More Conversations with Luke

Conversations with Luke (Age 3.5)


On Leg Hair:

Luke wanted me to put my legs in the bathtub the other night. As he tried to "swim" under them like a tunnel he made an observation.

"Mommy, your legs are spikey...like a dinosaur."

And then he proceeded to try to clean them off with a wash cloth. "We need to clean them," he said.

For the record, it had only been 2 days since I had last shaved, which is kind of a marvel and really only because it's summer.


Diabetes:

Upon finding a syringe at the bottom of the refrigerator.
Luke:  What's that?
Me:  This is a syringe, it's what daddy uses to take medicine for his diabetes.
Luke:  When I get big, I'm going to use one of those just like daddy.
Me: Oh no sweetheart, you don't want to use one of those. You don't want to have diabetes.
Luke (pouting): You tease me.
Me: What?
Luke:  You tease me about not having (gibberish) like daddy.
Me:  Oh Luke, diabetes means you can't eat any sugar. You love sugar, remember? (He always tells me he loves sugar - so not awesome.) You wouldn't want to have diabetes because then you'd have to eat less sugar.
Luke: Oh, okay.

A little bit later Justin comes out to go to work. Luke stands up, sticks his finger in his dad's face.
Luke:  Listen daddy, you can't have sugar because of your 'beeds.' You not eat any sugar okay?

Things I've Done in Heels

How do people get out of the house for work everyday on time with multiple children?
 

And now for a little segment called "Things I've Done in Heels."

Okay, that's probably misleading. While I do wear heels a couple of times a week, they are usually wedges or a 1-2 inch Mary Jane heel, which isn't all that impressive. I can most often be found in ballet flats.

In this particular instance, however, I was wearing a low kitten heel. A pretty obnoxious black/white dotted pointy toed kitten heel with turquoise accents that I found on clearance at Target (can't imagine why) and had to have. They're amazing. I digress.

95% of the time, when I arrive home from work I throw my laptop, purse on the dining room floor and immediate dive into Mom mode. Making dinner, giving hugs, changing diapers, clearing the table, baths, bedtime routines, etc. I usually don't change out of my work clothes until much later in the evening, which means I sometimes have my "heels" on for several hours after work. (Unless they're wedges, in which case, those bad boys hit the floor with aforementioned lap top and purse.)

This brings me to the point of this "Things I Did in Heels" segment. Here are my recent claims to fame.

1) Cleaned carpet covered in animal poop
Last night I came home and soon discovered that someone (thing) had left feces all over the boys' toy area (perfect). Gross. My money's on the dog. I quickly found myself crouching down in my pencil skirt, blouse and kitten heels armed with clorox wipes, paper towels and a can of Resolve. That's number one.

2) Ran through a vineyard
Shortly after an uneventful dinner, Luke headed outside with my dad to drive his mini-John Deere Gator. My dad came in and announced that Luke had headed out toward the back of the property, driving through the vineyard by himself (he's 3) and my dad wasn't feeling up to chasing him down. I got up from the table and bolted out into the vineyard. As I was running through the weeds, dried grass, spider webs, etc. I looked down and realized that the kitten heels were a poor choice for this job. An unexpected 1/4 mile run later I was finally back in the house and made the smart choice to change into post-work appropriate footwear.

What have you done in your "heels" lately, super moms?

My dear, dead friend

One of my favorite friends left this birthday comment on one of my instagram photos a couple of weeks ago. I'm still laughing about it. I love her.

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Nine Months

I can't believe he's nine months old. I know, parents always say these things, but it's completely true.

I've tried really hard to savor all of the baby-ness this time around, but now that it's almost gone, I feel like I missed it somehow. I know I didn't, it's just that overnight my baby turned into an-almost toddler.

 

He tries to communicate. I swear he can say "hi mama." Which, if I'm really being honest with you, really sounds like:  "ahhh, ma ma ma" but he waves at me while he's doing it, so therefore it goes in the baby book* as "hi mama." Same with "baby," "brother," "bottle" = "ba ba ba ba ba ba." Although he did crawl over to Justin in bed the other morning and say, "da da."

Basically, he's a genius.

He started crawling about 6 weeks ago, started pulling himself up on stuff a few days ago, and took his first steps cruising around furniture while holding on last night. We lowered the crib this weekend. Whoa. Rome wasn't built in a day my friend. Let's take this physical development down a couple notches, 'kay?

He cried when I closed the bathroom door and wouldn't let him go in. Then he tried to find another way.

 

I guess Luke was around the same age when he started doing this stuff, it just seems so...fast.

He has seven teeth. SEVEN! And eats pretty much everything, including small pieces of steak, chicken, rice, pancake and any number of other things we happen to be eating that pass the "can I give my baby ____" Google search. Actually, I finally looked up "what CAN'T my baby eat?" The list was much shorter.  I've heard tales of these children. Children who eat. He's taken to eating the food that we buy for Luke when we go out to eat. This is a good thing, because Luke only eats about 15% of it, leaving a lot left for little brother to enjoy.

He weighs a little over 18 pounds.

 

He's a sweet little love who likes to fall asleep holding my hand. He holds onto your arm, shoulder, back, or hair when you carry him on your hip. He's a thumb sucker. He has the biggest smiles, especially for his big brother. He loves the bathtub and the swimming pool. He is generally a content, easygoing, flexible and happy baby...until he doesn't get what he wants. Then he lets us know.

Trying to make out with Uncle Mike.

I can't believe we'll be coming up on a year old soon. One. This is crazy.

* This statement implies that I have one and that I actually update it. I do, but it's still in the packaging. Luke's baby book wasn't filled out until a couple of weeks before Austin was born. What I do have is a five-year"one-line a day journal" that serves as a running log of our days and as a stand-in baby book for milestone moments. Just to clarify. :)

Conversations

As you may know, Luke started pre-school earlier this year. He's only there two full days a week, but it's been interesting to watch him navigate a new social community and find out what those relationships look like to a three-year-old.


Conversation #1:  Respecting Your Teacher

Setting:  In the car on the way to school. The week before I had observed him goofing off with some of the other boys when the teacher was trying to read a story to the class.

ME:  Luke, I know you like to have fun with your friends at school, but it is very important to listen to the teacher. We need to be respectful and do what she asks. So, what are you going to when you are in "circle time" and teacher asks you to sit nicely?
LUKE:  Play...with...EDWARD!!!!!!

Clearly more conversations need to be had on this subject.


Conversation #2:  Self-esteem

Setting:  Luke's room, getting ready for school. For several weeks he has told me that a boy named Christopher tells him that he "is small" or "a baby."  For the record, Luke is one of the tallest boys in his class, so I think "small" is really a metaphor for a certain milestone Luke has not yet achieved. (Largely due to his mom's lack of motivation and fortitude. It's coming. Swear.)

LUKE:  Christopher says "I am small."
ME:  Well, do you think you're small?
LUKE:  No, I not small. I is big. (Grammar is a developing skill.)
ME:  Let me tell you something buddy. In life, you'll see that there are kids who like to say mean and hurtful things. These things are not true and you do not have to listen to them. You ARE big. So... you think you are big. Mommy and Daddy think you are big. Grammy and Grandad think you are big. And, Nonni and Papa think you are big. We ALL think you are big. So, who are you going to believe?
LUKE:  Christopher.

Avila Beach

I never know where to post stuff. I always feel like I come here to post random thoughts or personal crises that I'm dealing with and I save other stuff about our lives for This Vine Life. The problem is, too many people I deal with on a work-related basis know about This Vine Life and I over think what I post there. Ha ha. I miss this relatively anonymous space over here.

 

So, here are a few pics of my beautiful boys. These were taken at Avila Beach, CA. My in-laws took us there for a quick overnight trip celebrating their anniversary a few weeks ago. My awesome brother-in-law Jeff is becoming a pretty good photographer, so of course I jumped at the chance to utilize his talents.

 

Austin is now 7 months and Luke is almost 3 1/2. I love these boys!

 

 

 

I love this shirt. One of my few purchases ever on ebay. "Woody shirt." It's gone through both boys and I couldn't be happier with the investment!

 

 

Story of My Life

 

 

In fact...I might have had more than one awkward dinner conversation where stuff I knew about people from the Internet slipped out and my true stalker tendencies were revealed. (It's not really stalking, more like Proficient Google Skills or Journalistic Curiosity.) Fortunately it wasn't about the people I was having dinner with, but rather about people they were friends with in real life and I was not...which in retrospect might have been even more awkward.

I have also had a couple of awkward moments in the doorway of a co-worker's office where I wanted to mention something from her blog...the blog I only know about because I googled her one day...and had an internal dialogue with myself to keep my mouth shut. Awkward lingering ensued.

Yup. Thanks Internet. You've added a whole new dimension to my social anxiety disorder.

37 Weeks!

I see these "bumpdates" a lot on some of the mommy blogs I read. I kind of love reading them about other people, so I wanted to do a quick one while I still had the chance.

In the bathroom at work. For the record, this is a good mirror and probably not an accurate representation of real life. Note:  Flip flops are usually inappropriate work attire but that is all that fits these puffy feet.

How far along...37 weeks

Size of baby...approximately 6 lbs - according to the Baby Center app on my phone.

Total weight gain...11 lbs and this has all been in the last six weeks. Sad trombone. (Don't think of this as any sort of achievement. I was overweight when I got pregnant, so the fact that I haven't added to it much is nice, but I'm still seeing numbers I've never seen before. Yikes! I'm hoping I'm like Jessica Simpson and have like 50 lbs of water weight and amniotic fluid in there.) ;)

Maternity clothes...I started wearing the elastic waist pants almost immediately after I found I was pregnant (see above). I wish they were appropriate all the time! I bought a few tops on clearance early on, borrowed several items from a friend and finally decided to take the maxi dress plunge a couple of months ago. I've been trying to get by on a few key pieces, so I can I spend money on cute non-prego clothes in a couple of months!  Lately I've been mostly rocking the long pants and/or long dress look to cover up my unrecognizable ankles.

Sleep...who needs it?!? Just kidding. I usually get up twice to use the restroom, which isn't horrible. I'm pretty good at falling back asleep afterwards. I usually go to bed late and get up pretty early, which makes for fewer night time bathroom interruptions.

Best Moment of the Week...I wish I could say getting our air conditioning fixed, but that still hasn't happened. We did, however, find out that our home warranty company is going to buy us a WHOLE NEW UNIT! And, the temps got considerably cooler last week AND we are getting reimbursed for two little window coolers that have helped make things bearable. SO...all in all, a good week on the home front!

Miss anything...my normal size ankles and the ability to walk without waddling. I never had "cankles" when I was pregnant with Luke. These appendages CANNOT possibly be mine!

Movement...yes, he's a mover. Mostly I feel his little feet kicking me in the top of my stomach. I love it!

Anything making you queasy or sick...Usually no, but I ate horrible, bad junk food this weekend and my stomach paid the price. I apologized out loud to poor Baby A. Hopefully he was unaffected by my poor choices.

Cravings...icy drinks. I want frozen drinks like slushies, pina coladas, frappachinos, etc all the time, but I have to be careful because of the sugar content.

Gender...boy

Labor signs...some Braxton Hicks contractions now and again - something I never had with Luke, but that started around week 25 with this guy.

Symptoms...big 'ol belly, some back pain, difficulty standing up, round ligament pain, other discomforts (baby boy is looooow)

Stretch marks...yes. I only got one with Luke and that one has gotten considerably longer and then a matching one developed in a parallel position on the other side of my tummy, which I thought was kind of cute - one for each baby! Now there are several other tiny ones sprouting up between the two massive ones, which kind of takes away the "cuteness" of the matching pair. Oh well, my bikini days were behind me YEARS ago, so it doesn't really bother me.

Belly button in or out...getting flatter by the day

Wedding rings on or off...I took those bad boys off weeks ago. It was really important to me to wear them my whole pregnancy with Luke, but it's been such a hot summer that I took them off in June and never looked back!

Mood....More tired the last couple of days. I had a hormonal meltdown last week because my house is/was thrashed after having all the workers in and out and I was so tired of fighting with the various people involved in our AC situation. Hopefully that has passed and I'll be able to "nest" and finish the baby's room after this week!

Looking forward to...my last night of teaching class on Wednesday and my last day of regular work on Friday! Woo hoo! A break! A break! I'm hoping I will have at least a week to hang out with Luke and prepare the house/nursery for Baby A, but I've had a weird feeling through this whole pregnancy that this guy would be early. Luke was a week early, so you never know! As long as I can get through Wednesday's class and am able to wrap up some of my major work things, I'll be happy! Stuff can be hung on the nursery walls anytime!

I survived

For all two of you who happen to be following along, I didn't mean to leave you hanging.

I survived my first night of teaching! Only 4 more to go before the baby break! The students actually participated in the discussion, I made a "don't test the pregnant lady" joke, and we made it through the four hour time period without any issues. Except that it felt like it was 5,000 degrees in the classroom and I was sweating like crazy. (It was only 71.) Later in the evening I saw a girl turning up the thermostat because she was too cold. I wanted to yell out, "Don't touch the pregnant lady's thermostat! Are you crazy?!" But I didn't.

 The in-person teaching/lesson planning actually seems to be the easy part at this point. It's all the assignment posting/grading/feedback that has to be done online that has been a challenge for me. Partly because our wi-fi at home sucks booty, and because I'm still learning how to navigate the system and all of the university's rules and protocols. Every night I have to chip away at it a little bit at a time. I used to be able to stay up late and function pretty well, but these days by 10:30 my brain is mush and it's probably not the best time to be leaving feedback on student work. Considering Luke goes to bed at 9, that only leaves me an hour or two to do work. Today I tried to drag myself out of bed at 4:30, but ended up hitting the snooze button until 5:45 when I had to get up and get ready for work. Oops.

Oh, and did I mention we are still having issues with our air conditioner at home? And probably for the forseeable future since it is an estimated $2,000 - $5,000 to have the duct work repaired. I have to call and get another estimate. Fingers crossed it comes in a lot less. Like, A LOT. It was 88 degrees when I went to bed last night and 82 when I woke up. It's generally in the low 80s anyway and I can usually deal with it, but this pushing 90 business is ridiculous! We only have two ceiling fans in our house, so I try to alternate between those two rooms, but one is in the room furthest away from the wireless router (so really bad Internet) and the other is in our bedroom, which means I have to sit on the bed with the laptop, which just makes me even more sleepy ha ha.

Thank God I work in an air conditioned building for 9 hours a day. I may have to bring Luke down here with a sleeping bag and have a campout in one of the conference rooms.

At least the wi-fi would work.

And we'd have cable.

Hmmm....

Mile 18

Mile 18.

The point when I almost gave up.

The pain and the reality of 8.2 more miles started to set in and I wanted to throw in the towel.

Even in my inexperience, I knew that those last 8.2 miles were going to suck. Hard.

The bystanders, even my own family, didn't seem to understand. "You're almost there!" they shouted encouragingly. "Don't give up!" they urged from their folding chairs on street corners. "You can do it!" they told me flippantly through my tear-laden cell phone pleas.

I'm not almost there. It's not worth it. No, I can't.

But I did.

Those 8.2 miles took approximately another 3.5 hours.

Screwdriver-like pain piercing my quads I limped my way down half-deserted city streets. Water cups from long-abandoned water stations littering the shoulders. Other stragglers, each lost in their own mental or physical hell, trudging alongside.

6 hours and 50 minutes after striking out that morning, it was over. The hardest thing I had ever done in my life. And no one can take it away. Ever.

Running a marathon without training is kind of like starting a second (and unfamiliar) job in the third trimester of pregnancy. Stupid.

Today kind of feels like Mile 18. Except in the grand scheme of things I'm really only around Mile 5, I have a bowling ball strapped to my waist and it's 100 stinkin' degrees outside.

Once again, well-meaning family and friends are shouting their encouragement from the sidelines. "Don't give up!" "You can do it!"

The mental roadblocks are mounting. No I can't. It's not worth it. I'm too tired.

But the race has already started. The only thing to do is keep going. The last 8.2 miles are going to hurt like hell, but once I cross that finish line no one can take it away. Ever.

The other little project I've been working on...

I start teaching a class next week.

This is the culmination of an 8-month process of getting hired as a part-time faculty member for a major for-profit university with initials controversially similar to the non-profit University I also work for. (If you know me, you understand I'm being transparently obvious in a vague way here.)

I had hoped to transition to teaching shortly after earning my Master's degree in 2009. I applied for teaching jobs online a few times, had a couple of false starts where the doors slammed shut rather quickly and it became clear that it just wasn't "the right time" to take on a second job.

Finally, last November after coming back to work from disability leave for my severed thumb tendon...(Remember that?) I decided it was time to try again. The doors kept opening and I kept walking through them. Written interviews, phone interviews, in-person assessment and one-on-one interview, 5-week training course and now the final stage, mentorship. Throw in a pregnancy, an increasingly busy toddler, a house twice as big as the one I used to live in (with at least that much extra maintenance), and a full-time job and you pretty much have my life for the past several months.

So here we are. July 2012. The final stretch for a couple of major things in my life right now.

When they offered me this class at the end of May, I knew that the start date of July 25th would be getting ridiculously far into my 3rd trimester, and that the end date of August 22nd was borderline dangerously close to my September 9th due date. What to do? I have come so far in the last 8 months that I didn't want to prolong the process, so I accepted. I teach the course, under some guidance and evaluation from a mentor faculty member, and at the end he will decide whether I am qualified to be hired as a part-time instructor. (I'm not sure that showing up with an unexpected 7-month pregnant belly at our first meeting was the best way to set the tone for our relationship, but whatever.)

It's a public speaking class, which is material I am pretty comfortable with, and it's in-person at the university's Modesto campus. I'd be lying if I said the butterflies hadn't hit me hard the last couple of days as I started receiving emails that my gradebook was turned on and that I need to start posting in the online discussion forums.

I'm excited that I am finally making some steps toward getting viable college-level teaching experience that will hopefully open more doors for me in the future, but nervous as heck that I'm going to forget something major or not be able to manage the class appropriately. There's also that small worry that I might go into labor during the next 5 weeks or that my prego brain will completely bungle assignment details and the last 8 months will be for nothing! (Fortunately the hospital where I plan to deliver is right down the street from the campus, so I figure I will have a good couple of hours of teaching in me, even if my water breaks during a class session.) :)

Adding to my nervousness is the idea that if I DO make it through to the end and get hired, that adding an extra 15-20 hours of work a week (even if 75% of it is from home) is going to be a bit much with a baby and an almost pre-schooler. Eek! I'm trusting in the bigger picture though and the understanding that God is in control of all things. And thank heavens I have a great support team who helps me keep things running smoothly!

So, if you wouldn't mind, think good thoughts and send some prayers of peace and preparedness my way over the next few days! I need 'em!

Love,
Becky

Birthday Wish List 2012

My birthday is a month away, so it's time once again for the tacky birthday wish list! Hooray!

Here are a few things I am in want/need of, in case any of my immediate family members want ideas.  For those not in this immediate family category, sorry for posting this publicly. It just seems like the easiest place to do it and with a much smaller audience than say a Pinterest board.

Click on the photo for a link to the actual product:

Chevron striped rug in 3 x 5 size for master bedroom

$39 Urban Outfitters

Traveler's Choice Voyager Carry On Suitcase 

$48 on Overstock.com

Not very fun, but I'm looking for a new/spacious carry on for a work trip to Kansas City in July. Probably not one of my top priorities.

The "Pat," "Donna," or "Ryann"prima shells

$44-$49 each from Michebag.com

 

Gift cards to Shutterfly.com

(Because I have a lot of work to do on Luke's/our family photo albums before Baby #2 arrives! Like, to the tune of at least 1,000 prints and a couple of photo books!) Pretty sure these are available at the grocery store gift card kiosks, but don't hold me to it! In serious need of these, people!

Tom's Black Ballet Flats, size 9

$84 - online or Nordstrom

Kind of pricey, but I've had a horrible time finding comfortable/durable/stylish black flats for work and I love love love the look of these!

I know I should be asking for some of my more important baby needs, but per my mother (it's kind of her day too, ya know) I was only to suggest items for ME. Baby stuff is separate. Gotta love mom! :)