I can now check something else off my list: finding a place to live.  After searching for 3 weeks, I finally found an apartment in a good complex in a quiet neighborhood for a price I can afford.  Wheeee… *wipes sweat from face*

The rental market in the San Jose area S.U.C.K.S.  Most of the places in my price range were in strange nieghborhoods or slum-like complexs.  The ones in good neighborhoods or good complexes were snapped up quickly.  (The trick: watching Craig’s List all day long and calling the moment something is listed.  Come prepared to fill out the rental form and hand over the credit check fee.)

This apartment is 3/4 of a mile away from a library, half a mile from a grocery store and a short walk to the famous San Jose Rose Garden.  It’s about 3 miles away from downtown in an older area, with lots of shade trees…and best of all, quiet.  Woohoo!

You can tell I’ve moved waaaay too much in my lifetime.  I got the call about the apartment while at an appointment.  After calling the landlord back, I sat in the car and made phone calls.  Ten minutes later, I had a U-haul reserved, friends lined up to help me and utilities turned on.  Yep, I’ve become a moving guru (and no, I’m not too proud of that face, thanks.  LOL)

We went in for Julian’s WBC appt today.  The doc says he’s healthy in every way. 

Current Stats: 25.6 lbs (35%) and 33.25″ (64%)

Considering that we’re “post growth spurt”, I’m not surprised at the “tall but skinny” boy those figures represent.  The good news is that he’s gaining weight, keeping up with the growth chart in height and weight perfectly.

 One funny story: J was being the explorative boy that he normally is, tearing around the smalle exam room, playing with the trash can, trying to climb up in her lap, taking stuff out of cupboards, trying to steal her stethescope, etc. etc.  The doc is watching his as we talk…and her one comment was, “For how active he is, I’m really surprised he’s gained weight at all.”  I told her, “That’s because he’s eating anything, everything, all the time.” 

She was also surprised at how strong he was.  I wasn’t surprised.  Just a couple days ago, I saw him carrying a full 2-liter bottle around the house, like it was nothing.  LOL

My big boy….

People are amazed when they see me carry both of my kids at the same time.  This rarely happens, since I carry our small double stroller everywhere.  But sometimes, W’s in one of her moods or we hit a bit of road she doesn’t feel comfortable walking . What elsecan I do but sweep W up in my arms and trudge on. 

Well, today was J’s 18 month appt (yeah, I know…I bit late, but this last month has been a bit busy) and while we were there, I had them weight Wynter too.  Here are their current standings:

Wynter = 26.4 lbs

Julian = 25.6 lbs

I was amazed. 

So, yes world, I can pick up 50 lbs and carry it around on my hips for about 15 minutes.  Maybe I’m strong…maybe it’s just being a mom…maybe I’m taking that “A mama’s gotta do, what a mama’s got to do.” saying a bit literally…but hey!  Atleast I’m building muscle! 

I was raising in a family of readers.  Mom read to me often and she still loves to recount the time I took a chapter book she was reading outloud to me away becuase she was “reading too slow”….and then preceded to devour that book in a couple days.  Hehehe…

She took me to the library often.  I remember coming home with stacks and stacks of books, which I would devour and return the next week for more.  I remember living in a city who’s library had a limit on how many books could be checked out on a kids’ library card.  END OF THE WORLD!!!  (Mom ended up checking out my excess, so she wouldn’t have to return sooner than she wanted to.)

Of course, I’m passing that love of reading onto my kids.  The experts say that you should read to kids the moment they come out of the womb, but really…how do you read to a 1 month old?  I thought it better to just talk to them, interact, have fun. 

I planned to start reading to Wynter when she turned one, but that changed when I discovered that she didn’t have the attention span for it.  Shew anted to run around and play.  I didn’t push it…just left her supply of cardboard books in reach and read my own books in her presence.  Many times, I’d be deep in some book, look down and find her flipping through one of her own books.  Her interest in books began to blossom on its own and soon, she was dragging the picture books off the shelves and looking at the pictures.

I started to avidly read to Wynter around the age of 2.  That’s when my little busybody finally had the disipline to sit in my lap for more them two minutes at a time.  Soon, we were reading a picture book a day.

Julian, on the other hand, loved to be read to at an early age.  I guess that’s because I tried to include him in our reading time, either sitting on the floor, where he could join us if he wanted to, or leaving a side of my lap open for him to climb up.  Of course, we’re talking about the boy that literally “eats” books, so he’s never had the one-on-one time that Wynter had with books at his age. 

In just the last month or so, we’ve been going to the library on a weekly basis.  (Cute Note:  The moment we walk into the library, Wynter begins to shout with glee, “MAMA!  Look at all the BOOKS!”  The librarians LOVE her…)  Our first stop is usually the fiction section, where I get a couple books, before setting them free in the kids section. 

The San Jose City Library has really made an effort to make the libraries “kid friendly”, with toys, computers and activities for all ages.  While they play, I usually grab a selection of picture books and easy readers for us to enjoy.  Whatever looks good gets dumped in the bag.  The bare minimum requirement for us is 10 books, but most times, I walk out with 15 to 20 books.

Even on our worst days, it only takes a “Want to read a book?” to calm everyone down.  I grab a book or two from my hiding spot and we snuggled into a chair for a few minutes of peace.  Sometimes, when the kids have the wiggles and won’t sit still, I stop at one book, but most times, we enjoy 2 or 3. 

I know I’m doing a good job when I finally have to stop (my poor voice) and Wynter throws herself to the ground in a super tantrum because Mama won’t read more…. 

There are typically two moments in life when I absolutely HATE my allergies.  Number one is when they are the catalyst to one of my migraine headaches.  The second, and the most annoying, is when they make me sneeze…a lot. 

Tonight was one of those moments when a sneezing fit came at the most inopportune time.  After an hour of battling his sleep (thanks to a fever that suddenly came on at 8 PM), I finally got J to sleep.  He lay in a a bundle of blanket and sheets on the bed.  I laid next to him, staring up at the ceiling and thanking God that he was finally out.

And then that feeling came on.  You know that feeling…that “Dear god, I’m going to sneeze and I can’t STOP!” feeling.  I rolled my back to the sleeping form of my son and clapped both hands over my mouth as the sneezing fit hit.  Aachoo!  Achoooo!  AAACHOOOO!

And would you believe it?  The boy didn’t even TWITCH!  Thank god J is a solid, deep sleeper….  *sigh*

Of course the problem now is that J’s sleeping ACROSS my bed.  After that battle, I don’t dare move him….

My boy’s tetosterone levels must have skyrocketed over the last week because now, he wants to WRESTLE.  If I’m laying down, reading or watching TV, he’s ontop of me, trying to get me to toss him around.  Worst of all, he’s knocking his 3 year old sister down and trying to sit on her…sometimes smacking her in the proccess. 

She is NOT thrilled, to say the least, and neither am I.  Everytime he’s aggressive towards his sister, He’s placed in timeout (his crib), which does not thrill him at all.

Boys…. *sigh*

((BTW: WWB = World Wrestling Baby  ;-)  ))

It had been a long, arduous day in court, fighting the latest battle in the divorce wars.  I was really feeling my day when I walked up to my friend’s apartment to pick up the kids.  My goal for the night: survive the rush hour traffic home, feed everyone and then wrestle them into bed….a tiring task in itself.

The moment m friend opened her door,  both of my kids came running, arms stretched out, screeching “MAMA!!!!”  I swept them both up in my arms in a great big bear hug.  Those little arms lifted the weight of my day lifting off of my shoulders.  Aaaaaaahhhhh…..

If anyone had looked in on us around 9 PM last night, you would have found W and I curled up on the bed, watching the Olympics (J was unconcious in his bed, thank god!).  Why the Olympics?  I’ve been trying to keep my eye on the competition this year, which usually means flipping over to NBC every once in a while to see what’s on.

Last night was syncronized diving, which facinated W the moment I turned it on.  She watched wide-eyed as the men leapt off the diving board and flipped and spun their way to the water.  “He fall!” she’d say in awe and the moment they hit the water, she’s giggled and proclaim, “He in bath!”.  I kept the competition on, just to watch her reaction, which repeated over and over everytime someone dove in.

Afterwards, women volleyball came on and W watched the ball go back and forth, back and forth in total awe.  As the US women played, I got a play-by-play by Wynter (”Mama, there’s a ball!” “She hit the ball, Mama!”, etc etc). 

Soon, the hypnotic back-and-forth of the ball had its desired effect on W - she fell fast asleep.   Awwww…..

Julian, also known as Mr. J and Jay-Jay, turned 18 months old in July.   

As you can see, Julian is a very happy boy.  When he’s not playing with toys, he’s harrassing his sister or getting cuddles from me.  And when he’s not doing those things, he’s getting into the kitchen cupboards.

Thankfully, he’d only raid the food cupboard for the peanut butter, which he loves carry around.  Thankfully, he doesn’t have the dex (or curiosity) to open it yet.  He just wants to carry it around. 

I think it’s the red top that he loves.  He’s attracted to the color red.  The hotel we were staying in had the red exit signs at floor level.  Everytime we passed by one, he’d had to stop, sit down and poke at it a few times.  Yeah, I don’t get it either.

—————-

Wynter is now a mature 39 months. 

You’ll notice that her hair is shorter this month.  The AC was out at my mom’s home over the 4th of July weekend, which made all of us miserable.   I finally took pity on the girl, sat her down and re-bobbed her head.  Cute, huh? 

Wynter is a big talker these days.  She has no problem telling you what color something is.   She points out things and asks many questions.  At bedtime, I’m asked often, “Mama, are you sleepy?” and she has no problem telling me over and over and over, “Mama, I’m HUNGRY!”, until food is placed infront of her.  Yeah…fun…

The perplexing thing: she has no interest in counting, which surprises me, since she lines up everything.  So, instead, she’s been learning opposites, like hot and cold, big and small. 

Aunt Katherine found the kids a set of Legos and these stay at Gma’s house for now, for their enjoyment down there.  As you can see, Wynter and Gma had fun building this tower/wall.  She looks so proud.

And at the end of the day, even little angels have to get some sleep…..

———————-

We’ve been living in a studio apartment the last few weeks while the legal procedures continue and money issues are dealt with.  Surprisingly, the kids have settled into the new surroundings well.  When they start to go stir-crazy, we hop into the stroller and take a walk, which seems to help them calm down quite a bit.

Bubbles also help.  I scored a few bubble machines on clearance at Target.  Atleast once a day, I turn on the machine and let the airconditioner carry the bubbles all over the room.  They LOVE it!

This next picture….I just want to say that I didn’t set this one up.  I looked over to find them just like this….

Maybe it’s their own way of drawing a line? 

These are the pictures I didn’t want to go through.  These were the last few pictures taken before the kids and I were allowed to escape that “situation” we were in.  There are so many more pictures on my camera for this time - I’m only posting a few, for my sanity.

Isn’t this the cutest dress???  Rob found it at the San Jose Flea Market and Wynter’s worn it a few times.  Who knows where it is now…it got lost in the flurry of the move.  But what else is new?  Moves are CRAZY!

“OK, Ma!  Tape me up!”  -  Julian helping me pack.

I’m calling this one our “4th of July, 2008″ picture, even though the datestamp on the picture says June 28th.  I found these shirts at Walmart, on clearance for $2.  Aren’t they adorable?

And lastly, there must be a dog picture…

The place = my mom’s house
The dog = Zedd (my sister’s mutt)

Everytime we visit, the kids spread their toys all over the place, of course.  Zedd always must lay smack in the middle of the mess.  Doesn’t matter if the kids are running around or toys are tossed, he lays right there.  Crazy dog…