My day "off"

Once a upon a time, I looked forward to days off of work like Little Man looks forward to lollipops. Especially days off when the thermostat was close to 90. I would sleep in, find a partner in crime (almost always it was Heidi) and, armed with sunscreen, sunglasses, books, water and snacks, we would head to the pool for a few hours of lounging. This was usually followed by going out to lunch/dinner and a movie (usually something in the chick flick genre). It was quiet and oh so relaxing.
Today... not so relaxing. There was no pool or movie. They were replaced by cleaning a bathroom, going to Joy School, being sprayed with pee as Little Man tries to learn how to use the big potty while standing up, and laundry... lots and lots of laundry. Don't get me wrong, it's been a good day home with the boys and it feels really good to have a clean bathroom again. But sometimes I miss a real day off and realize just how much I took for granted the freedom to do nothing but watch Buffy all day long, if I really wanted to.

The best part of my day "off" is still to come... Zee and I are meeting Mom for dinner. Heids, I wish you were here!

(photo courtesy of gaylord hotels)

Potty Training

In case you haven't read, Zee is potty training my Little Man... and it's going really well. She's amazingly patient with him, especially while balancing two other babies. I, on the other hand, am not so great. It's a crazy week at work. The race is in less than a week and yesterday alone I put in a 10 hour day. Learning to balance that with time for the kids, potty training after Zizi leaves, time with Wil, church resposibilities and keeping the apartment clean (which we won't even discuss) has become a bit overwhelming. So. In an effort to get the boys out of the house and have some family time last night, we went for a walk. It wasn't very long, but it got us all out and moving together. Before we ventured out though, there was the long discussion of what to do if we're outside and need to go potty. Of course, with boys that's a lot easier than with girls. And I can't tell you how excited Little Man was when I told him it was ok to pee outside if he needed to "go". He told anyone who would listen,

"I can pee on the grass and on the rocks and on the mud!"

Unfortunately, when the moment came we were too late. But he didn't forget. This morning he woke up and said "Mommy, I want to go outside! I can pee on the rocks and on the grass and on the mud!" It took us a long while to get ready to go outside... breakfast, showers, getting ready for work, morning naps for the babies and Zee was trying to get lunch cooked before I left. When she needed something from downstairs, Little Man started to follow and I heard,

"MOMMY!!! I PEED OUTSIDE!!!"

The only problem was it didn't sound like it was coming from outside. It sounded like it was coming from our stairwell that leads up to the apartment... and it was. He was standing at the top of the stairs, underwear on the floor, having sprayed the wall and staircase. I couldn't help but laugh, to see the utter joy on that kid's face at his "accomplishment". Maybe this will convince my dad to finish those stairs. (pictures to come)

So now I know and you have been warned... make sure to differentiate between outside of the apartment and the true outdoors.

ps. When I finally left for work, Zizi had all the kids outside. Little Man was playing with his trucks in the yard wearing flip flops and having a blast. She's such an awesome Auntie!

Reason 64,237,493 why I love my sister

We got back from vacation safely and I had to jump right into work. Only 9 days til the race and there's so much to do (aka money that needs to be raised). I was waiting until after the race to take on my biggest, most hellacious task of the year... until Zee decided to do it for me. She's POTTY TRAINING my son!!! Also, she cleaned our entire apartment (including the fridge) while we were gone. She's amazing! I know I don't pay her enough for all she does and puts up with.

Really. Truly. The best sister. EVER.

Vacation Day 3

playing playdough

completely entralled with the spaghetti factory

the princess and her "potty party" - 1 week without accidents

fingers in the princess cake


And we ended the day with...

It was perfect!

Thunder over Louisville - Day 2

We started day 2 of our vacation with an awesome breakfast! Berry went all out and made stuffed pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage and blueberries. We all loved it and Bug finally ate something other than french fries. Most of the day was pretty low key. We let the kids play in the yard, the guys let Berry and I make a trip to Old Navy/Target without the kids and then took them to the playground while we cleaned up and started dinner. Throughout the day we could see and hear the planes overhead. It was nice to be close enough to get a glimpse and hear the planes without all the crowds.

"I don't want to say cheese!"

Playing the camera game

Around 8 we got ready to head to the fireworks. Now, I've done the Mall on the 4th... I know crowds and fireworks shows. I also know that Little Man doesn't like loud noises and watched last year's fireworks with his hands over his head. This was unlike anything I've ever experienced... both good and bad.

The bad... it's been a really long time since I've dealt with so many ignorant people. We walked for an hour to get to the water front, stood for a half an hour surrounded by far too many people who couldn't seem to hold their liquor and then had the hour walk home.

The good... an amazing fireworks show. DC has nothing on this. WOW.

(pic found online)

This is how Bug watched the fireworks, after mooching french fries from a complete stranger standing behind us.

This is how Little Man watched them... at least when he wasn't being held by Wil or I. The poor kid, he was so scared and did such a good job at being brave. He hid his head in my shoulder for the bulk of the show. He loved the bright lights, but hated the noise. And it was loud. Really loud. Wil convinced him to sit back in the stroller, where he covered his head with his Bob blankie and his hood... until the finale. Then he wanted back out. There were some huge explosions and then a lull. I was so glad I picked him back up cause the last few minutes were HUGE. He was clinging as tight as he could, with his head wrapped in his blankie hidden in my neck. I felt horrible as I could feel him getting increasingly anxious at the noise. I was so ready for it to be done, so my Little Man could calm down and relax, to the point that I was ready to walk away. And it was done. We survived. I put Little Man back in the stroller. He pulled the blankie off his head, looked at me and said....

"Totally cool. That was totally cool!"

The Zoo in Photos

The first picture of the day, after seeing the giraffes.

Watching the fish and turtles

Bug on the stairs - his favorite place in the park.

Once he saw the crane, he lost interest in the animals.

Trying to see the baby elephant

At the lions' den

Little Man, not sure that this "roller coaster" was a cool thing.

Bug loving the "roller coaster"!

Lost and Found - Day 1 in Louisville

Today was a day of big firsts. The boys first trip to the zoo and the first time I've lost one of my children. Really lost.

The guys both had to work today, so Berry and I decided to take the kids to the Louisville Zoo. The weather was amazing and after a full day in the car, it sounded like a great idea to get the boys out and let them get out some of that pent up energy. All was going well. We saw King Louie (the albino alligator), giraffes, snakes, turtles, flamingos, llamas and lots of ducks and geese (Bug's favorite). Then we got to the big playground and let the kids run. Little Man headed straight for the slides and Bug spent the first few minutes trying to decided where he wanted to be. He finally decided on a set of steps at the opposite end of the playground from where the slides were. I could see Little Man and didn't think much of it... until I couldn't find him anymore. I passed Bug off to Berry and started to search. I went around the playground a few times, checked picnic area and the train station next to the play area. He was no where to be found. I went back and forth between telling myself he would be ok, we would find him and imagining the worst possible scenarios. We quickly found a zoo employee and someone passing by noticed what was going on. They told us a lost boy had been found by the bathrooms. We headed that way and there were a few people by the restrooms who confirmed that they had indeed found him and taken him to the Zoo offices. I was relieved, but still anxious to have him back with me. They put me on a tram to the front of the park and I walked into the offices to see, Little Man hanging out with the ladies that worked there, trying to eat his sticker. He saw, me and came running, "Mommy!!! I found you! You left me on the playground, I lost you." What a relief to find him. They gave us a ride back to the far side of the park to find Berry with the kids. We spent a lot of time talking about what had happened. Specifically that Mommy did not leave him at the playground! We also talked about not leaving the playground without Mommy, that it scared me and I was worried about him. We also talked about the things he did right... finding an adult and telling them he couldn't find me. The man in the office said he kept telling them that Mommy and Daddy were at work. So now we need to work a little on what to tell adults when you can't find Mommy or Daddy. I was hoping the whole experience would have some impact on him running away from me, unfortunately when we got back to Berry and the kids, he took off again - straight for the slides.


I'm glad we survived this one and I really hope it doesn't EVER happen again.

I do it all by mySELF!

I hear this phrase often. The other day it was in reference to the camera, Little Man wanted to take pictures. Here's what we got (btw I was his main subject):

Me (looking a bit possessed) I don't even want to know what I was saying to Little Man while making this face.

He, too, wanted to document the awesomeness that is the trouser jean.

For this picture alone, I might love him forever. You can't really tell how far I was bending to get my face in the picture.

And then there was the truck. Zizi found these at the Stuff-mart when both boys were home sick one day. Talk about HUGE hit! So easily swayed in his adoration of the Mama, and for what... a big red truck named, Mack.

ps. we are heading out tomorrow morning to spend the weekend with friends (10 hours in the car with a 13 month old and a 3 year old... I know you're jealous) so if we are awol from posting until sometime next week, it's cause we're playing without you. Sorry.

I think about blogging, really I do

I think about blogging much more often than I actually have time to blog. Of course now that I have a few minutes, there are so many things floating randomly through my head. So here it goes...

Little Man continues to be Dr. Jekyl/Mr. Hyde. Sunday we were at our cousin's house for Easter dinner and she had a small edd hunt for the kids. Little Man would find an egg, if it was blue it went in his blue basket. If it was any other color he would run over to Bug and say, "This one's for you!!" and plop it in Bug's basket. Little Man ended up with 3 eggs. Bug's basket was full. It was super sweet to watch him be excited to help Bug and to share. Yesterday Zizi took him to the doctor while I was at work. He threw a HUGE fit at the doctor's office, forcing the doctor to restrain him in order to check his chest and throat. He had to call Zizi and the doctor to apologize after I got home from work. Is this normal 3 year old boy behavior?

I've lost count of how many round of antibiotics we have gone through since January. We finished one on Sunday (Little Man) and started another yesterday (Bug). I can't tell you how thankful I am for FREE antibiotics at the local grocery store. There is an end in sight...

As it gets closer to the race day life is getting more hectic. I continue to lower the bar when it comes to house cleaning. I'm embarassed that the babysitter from church saw the monster pile of laundry overtaking my bedroom. Also, a scarf is a wonderful accessory for working moms. Why? Cause when one of the kids wipes his face, dribbles the milk from his bottle, ect. as you are walking out the door (already late) it's easy to grab a scarf to hide it. Not that I've done that. Nope. Not me.

Zizi found a copy of Serenity on dvd for $5. She brought us home a copy. If you haven't seen it, you need to. Nothing like a super hot space cowboy to make your day better, especially when mastermind Joss Whedon is behind it. Start here, then watch the movie. If you end up with a high school style crush on Nathan Fillion when you are done... it's not my fault.

Things I meant to blog about....

Ready for Spring:
Bug just finished his antibiotics on Sunday and last night I was at the store picking up a prescription for Little Man. We have an appointment with the ENT today for Bug's potential ear tubes and Little Man is on the fast track for a tonsillectomy. The doctor mentioned to me yesterday that between June 2008 and January 2009, Little Man had been healthy, with a capital H! No last minutes trips to the doctor, no antibiotics... just a happy boy. This is his third bout of tonsillitis in 3 months, with it's accompanying high fever and strep test. 5 in year is the magic number for the tonsillectomy and June is still 2 months away. You do the math. I'm ready for the warm weather to get rid of these germs.

Big Boy Day:
Little Man is doing surprisingly well. We have seen some thumb sucking and fingers in his mouth, but the fingers weren't uncommon when he still had the binky. Yesterday, when his fever spiked to 102.6 and he was miserable. He looked at me with that sweet pitiful face and said, "I don't want to be a big boy. I want to be a little baby." It broke my heart. I wanted so badly to grab that pacifier and comfort him. But we were strong. He got lots of cuddles and his blankie. Hopefully, we are both stronger for not giving in.

Discoveries (aka New Things I LOVE):
trouser jeans - I bought a pair for work and L.O.V.E. them. Stacey and Clinton are right. I feel more put together when I wear them, even if I'm just taking the kids to the park. Since they are jeans, I don't worry about the kids getting them dirty. But I can also wear them to work and look professional.
this episode of Yo Gabba Gabba - Jack Black is a genious. Also, I should point out that I HATED this show when I first watched it, but Bug loved it. So I endured and discovered the best kids music EVER. Maybe it's my 80's new wave roots and the "retro" feel of the show. But the $10 I spent on the iTunes download was WELL worth the money.
Joshua Radin - this cd was on sale at amazon for $2 and I needed something new. It's now on repeat with Jack Johnson.
10 Minute Trainer - Wil and I ordered this program from Beachbody. I can't wait for it to be delivered! A program I can wrap my head around, that Wil and I can do together and doesn't require a huge chuck of my time. I might need to get those trouser jeans taken in.

What do you want to be when you grow up?
Saturday we went to a Family Fun Fest, a program put on by the United Way for preschool age kids. We were there for the free passes to the super expensive water park. One of the booths there had a dress up station. We walked in and Little Man stood there, unsure of what to do. When the lady started to show him all the options (doctor, fireman, etc.), he saw the guitar. ROCK STAR was the choice of the day. He walked over to the green screen for his picture and it's a classic. I so wish I had a scanner so you could see how awesome it is.

Because I can never find my camera

Zee and Mom watched the boys so I could go grocery shopping on Saturday. It was an awesome day, check out the pictures here.

I spoke too soon

It was a long night. Hopefully that means Little Man will sleep easier tonight. My fingers are crossed!

Big Boy Day!

We did it. We survived Big Boy Day - Little Man's first day without the pacifier. Highlight's of Big Boy Day.... we made "pupcakes" with sprinkles, watched the new episode of Yo Gabba Gabba, he picked out his own clothes (brown & red striped pjs), played outside with Daddy and went to bed about 9pm without a tantrum. There was no nap or quiet time, but we also had a friend over to play, so we'll see how that goes throughout the week. At Little Man's request and as a reward for his good behavior today, we get to go to the store and pick out a new shark for our fishtank.

Definitely not the Ting Tings...