A Beautiful Mind

This is an old post written 4-5 months later!

This is what a colleague said about the white board & calendar at my work!
I have a photo somewhere, hopefully I'll post it soon.
I laughed when she said it - I consider it a compliment.
I have a crazy complicated brain that likes order & color & lists.
It really helps me stay organized as well as remember ideas & tasks.
Both personally & professionally - you should see the lists posted all over my house.
It's not crazy in a "horder" kind of way, just lots of reminders. : )

I don't know either

I'm not sure what was being discussed, but there was definitely some misunderstanding!

Jai: "what are you talking about?"
Julia: says something

Back & forth a few times - like a "Who's on First" routine!

Jai says again: "I don't know what you are talking about."
Julia: "I don't know either."

Lots of laughter, especially from the adults! This is our hilarious life. That should be the title of our book!

First Antibiotics for Julia

Yes. It's true. It happened. Julia is taking antibiotics for the first time. We've been blessed for 5 years - no ear infections, nothing serious enough for such medicine.

Well, Julia has a bladder infection. We had some indications that something was wrong, but didn't put all the symptoms together until Sunday at church. The children's minister told me that Julia had gone to the bathroom twice in 30 minutes & it clicked that something was wrong. Last week Julia had told me she'd gone to bathroom a lot at school. She has a bathroom in her classroom so I didn't think it was a big deal. Also I thought she was drinking more water because my dad gave the girls new water bottles (really nice Thermos stainless steel, Disney princess for Julia, Minnie Mouse for Jac).

Julia also had been pulling on her underwear, touching herself often, but not complaining that it hurt to pee or anything else typical of bladder infection. However, at home she was going to bathroom, but nothing would happen every other time or so. I am grateful KL said something as it immediately made me recognize something was not right - like a click, light bulb. Since Julia was off school Monday for President's Day, Jai took the girls to the clinic for an official diagnosis. There were white blood cells and some blood in Julia's urine sample so nurse practitioner wrote a prescription.

I picked up the prescription on way home from work. Jai had called to tell me it was ready & I could hear Julia, very excited to see/get the medicine. She wasn't so excited once she tasted it! It smells/tastes so nasty. So far so good, Julia continues to take the twice a day dose, hopefully she will start to feel better. She still goes to bathroom frequently, sometimes nothing happens, and she also pulls on underwear. However, she's sleeping better at night, not afraid she's going to wet the bed which never happened thankfully.

Hopefully in 8 more days we'll be done with the medicine & back to "normal." HAHAHA!

Downton Abbey's episode 7

I definitely need to rewatch this episode. I feel like I missed something. However, I do know that the evil valet is dead. Whether Mr. Bates contributed to his young death or not, I really don't care. I don't advocate murder, but what he did to Anna was so awful. I am glad Anna told Lady Mary & she was able to respect her privacy when she talked with Mr. Gillingham about Mr. Green's valet employment.

OK - I don't understand Edith's potential plan involving the tenant farmer & how that would help her with unwed pregnancy situation. I am glad she & Aunt Rosamud plan to go to Switzerland though I love how they could NOT fool Dowager Countess.

Mary & her suitors - what a dilemma! : )

Only 1 more episode & then it is another LONG break until January 2015.
At least there's "House of Cards" - for a few episodes too. : )

Get her physical groove on

Jacqueline is getting more kid-like and less baby-like everyday. The past week or so I've noticed she's digging her physicality. She will jump in place or she will spin herself drunk but today she has decided suicides are the way to go. For the past 10 minutes she is running a groove in the floor. She is alternately making noises , singing and screaming. She's having a blast and finally, she's out of breath, but still running back and forth and back and forth.

It's fun to be 2-years old.

She likes it?

Chubby brown boy sees Julia getting into the van after school and says to me, 

"She can read."

"I know" I said as he stopped walking and I stopped strapping Julia in to her booster. 

"She read a whole book" he said with equal parts awe and confusion. 

"She loves it, she does it all the time."

As he turned to walk away he said "She likes it."

I asked Julia who he was. She didn't know his name but knew he was in the 3rd grade 

My little genius is making a name for herself. 

Downton Abbey's episode 6

Evil valet is back ... Mr. Green opens his dumb mouth about how awful opera is & that he was in the kitchen during the performance. Mr. Bates isn't stupid & he already suspected him! Eww, I cannot wait to see what happens next! Please don't kill him, Mr. Bates, but I want justice!

I'm pro-choice, but thank you, Edith, for not going through with the abortion. It's 1 of those situations where you don't know what you'd do if you were in that situation - I want women to have the choice, but each person's decision will be different. I don't think I could have an abortion, but I'm not living in 1930's (what year is it?!) England, unmarried, of a certain social status. Now the question is - what is Edith going to do?

Countess & Isabel seem to be friends - playing cards post-bronchitis will do that for 2 single gals! : )

Black History Month in Kindergarten

"Rosa Parks did the right thing."

"How, Julia?"

"Rosa Parks went to jail because she didn't give up her seat to a white man" Julia explained to me.

What does that mean? I asked.

Julia said: "I don't know? Don't give up your seat?"

Also, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr (I was corrected to add the Dr.) saved Rosa Parks. 

"I love Martin Luther King!!!"

Downton Abbey's episode 5

I loved that maitre'd being put in his place by Cora when Anna & Bates are being denied a table at that fancy place in London. "I'm sure that can be fixed." or something like that.

What else happened?
Bates is upset about Anna, feels like he didn't protect her from being attacked.

Oh, Edith, that was a doctor you went to see in episode 4. I thought it was a lawyer's office - something related to Michael's situation/estate. What is she going to do if she is pregnant? Also I have a hard time telling how much time has passed.

Lady Mary - she does NOT like Mr. Blake. Wow, she is quite rude to him, no pretense at all!

Mr. Mosley is back at Downton Abbey. Yeah! I love the interchanges with him & Mr. Carson - such stiff upper lip, not flexible at all!

Melt My Heart and make me laugh

Jacqueline has been all about "I love you". Earlier today I was sitting on the sofa and Jacqueline came up to me and said "I wuv you daddy." and gave my knee an extremely audible kiss (she is all about kissing you where she can reach, not necessarily on your face). When we laid down for nap Jacqueline went through her family roll call but instead of "good night mommy", "good night Julia", "good night Johnders", and  "good night daddy." or "where's Julia?", etc. She said "I love you Julia", "I love you mommy", "I love you johnders", etc. It is absolutely the cutest, sweetest thing I have ever heard. I do not remember Julia doing this.

All that love stuff is but one example of the difference between these two girls. This afternoon I saw another example. I asked Julia to clean up her mess, a bunch of little pieces of paper. She, as usual, went on to do something else (writing a book) as Jacqueline walked past me with a handful of these pieces headed to the trashcan. I redirected her to recycle bin and she said "oh" and put it away. She walked back past me and grabbed another handful while Julia lay there oblivious, concentrating deeply on her book.

Just amazing how different these girls can be. Thank God b/c if I had two Julias I would die! She is the toughest relationship I have ever had.

Tara's note: It is really cute, so sweet, especially when I come home from work. As I walk in the back door, I hear "mommy home, mommy home!" & feet running at full force to greet me. Jacqueline hurls herself into my arms, hugs me tight & plants kisses all over my neck & face. It's hilarious. Julia NEVER did that as a small child at this age. Now she greets me with "what did you bring me? what treat do you have?" (I usually have something from my school, evil place full of snacks!!!). Then she remembers her manners (Jai has been coaching her) & says "how was your day?" while looking in my bag.

"I'm healing"

To quote Julia when I asked her how her face/bruise was.

On Sunday evening, post dinner, Julia was upset about something & started slamming the hallway door.
Our doors are old so it wouldn't take much for them to break. I was in the kitchen, Jai was closer & gets to her first & grabs the door. Then I hear crying. Julia runs to me & I see a HUGE lump on her cheek, already a serious looking bruise! I am slightly worried that Jai might have snapped & ask "what happened" - he says the door stopped when he grabbed it, but Julia kept coming. "Door knob should have been at her waist" I said ... Jai replied with "our waist, not hers!" DUH! She's shorter than us! : )

We ice it & all seems OK ... of course it gets better - you know life with children is rarely boring!

On Monday morning AND afternoon I get phone calls from Julia's teacher & school counselor. Julia told her teachers that "her dad slammed her into the door knob." Luckily her teacher knows us well & wondered if there was more to this story so she called me. Maybe a little bit of professional courtesy, same with school counselor, but I would have completely understood if they'd made a DCS report. I've been in that situation - not sure what's truth, possible exaggeration or a child's perspective. It's not a fun place to be, but child's safety is paramount, more important than my pride or inconvenience as an employee & parent.

Jai's post yesterday speaks to some of Julia's emotional range. I have copies of Kelso's Choice, a conflict resolution program MNPS elementary school counselors present to students. Julia brought home materials in December so she is familiar with the language. I need to ask her school counselor to talk with her, someone different than us, to discuss her feelings & how to deal with anger & frustrations appropriately.

National School Counseling Week Feb. 3-7

I'm doing all kinds of activities at my school this year to promote SCW.
I had this t-shirt made. I love it & cannot wait to wear it 1 day next week.
Even if it's over a long sleeve shirt because it's SO cold, I'm wearing it.

SignatureSoft Women's T-shirts by Vistaprint

Isn't it cool?! : )

Child Rage

Julia is smart. Julia is confident. Julia is strong-willed. Julia is a pain.

Julia wants what she wants when she wants it & won't budge. Julia screams, yells, throws, hits & kicks when she doesn't get what she wants. Julia has learned a lot of bad behavior from one or two classmates in Kindergarten. 

Julia is also pushing the envelope of what is successful at home. She has bested me time & time again. Everyday we have a yelling match. Julia tells me "you're going to jail" or "I don't like you anymore" or "I won't like you till you die & then I'll miss you."

Julia gets very destructive which throws me into a tizzy. I cannot stand these rampages she goes on. Unfortunately, I too often respond with the same level of rage & frustration. I spend so much time reading about mindfulness & stress management, but when confronted by a frustrated 5 year old it all goes out the window!

We literally start each day with a fight about going to school, putting on lotion, putting on clothes or some combo of all of them. Her way of dealing is to become immobile & scream. I am trying not to be late AGAIN so I start to dress her & yell at her. All to no avail so we are crunched for time until finally I wrestle her clothes on. God, I sound like a monster, I feel like a monster but I am at wits end!

Downton Abbey's episode 4

Thank you, Ms. Hughes, for telling Bates 'part of the truth' about what happened to Anna during the opera house party. The whole truth will come out eventually. Mr. Gillingham (spelling??) is getting married to Ms. Lane Fox (as Mary likes to say her WHOLE name!), but he will be back at Downton Abbey & so will his AWFUL male servant.

Branson - I don't want you to move to America with little Sybie.

Downton Abbey's episode 3

You go Ms. Hughes! Way to get rid of Edna.

Oh, Edith, what are you doing?

Anna - please tell Mr. Bates!!

Signs, notes, lists - why?

Julia says to me this afternoon "Mommy, why are there so many notes & signs?" She is referring to the plethora of lists, signs, notes posted ALL over our house, on doors, walls, refrigerator, cabinets. This is mainly in the kitchen.

Well, sometimes I describe Julia as having some "Howard Hughes" moments with her piles of paper & organization of materials (mostly art supplies), so do I. Not particularly shocking as my OCD, type-A personality is known by many so I guess there's a bit of a genetic connection.

I like lists. I'll be honest. I really like my lists. I like making them, crossing off items, writing in different colors, making a new list when 1/2 is done because then it is messy.Yep, I'm sure I'd be a psychologist's dream for weird quirks. For example, I don't like my food to touch ... even though it all ends up in my stomach. It's not logical despite me being a person who likes logic.

Also Julia LOVES patterns. Numbers, words, letters, colors, gender, whatever you can think of, she points them out to us OFTEN! "oh, that's a pattern." "You are correct, Julia" we find ourselves saying often. Oh, the busy mind of a genius 5 year old who reads on a third grade level. Actually it's quite funny - most of the time. : )

annual meal of Chinese food

There are a few reasons why I rarely eat Chinese food anymore, once a year typically. I have a craving, I convince myself to respond to said craving. Then I eat the food and feel remorse as it wasn't as great as I expect. Another 11 months pass before I have memory loss and craving again. It's really disappointing because I've had yummy Chinese food - usually authentic stuff created by people in Chinatown with my Chinese-American friend.

Oh, well, maybe I'll resist in 2015 unless I'm in Chinatown with Pauline. : )

2 year old Well Child Check

26 pounds
33.5 inches long
44 cm head
50%tile or so for all of those measurements - good numbers for Jacqueline's growth curve.
All is well with dev. milestones ... potty training is next one.
Marty encouraged Julia to help Jac since she's experienced older sister. : )
Let's hope that works soon as I'm ready for no more diapers!

East End UMC

I don't know why I wait so long to write my posts! It is February 19, not January at all! : )

We've been visiting East End once a month since last summer. I didn't have a grand plan to make it this regular, but it is wonderful, and I'm glad we have created this monthly routine/ritual. We really like the people, everyone is so friendly & hospitable. It is so interesting being a visitor, after growing up in a church family for years, familiar & comfortable with who, what, where, how, why.

I know UMC traditions, Judi & Matt, who were at Edgehill for 8.5 years, are now at EEUMC, as well as Kris & her mom. It's also nice to be a visitor & observe what is going on, but not be in charge of anything or asked to be responsible.  The children's program is a big draw, lots of young children, many around the age of my girls. We participate in afternoon Sunday School each week, which is a great way to be involved more often than one time a month. Typically I drop off the girls & run errands, either 99 cents shopping at Goodwill or grocery shopping which is super helpful & convenient for 1.5 hours without children. Jai gets another break at home, too. He's usually cooking dinner, sometimes cleaning whatever he didn't finish that weekend. However, I am not participating, not getting to know church members or cultivating my spiritual development. I need to attend Adult Sunday School at least once a month. I attended Safe Santuctuary training in January & that was great, got to interact with some members & remind myself of safe church policies.

1/12/14
We're driving in 5 Points area on our way to church, Julia reading sign posts.
Julia: "Why is it called East End?"
Tara: "I don't know."

1/14/14
Jai: talking with Julia about him coming with us on the 1 Sunday each month we visit EEUMC
Julia: "It would be my pleasure."

Of course these comments make me laugh. So much of what Julia says is funny. She's a character.

This has been an interesting experience/process for our family, how Jai fits into church, especially since having children. He goes twice a year - Easter & Christmas Eve. He goes camping, potlucks, game night or whatever "fun" activities, but not regular Sunday attendance. Some of it is for practical purposes - Jai needs a break, us going to church for 2 hours gives him some time without children. Also Jai has always thought of Edgehill as weird.

Going to East End has been an adjustment for me in terms of the environmental factors. There are pews, tall ceilings, wood panels, organ, pastor sitting high up front, choir sitting high above everyone & behind pastor, stained glass, historic building, elaborate architecture.  It definitely is what I, and others, call "high church" - not typically my style. Yet it is a great compromise to incorporate Jai into family church routine - it's not every Sunday so he can still get his break 3 out of 4 Sundays.

If I wasn't so tied to Edgehill, I could see us going to East End on a regular basis. It is nice to be in a neighborhood church - worshiping in our community. I enjoy seeing people at Y, grocery store, restaurants - that is fun! Jai went to the Christmas program Julia was in. February will be the first time he attends worship service with us. Interesting! : )

Downton Abbey's episode 2 - OMG!!!

That is all I can say right now. So sad, so mad!
It is hard to describe how devastated I feel ... more so than when Matthew died (especially since I knew he wasn't returning in season 4 so death was a good guess!).
I know this is a TV show, but this happens to real people & it is SO wrong!

Also it's NOT over ... I cannot wait to see how it all plays out. I want justice!

Jac's Birthday #2

This was another funny birthday party.
It is typical for Julia & now Jacqueline to be running around & SHOUTING!
The noise in this house - I'm sure to some it wouldn't be a big deal, but it is loud to me.

Side note:
This post is actually 4 days later than Jacqueline's birthday ... oh, the woes of child #2.
We did celebrate on the day so that's something.

Again we had family only party as usual for Years 1-4 birthdays. Of course, Bonnie, came; we forgot to Skype with Susie like last year. We had a nice dinner of beef/lamb burgers, sweet potato fries & kale salad.

Gifts:
I haven't gotten her birthday book yet - tradition we started with Julia - hopefully this weekend it will happen. I couldn't remember if I'd gotten it for 1st birthday ... thank goodness for the blog!
I found 2012 post & we got her a cool gift.
Susie sent a fun card - Julia enjoyed opening it AND reading the message.
It was long, lots of folds, but Julia read what Susie had written. : )

Again BEST part of the birthday party was the cake! Jacqueline is truly a cake monster, she loves cake. As always she got excited when she saw it & said "me, me!" and pushed her plate my way. Unlike last year (when she hadn't had cake all of her first year, only observing us eat all kinds of desserts for months), 2013 has been the year of desserts for Jacqueline AND others. Too much dessert, we definitely need to decrease our intake of sweets. The pounds after 40 are hard to get off!

Side note:
Julia is a crazed fiend for any kind of candy. We finally threw away all of her candy collection as she has been hiding & "stealing" to eat it without permission, especially when we say no.
Ugh, this is a sucktastic development phase - independence & autonomy. It is good and appropriate, but I supremely dislike attitude ... wondering where she gets it?!: )
My mom laughed at us when we "complained" - she said "right now you're bigger than her." UGH! I know!

Back to cake. : ) I made a carob cake instead of usual apple sauce. She's been eating anything & everything, all kinds of different sugary desserts in 2013, including CHOCOLATE - nothing like the rules we had for Julia. However, I had some carob powder that "expires" soon. Also they both still LOVE to eat apple sauce by the gallon it seems. Plus I feel less guilt with the "hippie chocolate" - carob is actually a beneficial spice for Type O blood people. I like it a lot too and so do Jac & Julia. Jai tolerates it; he eats his piece with no hesitation. : ) This time, I made sure the piece she received was a reasonable, safe size, hopefully not likely to choke on it. It would be unfortunate to choke on your birthday cake!

There was something funny she did, cannot remember what now, hopefully Jai got some good video. I had to remind him to get his camera & take some photos, otherwise we would have to recreate the moment. Again, woe it is to be child #2. They are lucky to get fed, bathed, clothed ... yet Jacqueline is fortunate she gets that & much more. She is a well loved & cherished child in our family & beyond!

Thanks for another great year, Jacqueline!

Queen of Condiments

Jaccqueline cannot keep her hands off condiments and spices we have on the kitchen counter. Tara and I have both turned around or walked back into the kitchen to find the bottle of Braggs in her mouth or cumin or coffee - her favorites - piled high in front of her.

Kinda funny but you never know what she's gonna do.

Downton Abbey returns!

Hallejah! I am so excited that season 4 started yesterday.
It was SO good! I am happy it's back on TV (in the US)!
I'll write more hopefully as series continues in January & February - 8 episodes. WOO HOO!!! : )

Happy Birthday to Julia!!

Julia turns 5 today. It does go by quickly and if it weren't for this blog and photos it would be a blur. Julia is special in so many ways. She has grown so quickly and has become a wonderfully confident, fun loving, curious, and mind-bogglingly smart little girl. Regularly we have to remind ourselves that she is still a little girl.

I love you, Julia. I am proud of you and happy to be caught up in your whirlwind.

Too smart for my own good

Recent ramblings from Julia & Jacqueline:

1. A couple of days ago I was watching TV. Jacqueline came in the living room babbling away like always. This time she went to the TV, which had captions on (as usual), holding one of Julia's sight word flash cards, she pointed at the subtitles with the card and said "this" and shook the card and said "that". She did it a couple times while I picked my jaw up off the floor and asked her to repeat, "What did you say? She must have done it about 4 times. "This, that." She's 22, almost 23, months old.

2. Julia loves typing on the computer, especially with her Aunt Susie when we Skype. Yesterday she was trying to capitalize the first letter of a word, and somehow knew to hit "caps lock" but she didn't realize that it would capitalize all letters. Susie asked why her last couple of words were in all-caps while I explained internet protocol related to "yelling"/all-caps. I left the room and at some point later she was typing and it was again all capital letters. Tara commented and Julia's response was "They are all capital but I wasn't yelling". Tara was dumbfounded b/c she had not been privy to the earlier conversation. Once that was clarified we both marveled at how quickly Julia processed the concept and used it. She'll be 5 years old on Sunday. Amazing!