Tottoos

I came across this on my quest to reach the end of the internet. Personally I thought it was cool, but I am a bit of a worrier/control monger. http://www.tottoos.org/

Our Sled

Every year we debate whether to buy a sled - okay every year since Aiden was big enough to hang onto a sled, so for two years now. And we always decide not to waste our money since the snow here rarely sticks around long enough to sled on. This year Steve wanted to give Aiden his first experience of sledding since we had what this area considers copious amounts of snow.

The best I could do was the laundry basket with a dog leash hooked to it. Off they went - tipping a little. Steve said the first run went well, but the second not so much. Apparently the laundry basket got ahead of steve and he went to stop it unknowingly wiping Aiden around and dumping him out.

"I dont like sledding, ever." Is what Aiden told me when they came back through the door from their adventure.

We vowed if they still have sleds at Costco at our next visit we will buy one.

Battle of the Unders

I maybe wouldn't be so acutely aware of our lack of readiness except that I have the sweetest friend who seems to me to be constantly well prepared for life. She stopped by with her THREE girls, one newborn (c-section, yes the woman just had major surgery and she can still manage all this) with a Christmas gift. She looked like she just stepped out of a JCREW magazine. I meanwhile hadn't managed to get out of my pj's (surely I could have found time to don a bra sometime before three in the afternoon, but sadly I had not). So with arms crossed trying to block the view of my messy house and half naked wild children I thanked her profusely and vowed to dress my family everyday.

We call underwear "unders". I don't know why. But here is the thing, all I see all day long are unders. I cant keep my kids dressed. I nurtured this unfortunate habit while I was drowning in morning sickness. I could have cared less who was wearing or not wearing what. But now I am making a valiant attempt to dress everyone, even myself, every morning. After breakfast Nolen's first outfit is trashed, so off it comes. I optimistically think to myself I will redress him after his morning nap. But this is just wishful thinking unless we are going somewhere that requires "no shoes, no shirt, no service". Aiden does okay usually until after lunch, then there is some sort of accident, water, food, scissors, etc..that necessitates the removal of either pants or shirt. Then by three or so he just decides he wasn't meant to wear clothes and they quietly disappear.

I guess I will just be thankful that he does NOT like to be completely naked and always runs to get unders.

Stroller Lady

My seventh stroller arrived yesterday. So are you thinking, "good god, what does one person, with two kids, need with 7 strollers??" Well I don't keep them all. I usually sell one then purchase another.

It has been an on going quest to find the perfect stroller. Perhaps you think I have too much time on my hands, but I like to have things that work well to facilitate my outings - outings that become increasingly more difficult (but not unmanageable).

I believe it wont be something created in my stroller needing life time, I dare to hope by the time I have grandkids someone will manufacture one though. In case any would-be stroller designers want to know what I need, here it is:

I want a:
• LIGHT (under 25 lbs)
• Durable (fabric doesn’t rip or stain)
• Easily removable straps/fabric for washing
• One hand fold
• Good umbrella coverage - why even bother with an umbrella that only blocks the sun at high noon?
• Converts from one to two, preferably front to back
• Big wheels, easy for pushing and jumping curbs

These are the strollers I have purchased and their pros/cons:
• Graco travel system: heavy and big, perfect for one baby, lovely cup holders, trays, storage
• Maclaren Volo: super easy to fold, super light, good for travel, only holds one baby though
• Maclaren Techno: same as the volo, but a little more sturdy
• Kidarooz: Umm, we only had this one over night as the parts were not able to be assembled.
• Phil and Ted: So slender, great for malls/stores, holds two, but tedious to convert, also heavy kids goes in front, but heavy kid likes to jump out a lot, leaving little helpless baby underneath to tip over, mom to frantically grab stroller, but unable to grab child that jumped out and is running away. Very cool design though. Good wheels.
• BOB Duallie: So easy to push, can climb mountains and roll on the beach. Lots of storage, holds two kids - three if one perches on the front. Really comfy for kids. Too wide, too heavy, takes up the entire back of van. You get dirty looks if you take it in retail places "How inconsiderate is that lady to take up the entire isle?"
• Joovy: Light, steers well, perfect for one strapped in and one who needs to hop on and off. Design doesn’t not allow for jumping up curbs. Folds easy.
If you read this and have found the perfect stroller by all means tell me!!

Ellie and Me

I love to read, and people tell me that if you love to read you may be a good writer. I would like to find out if I am a good writer, but I cant really think of anything to write, at least not something people would want to read. I wouldnt want to write about serious things or sad things, only funny things probably.

The funniest thing in my life also happens to be the most obnoxious. My dog. I cant compete with Marley and Me, but we do have our moments. Most of these moments are characterized by her making me look like an absolute crazy person.

Despite completing almost two full dog obedience classes she still has yet to learn two of what I consider to be the most important dog commands, come and stay. Perhaps you are wondering why she failed to complete the second dog obedience class, maybe you are not, but I will tell you anyway.

I was about eight months pregnant with our first child and had begun to have panic attacks when leaving the house and all the pulling and jerking on the leash and her ear splitting barking in the car all contributed to us getting an incomplete. So, she is not the only flawed party in this little dysfunctional relationship, I admit to having my own issues, and perhaps some of my neurosis have rubbed off on her. Anyhow I am not convinced that she would have mastered these all important skills had we received a second doggie obedience diploma.

The latest incident happened during what I like to refer to as the dark time of my third pregnancy. To say I get sick during the first trimester is a slight understatement. While I am not feeling tip top I neglect a lot of basic personal hygiene. So, if you can picture me (which I am sure you have only seen me as a glowing goddess of perfection and it maybe be quite a shock when you try) unshowered (regretfully for several days) and wearing an old shirt of Steve's which had acquired a lot of barf stains, mostly from Nolen, after having wore it for several days, workout capris, and no shoes. I definitely had the look of a crazy lady with out being encouraged to behave like one.

Aiden requested to see his pumpkin on the front porch and being the obliging mom that I am I opened the door to let him peak out and the devil, I mean Ellie shot past me, deliberately making a run for it and using enough force to give acknowledgment to the fact she knows she should not go out the front door.

Normally this wouldn't be too big of a disaster, but it happened to be bus drop off time in our neighborhood. All the moms (who shower and actually pick out real clean clothes) were at their posts awaiting their little cherubs.

Ellie proceeded to ignore my requests through clenched teeth to please come in the house. In fact she did the opposite. She proceeded to pee in every yard down the block - four houses in all. Squatting and peeing and darting off when it looked like I might get close enough to grab her.

Keep in mind I cant go too far, I have one two year old on the front porch in his underwear, saying "mom what are you doing?" and a 9 month old very mobile crawler roaming the house untethered.

I ran back in side grabbed a loaf of bread, because tossing slices of bread at a peeing dog while pleading with her to come in side doesnt look silly.

Finally Ellie got bored or knew I was soon to close the door and never let her back in the house, EVER. So quick as she ran out she ran back in. She seemed very pleased with herself, which leads me to believe she calculates these little tirades in order to purposely embarrass me.

Christmas Tree Hunting

I had a blast getting our Christmas tree today. The boys were in good moods and cooperative. It was not raining, and I got to snap lots of shots of our adventure in cutting our own tree down this year.

Steves version of the day may be a little different, something like, muddy, cut finger, why are we taking pictures when we are supposed to be cutting a tree down, how come they are so small, and lastly, how fun to lay in the mud...

What a good dad!

Holy Jumper Batman!

Aiden officially turns three tomorrow, but in effort to save money we celebrated today. He LOVES a place called Jump Planet and their free time play is today, since we are not predisposed to pay several hundred $ for a private (more convenient) Saturday party, we seized the moment and played today. Aiden's friend Trey joined us and they had a great time flailing and ricocheting off one another.

Aiden completely shocks me with his bravery at this place. He can scale the climbing walls, and then he practically runs down the slides on the other side. He was jumping off the top of a 5'-6' tall mountain and bouncing around with no concern for safety. This is shocking to me because it is totally out of character for him. He is reserved, almost to a fault. He studies and analyzes new situations for what seems like forever, and then sometimes still opts to sit out.

He of course enjoyed cake and pizza and presents. In fact he and dad are playing Lincoln logs right now, and once a house is built it promptly has to be bulldozed by the new piece of construction equipment.

It has been an awesome three years.