Mommy Olympics

There are some mornings when getting out the door feels more like an Olympic sport than any kind of routine. Today was one of those mornings. I overslept by 40 minutes!! I almost never oversleep and of course the one day I did was a day that I have to leave the house by 7:15.

By some miracle, I made it out the door on time with both kids, the diaper bag, Wesley's bag for safety city, my work stuff, my purse, milk for the boys, my coffee and breakfast, my lunch, my keys and my sunglasses. Yes, my clothes were a bit rumpled and yes, my hair was a bit flat, but I made it! I nearly gave myself a gold medal!

Why only nearly? Because I spilled coffee on my shirt while I was in the car. That's ok, I'll settle for the bronze.

Twitterpated

I think my sweet little Wesley is twitterpated (to quote the movie Bambi.) This morning he looked at me and said, "Mom, remember when we went to World of Bounce and that girl was there"

"CC1? Yes, I remember," I answered.

"I really want to see her again," Wesley sighed. "And the next time I see E. (his preschool girlfriend) I'm going to tell her all about CC1."

Danger Will Robinson! Danger Will Robinson! I don't think he remembers that E. wanted to play they got married. We don't want a 4 year old love triangle going on!

Kind of Ironic

One has the joy, the other has the pain.

Not Me Monday

I did not misplace my keys and my camera the same morning. No way that happened.

I know I didn't seriously consider putting the kids to bed early so I could watch a new trashy tv show I recorded.

I did not abandon my children to the care of their father the second Duane walked in the door so I could go take a bath and try to finish a book. I'd never do that.

I did not have a hard time sleeping in a hotel room where the bed was comfy, the temperature was perfect and there were no kids or cats. What a waste that would have been!

The Party's Over

Sorry the blog's been kind of quiet for the past few days. My cousin (ok, if you want to be technical, my first cousin once removed) got married yesterday. Since the wedding was out of town, Duane and I took the opportunity to have an adults only weekend and left the boys with Grandma and Grandpa H.

Do you have any idea how nice it was to drive and NOT have to listen to Phineas and Ferb? Not to hear any whining, or pick toys and sippy cups off the floor? It was bliss!

The wedding was beautiful! Absolutely beautiful and we had a great time at the reception. Here's just a handful of pictures - I'm going to "borrow" some others from Susan later this week.

Of course I missed the kids though and was really looking forward to getting home to them. We arrived to find Ryan asleep and Wesley having finished 4 mini popsicles. We got Ryan ready to go, but then he wanted a popsicle. I cut him off after three of them and you should have seen the fit he threw. It was almost as big as the one Wesley threw when we told him to clean up the toys he was playing with. Mom and Dad have returned and the party is officially over!

The Smeller is the Feller

Wesley and Ryan were both playing in the living room while I was typing my blog post last night when I suddenly heard the VERY loud breaking of wind coming from their direction.

"Who tooted?" I asked. And I only asked because we are trying to get the boys to say excuse me after toots and burps.

"No one," Wesley answered.

"Wesley. I am sitting right here. I know someone tooted."

Wesley looked at me with a devilish glint in his eyes and said, "Must have been you."

I laughed so hard I almost cried. Only 4 years old and he's already passing the blame!

Miss E. Has Competition

If any of you are regular readers of the blog, you know that a little girl from preschool (Miss E.) has a very special place in Wesley's heart. Unfortunately, preschool is over for the summer and absence doesn't always make the heart grow fonder. Enter CC1 (she and her little sister have the same initials, so the one is to differentiate)

We went to World of Bounce again tonight with a rather large group - Aunt Cathy, Sho, Kei, Aunt Melissa, Uncle Mark, Kierstin, Mark, Mr & Mrs. C and CC1, and CC2. This morning I was trying to tell Wesley who all was going, but realised that he probably didn't remember CC1 and CC2. Luckily we have a picture of them on the refrigerator, so I pulled it down for Wesley to see. He looked at the picture for a minute and said, “Nice!”

"Yeah," I said. "CC1 is kind of pretty."

“They’re BOTH kind of pretty!” he answered.

Now, Wesley didn't fall head over heels for CC1 right away. It took about half the evening before they were inseparable. CC1 held the door open for everyone as we were leaving and Wesley scooted over to give her a hug and tell her that "you're coming to my birthday party!"

When we got home Wesley proceeded to tell me that he had a lot of fun because of CC1. "She's beautiful!" he told me.

I hope Miss E. doesn't get wind of this!

Pillow Protection

I was making breakfast this morning when Wesley came tearing through the kitchen with two couch pillows - one held in front of stomach and one held over his back.

"Wesley, what are you doing with those pillows?" I asked.

"They're for protection!" he shouted.

Of course, I had to ask, "Protection from what?"

"Little brothers," he replied.

Enough said.

What Do You Mean it's Bedtime?

Bed in Summer

by Robert Louis Stevenson

In winter I get up at night

And dress by yellow candle-light.

In summer, quite the other way,

I have to go to bed by day.

I have to go to bed and see

The birds still hopping on the tree,

Or hear the grown-up people's feet

Still going past me in the street.

And does it not seem hard to you,

When all the sky is clear and blue,

And I should like so much to play,

To have to go to bed by day?

Source: A Child's Garden of Verses

I have always loved the above poem. I remember reading it when I was a little girl and loving it then too - even though I don't remember ever having to go to bed when it was light out.

We've been letting the boys stay up a bit later these days. Of course, that has less to do with it being summer and more to do with me off work for a few days here and there. They've been having a great time catching fireflies (Wesley has been using a toy fish net as a bug catcher) and running around the yard in their pajamas. The other night I put Wesley to bed at his regular time, but the sun hadn't quite set.

"Mom," he whined. "I can't go to bed yet! The sun is keeping me awake!"

Maybe I should share that poem with him.

Safety City

Wesley began two weeks of Safety City yesterday. I was really excited to sign him up because I remember loving Safety City as a kid. I'm not sure Wesley feels the same way though.

We've done a little talking about SC in the weeks leading up to it. He knew that he'd be in a class with boys and girls, that it would be kind of like preschool and that he would have two teacher - but not Mrs. T and Mrs. P from his preschool class. He seemed fine with that. No problem at all. I told him that Bear would have to stay in the car. Again, no problem. But when we got to the school, all that became a little bit of a problem.

First off, I was really surprised by how many kids were there. I think there's something like six classes of 15 - 20 kids. Now imagine parents and younger siblings for all those kids and everyone trying to see the class list and find out what room they were in. It was a little chaotic, and, as mos of you know, Wesley does NOT like chaos. Luckily Wesley's classroom was right across the hall from the class postings so it wasn't hard to find. J&J (twin girls from Wesley's preschool) were there, but not in his room. Bummer! I was really hoping there would be a familiar face in his class but no luck.

Wesley was pretty overwhelmed by things at first. He didn't want to find his name tag. He didn't want to sit and work on his coloring sheet. He didn't want to talk to anyone. And then I had Ryan with me, who wanted to do all those things! Somehow I managed to pry Wesley off my leg, pry Ryan out of a chair and hurry out of the room.

I left the building with a horrible feeling of guilt in my stomach. Ryan was screaming because he didn't want to leave and I was so afraid that Wesley was crying in his room because he didn't want to stay. I kept my phone in my pocket the whole two hours I was gone for fear that his teachers would be calling and asking me to pick him up early.

Turns out I worried for nothing. Ms K. said that he calmed right down and did just fine. He left with a smile on his face and seems to almost be looking forward to tomorrow. We ran into J&J on the way out and one of them wanted Wesley to come sleep over. Their mom and I said no, but that we'd do a play date soon. I'm not sure he's ready for a sleep over yet - even if the invitation was serious.

So now we have nine days of Safety City left. I only have to take him twice more - the other days his grandparents get to drop him off. I hope the rest of them go at least as smoothly.

Not Me Monday

I did not eat a lunch of random leftovers while standing at the sink just because I was afraid that if I sat in the living room I'd wake up a sleeping toddler. Not me.

I have not looked at the wrinkles on my forehead lately and briefly wondered how strongly I am against Botox. I'd never do that!

I certainly did not schedule maintenance for my van and ask them to check a couple of issues, then opt not to have the original issues fixed, but instead opted to fix the new issues they found. That would have just been confusing (and probably annoying)

There is no way I think it's adorable when Ryan sings along with TV theme songs, because that would mean he watches too much TV.

I can justify turning into a total girl when I saw a dead baby bird in the yard, but I know I didn't girl-out over a big bug in the sink. And even if I did, I certainly didn't yelp for my husband to come kill it for me.

Simple Entertainment

There is nothing I love more than a baby belly-laugh!

Little Drips

Yesterday evening we got our new bug shaped sprinkler out for the kid to run through. Don't they look happy and excited about it?

Too bad that picture is a lie! Ryan refused to go near the sprinkler at all. Wesley liked it for about 2 minutes before he realized that the grass was sticking to his feet, then he wanted to go in and get his sandals on. Even with shoes on, he only lasted another minute. Oh well, at least we got a cute video out of it.

Bouncing Boys

Duane and I both had/took today off. Mostly because my car needed some maintenance, but that was really just a good excuse for a family day. We dropped off the van and drove to one of the many indoor bounce houses around town.

I kind of feel like we are becoming experts at the area's indoor bounce houses because I think we've been to four different ones. Today we went to our favorite (good bounce toys, well staffed and very clean) courtesy of some passes a friend of Duane's gave him. For an hour and a half we all bounced and slid and had a really good time!

After bouncing we went to eat at a real klassy buffet, but it was kind of fun because the boys got to pick what they wanted to eat. Wesley had two helpings of mac and cheese, pizza, strawberries, a cupcake, some gummy bears and some M&Ms. Ryan had croutons and M&Ms. Guess there's a reason kids under 3 eat free, huh?

Center of Attention

Ryan gets exposed to a lot of things we wouldn't have exposed Wesley to at two years. Not that we're letting him watch R movies or anything, but he's much less sheltered than his brother. Wesley LOVES the show "Phineas and Ferb," which means Ryan loves "Phineas and Ferb." We even listen to the Phineas and Ferb CD in the van.

Today I was singing the song "I'm Fabulous" from the CD and Ryan was singing along. Even funnier - he practically shouted the line "It's all about me!" Guess we know someone who thinks he's pretty darn important.

Sort of Summer Vacation

Grandma and Grandpa P. are on vacation this week and next week, so I took a few days off here and there too. It's almost like I'm having a bit of summer vacation myself.

Today I took the boys to the community center pool. I was a little nervous about handling them both, but we did great. They both listen really well when I tell them to stay in a certain part of the pool. Wesley is working on putting his face in the water. Somehow he manages to get his entire head under except for his eyes and nose, but that's a big improvement from last year.

Ryan is pretty fearless at the pool. He insisted he could walk out farther than he actually could and he kept inadvertently dunking himself. It didn't really phase him. I'd yank him upright and he'd spend a moment coughing, but then he would be raring to go again. His favorite thing to do today was stand on the side of the pool and count "three, two, one blastoff" then jump into my arms.

This evening Grandma H. and I took the boys to see Nick Jr.'s Storytime Live. It was a lot of fun. Wesley says he didn't like it, but you wouldn't have known that if you had watched him during the show! I think he was just getting tired. Ryan REALLY liked it! At the end of the show he ran up the aisle and started clapping! Grandma said that was the highlight of her evening.

Sorry for a kind of short and dull post, but I am one tired mommy and I'm heading to bed!

Wild Wesley

A few weeks ago Wesley told me that he'd like to be a zoo keeper when he grew up. I can totally see him doing that because he is obsessed with animals. So today, I bring you two animal/Wesley stories.

We went to the park last night and spent a little time feeding the ducks and fish. Wesley was trying to call the ducks over by saying "Ducky! Come here ducky!" After a minute he said, "Maybe they only speak duck" and began quacking at them instead.

Wesley was on the couch trying to stay awake until his bedtime the other night. Out of the blue (at least to me) he asked, "Why are chameleons the only animals that change colors?" One thing I've learned as a librarian is that it's better to admit you don't know and find someone who does instead of give bad or incomplete information. I told Wesley I didn't know why

"Maybe a zoo keeper would know," Wesley said.

"I bet a zoo keeper would know," I answered. "We can ask one the next time we go to the zoo."

"Yeah, we can ask Jungle Jack," was Wesley's reply.

I told him that Jungle Jack is very busy and might not be at the zoo the next time we go, so Wesley decided that we could ask another zoo keeper if we needed to. I would bet money that he will remember to ask his question the next time we are at the zoo.

Strawberry Adventure

I have very fond memories of going to pick strawberries with my mom and my brother every summer. Mom would make strawberry shortcake and strawberry jam with our haul. To this day, the taste of summer in my mind is a strawberry jam and peanut butter sandwich on wheat bread (what Mom would pack to take to the pool.)

I haven't been strawberry picking in years, but decided to take the boys today. Grandma H. came down to our house and we all loaded in the van to go strawberry picking. We decided to go to the farm where we go to pick pumpkins, which is about a 20 - 25 minute drive. We had a lovely trip to the farm, only to discover when we arrived that they weren't doing self pick strawberries this year. Argh! Guess I should have called ahead.

We turned around and headed back towards the house and to another farm in a totally different part of town. We figured it would probably take 40 minutes from Farm A to get to Farm B. Not a problem at all. We were getting fairly close to Farm B when Grandma turned around in her seat and noticed that Ryan had thrown up all over himself. Seriously, what is with this kid and barfing in the car lately!? We pulled into a gas station and used about half a container of wipes to clean up him and his seat. Ryan didn't feel warm or seem horribly upset. I think he just gagged himself again. Thank goodness I had the diaper bag with a spare outfit, so we were able to keep heading towards the farm.

Once we arrived, we had a pretty good time. Ryan was an angel and Wesley was good about 80% of the time we were there. It was muddy, but I certainly wasn't going to complain about that!

The farm had a farm dog named Champ. He was VERY friendly. I'm pretty sure Ryan would have taken the dog home with us if we could have found a way to sneak him into the van.

Me and my little pumpkins on the way to the strawberry fields.

Exactly how far do we have to walk, Mom?

Let me at those berries!

Wesley tasted the first berry we picked. Ryan was the official basket holder. He never let go of that thing, no matter how full it got.

This is why Ryan never strayed from the basket. That kid ate so many strawberries that I worried his little tummy would pop right then and there. He ate about one berry for every three or four that I picked!

At first I thought it was so cute that every time I looked over at Ryan, he'd be grinning and have berry juice running down his face. Then I realized that he was eating the entire berry - leaves and all. I managed to convince him that wasn't the best way to eat them, but that meant that he came over to me every minute or so, hand me a berry and say, "Berry. Off."

Wesley spent most of the time in some imaginary place, but he does that any place we go.

Ryan didn't want Grandma to help him with the basket, but she did anyhow. I don't think they managed more than half a dozen steps at a time because Ryan kept wanting to stop for quality control.

Hmmmm......where did those boys go?

As we were getting ready to leave, we noticed the small trailer in the background of this picture. What was so special about that trailer? That's where they were making fresh strawberry donuts! YUM! We bought a dozen and had a little snack before leaving (with plenty of leftovers for tomorrow!)

What are we going to do with all the berries we picked? We'll probably just eat most of them whole because strawberries are Wesley and Ryan's favorite fruit. But I am happy to say that there is homemade strawberry ice cream for dessert tonight!

Not Me Monday

There is no way that the one day I forgot the diaper bag was the day Ryan puked on himself in the car. Nope. Didn't happen.

I did not feed my boys bagels smeared with Nutella for breakfast and justified it by saying it was healthier than a donut. Not me.

I was not incredibly flattered when two people at my sister-in-law's church complemented my singing.

Marathon Weekend Day 2

After not enough sleep last night, day two of the marathon weekend kicked off with Ryan waking us up at 6:30. In a warped way it was good though because it gave us plenty of time to get the kids bathed before we had to leave for our nephew's baptism.

We made it out to Aunt Melissa's church by 10:30 and sat through a lovely service. Ryan was in the nursery (yay!) and I only had to bribe Wesley with chocolate twice during the service! He spent most of the time curled up with Aunt Judy and coloring or looking at books with her. Of course, he isn't really used to sitting in worship with us as he usually goes to Sunday School during that time at our church. He must of thought things were dragging though, because after about an hour he asked, "Is this ever going to be done?" All I could think was "spoken like a Lutheran" because our church is 50-60 minutes tops and then folks start to get antsy. He really well though.

After the service we headed over to Aunt Melissa and Uncle Mark's for a celebratory cookout, but we couldn't stay too long because Wesley had another birthday party to go to today. We got home about 2:05 and Duane and Wesley needed to change clothes, wrap the gift, sign the card and leave by 2:30 to get to the 3:00 party. WHEW!

Ryan and I took off to run a couple of errands. Okay, I "took off" and Ryan was asleep in the back of the car, but you get the picture. I managed to make it through the first store without him waking up, but he opened his eyes as I was buckling him back in his seat. You'd think shopping with a toddler who is awake would be easier, but that isn't always the case. He didn't want to walk and he didn't want to ride in the cart so once again I power shopped holding a toddler.

Ryan did a great job playing by himself when we got home while I prepped some snacks for tonight (we have friends coming over to watch True Blood). I sneaked into the living room once to see what he was up to. He had a train out and was pushing it across the floor saying "chug chug choo choo." He also came into the kitchen a few times to help me. And by "help" I mean, lick the strawberry cream stuff off the spatula.

The sweetest thing was how much Ryan missed Duane and Wesley. He kept walking around the house saying, "Daddy? Wesley?" At point I told him that Daddy and Wesley weren't home yet and he put his palms up to his face (a la Home Alone) and let out a pathetic whimper. I sure was happy when they walked in the door. Now all I need to do is make dinner, wash the dishes and clean the house before our guests arrive. Whew!

Marathon Weekend Day 1

Yesterday was the start of another weekend with WAY too many activities crammed in.

We started out the day by hurrying to COSI shortly after they opened in an attempt to beat the rain. This week (and this week only) COSI has an exhibit of "big machines" - bulldozers, backhoes, etc, that the kids can touch and climb on. The boys only got to sit in one bulldozer before the rain started, but they sure had fun for the 15 - 20 minutes we were out there.

Trucks against the city skyline.

All the kids got plastic hard hats.

In the bulldozer

Little showoffs

Still showing off

Climbing into this truck was really cool until we realized the rust came off onto their clothes.

I love this picture of Wesley. He looks like such a big boy!

After COSI we headed home for lunch and a little quiet time before Wesley had to go to a birthday party for one of his preschool classmates. To be honest, I was pretty nervous about this party. Wesley was not at his best at I.'s party last weekend and I was terrified that M.'s party would be the same way, especially since Wesley said that M. used to tease him at school. Turns out I worried for nothing. The party was at the community center pool where Wesley takes swim class. Wesley spent most of the time swimming with a girl, J., and he did great! In fact, it went so well that I didn't even have to get in the water and was able to stay at the fringes of the party the whole time!!! I know Wesley had fun too, because he asked if he could have a pool party for his birthday.

On the way home from M.'s party I told Wesley that Grandma and Grandpa H. were coming over to stay with him and Ryan so Mommy and Daddy could go to a grown up party (a wedding reception). Wesley asked what a grown up party was like, so I told him that there would be food and things to drink and probably music.

"That's it?" he asked incredulously. "No games? No bounce house?"

"Nope. That's it," I said.

"I don't want to go to a grown up party!" was his response.

But Duane and I did and we had a very nice time. It was a reception for a woman I worked with at the the library. Her husband designed the house they live in (and where the reception was) and it happened to be on the street where I grew up. The house was AMAZING!!! I'm pretty sure I was drooling the entire time I was there - it was that incredible. I wanted to take pictures, but thought that might be a little weird. Duane was equally impressed with the place.

After the reception, Duane and I decided to take advantage of the fact that we had a sitter and grab a late dinner someplace. I was almost giddy with the possibility of going someplace where we didn't have to consider if they had a kids menu and we decided to try a relatively new place near our house called "Third and Hollywood" which is owned by the folks who own the always wonderful "Northstar Cafe."

I had read that Third and Hollywood was a little on the pricey side, but we decided to give it a try anyhow and I'm so very glad we did. It was delicious! We had their cheddar herb biscuits which were light and flaky and brushed with real butter. They taste like what the "famous" Red Lobster biscuits wish they tasted like. Heavenly. I had fillet mignon for my entree and it was easily the best steak I have had in recent memory - possibly ever. The knife just glided through the meat and each bite melted in my mouth. We shared a pecan pie sundae for dessert - wonderful vanilla ice cream topped with a crumbled piece of (not too sweet) pecan pie, topped with unsweetened REAL whipped cream and candied pecans. I'm happy to say we ate every bite of that too. Oh! And I had a wonderful cabernet sauvignon that I'm going to have to find a bottle of. It was food heaven for me and the perfect end to day one of the marathon weekend.

Bonding Time

Ryan is fascinated with Wesley's Leapster. For some strange reason, Wesley is actually pretty good about sharing it with his little brother. And if Wesley does want to play it himself, Ryan still finds a way to get in on the action.

Some Kind of Morning

You know that song "Oh, What a Beautiful Morning" from the musical Oklahoma? It does not begin to describe my morning. Seriously. My morning was no where close to beautiful.

It started out pretty good. I got to sleep in a little bit and since it was Friday (jeans day at work) I didn't even have to shave my legs. Actually, it's probably a good thing I didn't have a razor in my hands at any point this morning, because I got the snot scared out of me when I opened the bathroom door. Nothing was wrong, but I did not expect to step out of the bathroom and straight into a four-year-old.

Once my heart started beating at a normal rate again I noticed that Ryan was calling out for me too. So I did a super quick blow dry on my hair and hurried upstairs to get myself and the boys dressed. Turns out that dressing myself was the easiest part.

When I walked into Ryan's room, I thought it was a little strange that his lamp was on - lamp, not overhead light, but I didn't think too much about it. I picked out clothes for Ryan, put him on the changing table and got a diaper out. Ryan threw the diaper on the floor. I picked it up in time to see him throw his clothes on the floor. So I got the diaper on him, then picked up his pants to put those on him. The only problem was that he didn't want his shorts on. I'd put them on and he'd try desperately to take them off. We must have played that little game at least three times - with the volume of Ryan's cries increasing each time.

I finally got the shorts on him, but the little stink is so skinny that they wouldn't stay up. I reached for Ryan's belt and he started screaming "No belt! No belt!" and tried taking his pants off again. I had to hold his pants up with one hand and try to work the belt with the other. Once I had the belt fastened, I was half deaf, but ready to start dealing with his shirt. At least getting that one was slightly less painful.

When Ryan was finally dressed I set him on the floor and walked over to turn off the lamp. Mt. St. Ryan erupted. "Nooooooo!!!! Mama, nooooooo!!!" Then he ran over and turned the lamp back on. Huh. I didn't know he could do that. Too bad we were getting ready to leave, so I turned the lamp back off. I was met with similar results, but this time he started hitting me too.

I scooped Ryan up (mostly so he'd stop hitting me) and went into Wesley's room, only to discover that Wesley crawled back in bed. I asked him to pick out an outfit, but he wanted me too, so I held a still screaming Ryan in one arm and chose some clothes with the other. AND THEN WESLEY REFUSED TO DRESS HIMSELF!!! Needless to say, I was at my wits end by that point.

Somehow we all managed to survive getting ready for the day. We got into van with no problem and drove to Grandma and Grandpa H.'s with almost no problem. I say "almost" because as we were pulling into their driveway, Ryan vomited on himself. "No problem, " I thought. "I'll just put him in his spare outfit when we go into the house." And then I realised that I had left the diaper bag at home - no spare outfits for either child. Thank goodness Target is down the street and opens at 8:00. I dropped the kids off and went to buy spare outfits for each of them to keep at Grandma and Grandpa's.

Believe it or not, I made it to work on time. I put my things away and heaved a huge sigh. "You must have had a mommy morning" one of my co-workers said. I couldn't have put it better myself!

Little Piranhas

What is it with my kids mooching food from people? Both Ryan and Wesley think the food that someone else is eating is far superior to the food they are eating - especially if it's something sweet. I made a lavender lemon pound cake the other day and neither boy would touch it. However, give a piece of that same cake to Grandma, and they descend upon it like they haven't eaten in days. I've never seen anything like it! Grandma was lucky to get three bites before it was gone and both Ryan and Wesley were covered in crumbs. Guess I'll have to make Grandma a cake of her own.

Spoken Like a Big Brother

Before I start today's story, I feel like I need a bit of disclaimer. This is another story that takes place in a car. I know, I know. I can't help it that we drive a lot.

Anyhow, yesterday Ryan fell asleep on the way to Grandma and Grandpa P.'s. He never does that. Poor little guy must have been really worn out from the weekend. We had just pulled into Grandma and Grandpa's neighborhood when Wesley said gleefully, "Hey Mom! Let's say all the reasons we don't like Ryan!"

"What!? No!" was my response.

"Awww, why not?" Wesley asked.

"Because I love Ryan," I answered.

"Well, I know a time you don't like Ryan. You don't like him when he pulls the cushions off the couch."

That led to the mommy speech about how you can love someone but not like the way they are acting or something that they do. I'm not sure Wesley "got it" though. Especially since I witnessed him giving Ryan and empty candy wrapper after dinner and saying, "You didn't eat your dinner so you don't get dessert. But I gave you the paper!"

Not Me Monday

I did not drag my poor family out in the pouring rain to walk in the Memorial Day parade with me. And if I did, there's no way I let Ryan stand around in the rain with no hood. And after all that, there is certainly no way that Ryan threw such a fit when the parade started that I sent Duane to Grandma's with him. Not me.

There's no way I carried a child's giraffe umbrella in the parade because I left my real umbrella at home. Not me.

I know I don't repeatedly give in and let Ryan into our bed at 4:30 in the morning - knowing that it means neither Duane nor I will get any more sleep. That would just be ridiculous.

I was not so embarrassed by Wesley sitting by himself at a birthday party and refusing to play, that I thought, "Well, at least these kids are going to kindergarten next year and I won't have to face the parents at preschool." Not me.

Mr. Sandman

I just came downstairs from sitting with Ryan while he falls asleep. I know it probably isn't a good habit for one of us to stay in Ryan's room until he drifts off, but the alternative is at least 30 mintues of him screaming.

Tonight he got into his bed and I pulled the cover up. Then he pointed to his pillow and said, "Mama. Sleep." I put my head on his pillow with him and closed my eyes. A few moments later he started pointing to all the balls on his blanket. "Baseball. Football. Soccer ball." I lifted my head and said a few words about his blanket. Ryan pointed to the pillow again and said, "Mama. Sleep." I put my head down and all was quiet.

A minute or so passed and Ryan started talking again. "Dora. Boots. Baseball. Hit it." He was describing his favorite Dora episode. "Yes," I said. "Dora and Boots play baseball." I guess I shouldn't have spoken, because I got the ol' "Mama. Sleep." And this time, to make sure I would sleep, Ryan began stroking my forehead just like I do to him when I'm trying to get him to relax and fall asleep.

He didn't last much longer than that. I guess tucking Mommy in can be pretty tiring.

Initiation

Today was a day for the W. family history books (or blog as the case may be). It's a day to be celebrated! What happened that is causing such excitement? Did Ryan wake up potty trained? Did Wesley get an early acceptance letter to an Ivy League school? Nope! Even better! The boys made their Midwestern status official today by having lunch from......

Yep! It was sliders at the W. household today. Duane and my dad have been working on finishing the door and The Castle is just down the street. Mmmm....I can't remember the last time I had a slider/gut grenade/belly bomb. I ate two and shared a milkshake with the boys and I was in steamed burger and onion heaven.

Contrary to what the above picture looks like, Ryan did not eat five sliders. He ate one and a chicken ring and a few fries and some milkshake. However, he really liked to play with the boxes and if you asked how many hamburgers he ate, he'd count the boxes and proudly announce, "Four!"

Wesley did not have any sliders, but he did eat an entire order of chicken rings, so I guess we'll let him into the club. He was so proud of himself for trying a "new" food, but let's be honest, a chicken nugget is a chicken nugget is a chicken nugget. Hey, didn't Shakespeare say that? Or maybe it was Colonel Sanders?

All Boy(s)

We often joke that Ryan is 110% boy. He is into cars and any kind of sport. He is the most ornery child I have ever met and he knows how cute he is. He is really physical - preferring to knock his brother down or throw a ball at him instead of speaking.

Yesterday I walked into the kitchen to find Wesley cracking up. The cause of his uncontrolled merriment? Ryan (at 22 months) was fake burping and saying, "cuse me" over and over. Nice. I can't wait for the arm pit farts to start. That ought to really amuse the big brother.

Here they are in calmer moments. And yes, you may read "calmer moments" as "moments before the chaos starts."

Almost as Good as Christmas

The night before school starts, the night before your birthday, the night before vacation and Christmas Eve all have that same feeling of excitement and anticipation when you are a kid. You have that feeling that something big is going to happen and that anything is possible. Poor Wesley has been dealing with that feeling every time we drive to Grandma and Grandpa P.'s house for months.

The suburb Grandma and Grandpa P. live in was building a new park and big playground and we had to pass it twice a day every time we drove to Grandma and Grandpa's. And if passing it wasn't torture enough for Wesley, we would inevitably get caught at the red light right next to the park.

Wesley has watched the park progress in rain and snow. He's watched as the weather warmed up and the playground didn't open. He yelled at the workers we'd see there to "Hurry up! I want to play there!"

Wesley's playground dreams finally came true yesterday. Grandma and Grandpa took the boys to the new park to play. According to Grandpa, Wesley hit the ground running and didn't stop until he was absolutely dripping with sweat. The playground is entirely wheelchair accessible too - which means it's also very toddler accessible for Ryan.

I can't wait until I get the chance to check out this new playground paradise with them!

The Way to a Librarian Mommy's Heart