Lazy Weekend

We didn't get much done. All that shopping? No. But I did buy milk and eggs, so we're set, really, till vacation.

Elliot has become quite the little boy. We went for an oil change this morning, and he followed directions (such as "put that annoying Barney toy back in the toy box - we need to go Bye-Bye," or "Be gentle with the curtains because mommy doesn't want to buy Mr. Midas new ones") remarkably well. No fussing, no fighting.

I realize a lot of places put a "kid's corner" in to win over moms, and let me tell you, it works for me. Thursday we went to Knitorious, and they have a little bookshelf with kiddie stuff, which kept El entertained long enough for me to browse the racks of yarn at my leisure. The above mentioned Midas also had a nice little play bench with books and toys. I also love Schnuck's for having the race-car fronted shopping carts. Really, all these little things do make parenting a little easier, so I'm happy to shop more at places that try to accommodate.

Not so accommodating: the Missouri DMV. I tried to do the online renewal, and it couldn't find my property tax info. Alas. Now I have to go down to the city hall with Elliot (no toy table *there*) and find a tax receipt. If I've paid them. Which I think I did, but who knows. Sigh.

All in all, tho things are well. Elliot got another tick taller on his growth chart last week (a measure him whenever i feel like he's gotten taller, and he sure had.) We're starting to pack for Florida. Fin didn't pee in the house yesterday.

Yep. Things could be worse :)

Shopping.

So I need to buy everything. I'm out of paper towels, dish soap, diapering supplies, pretty much all my food staples (except pasta. plenty of pasta), kleenex... well, yeah, you get the idea. Major shopping trip needed.

Here's the thing - lately I'm trying to balance quite a few things, namely budget, environmental concerns, and convenience. These three things have me in a bind. I want to be a better person, but it's not cheap. Or easy. I guess if it were, we'd all be better, but there it is.

I want to compost, but I worry about Elliot and Fin getting into things. I'm considering clearing the Vine of Death with some harsh chemicals, then converting the area next to my garage to a little green spot. I am wondering if I could keep a rain barrel full just off the garage roof - probably better to put it off the house, i guess. One way or another, it's on my list.

I also want to grow things we eat. I had good luck with my early strawberries til the bunnies pulled up the netting and feasted...

Anyway, this is all neither here nor there, except that I suppose it is because here I am writing about it.

There's a thing on Ravelry for making re-usable non-paper towels - you just roll them up and use them like you would a pt, but then wash them. Thinking about trying this too.

Many ideas. Little time for execution.

blah.

Sleeping In

Elliot let me sleep till 8 this morning. Once upon a time, that would have been an early morning for me - no more. I've heard it said it gets easier to do the morning thing as you do it more. Here we are almost 2 years into my early morning life, and I still just want to sleep. A lot.

I took El to knit night Thursday. Joan had made a Baby Surprise Jacket, and he modeled it for size. Seems to fit an almost 2 year old just fine.

Otherwise it's pretty much same old thing. Elliot's not talking, I'm cleaning up more puppy accidents than I want to, tho fewer than in the past. He's a slow learner, but learning all the same.

Speaking of, barking dog. Must go.

You're Watching... Yay!

I did my first real check on StatCounter tonight. The map thingy is pretty cool, because I can see where you come from, and thus I can guess who you are. So hello Boston, and Minneapolis, Melbourne, and D.C... Hi to the West Coast, and to our friends in West County, and everywhere in between. Thanks for stopping in to check up on us. We're glad you came by. Well, I am anyway, and I project all my own ideas on Elliot, so I'm sure he feels the same.

He picked the pink train.

He picked the pink train., originally uploaded by jescope.

We took Elliot and his cousins to Bay Beach Amusement Park. Once El got over the initial shock of me putting him down in a little car and walking away out a gate, he had a blast. More photos from the farm are up on Flickr - click the photo for a link.

What happened to the Friendly Skies?

I'm home tonight from our visit to The Kopitske Farm. We flew in to Green Bay on Wednesday, and spent 3 days with Harley & Donna and Andy & Vicky and their boys. Our time at the farm was full of good fun and good family. Sadly, the flights to and from Green Bay were a little less fun.

The only reason I still have hope for humanity is that my fellow travelers were tremendously kind and understanding. When I couldn't carry my bag, my car seat, and my son, the gate attendants stood idly by and watched me kick the seat half way to the gate. Another passenger finally came to my aid, and when I asked the attendant if I could check the seat there or had to carry it to the end of the gangway, she looked at the guy who'd helped me that far, and said "Oh - you won't help her to the plane?" Like he was some kind of shirker.

On the flight home I stopped at the desk at my gate and asked about any available seats where I could put the carseat so El could ride more safely. The gate attendant said "There's no 2 open seats together. You'll have to ask the passenger in the center seat if he'll move to the seat behind you. It's open. Then your son can sit by you."

Hmm. Not exactly what I had in mind. I thought that would be kind of awkward, but I'd try what she said. After all, she's the boss. So I went to board the plane, and the woman taking the tickets asked if I was checking the seat. I explained what the desk lady had said, and she looked at me like I was nuts. "If they say no, what are you going to do? Bring it all the way back here?" Then she started to get into it with the lady at the desk "Why didn't you talk to the passengers before we started boarding.. blah blah" And of course, we're holding up the whole line, and everybody's staring at us.

"Look - I'll just check it. Never mind." I say. But no, she's got her teeth in it now, and she's going on and on, and of course, I'm horribly embarrassed and I tear up, because she won't let me get on the plane and I feel completely out of control of the situation. I finally get El extracted from his seat and pretty much run to the plane. I get to my seat and the one behind me is in fact occupied. So much for her little plan, and I'm glad I don't have a car seat on my shoulder, but I wish I didn't still have wet eyes...

So then, after we're seated and my car seat has been checked, the original gate lady gets on the plane and comes back to my seat and looks at the guy beside me (who is charming and has already apologized for not being able to help when I was in distress at the gate) and points to a seat three rows up, "You can move there."

"Um, I'm fine here." he says.

"No, then she can put the baby in the seat."

I shake my head, and say, "Actually, without the car seat he would wiggle out of the regular seat belt. I have to hold him anyway."

She gives me that "You're a nut" look again, then precedes to harass the people behind us, who don't speak english and have misplaced their tickets.

"Take everything out. Now. All your papers. Come on. Papers. Now."

Like they were about to have to walk the plank. Seriously.

Anyway, so yeah, my seat buddy and I bemoaned the lack of friendliness in the skies these days, all the while being friendly.

Happy to be home. More about the cool parts of the trip coming soon.

Ahoy! Big Boy Bed Ahead!

Got Elliot's big boy bed today. After some minor assembly issues, it's together (ish) and he's sleeping in it Right Now.

I'll report more about the success of this experiment when more is known.

Update:

Elliot is getting more and more vocal, if not verbal. Right now he's sitting behind me playing with blocks - putting together, taking apart - singing a little song. Yesterday he was dumping them out and swimming in them. Yeah. Messy, but cute.

Most of his play lately is accompanied by sound, but he hums rather than speaking. He has quite a range of sounds, but all are with a closed mouth. I just don't know how hard to try to make him talk, or what to do to encourage it.

For now, we go with repeating names of things and asking him what they are, hoping he'll crack and use a word more than once. So far, not happening.

Marathon Sleeper

I'm not sure how many hours count as a sleep marathon, but Elliot's been napping for over 4 now. Sure, he got up before 7 (again) but still, this nap is getting problematic. I'm supposed to drop him off at Mom's tonight, and I don't want him keeping them up forever, but then, I don't want to wake him and have a scream fest either.

He's still not talking. I tried all morning to get a word - any word - out of him, and he simply refuses. I don't want to make it such a big deal that he gets a complex about it, but I'm starting to worry. I've been reading about 'normal' speech development, and he's definitely behind the curve.

But he's said words, and that keeps me hopeful. And maybe makes me even more frustrated. It isn't that he can't imitate the sounds, or that he can't hear, or that he's not sure what words are... he just doesn't want to use them.

Anyway, maybe he'll wake up talking.