Magoomba #26

1) For the last week or so while the rest of the nation (Florida included) is freezing, we have been enjoying some unseasonably warm weather with temperatures hovering in the high 60's and low 70's. It seems every winter we get brief intervals of this weather, only this time it seems to be sticking around a little longer. This bodes well for walking and playing in the park and lots of time spent outdoors on the new bikes. We know to enjoy it now because it won't last.

2) Utah had a followup appointment last week and is doing much better. Repeat x-rays still show a questionable area in the abdomen but the inflammation has gone down and although the diarrhea comes back if we don't give him the medication, the good news is that he can stay on the pills long term. So as long as his quality of life is good, it looks like we will have more time with our first baby.

3) Jake had a followup appointment with his eye doctor and while their has been some improvement, we will have to restart patching his left eye for 2 hours every evening after he gets his prescription adjusted for his glasses. While I am glad to hear we made progress over the summer and even happier we can still strengthen his vision in that eye, I feel kind of torn about making him patch his eye and do structured activities for 2 hours every evening after he already goes to school for 5 hours a day. We will just have to make it as fun as possible. Some of the activities they recommend during patching include connect the dots, mazes, stringing beads, spearing food with toothpicks and various types of target practice.

4) I decided that Jadyn and I needed more structured activities to do together on the days Jake is at school and she is home with me so on Wednesday we tried out a toddler time class at the library that includes music and movement, story time and a small craft - all of Jadyn's favorite things, plus then we can check out additional books, especially for Jake, our emerging reader. It is a win-win for everyone.

5) I also enrolled both kids in a tumbling class on Monday nights. Jadyn is clearly in need of an extracurricular activity but we all remember the disastrous results of her first dance class over the summer. So, I figure since Little League doesn't start until March for Jake, I could have them do the tumbling class together, giving Jadyn the confidence she needs to break away from me. It was truly a success. Both kids absolutely loved it. This week I think I am going to bring the camera and if it is not too much of a distraction, try and get some action shots of their sommersaults and balance beam work.

6) Despite having 2 carpet race tracks and various toy tracks, Jake's favorite track to race his Nascars on is a little construction paper number we put together one day. So, after he was watching his favorite diecast stop motion video on YouTube (don't ask!), we decided to construct an even better paper race track made of poster board. But geez, Jake can be really picky! He kept "showing" me the design he wanted by drawing it with his finger in the air. He wanted it to be a certain number of lanes, with a certain number of pit spots and a certain number of checkers on the finish line. While I love having a project to do with him, I cannot get over his eye for the details. Now he wants retaining walls, grandstands and pit crews. Sheesh. If I ever get it done, I will snap some pictures and post them.

7) With a lot of my TV shows on hiatus, I have had more time to read lately. Right now I am engrossed in "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett (thanks for recommending it Jen!) and I don't want to put it down. It's about 3 women living in Mississippi in the 1960's; the complexity of their relationships and the courage to do something about the injustices during that time. I haven't finished it and don't know how it ends, but right now I highly recommend it. Next I want to read Ron Currie Jr's Everything Matters but since the library doesn't have it, I might have to break down and buy it. I am also contemplating whether I want to see the movie version of "The Lovely Bones", which comes out this week.

8) And finally, speaking of books - my blog book arrived last Friday! I was SO excited. It is beautiful, all 432 pages containing the stories and pictures that comprise 2008. I did find some formatting issues I will differently with the 2009 edition and a few typos I didn't catch while editing but overall, I was very pleased. I basically followed the directions that LauraC mapped out in this blog post about how to convert your blog to a book but if anyone wants to hear exactly how I did it, please feel free to let me know. It is so worth the effort!

Front cover:

Back cover:
Inside pages:

Hope every one's week is off to a productive start!