Trick or Treat

We had so much fun this evening taking Joey trick-or-treating.  Larry dressed up in full regalia as Batman (or Fatman as he called himself), I went as a clown, and Joey went as the Fire Chief, and he looked so darling.  He carried an axe and wouldn't let go of his goody bag for anything.  Grammi lent us her wagon so if he got to tired we'd be prepared, only he wanted to ride in the "boat" in between every house which made the whole process take twice as long.  Next year we'll know just to hoof it and plan to head home when he gets burned out on trick-or-treating.  All in all I think we only hit about 20 houses before he was ready to go home and go to bed.

He picked a sucker that our neighbor Nick gave him and we let him have it before he went to bed.  He was so worn out he didn't even argue when I said it was bed time which surprised me because his night routine was so thrown off tonight and he didn't get his bath or his "down" time with Daddy.  We're so lucky that he's such a laid back boy most of the time.

Larry was in his element having spooktifieid our house and was pretty full of himself as everyone kept telling him he had the best house.  He did do an awesome job, he always does, but we also had some pretty cool other houses within a couple block radius.

All in all in was an awesome Halloween even if Joe and I were sick.  We made sure not to touch anyone else so as not to pass on our germs, and made sure that Joey got the chance to show off his costume to his grandparents and Great Uncle Brian.  I really enjoyed seeing all the little ones dressed up from princess' to ghouls to bunny rabbits and clowns.  It was a great turn out this year and even as I type this Larry is still passing out treats to the kids in our neighborhood.

Pumpkin Time

We went to a Pumpkin Party this past Tuesday at Miss JoAnna's and Joey and the other kids had a ball decorating their pumpkins.  Some just drew faces, others painted their's to look like ghosts, some made fairy pumpkins, and others just added a little of this, a little of that.  Joe fell into this category utilizing a little paint, some glitter, flowers and stickers.  I love how his turned out, and I love that he had so much fun creating it.

Things are changing

Today is a bad day for me... my hands are stiff, I'm off-balance, I have continuous pain in my elbows and hips,  not to mention my back.  It's day's like this I appreciate so much having JoAnna to help take care of Joey.  But even that is changing.  I had to tell her yesterday that I was going to have to cut down to two days a week because of budgeting (in reality it probably should have been cut down to one day) and she in return told me that she may not be able to accomodate him much longer on a part time basis.  That made me so sad, but I totally understand.  Her youngest will be going in to pre-school starting in January and she is thinking of going back to college to get a degree in physical therapy.  I'm so happy for her, but don't know what I'll do.

I seem to have more bad days than good anymore, although I don't usually share that with anyone.  Joey going to Miss JoAnna's has been a godsend as it's given me a mini break every other day during the week, allowing me to rest so that I could have more energy in the afternoons when I have him home with me.  This isn't how I imagined raising my child(ren) would be when I was in my 20's, but then again I wasn't living with constant pain in my 20's either.  I thought I'd be able to do it all - play, discipline, life in general when it comes to raising little ones.

Joey's growing so fast that I can barely pick him up anymore because it's just to painful now that he weighs over 30 pounds.  Needless to say this has caused me more than one crying bout.  I want to be able to snuggle with him, and play, and share adventures with him.  I want him to know about the wonders of outdoors, camping and hiking, bike riding... all those things that normal folks just take for granted.  I don't take much of anything for granted these days.  I know that each moment I get to participate in is a true blessing.  I just wish I could participate more.

Okay, that's enough wallowing now.  I'm going to snap out of it.  Be thankful for what I have, and that we have a fun day decorating pumpkins with my Cradles to Crayons group planned for this morning.

Are my in-laws cute.

Tahhhhhhhoe!

Larry and I headed off to Tahoe this past weekend to the Foam Fest at the Biltmore Tahoe.  Larry was filling in for his buddy Paul and pouring brew for Alaskan Brewery.  It was a fundraiser, in it's 3rd year, to raise capital for handicap parks and activities.  They had quite the crowd there and Larry was the hit of the brewer's participants, if I do say so myself.  He poured his little heart out, dancing practically the whole time behind his vendor table.  He is so engaging with the folks, talking brewing from ingrediants to what goes best with which foods.  It was a joy to stand back and watch him work his magic without him knowing I was even in the room.

I did help, for brief spurts of time... no more than 20 minutes a visit.  I poured a little, learned that the beer bottle can not touch the guests glass in any way as it's against the food/bev code.  Who knew?  Not I.  And I opened bottles so Larry could keep pouring, but for the most part I just danced a little with Larry and made sure he didn't need a break.  It was fun.

The next day Larry and I spent some time taking photo's around the lake and on the drive back home.  It was so beautiful... a crisp, clear fall day.  The leaves on the trees along Hwy. 89 were just spectacular.  I miss living amongs the trees.  One day we'll retire and hopefully it will be to a home surrounded by pines, and populars, birch and aspens.  We couldn't get over how fibrant the yellow and orange hues were.

We ate junk food coming and going on our journey and had a great time just talking with each other, and laughing.  Thankfully we didn't have to worry about Joe because Larry's parents watched him for us Saturday morning and then Crystal watched him for the remainder of the weekend until we got home. 

Apparently he was a perfect little angel.  Why is it that are children always act better for others and throw the terrible 2 tantrums when we're home with them... that's all I want to know.  He gave us kisses when we got home, but we also got some of his recently aquired shrieks to go along with the kisses.  Crystal said that was the first time she'd heard him screech all weekend.  I'm glad that they had such a nice time together.  He sure had fun playing with the new Sand/Water Table that his aunts and uncles got him for his birthday.

All in all it was a really relaxing weekend.

Sleep eludes me... again

Poor Larry.  He's been trying to get a nice night's sleep and I've pretty much made that all but impossible with my tossing and turning, snapping at him not to touch me, and getting in and out of bed every 20 minutes.  I took an Ambien tonight at 7:30, was out before I knew it, and wide awake at 10:00.  From that point on I haven't been able to regain my sleeping momentum.  Unfortunately this is my story almost every night and I have to say literally, and figuratively, I'm getting tired of it.  This is not a pattern that I can live with.  The less sleep I get, the less patience I seem to have for everything and everyone.  It turns me into someone that I don't want to be and I don't know how to fix that except to get more rest which is all but impossible.

I guess I'm going to have to see my doctor yet again to discuss my pain levels, newest drugs available, something, anything that will possible help me out with this situation.  God I'm beginning to really detest doctors, and medications, and tests that really tell you nothing.

Okay that's enough of a rant.  I'm going to try once again to reclaim sleep.  Wish me luck.

My budding pianist

I took Joey to Toys That Teach for story and song time and while waiting for it to begin Joey found the miniature grand piano and just sat down and played.  He loves the piano.  His Grammi has not one, but two at their house and he and Elsa often perform duo's on the electric one.  He doesn't really know any songs at this juncture but he likes to make his own music.  When he was finished he got a round of applause from the patrons.  Now is that cute or what!

I just love his sense of adventure and his willingness to throw himself into just about anything that captures his attention.  He gets that from his Daddy as Larry is exactly the same way... as my closet attests to since it's now beginning to smell like a brewery with all his meads formulating in there.  I can't imagine what it will be like once he's able to convince Joey to join in on his exploits.

and the PARTY goes on, and on, and on!

We had the final celebration for Joe's second birthday this past Sunday with all our immediate family - all the aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents.  We kept it pretty simple with just cake and ice cream but Larry and I strung up streamers and balloons the night before and layered the floor with balloons so that when Joey got up in the morning he'd have a surprise.  He loved it.  As soon as he saw some of the balloons floating near the ceiling his excitement began building.  He took off tearing down the hallway and ran smack into all the balloons on the living room floor - kicking and laughing and falling down in them.  He must have played for a 1/2 or more in those balloons before he let me change his diaper and get him something to eat.

Around Noon Mona and her grandson who is 5 weeks older than Joe dropped in for a quick visit.  He has gotten to be such a cute little monkey and he and Gracie had a ball playing together.  Joe was down for a nap so he never even got to see them or vice versa.  It was a nice visit, although too short.

When Joey got up at 2:00 he had a bite to eat with Grace and then they got to play for a little bit one on one until our other guests started to arrive.  Once everyone had shown up we sang Happy Birthday and Joey blew out the candles and we all dug in to his Pooh cake and vanilla ice cream.

Joey got all kinds of wonderful gifts, that he has yet to put down - fireman outfit, garbage truck (working), and bulldozer that also works like it's the real thing and a smart cycle, plus clothes, books and cash.  He made out like a bandit and I hope he realizes what a very lucky little boy he is.

So all in all I'd say his birthday was a success.

The next morning he got up in his new jamma's that Grammi had bought him and started his day right off with playing with his new toys, and has been going at it ever since.  He's just crazy about vehicles of any kind, and garbage trucks and big rigs are his favorite right now, along with airplanes.

Joey's 2

Well yesterday was Joey's birthday and so we took his measurements again.  I must have measured wrong last time because this time I did it not one, not twice, but three times and came up with 36 1/2 inches tall and 31.5 pounds.  He's a tough little guy, all muscle and my little helper.

He loves to put things away when I ask, not his toys mind you but stuff in the kitchen or things that need to be thrown in the garbage.  One of his favorite things is to sweep or rake.  He's always wanting to help grandma with her gardening.

Joe is becoming quite courteous, saying please, thank you, your welcome and bless you.  Oh yeah and the all important excuse me.  Even daddy is learning to use that phrase now.

He has 12 teeth with two more coming in, his left lower incisor started just two weeks ago and his top right incisor started to pop through on his birthday.

We had a party with all his buddies and there were about 20 kids or so, plus 9 mommies.  We had it at his daycare provider and had a wonderful time.  I went with a Winnie the Pooh them and everyone loved the cake I made in Pooh's image.  My first real decorator cake and not bad if I say so myself.  Joe had a piece of cake with ice cream and then over the course of the party managed to swipe three cupcakes - can you say sugar overload!

We'll be having a family celebration for him on Sunday.  I don't think he quite gets the concept of birthday, but he knows he's now two and he loves the idea of presents.

I can't believe how fast my little man is growing.  I wish I could put a little of him in a bottle at each stage and be able to take it out and revisit it whenever I wanted.  Time's just going to fast for me.

Anyway, before I get all weepy I'll end with a great big HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOEY!  Momma and Daddy love you very much.

Boating the Sacramento

Pop Pop took us on an adventure yesterday... Joey's first real boat ride.  He's captained Pop Pop's boat many a time, only it was landlocked in the garage (lol).  Yesterday we got him his very own life vest and headed for shores unknown, at least to us.

We headed out on the Sacramento River and meandered along checking out the turtles sunbathing on the sunken logs.  The logs in the waterway we referred to as "Alligatooors" and it was Joey's job to be on the lookout.  After a short while we took a right under the green bridge and headed down Sutter Slough.  It was so peaceful out on the water.  The sun shining, hardly a cloud in the sky and the whole day ahead of us.

Pop Pop gave Joe his first lesson in steering and let him take the wheel all by himself.  For the most part he did pretty well, only fearing towards the shore every few minutes.  Pop made the necessary adjustments and then let Joey take the lead again.  It was really cute to watch the two of them together.

We had lunch in Rio Vista at The Point and it was all good, until Joe tipped over my tea cup and spilled freshly poured, hot tea in my lap.  Luckily I'd worn layers and could swap out my top for a dry one.

When we got back in the boat to head back Joey fell asleep within less than two minutes and slept like a log.  Larry and I kept passing him back and forth because he was dead weight and our arms kept needing a bit of relief from his hefty little weight.

All the way back we kept picking out houseboats and sailboats that we'd like to own and making up names for them.  It was a lot of fun.

Joey woke up when we had about 15 minutes to go and took over as Captain.  He loved pointing out all the "BIG" boats for us... pretty much any boat on the water and steering our craft.

On the way home Pop's treated us to soft serve cones from McDonalds and I have to say this was the perfect way to bring to an end our StayCation.  We'll definitely be going out again next summer... I can't wait.

Deadly Aim... Good thing he's a doctor

Larry has taught Joey the fine art of shooting - a water pistol that is.  Every night at bath time, he and Larry practice and I am usually the target.  I can not even walk past the bathroom door without Joey nailing me with water, usually in the head vicinity.  He's not fooling around.  He actually aims at what he wants to hit and 9 times out of 10 he hits his mark.

This particular bathtime he had on his doctor's stethoscope and his pistol.  It looked like he was trying to drum up some business using his gun skills for his medical practice.  Is that ironic or what?

But he does look awfully cute.

A Fishing We Will Go

For Larry's birthday he rebuilt an aquarium tank that he picked up for a song at a garage sale. My gift to him was the necessary supplies and some fish. He got it up and running, a zillion plants floating in the water, swaying to and fro... it looked beautiful, so who needs fish right? It could just be an underwater garden. NOPE. He had me look at fish online, I picked out a red tailed shark that was just beatiful and Larry had picked out 4-5 other freshwater fish that he particular liked. Okay decision made, right? Wrong. The next day we visit his brother and sister in love and on the way home he says, "Can we just pop in to this pet store I want to check some things out".  An hour later we got the BIG one, or should I say two?, fish that is. He decided on a PaCu (a relative of the pirahna) and a Snook (part of the bass clan). That's it two fish... we have a 50 gallon tank and these fish are so BIG that they are all that it can acccomodate.

They look happy and content in there. Larry looks happy and content too, so I think it was a good birthday choice... much better than the ugly ol' Foo dog tattoo he was going to get. I'm not sure who's happier, him or me.

Anyway we're all benefitting from his present as it's really relaxing to just watch them coast around, frolicking in the bubbles created by the pump, and ripping up Larry's underwater garden (lol).

Happy Birthday Larry!

Folsom Zoo

Today Joey and I hooked up with one of my mommy friends, Deborah and her 3-year old daughter LeiLani and went to the Folsom Zoo Sanctuary. We had a wonderful time. The weather couldn't have been better and the kids loved running throughout the zoo and even getting to pet an animal or two.

They got to feed the chickens, roosters, and peacocks that are on-site, both inside and outside of the zoo. I had brought some bread along for just that purpose. It was fun watching the chickens go after every little piece and while doing so clearly show what the pecking order was amongst them. The kids also fed a little of the melon we brought to a very sweet doe who seemed more pet than wild animal. She loved to be petted, and really chowed down on the melon taking it right out of the kids hands. They loved it.

After the zoo we headed over to the miniature steam train and took a ride on the rails. It was nice to be able to sit down after all that walking and just enjoy the breeze it created and the beautiful scenery that surrounded it. Both LeiLani and Joey liked it so much that they wanted to ride again, but we were able to dissuade them away from that thought with promises of the park that exists right next store.

They had fun climbing, sliding, and swinging. As well as making angels in the tanbark. LeiLani was a lot better at this than Joe, but I think she's had a little more practice at it as well.

We ended our outing with the kids searching for pine cones and playing hide and seek with us in the many overgrown bushes that flank the property. All in all, I'd have to say its one of the best days I've had in a long time.

Vacation, Staycation

Well as most of you know we were supposed to be at Lake Chelan in Washington this week, but there just weren't any vacation dollars to be found in this months budget, so we sent Mom, Crystal, and her mother-in-love Sharon off to the lake without us. They were going to hook up with one of our oldest friends Jorinda, and her daughter Cassie and granddaughter Sami. An all girls vacation... sounds like fun.

On the home front Larry decided to go ahead and take the week off anyway as he really needed a break, and we needed some family time together and as a couple. So far it's been pretty low key. Friday night we went to a local school carnival to help raise PTA dollars for my daycare providers kids school. It was fun. We won a photo shoot through the raffle, so that was pretty exciting.

My sister-in-love Mary was kind enough to watch Joey for a few hours on Saturday so Larry and I got to sneak away for a romantic lunch for two at this new Thai place I'd been wanting to try - Sala Thai. Man was it ever delicious. Not cheap, but then again I practically ordered everything off the menu, not really, but we did order five or six things to try and wasn't disappointed in one of them. Plus the serving sizes were so ample that we've each had another couple of meals off of just the left overs. You gotta love that, especially in today's economy.

Sunday we spent with the in-loves having a b-b-q dinner at their place. Yummy. That's all that needs to be said, YUMMY!

On Monday and Tuesday Larry began helping his dad with their deck extension. They got it all laid out on Monday, and yesterday began building the stairs and welding on the iron railings. Didn't quite get it finished, so he and Joey are going back over today to finish it up with Pop Pop. It almost double the size of their outdoor living space and will be really great to have come next summer. Even I got my hands a little dirty by helping to drill sink holes where the screws needed to go in. Joey's helped by picking up loose screws and putting them in a box and tossing the scrap pieces of wood into the wheelbarrow for later disposal. Whatever daddy and grandpa is doing, he wants to be doing. These Monson men, they're just so dang cute, especially when they're all working together.

So far we're enjoying the relaxing pace of our staycation and were looking forward to a few outings with family and friends at the end of the week.

Well as you tell by the post time it's the middle of the night, again. I just can't sleep. The bummer is it makes it a vicious cycle... Pain's so high I can't sleep. Because I can't sleep, I'm exhausted. Because I'm exhausted I don't feel like doing anything, including housework. Because the house is such a disaster it makes me feel even worse and a bit depressed. Depression triggers flare ups in people with Fibromyalgia, and there I am back at the beginning with the pain.

It's just crazy and no matter what I try, nothing seems to break that cycle these days. I need help, and yet feel as though I've exhausted all my resources - medically, familialy, socially. People get tired of hearing about your woes all the time, I get that, try to keep it to myself most of the time, but still it's hard to get through the day these days, and even harder it seems to get through the night.

Such is life, well my life anyway.

Yummy - OOOOO!

My in-loves had us over for dinner last night and was it ever yummy. Dad bar-b-qued tri tip and it was perfectly seasoned and perfectly cooked to medium rare. Mom did everything else - salad, scalloped potatoes, cake... and every last bite delicioso!

We went over a little early so Joey could hang with his grandparents and of course him and Grammi played chase over and over much to his delight. Dad took him for a short walk out in the jungle (the perimeter of their yard - open to deer and turkey alike and the occasional snake). Joey enjoyed that too, checking out each bit of nature as they passed by it.

Uncle Brian joined us for dinner and it was great to see him since we haven't seen to much of him now that summer is officially over and were not having parties practically every weekend. Thank goodness for that part as I'm exhausted, though I do miss seeing everyone with any kind of regularity.

Anyway it turned out to be a very nice evening and I for one was grateful for a lovely meal that I didn't have one bit of responsibility of preparing. There's something indescribable about being able to sit down, relax, and enjoy a good meal that someone else has put all the effort into... some how it just seems to make everything taste that much yummier to me.

Joey & Peter Cotton Tail

Well Joseph has taken quite a liking to our newest family member, Peter Cotton Tail. If he's not chasing him around the house, he's begging to be in his pen with him. He wants to share all his toys with him, much to my displeasure, as I'm sure Peter is going to chew on something toxic. So far Joe's given him is farm animals, cars, even a full size basketball, which to my surprise Peter actually played with pushing it all around his pen. I felt a little guilty when I took that one back out of his pen and away from the rabbit as he seemed to be having so much fun with him.


It makes Larry and I crack up when Peter is having free time and Sunset, one of our cats, comes out and Peter ends up chasing her around. Just when we think it can't get any funnier, Bubba starts chasing the rabbit who's chasing the cat and we crack up all over again. Not to be outdone Joe usually joins in the fray chasing the dog, who's chasing the rabbit, who's chasing the cat. Confused yet?!


Anyway, we're just one big happy family around here.