In case I need a good blackmail story

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

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

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

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

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

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?

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

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:

1. 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).
2. 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.
3. 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!

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!

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!

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.

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

Priorities

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:

1. Be quiet
2. 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

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!

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

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)

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

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

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:

1. Sit up
2. Put your cup where it belongs
3. Use your napkin
4. Use your fork/spoon
   
5. Do not wipe your hands on your shirt
6. Do not wipe your face on your shirt
7. Get your hands off of your feet
8. Get your legs out of your shirt
9. Stop kicking the table
10. Head above the table
11. Fingers out of your mouth
12. Elbows off the table
13. Pay attention to what you're doing
14. Take smaller bites
15. Stop picking at the bread and take a bite
16. Chew with your lips closed
17. Don't talk with food in your mouth
18. Put your arms down
19. No
20. 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!