We survived another week

It is hard to believe, but we survived another week of our crazy life. Once things got going last week, it flew by. I am hoping the same thing will happen this week, so it probably won't! I am hanging out with the girls in our office right now, uploading some pics. Matt was home all weekend and we got to do some fun stuff. I am afraid it didn't give him much of a break, though, and I think he is going to be pretty tired at work today. Poor guy. He is on Ortho this month and not loving it. We are definitely in the thick of things right now, making progress through this year, but still not really seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. We have lots to look forward to over these next few months, though, so hopefully time will pass quickly. Addie is turning one next Saturday and then Thanksgiving is upon us! I am sure I will make at least one trip down to my mom's during the holidays, but at this point, that seems too far away to map out. So, one thing at a time and this week that means Halloween! I was at a wedding for Lizzie's first (with Lizzie, she was a lion), then on a plane for her second. We trick or treated the Natural History Museum and the Upper West Side last year (when I was literally 9 months pregnant), but we finally get to do the all-American, door-to-door trick or treating thing this year. I am sure it will be a short trip, but I am looking forward to it. We went to a little party last Saturday and are going to another one on Friday, so we are getting plenty of use out of those costumes! Well, the natives are getting restless, better go. I am uploading pics to FB at some point today, so I hope you check them out!

The Things That Are Driving Me Crazy

Okay, so today really sucks and I need to vent. Most days when Matt sleeps at home, he leaves at 4:30. Many times, I wake up and have a hard time going back to sleep then because, well, I am and always have been a terrible sleeper. Those mornings are especially crappy when the kids have kept me up all night. Well, this morning, Matt left and then a few minutes later I heard someone running in our house, then someone pilfering through my bathroom. Of course it was Matt (back for his glasses), but he scared the bejesus out of me and I (of course) couldn't fall asleep again. So, about four hours of sleep is just not enough to renew my ever waning sense of humor and the other things I wish I could laugh off are making me feel like that lady in The Yellow Wallpaper. Lizzie is driving me insane with her toddler-speak. I am trying, I swear, and I work SO HARD to help her and teach her and work with her, but I am obviously not doing enough and it is beyond frustrating. We are waiting for the school district to contact us and set up an appointment for testing, but they are taking their sweet time. Meanwhile, we are stuck in a frustrating cycling of miscommunication. Between the two of them (well, three, Wahoo doesn't speak English either, although he does actually obey English which is more than I can say for the other two), I feel like I live in a different country and I am the only person who doesn't speak the native language. You want what? What hurts? No what? Yes, the bottle is for Addie, but she doesn't need to drink it while she is asleep...no, let her sleep, yes, she's "asweep"...please let her sleep, no don't scream because you are mad...where is your pullup? On the lawn because you fed it to the dog? Awesome. You get the picture. It is driving me insane. Next issue: carrots. Our neighbors carrots have seeped under the fence and every so often, Wahoo digs one up and brings it inside, getting dirt everywhere and providing ample fodder for "that's what she said jokes", as if we needed more. Then there is the potty training that really makes no sense when you can't communicate with your child, but she is 3.5 and I am trying. Aside from Lizzie's lack of cooperation, every time we are in there, Addie is there, too and usually throwing things in the toilet or at least playing with the toilet water. Awesome. Over and over again, awesome. Next issue: clingyness. Not a word? Don't care. I get it that they miss their dad, and I sympathize and try to give them all the TLC humanly possible, but they are both within a two foot radius of me almost all of the time. Addie is crying in my arms at this very moment, squirming because she is mad. Why is she mad? Because Lizzie wakes her up from her nap. Why? She thinks it is funny when Addie cries. So, we'll listen to her favorite Katy Perry song on repeat while I nurse her. Yay! Next issue: No. Lizzie has finally entered the "no" stage and while I am ecstatic that she is actually responding, I am really running out of patience with the backtalk. So, lots and lots of timeouts. Awesome. I love it. It is fun to spend my day these ways, while the laundry piles up and the germs multiply. Well, I guess I should go. The dealership that changed Matt's oil didn't put something back on right, so he broke down on his way home yesterday morning, miraculously right by another Honda dealership and (lucky me) I get to load the kids and their carseats into their shuttle to go pick it up. Can it be tomorrow yet, please?

P.S. Lizzie is obsessed with hearts, so this layout is for her.