The Day After-we're getting orange pipes

Today was supposed to be a semi-normal day. Eric did most of the cleaning up last night, so there wasn't much to do this morning. Also a nice strong wind outside took care of the rest of the confetti on the ground. I had to work, so Sam and Eric did guy stuff this morning. Sam opened the rest of his presents today. He got a few more toys, and a couple of nice outfits. Hey Mom and Dad - the orange outfit is fantastic! Your box arrived today. He also got a soccor ball, and has been running around the house kicking and throwing it, shouting, "WHEE, WHEE!" That's the same thing he said each time he hit his pinata, by the way. Other lastest new phrase is, "Here you go." Just make sure you look at what he's giving you. Especially in the back yard where the dog does her business...

Here's the fun part of our day. The park is "upgrading" the gov't housing to include sprinkler systems. The low bid went to a company that is installing orange pipes along the ceilings of all the houses. Today a guy showed up to drill 3 inch holes in our walls to pass the pipes through. By lunch tomorrow we will be seeing a lovely orange lattice of pipes on the ceiling. (It costs too much to put them over the ceiling and poke the spigots through, and well, as I mentioned, this is being done by the LOWEST bidder.) We're changing the sheets on our bed as the guy didn't put up a drop cloth to start and now there's drywall dust in our bed. Yuck. I'll post a picture later.

Also I'm heading to Austin, TX tomorrow for an SLP conference. I should be home Sunday around lunch time. I still haven't found a Sunday morning babysitter for Sam, so I need to make a couple of phone calls this evening.

Birthday photo of whole family. 

Sam takes a swing at his pinata. 

Sam's party day

We are about a half an hour from Sam's party starting. To my sister Heather, happy birthday, I promise I will try to remember to call you, but no promises. But yes, I've remembered your birthday with every invitation I've handed out. Also as party day has approached. It is the only March birthday save Sam's that I've remembered. We'll give the pinata an extra wack for you. Wish you were here to party with us. I just cut up fresh pineapple, decorated the cakes, made fruit trays, and tons of other stuff. Busy day.

Sam on the other hand hasn't had a nap today, and will be a perfect Two-Year-Old for his party.

Happy Easter!

Today is Easter Sunday. We aren't doing much to celebrate. Sam and I did go down to a friend's house for an Easter egg hunt. He was more interested in playing in her playhouse than finding eggs, so he came home with only three eggs, all of which I forced him to come over and pick up. He did a great job of egg gathering in our living room, however, so I think he understands the concept; he just wanted to play with somebody else's toys. When all the eggs were found and children were munching on candy, Sam went around stealing the candy and eggs from their baskets. Sometimes he's pretty smart.

He's down for a nap now. I'm working on laundry so we won't have to be naked at his party tomorrow. Tonight I'll stuff the giant pinata, and we'll do some more cleaning. I'll also try to get the cake baked so I can decorate it tomorrow.

I hope everyone has a good Easter, will all the candy you might desire.

Here Sam views the world through green plastic. I'm still learning how to do this photo thing. 

Sam views the world through green plastic, and we pose for a picture after the great egg hunt. Yes, his mouth is full of stolen candy. 

Cleaning Lady

Eric told me to hire some help in cleaning the house. Since Sam's birthday party is Monday and the house is trashed and I can't bend over to pick up the toys, let alone vacuum, I need help. Eric is a little busy at work, and honestly neither of us wants to do serious housecleaning when Sam goes to bed at 8. I haven't mopped in over a month, and I really can't remember the last time I actually saw the carpet in Sam's room or the living room. It is even worse when Sam is trying to help me clean. I pick up the puzzle, pieces and all, put on shelf. Sam picks up all the puzzles, dumps them on the floor, scattering the pieces. Repeat 3 times, as it is funny to hear Mama say, "oof!" everytime she gets down onto the floor to pick up the puzzle. Sam will help to pick up about the first 4 pieces, and after that he throws a tantrum. Anyway, the woman who promised to come help me will be here soon. And I've been able to resist that whole clean the house so she doesn't see it really bad. It's bad, and that's why I need help. In a couple of weeks, work will slow down for both of us, and we'll be able to manage on our own. I'm just glad that we can afford to pay somebody to come in and pick up after us slobs. Can't afford it on a regular basis, but on the occasional HELP MY CARPET ATE THE DOG moments, we can. Especially since Sam is starting to say, "oof!" when he bends over. Or he just says it whenever I move. Sigh. I'm the butt of my 2 year old's jokes.

New Blog!

I'm doing this blog because I thought it might be a fun way to let my family in on this pregnancy from a distance. Everyone is so far away, and that can be frustrating. So I'll try to post photos of Sam and the upcoming #2. Part of me thinks this is a vanity issue, and yes, it is.

Don't expect earth shattering news here, and no, I'm not sharing the name we've picked out. I like getting name suggestions too much, especially off the wall wild ones.

Sam & me in the bluebonnets in March, 2005 

Sam's Birthday

Yesterday was Sam's birthday. He turned two. He's been acting two for about six months now, so no real change there. We didn't do anything special other than opening a couple of presents. The big party is Monday evening, big potluck/no presents/gigantic pinata/lots of cake/candy. If you are in the park, drop by. Sam did get to wear his new shoes, some XW size 8 sandals. The kid has big feet.

I had an OB appointment Tuesday. #2 is doing just fine, as am I. I have officially graduated to the every two week appointment schedule, which really does get a little old, as it is a 4 hour drive to the doctor, and all that happens is that I get weighed, woo hoo, test my blood pressure, and do a urine sample. It takes about 30 minutes in the waiting room, and about 10 minutes for the actual appointment. We usually get a hotel room and spend the night, do some grocery shopping in the 'big city' and go home.

Tuesday we bought Sam a potty chair. My thinking was that he needed to get used to having it in the house, and we could start teaching him the words he needs, or at least the signs. When Eric pulled it out of the box, still in a few pieces, Sam went crazy, signing potty, grabbing himself in a way that would make Michael Jackson proud. Now he even says potty, and wants to sit on it. So I guess I'll need to get some training pants/diapers, and we'll start potty training.

For those of you to whom this is TMI, tough luck. I'm gonna brag about my son going potty. It might be a long road, it might not. There will definitely be some ups and downs, and I promise not to force him, and not to yell or punish him over it. But I'm definitely taking advantage of his interest. Right now his biggest tantrum is that it really isn't very portable, and he wants to take it into the living room with him. Had to go outside and blow bubbles for an hour to settle him down.