Whale Watch

While much of the country has been shut down because of winter storms, we are loving the weather here in the west. Yesterday was Hunter’s field trip to go whale watching, and it was beautiful! I really wanted to go with him, so I asked a new acquaintance of mine from church to watch the little girls for me. It was a big deal for me to do that because I hate to ask for help or feel like I’m causing an inconvenience– especially with people I don’t know very well. But the girls did well there, and Hunter and I had a very fun day!

It was the perfect day to be on the water. The winds were calm, the sky was clear, and the temperature was in the 60’s. Hunter and his friends had a blast just taking turns with the binoculars that he had brought along. They were all looking for “footprints” in the water– a flat spot that happens when a whale or dolphin surfaces to take a breath. There were several times kids thought they saw something and it would turn out to be a guy in a kayak, wake from another boat, or a bird sitting on the water. After about an hour they announced that there were dolphins at 2 o’clock! There were about 100 of us on the boat, and everyone gathered at the railings to get a look. There were several dolphins swimming along the surface. We watched from a distance for a while, and eventually they came closer to the boat. It was really a great experience to watch them out in the ocean instead of behind glass at an aquarium. The kids were all so excited, but eventually we had to move on and see if we could find a whale. So it was back to eating pretzels and crackers (to keep from getting seasick) and scanning the water. It wasn’t until our time was almost up that we saw the top of a whale in the distance. It was surprising because we were close to the harbor and they usually aren’t in that area. He surfaced briefly twice but was pretty sneaky, so I didn’t get any pictures of him. We felt lucky to have seen both dolphins and the whale, because there have been years that the kids didn’t see either one. If you ever have the opportunity, give whale watching a try!

Happy Valentines Day!

We are having a fun day here celebrating with hearts and candies. Last night Cupid came and left pink and red hearts on the walls with little sayings on them. Hunter and Emma told me it was so fun to wake up and find hearts all over. Emma wanted to know why none of them had my name on them, and that’s when I had to confess that I played Cupid. I think she was a little disappointed that it was just Mom, but she gave me hug and said she loved me anyway. We had pink heart pancakes for breakfast, and the kids partied at school. I’m so glad they didn’t come home with a ton of candy like they did last year. I like it when the focus is more on the nice valentines than on the candy.

Daddy surprised us all by bringing home a giant valentine balloon that even lights up last night. It was a huge hit, and Hannah is still convinced it was just for her. This morning Daddy had another surprise. Two buckets of microwave popcorn from Blockbuster, and the Curious George and Walk the Line movies. (Hopefully we’ll finally get to see that one after the kids go to bed tonight.) And instead of flowers Rob got me a massaging neck pillow. I love it. I think the inflated prices on Valentines flowers are crazy, so I prefer the more practical, yet pampering gift!

We love and miss all of our family and friends out there today! Know that we’re thinking of you!!

Rob Could have Been an Electrician

Rob has started to take on some household projects that he has never done before. It gives him a sort of high to learn something new and then carry out a project until it’s finished. It’s a quality that I really love in him, and that I’m hoping will rub off on me one of these days. He recently took on one that has made a surprising difference in the house. It only cost about $20.00 and it has taken about 20 years off the look of the walls. He changed the light switches and some of the plugs from the old beige ones to sparkling new white ones! He turned off all of the circuit breakers one at a time and made his way through the house. So here’s a tip for anyone wanting to contemporize their home without spending a lot of money. It sounds like a little thing, but I’m telling you, it makes a huge difference. Thanks sweetie!

Stay tuned for his next adventure in wiring…

A new window for less than $20.00

I found this site, wallies.com, that has all of these fun designs you can put on your walls sort of like wall paper. I thought the fake windows are the best. There is a fancy word for it that I don’t know how to spell (tromp loy). I think they are very fun. I especially thought of my Dad who has an office in the basement with no windows. What do you think? Which one is your favorite? I think I like the Tuscan Arch best.

The Ultimate in Bedtime Manipulation

We have a real problem with getting Sabrina to sleep at night lately. She has been staying up later and later regardless of the loss of a nap or anything. She will sit with us for hours and not want to go to sleep. We tried a couple of weeks ago to put her down awake and let her cry it out. She cried for about 15 minutes and then Hunter came out and told us that she had thrown up! We thought, “she’s sick, that’s the problem.” But then a few days later we tried again, and same thing. I have tried skipping food at dinner and just having formula, maybe her tummy was too full. Nope. I tried only giving her bland foods all day long, maybe she has a food allergy. Nope. We tried turning the lights off, maybe she’s over stimulated. Nope. She has done it at least half a dozen times now. When she does it we have no choice but to clean her and her sheets up and hold her until she will sleep again.

Last night we put her down after she had fallen asleep in Rob’s arms. She slept fine for about half an hour and then we heard her cry. We waited to see if she would go back to sleep on her own, and after only a minute, I heard that dreaded gagging sound. She did it again! The weirdest thing about it is that it never happens during the day for naps, only at night. Any ideas or experience with this issue? I’d love to hear any theories.

Why do I want to wear these?

About two weeks ago, I decided it was time for Hannah to be potty trained. She seems aware of when things are happening and has this obsession with all things princess. So this should be pretty straighforward right, she’ll want to wear the big girl princess underwear. I took her to Target and let her pick out several packages of underwear. We came home and the first day went pretty well.

Over the last two weeks things have gone downhill fast. I had to switch to pull-ups because our house is completely carpeted and I don’t want it to smell like a barn. But with Sabrina underfoot, and the kids school, homework, and even just my everyday responsibilities, I kept forgetting to put her on the potty, and the pull-up was just the same as a diaper to her. If I remember to make her sit on the potty every half hour or so, she is bound to have some successes, but that is just not possible for me to keep up. I even bought M&M’s and told Hunter and Emma to announce when they were going potty, and have Hannah see them go in and come out, and then come to me to get their M&M reward. They loved the idea, but with Hannah, no go. She still doesn’t really care. So, I think I’ll give it up and try again when she’s more interested. What do you think? Does anyone have the magic technique?