Soccer Class

Dear Boy,

If you would quit getting up at 6:00 a.m. you wouldn't be exhausted at the end of soccer class, pitch a holy fit when it was time to go, and then fall asleep in the car on the way home. Consequently, I wouldn't have done any of those things either. Alright I didn't fall asleep in the car on the way home, but I felt like it.

Having said that, here are some pictures of your first soccer class. Please let your mom get some sleep now, okay?

Puddle

See that? A seemingly harmless bit of water on the small outside step leading to our back porch. It's no coincidence that it is directly below the doggie door.

The Boy and I were on our way out the door yesterday when I asked if he needed to use the bathroom first. To which he responded,

"I already did."

I didn't hear the toilet flush so I asked, "Where?"

"Outside."

There you have it. Now let's be honest, if you were three years old and you had the ability to pee through a doggie door, wouldn't you try it once?

This Was an Interesting Day

Almost two weeks ago, I took this picture.

Mhm. That's snow on the mat, and no, it was most certainly not welcome. That day started out rainy, turned to snow, got sunny, and then rainy/snowy again. One thing I've learned not to say after living here 8 years, "That was probably the last time it will snow." Incidentally, there is rain/snow in the forecast this week.

Nesting Much?

Last week I had a hard time going back to sleep after waking up in the middle of the night. I had baby stuff on my mind. I decided that instead of letting another night go by like that, I would just do something about it.

First I decided my kitchen and bathroom floors needed major help. I wanted to get one of those hand held, pressurized steam cleaners to help out but that didn't work out. So I took a tea kettle of boiling water and a toothbrush and went to work. For my friends who think I'm so clean, brace yourselves. Here was one of the little crannies in my kitchen before:

Really, really gross. I know. Please still be my friend. It looks worse close up like that. Really. And it's better now, see?

I set up as much of the little attic room as possible to get ready for those seemingly endless late night nursings and changings. (Send burp cloths to the "My First Baby Spit Up So Friggin' Much Foundation".) I'm so happy with this room right now. I don't have to walk across the hall to nurse at night, and the Boy and The Man won't have their sleep disturbed either.

We have also made the Boy give up the last of his bumpers, which was like his security blanket, by bribing him with new Dr. Seuss alphabet sheets. He loved them at first, but the novelty is starting to wear off and he is asking for his "night-night" back. Hopefully that will go away before the little one arrives.


It's exhausting to think of everything I have left to do and that I will likely have to do it all over again at least one more time down the road with #3.

Evil or Entertaining?

Remember the opening scene from the movie Tommy Boy where he runs smack into a glass door? It cracks me up every time I see it. Having said that:

I took the Boy to the children's museum recently and we were walking out of the food court, which happens to have clear glass doors. I was walking just behind the Boy and I noticed that he was only sort of paying attention to where he was going. I knew what was coming. And yes, I allowed him to walk right into that door. I couldn't help myself. (He wasn't hurt.)

So on a scale of 1-5, one being Mother Theresa and five being spawn of Satan, how evil was that?

This is Kind of Wrong

I bought this Elmo shirt in Chinatown last year for four dollars. Is it me or does Elmo look a little strung out now?

A Matter of Perception

Roxy walked by the couch just now and the Boy felt the need to stick his foot out and kick her - not hard, but still. So I said, "Boy, don't kick the dog."

I can't believe what I heard in reply,

"I didn't. Roxy walked into my leg."

Wow.

Arkansas and Easter

With hubby away for forever and a day, the Boy and I headed down to Arkansas for a week. What did the Boy get out of it?

- new clothes
- a new piggy bank filled with money any time he blinked
- a day with "Guncle" at Chucky Cheese, riding the big boy train, playing at grandpa's, and picking out new toys
- all the older cousin wrestling time he could handle
- no naps (I now know without a doubt that he still needs one every day)
- an Easter egg hunt in warm sun
- lots of attention from everyone
- a break from me

And what did I get?

- a week filled with all the best fast food on the earth like Sonic, Chick-Fil-A, Geno's Pizza, and Long John Silvers...and as a result...
- four pounds (that's right, four pounds in one week)
- a girl's night
- a much needed pedicure courtesy of the sis
- a $28 dollar hair cut that would have cost me $55 here
- a break from being "mommy"
- new clothes and a blessing dress for little girl
- time with my family that would have otherwise been spent in my home....alone

It will be nice when we live a little closer.

Quick Thinking

Sometimes when the Boy is eating at a snail's pace, I'll finish my meal and head into another room to do something else. That is often when the giggling begins, and I know that means he is feeding the dog. He knows better than to feed Roxy from the table.

Tonight, I heard the tell-tale giggling and yelled from the other room,

"Are you feeding Roxy????", to which the Boy responded,

"Not anymore!"

Little punk.

Field Trip

Yesterday the Boy's preschool took a field trip to the Home Depot. They got their own little aprons and built a rain gauge (shaped like a bird feeder). He was so excited that he got to use a screwdriver and a hammer. He has a few dark smudges on his smock. This is not from a hard days work in the grease, but rather the chocolate chip cookie he had at lunch. Fun day.

What to Expect...

Last week I watched the four-month-old of a friend for half a day. I wondered how the Boy would do with this in hopes for some sign as to how he'll take to his new baby sister.

He was very sweet to him and so soft. He told him all sorts of things about growing up. I was very encouraged until the end of the day came and the Boy resolutely stated: "I want baby to go home now." Oh dear.

Well I Feel Old...

I turned thirty-one this week. To celebrate The Man took the day off of work. He took us to breakfast first, where I told him that I have never felt so old in my life. After that we went shopping! With my birthday fund, he got me a badly needed down coat, about ten new shirts, and these skirts:

This will be great for nursing once little girl arrives this summer. He also did all of the dishes AND laundry. Seriously. He did that. Ain't he great?

In the evening, he took us to dessert at Phillips where I indulged in a Chocolate Tiramisu Mousse torte *drool*. He then put the Boy to bed and watched a chick flick with me. Thanks for a great birthday, honey. And thanks to my friends for the beautiful flowers that look great on my fireplace and the delicious coffee cake!

Sugar & Spice...

It's a girl.

Valentine's Day

The Man and I actually went out and joined some friends for Valentine's. I put on my big girl dress and heels, curled my hair, hired a sitter, and off we went. (The Man looked mighty dashing, don't you think?) We had a lovely dinner catered by Wegmans in a rented room that used to be a restaurant owned by Wegmans.

The people that arranged it also had music going for the dancing type. The Man was a very good sport and took the floor with me a few times, only one of which was a slow dance to the infamous "The Lady in Red".

It was all very well and good until I pinched a nerve in my back dancing to Jay Sean. I'm old and pregnant...what can I say?

Watch This!

How long does the "Hey, Mom! Watch this!" phase last?

It sometimes reminds me of Stewart from Mad TV, "Look what I can do!", not to mention the constant insisting, "Let me do it" and walking around in his underwear (not in this clip).

Three Years Old!

The Boy turned three yesterday. Bring on the pictures!

I made this cute birthday banner at the last second (shout out to Amy for sewing the ribbon on for me). I got the idea from my friend, Kelly. I would have bought one, but by the time I thought of it, it was too late to have it shipped on time. So I copied this one; I took the easy way out and went with the stick-on, pre-cut felt letters, though.

The Boy woke up to birthday balloons and a crown. He's happy to show everyone now that he is three.

I made him a pancake breakfast, which was met with less welcome than I thought, but that's okay. I'm thinking French toast next year.

He had school yesterday, so I sent him off with ice cream cone cupcakes to share with his friends.

After his nap, we picked up his friend Adam and took them both to Bounce it Out. Where they:

Smiled a lot...

...slid a lot...

...climbed a lot...

...and occassionally got hoisted backwards up the slide by dad, who took the entire day off to celebrate with us.

The Boy came home to have his favorite dinner of spaghetti, and holy cow can that kid eat.


That was followed by opening presents. One of the things we got him was a reversible Superman/Batman cape, which he only takes off at my request now. He also got an etch-a-sketch that he loves, some much needed puzzles, a Leapster that is hard for him to put down, and an addition to his race track that makes it way more fun.

Finally, we ended with Mint Chocolate Chip and Brownie ice cream cake - his request and I wasn't about to complain.

I can't believe how fast and slow the time has gone by. Happy Birthday, baby. We love you so much!

Dear Family...

Why don't you ever visit me here?

AccuWeather.com Quick Look
Currently At 1:22PM
Rochester, NY

13°F
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Winds: WNWat 13mph
Light Snow

Oh. Right.

Somebody Call a Plumber

A cute story out of a big headache.

We had to call a plumber to snake our toilet, which has been partially clogged since Christmas. He called me to let me know he was on his way. Once he got here, I was in the bathroom with him describing the problem when his cell phone rang. I stepped out of the room to let him take the call. The Boy was in the living room watching T.V. so I decided to check on him.

On my walk from the bathroom to the living room, I hear the plumber repeating, "Hello? Hello?" I make it into the living room and spot the Boy with my cell phone. He quickly exclaims into the phone, "I'm watching Wall-E!" and hangs up. The plumber figured it out after that.

I try to remember to keep my phone out of reach, but I often forget. Pardon the random phone calls if you get one from me.

Incidentally, what was blocking the toilet? My foot pummice. I would have taken a real picture of it, but I didn't feel like touching that thing ever again. He has begun to flush objects down the toilet. Oh joy.

By the way, if you need a good plumber:

http://www.prideplumbingofrochester.com/

Nice...

The Boy has taken to complimenting things. Last week after The Man got home from work, he went to re-tuck him into bed. The Boy half woke up, turned to look at The Man and said, "Nice tie."

This one may be too much information, but here goes. After using the bathroom a few days ago, I was helping The Boy clean his bum up. He bent over to touch the floor and declared to me, "Those are some nice shoes".

I was dropping him off at school last week when he noticed my friend, K1 pull in ahead of us. The Boy knows K1 just had a baby. He said to me, "I want to say hi to K1". I told him to go ahead. So he said, "Hi, K1", which was quickly followed by, "Nice baby".

Special Lunch

The Boy was invited to have lunch at the fire station today. It was an interesting experience. We started lunch late because the firemen were out on a "call", and I was given notice that they may have to leave at any moment during lunch. Luckily, the latter did not happen.

The Boy enjoyed the grilled cheese sandwich, chicken noodle soup, chocolate chip cookies, and watching firefighter Jason slide down the pole. Does it get any cooler for a 3 year old boy?

So Grateful

I had a fairly rough week. Luckily I have a wonderful group of friends who would do anything they can to help, including taking my three-year-old for an entire day. I appreciated so much all the calls and offers. I love you all.

Help Meeeeeee!

How did/do you deal with being extremely over emotional during pregnancy?

Christmas

We had a very nice Christmas. The Man's brother, wife, and their three girls came up and stayed a couple of days with us. It was so nice to have Tamara here - she did the dishes the entire time and helped me cook. *sighs* They left too soon.

We had our Christmas Eve dinner on the floor and spent the rest of the evening with our friends the Shelton's. Christmas morning was, of course, gift time. The Boy got tons of books and puzzles as well as a race track, some magnetic blocks, and this lovely little number that took The Man many hours to assemble the night before.

This sucker is made of solid steel and is a danger to my walls, but the Boy loves it. Can't beat that.

We did Christmas dinner with the Pulley's and had a really nice time. I'll be sad when The Man has to go back to work tomorrow. Since he's been home, he has done all the dishes, made most the dinners, finished all the laundry, spent two full mornings out with the Boy, brought me whatever food I demanded, fixed a light switch, and set up our generator (just in case). Now THAT'S a Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

We hope yours was wonderful, too.

If You Haven't Already Heard...

We are, indeed, expecting. Anyone who lives near us probably already knows this and has for some time. Between my informative two-year old and my unstoppable nausea, it was pretty difficult to hide. We are due on the Fourth of July. I have a gift for having due dates land on a holiday - the Boy was due on Valentine's.

This time around has been more difficult than the first. Eating is such a chore. I have spent a good amount of time in the bathroom and even more time contemplating but fighting it. The Boy has been very sweet and helpful during these times. He comes into the bathroom and generally asks if I'm "spitting out the baby". He stands next to the toilet and offers his flushing services, too. On occassion he waxes empathetic, leaning over the bowl, coughing, and spitting, claiming that he is also very sick. It is a welcome distraction and makes me giggle. I am, however, looking forward to the day where I gain a pound rather than lose. Let's hope that comes soon.

A Nasty Cold and a Black Eye

We went to a Christmas Tree Farm for preschool on Friday. It was absolutely freezing, but the sun was out. The Boy was surprisingly brave to go down this slide by himself. Or maybe not. While it looks like it could be fast, he had to propel himself forward. He enjoyed petting the goat and playing on the hay pyramid.

Unfortunately, at some point after, he picked up a bad cold. Now since he's such a happy sick kid, he was still up to his no-good chasing of the dog last night. Unfortunately, he wasn't watching where he was going and the dining room table is right at eye level. Poor boy.

Can you see it?

Liar, Liar Pants on Fire

I got a slight chemical burn today. It's on my umm...backside. How do you get a chemical burn on those cheeks, you wonder? You sit in undiluted Drano. I know what you are going to ask next, too. Why did I sit in undiluted Drano? Well...The Man poured some down the tub and forgot to flush it with water. I, not knowing he had done this, went to take a bath a small while later. I decided today to sit in the tub and THEN start the water, rather than letting it fill up first. I didn't notice my backside burning until after I got out of the bath. The Man read the back of the product on what to do for skin contact. It says "wash with water". I think I took care of that.

So there you have it. My "pants" are seriously on fire. I am seated while I write this, but I'm sitting on my heels.

Thanksgiving

We had a nice, quiet Thanksgiving at home this year. The weather was cooperative enough that we went to the park that morning.


The Man had his hands full with the Boy and Roxy.

We ate lunch around 2:00. Where's the turkey? We didn't have one. We had filet mignon instead, and it....was....good! And easy. They took 10 minutes to broil - no problem.

The Boy helped make this cute hat in his preschool class. He loved it!