I don't feel like blogging today but...

it's been a while and there are a few things I want to jot down before I forget.

1. Cole has resorting to throwing fits lately. They can last up to 45 minutes-argh! He cries really loudly and I take him to his room where Gloria sits next to him to provide moral support. Fit topics include; can't wear dirty long underwear to school, I don't like bean soup, I wanted to do it by myself. He has also been whining a LOT lately. It is driving me crazy, which I'm sure he knows. I have very little patience for such behaviors and need to "work on my tone" according to Charlie..."then Cole wouldn't cry." I really do need to work on my tone. Charlie also pointed out that my face is mean sometimes. Maybe that explains those two new vertical wrinkles between my eyebrows?

2. Thank goodness for dogs. Cole vomited last week in the middle of the night. He came to our bed right after he did it but didn't mention the mishap. The next morning I noticed that his jammies weren't on so went to check to see if he had an accident. The carpet was crunchy (from Gloria saliva) and there was a funny stain on his shirt. When I asked him if he got sick, he said "yes, but Gloria cleaned up the mess for us."

3. We went to Bald Eagle Days last weekend. The bird display was quite impressive. We saw falcons, 2 types of owls and a bald eagle--up close.

4. Charlie is learning to read. I'm really excited about this one. He's actually sounding out words and using context to make sense of it all. Learning to read English is much harder than I remembered. And I'm so proud of him.

5. Charlie is also taking art classes. Here are some of his creations. The lion plaque is for his lion adoption at the zoo. He actually drew and pained with very little assistance. We found a 12 step "how to draw a lion." The colorful bird is a "cockateau". The black/white has a really sweet race car on the bottom.


6. My body is aging. I actually had to go to a physical therapist the other day. My hip has been killing me. I think it's related to repetitive motion of running, but I couldn't take the pain anymore and had to breakdown and do something about it. The PT pushed, prodded, rotated, flexed, etc for 10 minutes until he found the problem. I thought for a minute that the "problem" would not surface (you know, like when you take the car into the shop for a problem, but it can't be found?). Turns out I have ileopsoas bursitis, very tight left hip muscles, and a core imbalance. He also talked about the possibility of a "joint mouse". Charlie of course asked him what it was and why it was called what it is. The PT said, "It's a little piece of cartilage that lodges into the joint, but I don't know why they call it that". My smart boy said something like "they probably call it that because mice are really small and sneaky and they like to lurk around in small places where they shouldn't be and cause problems. Mice can be real pest-es, you know?" I now have some stretches and heating instructions, hopefully that will "fix" the problem.

7. The boys started ski school today. This will be Charlie's 3rd year. It's Cole's 1st year. Cole had been apprehensive the whole week, but he actually had fun. It's activities like this that get me really excited about future family vacations. I hope the boys continue to enjoy the sport.

8. If you haven't already...you must see Slumdog Millionaire. Great movie!

9. I got a new laptop! Yippee! It came complete with a web cam, so I hope to include some videos/interviews with the boys.