Strep Attack

I feel like it's much much later in the week than it actually is. Last week was super busy at work and Duane came down with strep throat. He saw the doctor last Wednesday, started antibiotics and by Thursday evening was no longer contagious. By Friday he was back to his wonderful self (at least in my opinion). We had a fabulous weekend and all was rosy.

Monday morning I work up feeling odd. Not sick exactly, but not well. I got ready for work, got the boys ready to go and headed out to Grandma and Grandpa P.'s.  On the way there my head started hurting a lot and my back ached so badly that I couldn't stand the thought of sitting in my chair all day. I also have this weird thing where when I'm sick my lower back hurts really really badly and I worried it was the start of something. I called my boss, dropped the kids and went right back home.

By the time I got home I was running a fever and FREEZING. I took a steaming hot bath, but couldn't get warm. I put on flannel pajamas, but couldn't get warm. I got back in the bath. I got under three blankets. No good. I lay in bed shivering until I started sweating. I was starving and thirsty, but didn't feel well enough to get out of bed, It was pretty pathetic.  By the time Duane got home my tonsils were HUGE. He got me some meds, fixed me an egg to eat and took care of everything.

Monday night was a nightmare. I tossed and turned, was cold and shaking and did the whole hot bath routine again.  By the time we woke up in the morning we were pretty sure I had caught strep. I called my doctor's office the moment they opened but the soonest they could get me in was 4:00. I was too miserable to wait that long, so as soon as Grandma H. picked the boys up, I got in the car and drove to a CVS Minute Clinic, I was the first patient of the day. The nurse looked at my mouth and said "I have to do a culture as a formality, but you have strep."  I got my meds and headed home.

By the time I got home I was a mess again. I wanted the meds to start working immediately, but that's not the case. By 1:00 I was in the same mess I had been in on Monday, shaking, starving, thirsty and unable to get out of bed.  At 1:40 I did something I am not proud of. I called my mom and begged her to come down. That amazing, angelic woman got right in the car (leaving the kids with Grandpa) and drove down to take care of her little girl.  And I pretty much was reduced to a little girl by the time she arrived.

I used to make a lot of blond jokes about my mom, but this is a woman you want on your side when the going gets tough. She came in and immediately called the pharmacy to see if I could take a pain killer with my antibiotic to reduce the fever and ease the back pain (I can). She got a heating pad out for the shivers and back pain. She brought me Gatorade. She made me soup and later on another egg. She sat on the bed and watched America's Next Top Model with me. And when I finally stopped shivering, she went home and brought the kids back down - but not until Duane had already gotten home to take care of me.

Duane has been amazing too. He has kept the kids away from me except for a quick hello and goodnight. He went to Target at 9:00 last night to buy me Panera potato soup since that's what I was craving and could still barely swallow. He came home with the soup, but also with gossip magazines for me to read when I felt better and some Sobe water that I like.

I woke up this morning with no fever and little back pain, but with a throbbing headache and can still barely swallow. Technically I'm not contagious any longer, but when your tonsils are so swollen they are almost touching each other (I looked) it's hard to convince yourself you are on the mend.  Work is still very iffy for tomorrow, but at least the shivering has stopped, I can get out of bed and for the first time since Sunday I can concentrate enough to read anything and go the laptop out (thanks to my big brother for putting a wireless network in the house so I can do this in bed).

Despite feeling so yucky, I am really feeling bad for Ryan. He's having a tough time with Mommy being sick. Yesterday when Grandma H. pulled up to her house, Ryan said, "I don't want this house. I want my house. I want Mommy," then he refused to get out of the car. "No. I stay in car." Grandma unbuckled him, closed the garage door, turned the light on and told Ryan to come in when he was ready. He was in the house within 5 minutes.

This morning he threw a mega fit about having to leave. He wanted Mommy (and Mommy's iPhone.) Under normal circumstances I would not let him get away with such a temper tantrum, but Grandma can't lift him because of her shoulder and I was in no shape to go out to the car. We let Ryan go upstairs with me and sit on the bed and play with my phone until Grandma got back from dropping Wesley off at preschool. When she came back, he was much much better and ready to go to her house.

Wow. I didn't mean for this post to be so long, and to be honest, it's wearing me out. I'm going to say "goodbye, stay well" shut the laptop off and go back to sleep.

Not Me Monday

I was not tempted by a friend's invitation to a Botox party. And as a result, I have not been trying to convince myself that the eye and forehead wrinkles that I'm developing are actually attractive. And I certainly did not go to Target and agonize over whether or not to buy some wrinkle cream.

There is no way my cell phone started ringing in the middle of presentation at a library conference - and there was no way my ring tone was set to play the theme from Raiders of the Lost Ark.

I have not put off completing the second stage of Wesley's application for private school in the hopes that he gets into one of choices for public school and I won't have flushed the $200 application fee for the private school down the toilet.

Wonderful Weekend

What a wonderful weekend!

Yesterday I had plans with a couple of my girlfriends to take our kids to World of Bounce. We had a really nice time.

This is the "big slide"

I had to accompany Ryan on his first trip (of the day) down the big slide.

Kate raced down with Colin.

Then Colin and Ryan gave it a go.

And Ryan went solo!

After some time there, we grabbed a bite of lunch, then headed back to the W. house. For the next three hours, Kate, Ms D. and I got to sit around and talk while our five kids played together. Yes, you read that right. FIVE kids. And they did great! They played nicely and there were no tears. And the best part was that I had time to talk to some of my closest friends face to face. It was wonderful!

We went out to dinner and did a little shopping with Kirk and Susan that evening. Again - totally what I needed.

Today has been pretty laid back. We went to church, came home and I baked, then I roasted a turkey breast and Duane's mom came down for dinner before she headed to church. I even had time to read today!  It was just the weekend I needed!

Night Owl

Last evening Wesley was sitting on my lap and gave me a kiss. I told him that I come into his room each night when he's asleep and give him a good night kiss.

"You do?" he asked. "I never even feel it!"

I assured him that I do indeed sneak in with a kiss.

"Well, I won't be there when you come in tonight," he told me.

Puzzled I asked, "Where are you going to be?"

"Tonight I'm going to be nocturnal!" he replied happily.

More New Friends

I really need to get Ryan some little friends his age. He has progressed from calling the plastic ants from the "Ants in Your Pants" game his friends to naming some of his Hot Wheels. We now have three cars that have been dubbed Milli, Geo and Bot (Team Umizoomi). Great. Now Ryan will be sleeping with two Bobos, one bear, three plastic ants and three cars.

We're going to have to get him a bigger bed soon.

Commercial Break

I almost never mention particular products on my blog, but I have to tell you. I am SOLD on the Gyro Bowl. Wesley and I saw a commercial for it on TV a couple of months ago and while we both thought it was pretty cool, I didn't want to spend the money. Turns out Grandma and Grandpa P. must have seen the same commercial because a couple of weeks later they presented us with two Gyro Bowls.

All I can say is WOW!! I love this thing! Now remember, I am the person who has had entire boxes of breakfast cereal spilled in my minivan - never again! Ryan loves "his" bowl and always wants his snacks in it. Occasionally one piece may fall out, but that's better than the whole box. I only wish I had known about these when the kids were a little younger.

BTW - the people who make this product do not read my blog. They have absolutely no idea who I am, nor do they care. This is just me, sharing what I think is an awesome product with you.

Brotherly Love (Again)

I know this picture looks like I interrupted a wrestling match, but that couldn't be further from the truth. Ryan had just walked up to Wesley and said, "Wesley, you my friend," then planted this big hug on him. How's that for "awwwww" factor?

New Pets

What you see before you may look like the plastic playing pieces from the game "Ants in Your Pants," but you would be mistaken in thinking they were anything so ordinary. No, these are Ryan's new pets - or "friends" as he calls them. The blue one is Jake, the green one is Cubby and the red one is Izzy. By some strange coincidence, those are the names of the three main characters on "Jake and the Neverland Pirates" which is one of the boys new favorite show. Ryan even took his friends to bed with him the other night. At least these are the kind of bed bugs I can live with.

Not Me Monday

I was not super excited to get my new collapsible rolling crate to use at work. You'd think I was a librarian or something!

I do not find the fact that Ryan wants to do everything himself equally infuriating and adorable.

I did not almost paint Ryan's toenails green just because he was fascinated with my nail polish.

Boys and Girls

Wesley has become very aware of things that are "boy" and things that are "girl" lately. I don't just mean physical differences (we had that conversation a couple of months ago), but, well, I guess you'd call them societal differences.

He has told me that "boys kiss girls" and he doesn't want to go into the women's restroom with me if we are out shopping someplace.  Thank goodness for places that have family restrooms, because I'm not all that comfortable letting him go into the men's restroom by himself (even if the pee drinking pervert did just get five years house arrest.)

I painted my fingernails and toenails this weekend for the first time in ages. Ryan really wanted me to paint his toenails green too, but Wesley told him, "Ryan, only girls do that."

Last night we were watching TV and there were a bunch of toy commercials. A commercial for a Fairy Barbie came on and Wesley said, "That looks cool. I wish I could play with it, but it's a girl toy." I wasn't sure what to say. I don't have a problem with him playing dolls, but I also knew that buying one for him would cause a rift in the house.  Many of Wesley's friends are girls, so I suggested he play with one the next time he is at one of their houses if he wanted.

Of course the next commercial was for a Hot Wheels bath toy that is a dragon ramp that spits water. Wesley took one look at it, said, "That's AWESOME!!"

I kind of hate that he has decided that certain things are "boy toys" and certain things are "girl toys." Why can't they just be toys? It makes me kind of sad.

He's Got My Back

After picking Wesley up from preschool, the boys and I ran a couple of errands. We hopped on the freeway and after a couple of minutes I looked at my speedometer. "Uh-oh! Mommy better slow down. I'm going too fast and if I don't slow down I could get in trouble."

Ryan (aka my little thrill seeker) said, "Go fast, Mommy! Get in trouble!"

"You want me to get in trouble?" I asked.

"Yes!" Ryan laughed.

"Hey!" Wesley half snarled to his brother. "Don't you talk to my mommy like that! If you talk to her like that again, I'll pulverise you!"

Guess we know who is watching out for his mommy.

On a Roll

Wesley tried to teach Ryan how to do a forward roll last night.

Arms up....

Hands on the ground and tuck your head.....

Then roll! Ryan kind of missed the point.

All pictures taken by our fabulous family photographer Aunt Susan

Who Needs a GPS?

I have often wonders how well Wesley knows the way to his grandparents houses. I mean, he goes to them VERY frequently and I usually take the same route each day.

This morning I told the boys we could pick up donuts for a St. Patrick's Day breakfast. We exited the freeway where we normally do, but I passed our usual turn so we could go to Tim Hortons. "Um, Mommy? Didn't you miss Grandma's?" Wesley asked.

I had to remind him that we were making an extra stop before heading to Grandma's. He was very relieved I hadn't forgotten how to get to Grandmas.

See, we made it there.

Night and Day

Wesley has had a very rough start to the week. Monday he was very bossy and demanding and ended up in time out at his grandparents house. The poor attitude continue at home and it was not a very pleasant night. 

Tuesday should have been a fresh start. I mean, that is the idea, right? Apparently no one told Wesley that. He was just as bad as he had been the day before. He was so rotten while Grandma H. was on the phone that she had to excuse herself from the conversation and deal with him. He was sassy and fought with Ryan and was not a nice kid.

Over dinner that night, Daddy, Wesley and I discussed what his punishment would be. We decided on no computer games (including my phone) and an early bedtime for two nights. Although Wesley was very agreeable about his punishment when we talked about it, he was less than impressed when he had to go to bed before Ryan.

Wesley woke up this morning a whole new kid - it reminded me of when Tigger lost his bounce. He was a kinder gentler Wesley. He hopped right out of bed with a smile, got himself dressed and even helped me make his bed. When a bit of milk spilled in the kitchen, he got a towel out, wiped up the mess and put the towel in the laundry. His manners were impeccable. When we got in the car, Wesley asked if we could listen to Laurie Berkner. Ryan chimed in, "I want Phineas and Ferb!" Wesley immediately changed his mind and said, "We can listen to what Ryan wants."

I guess his day didn't stay quite so stellar - the final report I got from Grandma and Grandpa was, "much improved from yesterday, but not as good as he can be." He improved at home again and the night went pretty well. If tomorrow morning goes smoothly we may have to think about switching to an earlier bedtime for good!

Homework Already?

Wesley had his first homework assignment tonight. He had to collect information about his favorite zoo animal. Should have been a piece of cake for Wesley, right? Well, not exactly. First of all the assignment was very vague. How much information? Pictures? Facts? I mean, I know this is preschool, but some kind of guidence would have been nice. I know that the information will be used for a class book, but that didn't help too much.

Wesley and I decided on five facts about lions and a couple of pictures - one I "borrowed" from my friend's online photo album from when she went on safari and one was a coloring page. Wesley and I chose the facts together, then I wrote out the sentences and he copied them. Here's what we ended up with:

1. Lions live in prides.
2. Lions live in Africa.
3. Daddy lions have manes.
4. Lions can purr.
5. Lions eat meat.

Hopefully that will be enough for the project. I'm sure glad he got that simple animal encyclopedia for Christmas though. Hummmmm...who got that for him anyhow? Oh yeah! His librarian mommy!

Not Me Monday

I did not feel a little bit sick after watching Ryan take a bite out of a hot dog straight from the fridge.

I have not started to use my iPhone apps as bribery to get the boys to do what I want. That would be wrong on several levels.

I did not totally beat myself up mentally over a silly miscommunication.

Family Fun

Tonight we went to our first family fun outing with the church we've been attending (and will probably end up joining).  The family fun night was at an indoor bounce house and included pizza, so needless to say, the boys had a great time!

Wesley in his cat glasses

Wesley and Ryan kicked off the night with some air hockey.

Any guesses about who won?

Wesley after making it through the dinosaur obstacle course.



Wesley and Mommy have a little dinner



Wesley right before we left. Notice how bright red his face is.

After the church outing was over, Wesley was in the mood for some ice cream. Since I have been dying to try some of the new flavors at Jeni's, we headed over there. 

Ryan with his dark chocolate ice cream

Wesley loved his chocolate ice cream too - his first kids scoop of the evening.



Now that's a happy boy!

Daddy and Ryan playing spoons



Wesley with his second kids scoop of the night - wildberry lavender



Mr. Ornery at the chalkboard. Something tells me it's a good thing he can't spell much yet.



What a cheese-ball! Funny, that's the only thing he ate for dinner.



It was a good evening and good way to end the weekend. 



Super Packed Saturday

Wow! What a busy day this has been! It's been really good, but really busy!

The day started off with us dropping the boys off at Grandma and Grandpa H.'s for awhile while Duane and I went to give blood and had lunch out.


What handsome boys!



Duane and I decided to split the boys up for the afternoon. The plan was for him to take Wesley to a movie, while Ryan and I went to Target. The plan started to go a bit awry when Wesley decided he wanted to go see "Mars Wants Moms" instead of "Rango."  Apparently Wesley got really scared by the movie and they ended up having to leave after about 20 minutes. Duane made it up to Wesley by letting him sit in the front seat while they did a few "donuts" in the parking lot.

Ryan and I held up our end of the deal. We went to Target and while we were there I let him pick up a race track for his cars. He picked one with a loop-de-loop, or as Ryan says, a "hoop-de-whoop."

After Daddy and Wesley came back from their movie, I took the boys out to play while Duane ran another errand. We got Ryan's baseball, stand and plastic bat out and were having a great time in Grandma's front yard. A couple of boys from down the street came up and wanted to play too. I was so happy to have some more potential friends for Wesley join in. Everything was going swimmingly until one of the boys swung the bat back (hard) right at the moment Wesley was walking behind him. Wesley got smacked on the side of the face REALLY hard. Needless to say, we gave up on baseball and went inside at that point. 

The Angry Birds addicts

Reading some books....the sticker on my shirt says "Be nice to me. I gave blood today"

We celebrated Uncle Kirk's birthday this evening. Once again, I didn't take very many pictures, but Aunt Susan got some great ones.  I did manage to get a picture of the cake Duane decorated for Kirk.

I wish I had gotten a picture of Uncle Kirk blowing out the candles. Ryan wanted to blow them out, so when Uncle Kirk leaned in, Ryan reached up to cover Kirk's mouth. VERY CUTE! Also cute was how smitten Wesley was with the daughter of a friend that came over with Aunt Cathy. As we were leaving for the night Wesley said he wanted S. to come to his birthday part - which won't be for five months!

And finally, we have the proof that the boys had a full, fun day. These pictures were taken only a few minutes after they had their baths.

Hope your day was full of good things like ours was.

Missing Mommy - Sort Of

Yesterday when pulled into Grandma and Grandpa's driveway to pick up the boys, I could see Ryan looking at the window watching for me. As I got out of the car, I could see him calling, "Mommy! Mommy here!"

"Awwww...." I thought to myself. "How sweet. He really missed me today."

I opened the door, and he was standing in the foyer waiting. "Hi Sweetheart! Did you miss me today?" I asked.

"Yes," Ryan replied, before revealing the real reason he was waiting for me. "I play Angry Birds on your phone?"

Great. I've been replaced by my iPhone and a silly game.

Ready to Read

As many of you know, library babies are above average in many things (wink, wink).  But I have to say, I'm really impressed which how badly Ryan wants to read. He notices print everywhere and wants to know what everything says. "What dat say?" is a very common question in our house.

Last week, Grandma H. brought Ryan up to the library I work at. I walked them down to the children's department and just as we were about to enter the department, Ryan stopped in front of the tree entrance.

He pointed to the words above the door and asked, "What 'dat say?"  I told him it said Bookingham Forest.  "Bookingham Forest," he repeated. "I say letters!" Then he proceeded to point at each letter and name it out loud until he had spelled Bookingham Forest. Then, and only then, would he enter the children's department.

Last night I got home from Ash Wednesday service late enough that the boys were already in bed. Wesley was already asleep, but Ryan was reading with Duane. He has a simple board book that he loves and when I walked upstairs I could hear Ryan saying, "E-A-T. 'Dat spells eat," while pointing to the letter. It was the sweetest thing to walk in on. I swear, I almost melted.  The boy really wants to read, and I bet he'll be doing it soon.

Playing Chopsticks

Ryan tried using my chopsticks at dinner the other night.

He decided they were better as drumsticks than as eating utensils.

No Longer a Bare Bear

On Sunday we took the boys to the mall to run around in the play area. Before we left I told Wesley to grab his allowence that he had saved up ($15) in case he saw something at the mall. Well, the play area is across from Build-a-Bear and Wesley decided to spend his money on an outfit for Carr so "he won't be naked anymore."  Carr is not a Build-a-Bear  bear, so the clothes were going to be a bit big, but Wesley really wanted to pick something out, and it was his money.

After a little bit of guidence from Mom, Wesley chose a very tasteful pair of denim shorts (although they are more like pants on Carr), a striped button down shirt and a pair of sunglasses. He carried the bag through the mall all on his own and couldn't wait to get home to get Carr's new clothes on him.

Ryan and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Poor Ry-baby. We all have tough days, but today has been one of the toughest for him. I'm not sure what what side of the bed he got up on, but it definitely wan't the right one! He was a red-faced, screaming, crying, kicking, snot-nosed mess from the time he got up at 7:00 until I left him at Grandma and Grandpa P.'s at 8:00. 

What happened to make life so miserable for my favorite two-year-old?  Apparently everything. Here's a small list of things that set him off.

• I got him out of bed
• I made him sit on the potty
• I helped him dump his full potty into the big potty so he wouldn't spill
• I picked out the wrong shirt
• I got the granola bars down from the top of the fridge instead of lifting him up to get them
• I put the granola bar in my purse after Ryan refused it
• I put Ryan in my car, not Daddy's car (never mind that Daddy was at work)
• I would not turn the car around to go home and leave the granola bar at the house
• I listened to the wrong music in the car
• I allowed Wesley to push the button (ring the doorbell) at Grandma and Grandpa's
• I made Ryan take his coat off
• I only let him play Angry Birds for a few minutes before I had to leave

Things got a little better after I left, although Grandpa did report a meltdown after he had the nerve to cut Ryan's cheeseburger in half so it would be easier to eat.

When I picked Ryan up at 5:30, he had just woken up from a nap and was crying. He continued to whine and cry the entire way to the tax place where we were meeting Daddy - which means about 40 minutes of whining by the time we got in the car and got to where we were going. The whining quit at dinner, but he didn't eat anything except a handful of blackberries.

I think I'll move to Australia *

Thank goodness he's in a somewhat better mood now. 

* That's what Alexander says in the book, "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day. Just in case you were wondering what Australia had to do with anything.

Not Me Monday

I did not get dinner out to thaw and proceed to leave it on the counter for 10 hours. And we most certainly did not end up picking up burgers for dinner instead.

I did not get way too excited by the fact that Ralph Macchio is going to be on Dancing with the Stars. And I didn't follow up with getting way too excited about the new Ben and Jerry's ice cream flavor that contains fudge covered potato chips!

It wasn't me who lost the charging adapter to a brand new iPhone after having possession of it for less than 24 hours. And if it was, I certainly wasn't embarrassed when Duane found the piece sitting on the table after I spent half an hour looking for it.

Soft Hearted

Sometimes I look at Wesley and am touched by how empathetic and big-hearted he is. He doesn't like to see anyone hurt or cry. Well, anyone except his little brother sometimes. And there are times when Wesley hugs Ryan and gives him words of encouragement and honestly tries to teach him things. Of course, it will come as no surprise to hear that Wesley's biggest soft spot is for animals. Stuffed animals, toy animals and real animals all have a special place in his heart.

The other morning I was in the kitchen making breakfast for the boys when Wesley cried out, "Oh! Look at that cute white kitten!"  I looked out the kitchen window and sure enough, there was a beautiful white cat in the yard next door. Wesley and Ryan watched intently as the cat climbed into the neighbor's tree.

"Can cats climb out of trees, Mom?" Wesley asked.

"Yes, honey. They can get down. That cat will be fine."

Wesley thought for a moment then said, "I wonder where that cat lives?"

We have a LOT of stray cats in our neighborhood and I thought it was best to be honest with Wesley. "That cat might not have a home Wesley. Some cats don't have anyplace to live and they sleep outside and have to look for food to eat. Gus (one of our cats) used to be a stray cat - a cat without a home - before he came to live with us."

Wesley got very worried. "Do you think that cat is a stray?"

"I don't know. Maybe."

I could tell Wesley was pretty concerned, so I put my shoes on and went outside to check the cat out. I should have known that Wesley would be right behind me. Together we crouched down and talked softly to the cat, which started to come over to us. I could see that although it was a young cat, it was very clean and not afraid of people. Wesley was being so sweet and really wanted to see that cat up close.

The cat was a few feet away from us when Ryan burst out of the back door to come see the cat too. And let me tell you, a two-year-old can make a whole lot of noise when they come running out of the house to see a cat. That poor little cat ran away as fast as it's little paws would carry it.  Wesley was a bit annoyed with Ryan for scaring the cat off.  We looked for it in the alley, but it was long gone. It took a bit of reassuring for Wesley to believe the cat would be OK and when we left for school I could tell he was hoping to catch a glimpse of it.

I love that he's so sweet. I hope that big soft heart of his never gets hardened.

Not Exactly Tiffanys

I am not big on accessories and jewelry. I'd really like to be. I just bought a bunch of spring and summer dresses and would have loved to buy accessories to go with them, but all that stuff costs (even more) money that I just can't justify spending. Instead I have mostly practical earrings, a couple of standard necklaces and one or two rings.

 I keep all my "fancy every day" jewelry in a plastic box with little dividers. I know, very classy. I usually have the box on a shelf in the bathroom, but I have been leaving it on my dresser over the last week or so and Wesley has discovered it. Forget just discovering it, Wesley is fascinated by it. He loves to open the box and look at and touch all the earrings.

"Look Mom," he said, grabbing some large silver filigree hoops, "These look like tires!"

Then he picked up some with blue beads on them, "And these are beautiful!"

I'd say I'm glad he appreciates fine jewelry, but these are things I pick up at Target and World Market and the like. Maybe I'm glad he appreciates cheap jewelry!

But his favorite jewelry box find was a pair of earrings that I haven't worn in years and years  - a pair of gold hoops in the shape of Mickey Mouse's head. Wesley's discovery of them is why I ended up wearing said earrings yesterday for the first time in probably a decade. He decided they were "pretty" and "perfect with your outfit." Honestly, they didn't match my outfit at all, but I was willing to put them on for the day if it made him happy. And it did.

Practically Perfect in Every Way

Yes, it was cold and rainy today, but I had a practically perfect day.

Ryan and I had a bit of quality time together after taking Wesley to preschool. We met Grandma H. at Northstar Cafe for a bite of breakfast. Ryan wanted to "talk first", meaning he wanted to order his food all by himself. He did a great job asking for a biscuit and jelly. Ryan is so independent anymore. He wanted to cut his own biscuit, spread the butter by himself and anything else that could be done on his own. Sometimes it can be a bit tiring, but we weren't in any hurry today, so I was more than happy to let him try things on his own.

After breakfast Ryan and I hit the grocery store where, in spite of the great breakfast we had just eaten, Ryan snagged a cookie from the sample area. He also conned me out of a Matchbox car too - smart kid. Well, smart until we were walking back to the car in the rain.  There was a big puddle in the parking lot that seemed to be calling Ryan's name and Ryan was powerless to resist it. By the time I had the car door open, Ryan's feet and pants were soaked!  He complained about being wet for the five minute drive to Grandma's. I assured him that we'd take his wet shoes and socks off when we got there, but as I was soon to discover, Ryan couldn't wait. When I opened the door to get him out of his car seat I found a barefoot little boy who looked up at me with big innocent blue eyes and said, "You carry me?" I did, and Grandma popped his clothes in the dryer so he'd be warm and dry when we went to pick up Wesley.

Wesley had a great day at school and when we got home the boys played together well enough that I could spend a couple of hours in the kitchen working on several recipes. Wesley (the future chef) even came into the kitchen to help out for awhile. He helped me dip the cake truffles in chocolate and then helped make chocolate pretzel clusters.

Kirk and Susan came over for dinner tonight. I tried a couple of new recipes that were delicious, if I do say so myself. After dinner, the boys played games like Angry Birds on the iPhones and "cats" using their imagination.

"Edwin" and "Little Cat" on the couch

Kirk and Susan also got to experience the special Ryan kiss - and they had the drool spots on their clothes to prove it.

All and all it was an excellent day!