march 17th

Those sneaky leprechauns!
Last night when we were sleeping they came in and made such a mess of things. They turned the loveseat over into the middle of the living room floor, they put dining chairs on the table and flipped one over in the kitchen and hung the bananas from it, they moved end tables and hung backpacks from the dining room chandelier. They also left us with some fun surprises. They turned our milk green and left a plate full of green mint Oreos.
And Henry couldn't have been more thrilled. He was so excited last night waiting for this day to arrive. A whole day to wear green? A whole day for everyone to wear green? We picked out special outfits for today and he talked us into wearing some green to bed last night (so we wouldn't get pinched when we woke up}.
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
I hope yours is as sunny and spring feeling as ours!

so this is naptime

I am big on schedules.
I am big on planning.
I like to know what to expect and when.
Certain things in our house always happen at certain times.
From day to day at those times you can be certain that those things are going to happen.
Sometimes this drives me nuts.
I want to be more easily interrupted and more happy to take what life hands me.
In fact, I've been praying about this very thing.
Asking God to help me be more calm, spontaneous, interruptable-if you will allow me that made up word (sorry spell check).
You know the quotes, "life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."; the cliches, "life is a journey, not a destination".
I'm sort of praying for more of that mentality. Cliche as it is.
And just as I've been praying for that, would you believe that at this same time William has mastered climbing out of his crib?
I don't think it's any small coincidence. I think God is showing me that
He has a LOT of work to do in me. A lot of work on the interruptibility front.
Because even though you see one precious boy sound asleep in his crib,

Getting him there is not at all what it used to be. And it's not on my schedule. And it's not according to my plan. And it's not at all what I expect.
It's more like this:

blankets, pillow, babies, animals, little stuffed friends all over the floor, (and the introduction of a safety gate)

books strewn about, laundry basket emptied and placed into moses basket,

closet raided and stuffed animals scattered,

more books peppered around the floor,

madness!

But finally,
NOT when I say when and not on my schedule, but finally nonetheless,
he sleeps...

in these Crocs he dug out of his closet.
I love this dear boy. He doesn't thrive on schedules like me (or like my little Henry), he laughs at me when I'm stern, he sleeps when he is ready.
I have a lot to learn from him. And although there are times I don't think his disregard of my schedules (ha ha) is very funny, I can find the humor in the way God has chosen to begin to answer my prayer.

this and that {2nd edition}

is how we spent our morning.

{fuzzy picture courtesy of my phone}

It's 52 degrees here {now it's sunny}, but this morning was gray. Either way it was the perfect morning to be outside. Well we didn't spend it completely outside-there was a quick trip to Sam's to buy everything in its most gigantic version. But after that we came home, grabbed the stroller and two balls (the basketball and a tennis ball, both William's choices) and we walked to the park.

Now I can't find the link, but I was just reading on a blog about how children really need plenty of time to play freely, with no schedule and no expectation. Just freedom to play. How that free play helps them to develop cognitively. And then this morning at the gym I read another article about how our children {they called them "generation-text"} are growing up with exertainment, instead of plain old exercise. They gave several examples, but what really struck me were the ways our schools are investing in electronic programs for students to use in PE classes. Like one that simulates dribbling a basketball. What ever happened to just using a ball? Also just the fact that children are being encouraged to "exercise".

Of course I know that fact is important for kids, but that was a word that I never even knew of in my childhood. Being a kid was practically synonymous with exercise. We played tag, we rode bikes, we swam, played kick-the-can, had water balloon fights. We just played. I want to be conscious of that with Henry and William and make sure that they have plenty of time to just play, free of schedules and expectations and time constraints.

is how my baby's chubby foot looks with 5 stitches.

{love the little white sock fuzzies.}

They come out Thursday. He is doing fine. Children are so resilient. I know if it was me I'd still be laying on the couch with my feet propped up on a pillow {eating m&m's}, {and watching some trashy reality show on Bravo}.

just have to say

You are very welcome here.
weather.com says it will be 50 degrees and sunny tomorrow.
How will you spend it?
We will probably ride bikes, take a walk, head to the park, or visit the zoo.
It will be far too lovely to spend it indoors.

william takes a trip to the emergency room

Do our days ever go exactly how we expect them to? Yesterday morning ours was. Of course it was 8 o'clock in the morning, but it was so far so good. Then as I was helping Henry put his socks on upstairs in his room, William-who was sitting right next to me on the floor-pulled Henry's space heater over and it came down in a crushing metal heap on to the back of his little chubby foot. Luckily and I mean seriously luckily for me, Patrick was still home. He was just about to walk out the door but heard the chaos and came back upstairs. I expected a bruised foot, but not a bloodied one. Patrick scooped William up and started his first aid. Which as a former farm boy, he secretly loves and lives for (ask him about my c-section). He calmly and very matter-of-factly told me that the cut was deep and he would need stitches. At those words, I felt nauseous and gagged, just a little. Just the combination of blood, and deep and stitches. You get the picture. {I know. I am not useful in a crisis situation. In my mind I am. But when it happens? I am not.}

Patrick calmly drove William to the ER while I took Henry to school. Then I met them there. William got 5 stitches in his foot and will have them removed in 7-10 days. He's staying off it so far and hasn't tried to walk or stand yet, even though the doctor said he is allowed to at his comfort. Today he's been getting around much better. He can do a pretty mean army crawl and does this funny little walk on his knees. His favorite position is propped up on the couch, with a pillow behind his back and a pillow under his feet.

Did I mention this was his 3rd trip to the er?

this and that

Trader Joes, I know we've only met once but I think
I love you.
I love your pretty store, your happy workers, your yummy food, your brown paper sacks. It all feels so cozy and
so safe.
I also love your Triple Berry Bran Muffin Mix. Henry and William and Patrick don't love your muffin mix as much. But I think it's because they haven't officially met you. Once they do, I'm sure they will fall in love like me.

Hahaha! I just tried and it is just not possible.
It's not possible for me to look at this picture of Henry and not laugh.
And I shouldn't laugh. I shouldn't think it's funny that he's wearing a band-aid on the skin above his top lip because he got a tiny cut when he fell out of the van on Thursday because he was too busy drinking his Shamrock shake when we got home from the drive thru and parked in the garage. I shouldn't think it's funny.
BUT,
I do. This is so funny. He insisted on the band-aid. And I cracked up. I told him he looked like he grew a mustache. He wore it anyway. He drank his shake and he talked to us and he even took his nap. Wearing that band-aid.
That is so funny.

the new 20

Erica and I met when we were five years old. We would become not only cousins, but also another term we made up, bcff's, which stood for "best cousin friends forever". Pretty clever, right?
Today is Erica's birthday, she's turning thirty. Our friendship has spanned 2 and 1/2 decades of life. When I think back over the past twenty-five years a smile comes to my face. I think of the summers we spent, glued to each other's side. Our bike rides to the YMCA and our crushes on the lifeguards there (Roger, ha!), our trips to Great America and riding the Shock Wave way too many times in a row, our adventures in Maine like white-water rafting, the year we decided to be runners and our little tiny shorts from the Y, watching the "Price Is Right" every morning while eating a bowl of cereal off a tv tray in my Dad and Sandi's basement, and our late night big bowls of ice-cream. I remember the dreams we dreamed together when we'd have sleepovers and stay up much too late. We always planned to have houses next door to each other and build an underground tunnel to connect the two.

And now, even though she is in New York and I'm in Illinois and there is no underground tunnel long enough to connect my house to her apartment, we remain connected. Being moms and raising boys and being like-minded in lots of other ways, our lives have many parallels and remain intertwined with each others.

Erica, I am blessed to have you in my life. I'm so thankful for you and for our friendship that enriches my life in so many ways. I love you! Happy Birthday!
{p.s. 30 is so the new 20!!}

this is how I'm feeling today

We just relisted yesterday.
But this makes me happy,

I was sitting on our chaise, having coffee while the boys nap and I glanced into the dining room and smiled.
I love the way the sun is streaming in through our french doors. I love this tricycle perched (inside) and beckoning warmth and spring so that it can be ridden (outside).

daddy came home for lunch

We love it when daddy comes home for lunch!

Holly made this!

Holly, Rachel and I finally celebrated our Christmas together last weekend! (Way too belated.) We hadn't gotten together since the very beginning of December, and as always it was such a fun time that included shopping, Starbucks, yummy food (Jason's Deli and Chipotle), lots of laughing and staying up too late, and morning coffee and breakfast in our pj's Sunday morning. We exchanged Christmas gifts with each other and also went to Trader Joe's. My first ever trip there. Yes, it was everything I have always dreamed it would be. :-)

I loved every gift, and I might post more later, but I have to show you this now.


Holly made me this beautiful cake stand/2-tiered platter. I love these dishes. After "whoa this is gorgeous, I love it", my very next thought was these and Sara. Love the birds and branches and the blue. The perfect compliment to our dining room.

She and her mom (the uber talented duo) created the stand using two plates (one larger dinner size, and one smaller salad size) a crystal goblet/glass and epoxy glue. So clever.

She also gave me these darling mugs to accompany it.

Thank you Holly. I love these!

bag raider

I got home last night from visiting Holly with Rachel in Chicago. It was close to bedtime for the boys and they were freshly bathed and pj'd (they smelled so fresh and clean and still had damp hair; the perfect time of day if you ask me). I walked in and set my stuff down. Henry started digging through my bags and William grabbed a few things and ran off. He came back wearing these pearls and carrying this zebra striped wristlet. (Both $1 items at the jewelry show!) He was very serious about this fashionable combo, too. :-)

staying busy scooping

Isn't it a fact? The winter months are long. Wishing them away hasn't been working, so we've been busy finding other ways to get through them.
One thing that William loves to do is spoon and pour. This is something I learned from my days as a Montessori teacher.
I started with a big bag of lima beans and also a box of noodles, but used them separately. Then I thought I'd mix up the textures and combine them. And then for a pop of color, I added the pom poms.

I take out a variety of spoons and bowls.

He especially likes big spoons, like this,

and fun spoons, like my coffee scoop. (the ones he doesn't get to use often.)

Wishing this was really ice cream with a cherry on top!

friday's hyacinth

I walked into the kitchen yesterday and heard this,

we are family

Last Friday the boys and I packed up the van and drove to Chicago to spend the day (and night) with Dan and Sara and Gabe and Caleb.
Now I always say this, but we really need to do this more often.
They're only 2 hours away and even though I wish we all lived even closer, it's really
not that bad.
Henry and Gabe are just the best of friends. They basically go off on their own and play. I wondered when that magical age of playing together and independently of us grown-ups would come, and I think it has. Four-ish must be that magical age. They played perfectly together. They even had a sleepover on a big cozy bed of blankets on Gabe's floor. And they even slept...
until 4:45 am.
But they slept.
They also played Wii,
made crafts out of pipe cleaners, paper doilies, pom poms, ribbons and glue,
played outside in the snow,
battled with their light-sabers,
chased the kitties,
and ate lots of yummy food (thank you Dan and Sara!).
I also ate lots of yummy food, including a gigantic bbq turkey leg and homestyle macaroni-and-cheese on Friday night and my first ever stuffed grape leaves and falafel for lunch on Saturday.












Thank you Dan and Sara for your hospitality. We had so much fun! Let's do it again soon and much more often.

this little monkey

climbs out of bed!

On Sunday (2.14.10), I read to William and tucked him in for his nap.
When I was reading to Henry I heard William's door open and close. That was weird; I thought maybe it was my mom going in to check on him. Then it opened and closed again.
And again.
And again.
Henry held the page for me and I jumped up to see what was happening in William's room. To my surprise I found William standing at the door.
The same William I had just tucked into his crib.
He wasn't crying. Or hurt. Just standing at his door. He was not in his crib.
Shocked at the sight, I tucked him back in. He didn't end up napping that day, but he stayed.
The past few days have been umm, well, interesting. He's safely able to climb in and out of his crib. He and Henry play in there. They play so nicely together in there with tons of pillows and animals. And it's really cute.

This game, however, is not.
Step 1: I read to William and tuck him in.
Step 2: William leaps out of bed and runs around his room.
Step 3: I hear his pitter-pattering feet and run upstairs.
Step 4: He "hides" behind his rocking chair.
Step 5: I try to be serious and stern with him about getting into his crib.
Step 6: He laughs at me. (not with me; at me.)
Step 7: I put him into his crib tuck him in.
Repeat steps 3-7, until he runs out of steam.
Today we only played one round. It's getting better and better.
I wasn't ready to transition him to a big-boy bed, but I think he is ready. And I'm trying to see the bright side; when he is in a bed, hopefully we won't have to relearn all of this tucking and staying. I pray he will just stay put!