Jeff's "Business" Trip

I talked to Jeff tonight, and I have to say I'm very jealous of this so-called business trip. He has been doing all kinds of neat things, though he claims he really is working "very hard." Today at his conference he met with an "image consultant," who had been hired by someone there and was dishing out advice for free. Normally, her services go for $200/hour! Now that's a lot of money to pay someone to tell you that your hairstyle is out-of-date!

After all that very hard work, Jeff was able to enjoy some time to himself. So, he chose to attend an off-Broadway performance, which he said was hillarious...and he didn't even get all the jokes. And if that weren't enough, while he was getting his ticket for that performance, he somehow managed to score free tickets to the Letterman Show for tomorrow night!

And on top of all that, he said he's gotten to eat some fabulous cheesecake. Unbelievable!

There's really just one major factor that's keeping me from being completely green: the weather. He said it's just been miserably cold there, with the temperature hoovering right around 32 and off-and-on rain. Jealousy abated!! I'll just be happy with what I've got: 85 and sunny!

Missing Jeff

Jeff left on Saturday morning for New York City. He'll be back Thursday night, and we all miss him. On Saturday night, when we were getting ready for bed, we called him to say good-night. On the third ring I began to prepare Ruth for the fact that Daddy might not answer and she might just have to talk to the voicemail, which she seemed o.k. with. Sure enough, the voicemail picked up and Ruth left her message. Then I took the phone from her and hung up. She immediately began bawling--"But, he didn't answer me!!" Fortunately, he called back before the she could get too hysterical. Every morning she says, "I wish Daddy could come back today, but I know he won't be back until late Thursday night...and then I'll see him on Friday." I think he cheered her up a bit last night when he told her he bought her a surprise yesterday. I haven't been quite as emotional about Jeff's absence, but I miss him too. We'll all be glad when he gets home!

Big Day

It was a big day in the Watts house. First of all, Weston had his three-month birthday! Secondly, we had a visit from Mother Patience, which allowed Ruth to accomplish two really big feats.

Ruth read her first book today (Swing Otto Swing)! Of course, I helped her a bit along the way, but she sounded out or remembered every word in the book herself. I was so proud of her, and I could tell she was very proud of herself as well. Previously, she has just read a few words in a book, but this time she read the whole thing. On Friday, we went to the library and together and found books that we thought she could read herself, so that she "can read to Weston when he's sad."

Ruth also rode her tricycle to the park today for the very first time...and not the park that's closest to our house. She rode to the one that is a little over a mile away, and she did a great job. She had excellent control of the trike most of the time and she navigated some slightly difficult sidewalk obstacles without any problems. The whole trip (approximately 2 and half miles) took us right around three hours--and by the end Mother Patience was about ready to hit the road--but it was worth it to see how excited Ruth was with her accomplishment. She declared at bedtime that she wants to do it again tomorrow. I gave her a firm "maybe." We'll see if Mother Patience shows up again.

I'm so proud of both of my kiddos. They are just growing up so nicely, and they are so smart and strong and funny. We have much to be thankful for around here!

Mr. Big

Yes, this is my little bitty baby boy (3 months old tomorrow) sitting up all by himself, with only minor frontal aid from the Boppy. He's just growing up too fast! It won't be long before he's on the move and my job becomes all the more fun!

When Gluttony Comes Back to Bite You...Literally

Nothing good can come of being a glutton. I know this from first-hand experience. I had a major ice cream craving today, so I indulged. And everything would have been fine if I had just been satisfied with the big bowl of ice cream I served myself, but noooo, I just had to lick the scoop...the metal scoop. That's when tragedy struck...or rather stuck. My lip stuck to the scoop in the instant it took lick the thing and when I pulled it away, part of my lip pulled away too. Now I'm paying for my gluttony, and I write this as a warning to those of you who also may be tempted to give in to a gluttonous urge.

A Picture Ruth Colored At School Today

Bringing the Outdoors In

Well, it was still raining this morning, and there are just so many days in a row that a twenty-eight, er, three-year-old can take. We needed to get out of the house in the worst way, and the park wasn't really an option... but the indoor playground was. So we took all our wiggles over to RadiJazz and ran and jumped and ran and jumped and ran and jumped until we were completely exhausted. (Actually, Ruth did all the running and jumping, but I was exhausted just watching her). This place is really great. It costs $6 for kids over one (free for adults) for the whole day, and you can even come and go as you please. They have a "lava" pit (foam blocks) to jump in, slides, things to climb, hills to roll down, balls to throw and bounce, etc., etc. It certainly helped Ruth get out some pent up energy and put a smile on her face, as you can see from the picture. (And, a smile on Ruth's face is a smile on my face)!

If one is good, two is better

I think Ruth is looking for a bigger challenge in the sisterhood department. Today she said to me, "Mom, when you have another baby, could you have two at the same time, so I can be the big sister for two." ("And if you could just make them girls, that would be great").

Low-Down Cold and Rainy Blues

It's cold...and it's rainy...and it's been this way for several days. But, it is winter, and that's probably to be expected. (Although, I do live in Texas for a reason). The problem really isn't the weather here. The problem is the weather in Brazil. To go from sunny Brazil to this is just almost unbearable! And it would probably be completely unbearable if I didn't get to bundle Weston up like this. Thankfully, this little cutie has the power to chase away the low-down winter blues.

Getting Big

Weston is getting so strong. He is no longer content to just lay around. He loves to stand up and I think he would really like to take off running. He is pretty sure he's going to be as big as Daddy any day now and as you can see, he's getting close.

Working through a Grumpy Funk

I am not a morning person. This I know and readily admit. I really can't even function until I've had my shower and my breakfast, and I'm worse when I've been up several times during the night. I'm also a person that needs a little time to myself during the day, especially the early part of the day. So, I certainly don't want to start my day being awakened with crying and incessant talking. But, unfortunately, in my line of work there is a needy newborn and a chatterbox, whose mouth opens at the same time her eyes do. So, I got up a bit grumpy this morning and I'm trying to work through that now. I just keep reminding myself that the kids aren't really trying to get on my nerves. They're just kids, and they are just doing what kids do. I keep telling myself that these days are short and that someday I will wish for the noise that completely fills my house right now. But at the same time, I'm selfishly hoping that both kids nap at the same time today and give me a little me time.

Sad State of Affairs

It's really pathetic when your three-year-old says to you as she is finishing up breakfast, "Mom, do you think when you drop me off at school you could go by the grocery store and get some cereal and some juice because that's really what I've been wanting?" I mean, really, is that too much to ask?!

This came on the hills of other breakfast trauma which was this:

Ruth was downstairs having breakfast. I was upstairs feeding Weston. I hear Ruth whimpering, so I call out, "Ruth, what's the matter?" No answer. "Ruth, what's wrong?" Only footsteps on the stairs in response. Ruth appears in my room and I ask again what's going on. Ruth replies with a slight tremble in her voice, "I just bless-youed, and I got snot down to here" (pointing to her chin). That's enough to make anyone want to cry.

AhRoi, My Laptop Friend

AhRoi (pronounced "Ahoy) is my new laptop. Yes, that's his name--something we brought back from Brazil (the name, not the laptop). Anyway, he an I are getting along famously. We have set up a station for him in our breakfast room, though he is, of course, still mobile when we need him to be. He plays tunes for us from "Mandi Radio, " shows us a continuous slideshow of our snapshots, provides a quick way to get new recipes into the kitchen and allows Ruth to watch her morning video without getting crumbs all over the living room or almost falling out of her chair trying to lean over and see the TV in the living room. Now, if I can just get him to do a little cleaning up around the house, we'll really be set! Buying a laptop was a big step for me, but I'm glad I did it. AhRoi is helping me acheive new levels of cool-geekiness.

Spring

We all went for a walk this afternoon, and we saw Mountain Laurels in bloom and the first Bluebonnets of the season. Yippee! Springtime is my very favorite time of the year.

Funny Weston

Weston has developed a new skill: laughing out loud. He has only done it a few times so far, but it is just the cutest thing. The funniest thing in his world, apparetnly, is the mobile over the changing table. It cracks him up everytime. And today, he laughed in his sleep. I guess he was dreaming of that panda bear going around and around. Another skill he has developed is that he can get his thumb in his mouth pretty much at will. At one point today he actually had both thumbs in his mouth at the same time, and he was sucking on them like he had just won the lottery. He's a funny boy and it's fun to see him learning all these new things and starting to interact with the world around him.

Pictures from Brazil

We've put together an album of pictures from our trip for those of you who might be interested. Here's a link to the website where they are posted: http://flickr.com/photos/53668126@N00/

Back in the USA

We returned from Brazil today (on this, my half-birthday). We had an absolutely wonderful time! The kids were really great travelers, and we got to see and do so many neat things. We went to the beach, we went to the mountains, we visited with old friends and made some new ones. But the best part about our trip was the spiritual blessings we received while attending a seminar with our church and also visitng several of the churches in the area. The Lord spoke many things to us and we have come home not only physically renewed, but also spiritually renewed. We are glad to be back, and we look forward to visiting with all our friends and family soon. I am posting one picture here, but I will be creating an album soon so you can all experience our trip in pictures, if you so desire.

Watts in Brazil