Days of our Laives

Some things are just so hard to do right now.  They are the most difficult tasks that I face every day.  Here's hoping it gets easier...it will of course. 1. Meal time.  They are grumpy and sometimes sleepy.  Nothing is ever right.  They never what what I have rushed to prepare.  Someone is always dropping a fork, or spilling water.  At this point, they still need to be hand-fed, even Kira when she is not motivated.  I probably get up about 10 times in one meal to get something, like a drink, or a napkin (because the napkin holder is always empty!). 2. Making dinner.  They always want me the most when I'm making dinner.  It doesn't matter how easy the meal is, I still need to be in front of the oven or the stove for at least a few minutes, and even these few minutes are unbearable.  Even if I set them up with an activity or the TV, they end up needing me to do something, open the paints, get a piece of paper, turn the volume up,...

Not many people are going to find this entry interesting.  Honestly, I'm writing it here so Trevor will read it and we can be on the same page about it without wasting time having a conversation about it.  This is what it has come to! Anyways, for a while, I didn't really understand the "danger" of hand sanitizer.  I was getting little hints from here and there that it was "toxic."  But then I would say to myself, seriously...toxic?!?  Are people really saying that?  I mean, what do they mean by "toxic."  It's essentially alcohol.  I have a bottle of rubbing alcohol in my bathroom.  Is that toxic?  And there is such a craze going on right now about natural products and exposure to harmful chemicals.  Is alcohol a harmful chemical?  Everything is a chemical.  Who is to say what is harmful and what is not?  Baking soda is a chemical.  Is hand sanitizer a victim of the all-natural craze? Finally I found an artic...

Two funny conversations that show Mei's idiosyncratic way of speaking. Mei: Where is my dolly? Me: I don't know. Mei: (thinking) mmm, ish want. Me: ish want? What do you want? Mei: ish want Me: ish want? Mei: ISH WANT! Me: ish want?...oh RESTAURANT (the last time she played with her doll was at a restaurant) Mei: (playing make believe) my baby is eating aack Me: What's aack? Mei: aaack Me: naack? Mei: aack! Me: mack? Mei: AAAACCCKKK! Me: (laughing) ack??? Mei: (big sigh) Me: (after 30 seconds): oh!  snack? Mei: yes Ok, this is a totally lame blog entry, but it's not for anyone else but for myself to remember my little Mei.  Someday, she is going to speak clearly, and I won't remember these early conversations.

Here's something I want to remember.  Kira is about 4.5 right now, and whenever she talks on the phone with someone, like Natalie, she talks about party planning.  She lists everything from invitations, to cups, to food items, to favors and decorations.  She's a weirdo.  I wonder where she gets it from.

For the first time ever, Renee woke up this morning with a dry diaper!!

Unfortunately I got home late from work this evening so Vickie and the kids were already done with dinner. Renee's eyes caught the bananas on the countertop and so she asked for the bananas. Vickie and I told her she couldn't and so she started breaking down - which usually leads to the inevitable tantrum. I told her it was only for breakfast and that calmed her down - (atleast for that moment). After the usual shower and bath time it was time for me to put Renee to sleep. Vickie had to run out to get a bathing suit since they're heading to the cape tomorrow so I got Renee on board with blow drying her hair and then we headed to her room to go sleep. I put her in her crib and told her to go to sleep...usually this is fine - but when I went to close the curtains and shut off the lights she began another tantrum unexpectedly and kept saying something that I couldn't understand. She started the whining and crying while saying something that I still couldn't und...

This is random and not current, but I'm posting it for documentation sake.  Not that we would ever forget this because it's Mei's calling card.  Her number one catch phrase ever is "i no no" = "I don't know" Everyone is saying it.  I've caught Pat, Mah Mah, and Nicky Kew Kew using it!  I'm sure more, but these are the ones I remember at the moment. More Mei stories coming...  - fell asleep while having a tantrum  - carrot lipstick  - daddy mad

Kira has been tying knots like those found on shoes for a few months but recently she's been much faster. Not sure where she learned it from but she says Nat taught her. She usually takes long string and ties them around her waist, and makes 2 nice little bows :) Kira was playing with a long string that she was using to practice tying her bows, so I used it to measure Kira and Renee's heads. They're exactly the same size. No wonder Renee walks around like a bobble head. Renee is still trying to transition out of her diapers, it has been a much longer process than it was for Kira. We've also started brushing Renee's teeth before bedtime at night. It feels like just yesterday when we were starting this with Kira. Time is certainly flying...

New words Renee can say:  - everybody  - computer  - supposed to be  - look at me  - elephant  - laundry  - yesterday Kira has been asking about:  - death  - existence  - war Kira had a last-day-of school ceremony/performance.  I'll post that video soon.  Renee just learned how to use trainer chopsticks.  That video will also be posted soon.  And tomorrow is Kira's ballet demonstration.  I can't wait, and yes, video coming.

It's been going on for weeks.  I haven't been approaching the problem methodically, so I don't really know where to start, the primary cause, or exactly how we have been coping.  I'm going to try and make sense of it all in this post. I want to say it all started once Renee grew out of her baby phase and into her toddler phase.  Kira could see Renee was becoming more like an equal and less like something that takes up all of her mommy's time and attention, and she can't even communicate with the thing to boot.  Renee is talking now and responds to Kira's questions.  I think in Kira's mind, she sees Renee as one of her peers, like her friends at school.  When they play, Renee can't keep up or does not want to cooperate, and right away Kira will lose her patience, get frustrated/agitated, and eventually throw a tantrum.  These tantrums range from full out crying and screaming to stomping away and refusal to discuss. When she cries, I find myself do...

When Renee sees trees swaying in the wind, she says the trees are dancing.

Its been so long since the last post its embarrassing . This will be a general post about the new things Kira and Renee are doing, and if I can find it in me, maybe there will be some follow up posts with more specifics. Kira School - Kira continues to go to her montessori preschool 5 days a week from 8:30 until 11:30am. She dropped her afternoon naps sometime late last year and so we've started letting her stay for extended days which run until 2:30pm. Sometimes she will bring a lunch, except for Wednesdays when they will order pizzas for all the kids. Kira loves going to school, and she loves staying for lunch. Vickie does a great job packing a variety of things for Kira like carrots, apples, juice boxes, jelly sandwiches, and boiled eggs. Kira had never had one before and she saw a classmate eating one for lunch, so she came home one day and asked to bring one for lunch the next time she stays for an extended day. At home - Kira has become less confrontational at home and in a l...