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Wii Fit Quest Day 6 — Success via the Sun Prairie Target. I had called right after story time and she said she had several, but that they have a no hold policy. I quickly got everyone ready and headed over. I haven’t been to this one before so it was a pleasant surprise to enter a clean, large, everything in it’s place Target (our current target is undergoing changes). While I was getting the kids into the car Morella kept saying “Eat? Store eat? Weh Weh eat?” And she would nod. Weh weh is the best way I can think of how to spell how she says her name. I said sure, because thankfully Target’s have Starbucks and a cafe.

I got there and got me Wii Fit Plus! I noticed though that they had no Wii’s, so it’s a good thing I got mine yesterday at Best Buy. There were two after mine and as I checked out I mentioned that I had been calling every day. The check out clerk said he believed it and if people knew they had them now they would be out in minutes. Well, I am pretty sure they are out now because I know I was not the only one calling every day.

Anyway, so that is complete. It was much quicker than Tim though it would take. Since I was the one doing the calling I felt it was plenty long enough.

Attitude of Gratitude Day 6:

–Having lunch at Target with an adorable little girl dressed in red, charming the pants off the other Mom’s son (Justin, age 3 almost four in one month and is going to have a Clone party, he informed me). Athena was of course adorable.

–Athena sitting in and actually enjoying be carried forward facing in the Ergo carrier. That thing cost enough! Also, it was more comfortable to wear her that way and she felt way more stable. I should practice with her in it more often to get her ready for the spring and summer.

–The two hours I had to cuddle and play with Athena in bed while Morella was sleeping, and fat flakes of snow fell outside.

Okay, gonna play a little more Wii — it’s new so it’s fun.

I think I am fighting something off. My eyes feel like I’ve pulled an all nighter — all day. They felt a little better after my massive 2 1/2 hour nap that I took with the girls this afternoon, but it’s back now. I am also really tired…a bummer because ….

WII Fit Plus Quest #5

Shopko – Sorry Sir, we don’t, (You suck!)
Walmart Supercenter – We do not Ma’am. (thank you!)
Target East and Sunprairie – Unfortunately we do not. (almost verbatim)
Best Buy – We don’t have the Wii fit, but we did get a bunch of Wii’s in today and the fit follows pretty closely.

Hm.

I call Tim “Hey tim they have a bunch of Wii’s and say that it might come soon.
Tim replies “Maybe we should get the Wii while they have it.”
“What?” I ask “You mean the Wii Fit Plus doesn’t come with a Wii?”
“Uh no,” he answered. “It only comes with the game and board.”
“I thought a $100 bucks was kind of cheap for that!” I said. “Well, I should go and get a Wii since everyone seems to be out of that too.”
“Okay,” he said.

So, my friends. We have a Wii now. I went over to Sigrid’s to borrow Boomblocks this evening while Tim set it up.

AG#5

–Matt’s Meatloaf brownies
–Kathleen’s butterscotch oatmeal cookies
–Wii

Wii Fit Plus Quest Day 4:

Okay, so in short everyone said no, but here is the interesting thing. Walmart Supercenter had gotten in four an hour and a half after I had called. Yes, FOUR — and 20 Wii’s. All of which were sold out in a matter of hours. When I called Target they assured me that their deliveries come over night and are restocked then instead of the middle of the day— all willy nilly.

AG#5

–My friend Sigrid coming to visit for the afternoon and bringing Monty’s Blue Plate food.

–Getting a hot shower in with the door closed this morning.

–No fuss bedtimes.

I got some crocheting to do tonight and I don’t want to be up late. I went to bed at 1 last night, up at 6:30 … and I’m tired. Today’s bedtime is 11:00.

Wii Fit Quest Day #3:

Costco (thanks for the suggestion!) – “Sold out.”
Walmart Supercenter: “No, we didn’t any in.”
Best Buy: “We don’t, I’m sorry.”
Target Sunprairie: “No, unfortunately we don’t have any of those in stock.”
Shopko: I asked “Electronics please,”
“Is this for getting a wii?”
“Yes” I replied.
“Sorry, we don’t have any.”

AG Day 4:

–Tim running out to get dinner because the one I was making (hamburger hotdish) was going to be too late (he got Arby’s. Morella didn’t eat the roast beef because she said it smelled like “Bart” aka fart, but she did eat the broccoli I made her and Athena). Now we have dinner for tomorrow too, and lunch.

–I know how to read.
-I know how to write.

Those last two are two skills I consider to be two of my most valuable possessions.

Anyway. I bundled up the kids and hauled them up to the Capitol for Winterfest this morning. Tim stayed home to do some laundry, pick up and look through old receipts and reliving our pacific northwest vacation. I get there, park in the public ramp, haul out the double stroller, pack in Morella, scoop out Athena from the carseat and then realize I forgot her snowsuit.

I bundled her up in blankets and headed out anyway. At the same time was another couple with children almost the same age as Morella and Athena. In fact, their little boy was quite interested in getting into the double stroller with Athena because his mother said they had one very similar. I mentioned to them that I heard that this event sucked, but I had hoped it wasn’t the case. We chatted a bit and then headed off…to a great big pile of suck.

There were five midget ice sculptures, three snow sculptures and the “fun kids snow sculpting area” made the snow banks alongside our driveway look like the Rocky Mountains. There were about five kids scrambling around that sorry little pile of slush that just made my heart cry. Here you can see the two little piles in the background.

I shouldered on. On the road around the square was a bunch of trucked in snow that was made into obstacles, and various ski type things. There was a Scion dealer giving out cheap sunglasses, hand warmers and some kind of head thing I have yet to check out, and a turbo tubing “hill”. Judge for yourselves.

To be fair, Morella might have enjoyed going down this little bunny hop, but there was no way I could ditch Athena in her throne of blankets to haul Morella up there for a little ride down. Since it was the only thing that was worth doing for kids there was a line. I finished walking around the square and texted Tim about the lameness of it all and decided to just go home. I would say that the girls agreed…

I ran into the parking lot couple who decided to call it quits as well. We chatted up to the car, wished each other well and started to pack up the kids. I kept thinking “ask them if they want to playdate…do it…do it…” and so I did. We’ll see how it goes. It would be great for Athena to have a kid her age to play with later on. Plus, you know it’s nice to meet new people. I go through phases were I make a big effort to expand my base of friends every other year — I guess I am in one of those phases right now.

I found the snippet in Elle’s January issue:

Develop the Gratitude Attitude
Listing three things that you’re grateful for or three events that have gone well over the past week can significantly increase your level of happiness for about a month, make you more optimistic, and improve your physical health.

There we have it.

AG Day 2:

–Getting tagged in Homemaker’s “Musings from the Big Pink” (a very funny blog telling the story of child raising from a SAHD’s perspective) for the “10 Things” meme. It’s good to feel included.

–District 9 [I love a good science fiction tale, and this one will keep my noggin thinking for days]

–Dance parties with Morella and Athena

Today was a pretty good day. We all slept in until 7:00 (thanks Neener, we have a new early riser). Morella had gotten up at 4:00 with ridiculous demands which Tim almost feel for because he was tired. But when he went to use the bathroom, I went in there and laid down the law. She stayed in her bed. Tim went to his own bed, Neener’s went into her cosleeper and all were happy.

I bundled up Athena and went to a financial meeting at our credit union with an adviser. I have been wondering if we should be doing something with a portion of our savings, or if there are any glaring financial opportunities that we aren’t taking advantage of, so I agreed to a meeting. After all, it’s free and Tim was around to wrangle Morella. Turns out there is nothing more to be done than what we are doing and to check in a few years when interest rates are different and we have more defined goals. Well that was good to know.

Afterward I picked up Tim and Morella at the local park (they were the only ones there playing in the snow), broke car by going to fast in a huge divot, made worse by ice, and went to go buy a Wii Fit Plus. Our scale is now broken thanks to a 22 1/2 pound toddler jumping on it to watch the numbers bounce. Either that, or I gained 20 pounds over the week. So yeah, a quick trip to the store and we would spend the evening playing around with it after the kids went to bed.

Ha ha ha ha ha!

Yeah. I don’t know what we were thinking. You know, I guess I thought that the demand was greatly reduced and that stores would actually have them, especially since hey had reduced the price. However, Shopko, Target and Best Buy did not have any, and we were told there were none in the great state of Wisconsin. Not only that they but don’t believe in wait lists (neither does online) and that the magic delivery truck tells no one it’s schedule. We came home and looked online and found several places willing to sell you one with a $30-50 markup. It’s a matter of principle — we will not pay more than the orginal price.

So, I am going to be adding a new section to this every day blogging. It’s called “Who will have the Wii Fit Plus first?” Every morning as a part of my morning routine, I will call each of these three establishments to inquire whether or not any were delivered overnight. Target had said that their last shipment was three weeks ago so I feel like one might be due. Then again, I was the 11th person by noon to ask about it – so even with great demand, apparently Nintendo and Target aren’t in any actual hurry to sell any machines.

Okay, I’ll think of 10 Things the average Joe probably doesn’t know about me for tomorrow.

Okay. I read in Elle Magazine that if you keep an attitude of gratitude journal for 30 days you will be significantly happier. I suspect it only works for a month. Or maybe it takes a month to feel it? I don’t know. I thought it was worth a shot. So for 31 days I’ll post .. well depending on how well the transfer of moving goes… *crosses fingers*.

I am grateful for:

1. The coffee that Tim makes every morning.
2. Athena’s big smile first thing in the morning.
3. Sunny mornings in winter.

I guess that was a morning edition.

Morella took her pants off! Athena is complaining about being in her office. I guess that means I have to go.

Athena can roll from back to front now. I saw this in action at the diaper changing station. She didn’t roll off because I was there to catch her. She repeated it later in bed so it’s official! Hurray!

Morella slept in another spot other than her bed for the first time this morning (not including wee baby days). Early this morning Tim heard strange thumping emitting from Morella’s room. He went to investigate and found a sleep walking Morella crying because she ran into her gymboree like green chair. She was upset afterward and wanted him to stay in her room and hold her hand while she slept. In a desperate move to get more sleep, he took her to the office and laid down on the futon. If you can believe, she fell asleep until morning. The key was to let her lay down (on her tummy) with no covers AND hold her hand.

She doesn’t want covers and hasn’t wanted them since the great fever of ‘10. Personally, I think she is nuts because it’s cold in this house! Well, not as cold as BIL Mark’s which was kept at a frosty 65. Dude, those four degrees make a huge difference in the comfort level of a home. I was glad to get home to my extra four degrees (which I get because of the kids and especially since Athena is a baby still).

I hosted a play group this morning. Morella helped me make brownies for it after I cleaned up the kitchen, bathroom and living room all in record time. It was a good play date and afterward I was happy for the peace and quiet and tuckered out kids that took long afternoon naps that afforded me an hour and half of peace to write and chat with a friend online.

After the naps were done I took and ill fated trip to the grocery store where Morella howled no less than 4 separate times about various injustices such as: not watching Yo Gabba Gabba, I lost her soda drink somewhere between the house and the store, the the mini shopping cart, people being in the store, wanting to eat right away, and wanting to eat an apple she picked out (after we already had taken a break to sit down and eat something). Normally I would just give it to her, but since it was produced it needed to be weighed first. I also ran into an old roommate during one of the fits, thankfully Athena strapped to my chest was in good spirits and was probably cute. It kind of sucked, but we really needed to get her more milk and bread.

Lastly, it’s Pluto’s birthday today. He is 10. He got a McDonald’s plain hamburger. We lit a candle and sang happy birthday and when it came to blowing out the candle, Morella ran away in fear shouting “Hot hot!”

I had a pretty awesome day. We went to the Milwaukee Public Museum with the girls followed by a pleasant visit with extended family. Came home to no doggie accident, as it was a long time to go for him not going potty, and the girls went to bed fast and easy. I took lots of pictures but that is for another time. Right now I will present you with a few mobile photos from today and story time last Wednesday. Since this is what I spent the evening doing (organizing photos and getting them off my phone, out of my email and into a file) I thought that I would share.

Here are a bunch of photos from the past year you can check out: Mobile Photos 2009 – Present Actually, I am not entirely sure that you can. Will someone who is not friended with me on FB tell me if they can actually see these photos via the link provided? Thanks.

Athena had her six month well baby today (dang it and is now crying as I started this post). She weighed 17 lbs and 14 oz and was 27 inches long — so my prediction of her being 18 was close…very close. OH hold on.

Morella is up now too…I love dual three hour nap days. I mean, sure I had resettle Athena who got FIVE shots today (two of which were flu shots) but it was okay. Just this quiet time for me does so much for my energy level. Anyway. Morella weighed in at 22 lbs and 8 oz and is 35 inches tall or 2 feet and 11 inches as it says on printout. I also got some information regarding night terrors versus nightmares which I haven’t read yet.

Poor Neeners. At least she has really chubby thighs for these shots compared to Morella’s little chicken noodle legs at the time.

Well, we are switching our internet provider tomorrow to ATT Uverse. Currently with TDS we are getting less than 2mb on a good day — more like 1 – 1.5. Pathetic. We have our fingers crossed that we’ll have faster internet by tomorrow, plus 230 digital channels, a free DVR and $300 gift card all for switching. You know it’s actually only 10 bucks more than we are playing for internet and phone right now and we we are going to be getting TV back? Also, we are dropping our land line. The only calls we ever get from it are telemarketers and bill collectors looking from Tim’s siblings, with the occasional reminder about a doctors appointment (which I can change online).

Oh and an update on Morella. This is now day three of “No Nonsense” and it’s working great. The first day for nap she raged a total of 8 minutes for nap, then 12 minutes for bedtime and then 18 minutes for the 2:30AM waking. The second day it was 2 minutes for nap, 15 minutes for bed time and 2 minutes for the 3:30AM waking. I have my fingers crossed for tonight but it’s also my single parenting night and I always feel at a disadvantage then because I can’t concentrate solely on Morella (especially tonight since I am sure to have a cranky Neeners). This is SO much better and Morella is better rested and not as crabby…everyone is winning.

I had four hours of sleep last night. Not from the baby — she’s a dream now. Goes to sleep for realz somewhere between 8-9 and stays that way except for wanting to eat a few times a night. That I can deal with. What I cannot deal with is the new Morella.

The one that all of a sudden now wakes up screaming at night for the door to be open, the lights to be on, to take off her damn blanket, no wait she wants it back but only touching her foot, puppies!, no kitty, Daddy!, no daddy, Mommy!, she wants us to sit by her, sleep on the floor, in the trundle bed, she wants several drinks perched on the side of her bed in case she gets thirsty…wtf.

THEN … she will repeat this 2-4 times a night. I don’t get it. What happened? How long is this going to last? Last night I was so angry with her that I vowed we were going to ferberize her tonight. Enough coddling. No more fulfilling stupid requests. Every night it becomes more elaborate. The door is going to be closed. The lights are going to be off (except the nightlight) and she can scream it out, bang on the door, etc. I would rather her do this between 7-12 then from 12 to 2:30 in the morning. I have had enough!

Is this happening to you guys? How long did it last? What did you? I still feel angry with her today because she is crabby and sleep deprived and doesn’t want to take an effin nap.

Also. One more thing. She now screams “NO MOMMY!” when she is pooping and goes to hide in our room or tells me to leave the living room. Yet, she doesn’t want to potty train anymore and throws a fit unless she is wearing a diaper.

HELP! Words of advice, or compassion, or anecdotes appreciated.