A Day in the Life of Three

I'm back, I think

2011-02-03T21:56:00.002-05:00

At the inspiration of others, I think I may be ready to breathe a little life back into this old blog. So we'll see.

What's happened since the last blog in April?

Hmmm...everyone turned a year older (except Eric)
We bought an artificial Christmas tree (this is a bigger deal than you would think)
We all live in the same place that we did, work in the same places that we did, and go to school in the same places that we did
I started selling jewelry!
I need to get off my arse and start selling some more jewelry
I joined a moms' group and TWO book clubs
We got a lot of new furniture

Isn't that exciting? Aren't you glad I'm back??

Didn't see that one coming

2010-04-21T21:27:00.002-04:00

Evan has re-started soccer, and playing with a slightly older group of kids than he did in the fall. Since his birthday is right on the cutoff, we put him with the younger crowd (5-6) in the fall, but he seemed like he would be able to handle himself with the older kids (6-7) for the spring. It seems like a good move so far. Coach is great, parents are nice, and there's always a few kids that are...interesting.

I was watching practice today and see one of the boys spitting on the ground. It looked like spitting from where I was standing, at least. Then one of the coaches yells to him "Cover one side of your nose and blow out the other!" Yeah, he was teaching the kid how to blow his nose without getting a tissue/napkin/etc. Now I don't have a problem with that, but still...wasn't prepared to see it on the soccer field from a kid that age. Can't wait to see what we learn at next week's practice :-)

Going green, staying green

2010-04-18T22:22:00.003-04:00

I never thought asking people to STOP sending me things would be so difficult. And since it's almost Earth Day, it seemed like a good time to blog about it.

We canceled our Sunday paper subscription. I don't need the temptation to buy stuff in the stores, and you can read all the articles online, so why bother? I called the paper over a month ago, and was told April 4 would be my last delivery. Two weeks later, I am STILL getting the paper.

I had a sonogram done FIFTEEN MONTHS ago, and am still getting notices from the hospital about it. The kicker? They owe me money. $25. I have called them the past 3 times I received the "bill" to tell them to please stop sending me the notice and to just go ahead and keep the $25 because at this point they have spent more than that sending me these paper notices.

Does everyone else get catalogs all at the same time? I swear we don't get any for a couple of months, and then I get 8 in the same week. This past round, I called all the companies and asked to be removed from their mailing list. The only one who kept me on the phone longer than necessary was LL Bean, but I assured them I would still come spend a small fortune when my next child needs a backpack, since they have such a great return policy when my kids destruct their indestructible products. Now it just remains to be seen if I keep getting catalogs from places that I buy something from MAYBE once a year (usually Christmas).

Jesus eats mac & cheese

2010-03-07T13:16:00.003-05:00

Bet you didn't know that one!

Friday night dinner was fish fillets and macaroni & cheese, as we try and follow the no-meat-on-Fridays protocol during Lent. As I put the food on the table, Eric started his series of questions:

Eric: What are we having?
Mom: Fish, and macaroni and cheese
Eric: Fish? Why we having fish?
Mom: Because it's Friday.
Eric: Friday? Why we having fish on Friday?
Mom: Because it's Friday during Lent and that's what we do
Eric: Why?
Mom: Because that's what Jesus ate.
Eric: And macaroni and cheese?

And I answered yes, thinking that if Jesus had the option, he too would be eating macaroni and cheese on Fridays during Lent.

Please stop talking to me.

2010-03-04T20:11:00.003-05:00

We have an extremely chatty hygienist at our dentist's office...how does that happen? I mean, you're at the dentist with all sorts of torture devices being stuck in your mouth, and you have this (very nice) woman who is talking and talking and talking, and she keeps stopping what she's doing to either make a point, or because she expects me to respond. I've actually told her that I am in a hurry, but that seems to go over her head and she continues to tell me about how she swears she saw me at her gym the other day but she didn't want to come up to the person in the gym because what if it wasn't me and do I work out and where?

Really? When I'm at the dentist, my goal is to pretend that I am somewhere else and to get out of the vinyl chair as quickly as humanly possible. It can be 6 degrees outside, and I will come out of the chair looking like I have just spent an hour in a sauna, that's how stressed out I get about going to the dentist. I've never had a 'bad' dentist experience, and our dentist is really awesome, but I don't like him enough to want to hang out in his office for hours at a time and get my teeth and gums poked at with a pointy thing.

Name Change

2010-02-22T20:44:00.003-05:00

I'm tired of the 'Zoom Zoom', especially since the zoom-zoom Mazda has been replaced by the 'Swagger Wagon' Toyota. But seeing as how this is not a car blog, I don't think Swagger Wagon would be a good fit of a title. So hang in there, and I'll be back with something much more original in no time.

All about Evan

2010-02-08T20:34:00.003-05:00

Note: After 26 inches of snow and 4 days off of school, with the knowledge that 10-20 more inches and 2 more days (at least) are coming, we've started to get a little punchy. My humor may not actually be funny to anyone but me anymore.

Anyway, some Evanisms that have made me smile and laugh in the past few days:

1. He stands during the National Anthem. I would give Carrie Underwood some of the credit for getting him to drop his pizza and stand in awe, but he started standing with his hand over his heart when Queen Latifah sang 'America the Beautiful.' And while Queen Latifah did a better job singing than Carrie Underwood, I think Carrie wins in the looks department. Especially because of the shoes she wore while singing last night, according to my husband.

2. While at the grocery store today, where we re-stocked for Snowmageddon Part 2 (or could we consider this a trilogy, starting in December?), Evan got hit on by a girl. I'm sure 'got hit on' is a grammatical train wreck, but I have no better way to say it. We were walking along, and these 2 girls walked past us...the one turns to her friend/sister and says "hey I know that boy from my school" and then says to Evan "hey dude!" My jaw about hit the floor, and he just giggled as we headed to the bread aisle (which looked like it had just been re-stocked)

3. Evan decided he wanted to read to me tonight...his book of choice? "Defenders" which is about animals and how they defend themselves. Not exactly soothing bedtime stories, but you take what you can get. One of the pages was titled "Beat It" and before the thought could fully process in my head, he turns to me and says, "you know, like the Michael Jackson song." Ok, while I am a fan, and I realize his music was overplayed for a few weeks after he died, I would not have thought he would know who MJ is. Mystery solved, his friend Gavin has told him about Michael Jackson's music. Interesting to find out what first graders talk about on an average day....

Snowpocalypse 2010

2010-02-06T11:53:00.003-05:00

Eric & Evan, sitting on the plowed snow
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Estimating we have about 'half an Eric' of snow
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Evan, on top of the plowed snow...

the bottom of the picture is ground level

Why I have the best husband ever

2010-02-05T19:41:00.004-05:00

1. He bought milk on the way home. Two gallons. I don't even want to know how much he had to pay for it.

2. Even though snow is coming down at an alarming rate, he still made steaks on the grill happen tonight...I couldn't use this on my photoblog because it would break my no-editing rule (had to fix the red eye) even though the steam coming off the grill is really cool looking, but here is my ode to hubby on this snowy night:

Bring on the snow!

2010-02-04T09:59:00.001-05:00

I feel eerily prepared for this weekend's snowstorm, which is strange. I keep thinking I should be stocking up on supplies for the weekend, but then realized I have everything. Ok, maybe we could use another gallon of milk, but we can always use another gallon of milk for the cereal monsters. When Emmett starts drinking milk, I think it will be cheaper to just buy a cow.

Groceries--check. Although I'm going to have to re-evaluate the menu for this weekend, because I don't see my husband grilling steaks on Friday night if we get the snow we're supposed to get. But I can probably push that meal to Sunday, so not a big deal.

Movies--check. I have been stockpiling 'new' movies from www.swapadvd.com and the kids have Little Big League, Free Willy, and Dennis the Mennace. Ethan and I have Hitch, and Liar Liar (which we have seen dozens of times, but are still good go-to movies for a snowy night in).

Salt--un-check. We have very little ice melting sat to sprinkle, BUT our homeowners association found a plowing company that also shovels/salts our sidewalks for an extremely reasonable price, so I'm not too worried.

Activities--check. Evan and Eric recently discovered the joy of building forts out of furniture/blankets, which provides HOURS of entertainment. It's awesome. Evan was home with me yesterday because of the snow and he spent most of the day snuggled in his fort drawing and playing video games. The rest of it he spent putting stickers on a huge piece of paper, which is also a quality time-waster. We also got a bunch of games for Christmas, and there's a few that haven't been played yet.

What are your snowy weekend plans?

Let's hope he never gets lost

2010-02-02T20:34:00.002-05:00

Me: Eric, what's your phone number?

Eric: Mommy! I don't have a phone!

------------------------------------

Me: Eric, what's your address?

Eric: I don't wear a dress

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Me: Say 'Vienna, Virginia'

Eric: something unintelligible

Me: Vienna

Eric: Vienna

Me: Virginia

Eric: Virginia

Me: Vienna, Virginia

Eric: That's what I said!

In case I need a good blackmail story

2010-01-25T20:39:00.003-05:00

I walked past Eric in the bathroom earlier tonight and he was--ahem--'shaking.' He sees me walk past and says:

"Look Mommy, I'm shaking over the potty! Dancin' and shakin' and movin/ to the music!"

To be fair, I was the one who taught him what I thought were the lyrics to "Play That Funky Music" but I am now finding out the actual lyrics are:

"dancin' and singin' and movin' to the groovin'"

In any case, it's a good story to have when he starts datin' :-)

A teenager in the making

2010-01-25T20:30:00.004-05:00

My dad, brother, Evan, Eric, and I went to the train show yesterday. The trip started with lunch at Noodles & Company, always a favorite. After lunch, the train show, and the chaotic ride home with 2 over tired children, I asked them what their favorite part of the day was:

Eric: Trains! The big choo-choo trains!

Evan: Eating lunch at the noodle place!

Me: No, what was your favorite part of the train show?

Evan: Eating popcorn!

Me: Okay, besides eating, what was your favorite part:

Evan: Buying a train t-shirt!

At least they looked like they were having fun (yes, my father always talks when someone is trying to take his picture and my brother wears shorts even when it is cold and raining outside).

WWF goes to pre-school

2010-01-20T21:55:00.002-05:00

When picking Eric up from pre-school today, one of the teachers needed to talk to me. I actually had the idea they wanted to talk to me because of how wonderful Eric has been doing lately.

Wrong.

Today, my sweet, mellow, mild-mannered (post ear tube) little boy decided to regress. BIG TIME.

He hit--not one, not two, but THREE--of his 'friends' today. And the first one he hit in the face with a (toy) train track. Luckily the victim was okay and didn't require stitches or anything. The other two hits were minus any toys.

So, on the way home, Eric and I are talking (I"m curious if he will tell me about what happened). I ask him about his day and what he did and his friends, and he answers everything all happy cheery with no mention of turning pre-school into a cage match. I ask him about hitting his friends and he admits to it. When I asked him why:

"Because that's what Eric's do"

Seriously, how can I rationalize with a three year old when he starts talking about himself in the third person? Let's just hope today was a one-time deal.

Atypical, but not surprising

2010-01-18T22:42:00.002-05:00

The icemaker on the refrigerator seemed to be jammed this weekend. After waiting a full minute, and listening to the ice build up in the door, a Happy Meal toy came flying out of the ice dispenser, followed by about a gallon of ice cubes.

I took Evan and Eric for haircuts...on the drive home, I thanked them for being so good and patient. Eric replied "Oh sure Mommy, not a problem."

There was more, but I've already forgotten...this is why I need to blog!

Killing time

2010-01-15T14:12:00.005-05:00

I'm not sure I like that title...could be taken the wrong way. I'm not going on some sort of murder spree, just to clarify. Emmett is happily sleeping in the backseat after being diagnosed with a double ear infection (one ear was so bad the nurse actually jumped back after looking in his ear), so I don't really want to take him inside and wake him up and the weather is SO gorgeous, I figured I'd sit in the van with him and play on the computer.

On a scale of 1 to 10, how bad was that run on sentence?

Other than the nasty ear infections, life is pretty good in our house. The working full time/having three kids thing is working out pretty well, which kind of surprises me. Ethan is probably ready to enlist me in the armed forces to become sort of drill sargent, but I know he would never say that ;-) I am getting my work job done, I pick up all 3 kids (most days), dinner has been on the table at a reasonable hour every night, and everyone has what they are supposed to have for lunch the next day.

How, you ask, have I managed to accomplish this amazing feat day after day? Planning people, lots and lots of planning.

I'm trying to put a picture of my menu plan for January here, but it's just not working. In any case, I have a month worth of meals lined up, with all the major ingredients stocked in my fridge, and I have actually been following this plan! I'm so impressed. Tell me you're impressed.

Naptime is coming to an end, so that's all for today's rambling. Happy long weekend!

Oh wait, here's the list of meals...best I can do under the circumstances:

Sun Jan 3 Chicken Pot Pie
Mon Jan 4 Spaghetti & Meatballs
Tue Jan 5 Crockpot Beef Stew
Wed Jan 6 Black-Eyed Pea Tacos
Thu Jan 7 Flounder w/Lemony Bread Crumb Topping
Sat Jan 9 Crockpot Blue Cheese & Steak
Mon Jan 11 Spinach/Onion Quesadillas
Tue Jan 12 Soup & Sandwiches
Wed Jan 13 Greek Penne Pasta
Thu Jan 14 Crockpot Maple Ham
Fri Jan 15 Eggs & Bacon
Mon Jan 18 Baked Ziti
Tue Jan 19 Hot Dog Creole
Wed Jan 20 Bowtie Alfredo w/Broccoli
Thu Jan 21 Crockpot Philly Cheesesteaks
Fri Jan 22 Salmon w/Chili-Lime Spice Rub
Sat Jan 23 Chicken Diablo
Sun Jan 24 Tomato & Wild Rice Soup
Mon Jan 25 Chicken BBQ Sandwiches
Tue Jan 26 Mediterranean Chicken
Wed Jan 27 Chicken Nuggets w/Mac & Cheese
Thu Jan 28 Crockpot Orange Chicken
Fri Jan 29 Sausage & Egg Casserole
Sun Jan 31 Baked Macaroni & Cheese
Mon Feb 1 Fried Rice w/Shrimp
Tue Feb 2 Potato & Goat Cheese Spanish Tortilla
Wed Feb 3 Chicken Quesadillas
Thu Feb 4 Crockpot Margarita Chicken

P.S. I love the Crockpot Lady, in case you couldn't tell :-)

Eric 2.0

2010-01-09T20:36:00.003-05:00

Eric got ear tubes a few weeks ago (I find myself wanting to say he had ear tubes installed, but that just doesn't sound right), after suffering through 7 ear infections in as many months, or some miserable number. The doctors assured us it would be a good thing. Friends told us the surgery was a walk in the park and he would be back to his normal self by the time he got home from the surgery.

They lied to us. They were all WRONG.

The surgery was a great thing. Eric is a completely different person. The ear tubes propelled him from being a grumpy toddler into a happy, social little boy who talks so much I think he might be talking more than Evan. He greets me in the morning with a hug and a "good morning Mommy" and constantly comes up to me wanting a hug and kiss, and to tell me that he loves me. He asks questions (lots and lots and LOTS of questions) and tells stories and puts on "shows" for his family and his classmates using puppets and stuffed animals.

In a word? He is CUTE! Ok, he was always cute, but now he is a happy cute. See for yourself:

Why do they have to grow up?

2010-01-06T22:17:00.002-05:00

Evan goes to before and after school care at his elementary school...the kids are all different ages, and we've noticed some differences (for better and worse) in behavior because of this. It is what it is, he isn't going to be an angelic 5 year old forever, right?

I dropped him off yesterday morning and walked him in like I normally do. He ran towards the coat area, and very briefly paused to look back at me before putting his coat away and giving me a wave. Something was off, but he seemed okay, so off to work I went.

This morning, while I was pouring cereal, Evan gave me a big hug and whispered "Bye Mom" in my ear, even though I was going to be taking him to school in a few minutes. Then it hit me--maybe he doesn't want to hug me in front of all the older kids?

Seems like just yesterday I couldn't get out of the door without the requisite high five/pound/bonk combo. :-(

2010: A new year, new decade, and maybe something else

2010-01-01T20:13:00.002-05:00

So after a whopping 42 blog entries is all of 2009, here we are again. It's the time of year where we vow to start over, do things better, try something new, etc. And who am I to think that I am above that? So here we go...the blog-worthy resolutions for 2010:

Eat better. While I am doing very well post-Emmett, the past month or so our family has been eating like crap, and since I do almost all of the shopping and a lot of the food prep, I can change this. The meals for January have been planned out, and we had an all-family trip to the grocery store today, so I'm off to a good start (I hope).
Blog more. I don't do scrapbooks or memory books, so I really need to blog so that when I'm old and senile I will remember all the memorable things that currently fill my brain. Like when Emmett got his first tooth during the 'Winter Wallop' of 2009, and his 2nd tooth just 10 days later. And even the fact that we had such a thing as a 'Winter Wallop' that dumped roughly 20 inches of snow into our neighborhood and canceled school for the entire week before Christmas.
Take more pictures, and be happy with them. Don't snap the shutter just to hurry up and get another picture, but enjoy and savor the moment. Thanks to the inspiration of these nice folks, I am starting my own 'Photography Project365' this year...if you're interested in keeping up (and hassling me if I fall behind--which I have no doubt that I will), then check out my Absolutely No Smiling blog. And remind me to tell you why I decided to call it that!

So there you have it...the resolutions I'm willing to share to the few devoted friends and family members that are brushing away the cobwebs to see that I still have a blog. Thank you for being here :-)

In the news!

2009-10-29T12:15:00.001-04:00

Check out Evan at 45 seconds in!! And then again around the 1:30 mark with Mom and Emmett in the background!

Pumpkins, pigs, and slides oh my!

2009-10-28T22:00:00.001-04:00

Eric and I went to the pumpkin farm with his preschool last week. He really was a Sugar Pie Honey Bunch :-)

Three months! Right on time!

2009-10-28T21:35:00.002-04:00

I have no idea how long I will keep this up, but since I happen to have some blogging time on Emmett's 3 month birthday...here we go.

Weight: about 18 pounds, so he seems to be slowing down a little bit. Finally. The kid is wearing 9-12 month clothes and has started rice cereal, so I was getting a little worried about how long this gorwth spurt was going to last.

Sleeping: about 9 hours at night, and not so great with the naps during the day. I am starting to see a little bit of a pattern though, so we'll work on it.

Personality: he's such a little dude :-) If I prop him up on my lap, he sings and coos and makes all sorts of cute noises and gives these huge grins. His eyes are a gorgeous shade of blue with the longest eyelashes I've ever seen--combine those with a drooly, bubble-blowing smile, and I'm a sucker for whatever he's selling.

Unexpected things worth mentioning: He LOVES the jumper/exersaucer/whatever you want to call it. I stick a pillow behind his head just to help keep his head straight, but the kid will sit in there kicking and dancing, and just as happy as can be. He is a strong little guy, and I can tell I'm going to be in trouble in another couple of months!!

You can be my wingman anytime.

2009-10-21T22:14:00.003-04:00

As Evan and I were driving home from school the other day, he was telling me about a new friend he made in the cafeteria. It seems a boy named Cyrus was making faces at a girl named Regan, and Regan kept putting her lunch box in front of her face so Cyrus wouldn't look at her. And Evan kept pushing her lunch box down so Cyrus could look at her.

It won't be long until they break out into song on the playground...sometimes it's good to be a mother of all boys!

Intergalactic

2009-10-09T20:38:00.002-04:00

Priorities

2009-10-09T20:29:00.002-04:00

The bedtime battles have returned. We are back to the nights of running up and down the steps every 10 minutes, bribing, threatening...one night I actually left the kids with nothing but the fitted sheet on their beds. No pillows, blankets, or stuffed animals. After some discussion, Evan and I identified two key rules, wrote them on a piece of paper, and hung them in their room:

Be quiet
Stay in bed

Every night, I remind Evan of the rules, usually by asking "what are the rules?" Tonight when I asked him, he started to go into a long rambling spiel about how it's hard to remember and maybe if I moved the nightlight closer to the sign he would remember them. I asked him who the quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles was and--without taking a breath--he rattled off all THREE quarterbacks (McNabb, Garcia, and Vick).

When you have knowledge like that, how can you possibly have room in your brain to remember how to go to sleep at night?

Maybe I'm not to blame

2009-10-04T21:44:00.000-04:00

A few days ago I told Evan he could keep a blanket in his kid-sized armchair if he took all the toys out of it. There's a pocket on the back of the chair that I'm sure is intended to hold a couple of books, but apparently it has the same quality as Mary Poppins' carpet bag because here's everything that came out of it:

Mr. Potato Head
$1 bill
McDonalds Happy Meal puppies Fluffy and Otis and Teddy
Puppy "Sarah"
Usborne addition thingamabopper
Usborne subtraction thingamajig
Potty book
Empty photo album
Jack & Annie book
card from Grandma
Picture from friend Sophie
Transformer
11 Hot Wheels cars
Frog noisemaker

I felt a little guilty after seeing all this, because as crazy neat and organized as I like to be, I also tend to be a little tiny bit of a packrat. It runs in the family though, so that's my excuse, and I figured poor Evan was just another victim of the gene.

And then I looked in Ethan's swim bag because I suspected that Evan's "lost" sunglasses might be in there. Despite the fact that we have not been to the pool in well over a month, here are the contents:

3 kids t-shirts (1 for Evan, 2 for Eric)
2 pairs of Ethan's goggles
2 pairs of Evan's goggles
2 pairs of kids sunglasses
1 pair of Ethan's glasses (no idea how he has been seeing for the past month)
1 pair of Ethan's sunglasses
1 pretzel stick
1 diving stick
1 badly smushed bag of goldfish (thankfully there were no bags of fruit!)

So I guess Ethan and I get to share the blame on this one :-)

Two months! Still a little late!

2009-09-29T17:55:00.004-04:00

Since the one month update was so much fun, why not do it again?

Emmett:

Weight: 16 pounds, 11 ounces. The pediatrician believes I am producing Haagen Dazs.

Sleeping: 8 hours at night pretty consistently (woo hoo!). Still not really getting into a daytime nap schedule, but seeing as how he sleeps 8 hours at night, and then goes back to sleep for 2-3 more hours? I don't really care!!

Personality: Not quite as squeaky and grunty, but still a noisy little dude. Loves to be held, but also enjoys hanging out in his swing/chair. He is also handing out the smiles like candy, except when I have the camera out. The he just looks at me with this crooked frown.

Unexpected things worth mentioning: He has amazing neck strength and head control...the doctor made a point to mention that because babies with big heads tend to not be very good at picking up their heads, and Emmett does it like a rock star. You go boy!

Jessica:

Weight: minus 35 pounds. But before you start calling me mean names, I do have the pouch and I'm going to need to do more than laundry to get rid of it. I liked it better after Evan was born when the pouch went away by itself...

Sleeping: Slightly less than what Emmett sleeps at night, which is my own fault. I really need to learn to go to sleep when he goes to sleep!!

Personality: Apparently I'm pretty calm and laid back. A friend called this morning to tell me her son has what they are 95% sure is the swine flu and she said the reason she wasn't totally freaked out about it is because I was so relaxed about the topic when we had lunch a few weeks ago. Silly, but that made me feel pretty good!

Unexpected things worth mentioning: I produce Haagan Dazs. No, I do not give out free samples.

My work here is done

2009-09-29T17:47:00.003-04:00

Evan has mastered the art of buying lunch at school, but like most activities in his life, he has to find a way to be anal about it. I can call him anal, because he's my kid, not to mention the fact that he probably gets this 'bad habit' from me. I don't think it's a bad habit, but I'm sure it drives his father nuts ;-)

He also rambles a lot, but that could just as easily be blamed on Ethan's genetics.

Anyway!

Evan came home the other day and told me he got a cookie with his lunch, which is an 'extra.' No big deal, I know he eats pretty well, so if he wants to get a cookie with lunch, have at it. He then tells me that, since he got a cookie, he did not get chocolate milk because "that would just be too much chocolate."

Thankfully, Ethan restrained himself from telling Evan there's no such thing as too much chocolate.

One month! (three days late)

2009-08-31T21:54:00.002-04:00

Emmett is a month old! I didn't miss the milestone, I just have not had a chance to blog since then :-) So, a month later, here's how things are going...

Emmett:

Weight: approximately 14 pounds (holy crap, what is this kid eating??)

Sleeping: 6 hours one blessed night. Average is a singe 4-hour stretch, and 2 hours the rest of the time. But we are making progress on a lengthy (2 hour) afternoon nap!

Personality: Wants to be held constantly, and loves to look at the ceiling (??). Still extremely squeaky and grunty, to the point that I occasionally call him Wilbur.

Unexpected things worth mentioning: He outgrew the newborn diapers when he was 6 days old. And then the size 1 diapers & 3 month outfits at 3 weeks. Moved out of the bassinet (due to excessive squeaking/grunting) at just under a month.

Jessica:

Weight: minus 27 pounds. And constantly hungry/thirsty.

Sleeping: Slightly less than what Emmett sleeps, and no more naps during the day. I'm just not a good daytime sleeper :-(

Personality: Delightful as always (just ask my husband)!! Except when Emmett goes on his three hour feeding frenzy from 8-11 PM...

Unexpected things worth mentioning: hmmm...nothing too exciting. I've gotten used to the 'routine' a little more than I expected and am making a slight dent in my random "to do" list...I am giving my closet a makeover, packed up a few bags of maternity/baby clothes to give away, nothing too exciting ;-)

It's not easy being green

2009-08-27T09:08:00.003-04:00

I have something to confess. Don't judge me.

We are not a very 'green' family. We don't recycle (at all) and do plenty of other wasteful things. I'm trying to get better about it though.

We have cut WAY down on our paper towel usage since switching to microfiber cloths. I think we used to go through a roll of paper towels in about two weeks...we're on our third roll since buying these things in February. That's a saving of ELEVEN rolls!! Now if only I could get my husband to quit using tissues and napkins to wipe up spills...

I got a recycling bin from our trash company. I'll give you a second to pick yourself up off the floor, for those of you that have come over and put your empties on the counter next to our trash can, only to have me come behind you and throw it into the trash can. Yes folks, I am going to attempt to remember to fill that bin and put it out by the curb once a week and do a little good!!

I have started taking batteries and dead electronics to Best Buy for recycling. The guy at the front door gave me a hard time about it, but the nice customer service lady took my dead hair dryer and worn out electric razor and promised they would in fact be recycled, so at least I know I tried.

I'd like to make the switch to cloth napkins as well, but am having trouble finding napkins that 1) are not the size of a kid's blanket and 2) do not cost a small fortune. Fabkins are really cute, but $20 for a set of 4? It ALMOST inspires me to make them myself! Almost.

So why write a boring blog post on how un-green I am? Because now, when I look at my blog, maybe I will remember to be a little more green. And take the recycling out on Sunday night because the truck comes at like 5 AM on Monday :-)

Twenty things I am tired of saying at the dinner table

2009-08-24T17:34:00.003-04:00

To be honest, I didn't have 'twenty' as part of the title when I started this post, but when I realized I could actually come up with 20 things we say at the dinner table on a regular basis, I had to add it. So here it is:

Sit up
Put your cup where it belongs
Use your napkin
Use your fork/spoon
Do not wipe your hands on your shirt
Do not wipe your face on your shirt
Get your hands off of your feet
Get your legs out of your shirt
Stop kicking the table
Head above the table
Fingers out of your mouth
Elbows off the table
Pay attention to what you're doing
Take smaller bites
Stop picking at the bread and take a bite
Chew with your lips closed
Don't talk with food in your mouth
Put your arms down
No
Eat!

I'm wondering if I can turn this into some kind of game to get the kids to break some of these habits? Do other people have these issues? Honestly, we're thinking of leaving them at 'Parents Night Out' at daycare this weekend to be able to eat a meal with OUT saying any of these things!

Summer days driftin' away...

2009-08-18T15:19:00.002-04:00

For the first time in a long time, I realized summer is coming to an end. I guess it's because, since college, there really hasn't been any milestone that separates summer 'vacation' from the rest of the year. Even last year, when we moved Evan to a new school, it just kind of floated along (or I blocked out the trauma of taking my oldest to his first day of kindergarten).

This summer was pretty easy, as far as they go. Evan and Eric were co-located, so we didn't have to drop-off and pick-up multiple kids in multiple places. Evan's camp offered swim lessons, so no running around in the evenings/weekends. We didn't really take any vacations, because who wants to spend more time than they have to cooped up in a car with a pregnant lady who constantly needs to go to the bathroom?? So it was a lazy summer, spent by the local pool and in the backyard playing 'ghost ball' (variation of baseball that only requires 2 people).

But the school year is creeping closer...3 weeks from today, in fact. Evan will be a first grader at a new school, both kids will start Sunday school at our church (although Evan goes on Saturdays--how weird is that?), soccer starts, and we're going to attempt to keep the swim lessons going as well, although it will only be once a week during soccer season. Luckily, I don't go back to work quite yet, and when I do it will only be a part-time gig until January.

So enjoy these last few weeks of summer until the chaos begins!

The day (before) you were born

2009-08-17T11:02:00.002-04:00

Evan & Eric,

Not to leave you guys out, but you were both born on the day you were 'supposed' to be. Probably the only time Eric has done something on someone else's schedule ;-). I went to the hospital the night before, the next morning my water was broken, drugs/epidural were given...yada yada yada...you were born. So simple, no additional stress, no frantic phone calls. Bags were packed, cameras/phones were charged, cars were where they were supposed to be. It was nice.

Love, Mom

Emmett,

You were determined to do things a little different, and you succeeded. After the doctor's office messed up your original induce date, you decided the newly scheduled date wasn't going to work for you either. July 29th was NOT going to be your birthday, dammit! I went to the doctor the morning of the 27th for the usual weigh-in and belly measurement, and over the 2 hours spent listening to women talk about their high-risk pregnancies, 44-hour labors, epidurals not working properly, hospitals not having private rooms, I'm guessing you decided "enough of this crap, I'm getting out of here!" and so labor began. The nurse in the doctor's office said it was the first time she saw someone start labor in the office, which I find pretty impressive. So away we went to the hospital, where I did NOT tell your dad that the contractions were still coming, because there's a chance he would have run that last red light and your delivery would have been a six o'clock news story.

Once we got to the hospital and the superstar anasthesiologist made all my pain stop? You decided to take a rest as well, and make us think today was NOT going to be the day you were going to be born. So then the doctor came, water was broken, drugs were given, he said it would be a done deal by 9 PM. And 9 PM came and went (if they had done a sonogram, I bet it would have shown a particular finger pointed in the air). At 11 PM, your dad actually went home to get some clean clothes and the cell phone chargers--again, since you decided to do this on your own schedule, we were not as well-prepared as we could have been. Bags were packed, but sitting at home...and my car with all the carseats was conveniently located at the doctor's office.

Finally, a few minutes into July 28th, you decided you were ready. You're certainly handsome enough to be a Monday's Child, but we'll have to wait a little bit to find out why you insisted on being born on a Tuesday instead. The nurse had us do a 'practice push' while the doctor was getting ready, and then yelled at me to stop pushing because apparently you were REALLY ready to come out. Yada yada yada, push push push, and out you came. All EIGHT POUNDS AND FOURTEEN OUNCES of you. Seriously kid, I have my work cut out for me, don't I?

Good thing you're cute.

Love, Mom

Fun with animoto-mation

2009-07-26T09:39:00.000-04:00

Another reason my hubby and I are a perfect match...

2009-07-23T13:59:00.003-04:00

Conversation after dinner last night...

E: What did you do today?

J: I didn't do anything you told me not to!

E: For the love of...what did you do?!?!?

After a few minutes of running around the house and finding I had re-arranged the closets in the basement...

E: Woman, are you crazy? Why did you re-arrange closets/move a 30 lb case of poker chips/do things a 9 month pregnant woman should not be doing?

J: Why do we have an ice luge kit hiding above the washer and dryer?

E: Sunova!

Five minutes later...

E: So, do you want to set it up?

Let the festivities begin!

2009-06-08T20:52:00.004-04:00

Evan graduates from kindergarten this week...factor in some pregnancy hormones and I'm thinking my husband is not going to want to stand anywhere near me during their little ceremony.

The past couple of weeks have been a chaotic mess of spirit days, field day, field trips, and all of the above events being re-arranged because of the weather. And we still need to get through the picnic and graduation.

Today was the spring musical. I was unable to attend, but my hubby did his thing and spent most of the morning at school, and hand-delivered the video camera minutes after it was all over, making him the BEST HUSBAND EVER (until I came home and saw what he did to the laundry, but that's a story for another day). And if you remember the Christmas show, Evan continued his role as the star performer (and I'm really not even exaggerating, see for yourself):

Enjoy!

How do they do that?

2009-05-31T21:20:00.002-04:00

I swear my kids can have a growth spurt overnight, or even while they spend the day away from me. Eric was looking much taller the other day when I picked him up, and his shorts seemed a lot looser (more loose?), so I swear he grew a couple of inches at daycare.

Today we went shoe shopping (I should pick a brand of shoes and buy stock in it the way Evan & Eric wear through sneakers), and I was having trouble finding a pair to fit Eric. His last pair was a 6.5, so I thought a 7-7.5 would be the next logical shoe size. I finally took him to the measuring thingy and his big toe was almost touching the 9. We ended up with an 8.5, but seriously--I bought him last pair of shoes three months ago!! Two sizes in three months!! Craziness!!

And yes, I prefer to think my child has feet that magically grew 2 sizes over the past week instead of obsessing about how long he has been running around in too small shoes and maybe that's why he's been such a grump. Also because he has eaten more food in the past 48 hours than the entire week before that ;-)

Proof that my kid can read

2009-05-27T19:13:00.002-04:00

Evan is a reading machine...it's great and mind-numbing all at the same time. Great, because he can read signs and stories and even enjoys reading to his little brother. Mind-numbing because he reads the same things OVER and OVER. Like the sign on the door to his school that say "Olivia V., principal of the day, has declared June 1st to be Crazy Hair Day." Or the "Going out of business. 60% off" sign on the furniture store we pass every morning. I could go on, but I won't.

And if you're thinking "sure he can read, he's probably 'reading' the same picture books he's been looking at for 5 years now and just recognizing letters on the signs" then ha!

Last night Evan came up to me and simply said "best sex ever" before heading to the bathroom to take a bath. Somewhat horrified, I then realized this was printed on the cover of the Cosmopolitan magazine I happened to be reading.

I canceled my subscription a few months ago, but stuck the unread issues on a shelf in my closet, just to be safe.

Pregnancy humor (which may only be funny to me)

2009-05-24T21:54:00.003-04:00

I feel like I could be my own series of 'Yo Mama' jokes with a pregnancy twist...how pregnant am I? I'm so pregnant...

I worry about mowing down a 3yo when I pick up Eric from daycare because I can't see the kids under my stomach

If I need to make a u-turn with a shopping cart in the store, I have to go all the way to the end of the aisle to turn around

Random strangers offer to load my groceries into my car, even though the heaviest thing I buy is a 12-pack of soda. I'm pretty sure they're going to start thinking I have a pillow stuffed under my clothes, since I'll be this way for another couple of months

I can no longer wear pants...unless they're overalls. Yes, I wear overalls. And dresses. But only because I'm pregnant.

By the time I finish washing my hands after using the bathroom, I could go again (and sometimes do)

I get excited when Evan is on the playground at pickup time, because then I don't have to put my shoes back on

Pregnancy events to look forward to...taking the elevator to my 2nd floor office and breaking out the laptop bag on wheels!!

Oh Happy Day

2009-05-10T20:28:00.003-04:00

I'm not even going into my lack of blogging. It is what it is.

I had a wonderful Mother's Day today though. Evan and I went to the Orioles/Yankees game in Baltimore and had an absolute blast. Ethan and Eric stayed home, because the little man just would not have had the patience to spend all day watching a baseball game, but he'll get there. So while I'm a little bummed I didn't get to spend Mother's Day with all of my boys, I'll get over it as I remember the awesomeness that was the baseball game.

This? Is the view of first base from our seats. FROM OUR SEATS PEOPLE!!! I didn't even have to stand up to take this picture, and it was from my little point-and-shoot camera that does NOT have a super-duper zoom lens on it.

Evan's favorite, #21, Nick Markakis
Did I mention we took these pictures
FROM OUR SEATS?!?!

An autograph from Dave Trembley...
we didn't even have to leave our seats

Evan and The Bird
(Momma Bird was also there, which was kind of funny)

Seriously, it was an awesome day, and I realize the non-baseball/Orioles fans will not appreciate it half as much as I did, but that's okay. We saw foul balls whiz past us, heard the clap of the ball when it hit the first baseman's glove, saw all the action that takes place in a run-down (too bad we got out because of it), and experienced baseball up close and personal. Hopefully I can live with going back to the 'cheap seats' after a day like today :-)

And, not to be left out, my goofball at home :-)

2 steps forward, 2 steps back

2009-04-23T20:49:00.002-04:00

Why must parenting be so hard??

Eric made some excellent strides in potty training today. No accidents, and he actually went to the bathroom as opposed to just holding it in all day and then going when he finally gets a diaper on at nap/bedtime. AND he went on the potty at home which is a flipping miracle. Life is good, right?

Sadly, we are going to have to go back to having the boys in separate rooms for a while. Despite the '21 days to form a habit' theory, no good habit is being formed and it's been waaaay more than 21 days. The only way to get Evan and Eric to go to sleep in the same room at a decent hour without injury is for Ethan or I to sit in the room until they both fall asleep. And we have better ways to spend ~10 hours a week. So unless someone has a brilliant plan, Eric will go back to the 'baby' room tomorrow night, which is sad and pitiful because we already put the toddler bed away and essentially he'll be sleeping on a tiny little crib mattress while there's a nice big-boy bed in the next room over. But the boys need their sleep and us parents need our sanity.

And can I express my disappointment in the internet and its lack of help in the room-sharing crisis? I know Eric is the 'spirited' child, but I can't be the first person to put a feisty 3 yo in a bedroom with his 5 yo brother, can I? But if you google things like "sharing room" all you get is people putting an infant and a toddler together, or people wondering if it's wrong to have a boy and a girl share a room. Internet, how can you let me down in my time of crisis??

I have NO idea where he learned this one...

2009-04-22T19:50:00.002-04:00

I was taking Evan to school this morning, which requires a u-turn on a relatively busy road. We had to wait a few minutes for the cars to break and let us through, which is always a pain because clearly it would kill people to wait the 8 seconds it takes for me to make a u-turn when the only thing they accomplish by NOT letting me go is to get to a red light faster, but I digress. Where was I? So the cars finally stopped, but only because there was no road left between the intersection and the red light, and we made our turn. As we go past, Evan says:

"THANK you cars for NOT stopping to let us go through." And then tells me "Mom, I'm not really thanking them, because they weren't being very nice to us. Like last night, when a car was beep-beep-beeping and I said 'THANK you car for making that NICE beeping noise.'"

I have no idea where he could have learned sarcasm at the ripe old age of 5 1/2. Because, CLEARLY I would never make comments like that ;-)

All I wanted was some nasal spray...

2009-04-14T15:46:00.002-04:00

After yet another night of not sleeping too well because of the clogged sewage system that is my sinuses, I called the doctor. I just wanted to know if there was something I could spray into my nose that will let me breathe so I can sleep. Really, that's all. Just something a little stronger than saltwater to help me breathe.

The nurse yelled at me to get my tail home and into bed and drink fluids until I could handle no more. Ok, maybe she didn't really yell and she did ask some questions first, but after hearing the answers (fever, kids were sick, I was at work), she very sternly told me to go home and asked where to send the doctor's note.

So I'm home, at least through tomorrow, when I will go to the doctor and let them confirm that my head is congested and maybe they should let me take something to clear it out. And I figured I better not do anything more strenuous than watch TV and play on the computer until then because the mean nurse might have some sort of spy cam on me to make sure I'm following her orders.

And I'm not really all that impressed by the movie 'Juno'

Ketchup...again

2009-04-13T08:58:00.002-04:00

I'm so far behind, I'm not sure I can get away with just catching up, but you gotta start somewhere.

Our house survived a near disaster about a month ago when a pipe burst in our neighbor's basement and flooded into our basement. It was right before St. Patty's Day, so I figure we must have found a leprechaun somewhere and the fact that we have a hole in a storage closet, a beautifully cleaned carpet, and didn't pay a dime out of pocket must have been the pot of gold reward.

Baby #3 is healthy and well, and also a boy. Evan spent the next couple of days asking if maybe it will turn into a baby sister, but it's amazing how a couple of McDonalds happy meals can make him think that another little brother isn't such a bad thing.

Eric turned 3 a few weeks ago. I'm a horribly bad mother and have no pictures to mark the day, but technically his birthday party isn't until this weekend, so I'll make up for it then. We had high hopes that turning three would magically rid him of the terrible two's, but I think I would have had better luck wishing for Santa Clause to slide down our chimney with a sleigh full of presents. But he has been sick for most of his 3yo life (more on that later), so we're trying to cut him some slack.

We took a brief vacation to Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg, which was a blast for kids and grown-ups alike. Eric went down the little water slide at least a hundred times, and based on the grin on his face and the light in his eyes, every time was like the first time. Evan was tall enough to enjoy most of the rides in the waterpark (with dad's help), and there were plenty of 'dry' activites to keep everyone happy. I'm not sure if Ethan's favorite part was the fact that you could drink beer while in the waterpark or the Starbucks/ice cream shop located in the hotel. It was a great trip.

And now I'm sick. Eric got sick right before we left Great Wolf, but seeing as how he could get sick in a bubble, I can't really blame it on the waterpark. Add spring allergies into the mix and most of the house is pretty miserable. So today I am relegated to my bed with crappy daytime TV and the hope that sleep and Tylenol will make all my troubles go away.

And the 'Best Actor' award goes to...

2009-03-10T20:53:00.002-04:00

Evan Sanderson!

For his dramatic performance in "I Have a Splinter in My Hand"!

Evan was outside yesterday afternoon while I was cooking dinner, playing tennis. And by playing tennis, I mean he was hitting every ball he could find over the fence and then complaining because I would not let him go get them. At some point, he started hitting the balls onto the deck, so he'd come up the stairs to get them and then head back down, sliding his hand along the wooden railing, which is where the splinter enters the picture.

There are no tears or panic until I tell him I need tweezers to dig the half-inch piece of wood out of his hand.

"Not the tweezers, they won't work!"

"OWWWW!!"

"Maybe you should try pulling on the other side of the splinter"

(my personal favorite) "Do you think I'll still be able to hold the racket in my left hand?"

And after he held still and stopped talking long enough for me to get the splinter out, the pain and tears started. But only after I asked him to finish setting the table. And he was magically cured with an ice pack and the promise that he could still go swimming last night.

Parenting Solutions

2009-03-01T19:42:00.002-05:00

I took a class not to long ago and they said it takes 21 days to establish a habit. Clearly this rule does not apply to children under the age of 6 (maybe older, but I have no proof of that). Every day before nap/bed time, I remind Evan and Eric to STAY IN BED and BE QUIET and GO TO SLEEP. Seems easy enough, right? They always agree with me and sometimes even say the words before I do. I'm pretty sure they understand.

Yet, no sooner do I put my foot on the first step to go downstairs, I hear a squeal or the thump of someone's feet (I hope) hitting the floor. So four seconds after leaving the room, all 3 'rules' have been broken. Then Ethan and I have to trade off going in and reminding them that they are supposed to be in bed, quiet, and sleeping. It's not fun. There must be a better way.

Here are my ideas so far--any takers?

Some sort of watch/anklet that reminds them to "be quiet!" as soon as they start talking/squealing.
An invisible fence that reminds them to "get back in bed!" as soon as they try to climb down.
One of those posters/paintings of me with my 'evil Jessica' face (as Ethan calls it) that looks like it's always watching you.

And I realize #1 and #2 sound dangerously similar to what you would do to a dog, but nowhere in there did I suggest an electric shock. I'm just saying, in case you were thinking it ;-)

Some assembly required

2009-02-28T20:14:00.003-05:00

Ethan and I are no good when it comes to completing household projects as a couple. I think he will disagree with this, in which case I hope he comments his rationale for disagreeing so the readers can enjoy. When it comes to things like, oh say, assembling furniture or hanging pictures/blinds, it's generally not a pleasant experience. I believe it has something to do with the fact that one of us in a control freak and one of us is stubborn. And one of us is Ethan ;-)

We purchased the boys new 'captain' beds which have huge drawers underneath to help offset the fact we are cramming 2 people's things into what used to be 1 person's room. I'll spare you the lengthy details of every argument discussion that took place, but essentially there were problems because I:

Read directions
Do not buy the most expensive item that can be bought
That about covers it

In the end, the beds are assembled, Ethan is still speaking to me, and the boys are very excited about the new furniture and quilts. So I'd say a few arguments discussions are worth it ;-)

Maybe it would be okay.

2009-02-25T19:57:00.002-05:00

In case you're some random stranger who has stumbled upon this blog, or lurks behind the scenes and knows nothing about me unless I post it, here's an update. I'm pregnant. Almost 4 months along now. Now the rest of this will make sense.

To be quite honest, the thought of having a girl freaks me out a little bit. Not in a way that will impact me in the slightest bit once she snuggles in my arms for the first time, but in theory? Freaks me out. I have 2 boys (3 if you count the hubster). I know what to do with boys, as much as you can know what to do with them. And, best of all, there are always things that I can say "you really need to go ask Daddy about that." With a girl, I don't think there are a lot of topics that Dad is going to have the infinite wisdom about. Besides, I am a girl (news flash!!), and I know what it's like to live with me and deal with my moods and episodes and good grief could I really live with another one of me? I spent many years living with my mother, who is probably as close to being me as a person will ever get and while my mother is a lovely woman who I will always love...it's probably a good thing that there are over 600 miles between us on an average day.

And what if I have a princess?? Or a screecher? Oh good grief, I need to get away from all the 'what ifs'

I had a revelation the other night that maybe a girl wouldn't be so bad. That there are the up sides to having a girl. Besides the kind of cute clothes (with minimal if any pink/lacy ruffles) and hair that doesn't need to be shorn like a sheep every couple of weeks. Are you ready?

The gas.

Evan and Eric are making great strides on sharing a room and oh dear God the smell in that room when I check on them at night is enough to bring back my morning sickness. Seriously, what are these kids eating??

And yes, I realize girls have gas and it doesn't smell like roses, but keep that to yourself and give me optimistic moment that I could survive having a girl and there might even be some perks ;-)

Classic

2009-02-22T11:02:00.002-05:00

Eric and I went to a birthday party for one of his classmates yesterday. It was a better time than expected...I've become leery about parties at people's houses. But they had cleared out a room for the kids to play in, had a pirate/princess show that was a big hit, and pizza was on time with plenty for parents to enjoy. All in all, it was a successful party.

The birthday boy had a cold. As in, big ugly green goo hanging out of his nose that his parents did not seem to notice. Or maybe I'm the only one who noticed it because I am anal-retentive about things like that with my kids and cannot stand to see stuff hanging out of their nose even if they are sleeping peacefully. Some of you are rolling your eyes thinking "get over it woman" and others are saying "Amen, sister...I don't want to see that stuff either." Whatever, it bothers me. After pizza, his dad finally decided to clean his face and thankfully he looked normal again.

We move back to the table to sing happy birthday to the birthday BOY as a cake is brought out with PINK icing. But that's not the weird part. As we finish singing and wait for the kid to blow out the candles, he holds out his finger and cheerily announces "I have a big booger!"

I hope they submit that video and win some money. And buy the kid a lifetime supply of Kleenex and anti-bacterial hand wash.

The Power of Chocolate

2009-02-17T19:55:00.003-05:00

I've learned a valuable lesson in parenting today...the power of chocolate.

The boys have been sharing a room since Friday night, and it's going 'okay' at best. And by okay, I mean they have been falling asleep (at least) 2 hours later than normal and waking up at the same time every morning. They're exhausted. Ethan and I are exhausted from repeatedly going in the room to tell them to stop talking/playing.

At dinner tonight, I told Evan I was going to come into the room at 9:00 tonight and, if he was asleep, I would let him have a piece of chocolate at breakfast tomorrow. I'm desperate. Last night it took until 10 PM for them both to fall asleep and I was so exhausted that I fell asleep about 3 minutes after that.

It's not even 8 PM and Evan is already asleep. Eric is still awake, but in bed and quiet and--most important--not disturbing his sleeping brother.

Thank you chocolate. Thank you.

Update: As of 8:30 PM, BOTH kids are asleep. And then Evan fell out of bed, got a knot the size of a golf ball on the back of his head, had a night terror, but is sleeping again. Oy.

I'm Confused.

2009-02-11T09:43:00.000-05:00

I know, not the biggest news flash, but seriously. Here is a situation where I am trying to do the right thing and be a good customer, and, well...that's where I get confused.

After much persuasion, Ethan agreed we could replace the annual 'adventure' of picking out a fresh Christmas tree, stringing it with lights, cussing at the tree stand that doesn't fit right, worrying about kids eating needles, and all that other drama with an artificial tree. So after Christmas, we ordered one from a reputable merchant who shall currently remain nameless. Tree shows up in 2 heavy heavy heavy boxes, we assemble it and find two problems:

1. It's too tall
2. It's ugly as hell

Ethan returns the tree to the local store and refund is processed, no problem. All is happy in the world, right? Wrong.

About a week later, a heavy heavy heavy box shows up on our doorstep, looking suspiciously like one of the boxes the first tree arrived in, from the same reputable merchant. We have yet to open the box (or receive a second box), but I'd lay some good money down that it's half a Christmas tree sitting in our dining room and the store just messed up the shipping label when they tried to send it back to the warehouse.

I finally get around to calling the store today, to find out what I should do with this box. Ideally, I'd like them to give me a label so we can send it back to them without having to haul it halfway across town, but if we need to take it to the store, then so be it.

The lady told me to give it to Goodwill or throw it away or just do whatever I want with it. That she was very sorry for the inconvenience, but since I had my refund, that was the most important thing. And she made it sound like sending me a shipping label would be way too inconvenient FOR THEM. Because clearly, having half of a tree sitting in their warehouse is doing them a lot of good. And I'm sure Goodwill would love for me to drop a 100 lb box on their doorstep with half a tree in it.

Strange world that we live in...guess the economy and environment are doing a little better in some people's eyes!

Find wall. Bang head into it.

2009-02-07T13:29:00.002-05:00

We are trying to make the move away from using paper towels and towards microfiber cloths. Hubby bought into the idea, we bought a set of cloths in different colors (so you have a pretty good idea that they're getting changed on a regular basis), and I moved the paper towels under the sink so they are out of sight/mind, but still there if absolutely necessary.

The second day of our conversion, my husband spills some egg on the counter. He gets a wet paper towel to wipe up the egg, and then a second paper towel to DRY THE COUNTER. Sigh. After an exchange on salmonella vs. throwing the cloth into the laundry pile, we move on. Things seem to be going well, the paper towel roll seems to be as full as it was a week ago, microfiber towels are being used to clean things up and disposed into the laundry basket at the end of the day.

This morning I turn around to see my husband wiping something off the table with a tissue, and then throwing it in the trash.

Sigh.

There are still some kind people in the world

2009-02-07T13:24:00.002-05:00

We're in the progress of upgrading the electronics in our basement/rec room. Amazon.com has proven to have the best deals, but unfortunately that means everything has to be delivered and the deliveries require signatures and the delivery guys come for those signatures when we're at work. Boo. We came home Thursday night to a notice on the door that one of our items would be redelivered, or we could pick it up at the shipping center late at night in some scary industrial park miles and miles from our house. Boo.

After dinner, the delivery guy returned to our house with our beautiful new speaker system. Because he was "in the neighborhood and thought you guys might be home by now."

It's good to know there are still some kind people in the world, even if it's only our FedEx delivery guy :-)

Baby steps may not take you far, but they take you somewhere!

2009-02-02T19:59:00.004-05:00

Last week I took a class based on the book 'The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.' It was a good class, and almost a week after completing it I have not opened the book to start my commitment of learning these 7 habits. Isn't it always the way? But there was a good portion of the class about time management which I'm sure Ethan would say if I became any more time managed I would start scheduling my own bathroom breaks. Truth is, I'm great at figuring out what needs to be done and not that great at getting it done in a timely manner. Take the steam cleaner that is still sitting in our basement, unused for almost 3 years...really, take it. I've been meaning to get rid of it for about 2 years, and have even put it in a place where I will literally trip over it on a daily basis, but it eventually found it's way back into a closet in the basement.

Too bad they don't have a class on how not to ramble aimlessly.

So, part of the class was telling you make a weekly plan and a daily plan. And today I made a daily plan. It was short, and relatively simple tasks, but I almost finished it!! Yay!! I will probably not go out into the cold rain to deposit some checks at the bank, but they are all ready for deposit tomorrow, so I can either stop on the way to work or take a break at lunch.

Maybe tomorrow's list should be to schedule a Purple Heart pickup so I can get rid of the damn steam cleaner :-)

Lost & Found

2009-01-27T20:20:00.003-05:00

Lost

Blue-eyed blonde with angelic smile and cheeks that you just want to eat. Loves to do things himself and give long-lasting hugs and snuggles. Master at doing puzzles and singing 'Happy Birthday' to anyone within earshot.

Found

Red-faced little devil with what seem to be permanent tear streaks down his unhappy face and a curled up lip. Refuses to wear pajamas (and a diaper) at bedtime and does not like blankets/pillowcases on his bed. Breaks through closet locks and scales furniture when he should be sleeping.

Please let me know if you have what I lost and want what I found!!

The Man Plan - Dismantled

2009-01-15T13:48:00.003-05:00

I swear I had nothing to do with this. At no point during my summary of 'The Man Plan' did I suggest my husband should NOT take Evan skiing with his co-workers. I was simply laying out all of the likely scenarios so if he came home and whined about being tired or Evan whining or having to miss a key play in the Eagles game, I could shut down the whining with a simple point to the blog. I was not objecting to having almost 2 days to myself with Eric who, when in the situation of an 'only child' is quite delightful to have around.

Hubby and Evan decided not to go skiing. Ethan blamed it on me to avoid commentary from his co-workers. I hope they read this blog ;-)

Co-workers decided not to go after finding out the cost of this simple overnight adventure was going to be a tiny bit more than they expected. Apparently the ski lesson for the kids did not include the lift ticket, which seems a little unfair, but oh well. Probably hasn't been the greatest ski season so far, and everyone needs to make a living.

So we'll ALL be home this weekend. Guess I better get going on the laundry to make sure all the Eagles gear is clean ;-)

The Man Plan

2009-01-13T09:10:00.002-05:00

My husband and 2 of his co-workers have decided it would be fun to take all the kids skiing...guys and kids only. Three men and four children, ages 5-7 (I think). Three of the children are girls.

They want to take them to a ski resort four hours away, so the brilliant plan was to leave the night before, spend the night, throw the kids in a half-day lesson while the men get some time on the slopes, pile everyone back in the car, and come home. One of the guys has an SUV big enough to hold everyone + gear, so seems simple enough, right?

Heh.

They decided this weekend would be the good weekend to go...leave Sunday and come back Monday. The day before Inauguration Day, when 4 million other people are going to be swooping down on the DC metro area.

Also? Since football playoffs are on Sunday, they have also decided it would make the most sense to leave earlier on Sunday, get everyone settled in before football, and essentially lock the kids in one room with movies while the guys watch football in the other room.

Here's my summary:

"So you're going to drive 4 hours with 4 kids to cram 7 of you into a 2 bedroom house, and then expect those kids to behave somewhat reasonably while you guys watch football all afternoon on a television that probably does NOT have Tivo. And while you guys stay up until midnight, you're going to want the kids to go to bed at a reasonable hour so they will not be tired and cranky when you dump them off on the ski slopes with a total stranger for 4 hours the next morning while you attempt to snowboard for the first time in at least 8 years. Then you're going to have to instantly provide food (and I mean INSTANTLY) for these starving tired children before shoving them all back into the car and driving another 4 hours back home, assuming you don't get stuck in traffic as you get closer to our house."

Apparently the other wives are just happy to be getting rid of their husbands and some kids for 2 days, and have not brought up any of these points. Maybe I should just do the same?

What amuses me more is that we are thinking of taking the kids to Great Wolf Lodge for a couple of days over (Evan's) spring break and Ethan looked at me as though I was a crazy woman when I suggested we rent one of the rooms that just has a separate sleeping area for the kids as opposed to one of the 2 bedroom suites.

We don't need no stinkin' beds!

2009-01-12T21:55:00.004-05:00

Apparently Eric has decided he no longer likes his race car bed...the other day I had to wait for him to wake up from his nap because he was sleeping in front of his door.

Tonight, I just went to check on him and was unable to open the door because '**something** was blocking it. After gently shoving it open and squeezing myself through the opening, here's what I found:

I'm wondering if I should just give up on the bed or if he's trying to tell me he's ready for a 'real' bed?

If I blog it, it will come

2009-01-12T19:58:00.002-05:00

I keep thinking of things to blog, but then when I get to a blog-friendly computer, my mind goes blank. So maybe if I post something and hit 'publish', I will suddenly remember what I wanted to blog and it won't be the middle of the night.

Otherwise, the best I have is that Evan and I went to the dentist today and I had no cavities, but he had one. Apparently 'craisins' have the same evil quality as fruit snacks. Oops. And my five year old boy? Already has his six-year-old molars. And another loose tooth.

Eric...the good, the bad, and the ugly

2009-01-06T20:34:00.003-05:00

Eric is quite a kid...I'm not sure if there's a single word that can capture his personality, probably because over the course of a day it seems like he has more than one personality. This past week or so has been particularly rough, and I blame the irregular routine of daycare being closed, staying up late, and spending more time than usual lounging in pajamas and watching Disney channel on TV. We went through consecutive nights of being sent to bed without stories because of hitting (he was doing the hitting, just to be clear), followed by more nights of him refusing to keep his pajamas and diaper on. I think Ethan was a little worried about taking Evan swimming last night, because many of the previous nights I have not been able to handle Eric by myself and had to send him in for a couple of rounds.

But, strangely enough, when it was just the two of us, my blue-eyed angel re-appeared and all was well in the world. We read stories, I only had to put his pajamas on him one time--I did have to put him back in bed several times, but there was no fighting. The storm has passed!

Tonight, I picked Eric up and he was getting a diaper change, which led to a conversation about if he wanted to go to preschool, he was going to have to start using the potty. He spent the entire car ride home saying "I go to pee-school and go on the potty" which I thought was pretty funny. I'll have to tell his teachers the new requirement is that he needs to wear big boy underwear before he can go to 'pee-school.'

Manipulation

2009-01-01T20:28:00.002-05:00

My children are beyond exhausted from staying up way way way to late last night, and are resisting going to sleep tonight. On the umpteenth trip into Evan's room, I told him his dad and I were planning to take him to breakfast tomorrow morning as a special treat, but if he didn't go to sleep we weren't going to go (Eric has daycare, so just the three of us).

Evan told me he forgot to give me something. The 'something' was a giant hug, with both arms wrapped tightly around my neck while he whispered "I love you Mommy" in my ear.

He owns me.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-26T08:52:00.005-05:00

In case you missed it, yesterday was Christmas. A very merry one in our house. Evan came into our room at 5:20 AM to report that Santa had come and left presents, but went back into his room for a while (with a couple more trips downstairs to snag some toys) until Eric woke up a little before 7. And he was not kidding, Santa had left us some LOOT!

The 'before' shot

Books and toys galore for both kids (we need to do some purging this weekend to make room for it all), gadgets and gizmos for Ethan, camera accessories for me.

Eric posing for my new lens next to my new camera bag

Evan and Eric enjoying their new 'pinano'

Evan showing off some books

...and let's not forget the ginormous dinosaur (over 2 feet tall, and a little intimidating!)

And what does our house look like after opening dozens of presents and being overtaken by a piano keyboard, giant dinosaur, performing Elmo, multiple electronic puppies (even one that fetches), towers of blocks, and a dump truck?

A mess :-)

Evan's Christmas Show

2008-12-17T18:00:00.003-05:00

Evan's class got to sing at the local mall today. Aside from the kid who kept getting between my video and Evan (seriously, every time I moved, so did the kid), it was pretty darn cute. The video is about 8 minutes long, but the first song is my absolute favorite and definitely worth watching. The other 6 minutes are for the grandparents ;-)

Our very own Higglytown Hero

2008-12-09T20:28:00.002-05:00

We were sitting at dinner tonight (at a restaurant) when I noticed a gap in Evan's mouth where a loose tooth used to be. Looking closer, he had in fact lost his tooth, but had no idea when/where it happened. And then came the tears...after taking him outside and calming him down, he was just upset because he thought the Tooth Fairy wouldn't come unless he had the tooth. Poor kid! I explained these things happen and we would write a note to the Tooth Fairy and everything would be okay when--voila!!--Ethan came out with the tooth wrapped in a napkin. Apparently he found it in--eww--the cheeseburger Evan had been eating.

Hooray for another milestone in life!!

Vacation

2008-12-08T19:06:00.002-05:00

Each week, Evan has a 'job' to do at school. Line leader, door holder, table cleaner, etc. I asked him what his job is this week.

"I don't have a job, I'm on vacation."

Ah, to be young!

Silence

2008-12-07T16:38:00.002-05:00

Unfortunately, I'm the only one being silent, and that's because I caught a cold and lost my voice. Well, not completely, but when I talk I'm sure people prefer I just keep my mouth shut because it's not a pleasant and it takes me a great deal of effort and pain to speak at a volume that people can hear. So, if I were in a room by myself, it would be quiet.

We have had an awesome weekend in our house, the cold/voice thing aside. Saturday morning the kids went on a playdate so Ethan and I had a morning to ourselves. As nice as that sounds, we spent most of it doing things around the house--fixing the gate, putting up Christmas lights, cooking food. Last night we had a nice gathering of friends at our place to celebrate the holidays a little early. It was fun...lots of kids, plenty of food and drink, and good occasion to visit with old and new friends. Everyone in our house went to bed way too late, but still didn't sleep any later in the morning :-( But the show must go one and we had an invitation to go watch football and one of the kids' friends' houses, so away we went.

I need to call out how impressed I am with my children AND my husband for their behavior today. It was awesome. My husband, who is used to controlling the remote and snuggling with his laptop to keep up to date on his fantasy football even looked like he was enjoying himself watching only the Eagles game. And I'm sure there is some sort of dark ugly storm coming as payback for how good Evan and Eric were all weekend :-)

And now both kids are engrossed in Sesame Street, so I'm going to really enjoy some silence :-)

Thanksgiving Thanks

2008-11-27T20:41:00.002-05:00

I know, I know, we're all thankful today. But I am especially thankfully to:

My co-worker, for the use of her 'roaster oven.' I think I may need to buy one of these things, because it seriously kicked ass today. Plugged it in, dumped the brined turkey in (also her suggestion) with a couple inches of brine juice and away it went. And no one seemed to notice **spoiler alert** that the turkey finished cooking an hour earlier than expected and I just turned off the roaster, covered the turkey with a piece of foil, and let it sit.
Butterball.com, for all their wonderful insightful tips. Like covering the turkey with foil if it has cooked too fast. Although they were the ones that told me my 15 lb turkey would take 3-3 1/2 hours to cook and it only took a little over 2 hours.
My mom, for a fantastic stuffing recipe. I have no idea how your heart is still pumpin blood effectively after this many years of eating something with that much butter in it, but it was good. Next year I will cut the cubes of my homemade bread smaller. Or just use all store-bought bread. Or stuff the turkey with the stuffing--like you told me to ;-)
Ruth's Chris Steak House for their scrumptious sweet potato casserole recipe. I would not be surprised to find me hiding in a corner with the leftovers and a big spoon in a couple of hours. This was, by far, my favorite dish of the meal. And really not that hard to make.
My husband, for keeping everyone--including himself--out of the way and letting me be the control nut that I am. And for doing an awesome job of carving the turkey and taking pride in doing it.
My in-laws (mother, father, brother, sister, nieces) for taking a chance on venturing 2 hours to eat Thanksgiving dinner cooked by someone who had never made any of the items served before. Except the pumpkin pie. And for eating seconds. And I think liking it because I didn't see anyone drowning things in gravy or adding mass amounts of salt to things (probably because of the brine--everything seemed saltier than I expected to start).
Evan, for his excellent co-chef skills on Wednesday and for being my taste-tester on the Chocolate Oatmeal Pie. Which turned out to be the most popular menu item, I think. I don't know if anyone who ate it will be able to sleep anytime soon with all that sugar, but it was a good pie.
Eric, for being the only child to actually sit and watch Kung-Fu Panda for any amount of time. I don't think there was anything wrong with the movie, but I have never seen a group of children NOT want to sit and watch TV. Weird.

And now I am thankful to have my shoes off and be tucked into bed with some Tivo to watch...Happy Thanksgiving to all and to all a good night!

Two a days

2008-11-18T15:08:00.003-05:00

That's what I'd have to do to blog 365 blogs in 2008. Two blogs a day. Looking at my recent track record, it would probably be two lame boring blogs most of those days with an occasional good one. How's everyone doing on their 365 goal?

Mad Libs

2008-11-18T14:58:00.002-05:00

Sometimes I feel as though I live in a world of Mad Libs. Evan likes to insert random words into a sentence for no apparent reason, and is taking his job as big brother very seriously and making sure Eric does the same. The current popular word is "underpants" and can be used in the following situations:

Singing Old MacDonald "...and on that farm he had some underpants..." Luckily(?) both kids crack up at this and I have not yet heard what kind of sound underpants make on Old MacDonald's farm.
Praying before dinner "Bless us oh Lord, and these thy underpants..." I'm hoping this was a one-time occurrence and I don't have to explain my way out of that one at Thanksgiving dinner.
And pretty much any other time we are discussing food and/or clothing...apparently my boys think we wear and eat a lot of underpants.

Now if only I could get Eric to WEAR underpants...

Lost in internet-land

2008-11-16T20:41:00.002-05:00

I'm amazed at how much time I spend on the computer these days. Seriously, I don't know when I lost the ability to stop clicking and typing and looking up random useless crap. So you don't think I've completely abandoned my children, I do most of this when they're sleeping. All this time on the internet and I'm averaging what, one blog a week? If that? Sad, sad, sad. So what am I doing all this time?

Facebook
Looking for new blinds for our windows that cost less than a mortgage payment. Apparently my husband's expensive taste has worn off on me ;-)
Facebook
Reading other people's blogs--not that the rest of my blogging friends are doing much better than me ;-)
Finding things to put on my Christmas wishlist
Finding things to put on my children's Christmas wishlists
Facebook
Checking mint.com to see if they have worked out their issues with a certain bank so I can tell how we're doing budget-wise
Ignoring my to-do list
Looking at Thanksgiving recipes (even though I already have the menu planned, shopping list written, and a schedule of what I need to make when--yes, I am THAT anal)
And, of course, Facebook

How did this happen??

2008-11-12T20:50:00.005-05:00

When did we go from this...

...to this???

2008-11-08T21:16:00.003-05:00

Hubby is sick. So sick that I'm the one who called the doctor's office this morning and then rolled him out of bed to get there despite the fact that it was 8:30 and he spent the 3:00 hour coughing a lung out. Walking pneumonia which is less contagious than a cold, but just as exhausting. So the boyz and I put him back to bed and set out on an errand-running adventure.

Both kids now have their first pair(s) of Crocs. Yes, hi my name is Jessica and I have a 5 year old and I have just purchased our first pair of Crocs. Ironman for Evan and Spiderman for Eric. Really Evan was the only one who needed the Crocs, but another $7 to keep peace in the family is a small price to pay.

The secret to getting a child (Eric) to eat is to let them dip it in cheese. We went to California Tortilla for lunch and Eric was not interested in eating until I handed him a small cup of queso. Suddenly, he was an eating machine. And the funny thing is the cheese was so cold and think by that time that I don't think he actually got any cheese on his food.

Costco does NOT sell turkeys. Our adventure included a trip to Costco because I figured I could buy a turkey for Thanksgiving dinner, but no such luck. They do, however, have a fully stocked toy aisle in preparation for Christmas and Evan would like everything that is not a 'girl toy.' The piano, drums, Star Wars, Batman, dump trucks, and, my personal favorite, the ginormous stuffed dog.

The thing was the size of the shopping cart and shed as much as a real dog. But it was still pretty darn cute. We did NOT buy it though, just stuck it in the cart for a photo op and to freak Ethan out a little. And I have no idea why Eric looks like he has a wife-beater sunburn in the picture. Another mystery of life ;-)

Recipe book

2008-11-07T08:04:00.002-05:00

So, this will be a lame post, but I figure blogging is like exercise and you have to start somewhere and you'll probably look like a fool the first time. So bear with me ;-)

Evan: Mom, can I have a recipe book? My friend Sam has a Shrek recipe book and it's really cool.

Mom: Do you know what you put in a recipe book?

Evan: Yes--recipes!

Mom: Do you know what a recipe is?

Evan: No. But I really want a recipe book.

Ketchup!

2008-10-26T07:38:00.003-04:00

The joke about the baby tomato falling behind and the mommy/daddy tomato yelling at it to "ketchup!" keeps coming to mind. It seems like I am in a constant state of ketchup these days. My to-do list currently has 20 items on it and I think it is getting longer instead of shorter. Our freshly painted rooms are still not back to 'normal' and there is still boxes of miscellaneous stuff in rooms where there shouldn't be. Very tempting to just throw them in the garbage without even looking inside!! And we signed Evan up for swim lessons two nights a week and I am questioning if this was a good idea because it just seems like more time sucked out of the week, but he loves swimming and seems to be pretty good at it.

So ketchup it is.

Blackmail

2008-10-22T21:16:00.003-04:00

I have no idea what my son is doing. Not. A. Clue. But I think it will make a great blackmail picture someday, don't you?

And yes, his legs bend in Gumby-like ways...the doctors say he'll grow out of it. Either that or I'm encouraging him to sign up for Cirque du Soleil.

Excuses, excuses

2008-10-19T21:44:00.002-04:00

I haven't blogged in ages...AGES!! But I have excuses:

Our house is getting the finishing touches put on it (lighting, paint) and the guys doing the work are in our house up until and sometimes after the kids go to sleep. It's worth is though--the paint job is beautiful and we have more lights in our house than we even know what to do with.

I have discovered Facebook and become addicted to it. Seriously, it might even be an unhealthy addiction at this point. I think I'm better at short blurbs of conversation instead of big long emails/blogs sometimes.

We went to a pumpkin decorating party yesterday with some of the kids friends and had a great time. So great we stayed until 9:00. And then I slept straight through Eric coughing half the night and woke up thinking everyone had slept until 8 AM--oops!

And now I'm trying to watch TV and really not paying any attention to what I'm typing...maybe tomorrow will be a better blogging day!

Caffeinated Randomness

2008-10-11T21:19:00.002-04:00

I have had more caffeine today than I have had in the last week, maybe even two weeks. We get free Coca-Cola products at work and I don't really like Coke, but have been very good about bringing my lunch and therefore have been drinking water or Sprite with my lunch. And I had a Coke and two Pepsi's today. Yikes.
Our house is back in a state of chaos. We found a company to put in recessed lighting and paint out house and there was a little mix-up of who was going to show up when and I had to quickly empty our living/dining room on Friday morning. By myself. While my husband played golf. That he conveniently forgot he was playing until 2 nights before, leaving me to take Evan to school, Eric to the doctor, and talk to the contractor about lights and paint colors.
Tomorrow (I think) we will have to empty our closets so the electrician can put lights in them. Yikes. The kids' closets are already packed with stuff we've had to move out of other places in the house so I have no idea where all these clothes are going to go.
Evan is becoming a master scooter rider. I would have fallen and seriously injured myself, but this kid is balancing, coasting, and even using the brake! It's awesome.
Tomato Basil soup is YUMMY.

Anticipation

2008-10-05T13:55:00.004-04:00

Eyes tightly closed, waiting patiently...

A new scooter!!

Taking a test drive...no falls!

Mayday! Mayday!

2008-10-05T08:27:00.003-04:00

Snapfish is down!! How will I get all of the adorable pictures from yesterday onto my Snapfish site???

Nobody panic...it's just maintenance and should be up later today. Whew.

Yesterday's was Evan's bowling birthday party. It was an absolute riot. I never knew a group of 5 year olds could be that much fun. The parents didn't look too miserable either!

The gang...

The birthday boy...

The picture that cracks me up the most...
don't worry, he was removed before a bowling bowl came out :-)

Not quite the message I was going for

2008-09-28T20:35:00.003-04:00

No photos, don't worry...just a memory book item (and this blog is probably the closest I will ever get!!).

I try very hard to keep nuts away from Eric, both the food kind and the people kind. I probably do better at keeping him away from human nuts. In the past couple of months I have learned, sometimes after the fact, that store-bought pesto contains pine nuts (hey, I usually make my own), the difference between brand name and generic teddy grahams is that the generic ones 'may contain nuts', plain old Chex cereal has peanut flour (glad I checked the box on that one!), and there are way too many things that 'may or may not contain nuts' or 'may have been processed in a facility that also processes peanuts.' Seriously? What's with the 'may or may not' thing?

Anyway, this was not meant to be a peanut rant, but that may or may not thing has me spending a LOT of time reading labels. Utz is my friend...I think they're the only potato chip brand that doesn't taunt my with the possibility of nuts.

I try to teach Eric that he can't have nuts, since clearly I am not the most reliable source (thankfully Evan does a pretty good and is not afraid to tell people to keep their PB&J sandwiches away from his little brother). One of Eric's current favorite bedtime books, Peekaboo Bugs, has a picture of a nut (chestnut?) and peanut in it. Whenever we point to those pictures, I say "not for Eric" and he responds "Oh! Thank you Mommy!"

Whenever we point to the picture of the Earth and another planet, he says "Not for Eric!!"

Not quite sure how to fix this one...

One of life's mysteries

2008-09-28T20:14:00.004-04:00

How can someone so darn cute be such a holy terror??

Another Saturday, another amusement park...

2008-09-28T20:07:00.004-04:00

What a bunch of Saturdays...this week's adventure of choice was Six Flags for a work outing. Unfortunately, the weather was not very cooperative and we only stayed for a couple of hours (and one massive downpour) before heading home. Kids got to go on a couple of rides though, so not a total loss.

Eric and I on the carousel (boy loves that ride!!)

Looks like he's practicing to be a politician...

Notice how you can barely see Eric's head
...maybe Evan is practicing to be the next 'Evel Knievel'

Stay tuned for next Saturday and Evan's 5th birthday party...at a bowling alley!!

Freaking Hilarious and Not So Much

2008-09-23T20:16:00.003-04:00

What Happens in Vegas? Laughed my skinny butt off. Ethan looked scared that I thought it was so funny, but did admit it was a funnier version of How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days

Baby Mama? I think there were more funny scenes in the previews than the actual movie itself.

And hubby, I am really trying get hold of Made of Honor and watch it before you come home, but...if not...Thursday IS my birthday. Wait! No! Grey's is back on Thursday! Hmmm...

Whew...found Made of Honor at the Redbox near my work and will pick it up tomorrow!!

Mine! I do it!

2008-09-23T20:00:00.002-04:00

Evan is anal. He likes to do things in a certain order, things must be in their place, and he is pretty fanatical about cleaning up...I have never worried about breaking my foot on a race car when walking to his room when it's pitch black.

Eric? Good grief. We are in the "I do it myself!" stage which means that whatever it is that he wants to do himself must be done in its entirety or you (I) will feel the wrath. Evan tried to help him clean up his blocks this morning and Eric dumped the entire box back on the floor because he didn't want the help. If I try and scoot the cereal forward on the shelf, Eric will close the pantry door and start all over. Getting him dressed is the only place I still seem to have some shred of control and I'm sure that will change any day. Tonight he was getting ready for a bath and undressing himself, which was hilarious. If the tub hadn't been filling up, I would have grabbed the camera to chronicle the order in which he removed his clothes.

Diaper
Shoe
Sock
Shoe
Shorts
Sock
Mommy! Come help me!! (can't quite get the shirt himself)

He also thinks everything is "mine," including my iPhone and Car Dog. And when I tell him "it's not yours, it's mine" his response is "It's not yours! It's mine!" so then Mommy has to start talking about herself in the third person to make sure we understand each other.

KD 2008

2008-09-21T17:19:00.004-04:00

Yesterday was our annual trip to Kings Dominion with my local family...always chaotic, always a good time. I remember last year was really warm and the lines were really long for everything. This year was gorgeous and I don't think we had to wait too long for anything. Even the newest roller coaster (which I did not go on, but hubby, dad, and bro enjoyed). Not really any stories to tell, but some good pictures...

Evan likes to 'help' Eric smile for the camera...
if only we could get him to push his lips into a smile :-)

Evan and Ethan on the carousel

Eric and I on the carousel...
for the third time

Cousins Nicholas and Benjamin

Evan and his latest jungle gym/piggyback ride victim
(my sister's boyfriend)

Evan on the pirate ship
(but I really posted this one because the little girl at the top cracks me up!)

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!!

2008-09-21T17:03:00.002-04:00

I love my kids. I seriously do. But they are making me absolutely positively CRAZY today!! This is the quietest they have been all day and they only got that way when I turned on the Philadelphia Eagles game. And for anyone who has witnessed my husband watching an Eagles game, Evan is about half the volume of Ethan, but talks twice as much. For those who have not had the joy of witnessing my boys watching the Eagles, I may as well be at the football game standing in line for a hot dog--that is the level of noise in my house at this moment.

Check that, I just had to pry the phone out of Eric's fingers, so we have resumed the full screaming volume. And then he got his elbow stuck in the back of the chair??

Deep breath.

Hubby is out of town for work until Thursday. I managed to put together some homemade mac & cheese so I can save takeout/pizza for a night when it gets REALLY bad ;-)

And Evan is asking me if I have ever died before. Sigh. It's going to be a long night.

Things that make my forehead wrinkle

2008-09-15T21:39:00.003-04:00

When my 2 1/2 year old cannot remember the number 12, but can chant "E-A-G-L-E-S EAGLES!!" and lead the rest of the family in singing the Eagles fight song.

When my husband is obsessive about never having an empty tissue box or less than 2 rolls of toilet paper in every bathroom, but has no idea where we keep the toothpaste.

Eric has to go see a specialist because his legs are a little bent...pediatrician gave us a couple of names and said no rush. First choice doc had a 6-8 month wait list. Second doc could have seen us tomorrow. Or pretty much any other day we want.

We're getting estimates to have some rooms in our house painted. Big rooms and hallways. The second guy was one-FIFTH of the cost of the first guy.

Hair Observations

2008-09-14T08:15:00.004-04:00

My hair has been out of control lately. My last haircut was in February, my new hair dryer broke and I keep forgetting to call to get it fixed/replaced, I ran out of my magic serum...I really could go on and on about the things that have caused my hair to be in a permanent ponytail for the past 2 weeks.

I finally got my serum, so at least I won't have 300 little hairs sticking up off the top of my head. Evan tells me he likes my hair best in a ponytail, so at least there's that.

I went for a haircut yesterday, and my hair is a little shorter than I intended, but not too bad. We're sitting at dinner last night and Evan notices my hair is shorter and tells me I don't look like Mommy anymore. I ask him who I look like.

Apparently, I look like my mother.

Another week already?

2008-09-14T08:05:00.002-04:00

So I've become quite the blogging slacker. I blame it on getting into the school routine and the fact that I am busy busy busy at work (with no access to outside email and people running internet usage reports on a regular basis).

School is good. I don't know why it is impacting anything because, in reality, we're following the same routine we've been following all summer which really isn't that different from what we were doing the 2 years before that. Evan loves kindergarten and we love that he loves it. We are still arguing about changing clothes after school, which stinks. I really wish he would sleep a little longer because he is one tired dude, which also means he is one cranky dude. Ethan convinced him to take a 2 hour nap yesterday and he slept until 7:30 this morning, so hopefully that buys us a couple of happy days.

Eric is making tiny steps in potty training. He's gone a couple of times at daycare, but no go at home. I bought more diapers at Costco yesterday and told Ethan this was going to be the last box of diapers...so I have about a month to at least get him to the pull-up stage, which I figured was reasonable. And I'm all about reasonable goals!!

Work is good. I don't advertise where I work, but it's one of the companies that Henry Paulson declared the government was taking over last week. It's interesting to be a part of this, but in reality it has not changed my job and I really don't have any concerns about my job security. My boss is finally letting me do some work without checking in on me every 30 minutes (we're up to about 90 minutes between check-ins), so I feel like I'm getting into the swing of doing what I was actually hired to do and I like it!!

Hopefully I'll get a little more blogging in this week...

Back to reality

2008-09-07T17:24:00.003-04:00

In honor of our anniversary (7 years tomorrow!), my hubby and I had a night away last night while my sister spent the night with the kids. She says they weren't too much trouble, except for Evan waking up at 5:30 AM with a stomach ache...but at least he was content to watch TV and didn't actually get sick.

So hubby and I braved the rain and wind and checked into a swanky hotel down the street and dinner at one of our favorite restaurants. The best part is the the hotel and restaurant are connected by a mall, so once we got there? No need to drive. Awesome. We were seated at one of those semi-circle booths so we were also able to enjoy the people-watching. I had to take notes through dinner so I could remember them all, we were laughing so hard. There was the guy in the plaid short-sleeve shirt with a loose necktie and his 'date' kind of resembled Prince, but was a girl. The other couple they were with...middle aged guy with a big gut wearing a t-shirt, but his date was really good-looking. Although my favorite was the kid who was power walking every time he went past in his stylish Star Wars t-shirt. Very strange. But we had a great time and got to sleep way later than 5:30 AM.

And then we came home to find Hanna had dropped a tree branch on my truck, denting the frame and breaking the piece that holds my side mirror onto the truck. Argh. This was the tree we have been begging our HOA to cut down because it rains acorns on our vehicles every fall and they said no because it wasn't a liability. Hopefully this will cause them to reconsider...

At least he's consistent

2008-09-06T14:13:00.002-04:00

When Eric was born, it was a chaotic moment. The doctor almost didn't make it into the room, the clamp on the umbilical cord came undone, and Eric peed everywhere. It was quite a fountain. Thank goodness for the epidural!

On Friday, Eric announces to one of his teachers that he needs to go potty and starts tugging at his shorts. Since his teachers are truly angels, she didn't look at him and say "really? You do know you're wearing a diaper, right?" like I have done. Instead, not thinking anything would really happen, she took him into the bathroom, helped him get situated, and waited.

He really needed to go.

He did not follow the instructions of keeping his legs closed.

There was quite a fountain. We have the bag of peed-on clothes to prove it (Eric's clothes, I think the teacher was able to escape).

But hey, he went potty!!

Note: He told me this morning he needed to go and I put him on the potty sans diaper, but no such luck.

Think before you speak

2008-09-04T19:48:00.003-04:00

We went shopping this past weekend to buy some fall/winter shirts for the boys. Evan was confused as to why we were buying him more shirts when we had just purchased a bunch of school shirts. I, without thinking, told him the shirts were for after school.

Not smart.

So now, every day, he wants to come home and change clothes. We get home around 5:30. Eric gets ready for bed around 7:00, and Evan is usually not far behind. In between 5:30 and 7:00, we eat dinner, play with some toys, maybe get the mail/go for a walk/sit on the deck. There is no need for him to change clothes for 1.5 hours, but because I made one little comment, it has turned into a huge battle.

And it's only the third day. Help.

2 kids, 'normal' job--that's enough for me

2008-09-03T20:50:00.002-04:00

I am not a political person. And I just now discovered that 'apolitical' is really a word, so there's a bonus. Anyway. I keep my opinions on politics to myself, but since everyone else in America is blogging about Sarah Palin, why not? But I don't really want to talk about her politics and what she would do or wouldn't do, because everyone has their own opinion and I'm not really in the mood to argue, especially when it's all based on opinion and most people who like to argue based on their opinion act as though their opinion is the absolute truth and there can be no other way.

Did you get all that?

But in all seriousness...I have enough on my plate with 2 kids and a normal 9-5 (ish) job that requires no travel and husband who participates in the family as much as I do. And some days this life is more than I can handle. I could not possibly even begin to imagine having 5 kids and a job that takes you anywhere anytime with an entire world watching your every step. I mean really, the criticism I take from my own house is enough to drive me nutty.

So best of luck to Sarah Palin and her journey to the VP slot, but on the other hand I hope she doesn't become the new benchmark of the 'working mom'!

Like a really bad car accident

2008-09-03T20:44:00.003-04:00

I watched the all new 90210 last night. As soon as I remembered it was on, which was at about 8:30, but after a little research online I don't think I missed anything important. Like who is the father of Kelly's baby, which is really the main thing I wanted to know after watching the show. Ethan came into the room at some point and after hearing what I was watching, retreated to the basement where I'm sure he watched manly shows and did manly things just to make up for the 30 seconds he had been exposed to such trash TV. And I have to admit, it was pretty bad. But, like a horrible 12-car pileup, I just couldn't bring myself to stop watching it and will probably find an excuse to sit myself in front of it in the upcoming weeks.

And I don't know how Jennie Garth manages to look EXACTLY THE SAME after all the years, but she really needs to give Shannon Doherty some tips because Shannon was really not looking good. Not good at all.

I can't hear you

2008-09-03T20:33:00.003-04:00

My office is at the edge of the earth. The building location is actually very convenient to my home and where the boys spend their days, but my office itself is in the farthest possible location from anything. I have to plan bathroom trips in advance because, if I waited until I really needed to go, I probably would not make it in time. And whenever I go to the bathroom, people suspect I am leaving for the day because of all the stuff I have with me...cup for my water, lunch, meeting materials, purse, etc.

It's also damn cold where I sit. Freezing. Supposedly you can call a number and someone will adjust the temperature, but since I'm the newbie, I try not to mess with what other people have been used to for however long they've been there.

And then there's the lady who sits on the other side of the 'wall' from me. She talks on the phone to someone (husband I assume) several times throughout the day, which is fine, I don't care. She's not loud or anything, but I swear either she needs a hearing aid or he needs to SPEAK UP because she's constantly saying "I can't hear you." About 10 times in a 5 minute conversation. Every conversation (that I can hear). Several times a day. I figure I hear the words "I can't hear you" about 50 times a day.

Maybe I should check the volume on her phone when I get in tomorrow and make sure it's turned up all the way.

No tissues, lots of potty trips

2008-09-02T20:36:00.004-04:00

The first day of kindergarten went well...I fully expected Evan to come bounding in jumping on us like the scene from 'Finding Nemo': "First day of school! Wake up! Come on. First day of school!" but instead it was the usual routine of Evan muscling his way into our bed at 7:01 AM, requesting the Disney channel.

So when I picked Evan up this afternoon, he insisted on one more trip to the playground, and his synopsis of the day was "I didn't have to use any of my tissues, but I had to go potty a lot." There you have it, that's what kindergarten's all about. At least on the first day.

The infamous backpack...

I'm not sure who's more excited!

Me and my guy

Daddy, looking very proud!

An unexpected twist

2008-09-01T20:56:00.005-04:00

I started to blog about the big day of a new classroom for Eric and kindergarten for Evan, and it somehow turned into a potty training stream of consciousness. Sorry 'bout that!!

Big day tomorrow...Eric moves into the official 'toddler' room where hopefully they can whip his temper and napless habits back into shape. If anyone can do it, it's the teachers in this room! Also good timing, as he will lately jump up and announce "I need to go potty" and head for the bathroom. Being the slacker 2nd time mommy that I am, I have not done anything with this except sit him on the big potty fully clothed and then let him wash his hands afterwords. But the toddler class teachers also hold a very special place in our heart because of their ability to potty train practically overnight, so I think I'll let them take the lead and just follow the train. Isn't it amazing how you get so tired of changing diapers yet the ordeal of potty training is that much harder? Just when I was able to get rid of the diaper bag, now I will need to start carrying it again with extra clothes, the potty topper...sigh. And how lazy am I for complaining about my kid wanting to be potty trained?

And the BIG event of course, is Evan starting kindergarten!! We went to the 'welcome night' last week and he knows a few kids from camp and we actually knew a set of parents who used to live down the street from us. They have a daughter who's a few weeks younger than Evan, but it's nice to have a familiar face in the parents meetings or someone to call when you need something school-related. And (stay with me, heading off topic) the school also had a uniform 'swap' where you could go pick up stuff for FREE!! I had already bought most of the stuff for Evan, but it was nice to get a couple more polo shirts with the logo on them, plus a sweatshirt, t-shirt, etc. Did I mention it was free??

Anyway...so the boys have fresh haircuts, the clothes are all washed and un-wrinkled, camera is charged, so I think we're ready!!

If only Evan would go to sleep. I know he slept until 7:40 this morning, but after a morning of running errands, going to the park, NOT sleeping at naptime, and talking my ear off the entire afternoon, I thought he'd crash pretty hard. But I guess not. Fingers crossed that he's not too grumpy tomorrow morning for his big day!!

Quiet time--ha!!

2008-09-01T14:46:00.002-04:00

We used to be a house of weekend naps and (mostly) peaceful bedtimes. I'm hoping that if I blog about these days being gone, then maybe they will return. I'm also going to wish that Santa Claus will do all the shopping/decorating/wrapping this Christmas, because THAT is probably more likely to come true than nap time returning.

Okay, so bedtime hasn't been too bad. It's not the glorious breeze that it was during the pacifier days, but it's a piece of cake compared to nap time. Nap time has truly become a dreaded time in our house. I mean, how long can you force a 2 yo to stay in his room quietly? If you don't know the answer, not long. And whereas Evan used to stand at his door calling "Mommy? Daddy?" in an angelic voice that turned annoying after 20 minutes, Eric will stand under his window and run full-force into his door, scaring the bejeebies out of everyone else in the house. I'm tempted to set up a webcam so I can have a record of this, but haven't gotten around to it yet. So where am I going with this?

We have given in to the fact that Evan is beyond naps, especially since Kindergarten only requires 1 hour of quiet time a day. Our new rule is that he must stay in bed with his eyes closed until his music turns off (about 25 minutes) and then he can play/read quietly in his room for the rest of the time. He's following those instructions pretty well, so hopefully it will soon be a routine.

We have tried removing excessive items from Eric's bed (extra stuffed animals, bedrail that he kicks his legs on), sitting with him and patting his back, giving him a book, putting him down later...nothing. He fell asleep in the car at 4:30 yesterday afternoon when we were about 3 minutes away from a friend's house. And either he is being darn quiet right now, or he has just finally fallen asleep almost 2 hours after putting him into his room. While Evan is down here talking my ear off.

I need nap time back...I can't run full steam all day with these guys!!

Another year, another ballgame

2008-08-31T21:50:00.004-04:00

Every year around this time (Labor Day weekend), my mid-Atlantic family members go camping and incorporate a minor league baseball game into the weekend (remember last year?). This year's locale of choice was in PA, and we went to see the Bowie Baysox take on the Harrisburg Senators. They are the minor league teams for the Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals, so we had representation of all teams and everyone had a chance to cheer. Evan asked a million questions, but refused to direct any of them to his Uncle Tom who would have been more than happy to talk baseball to him the entire night, so I spent a considerable amount of time explaining strikeouts, foul balls, sacrifice fly, stolen bases, walks...whew. Both kids fell asleep in the car on the way home and by what can only be described as a miracle, remained asleep as Ethan and I carried them into the house and into their beds.

I hope the campers were able to get a better night's sleep on Saturday--sounded like Friday was a little rough. Some highlights from the game:

My aunt asking me to tell my uncle that the kids are thirsty and he needed to get a drink plan going. I translated that to mean my aunt needed a beer. A very large beer. I translated well.

A batter getting hit by a ball and therefore earning the right to go to first base. Someone asked why did the batter look annoyed--he got to base without even doing anything?

Evan sitting in his pizza. Sigh. We had many problems with the "sit down and eat" concept at the baseball game.

My brother was able to get a ball from one of the Baysox and gave it to Evan. Evan turned and gave it to his cousin Fiona because "she's wanted one her whole life so I really wanted to give it to her." How does such a big heart fit into such a tiny body??

And some pictures...

The Senators/Nationals fans

The College Men

Eric & Margaret
(his buddy last night...
she even got the treasured high-five/pound/bonk farewell!)

Sanderson cousins

Ethan swears he only took out the iPhone to show it to my sister...
it's NOT because he was bored at the game ;-)

A Hubby Post

2008-08-29T20:35:00.001-04:00

My husband is demanding I write a post about him while he sits on the phone with AT&T again to get all our phones moved under the right account with the right phone numbers and the right discounts. Here is what he has dictated I write:

Hubby hubby hubby

Chubby chubby hubby

Oh crap, what are you typing?

And now the AT&T lady hung up on him.