New jammies, just in time

Poor little Kate has the green apple splatters. She's ashen gray with giant circles under her eyes - but you'd never know her intestines are rebelling. She's been running around the house singing and scolding the dog for trying to take various items that are KATE'S items. (I suspect Lola spends a lot of time being confused these days). I did manage to force her to nap, but it took tucking her into mommy and daddy's bed (I hope there are no diaper leaking incidents...) She's currently snoozing peacefully with her head on the fuzzy lavender herbal sleep pillow I made her. She looks so tiny in that bed.

She is not running a fever, so I haven't commenced panicking. Of course I've got panic on deck behind grave concern but for now, I think Kate will survive. Besides, just the other day her father and I got her a brand new pair of pajamas! I had exactly enough time to wash and dry them before she required them for an entire day.

I'm pleased to share that they are flame retardant. Shew! What a relief to know that pretty much any set of pajamas I wish to buy my children will not attract fire. And since the specter of terrifying fire threatening my family is only nocturnal, I needn't worry that a tag bragging of the material's ability to keep fire off skin has never appeared on a single item my children wear in daylight hours.

Holy crap, I missed the explanation of imaginary numbers!

You know that feeling when you've started to doze in class and your body rocks you awake with a terrifying jolt back into the present and you realize you have no idea what's been said in the past 20 minutes? Then you miss the remaining portion of the class because you're consumed with worry about how on earth you'll ever catch up? Sometimes that still happens to me in meetings at work, only I don't waste any time wondering how I'll catch up because either everyone is looking at me expectantly and I know I need to say something meaningful, or it dosen't matter because, as I probably said before going to the meeting, we didn't really need to have the meeting anyway.

That's exactly how I woke up this morning at 8:25. For a moment I forgot that Kate & Sarah were having a slumber party with Steve & Joy and I careened into consciousness with a panicked, confused glance at the clock. Then I remembered...and gave some serious consideration to going directly back to sleep. But I had to pee. And since it was a good 3 hours later than I usually get up, once I got out of bed I was up, and anyway, the idea of sleeping any longer seemed like an abuse of Steve & Joy's kindness.

And so, after an entire day (during which Kate pooped in the potty at daycare!!!) child-free, Jeremiah retrieved our children. About an hour ago, while carrying Sarah, Sarah's spent bottle, Kate's book du jour, some toy she had to bring to the kitchen and holding Kate's hand while going down the stairs I took a moment to enjoy having my kids back home and simultaneously wonder when the next kid-free day might happen...

Best Day All Year

It's my birthday! I love my birthday, even if it marks the end of another year during which I did not become exceedingly wealthy or find the meaning of life. That's OK. Now I have something to do this year. I remember when I was 14 I thought 17 was the best age to be, and looked forward to the time when that would be my age with great anticipation. In retrospect, that says a lot about my world view at 14 (it was pretty tiny). I don't know why I thought 17 would be so great, possibly because so many songs have been written about 17 year old girls. My excitement about being 17 years old, at 14, was twenty years ago. I'm closer now to having a child who is 14 than I am to being 14 myself. And my children are a long way from 14. Yikes.

Thoughts of my mortality, the fact that Kate keeps ripping the paper on my gifts from Jeremiah and that there is no coffee made and I've been up for over an hour not withstanding, I can tell this is going to be a great day. Think I'll get cracking on the coffee issue - Kate & Sarah gave me a mug with the photo of them wearing their Christmas outfits and sitting together on it. They are so thoughtful!

New digs

Yesterday was the kids' first day at the new daycare, Sheltering Arms. Jeremiah and I spent a l lot of time telling Kate and even Sarah how much fun it was going to be and how much they were going to looooooove the new place. Of course, they'd spent over a week at home with us and various relatives who paid non-stop attention to them. They'd skipped naps. There were tons of gifts. Kate had been eating kind of poorly (though nowhere near as badly as the rest of us). So, while my plan to avoid taking them to the Frazer Center one day and Sheltering Arms the next succeeded, there were some other factors at work.

For one thing, Kate and Sarah had become very mommy-clingy. I spent the previous couple days with Kate attached to my leg and Sarah attached to my chest. When we arrived at the center, Kate insisted on being carried in. So I carried her, a giant shopping bag full of the stuff that was in their old cubbies and Sarah's bottles, while pushing the stroller with Sarah in her carseat in it. That was tricky. When I walked in, there were 2 employees at the door to greet me. I immediately informed them "this is our first day!" and to my relief, they set to work making us feel comfortable straight away.

Sarah was perfectly happy. She was smiling and making spit bubbles and playing with her mouth. Kate was quiet, but interested while Nikki, the program coordinator, showed us all around and where to put our stuff. They had a skeleton crew due to the holidays and very few kids were there, so Kate and Sarah started the day in the same room. Kate seemed alright...

Then I took her hand, walked her over to the little clatch of kids who were there, all younger than her, and said hello to them and introduced Kate. All the kids stared at her silently. She stared back silently. I said "Kate, can you say good morning?" and she was silent. It was then that she began to bawl. Given that she'd been talking about her friends at the Frazer center on the ride over, I wasn't surprised. I resisted the urge to join her. Barely. But again, everyone was on point, and when I left the room Kate and Sarah were both on the lap of Miss Diane. Kate had a baby doll in hand. When I spied on her via the closed circuit TV they've got, she was doing her "I'm in charge here" walk across the room and putting the baby doll back with the other dolls.

When I called at 10:00 Sarah was having some tummy time after her bottle (I forgot to mention they should be at the ready with a burp cloth when they do that, but they no doubt figured it out) and Kate was having a diaper changed and was not crying. They have phones in each room, so you talk directly to the caregivers, which is cool.

Joy picked the girls up early and took them to her place to play with the dogs and hang out. Not because it was their first day at a new place, well, maybe a little. When she did, she learned that Sarah had spent most of the day being held and rocked. "Does her mother wear her all the time?" the woman in the infant room asked Joy. Weeeeellll, not all the time, but for the past week. Oops.

All in all, we're pleased. If yesterday was a good indication of what they're like there all the time, this place is going to be great.

House full of people

I have a large extended family. My dad is one of 5 and each of them had at least 4 kids. I believe the final count of Provost grandchildren was 27. This year for Christmas one of those families descended upon my cousin Bob's home for the holiday. Bob is from on of the smaller families, only being one of 4. He lives in Marietta, which is only about 25 miles or some from us. Somehow, though, we almost never see him. At Grammy Provost's funeral we learned we'd all be in the same city (more or less, since Atlanta is taking over all of North Georgia) and said we'd make a real attempt to get together. And we did.

Bob and his wife Vicki packed up the whole lot of them and carted them down here to my house yesterday. I never did get a firm number of people, but it was pretty tight in here. It was fun, though. They only stayed for a short time, long enough for coffee and dismantling a cute little gingerbread house. It's easy for me to distinguish my own cousins, of course, it's their kids I can't keep straight. And the place was lousy with them. They were delightful guests! Polite, but they made themselves at home without me having to put a lot of effort into hostessing. And, they all seem to love babies. Sarah was passed around the entire crowd and she did well. It took her over an hour to decide she'd had enough.

No one seemed bothered in the least that the place was a pig sty. And my Uncle Al, who I haven't seen in years, was here, which was a surprise! He's looking great, I only wish I'd had more time to visit with him. Kate was shy and clingy for approximately 5 minutes, then basked in the glow of all the attention.

Yesterday was also Joy's birthday and we celebrated it in the evening after the aforementioned gathering. Steve made her a cake with real caramel icing. He didn't realize that caramel involved brining his concotion up to 238 degrees and then letting it cool again. There was some griping. Then, in his haste, he frosted the middle layer while the icing was still somewhat warm and, when he placed the top layer on, there was a certain amount of sliding involved. I thought it was very cute, especially when he and my dad opted to rush the cake outside to speed the cooling process along. All in all, the cake looked pretty good. And tasted wonderful.

Kate celebrated the Joy's birth by donning the cowgirl accessories Steve & Joy got her for Christmas. She tried to pull her 6-shooter on Joy when she arrived and say "stick `em up, Jo Jo!" but she couldn't get the gun out of the holster and she couldn't remember her line. Oh well. Somehow, I failed to get a picture of the birthday girl. Here's the cowgirl, though.

Photos of the Drueke Family Christmas

You know it's an awful lot when you ask your pre-schooler "do you want to open some more presents?" in that high-pitched, over-excited manner and she says, resolutely, "No." Still, though over-whelming, Christmas was a lot of fun. I'm already looking forward to next year. No, really. I went to Target and bought my wrapping paper today.

Christmas Eve - A Retrospective

First, and most impressively, Sarah cut several teeth.

Kate and I made cookies for Santa.

`Twas the night before Christmas and up in this house, some creatures were bitchin', while constructing Kate's kitchen...

At last, Santa arrived and left so much crap in the place we had to move the furniture just to escape the living room. He ate the cookies, too.

Sadly, the night ended in tragedy when the mysterious creature emerging from Sarah's stocking bit mom's arm off shortly after this photo was taken.

Further merriment

Steve & Joy had decided the solstice warranted celebration independently of us but graciously allowed us to host the festivities on the actual night, while they hosted all of us and Joy's local family all day today. Seldom was someone not holding Sarah all day. She sat by herself for roughly 20 minutes while we dined but was scooped back up again before anyone even left the table. They say you can't spoil and infant, but we really pushed that axiom to the limit today.

That kid is a nose-grabber.
She pawed a number of faces today, primarily her grandmother's. She did the same thing to Grandma Cory when she was here.
Sarah is going to kick ass at the "got yer nose" game. (Note here that Grandma Cory is wearing Jeremiah's T-bone grilling apron. This is what the Druekes took to doing while holding Sarah to protect themselves from the frequent baby-eruptions. Someone would say "let me hold that baby!" then hesitate and say "oh wait, let me suit up...")

In further nose-centric news, Kate, having been instructed to blow her nose on a wipe she'd liberated from the package in the diaper bag, decided we should all blow our noses and she would assist us in doing so. On that same wipe. It was simultaneously cute and disgusting. Like snails.

During the course of the evening, Kevin called and informed me he was disappointed I'd never posted the picture of Kate drinking a smoothie while wearing my gardening gloves on the blog. I don't think that was the purpose of his call, it just happened to come up. So, here it is!

A very merrry solstice to you!

Ah, the celebration of the longest night...it's 9:30 and we're ready for bed (the night will go on without us). Our first official solstice celebration was lovely. Jeremiah made the chili and I think it was his best work to date. Kate made the cornbread, also a smashing success.

I did not capture any images of Kate opening the solstice "earthy" gift on behalf of her sister and her, but I wish I had, just for the scene of her going to town on the wrapping paper. When she finally got through the paper and into the box and found it was the birdhouse pictured here, she didn't get it right away. She continued to look in the box for something good, tossing packing paper out behind her as she searched intently in the box.

I had anticipated that and so wasn't terribly disappointed. We explained that the birdhouse attaches to her window, and she'll be able to watch the birds nesting in it. Then, to illustrate the birdhouse in use, Jeremiah attached it to the living room window. We were pretty sure she still wouldn't care and in fact, would continue to be apathetic until an actual bird shows up at her window. However, once the birdhouse was up, she said "come on birds! Come in!" And that made my night.

Everybody loves the bouncy seat

Yes, it's another post containing random photos and no pithy commentary. So sue me. Still, this amuses me:

There's a light on this tree that won't light on one side...

When in doubt, bring the stroller

The kids are way off their routine. Since Keith and Rosellen are in town, they're not in daycare. Monday afternoon we went to the aquarium, after Kate had refused to nap again. We knew it was a bit risky, taking her on an outing late in the day without a pause that refreshes. We did it regardless and then, because we're mildly retarded, we also decided not to bring the cumbersome stroller for her because "she will never sit in it there anyway".

Kate does love the aquarium. This trip she was most excited about the sea lions and once we were at their abode, she didn't want to leave. Jeremiah did a great job coaxing her away and getting her to appreciate the cuteness that is the otters and the penguins (when we got home she went up to her room to retrieve her stuffed penguin and carried it all over the house for the rest of the day). Even Sarah seems to really dig the aquarium - she stared, unblinking, at the huge viewing window until it was too much and she had to go to sleep. That was easy for her, she was suspended from my chest. Kate, on the other hand, had no place to go to relax because her terrible parents didn't bring her stroller. We were justly punished with a full on meltdown in the main entrance to the building. Keith captured the precious moment on film.

Good times, good times. As we were leaving and I was carrying the 30 pound, exhausted child all the way from the exit, down the long sidewalk and up a couple flights of stairs in the parking garage, we could still hear the sea lions barking. I told Kate they were telling her good-bye and she kept saying "STOP! I have to go bye-bye! STOP!" as though she was trying to excuse herself from a conversation at a party she was trying to escape. Even when she's at her most obnoxious, she's still kind of funny.

This is the good life...

A glass of wine. Taj Mahal on the stereo singin' the blues. Steve & Joy cooking dinner. Keith rocking Sarah to sleep. Kate chowing down on her oatmeal (hey, whatever, it's what she wanted to eat). And I'm just hanging out, posting to my blog. That's what I call a good evening. Life is good. Family is good. Aaaaahhhhh. Where did I put that wine bottle?

The last bits of fall...

There's a big pile of leaves in our front yard that's been growing steadily over the past few weeks. By "pile" I mean...really, just all the leaves that've fallen off the old oak trees in our front yard all autumn.

Today was such a gorgeous, sunny day that I opted to go rake them up while Jeremiah and Kate were off at the airport, picking up Kate's Uncle Keith and cousin Rosellen (who she calls Cousin Rosellen). When they all arrived at the house, I had a giant pile that was perfect for jumping in.

And there was a great deal of jumping going on. Oh the merriment! Oh the delight! It looked so fun to Lola, who was watching from the windows in the living room, that she figured out how to open the front door (look mom, no thumbs!) so she could race out and join everyone. See? Those are her legs behind Kate's head there in the picture of Kate. That was right before she jumped right on top of Kate, who handled it like a pro.

So. The leaves are once again scattered all over the lawn. But what the heck, it was worth it.

Celebrating the Solstice

When Sarah arrived on the scene, we decided it was time to declare a moratorium on holiday travel. More than it being a colossal pain in the heiny to travel with two little ones during the busiest travel days of the year, we felt it was time for us to begin developing our own family traditions for these special occasions. To wit, we've decided that in addition to Christmas, we will celebrate the Winter Solstice as a family.

According to Beliefnet, we're both NeoPagans, anyway (please do not ask me to explain what that is...we took a quiz, we came back as that, with strong leanings toward Universal Unitarianism...) Since most of the things we do to celebrate Christmas are derivatives of ancient solstice celebrations, anyway, we thought it would be cool for Kate & Sarah to grow up knowing exactly why we chop down a tree, bring into the house and cover it with lights and decorations this time of year.

According to the book I've been reading on the history of the world's Winter Solstice celebrations, people have been celebrating the return of the sun since our cave-dwelling days. While there are lots of old, cool traditions we could revive we're making a couple of our own. First, on the evening of the solstice (the 22nd this year) we're going to give the girls one "earthy" gift. When they get older, we'll talk about why people made such a hoo-ha about the longest night. For now, we'll just go with the gift. We got them a birdhouse with one clear wall that affixes to a window, so you can spy on the birds. Also, we'll be doing a dinner. I was going to make some fancy-schmancy menu for the night - because I enjoy that - but then I decided that the solstice makes me long for comfort food. So that's what we're having. This year we're going with our favorite chili recipe. Maybe we'll all wear our pajamas all day, I don't know.


I love Christmas, I can't wait to celebrate it with the kids. But now I'm exactly as excited about the solstice. I don't know if it's because I think that particular celebration is so cool, or because I'm thrilled to be able to start a family tradition. I don't suppose it matters.

Fairwell, Frazer Center

Today is the last day the girls will attend daycare at the Frazer Center. Although we find some of their policies annoying (like being closed for 2 solid weeks for which we were still paying each year), and we can't afford them (we're going to save a jaw-dropping amount of money with the new center) we have loved the teachers and we'll miss them.

We wanted to be sure everyone knows how much we appreciate the care they've given our kids. I made cookies, put them in the little red, plush boxes with bows around them (thank-you, Dollar Store!) and affixed the buttons that say "It's too bad the people who know how to run the country are busy teaching school" we got from the Syracuse Cultural Workers to them. Then we wrote thank-you cards to each teacher. When I dropped the gifts off this morning (what's cuter than a little 2 year old in a lovely white fur-cuffed, red velvet dress handing a gift to someone? ) I realized why I'd been feeling so hostile about all the forced "teacher appreciation" the parents' groups at the daycare do. It pisses me off when someone feels the need to tell me to be grateful. Especially when I really am grateful. How can you be sure someone understands your gratitude if they know the effort to get you to bring in muffins a couple times was organized by some other group of people?

I wanted to thank the girls' teachers on my own without someone telling me to, but with all the stuff someone was telling me to do, I didn't have time or money to do it. Now that we're leaving, we're free of teacher appreciation week and month and holiday and birthday and I was able to do what I wanted! It had the effect of making me even sadder, because when I was doing that I wasn't feeling resentful of the other parents...and all I had to focus on was how great the teachers are.

Hope the new place doesn't suck!

Well...that's it, I'm a mom

Driving into the sunrise this morning I noticed I was holding my head at about a 45 degree angle to compensate for the fact that my sunglasses were making me feel as though my ears were at very different levels on my head. Gee...now why would that be?

Looking out my windshield at the ocean of traffic - all slightly off kilter - I reviewed my current state.

1. I was running late. I have been late to work nearly every day since having Sarah. Only about 10 minutes or so, but still, I used to be 10 minutes early every day.

2. My shirt has a couple of little spots of spit-up on it but I left it on because all the other shirts that would go with the pants I'm wearing are dirty and

3. I haven't had time to do laundry.

4. Even though I was already late, I spent a few minutes in Sarah's daycare room with her, telling her how much mommy loves her (I have Working Mom's Guilt or WMG. I've been a carrier all my life, having been raised Catholic, but the symptoms came on full force once I had kids) while she ignored me to gaze at a large, plush ball.

5. I am writing this while I'm at work instead of trying to catch up after being slightly late because I think about my kids way more than I think about getting SQL code written and accompanying reports designed and uploaded.

6. The WMG is a far stronger virus than the alternative disease - Mom-Worker Guilt (MWG) in which a person feels bad for ignoring their career in favor of their kids.

I believe the transformation is complete. From Party Girl, to YUPPY to DINK to American Nuclear Family Archetype.

Here's goop in your eye!

The daycare nurse sent Kate home on Monday because her left eye was a bit goopy. Daycare centers panic, understandably, at the least sign of conjunctivitis. I think they might set off an air raid horn when they discover a suspected pink eye or something, I don't know. Anyway, I had to go get her even though I thought it probably wasn't pink eye. For one thing, she hasn't been anywhere near Scott Baio. Also, ever since she was born, Kate's left eye has a had a way of getting goopy. Often when she gets a cold, she gets a little goopy for a day or two. Never pink, seldom even crusty and her lid has always looked perfectly normal.

So, I called the doctor to make her an appointment. When I said "they think she has pink eye" the receptionist informed me "you don't see the doctor for that, you talk to the nurse". Which was precisely true. I left a message on the nurse's line, she called back, asked if Kate's eye had any muck in it and then called in a prescription for an antibiotic drop that Jeremiah and I now have the pleasure of administering 3 times a day for a week whether she needs it or not.

Kate seems to understand the purpose of the medicine. She nods obligingly when we explain that we have to put drops in her eye, but it still takes both of us to do it successfully. This morning I took out the bottle and she said "NO! I can do it!" So I let her hold it and she went straight to work taking her medicine. You'll be happy to know that the bridge of Kate's nose is now medicated against conjunctivitis.

Busy Weekend

I know, I know, I've been lax. But this weekend was so busy I didn't have time. No, really. I didn't. So here's a quick run-down -

As you know, Margie came for a visit and brought with her early Christmas. My favorite thing about this event was when Kate, who took quite well to opening presents, found a gift for Sarah and took it to her, telling her "Here Sarah, this one's for you!"

Jeremiah looks dashing in Kate's new puppy dress-up ensemble -

Also, Kate's final gymnastics class (for this session) was Saturday. Here she is exhibiting her advanced skills -

Now then, we have to go do something about the big tree that's appeared in our living room...

Milestone

Margie is in town this weekend, ostensibly to see Bob Seger, but we know it's really just to spoil her grand daughters and present us with yet another storage issue. I wonder if the neighbors would let Kate & Sarah annex their master bedroom closet?

Jeremiah and I were headed out the door to run an errand together. I know that seems banal but running an errand alone together is pretty exciting to us these days. As we were standing in the entryway, donning jackets and gloves, Margie called to us from the TV room where Sarah was having some tummy time. "You didn't tell me she could roll over!"

Even though we rushed into the room and stood expectantly, stalker-like above her, she did not take another turn. I'm considering taking the If-I-didn't-see-it-it-never-happened approach and just keeping the camera in my hand at all times in case she does it again and I can capture it in a series of rapid-fire shutter clicks. And then I'll say "Sweet serendipity! I just happened to be photographing her when she rolled over for the first time!"

Ant Sue represents the meaning of Christmas and makes us all cry

This morning's email:

Merry Christmas Provosts!

In honor of all of you, I have “adopted” a family for Christmas this year through work. Last year BCSSI adopted an elementary school third grade class that had been destroyed by Katrina. This year, through one of the employees, we have identified (10) local Warrenton families who through no fault of their own, are having a tough year.

In lieu of personal gifts to you, I’ll be purchasing gifts for this family and will be placing your names on the tags as “The Provost Family & Children”. Heather is a single mother who has 3 boys, ages 14, 11 and 5. They are Kenny, Dylan and Tristin. In your name, groceries for Christmas dinner, gasoline, gloves, and a toy for each child will be provided. I’ll even do the wrapping this weekend when I’m home with my mom

Merry Christmas my Provost friends and extended family! I hope you approve, and I hope you know how much each of you, individually and collectively, mean to me and my family! I don’t know if we can get a picture of the family or not, but I believe Karen (coordinator at work) is going to try. If we do, I’ll pass it on to you all. We are truly blessed to have jobs, friends and family and I just wanted to pass that blessing along to others who aren’t as fortunate as we.

Love, Ant Sue

Mad props, Sue! We're all lucky to have you and we really, really love you!

Sue with baby Kate

Lucky for her she's so cute

The other day, while picking Sarah and Kate up from daycare I saw Third Avenue neighbors Pam & Chad with their wee bitty son, Henry. They'd come in together with him to pick up their 3-year-old, Ella. They looked like you'd expect the parents of a pre-schooler and a 3-week-old to look. One of the other moms, upon hearing Pam comment on how tired she is, said "oh, you've got quite a few more months of that!" Now, is that really necessary?

It could be correct but Kate, having worn herself out from 8 weeks of incessant screaming, started sleeping all night when she was 2 months old and has never stopped. "Sarah's started sleeping though the night." I offered in an attempt to comfort them. She had. She was doing pretty well. She was in the stroller next to me when I said it (Kate was keeping careful guard announcing repeatedly to anyone who dared enter the hallway "DON'T TOUCH MY SARAH!") When Sarah heard me say this she took immediate action - she has been careful not to sleep all night once since.

She screams. One of us runs up the stairs and starts small (re-insert pacifier), gradually works up to medium (remove her from her crib and rock for a bit) and ultimately ends up large (take her to bed with us because we are too spent to stand or even sit up a moment longer and she's still just wiggling and grinning away.) Once that happens, I no longer sleep at all because somehow Sarah always manages to inch her way into me and I spend the night clinging desperately to the very edge of the bed afraid to go entirely to sleep for fear of accidentally getting comfortable and subsequently crushing her. I have tried moving her over. She moves back. I find this fascinating considering she cannot yet roll over. I don't know how to break this habit of ours, but if I don't get some sleep soon I'm going lose control and do something rude, like snap at a fellow mommy who would say something so disheartening to another mommy like "there is no respite!" Meanwhile, is there no respite???

Lola thinks the location of her bed has bad chi

This is where Lola's bed is supposed to be, in the corner next to our bed on my side. Note the foot of the bed, there.

And this is where she keeps putting it while we're not looking. See the foot of the bed again?

I've been hoping she'll make it all the way out to the kitchen. She keeps her sleeping bag in the dining room so she can be with the family when we're eating, but that is apparently not good enough. Next, I suppose, she'll be rearranging our furniture to better suit her desires, as well. I hope she dusts it when she moves it.