We have a...little problem with our engine sequence, so we may experience some slight turbulence and then...explode.

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Some belated Sea World weekend pics

My big girl, pleased as punch with the hotel and all the flowers!



Bean and Miss O, exploring the Hyatt grounds



Bean and her friends, swinging



Love for the Clydesdale statue



Mommy, looking like a spaz, and kiddos



Bean!



Bean plays Guitar Hero

Thanks so much for the empathy, feedback and well-wishes here and elsewhere. This situation with Bean is so hard; I don't think her dad really "gets" it, as I've asked him to grab lunch Monday so we can talk and got the "I'm busy, can't we just talk on the phone?" response. To me, this isn't an 'on the phone' thing - this is her dad and her mom sitting down and really dealing with what's going on with no distractions. No sitting on the Crackberry or doing anything else. And frankly, after all the parenting-by-committee and forwarding all my emails that went on with the lovely Voldemort, I don't trust him to just be talking to *me* unless we're face-to-face. Does that make me sound bitchy? I don't mean it that way, I just want to be sure it's Dave I'm talking to, not a joint email.

This feels like one of those crossroads, where I'm being given a clear sign that Bean needs both her parents to make some changes, get her into the therapies she needs and have a 'come to Jesus' meeting of the minds where we brainstorm and fix this. Not just bandage it - really understand what is going on and what we need to do to help her. It may be something that takes her a while to really get through, but as parents, we should be working our asses off to understand what is going on and start helping her work through it.
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Anchovies, anchovies you're so delicious. I love you more than all the other fishes.

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I'm probably the only person in the world for whom sleeping in a hotel with my kids really isn't a hard thing - they're both so used to cosleeping with me that it's just a matter of getting a king bed and laying perpendicular to the headboard. A couple well-placed pillows on nightstands and a chair or two to block them from rolling off, and we're good to go.

So, the Sea World report: in spite of Maine-esque weather (high 50's and either cloudy skies ir a steady drizzle pretty much the whole time we were at the park), a good time was had by all. Both girls loved the park, the animals and the hotel. Bean referred to the hotel as "our apartment", and was crushed to learn we were headed home to "our real house" on Sunday - she wanted to stay in the hotel longer. Both nights, she crashed within a few minutes of her head hitting the pillow and slept straight through the night. Miss O did her usual 20-30 minutes of frolicking, then she, too, was out for the night.

Anyone expecting a Zen-like experience at the Hill Country Resort's spa was likely no fan of the kids this weekend, but I take perverse pleasure in seeing people get pissed off at my kids enjoying themselves. There's just something so ... schadenfreude-y ... about annoying someone who's wound so tight that a couple of joyous shrieks and loud kid chatter puts their panties in a wad.

We arrived at Sea World early enough to feed the dolphins on Saturday morning, but Bean's excitement at the prospect was nipped in the bud when one of the popoises opened wide and exposed a mouth full of teeth; at that point, the tray o' anchovies or whatever they feed them was all mine {insert eveil muahahaha laugh and hand-rubbing here}. Miss O was beside herself, and likely would have crawled into the pool with them.

To my Cirque de SoGay hating self, the fact that Bean's favorite part of the day was the "Viva!" show with high divers and synchronized swimming was a bit of a blow. But she loved "all the acrobats and dolphins and the mommy and baby Beluga whales!" And, being the good mommy that I am, I totally went along with it and encouraged her. Viva! even bumped the Clydesdales from the top of the favorites list; probably because there were no baby horses :)

She and her friend C love-love-loved the "Cannery Row Caper" show, too, with the sea lions and the otter. The silly and slapstick-rich story had them in stitches. (Nice alliteration, huh?) And going to feed the seals and sea lions afterward was a HUGE hit. After the guide there explained the differences between seals and sea lions, I passed a couple nuggets on to my budding zoologist and she kept them straight for the rest of the trip. She and C would have cheerfully fed the pinnipeds all. day. long.

Saturday was the cloudy and cool day, so the kiddos got to play a little at Shamu's Happy Harbor and dig in the sand in between shows. The sun actually came out around 2:00 or so, tho at that point the kiddos had about had it and we headed back to play at the hotel. Lots of sand and playscape time, and a good bit of 'running around the lobby like a crazy person' time, along with 'bang on the piano' time :)

Sunday was just cold and wet all day, so it was a lot of indoor activities at Sea World (the aquarium and penguin exhibits were perfect for this). But Bean got to ride the little Shamu roller coaster (and did put her hands up with me) and a small ferris wheel in spite of the wet. We caught one last Cannery Row Caper and headed home around 3:00.

I'll definitely go back; with both girls and even a just mommy-and-Bean getaway a few times a year. She travels so well in the car, and if it's just she and I all day, I imagine the park will be a piece of cake. Maybe we'll see if Julia wants to take C and make a whole mommy-big-girl day of it one time too.

But now I need to get back to sleep and bid a reluctant farewell to my long weekend with the kiddos. I tweeted that sometimes I really miss being "just" a SAHM - this long weekend, tho trying at times, made me long for more quality time with them than just a few weekends a month. I'm sure I'd change my tune within a month or two, but man, I really miss doing things with them ....
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Actually, you were sleeping the sleep of the knocked unconscious.

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Man, I'm wiped out. Monday night I think I got two hours of sleep - I was obsessing on the career fair and classes and everything I needed to do, and the girls were having a fitful night, with one of them making noise like every 45 minutes or so. So I'd toss and turn and try to settle my head, only to have one of them cough or cry out and wake me completely and start all over again. And then I just got to the point where I was wide awake, waiting for the next sound. I don't think I fell asleep until close to 4, and the munchkins were up by 6.

Tuesday night I fell asleep with them by around 9-9:30, but woke up at 12:30 and was awake until 3:30 or so, and they got up at 6:30.

Last night was better, but still not 8 hours and not solid sleep. I swear, I'm taking 3-4 benadryl tonight (the girls will be at their dad's) and knocking myself out. Valerian didn't do it, melatonin and Calms Forte didn't do it, so I'm pulling out the big guns.

Melissa, Miss O has similar communication issues because of her unclear speech. And similar frustrations; she's getting better, but it's much slower going than it was with Bean. I know if I were to sit and focus with her like I could when I was a SAHM to one kiddo, she'd be better, and that sucks. I totally blew off her 18 month check, so I don't know if she's truly lagging or just not speaking as well as Bean did at this age. With two months to go until the 2-year one, and with flu season in high gear and me not feeling like just hanging out at the doc's with her, I guess we'll find out soon enough.

Bean's doing quite a bit better at school of late; the teachers have been being more creative in finding things that work for her (and them), and while one girl can't wait to tell me every day that Bean is mean to her (ironically, after the girl gets all up in Bean's face when she's cranky about being dropped off, and then calls her stinky), we're incident report free. I don't expect her to always get along with everyone, so even if the "Bean is always mean to me" is true, I'm fine with that. The girl makes *me* want to be mean to her with the 5-10 minutes I spend in the morning, so Bean's showing considerable restraint if she's just telling her to back off or the like.

And tomorrow I'm picking them up after lunch and we're heading to Sea World for the weekend. Wish me luck. And patience. We're going with Julia and her family, and another friend and her daughter. The friend got us a great rate at the Hyatt Hillcountry, right across from Sea World. There's a bit to do at the hotel itself, too, so it should be a ton of fun. Packing for a weekend with two kiddos, tho, quite the adventure in overkill.

Bean's beside herself about going, mostly because she'll get to see the Clydesdales, which are her "favorite horse because of the feathers on the feet". She's expecting mommies and babies, so hopefully there'll be a foal there. She'll survive if there isn't, but that would be awesome. She's also excited that she's tall enough to ride the kiddie rollercoaster :)

I'll give a full report Monday. Have a great weekend, everyone!
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