Lord of the Flies

We head out for the weekend, and new tenants move in. Hundreds of flies (and not really an exaggeration). First it was mice, and now it is flies. We are a very clean family--though the mouse traps in the corners of the rooms and the fly paper that is now hanging from the light fixtures might make you think otherwise. What the hell kind of operation are we running around here?!

Little Bundle

Isn't so little anymore. Mason had his two month check up and tipped the scales at 1 ounce short of 13 pounds. Holy smokes! That puts him up in the 64th percentile for weight. What a chunk! And not to compare the two (but now I am going to compare the two...), when Jacob had his two month check up he weighed just 9 pounds 10 ounces. Do these two boys look anything alike?

Mason in picture one. Jacob in picture two. Both two-ish months old.

When dad is in charge...

So this is what goes on when I'm not around. And, yes, Jacob's onesie is snapped on the outside of his jeans.

And speaking of furniture...

We sold our old bedroom set on Craigslist. Super easy. Super fast (had a handful of responses within hours). And reassuring when a non-killerish looking person came to pick it up last weekend. I might be hooked. What can I sell next?!

Ironic

There are 60 mph winds blowing through our neighborhood, and the landscapers are out gathering leaves with their leaf blowers. Seriously?

Out with the old...

And in with the new bedroom furniture! It's fantastic to own furniture that doesn't come unassembled in a 2 inch deep box. I feel like such a grown up! (And I'm pretty sure if I say that to Caleb one more time he's gonna thunk me!)

Note: Not our bedroom, just our furniture.

Guidance, please.

We need a new laptop like NOW, since our power cord doesn't really work and we are losing battery power by the second! I think we have it narrowed down to either an HP or a Toshiba. The main purpose of our laptop is for photo and video editing. Anyone have a laptop they love? Hate? Steer us in the right direction!

It finally happened.

Last night was the night: Mason out-slept me. It was the same situation that every mom goes through. You know, the one where you are sleeping soundly only to wake up, look at the clock, and freak out when you realize that it's 4:30 in the morning and you haven't been up at least twice to feed, change, and re-swaddle your bambino. That was me last night. Only when I checked in our sleeping beauty I couldn't see his face because it was about 8 inches deep in his swaddle. Total freak out moment. So rather than lightly pulling the blanket back, I frantically ripped the cloth off of his smothered face. Of course everything was fine. And I can only hope that we are on the road to more restful nights...

Hoochie Mama!

I've been a Groupon groupie for a while, but I finally made my first purchase: Pole dancing lessons. Seriously. Two lessons, one dimly-lit room without mirrors, and one of my besties to laugh along with me. I can only imagine just how much fun it's going to be channeling my inner seductress (do I even have one?!). And, no, pictures will NOT be posted!

SMILE!

I think Mason's smile really accentuates his cheeks... and his chins. Love it!

Pump(kin) Carving

Caleb and Jacob carved a pump (as Jacob calls it) tonight. And for a kid who likes to play with mud, grasshoppers, and frogs, he wasn't too thrilled to squish his fingers through the pumpkin guts (which made clean-up fairly easy!).

Word Explosion

The pediatrician warned us this would happen, and it has. Jacob is learning, saying, and repeating all kinds of words. Problem is that several new words he says only include the first syllable (i.e., "monk" is "monkey;" "coff" is "coffee," etc.). And he is adding several new phrases to his vocab as well. The newest of these phrases stems from the cooler weather and needing to bundle up outside, then stripping off the layers inside. And that word... Drum roll, please... "Jack off." Yep. Jacob says "jack off" when he needs help taking off his jacket. We need to work on that phrase a bit more before he brings that one into daycare, and people start to judge us...

Pumpkin Patch

Sunday was a perfect day to be outside, so we ventured to a local pumpkin patch. Jacob loved it. He ran through the corn maze picking up all the corn cobs he could find along the way. He fed a bull one of his leftover corn cobs (not sure he was supposed to do that...) He fed the goats hands full of food (and managed to dodge the e-coli!) He played on the playground slides for way too long. He munched on kettle corn during a hay rack ride. And he rode the train. Twice. Fun way to kick off the fall season!

Oh, and Mason was along for the ride and slept nearly the whole time...

Recalled.

Our Graco stroller model was recalled because of a flaw that allows children to slide out between the seat and the cup holder, which actually caused four deaths. Not funny. So why am I laughing? Only because when I was recovering from my c-section and was on lifting restrictions, I taught Jacob how to slide out of the stroller between the seat and cup holder so we could go for walks even when I couldn't lift him into the stroller. Needless to say, we will take our chances and not return the stroller...

Matchy Matchy

Because I will only have a few years of dressing them alike before they hate it... and hate me for doing it. That's why.

Lessons Learned

Fatal Mistake #1: Not paying attention to the cues. The music played slower. The notes were off-key. The light dimmed faster. I saw all of the signs that Jacob's lovey--Glo--was losing its battery power. So I should have known that it would lose its juice at the worst possible time: nap time.

Fatal Mistake #2: Not having the right assortment of batteries in stock. AAA, C, D, 9-volt. Got 'em. But not a single AA. I finally scrounged up leftovers after picking through several remotes.

Fatal Mistake #3: Performing surgery to revive Glo in front of her loyal companion, my son. In my haste to make things right, I never considered the trauma it would cause Jacob for him to see me rip open the Velcro on Glo's back, remove her insides, and replace the batteries. I think this upped the hysterics at least two notches.

Now I have a sobbing child with crocodile tears running down his face and a lovey he won't touch. This sure makes for an interesting nap time...

UPDATE: Glo is back to shining, and Jacob woke up from his nap acting like nothing ever happened. Except... he is now fascinated with her Velcro and inner workings. Oh, and because of this new fascination, he figured out how to flip the switch that turns off her music, which prompted another brief meltdown. Oy!

Losing it

Today I wished my niece a happy birthday 10 days early (in my defense, today was her due date), and then I washed a load of laundry without putting the clothes in. I'm either going crazy or I could really use a long, uninterrupted nap...

Cheese BuhBuh

Not sure where this started (any ideas, Joan?), but Jacob now gets ready for pictures by saying "Cheeseburger." Not an effective way to get a smile on this kiddo's face because he puts so much effort into getting the word out that he ends up looking a bit constipated in his pictures. Oh well, it makes me smile!

I'm just going to say it:

I ROCK! I bit the bullet, loaded the kiddos into the car, and the three of us made our first trip together to the grocery store today. And it was a success (within reason). No meltdowns, no broken eggs, and the bread was only mildly squished by checkout. And now both boys are napping in their own rooms, which gives me time to bust out the fall decorations. Just call me June. June Cleaver.

Indian Summer

Who doesn't like wearing shorts and t-shirts in the middle of October while playing at the park?!

EEK!

Mice. Yes, plural. And we have them in our house. I trapped two under cups today--Go me!! (notice Exhibit A and Exhibit B). My mom came over to release them, give us some traps, and check the cupboards for stragglers. I think we should consider moving, or at least stay in a hotel until this situation gets itself under control. Gross-O!

We're Back!

4 adults

2 children

5 suitcases

8 carry-ons

2 strollers

2 car seats

1 taxi van

2 non-stop flights

4 nights in a hotel

A few too many drinks...

And we made it home in one piece. Though not relaxing in the least, we made it to California, had a good time, saw some of our best friends get married, introduced Jacob to airplanes, palm trees, and the ocean, enjoyed some time poolside in October, and visited with family. And now I need a vacation to unwind from that whirlwind!

Tight.

I don't know where this came from, but according to Jacob everything is "tight." Pants, shirts, shoes, car seat buckle, proximity of chair to table.... I'm not sure if he is overusing (albeit correctly) a new word, or if he is developing a complex...

New kicks.

I grabbed a pair of sandals from the store over the weekend for Jacob to wear in California, and had him try them on this morning. After fighting with him pre-nap (several hours later) to take them off I gave in, and now he is peacefully sleeping with his new shoes on. I think he likes them.

Didn't see this one coming...

After ripping apart my house and then forgetting about it, the disk holding all of Jacob's baby pictures (including this one) popped up. Hidden in the abyss of our couch, it must have just needed the right shimmy and shake to drop to the floor. So, so, so glad it found its way back to me!

Suggestions Welcome

We will be traveling across the country with two kids in tow later this week, and I'm trying to prepare everyone for the plane ride. Mason's a no-brainer: bottle, blanket, pacifier, and he should be good to go. Jacob, on the other hand, will require a little more work. I have bought a bunch of snacks, and some never-before-seen toys, books, and activities. And we are going to pick up a DVD player for him to watch videos on. What else do I need to ensure we (along with the rest of the passengers on the plane) have an easy 4-hour ride? If things get out of control I'm afraid I may have to buy everyone on the plane a round of drinks!