Zachary & and Grandma Johnson

This may seem strange to many of you but I've been convinced for awhile that Zachary's been seeing ghosts. And after our experiences over the past few months, I'm sure we know whom, My grandma Johnson. In the hospital Zachary would smile (not just any smile a huge smile) at random areas of the room. As he got older it happened less but on X-mas eve it happened again and I'm convinced.

We went to X-mas eve service at the church where my dad's family (my great grandparents, grandparents) were charter members. Anyway, I didn't think about it initially but Zachary was constantly looking over his shoulder smiling and giggling. I thought he was making faces at the lady three rows behind us but most of the time, she wasn't paying any attention to him. I also noticed that he was waving less like Zachary waves (hand over mouth and saying ahhhhh) and more like my grandma used to wave(like you're making a shadow puppet on the wall). That's the way he was waving and he hasn't done it since.

Needless to say I wasn't quick to believe this but I got to thinking....my grandparents always sat 1/2 way up on the left side of the sanctuary and we were right in front of that. It gets a little more peculiar, I have a bookmark with my grandmother's eulogy and photo printed on it that I still use. Tricia showed it to Zachary the other night and he got a huge smile on his face, like Tricia said at the time, it's the smile he gives when he recognizes someone. The next night, we tried it with different pictures of relatives on the wall (some he knew and smiled at and others he didn't and we got no reaction)

As a child, I remember her playful nature, and as I got older watching and seeing her affinity for children. I can think of no better place for her to visit than a house of god and playing games with children.

at walgreens

Dylan informed me today, right before we got out of the car, that if I bought him one more car from Walgreen's it would be his last. "then, I'll be done with cars", he said. DID I HEAR YOU CORRECTLY? DONE? That's hilarious! I was laughing at his proposal and trying to tell him that it's not nice to tell lies to get your way.

He's manipulating me.....or is he? Maybe it's true and I won't get to buy more cars for Dylan. Wait there's still Zachary, no problem, bring on the action figures!


(I don't have any witnesses because Zachary was sleeping in the car and in the teeny tiny shopping carts that they provide. So, I figured that I would make anyone that reads this a witness. Also, I didn't buy him a car with the hopes that he will forget about forgetting about cars.)

On the status of life.

Well, I'm back from the holidays, and a bit sad to see them go. Why? It marks a new year and I'm going back to work. Not full-time or even enough to be part-time, (it's every two weeks on the weekend) and yes, I'm still operating my business out of my home. It's the principle that with the state of everything, and we're all feeling it somehow, we need a bit more money coming in.

So that's gonna complicate things a bit. Hey, what would life be without loads of everyday tasks to muddle your progress and make you feel unable to read a book, talk to yourself(uninterrupted), see your wife, talk to your wife (when there's time, energy, and something besides the logistics and/or strategies of parenting), have sex(this is a joke, if I can't talk to my wife how the hell will this occur), and think. It's amazing to me how I can stare off into space(or at a car, tree, the wall) and be completely entertained by my thoughts or the complete lack thereof.

(I just stared at the computer screen and nothing, yes nothing, went on in my head.)

Child update.

Dylan is watching a movie at Auntie JJ's. He's learning how to argue a point. Last night after he was informed that he wouldn't be taking a bath because Zachary was too sleepy to join him, he responded by stating this fact. Before we had our baby, I used to take baths by myself. Good point, I said, but you're still not getting a bath. At some point, because I said so, isn't going to work anymore.

Zachary is sleeping. He is crawling, munching on graham crackers, and standing while holding onto semi-stationary objects. He gets very upset when the objects move or when he tries to free-stand. Until recently, he was averaging one dead man fall per day, but those seem to be lessening due to his increasing coordination.

Everything you wanted to know about effluent.....and more

Dylan has been relatively persistent with the question, "Where does peepee and poop go?". So, we took a virtual tour via the Madison Metropolitan Sewer district's website. (http://www.madsewer.org/) It's quite informative and way to wordy for a 3 year old....it takes me back to my dates as a Water Chemistry Student, of which I don't' remember much. It's waste water management at it's finest complete with biological organisms that help breakdown the peepee or poop (sludge) depicted by green looking pacmen in there cross-section drawings.

I'm writing more as an FYI - so when Dylan starts spouting off information about waste water treatments finer points, you'll know where it came from which is how we got into this situation to begin with.

If you're interested in attending a tour of the facility, we would be "very" excited to join you.

concerning time

Both napping, pizza dough in the machine and really nothing better to do. I didn't say nothing to do.....I said nothing better to do. I could be cleaning, folding, straightening, marketing Wegoshop.com but I'm not going to because this is my time and it may only last a few minutes. Fortunately for me, when both children nap, I can choose what to do. (To all those simpathetic with the matriarc of the family, of which I am one, we'll have to work something into the schedule) To make matters worse, Tricia is sick with a stuffing, aching, not-so-much-of-a-fever but with plenty of kleenx for a nose that really could use some medicine but she would rather not drug the baby sort of situation. So again, she's my hero. I'm the biggest baby in the world, including Zachary, if anything doesn't feel quite right. I'd like to thank you for my health.

An update:

Zachary has developed a method of locomotion. We can it squiggling. It's a combination leg thrust/up on his forearm/driving his head into the floor kind of motion. It's effective and gets him where he wants to go. Most notably but not limited to - small magnet letters, cat hair, balloons, dylan's hair, shoes, the wheels on grandma and grandpa's walkers, the edges of rugs, and his own puke.

Dylan has made an evil friend. Candy.

Me - I'm perfect.

Tricia - See her last post or her next one. I had no idea she was actually going to blog. I'm excited and alittle frightened.

Mommy Time

Zachary is now 5 months old. He is a wonderfully, smiley, little baby. But, he still demands all of my attention from the minute I get home to the minute I leave for work again. But how can I get frustrated when he smiles at me like that?

Dylan is such a big boy. He loves his little brother and is a very good big brother to him. However, Dylan has learned from Zachary, that the only way to get any Mommy time, he has to cry for it. So, when Zach is monopolizing Mommy's time, Dylan will cry. At which point Mommy hands Zach to Daddy and Dylan gets Mommy for about 5 minutes until Zach realizes he's been had.

So this morning Dylan wakes up mere minutes before my alarm goes off (5.27am) crying for me. He has had a bad dream. So I tuck him into bed with Daddy & Zach and head off for the shower. After my morning bathroom ritual, I sneak downstairs (well aware that Dylan is still awake) for a quiet cup of coffee. It is now 5.50am. I barely get a coffee cup down when I hear two crying baby's. Upstairs I head because I know Joel doesn't do well being woken up like this.

So much for my quiet cup of coffee by myself. Both kids are up and now that I've been spotted, both are vying for Mommy Time.

I think Joel has become used to not getting any Mommy Time. He's adapted well. I however, have not. I know that as they get older, the kids will want nothing to do with us and I will have all the time in the world to be by myself. But will I live to see it? Right now I'm sitting at my desk with my head pounding because I can't remember the last time I had any down time.

On taking a nap

Dylan, or should I say No Napping Nate, has developed a number of tactics to prevent naps. Quite frankly I've had about enough. He will do any one of the following and most of the time results in a winning combination. (Thus, I don't get anytime to myself.) Zachary is currently sleeping, and during this part of the day is my favorite by a large margin say....from here to the moon.

It starts with a request for toys in bed. A reminder that I didn't turn on the music. He wants his fan on. Needs to be tucked in again. I have to go potty(peepee). I return each time asking him to lay down, close your eyes and go to sleep. I'm taking the toy away. I check again and he's laying on his belly reading a book (in his bed), I can't get too angry or frustrated with this. So, I let him finish the book and then take it away...and every time, trying very hard to remain calm, I repeat lay down, close your eyes and go to sleep. Next, it's I have to go poopy. (Which entails going downstairs with a book in hand and sitting on the potty for a ridiculously long time. 50% of the time he doesn't go but uses it as another opportunity to look at a book.) We return to his bedroom and I repeat my mantra. Lay down, close your eyes and go to sleep. By this time, I'm starting to get sleepy from saying this damn phrase so often. Finally, and usually after I'm convinced that he's either never going to take a nap or I've just chosen to ignore his movements, he either falls asleep or I have to enact the stay-in-your-room until Zachary wakes up command. And if I'm lucky this will last for 15 minutes.... giving me enough time to go to the bathroom, alone.

Me-mornings are great. afternoons can be trying. night time is exhausting.

Tricia - work is an escape but challenging. home is demanding. sleep is intermittent.

Dylan - Breakfast before Sid the Science kid is a bad policy. Pre-school is fun and naps are unnecessary. I want my mommy.

Zachary - I'm Happy! Mommy, Mommy! Every thing's too far away and I want my MOMMY!