Sometimes It's Hard

Well, the school year came and went. We, and when I say we I should probably just say me because Paul is a good sport and humors me, decided that co-oping is not really our cup of tea. Ella will be starting a new preschool next year which I am very excited about. There will be actual sit down writing time which I think she is going to excel in. We will of course miss her teacher from this year.

Probably the most exciting thing for us this year was Paul being offered out of the blue an awesome job which he accepted. Life has pretty much been normal. I'm still staying home with the kids. Sometimes it's hard, but most of the time it's awesome. This week was tough because Paul was out of town for most of the week for his job and so I was pretty worn out by the time he arrived home a few evenings ago. Then back to work he went the next morning. Not much time for recuperating, which I wasn't really bothered with, until today.

Today, today, TODAY. Thank goodness it is Friday. Turns out, Ella has a bladder infection, poor little girl. Apparently it was bothering her yesterday, but she neglected to tell me. This afternoon she announced her pains and so off to urgent care we went. I'm sure if you've had a kid with a bladder infection you can understand how wiggly and upset they get when they try to use the bathroom.

It was a trying afternoon at the doctors office. I will spare you the details, lets just say there was an accident on the chair in the waiting room. Quinn was along for the ride, literally, as in I was his ride. I either always have to hold him or I am trying to wrangle him as he runs away from me on his tippy toes. Strollers don't cut it with him especially if it's a stationary one. At one point there was a tantrum while there on Ella's part and I myself broke down and had one of my own. The tears just sprang out before I knew what hit me. Thank goodness we were already in our room and only the nurse was there to witness me. Don't worry, it wasn't the kind of tantrum you see from a toddler, more just a burst of tears out of frustration from the day and exhaustion from the week we had. It quickly came and went. I apologized to the nurse for my little outburst and she admitted to me that she also had burst into tears today as well, in front of the doctor. Who knows if it truly happened to her, but her comment did make me feel better. A few deep breaths and I was good to go again. Such is life. Ella got her meds and we are all on the mend mentally and physically. Did I mention it's Friday?

A Conversation with Ella #17

Last night Ella was talking to me about how much she loves Quinn. She then states, "When Quinn is a big kid then we can get a new one. A girl one." As in another baby, this time a girl.

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Today while making German potato salad (which has a lot of vinegar in it) Ella asks what smells so bad. I told her it was what I was making for dinner. "Don't do that anymore", she responds.

A Conversation with Ella #16

The other night while Paul, Ella and I were driving home this conversation took place between Ella and I.

Ella: "That car is going faster than us." To the car in front of us.

Me: "They are going faster than the speed limit. We have to follow the rules when we drive or we will get in trouble."

Ella: "When I grow up and I drive a car, I want to go fast."

Me: "Well, you can be a race car driver when you grown up and then you can drive really fast."

Ella: "When I grow up I can drive fast and have an El Camino car just like daddy. A pink one."

A Conversation with Ella #15 (and then some)

I haven't had much time to document anything recently, but this morning Ella reminded me that I need to document her little quips before I forget them.

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Ella (this morning): "I have a runny nose." Then sniffs several times. "I'm drinking it. It tickles."

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The other day Ella had a dress on (of course) along with leggings. Later that day she took her leggings off and stated, "Princesses don't wear pants."

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About a week ago Ella states to me, "Maybe we have a barbecue tonight because I like that idea. Maybe we barbecue hot dogs and hamburgers, and daddy has a cheeseburger."

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Yesterday morning I went to wake Ella up for preschool. Me: "Ella it's time to wake up and get dressed for school."

Ella: Wiggling under then covers and then bursts out stating loudly, "I am so EXCITED to go to preschool."

There are plenty more quotes by Ella, I just can't remember them. I am upset at myself for not writing them down when I hear them because some are pretty hilarious.

I will definitely be posting about Ella starting preschool. I just haven't had much time or inspiration to sit down and write. Soon, though.

Luck Be A Lady (Named Kati) Tonight

Ever since I found out that there is always some sort of drawing going on to win free diapers (cloth diapers!!!) or other diapering accessories, I have been entering contests left and right. One night while checking my daily enterings I discovered I did have some of the Cordoza luck in me after all and won some awesome cloth wipes. Usually I feel I am the less-lucky of my sisters, they are always winning at stuff like slots or any other gambling--which I now realize makes them sound like big gamblers, but they are not, I SWEAR! Anyway, it was a hodgepodge of wipes made up of different patterns and fabrics (flannel and hemp fleece--which I am in L.O.V.E. with). After that win I kind of gave up on entering other contests because 1) It took too much time to do all the different tasks each contest requested and 2) I would kind of feel guilty winning another contest. So...yeah.

Now, instead of entering contests for diapering stuff I've decided to order some organic bamboo flannel fabric to make my own wipes. So far I have been using the wipes I won as well as extra baby wash cloths that we have an over abundance of. Don't worry, those wash cloths won't be making their way back into the bath tub.

I ordered the bamboo fabric online (because I am cool like that) and and I am on pins and needles waiting for it to arrive at the Post Office. I am trying to decide whether I should leave it in it's natural un-bleached state or maybe do a fun little tie dying project with Ella. The website I ordered it from states it dyes beautifully. Paul voted for leaving it the way it is because he HATES (with all capital letters) tie dye. Paul said it would be appropriate, though, for him to wipe Quinn's little squishy bum (my description, not his) with tie dye wipes because of his dislike for tie dye.

In other diapering news (which I am sure all of you love reading about), we made the switch from disposable Pull-Ups to cloth ones for Ella. She is pretty much potty trained during the day except for an accident here or there, but she doesn't have night time down yet. You are probably wondering why we didn't switch her over to cloth when we did Quinn, and I am wondering that myself. Besides the fact that the pull-ups she is now using look like little mushroom pants on her, which is actually kind of cute, they work great, and I only had to buy four pair because I wash all the diapers every other day or two at most.

On that note, I will leave you with a picture of Ella's and Quinn's unmentionables drying in the sun.

Kevin?

I was taking my last and final bag (more on this later) of soiled Pull-Ups out to the garbage today when I heard this:

Turn up your speakers to get the full effect, unless you are at work, then I advise you don't turn your speakers on at all unless you want to get busted for not working (plus the person in the cubical next to you might think you have a wild bird in the office).

I swore it was Kevin, the bird from the movie Up, until the end when I figured it was probably just a crow. But still! It sounded a little crazy at first and I imagined a giant wild non-native-to-Washington bird out there. That's why I don't go outside after dark, I have a too wild of an imagination.

I also advise anyone who has not seen Up yet to rent it tonight, or tomorrow, or whenever you can. I literally cried while watching it. Darn you Pixar, I thought it would be a feel-good cute little movie for Ella and I was balling my eyes out.

Quiverin' Quinn: Episode 1

Since my conversations with Quinn are mostly one-sided, it's only fair to have some other way to document moments I have with him. I mean, we are supposed to be fair as parents and Ella has "Conversations" so Quinn is getting "Quiverin'" posts.

Now let me explain. Since the moment Quinn was born he showed signs of being startled very easily and sometimes at the most normal things, thus the nickname Quvierin' Quinn came about. I debated whether it was in good judgement or not to create a section in my blog dedicated to this, but after a lot of thought between Paul and me (approximately several whole minutes) we decided that it's not something that would scar him down the road. At the most Quinn being easily startled should last for only a few years, we hope. Plus, it would be a good way to document these first funny memories we have with Quinn. And so, I felt that it would be fun to share the odd startles Quinn has on a daily basis. Starting with today's, which goes something like this:

Me: As Quinn sits in my lap facing away from me, I take a sip from my coffee, not a loud sip, but not a quiet sip.

Quinn: His body jerks and he throws his hands up in the air, turns his head in my direction to investigate the strange sound that came from behind him. Quinn then turns back to watching his sister playing.

Me: Another sip from my coffee.

Quinn: Again, body jerks and his arms fly up in the air. He turns and looks at me with one eyebrow up and a look that says "What the HECK was that?".

Me: "Sorry Quinn, but I need my coffee."

This took place several more times until the cup was empty.

ETA: Happy Birthday to Halie!