Claytonopolis: This Week in Review - I Have to Review, Otherwise, I Am Not Sure It Happen

This week we had some visitors. Shout out to Uncle Bart, Amy, Will and Katie Clayton. It was a nice little visit. Will was looking at Baylor for school. I hope he comes here—if we are still here. I hope he gets a big fat scholarship. By the way, see you guys in San Antonio in July ;-)

I made corned beef and red potatoes (no cabbage-it's bad for breastfeeding) on Tuesday for St. Patrick's Day. My mom always made corned beef and cabbage when we were growing up. It is a nostalgic, comfort food for me. St. Patrick's Day is quite a joyous feast day. It is full of folly and jolly amidst a solemn Lenten fast.

Boy, am I tired. Kristiana has her first illness. She had a fever at the beginning of the week, Thursday, last night and today. I hope it kills whatever she has. She has had a wet scary sounding cough all week. On Tuesday, I stayed home with her. She was complaining rather pathetically about being sick that day. I think she might have RSV, which is the same virus that caused Alexander's asthma. But, I am keeping her nose clean and it does not sound like it is in her chest. Ever since Tuesday, this week has been a blur. Say a little prayer for our little Krissy. (No, we don't call her Krissy, but it's cute isn't it?)

Alexander’s new things: He has to play outside everyday with the other kids in the neighborhood. They are all older than him and not quite nice to him. He has taken to sitting quietly by himself and “reading” books. It’s great. We encourage this activity.

Last Saturday, I took him to the library for the first time. They had a bunch of wooden toddler puzzles there. He put together every puzzle (about 10 puzzles) and refused to look at a single book. It took candy to get him to leave. We went today and his friend Brenna was there. They both put the puzzles together and then they both looked at books together.

A couple of nights ago Alexander started asking to “Watch Cars. Watch Yighting” I knew what this meant. He wanted to watch the movie Cars. He has watched everyday since. Andrew and I think this is okay for now, since we both really like this movie, and it is nice to have a break from Thomas the Tank Engine.

I really want to write some childrens' books. My mom got me thinking about this last month. I bought myself a childrens' rhyming dictionary. It is my belief that the best childrens' books rhyme. Besides being entertaining, rhyming helps a child understand the cadence of language, and adds a touch of whimsy to the story. It also helps for memorization. My book writing is not going very well. I’ll be darned if I have five minutes of free time when I get home. The only true free time I have all day is my lunch break, which I usually use to go for a walk/jog, check my facebook, pay a bill and choke down some lunch. I also get about 15-30 minutes of reading in before bed.

Speaking of reading, I am on page 60 of Atlas Shrugged. Yep, it took me two weeks to finish 30 pages. Don’t get me wrong, I am thoroughly enjoying this book. I was hoping to read 20 pages a night to finish the book in three months. However, by the time I get to my book every night I have been awake half the night with baby, wake up for the day at 6 am, made lunches, breakfast, wake up everyone else, dress the kids, feed the kids, take kids to daycare, go to work for 8 hours, come home make dinner, clean up after dinner, wash bottles & pump, play outside, wash child(ren), story time, bedtime, finish some of previously mentioned kitchen stuff, sometimes finish up laundry, one day a week volunteer at church…who has time to read. I am out by 9-9:30 pm.

Andrew and I both have March Madness. But after next weekend I am sure it will wear off.