THE NO NAP DAY

All I can say is, WTF? No nap. I guess I'll blame it on the boring ducks, or let's see...could bee that when you wake up at 4:30am you are tired around 9:00. Geez. Ryan fell asleep on our walk yesterday. I had to make a critical decision of turning around to head home, or letting him sleep 15-20 min so I could finish my walk. I looked down at my stomach that I hate, remembering I am trying to lose about 30lbs and kept on walking. He slept for exactly 20 min. I decided not to try and transfer him to the crib. IT WAS JUST TOO EARLY. I knew the afternoon would be hell if he was up from 10:00 til bedtime. I woke him up, he played, things were normal. I assumed he would go down around 12/12:30, but at 11:00 I could tell he was tired. I took him upstairs. He talked and played a while, then the whining started. He was in his crib for 1 hr 15 min and NEVER went to sleep. Holy Moly. I got him up and took him to get a haircut. Then we had lunch...still no sign of being tired. Then we hit CRITICAL MASS. The time in the afternoon when it is too late to nap. Napping this late will ruin bedtime. So, we had to push through. I cancelled my nail appt because I wouldn't be home in time for the early bedtime. My child was bathed and in bed at 5:30. Did not hear a peep from him til 4:50am! Then he took another little nap (or played quietly in his crib which is very unusual) til 5:30. He has already been asleep for 45 min so it is already a better day today!!!

Senor Head meet Mr. Cement

Yes, Ryan had the big fall Sunday. Forehead to cement. I cannot get the sound out of my head. I'm glad I didn't actually see him hit. This whole climbing thing is getting out of control. He also does "jump spins" on the bed and couch and has no fear. Scares me to death. Luckily this fall was not from a standing position. He had already climbed into the chair and the mean mommy that I am made him sit down. That is no fun so he decided to get down. I saw him start to ease himself down and looked away. The chair wobbled and he went forward. Ethan grabbed him and we could already see a bump forming. Surprisingly, he only cried for about 2 min. 2 hrs when he burnt his fingers. He is a strong little boy and as soon as he realized daddy still had cereal left in the bowl he was A-OK.

What else? Oh yeah, I'm back at the gym. I hate it. But I went 3x last week, and am on track for 3 this week. I'm also walking 2 miles in the AM, 6 days a week. The only problem with the walking is that Ryan has been falling asleep in the stroller and that totally throws off naptime, which throws off bedtime. Vicious vicious cycle. I would fall asleep if I were him too. The ducks have not been putting on a good show lately. The last few days they are laying on the lawn, heads tucked into their wings, SLEEPING.

No more straw cups!

If you are not the parent of a child who uses a straw sippy cup, or specifically, the person in charge of washing them, then you won't care. BUT I CARE. Ryan was never able to tip his own bottle. NEVER. So, for an entire year, he had to be held to drink his bottle. I tried every sippy cup out there but no luck. He would put it in his mouth, but never tilt it back. At 1yr we got rid of the pacifier and bottle all at once (Thanks Davis!). We also realized he was really good at sucking with a straw, especially if it was soda. I found this great sippy/straw cups by Nuby. They saved our lives. Ryan had the big cup for water/juice, and the smaller cup with handles for milk. But like all good things, they must come to an end. The cups started leaking. The threads were worn so the caps wouldn't stay on or tighten correctly. And the tubes...ug. The actual straw is built into the cap, but there is still a tube that needs to be attached. You have no idea how many went down the drain. We had 5 milk cups, and 2 tubes. I just couldn't take it anymore. So, last week I put more juice than water in a regular sippy cup and gave it to him. He was like "no problem mom." Like he had been tipping forever! I no longer have to keep track of tubes, or which cup leaks the worse, or which green lid goes best with which green cup, etc. Woo hoo.

B&N update: i got an e-mail confirming they got my e-mail and i'm supposed to get a response between 24-48 hrs. The 48hrs will be this afternoon. Hmmm.

Look...a shorter blog. Seriously, the blog about last weekend was outrageous. Sorry.

We could possibly be getting schedulized...and I'm annoyed at Barnes & Noble

For 3 mornings in a row, Ryan has woken up at 5:00...and napped at 10:30 OR LATER. WOO HOO. I hope this is the beginning of a beautiful schedule. But I also know he is approaching 2, and getting to the age where he should nap after lunch...but hey, we'll take what we can get from this kiddo. I'll have to do a separate blog one day about our sleep struggles with him (let's just say he didn't sleep through the night til he was 1)...oh, and I also need to do a blog about HOAs. I should have a "to do blog" list.

So, yesterday Ryan and I went to B&N. I got an e-mail coupon for a new book by Jane Green. Love her. Totally chick lit. Oh..i should do a blog on chick lit. Anywho...I have to say I never thought I would be a chick lit reader. I have an English degree, my focus is british literature. Literature-shmiterature...i love chick lit.

I look in the "new release" section, on every table, including "beach reads," then head over to the general fiction section where her other books are. Nothing. I do this two or three times because I hate asking for help, then find it exactly where I was! I also need to mention Ryan was with me (duh). No stroller...just walking behind me, charming the ladies. Seriously, he is gonna get all the girls. As I was on my way out I decided to stop at the cashier desk and ask. I didn't want to make a trip for nothing. The girl checked the computer, said the book should have been out today, then proceeded to check everywhere I checked. She decided to call the manager. Can you believe the manager told her to tell me "i'm too busy, either she can wait or go home and call and someone can help her on the phone."

WTF

Yeah, i'm gonna wait around with a 19m old who has been extremely patient (but that only lasts so long) for an unspecified amount of time. Or better yet, I'll go home, call, you have the book..then what? Are you gonna throw it to me from across town? Once we're home, we're home for good. In a last ditch effort the cashier told me to check with the help desk, maybe they knew something. They were nice, but ofcourse, checked all places we already checked. I specifically told the guy not to call his manager because he/she is too busy. Total wasted sarcasm cuz he didn't get it :(

I told Ethan about it last night and he told me to send an e-mail to customer service, which I just did today. I am more bothered about it today...especially because the coupon expires on the 25th and I really wanted this book. No wonder I used to use Amazon w/ free shipping!

Happy Father's Day! & our weekend

Well, I still haven't "invited" Ethan to the blog...but I will, so I thought I would say Happy Father's Day to him. Seeing him with Ryan is so awesome. They are like two peas in a pod. Seriously. They are constantly wrestling or acting silly. Ryan's face lights up everytime he sees his daddy, and he basically ignores the rest of us. Since they have limited time during the week they can make up for it on the weekend. The best best best part is that Ethan enjoys spending time with Ryan. Its not a chore for him. That is a real daddy.
So, the weekend...

Friday night Ethan went to the (no kill) bullfights with my brother, sister, and her roommate. This is part of the yearly Portuguese "festa" (festival or celebration). Last weekend was the crowning of the queens, the big soupas dinner, and the queen's parade. As I kid I went to th parade with my grandma every year. We always sat near the library, and watched as the parade marched from The Portuguese Hall to St. Bernard's church for mass. I wanted to be a queen so bad when I was little. BAD. I MEAN REALLY BAD. They wear beautiful white dresses that look like wedding dresses (and now that I'm older I think they are) and the most gorgeous velvet capes. The capes have sparkles and embroidery and usually some type of design or family crest. Let us not forget the crowns. Oh...it should have been me. But, no one in my family wanted to travel every weekend to take me to other parades cuz you gotta march at all the festas. Sometimes we would discuss it and they would say "we could get you in"....apparently politics were also involved. My dad's family is active int he portuguese community so it could have happened. I didn't care, I wanted in! But, alas, it never came to be. My first year back in town I had to boycott. So sad. But I read in the paper the queens (there is a big queen and a little queen) weren't even from Tracy. What is that about? All those years I lived in Tracy and wanted to be a queen and now they are getting them from other cities. Well, that is not acceptable. My dad told me he thought the president of that years festa gets to pick his queens. Um....I don't like that. But, I guess that is the politics they were talking about years ago. But even then, I knew I was destined for a crown or tiara. Just you wait. We'll see if my beautiful little boy, who is 1/4 portuguese will be an escort for one of the queens when he gets older. We might not be available. I hold grudges. Its a portagee thing...yes, i can portagee but you can't. Its just one of those things. Anyway...
So Ethan went to the bullfights where he was surrounded by portagees and totally out of element. I watched a lot of HGTV and the movie In Her Shoes.

Saturday started off rocky. I got about 3 hrs sleep. Luckily Saturday's are daddy morning. I got to stay in bed til 8, but the dogs took turns jumping on and off the bed so I never really slept. Ethan took Ryan for their morning walk to the neighborhood pool/play area after breakfast. No one is really around that early in the AM and Ryan can put his feet in the pool, then play on the tot lot. We headed off to the farmer's market around 9:00. They have the best cherrys. There is also a local baker there and we are in love with her. I so want to be her BFF. Ethan adores her cinnamon pull apart bread and I usually get an apple tart or turnover--whatever. Its all good. We also got some bbq chicken skewers, lumpia, and pancit to take home for lunch. YUMMY. Did I mention I had a doughnut? 2 actually. After the morning I had, I needed one. I also realized I hadn't had one since I was pregnant. I will have to devote an entire blog to why I only slept 3 hrs. Basically, I am a terrible sleeper.

After Ryan's nap we headed to Stockton for the Children's Museum. Ryan had a blast. He was rockin his camo shorts that have bugs on them, and a shirt that has a bug and it says Little Stinker. I LOVE THAT OUTFIT. The museum has real (but old) fire trucks, ambulances, helicopterss, cop cars, tractors, etc. Its very hands on. They also have a little bank section, post office, and grocery store. We skipped the art room...couldn't mess up the outfit! We spent the afternoon running after Ryan. He just goes from one thing to the next...literally running. No meltdowns. Good day. We had him in bed by 6:30. He had been up since 12 so we were right on. We ordered take out chinese and Ethan watched Miami Vice...i just couldn't do it.

Apparently the neighbors wanted to be outside in their backyard til 3am! Yes, noisy. Not loud music noisy, just talking/laughing noisy. Ofcourse the windows are open. Ethan doesn't like the AC on at night, and it had cooled to 78 @ 7:00 and there was a breeze. I went to bed around 9:30, I was so exhausted I was able to tune out some of it, but everytime I woke up (or they woke me up) I heard them and looked at the clock. Then at 3:45 I heard Ryan. I'm thinking "NO WAY." Yes way mommy! Luckily for us he wakes up pretty happy and usually stays in his crib for 30 min. We never get him up before 5:00 (unless he is screaming). I hoped he would go back to sleep. I don't think he did and at 5:15 I got the "i'm not whining anymore, this is going to turn into real crying" so I got him. He played in our room for a while, and we were downstairs at 6:30. Sundays are mommy morning. I would like to mention that he seems to always wake up the earliest on Sundays.

I made him breakfast, then started the macaroni salad for later today. Ryan played with his cars and we watched some of his Letters dvd. When Ethan got up we took the dogs for a walk, and Ryan napped at 9:30. As my previous post said, we cannot get schedulized. We went to my parents for a Father's Day bbq. Yum. Ethan got a Honda S2000 Parking sign for the garage and an ice cream maker. We left around 5:00 and Ryan fell asleep on the way home! We only live about 10min away. See what happens when you wake up from a nap at 11?????? Seriously, he doesn't listen to me about this stuff. We threw him in the bath and had him in bed at 6:15. He played in his crib til 6:45 and fell asleep. Wonder what time he'll wake up tomorrow.

I'm catching up on my blogs and Ethan is watching a ridiculously lame movie about zombies. I finished my last book so I should run to B&N. Ethan wants me to get a library card. He doesn't get that I like to own books...I like to have them around me. Its just one of the things where we are so different.

That was our weekend. This possibly could be the longest blog ever.

We cannot get schedulized

Yesterday I decided we were staying home. It was just too hot. I set the AC for 80 (trying to be responsible) instead of waiting for the house to get monstrously hot and then taking 4 hrs to cool down. Everytime Ryan went outside he took a few steps and gave me a weird look. I kept telling him "too hot." He got the gist. It was at least 100 yesterday. I didn't drive by "the bank" but I just know these things. "The bank" is the the bank that has a digital temp reading on the outside of the building. So, when anyone tells you how hot it is here you know they just drove by "the bank." Its at a very central location, but I have never met anyone that actually banked at "the bank."

Ryan took an early nap again yesterday-9:30. He was only asleep about 50 min. So uncool. I tried to put him down for a second nap around 2:00 but that didn't fly. He played, then cried. I at least got 45 min to myself. So, ofcourse that meant another early bedtime. We just can't shake this cycle of early wake-ups, early naps, early bedtimes. I was able to keep him awake til 10am today and I'm hoping that is progress. I keep telling him, see what happens when you wake up at 4:45? I don't think he cares.

We are picking up pictures at Walmart today, then visiting uncle and grandma. We also need to wrap father's day gifts. Tomorrow we are heading to the Children's Museum. I really wanted us to do a family thing outside but as I mentioned in an earlier post--its hotter than butt. The museum looks fun on the website so I hope it is. I love to watch Ethan and Ryan together out in public. He is the "parent in charge" and he gets to experience all of Ryan's craziness. I, ofcourse, will pack a bag, make sure he has snacks and juice, but Ethan is still in charge. Thats how it goes around here on the weekends. Except I have mommy duty on Sunday mornings. Ethan gets one day to sleep in...and it is father's day. We're also gonna hit the farmer's market before we go. Who knew my small little town would have something cool!

Hotter than butt

Well, if you're not from here then you don't get it! My friend Melissa said that one day and it just stuck. We were roommates in college for a while too and it was our favorite saying. Sacramento in the summer....yeah, hotter than butt. Today it was 98 at 5:00pm. Why did I move back here? Oh, thats right...Ryan gets to grow up with his grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. Ethan and I get some free time. Worth it---yes. But still, its hotter than butt.

Ryan fell asleep during our morning walk so that screwed up the day. I tried to tire him out by taking him to an indoor play area I just found about 20min away. Think Kidsville in RB but not as cool. He lasted just under an hour. There were meltdowns since he couldn't have his cup, then he couldn't have a snack, etc. I was not gonna pay for stuff I had in the car and since I couldn't bring it in, it was time to go. Plus, I already had to buy $2 socks since I didn't bring any. And yes, I did wonder about that before I left, but socks make you slip on those jumpy/slide things. Whatever.

We spent some time with Uncle Eddie. Then grandma and grandpa got home so Ryan got to go outside and feed the kitties. He loves that. Then another meltdown cuz he wanted to stay outside. This time grandpa decided to wash the car so we all went out front and Ryan got to play with the house until grandpa needed it which again meant ANOTHER MELTDOWN.

Other meltdowns:
mommy wouldn't let him bring his milk cup in the bath
mommy wouldn't let him bring his water cup AND milk cup to bed

Needless to say, my kid was in bed at 5:50pm tonight. His usual is 6:30. But on a day where he was been awake since 10:30 am it is required. 10:30 is when he usually takes a nap! He should have taken a second nap and I was hoping for that on the way home from Go Bananas (the play place) but it didn't happen. By then we had hit the time where it was too late for a nap so we had to push through to bedtime.

Icing on the cake: when I got home at 5:00pm it was 85 downstairs and 90 upstairs. Now, i am a responsible utility user and don't turn on the AC when I'm not home. I MAY BE RE-THINKING THAT.

I'm gonna be the only one, but...

First and foremost: I GOT MY CHERRY PITTER!!!

Ok. I must talk about kids (specifically toddlers) in restaurants. I've already had this discussion with Ryan's birth group and I seemed to be a minority with my feelings, but I'm gonna share them anyway.

I happen to feel that most times, if you are taking a toddler to a restaurant its by choice. I must clarify that fast food does not count in this discussion. I mean a place that has servers, etc. So, you choose to take your child out. Fine by me. I just feel you owe the other customers some courtesy. If your child is having a meltdown you need to go outside...or even leave. I know....terrible of me. How could I? I'm a mom. I know what they are going through...EXACTLY MY POINT.

This happened to us a few weeks ago. I must say that when Ethan asked if I wanted to go out to dinner with his family and a cousin that was in town from Utah I said NO. That's right...NO. He didn't listen to me. He ignored the mommy which is always a terrible thing to do. What did I know that he didn't? Actually, he knew. The question is what do I pay attention to that he doesn't. Let's see: #1 Ryan had a crappy nap that day #2 Ryan was at grandma's that afternoon (while we were test driving cars) and she is more liberal with the snacks. She doesn't give bad snacks, just more than he would normally get at home. So, I knew he would not be hungry at his usualy 5:00 dinnertime. If a toddler is not gonna eat then what do they do? Throw a fit...no, fits plural. I knew this, but for some reason, I went along with it. THAT WILL NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN.

It was a miserable experience. I had to take Ryan home as the food arrived. He ate a cheesestick in the bath and went to bed. He is a kid where you cannot mess with his schedule. I know this cuz I'm his mommy.

So, discussion ensued with some friends. They all told me I was screwing myself for later on when he is older and he won't know how to behave cuz we never take him to restaurants. My argument was that my sanity was too important right now. I get major anxiety with stuff like that. Why put myself through it? I worry about the other people sitting around us. It's not fair, even if they are parents. They probably wanted a night out and look who they get stuck sitting next to. A family with a screaming kid. Fun for them! They chose not to bring their kids. That actually happened to us today. We went out to lunch while Ryan hung out with Aunt Lisa and Grandma. We are two tables away from a screaming toddler. He had the same mannerisms as Ryan. Throwing the head back, shaking his head no, and then there was the roll on the ground fit. They took him outside for a while, he came back in, ate about three bites of something and it started again. Ethan can tune much of this out. MUST BE NICE. But for me, I really felt like I had Ryan sitting at the table with me. Then the woman told the other people at her table that she knew it was a bad idea to bring him out at this time of the day.

As she walked by us she apologized and said "i hope you weren't out today getting away from your own screaming kid." She thought that was funny. Well, it was true. Not that he had a bad day today, just anytime we take him to a restaurant its bad. And anytime we can get out alone we do it.

I probably sound terrible. For me, its all about choice. I choose not to take him because I don't want the stress. Maybe I am screwing myself for later, but I'll deal with that later I guess. I just care enough about the people around me. Now I know everyone has bad days....things happen. I just had to say this cuz I'm probably the only who thinks this way. There are people out there that want to take their kids with them everywhere. That is great for them. We on the other hand need some time to ourselves out of the house.

This happened to us when Ryan was around 8 months old too. My mom was visiting so we had a night out. We rarely got those before we moved here. We decided on BeniHana in Carlsbad. We got a table right away on a Saturday night...a table with 3 kids. Now, they were all great kids, though the youngest, probably 3 was scared and didn't want to sit by me. The mom was embarassed and told me all about her stranger anxiety. Fine. She was a bit whiny about the food, etc. Then the mom looked over at us and said she felt sorry for us having to sit with them on our night out alone. I did tell her we had a baby at home so it was fine. Not really fine...I guess I understood, but at the same time, wanted a kid free night all the same.

I mentioned earlier that I was gonna post about taking Ryan to McDonalds last week but something else happened. I believe it was MY LIST. But I did take him last Tuesday. He did great, though he didn't like his chicken. He ate french fries and cherries. We had a 45 min drive to get there so he was more than hungry which is a must. We sat by the door so he had people going in and out--always something to look at. Then we headed over to Trader Joes for our favorite things. He was great there too. So, baby steps. First fast food--then maybe we'll try a restaurant again. My mom joked that drive thru should have been our first try, LOL.

English Rose Tea Room

Yesterday my sister and I took my mom for tea at the English Rose Tea Room in Pleasanton. This was part of her birthday present. It was a really cute, shabby chic type of place. The food was tremendous. They make the best scones. They had a lot of teas to choose from. We tried a lavender type and then chocolate mint. Its nice to take time to relax and just hang out. Plus, my sister is a riot so you get a laugh no matter what you do.

Ryan hung out with his daddy and grandma and had a great day. He ate a ton of fruit from the farmer's market. HE LOVES FRUIT. Did you know there is such a thing as a cherry pitter? I'm so getting one cuz this boy loves cherries. The farmer's market also had a booth with baked good. OMG! I got a apple turnover. It was one entire granny smith apple baked in cinnamon with a great crust...plus they give you a syrup to put on top. Divine. We will be going back next week for sure!

The trials and tribulations of Shelby Lynn

Yes, we have two dogs (and they both have middle names), but it seems Shelby always gets the attention. Why? Cuz she has tons of issues and it seems every few months all of her issues come together to form one huge Shelby bonanza of trouble. Yes, I was the one that wanted a second dog--mostly because Nikki Sue liked her daddy better. Eventhough I spent more time with her, and taught her how to roll over! Anyway...Shelby is almost 8, and Nikki is 9.5. Here are some of Shelby's issues:
1. digs
2. eats plastic, wood, anything off the counter
3. snores
4. we call her josie grossy--she doesn't smell yummy if you know what i mean
5. she barks at anyone that walks by our front window. apparently she thinks she owns the street.
6. she gets over excited on walks if she sees another dog and sounds like a hyena (that spelling doesn't look right...hmmm)

Yes, we love her anyway. But for three days in a row this week I came home to something plastic shredded all over the house. 2 cups and 1 shovel. Today I came back from a walk and she took a box of jelly bellys off the counter and ate those. Her daddy is gonna be mad!

Here are some of her other antics over the years:
1. ate wooden door molding
2. pulled the catbox out of a room she was locked out of, and carried it halfway down the stairs (so gross!)
3. climbed 5 ft fence at the Rancho Del Oro house
4. got picked up by animal control and i got a lecture
5. we chained her to a tree and she still managed to get over the fence (even after very careful measuring by an engineer) and almost hung herself to death
6. we put her in a chain link kennel and she actually bent the links with her nose!
7. dug under our fence at the Sacramento house
8. chewed on the corner of a coffee table

**after all of these antics we were recommended by a dog trainer to leave her inside if we weren't home. she assured us her bladder was big enough. so now we spend 15 min (minimum) dog proofing the house before we can leave. and still, she finds things to eat. we don't know if its boredom or what. i gotta say, its gross picky up dog poop that his little bits and pieces of stuff! once i even found a rolly eye that she ripped off a stuffed animal.

He said THAT...and THE LIST

2 nights ago I remembered that I never sent Ethan an invitation to my blog. I wasn't sure if I would actually keep it up or if people would read. Then I wasn't sure if I would be as honest if I knew he was reading. Turns out people are reading so I figured I would let him know all about it. Chances are if I'm mad at him, he'll know it before it makes the blog! I mentioned the blog and he said "You have time to blog? Then this house should be clean and dinner on the table." Um...yeah. First, don't worry. I did not kill him.

As most of you know, we joke alot. That is probably the reason we have stayed together for almost 15 yrs, and married for almost 8. He DID say it as a joke. But, as a stay at home mom it still hurts, mostly because no one really knows how hard our job is unless they do it. This spawned the creation of THE LIST. Now I'm sure he could make his own list of what he does, but I don't care. This is my blog and its MY LIST. This is in no particular order and I'm sure I am leaving a zillion things off.

Oh. I should also point out that I have, on average, one hour to myself during the day. ONE HOUR. Occasionally, Ryan will grace me with a two hour nap but those are few and far between. So, in that hour I take a shower, check my e-mail, check my on-line birth group message board, read some blogs, and usually load or unload the dishwasher. NOT BAD. So that means I do all the other stuff after he goes to bed.

THE LIST
1. 99.9% of all dishes, including loading/unloading dishwasher
2. My laundry and Ryan's laundry (including putting away Ryan's and his bedding)--my laundry likes to sit out for a while :)
3. 75% of dinners (more if I remember to thaw something--but I do admit he gets at least 1 call a week saying I forgot to thaw meat and I ask him to bring something home)
4. All Ryan's lunches/dinners during the week (most on the weekends too!)
5. I do bath/bed on weeknights alone
6. I pick up dog poop twice a day now that Ryan is in the backyard 24/7
7. I am the family calendar
8. 75% grocery shopping
9. I clean the bathrooms
10. I clean up Ryan's room
11. Clean up toys all day long
12. Semi-clean up the kitchen daily (as allowed by Mr. Ryan)
13. Keep Ryan alive from 7am til bedtime! I AM THE PARENT IN CHARGE (just ask my dad.)

Losing my patience...

So, I was gonna blog about my day of taking Ryan out for lunch. For those of you who don't know, that is usually a big no no. But, I took a big girl pill and decided to try. However, that post will have to wait. Even after a good day, Ryan decided to do EVERYTHING that makes me lose my patience--in the span of about 15 min. So, here it goes...

I DO NOT WANT TO BE A PARENT THAT SPANKS. But, I sure know why people do. I'm not going to get into that whole debate. That is not my place because my job is to parent MY child. I'm not sure which bothers me more: the actual spanking, or if its the parent who spanks and then doesn't feel bad. Does that make sense? I have done some "taps" on the hand, and always feel tremendous guilt after which makes me not even want to be a tapper, or a spanker.

#1 - hitting the dogs
This is #1 because it is a safety issue. Even the nicest dog can only take it for so long. For some reason Ryan picks on our oldest dog...the family favorite (Ethan's favorite). I know that one day she is going to have enough and bite him so I am trying everything to break the habit. We have taught him "be nice." That is when he will nicely pet. He also does this to humans too, LOL. But nice is never his first choice. It is always hit or kick or stand on top of. Nikki is great about giving a warning growl and then usually goes upstairs. It breaks my heart that she spends most of her day upstairs, but I know she feels safer there. Ryan is much nicer to our other dog. Whether it is because she allows him to roll on her and drive his cars on her or if its just her nature, I don't know. She does get on his nerves if she is laying on the couch and he is trying to play there. He tries to move her. Good luck...she is 80lbs. That is when he hits his favorite.

#2 - throwing food
It took me months to get Ryan back into his highchair. Once he was off babyfood he threw whatever I gave him. I ended up sitting on the couch and shoving food into his mouth whenever he walked by. This got much worse when we moved. It took me about 2 months but I got him back in the highchair for lunch and dinner. Ethan is in charge of breakfast on the weekdays and he started putting him back in the chair too. Score one for the parents! For some reason tonight was throw your dinner night. It is even more annoying because he was standing at his chair whining to be put in. I gave him a cheesestick while I made him an english muffin pizza. Ok...I'm not gourmet. Sue me! Then every piece is hitting the floor. I offer him blueberries (one of his favs) and even those get thrown. Now, I know I should ignore it but since he goes to bed so early I'm always worried he'll wake up in the middle of the night hungry. Ethan tells me if he's hungry he will eat. I'm sure Ethan would have taken the plate from him after the first few throws and been done with it. But, then he doesn't have the overnight mommy guilt that I have!

#3 - hitting in general

If I pick him up when he doesn't want to or I remove him from a situation, he hits me. Don't love it.

Ok. Those are the main reasons I lose my patience. I've tried a modified time out with him on my lap and holding down his hands. Then I got a fat lip from him throwing his head back. I say "NO" a zillion times a day. I take stuff away. It's just one of those days I guess.

Discovery Bay

Sunday took us to Discovery Bay. I figured its the closest thing to O'side we're gonna get. Its only about 30 miles away, so I didn't know what to expect. Anywhere outside of town in most directions is farm land or houses. The website made it look nice and I thought lunch on the water would be fun. Well, there are way more boats than in the Oceanside Harbor. Way. They actually have a section on land where they stack them 4 boats high. There are beautiful houses surrounding the bay. What the marina lacks is....well, anything to do if you aren't on a boat. There are maybe 5 shops that no one was in. The one restaurant was in the process of closing so they were only serving bbq on the patio. The view was nice, but drinks out of dixie cups. Thank you....no. Not even side dishes. No chips, or fries, or even salad. I had a tritip sandwich in a paper bowl. And the straw that broke the camel's back...no regular sugar for my iced tea. NONE. I am not a fan of fake sugar. I am one of those people that people the fake sugar is going to do more harm to you later in life than real sugar. Of course...moderation...blah blah blah.

If you go to the Oceanside Harbor you have several places to eat, there are benches to sit at, grassy areas, etc. At Discovery Bay if you don't have a boat you can't get near the water. We have no idea how big the bay was since we could only be in one spot. Kind of a bummer, but again, not to be out for a few hours in the convertible.

MC Hammer goes to my gym!!!

STOP....HAMMER TIME! Yes, MC Hammer lives here. Apparently he went bankrupt years ago and moved to HERE. Doesn't say much about the city, does it? I believe he lived in Oakland or somewhere near there, which is less than an hour from here. And if you are looking to build a custom home, its one of the few places that has some land left. Now you might ask, how did he build a custom home if he was bankrupt? My question too! All I know is that he's lived here for a while, and remember I left in 1995 and just returned so who knows how long.

My sister goes to my gym and she personally saw him there, and on a separate occasion saw his car. Its a hard to miss Hummer with a Hammer license plate. The funny thing is the gym is called Fitness 19. As in, it costs $19 a month...LOL. There are only 3 gyms in town, but you would think he could go to the nicest one--the one with the pool, spa, raquet ball, etc. Nope. There also is a Golds Gym but I heard only weight lifters go there. Not my crowd.

And another Hammer fact...we sat in his Honda S2000. When Ethan was looking for cars the Honda dealer had a used S2000. The online ad said it belonged to a "local celebrity." It was blue....with blue interior. EVERYTHING WAS BLUE. I don't care if you call it "custom"....it was ugly.

Just had to share...oh, some ex 49-er players live here too. One owns the Toyota dealer.

The Count

Lately we find ourselves saying "Ryan is so cool." He is just hilarious. I had to share this little story since he did it two nights in a row so its not a fluke. Because of his sleep issues he goes to bed at 6/6:30pm. This means I usually put him to bed alone. We have our bath routine, then read 3 books. Ok...technically there is not a lot of reading. Ryan is in charge of turning the pages and he points to stuff and I tell him what they are. The last book is always an Elmo book called Elmo Loves You. When Ethan is here for bedtime he gets to do the stories. There is a section in the book for the character The Count. Ethan reads the lines: "The Count loves counting things" then follows it up with his Count voice "ah ah ah ah." The last two nights I've read the lines and Ryan says "ah ah ah ah." So cute. Anything new excites us, especially since his speech is delayed. I can't wait for him to do it for Ethan on Saturday night!