On the agenda...

Dentist appointment this afternoon. Which means one thing: I gotta floss like crazy before I go so my gums stand a fighting chance against the hygienist!

Shameless

Who puts their children to bed an hour early just to catch a movie on pay-per-view? Um, Caleb and I do. And it worked so well the first time that we did it a second night in a row. This may just turn in to our new date night. My, how things have changed!

Weeeeeee!

Nothing says fun like super fast stomach sliding! Because you can’t go super fast on your stomach down a slide if your hands and arms aren’t covered with socks! Physics lesson? Totally.

Sunday Funday

What better way to spend a rainy Sunday afternoon than destroying my family room building a sheet fort? And, if you ask Jacob, it came fully equipped with a front porch and a garage. And a doorbell you had to ring if you wanted to come inside. I love a great imagination. Almost as much as I love bedtime. When I can reclaim my sanity and my living space…

Rockin'

I'll admit that I totally rocked out to Madonna's "Like a Prayer" (complete with fake microphone) on my way home from work today. It was the perfect detox from my desk job. And now on to my volunteer job in child services. Bring it, boys!

20.5

Not nearly as much as I thought he would weigh at his 9-month appointment, but still more than Jacob weighed at his 12-month appointment. And now Mason is clear to eat solids. The pediatrician suggested overcooking our vegetables to be “sorta smooshy.” No problemo. I seem to overcook everything. (Except spaghetti, which always seems to be underdone, crunchy, and stuck together. Wanna stop by for dinner?!)

And They’re Back

We had our full house back in order last night. And even though I complain think that I haven't had a good night sleep since Mason was born, I have to admit that I actually sleep better when all my chickens are in my nest. And I'm sure Gaga Joan and Papa Jake sleep better when all my chickens are not in their nest :)

Getting Older is Good/Bad

I got carded when I was cashing in a lotto ticket. With my babes in the shopping cart. Whhaaaatttt?!

Cat callers whistled at me (I know this because I was the only one around. I made sure.) while I was walking down the street. My sunglasses must have covered up the dark circles under my eyes, and the double stroller I was pushing must have cast shadows to hide my half-ass attempt at shaving my legs (up to my knees). Who whistles at someone pushing a double stroller anyways? Creep.


See. Thirty isn't so bad... And then I found a gray hair. Not in the usual underneath layer of hair. But right on top of my head shining in the light. I tried yanking it with tweezers and pulled about two dozen non-gray hairs out with it. Ouch! I blame my dad for the grays. My mom is 60 and her hair is not gray. What is your secret, Mother?

Bridesmaids

It was good. You should see it. I went with Tasha (total pushover to convince) to the 10:30 A.M. show. Yes, A.M. I had no idea that movie theaters (or as they say in France: theatres) are open that early. But they are. And if you go to a show that early, I suggest you bring sunglasses with you to wear when you leave the building. That sunshine is B-R-I-G-H-T!

And now I can cross that off my list of things that absolutely must be done before I reclaim my chickens.

Laugh it Up

I make myself laugh. Actually, I laugh at myself. Maybe it's a defense mechanism. I don't know, but it makes Caleb roll his eyes. And people shake their heads. Except for my mom. She laughs, too. With me. At me. Whatever. She laughs loud. And often. I think her laughter might be a nervous habit. But it's funny and makes me laugh more. Laughter really is contagious (just like yawns). And today I laughed twice. Once with my mom. And once by myself while Caleb rolled his eyes. (I think. It was dark and I couldn't see his eyes.)

Situation 1:
My brother was selling me on why I should buy this one brand of rabbit repellent to use on my flowers.
I said: It probably won't work. Our rabbits are non-human.
Mom said: Yes. Rabbits are non-human.

Situation 2:
I said: Wasn't it funny today on the news when Robin said she was a wingless angel and Paul said he was just a bald gopher.
Caleb said: Bald gopher? He said hairless gerbil. Is this really how you remember things?

Moral: Don't think before you speak, because what you shouldn't say is probably funnier. Or not. It depends on your audience.

Where in the World?

I just received a text from Gaga Joan: We r at Ecuador. Mason slept all but 10 minutes and Jacob slept 20 minutes.

So either she fled the country with my babes or auto-type took over when she was meaning to write (cousin) "Evy." Either way, have fun and see you tomorrow!

Seeing Red

I decided I want need a red punch of color on our front step. And since Caleb has put the kibosh on me painting the front door (he’s a weenie), I am on a mission to find a wicker chair (hello, garage sales) that I can paint red and place on the front porch where absolutely no one will ever bother to sit. But it will be red. And it will be fabulous. And then I can stop obsessing over this color.

To Do

And because I just cannot sit around and enjoy some time to myself, the list of things I would like to do before the boys are back in town:

Wash the curtains*Clean the windows*Wipe down the doors*Move the furniture and clean underneath it*Finish pulling the garden weeds*Buy and plant flowers*Figure our how in the world I am going to make Jacob sleep past 6 am again (new curtains=total bust)*Clean out the fridge (yuck!)*Come up with a dinner menu for the next few weeks and shop for it*Oil changes in the cars (by bringing them to the oil change guy, obviously. But isn't it funny to picture me lying underneath our cars doing this myself?!)*Remove all crayon and marker from the walls*Clean up the basement (so it can be totally destroyed again in another week)*Come up with a plan to keep Sadie from hiding under furniture all day (why is she soooo anti-social?)*Convince a bestie to go see Bridesmaids with me (you know who you are, Tasha!)*Breathe!

Okay, it's go time!

And They’re Off

I love my kids. (Look at them, how couldn't I?) And I am a good parent. But when the opportunity presented itself to ship the boys off to grandma and grandpa’s house for a few days, Caleb and I jumped at it. And now we are sitting peacefully at home and not breaking up “hey, that’s mine” fights. I will look forward to sleeping in past 5:30 tomorrow morning, but I will look even more forward to snagging those boys back later this week. Smooch my babies for me, Gaga Joan and keep those boys in line, Papa Jake!

Rub a Dub Dub

Two boys in the tub.

Equal Parts

Today Mason is 39 weeks old, which means he has been out as long as he was in. Wowzas.

Weekend Plan

What are you doing this weekend? I am going to spend ALL DAY Saturday with my three leading men. And because the world is supposed to end tomorrow (I thought it was supposed to end on 12/21/2012, but whatever), I will not do any laundry or wash any dishes because it would be absolutely tragic to die while doing chores. They will just have to wait until Sunday when we wake up and realize we are all still here. But I will go out and mow the yard (chore) today because it's sunny and nice and who wouldn't want to make their final exit with a fantastic bronzy glow?!

Mop-tastic

Do you have a steam mop? I don't either. But I borrowed my Mom's for a test drive, and I love it! It cleans spit up, pureed food, and last night's spaghetti off our floors in no time. Don't tell my mom, but I don't think she's getting her mop back...

Mr. (Wannabe) Fix It

Let me preface this post: I have mowed the yard before. I know how the lawn mower works and how to start it.

So it was a total surprise when Jacob and I set out to tackle the yard during Mason’s nap and couldn’t get the darn thing started. Wait. Back up. I did get it to start. And was able to mow about half a line of our big backyard. And then it stopped. And the cord that you pull (what is that called anyway?) won’t pull. I tried. And Jacob tried. And neither of us could fix it. I gave up. But Jacob spent the rest of the morning saying (as he was hovering over the mower): I have to figure this out before Daddy gets home. He’s napping now. I’m sure he will be back at it when he wakes up.

*Papa Jake: How in the heck do I fix it?!

UPDATE: Fixed. Caleb said something might be stuck in the blade, which is why the cord won't pull (That wasn't in the User's Manual...). And he was right. Grass plugged it up. Never would have thought to pull the chunk of grass out of the lawn mower blade. Aren't lawn mowers supposed to eat up that grass like nobody's business? Geesh.

Smile

Because it’s Wednesday, which means we’re halfway to Friday!

Not so love letter.

To the woman in line ahead of us at Kohl's:

Was it really worth applying for a credit card to save 10% off your (extremely unfashionable) $20 shoes? And could you have filled out that application any s-l-o-w-e-r?

Love,

The lady carrying a 20 pound lug and chasing after a 30 pound rug rat—who really just wanted to buy a towel. One towel.

Oh, I found my library book. It was in the recycling bin. Obviously. Going green or just going crazy? You decide. (Just don’t tell me!)

I lost my mind... and a library book.

And I can't find either. This is getting serious.

Make Believe

Guess what Jacob is doing. Give up? He’s pretending to pick up dog poop out of the grass. An impressive imagination, or has he just watched his parents on clean-up duty (no pun intended) a few too many times?!

Two Questions

1. How in the world can my house go from this…

to this in less than 5 minutes?

2. Why in the world do I even bother picking it up a thousand times a day?

P.S. I spy Jacob. Do you?

They're Baaacccckkk!

Don't act like you don't know what these are. And if you really don't know, um, hello--bristle blocks! Spotted at Target over the weekend.
I remember loving these things growing up. And I don't know why because I think we only owned a handful (what can you build with just a handful, anyway?) and they never stuck together (cheap pieces of garbage!). A completely impractical and worthless toy, but nonetheless I think I will be stopping by the store to pick me--er, Jacob and Mason--up some of these classic toys. Who's with me?

Getting Better

Photo credits: Jacob. Except for one stray finger, he’s starting to get the hang of the camera. Never mind the two dozen (or so) photos that didn’t make the cut!

Wardrobe Change

Our bedroom needed to step out of winter…

And into summer!

[pillows, pillows, pillows]

[quilt, chair, curtains]

I have spent months (really) trying to find a perfect combination of mismatched but matching (does that even make sense?) fabrics and textures to pull it off. Perfect. Love it. And I’m completely positive that the bed will never look this well-made again.

Pick-a-Nick

How do you enjoy the warm weather? We had an impromptu picnic in our backyard. It was hot. Jacob was not interested in eating. Mason was sweating. And I was getting irritated from the smell of a sun soaked dog panting on me. So five minutes later we packed it up and headed back into the air conditioning. And we all lived happily ever after…

Once Bitten

I turn my back for two seconds (seriously), and this happens. Jacob said: Mason got hurt. It wasn’t until I took Mason out of his jammies that I realized he got hurt when Jacob bit him on the arm. And so it goes.

**Mom and dad: Remember when I used to bite my arm and blame Joey? Give it a few years and I will be calling to apologize for my charades!**

Me Awake!

Jacob sleeps until 7:30 each morning. Not today. He greeted Caleb and me in the bathroom this morning at 6:15 (Caleb, was it even that late?) and announced: It's daytime. Me awake! Enough said. We will be replacing his curtains with a black-out version immediately.

Cute. For now.

I love this picture because it is so purely innocent, but I venture to guess that these two will be mischief making partners in crime in the not-so-distant future…

Oh me, oh my.

I thought we might be able to avoid this. For 3 months Jacob slept in his “big boy” bed without getting up and without leaving his room. And then…

DESTRUCTION

He reigns terror on his room for upwards of 30 minutes before finally passing out somewhere on the carpet (as evidenced by the carpet marks pressed into his cheek when he wakes up).

Caleb and I are hoping that an actual “big boy” bed off the ground with guard rails in place to keep him from rolling off the mattress might be the answer. And if that doesn’t work, we will be strapping him to a gurney.

The Ole Ball Game

[Mason meet Wrigley Field. You will spend the rest of your life loving this place.]

[65 degrees inland means about 40 degrees at the field. It’s a good thing we brought coats and blankets and snuggies.]

[We came prepared but couldn’t resist buying a Cubbie Bear hat for blondie’s noggin’. So cute. So warm. So totally necessary?]

[Thanks to Mimi and Joe Pa for inviting us to come along—and for the extra help keeping Jacob from picking some (not all) of the gum off the seat bottoms…]

And—as with most of the Cubs games we attend—better luck next time Cubbies!

The last post about tulips. I swear.

Because I obviously can’t get enough of the tulips this week, we made it a point to drive past them on Michigan Avenue on our way to the Cubs game today. And I had to snap a shot. While we were driving. With the camera out the window at a stoplight. Total tourist move. But I don’t care. If you get a chance to drive past them before it’s too late, do it. It’s fabulous!

Yeah for moms!

The best two reasons in the world to celebrate Mother’s Day. Love these little stinker butts!