a conversation. It turns out he is only three months old.

I end up on a treadmill next to her finishing 15 minutes on the elliptical and 20 on the bike. "How long does it take to get back in shape?" she asks me. I have to laugh, because I don't feel like I am in shape. "Oh you look great," she tells me. Thanks! Just the ego boost I need. She can't see the numbers on my scale, thank goodness.

Poor thing is probably sorry she asked me, because she got all the advice I have on working out. I read the magazines and the websites, so it's all in my brain. Do I follow it? No. Well, sometimes.

Here is what I told her. This is the Anne Method, which is in no means, form, or way sanctioned by any official fitness regulation group. Take it for what's it worth.

#1. Mix things up. Take classes. Don't do 30 minutes on the treadmill, the elliptical or the bike every time you go to the gym. Take an hour long spin class, or a weight class. It will be hard, but so what? So was having a baby.

#2. Try intervals. Go fast for one minute, slow down for one or two. It gives you a burst that you wouldn't normally get, and it certainly gets your heart rate up. I'm convinced this boosts your metabolism as well.

#3. Use weights, especially on your problem areas. Every woman has an area that they don't like, they can be 5'10" and weigh 130, they still think they have a big (pick one) butt, thighs, belly. Ridiculous? Yes. True? Yes. Getting strong through using weights is one of the easiest way to build self-esteem at the gym.

#4. Be gentle to yourself. You may not lose any weight at first. But stick with it, people will start to notice, even if your scale is not reflecting weight loss. Post-partum, your body may change and you may need to go up a size in jeans, but if you are rocking a pair of cute jeans, looking toned, it doesn't matter what size they are.

Suddenly, Julia is pulling herself to standing every single waking moment of every single day.

I wore a tighter shirt than I normally wear to the gym today.

I'm wondering if that's why the old guy next to me started singing "won't you be my neighbor" to me.

At school, the teacher is going around the room, asking the kids what they would do if they were president.

She asks TJ what he would do if he were president.

His response?

"I don't want to be president!"

Smart kid.

Mama (expecting to hear the answer right or left):
TJ, do you know which way we are turning?

TJ: South?

Like the guy at the grocery store said today, "she doesn't miss a beat." It's true, Julia is very aware of what's going on around and loves to take it all in.

I, of course, misplaced my cell phone, so I call it from the home phone. Don't hear it ringing so figure I will find it on one of the other floors.

Walk back into bedroom, see Julia reaching under the bed...no way, I'm thinking, there is no way she is going to pull out my cell phone.

Yup, sure enough, the little cutie patootie in all her one-year-old gloriousness, pulls out my cell phone and hands it to me.

Made my whole day.

Mama, coughing: excuse me!

TJ: NO, you have to say 'bless you myself."

I guess if a kid is going to be addicted to anything, it may as well be yogurt. Drinking yogurt, specifically, as TJ calls it, sometimes he calls it cow yogurt.

He wants it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. He had at least three for breakfast, just had two more and wanted one more and I think John may have let him have a couple around lunchtime.

"Drinking yogurt!" He'll just yell it out at random times.

Then he expects us to throw away the wrapper. Um, no. I don't think so.

TJ and I are creating our own kapusta.

He's peeling the cabbage apart leaf by leaf. He keeps on saying "I'm a good helper."

We don't have any onions so we are using carrots, no broth so using chicken seasoning and beer.

John will love it, I guarantee it.

AnneTJbeerpusta, I'm thinking of calling it.