Cheetah Files - Preemie Life 22 Months

 I wish I could bottle Cheetah up and take a little sip of her everyday.  She is the Energizer Bunny on Methamphetamine.  Remember people I have four children so this is not my first time at the rodeo but man this girl has kick.  Trouble at her birth just a preview for her future.

She loves this window seat!  I mean just absolutely loves it.  She will climb up there and yell at her dad, the garbage truck, her siblings, the bus.  She knows words for pretty much everything and loves labeling things at the top of her lungs!

 Peach and Cheetah spend many hours together.  One of their favorite things to do is read and they especially love this popping book my mom found at Costco.  Pretty much you just keep pushing these pieces of plastic back and forth and they make a pop sound, like a never ending piece of bubble wrap.  They love it!

Cheetah also loves to raid shoes from mom and dad's closet.  This activity drives daddy bonkers because said shoes disappear and he'll be looking all over the house for his "other brown shoe!"

She climbs into the sinks all the time.  Sometimes she'll get all the way in and turn on the hot water.  It drives me bonkers, but her newest feat is even more spectacular, she'll just hang on the edge of the sink like this, turn on the cold water and get a drink.  Who the heck does this?  I mean seriously, what 22 month old climbs the sink to get drinks?  This child is a weird one :)

More recent months have also found her exploring the world as a nudist.  The likes to help get herself dressed has morphed into the can take all her clothes off and be out of her diaper in ten seconds or less.  Seriously such a pain!  Especially since this girl has since this discovery gotten poop all over my floor no less than three times.  So we've started a onsie always rule and she now sleeps always in footy pajamas.  One can only clean so much poop off the floor before one goes crazy :-/

Also we've found a new love in life...this girl LOVES ELMO!  I mean just really LOVES HIM!  The first thing she'll ask for most mornings is him, the last thing she ask for, if she sees a phone, or ipad, or tv, she always says ELMO, ELMO, ELMO!  I found this Elmo stuffed animal that has been kicking around our house for years and she is just over the moon about it.

This girl loves her veggies, takes after her sister Gigi she does.  If I leave the fridge open for a sec, I will often find her looking for delicious bits.  She cracks me up!

This year with her two older siblings in full time school, and Peach in preschool and a much desired play date, Cheetah's gotten a little more time with mom to herself .  She's enjoying it by running errands, reading books, and playing dance parties.

This girl is still a bit of a destructomatic.  I took her to this bookstore and within a second she had a whole row of books down.  This is of course while her sister was calmly looking for a My Secret Unicorn book.  Oh well.  I guess that is the difference 2 years makes :)

This girl is still such a dare devil.  This playground is for the big kids but she is all over it.  Recently she was yelling at me from the platform where the monkey bars are, they are still about three feet to high for her to reach, "Up mama, UP!"  Yeah kid, sure I'll do that and then I'll get ready to drive you to the emergency room to have your arm set.

Oh yeah, look here I am a nude again.  Good grief.  This was the same day she escaped out of the side gate and the neighbor found her roaming in the culdesac.  I hadn't even realized she was gone, I was too busy trying to help Captain E with his homework and had thought she'd gone in the house with Dr. J.  He thought she was in the back with me.  It wasn't until I heard her screaming out front that I was hit with the panic.  Worst feeling ever realizing your kid might be gone!  I was so relieved my neighbor had grabbed her and brought her back!

This girl loves her mama.  There was a couple of days after I got back from my sisters wedding when she was really angry at me and she just didn't want to be by me but a week after I got home we were best buddies again.  She loves to give hugs and kisses, high fives, and fist bumps!

And this is why you have to have eyes on this girl all the time.  22 months and going strong!  We love our little Cheetah!

A Couple of Books I Read While My Phone Was Missing

So while my iphone was missing I had some time to read, and guess what I found, remember the blog where I named the reasons I don't read anymore, well it turns out the main reason I don't read anymore is my iphone because I'm too busy watching TV on it, or playing games, or looking at facebook, because in one of the two weeks I was without a phone I read four books.  Four books, which is more than I'd read probably in three months.  So there you go.  No iphone, I read a ton, iphone, I don't.  So here you go...

Salt - Maurice Gee
If you like young adult fiction, you might consider this one.  It's another one of those magic, civilization at war, two people from different groups falling in love kind of books, but I enjoyed it.  The romance side was a little weak, and I think they may have had sex at the end of the book, seemed kind of the way guys write romance, but the story was fairly entertaining.  Sort of reminiscent of Ship Breaker.  Of the two Ship Breaker was definitely my favorite but this was an easy quick read, and if I recall the authors first book, so not bad.


The Edge of Nowhere - Elizabeth George


So Elizabeth George is one of those authors I've probably been reading for over ten years now.  She is an American but most of her previous novels are mystery and involve the main English character Inspector Lynley.  Now I'd be lying if I didn't say I was sort of in love with Thomas Lynley so this jump of hers into adolescent fiction was a surprise.  Maybe she wanted to write about someone American for a change, or maybe she was looking to score some of the Hunger Games/Twilight teen fan love, but this showing just didn't do it.  Becca King is a mind reading on the run from her step father, living on Whidbey Island, near Seattle.  She's has a crush on this kid named Derric and even though she can read minds, doesn't really effectively use that skill to solve the crime of how he ended up in an accident.  It just sort of drags.  Neither the love story nor the mystery are particularly engaging.  Not so bad I didn't finish it but bad enough that I didn't really feel like finishing it.

The Enchanted Life of Adam Hope - Rhonda Riley

This was my favorite of the three offerings.  What genera would this even be, historical, sci-fi romance.  Is it even possible for something like that to exist?  So in this story Evelyn Roe finds an alien while spending a summer alone on the family farm.  She saves the creature and it becomes her mirror image.  They fall in love and the creature eventually shifts into a man who names himself Adam Hope.  The story pretty much just follows their lives.  It deals with adult themes like sexuality and marriage, but a least for me a lot of it felt like sitting in the kitchen listening to my aunts talk.

Desert Angel - Charlie Price

This is another girl on the run book. Angel is 14 years old when she witnesses her mom be murdered by her boyfriend who is a crazy pyscho child abusing tracker.  She takes off running and he follows.  Attacking and torturing anyone who tries to help her.  It is fast read and gets your heart pounding.  A little bit suspenseful for a young adult book.





Finally I didn't finish this in the non phone week, but I did just finish it.

Siege and Storm - Leigh Bardugo

This is of the Grisha Trilogy I'm currently in the middle of.  The first book was Shadow and Bone.  I really liked it.  It is a typical magic and the destruction of civilization, throw in some will they won't they romance young adult series but they are quick reads and I like the silly stories.  I guess I just like getting carried away in the will they won't they.  In this book it got a little bit ridiculous because all the sudden there are new interest, but I'm still on board and am bummed out I have to wait until 2014 to find out the end of the saga.

1st Day of School

 How did I get so far behind in my post?  The first day of school happened two weeks ago.  Early start, I know.  Gigi started first grade.  I met her teacher at back to school night and I got kind of a negative vibe off her, my exact thought when I shook her hand, "oh boy, she is a yeller."  Look I get it, some of us are wound a little too tight (myself included), but Gigi is a girl who moves to her own drummer.  She isn't like me at all,  as a kid I wanted to please everyone, friends, parents, teachers.  I would never dream of breaking a rule. Gigi on the other hand knows what she likes and doesn't and does not appreciate people trying to make her do things she doesn't want to do.  Sometimes it drives me nuts.  She can be super stubborn.  Sometimes it makes me glad.  I never worry about her doing something purely because of peer pressure but I also see her as the type of person who wouldn't be against breaking a few laws if she felt they were unjust.  I can imagine having to bail her out of jail someday because she broke into a medical lab and let all the animals loose.  That is just how she rolls.  So when I talked with her teacher I got the control vibe off her I started to worry a little.  Her teacher last year was so excellent at ignoring the stuff that really wasn't that big of a deal, dealing with the stuff that was without turning it into an issue and keeping school an overall positive experience for Gigi.  I'm wasn't sure, shot I'm still not sure that this teacher will be able to do that, so I'm keeping a tight eye on things.  The first week, wasn't so hot, she got in trouble three of the first seven days, but since then she's been progressively doing better, she even got an outstanding one day.  Who knows, maybe she sees the point of the behavior chart now or maybe she just had a super stellar day but I'm feeling a little more hopeful then I did the first day.  And the truth is Gigi doesn't mind and as long as she is still excited about learning then this mom is ok.  You know the kids who cries when the teacher yells at the class (me), that isn't her.  Do you like her outfit.  She picked it out herself.  This girl loves leggings :)

 Captain E is in 4th grade this year.  What the heck!!!  How did this happen???  His teacher is amazing!  I mean if there could be love at first sight, this wouldn't be it, because the first time I saw her she was squinting at something on the board and had kind of funny grouchy face on, but the second we walked in the door and she turned she had the most genuine smile.  She rushed up and grabbed my hand and turned to Captain E and said, "Tell me all about your summer."  So really it was love at first word.  Captain E has his own struggles with school, he is extremely introverted but she is pulling him out of his shell.  She is so positive and fun that he loves being in her class.  The only hiccup this year for him, I sent him to school sick on the first day.  Can you believe it?  I still can't, but I got this call from the school at 1:30.  "Captain E hasn't been feeling well all day, and he has a fever.  Can you please come pick him up?"  Seriously so embarrassing.  So I picked him up and tucked him into bed.

A Second Trip to the Lake

 Picture overload here people.  Remember when I went to the lake a few weeks ago and had our family pictures taken.  What I didn't tell you about that trip is that I also lost my iPhone.  I had it with me almost the entire trip and then after we changed and went and our pics taken, in that one hour it got lost...well actually probably lost/stolen because I tried calling it almost immediately after I realized it was gone and it had been shut off.  And here is the thing about your iPhone...you know all that tracking software, well it is easy to foil it by just keeping the phone off and then jail breaking the thing when you turn it back on.  I will never again waste my money on apple care.  The only thing they cover...stuff that shouldn't have gone wrong with the phone in the first place.  I will probably buy my next phone from best buy and just spring for their coverage which actually covers things like getting lost or smashed or dropped in the toilet.  Ok, but that is a story for another day, but what isn't is I was kind of bummed that I lost the pictures on the phone....especially the ones of Peach doing the splits in the surf.  The girl is just crazy flexible and I catch her doing the splits pretty much everywhere, like she thinks it is a comfortable way to sit, go figure.  But right before school started my mother-in-law flew out and we decided to take the kids on one last hurrah to the beach and guess what, I got another picture of her doing the splits in the surf!  So please enjoy a million and half pictures of my kids at the beach!

I got these Puddle Jumpers this year for Peach and Cheetah and I love them!  I had sort of the opposite problem with the girls...Peach was overly cautious and wouldn't get into the water unless I dragged her in, Cheetah was running into the deep end and I can't tell you how many times I had to get her from a face down plant.  Then I picked these babies up from Target.  The nice thing is they keep the kid's face out of the water (for the most part, you still need to watch but it buys you a few more seconds).  Another thing I love about them is that because they are actually life jackets endorsed by the US coast guard you can use them places like public swimming pools and beach's that forbid things like floaties, noodles, rafts, or tubes.  It has given Peach the confidence to get into the water without me dragging her.  It has kept Cheetah from going under countless times.  Definitely worth the 16 bucks I paid for them!

So nice having grandma with me.  Those extra two hands were a life saver...and look I didn't lose a second Iphone :)

He was really pushing the boundaries of what I was comfortable with.  "Mom, can I go out this far?"  "How about this far?"  I think one of the most difficult things about motherhood is realizing how fleeting your children's childhood is.  Yeah sure, sometimes you could do with a little less pooh to clean up but the amount of time you have where you can protect your kids, it goes so fast.  In a blink of an eye he is nine.  In another blink he'll be leaving home for college and then another and starting a family of his own.  Soon he won't even ask me if he is out too far.  Goes so fast.

They found some drift wood to play with.  Man they love the stuff.  What can I say, kids and their sticks!

Oh look a picture of mom!  I've taken to wearing these really comfy lose long sleeved cotton tops over my suit at the beach or pool.  Then if I want to swim I can slip it off, but if I don't it keeps me cooler and keeps my shoulders from getting sunburned.  Thirty-two years old I'm just sick of dealing with sunburns :)

Captain E loves being buried under the sand.  We've found the best way to do this is to dig a whole first and then jump in.  In this case the rest of the family then just stood around kicking sand on him :) Oops got some in your ear, no problem, Grandma will scoop it out for you!  Do you like how his eyes are closed?  This kid is a nutter, if he knows you are taking a picture he just can't keep them open.

Here you go, splits in the surf.  Seriously girl where did you get the flexibility from!

Nothing like dipping your apple in sand and then rinsing it off in contaminate lake water....um, yum :-/

Peach is getting so much braver, she even took her puddle jumper and used some small waves, to swim up onto the shore :)

There was a huge dune that grandma nicely climbed with the kids so they could all run down it again.  And then again.  And then again.  Mom enjoyed not having to do it with them and instead watched Cheetah eat sticks while video taping.  

Peach and Cheetah...future life guards?

So it was cloudy the whole time we were there and even dropped a few rain drops on us, but I don't think it could have been a whole lots less beautiful.  I mean look at the sky and water....just gorgeous!  It was a great way to spend the last day of summer!

My happy little Peach!

My rambunctious little Cheetah!