I Promise

A new post is on the way soon. We've had a few hiccups here in Houston, namely, learning we'll be hotel-dwellers for twice as long as initially expected. Thankfully, Seaboard put us in a really nice hotel that's more like a 1-bedroom apartment. The girls sleep in the living room's pullout couch and James and I claimed the queen-sized bed in the separate bedroom. And we recently stocked up the full-sized fridge (the only thing this kitchen lacks is an oven, but at least it has a stovetop!)

But, we have arrived safely in Houston, well, Pearland, rather. We're off to get our fancy Texas licenses and register our car. We have the keys to our new house (though no stuff to move into it yet, thus the reason for our extended hotel-stay).

So, we're doing good. :-)

What's the word?

Life is surprisingly quiet, considering this time next week we'll be on the road toward Flagstaff. I plan on taking advantage of having family nearby to get all my cleaning and organizing done so the packers' job is easier.

The girls have been crazy lately. Everyone tells me they're probably sensing that something big is right around the corner. I believe it. I've noticed changes in my own way of getting through the day and I think the girls have picked up on it. They've definitely picked up on the fact that I have way less patience than normal recently.

Anyway, a little brag post before I run and put on a bit of make-up for my lunch date:

Cadence is amazing us with how smart she is. She picks up so much just from interaction. She's able to count in her head (small numbers) and tell me how many things she has. For example, if I give her three cookies, she doesn't have to count them out loud to recognize she has three of them. She's speaking in full sentences almost entirely now. The heat's gotten to her recently and she's been whining in one-word sentences, but mostly she'll chatter at us nonstop. She loves songs and now has a small arsenal of favorites. She won't sing with me when I'm singing but at night I'll hear her singing "Wheels on the bus" or her favorite: "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star".

Megan's talking like crazy, too. Unlike Cadence, who picked up words I used frequently, Megan has picked up on her sister's favorite words. Our favorite of hers is a very pronounced "He-ey!" whenever someone does something she disapproves of. She still monkeys Cadence in everything and has a chronic case of the "me-toos". She's so cute when she wants a diaper change. She'll bend over and put her head on the ground, then flop her butt sideways and roll to her back and grin up at him. Thanks to her sister, she's also very much aware of bodily functions such as "pee", "poop" and "fart". And if she ever hears a fart sound, real or not, she will instantly run over to me and pull on the waistband of my pants to see if it was me. Cracks me up.

Anyway, kind of nervous how they'll handle the upcoming road trip and week or more of hotel stays. I'm optimistic, though. So long as they have plenty of freedom to run themselves ragged, they're pretty easy-going kids. We've split it up so we only have one really long day of driving and two 7-8 hour days.

Countdowns

10 days until the packers come and pack everything we own into boxes, making this place uninhabitable and forcing us into a hotel for our final days in Bakersfield.

12 days until Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Part 2 (which I will be unable to see in theater, drat)

13 days until we check out of our hotel, load up our car and begin our trek to Houston

15 days until we reach Houston and officially become Texans.

16 days until we get the key to our new house!!! (Fancy link for those that haven't seen the picture yet)

66 days until my 26th birthday (might as well throw this one in here)

131 days until Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is released (I'm only slightly geeking out over it... Really, only the teensiest little bit)

136 days until Megan's 2nd birthday.

137 days until Cadence's 3rd.

(While we're at it, I should backtrack and say 129 days until our 4th wedding anniversary. Guess what my anniversary present is... Refer to the 131 day countdown if you need the reminder. Or maybe we'll make that James's present and I can get myself something pretty.)

At least 8 months (242 days) until Wheel of Time's final book is released and I become a bad mom while I ignore my kids for the 48 hours it'll take to read it (I'd say 24 hours, but let's be realistic, I do have two kids to watch here and the book will probably be close to 1000 pages). You can totally expect a little banner countdown thing added to my blog once the final release date is announced (just like last time). Again, only slightly geeking out here.

And 9 months until... just kidding.

:-)

Impromptu Beach Trip

When James got to work Monday morning, things went pretty much as expected. They had no clue what to do with him. He could have just kicked his feet up and been paid to sit around all day, but instead took the day off, came home, and we did a practice road trip and drove to the beach.

First of all, it was a great learning experience for our upcoming Houston road-trip. We already have a dozen or so "now we knows" for the trip (such as "now we know coloring books don't work for half as long in the car as they do in Sacrament" or "now we know if we let them run around for just 15 minutes we can probably squeeze another hour of nearly-fuss-free driving out of them").

Anyway, instead of driving through the Grapevine and turning toward Ventura, we cut through Taft and drove the windy Highway 33 instead. It actually was a beautiful road to travel. Lots of flowers and several gorgeous views of the foothills. Wasn't much of a shortcut, though. While it might have shaved some miles off our trip, the mountain road kept us at a slower pace. Still, we drove home the same way and enjoyed it just as much.

But now, pictures of our beach visit. First, Cadence loved the sand. She started digging in it as soon as we had the towels spread and handed her the sand toys. She was absolutely covered in sand by the time we left and we had to actually strip her down and cover her in a towel because she'd managed to get sand in pretty much every crevice and I didn't want her sitting in that for 2 1/2 hours.
Megan was a little less enthusiastic after the long drive and refused to leave my lap (notice my white legs underneath her), but eventually she warmed up to the idea and was playing happily:
Cadence enjoyed the waves, but they were pretty high for beach waves yesterday and she wasn't too sure about that. Especially when one splashed her in the face and she got a big gulp (probably through her nose too) of salty ocean water. She enjoyed dangling from James's arms as the waves came toward her, but she pronounced herself "done" a lot sooner than either of us expected once the wave hit her face.
In the end, we didn't stay as long as we might have hoped. After about an hour, we packed things up and headed to the showers to try to get as much sand off of us as possible before getting back in the car. Probably best. James and his fair skin were starting to turn pink while we were out there, but he avoided a sunburn in the end. I bet if we'd stayed any longer he'd have been rubbing aloe vera on his face and neck all evening.

Hopefully, we can find a nice beach in Houston. I'm sure there are some, it is close to the gulf, after all. So this won't be the last beach we visit. But it probably is the last time we visit the Pacific Ocean (aww, what a sad thought).

Houston, here we come

I know I've mentioned this once or twice in passing in this blog, but I've put off major announcements until we had official news to share. And, well, after months of waiting, wondering, and living off every bit of rumor and gossip we could get our hands (ears?) on, we have official news.

James's first day of work in Houston is on August 1, 2011.

We'll be out of here two weeks before than. The movers will be coming to our place on Friday, July 15th. We'll spend Saturday cleaning up the apartment, turning in keys, and spending those last final moments with family. Then bright and early Sunday morning, July 17th, we'll load up our car and leave Bakersfield.

It's bittersweet. It's a great job move for James. In Houston there is far more potential for him than if we stay in Bakersfield. Plus, the move is also getting him a raise. And Houston has far more culture to introduce our kids to as they grow up. Leaving family behind, though, is a major blemish on our rosy picture. Bakersfield has been my home for 12 years now. It's the longest I've been in any one place. I graduated high school here, met my husband here, graduated college and had my children here. We'll be leaving the comfort of the amazing support system we have here.

There are lots of bonuses, of course, beyond James's job. First, though we'll be on the opposite side of Houston, we'll still be closer to a temple than we are here. And what a pretty temple it is!:

We're also upgrading our apartment for a 1500 sq foot house with a backyard, 2-car garage and access to a washer and dryer that doesn't require a key and a trek across the complex. We submitted a rental application for a place already. We haven't been approved yet, but we foresee no complications ahead:

So, there it is. In 3 1/2 weeks, we'll be gone. It's crazy to consider. I'm both terrified and excited. James has spent the past 2 weeks in Houston and he's excited for us to move there. Wish us luck!

I got a sunburn

With the summer temperatures finally getting up to where they're supposed to be (I am not complaining about summer's late arrival, FYI), it seemed the perfect chance to march my little troop down to the pool. Not being entirely crazy, I waited until Chad could join us so I could have an extra set of hands on deck.

Cadence was basically all set to go as soon as I had the bathing suits and diapers in hand. She was literally bouncing up and down as she stripped herself down, too impatient to wait for me to do it. Megan was a little less excited. In truth, she cried the whole time I changed her and even attempted to take the swim diaper off as soon as I'd put it on. Meanwhile, Cadence was running in and out of her room and babbling some random order at me during the whole process. It took me awhile to realize she was demanding I pull down the inflatable baby ring. I was quite impressed she remembered that from last year.

Megan snuggled in our laps as we dug out the second inflatable ring and Chad blew it up for me, then we paraded our way down to the pool. Cadence refused to wait long enough to get her sandals on and ran across the hot sidewalk. She knew exactly where to go, again astounding me with her recall from a year ago.

Once in the pool, Cadence was in her element. She was all grins, giggles, and kicking legs as she attempted to propel herself and her little yellow ring around the pool.

Megan was... not thrilled. She had a death grip on my shoulder, clutching me with both arms and legs and burying her head against my neck. If I ever attempted to hold her out away from me, all four limbs stretched forward as she fussed to be brought back to safety. I spent the majority of our pool visit sitting on the edge of the pool. Megan was perfectly content to sit between my legs and let her feet sit in the water.

Chad stayed the night last night, so when the apartment began to get warm again after lunch, we pulled the bathing suits from where they hung over the tub and got changed. Cadence, once more, was ecstatic. Megan fought even harder than the day before. But, by the end of our pool experience, I'd tricked her into having fun and playing in the pool. Except, when she found out how I'd deceived her, she went right back to the monkey grip on my torso and refused to play anymore. So I climbed out, put her in her Spongebob poncho towel to avoid her fair skin getting sunburned) and waited for Cadence to wear herself out.

Unfortunately, all my time catering to Megan's "Nooooo water nooooo" demands left my pasty white shoulders defenseless. The girls remained unpinkified, but when I finally got around to taking my shower after they were in bed and the hot water hit my shoulders... yeah, found out I was sunburned. Luckily, James got a bad sunburn at work last week so we have a full bottle of aloe vera. The only problem? Part of the sunburn is in that unreachable spot in middle of my back. At least I don't have a little white handprint from Megan's kung-fu grip.

A conversation with Cadence

Me: "Okay, let's get shoes on!"

Cadence: "Yeah, we go to Walmart!"

Me: "You want to go to Walmart?"

Cadence: "Yeah!"

Me: "Okay, get your shoes on!"

Cadence: "Yeah, we go to Nana's house."

Me: "Nana's not home yet. We can't go to Nana's house. We're going to Walmart."

Cadence: "No, I don't want to go to Walmart." *while shaking head and giving me a very serious look*

Me: "We're going to Walmart. Not Nana's house. Go get your shoes."

Cadence: "We go in the stroller."

Me: "No, we're going in the car. The white car."

Cadence: "No, I don't want the car." *again shaking her head and giving me a very serious look*

Me: "We're going to Walmart, in the car. Go get your shoes, please."

Cadence: "Okay. I'll get shoes." *returns with shoes on and a hat* "I don't want shoes. I'll wear a hat."

Me: "You're wearing shoes now."

Cadence: "Yeah, I got green shoes. I got green shoes. Pink. I got pink shoes."

Me: "Okay, you ready to go to Walmart?"

Cadence: "Okay! "

I love that I can have conversations with her now, lol. Even if they are random, rambling nonsense. Her facial expressions and some of her inflections... I love this little girl (who's not so little anymore).

Would you believe I don't have a single picture from Erin's visit? Or Robyn's graduation. But all of it happened, I swear. I just don't have the pictures to prove it.

Cadence enjoyed having Lynne over. She got excited every time we went over to Nana's house and was noticeably disappointed the first day we went over there and Lynne was nowhere to be found. Even then, the next time I suggested going to Nana's house, Cadence excitedly kicked her feet and exclaimed "Lynne! Okay!"

Megan, of course, could have cared less. She followed both older girls around at some moments and completely ignored them the rest. That's Megan for you, though. She'll roll with whatever punches come her way, even the literal ones.

They've both been into everything lately. With James working late, due to machines being moved again this week, I've been a very grumpy mommy with my hands full. Especially since Cadence has begun skipping her afternoon nap entirely. Naptime, specifically Cadence's naptime, is my break. It's a bonus if Megan sleeps at the same time, but not necessary for me to have a few moments where I feel like I can breathe. Case in point, Cadence's new favorite thing to do is pull the letters off the wall, which involves climbing on top of her dresser and leaning over (risking a tumble, oy) to take them down. And, more recently, put them back up for me:

In other non-kid news, James is flying out to Houston for two weeks this Sunday. They need him to train some new employees in the Houston shop, so they're shipping him out. It's going to be a crazy two weeks without him. We needed a way for him to talk to the girls, so the natural thing to do was to go out and get a new toy:

Now he'll be able to Skype with me and the girls regularly during his time off. He's looking forward to the trip. It's basically all expenses paid, as business trips generally are, so he can just kick his feet up and relax and enjoy himself when he's not working, play games when we're too busy, and watch Netflix if the games can't hold his attention. I'm actually kind of jealous, come to think of it. I wouldn't mind a weekend away from mommy-hood, as much as I love it.

But, it's been a semi-stressful few days around here. Hopefully within a week we'll have some details and news that ease up the whole stress level for me. I've got a lot of "what ifs" going on in my head, but we're told to expect answers soon, so... let's just hope I make it that long!

A few quick stats

Megan had her 18-month well-child check-up. She's 18 1/2 months, but we put it off so she could get her last bit of infant immunizations while we were there. For now, she's all caught up until the round right before she starts school. So her next doctor's appointment should be needle free. :-)

Anyway, she's plumped up nicely and the doctor is quite happy with her growth. In fact, he took the "poor weight gain" right off of her file. I'm pleased. Every time I check her online records I glare at that listed under "ongoing medical conditions". Anemia I can accept, because the blood test results are quite clear. But to have a doctor, that'd never seen Megan before, tell me my daughter's weight gain was poor based on a chart (because we all know how accurate charts are in the medical community) and brush off me pointing out her sister followed the same pattern as unimportant...

I wonder if she'd be happy with Megan's weight gain now or if the other doctor would still be frowning over the fact that she's not in the same percentile she was a year ago?

It doesn't matter. She's plumped up nicely enough to satisfy the doctor I've always liked. Good enough for me.

Ah, yes, but stats. Megan at 18 months:

Height: 31.5" (50th percentile)
Weight: 20.5lbs (just under 5th percentile)

For comparison, as always, Megan at 15 months:

Height: 30.5" (50th percent)
Weight: 18.5 lbs (pretty far below 5th percent)

She's growing just right. :-)

ETA: Just got her blood results online. Using my limited knowledge of what these blood results mean, it seems she is officially no longer anemic! The doctor should call to confirm and give us the lead blood test results, but I think she's now officially in perfect health on their records.

Memorial Day

We love taking advantage of Daddy's days off! Memorial Day was no exception, though we didn't do anything super crazy. Even though it was a holiday, we risked Hart Park. Sure enough, it was pretty crowded, but we still had some luck in finding a shady table to sit at to enjoy our lunch. We didn't get to play as much as we'd hoped. The girls didn't like the generic lunchables (neither did we, ew!) and when we went to toss bread at the ducks, some grandparents with a herd of about 5 grandkids showed up at the same time. Rather than compete over ducks and/or have our toddlers swarmed by older kids, we chose to just head over to Nana's house.
At Nana's house, of course, we just kicked our feet up and let the girls run wild. Megan spent most of the time outside sitting on mine or Nana's lap and playing with the flowers.
Sometimes she would run out to join Cadence and Daddy on the lawn. Cadence spent the whole time running circles and going down the slide. James kept a close eye on her.

Cadence loved the new swing in Nana's front yard. Megan loved to come up and push her in the swing, but for the most part, Cadence just swung on her own.

At the end of the day, we just had a quiet dinner at home and then we were invaded when Aunt Erin showed up with Lynne and Lucas. The four toddlers caused chaos and none of them were ready to go to bed when we finally dubbed it bedtime. In fact, one curly-haired toddler got in trouble for the first time in her toddler bed ever for getting out to fetch toys. Granted, she was attempting to give them to her youngest cousin to keep him entertained half the time, but... They did eventually fall asleep, but then they were all awake at 6 the next morning. Gah!

Oh yes, but before I go, I must show off my lovely new purse. I was so excited to find it waiting in the mail yesterday. It's a gorgeous handmade set I won from a giveaway. I was ecstatic when I learned I'd won it, because of all the giveaways I entered that day, this was one of my favorites. James transferred all the contents of my purse over to the new one while I drove. I love it!