Family Field Trip

Duane took yesterday off of work and since I am working all weekend, we decided to have a little family field trip and head to Mansfield. 

What drew us to Mansfield this time around? Two main things. First and most importantly, Wesley has been wanting to see Aunt Carol and you can only keep a boy away from his great aunt for so long. The second reason was that Al had told us about a diner near Mansfield that is inside part of an old train. It sounded pretty cool - especially when you have two young boys, so after picking Wesley up from preschool, we headed north for a lunch date.

Al and Carol met us at the Buckeye Express Diner. Wesley and Ryan were super excited to eat in a real train - and even more excited when they discovered they could ring the bell and the steam whistle on the outside of the locomotive.

Not only was the place itself fun, but the food was pretty darn good too. Duane and I feasted on half pound burgers and handmade fries. YUM! Tony (the owner) was delivering food to the tables and was great with the kids. I'm pretty sure we'll be back!

After filling our stomachs, we headed for the carousel in downtown Mansfield. Maybe it wasn't the brightest idea after having a very big lunch, but I think I was the only one it bothered at all. Duane and I rode the carousel twice with the boys, then I took Ryan into the gift shop while Duane and Wesley rode again. The boys each had $5 from the Easter Bunny and had a great time picking out some trinkets to take home.

We made a quick stop at the Buckeye Bakery - which I can't pass up no matter how full I am - then headed out to the old reformatory. Duane had never been out there and oddly enough, the historic building plays a decent size role in my family history. My maternal grandmother used to be friends with the daughter of a warden/guard who lived there and she'd go there to visit and play. I have a number of relatives who played concerts there, worked there in some fashion, volunteer there now. It's such a beautiful old building. And this time Wesley didn't creep me out claiming to hear noises no one else was hearing!

We stopped by Carol's long enough to traumatize her poor cat (who isn't used to two little boys) then headed back home, tired, full and happy. Wesley announced that it was "the best day ever" so I'd say it was a day well spent!

Knuckle Sandwich

Last night Duane and I were doing the dishes when we heard a wail from the other room, quickly followed by loud tears. Duane put down the dish towel, went into the other room and returned a moment later with a crying Wesley who had blood dripping from his nose.

Now Wesley gets nose bleeds sometimes, so I didn't freak out too much, but then I heard Ryan saying, "I sorry. I sorry. I so sorry."  Apparently Ryan punched his big brother in the nose!

We sat Ryan on the steps while Duane cleaned Wesley up.  I turned to Ryan and said, "I cannot believe you punched your brother in the nose!"

"I not punch him," Ryan said. "I squeeze and he turned red."  Yeah, cause that's much better.

"He's lying!" Wesley shouted from the bathroom. "He hit me!" And in the scenario, I'm much more inclined to believe my older child.

Sigh....why do I feel like this is only the first of many times we'll be dealing with this?

Brother Alarm Clock

Yesterday morning Ryan woke up about 15 minutes early. And how did he spend those "extra" minutes? He went into Wesley's room and started singing the ABCs at the top of his lungs!

Wesley: Ry-an!

Ryan: Wesee (how he says Wesley) You play with me?

Wesley: No, I'm trying to sleep!

Oddly enough, Ryan went back to his bed at that point and Wesley got up. Weirdos!

Playtime Unplugged

It always makes me happy to see my kids playing with the kind of toys I played with when I was little. Despite the fact that we live in a high tech world and my two year old regularly asks for an iPad, they can spend huge chunks of time playing with seriously low tech stuff too.

Last night they discovered a box of playdough that had gotten shoved to the back of closet. We sat on the kitchen floor and played for nearly an hour! No TV, no radio, no computer, phone or Leapsters. Just playdough. It was so nice!

Every now and then we pull out Chutes and Ladders, Candyland, the LiteBrite, or Connect Four. They love sidewalk chalk and bubbles when we are outside too.

I am the first to admit that I love my phone and my blog and my laptop and Facebook, but sometimes unplugging is really rewarding.

Who is Mary?

Today Wesley let me have a little sneak peek into one possible future.

Wesley: Mom, when I grow up and I'm a cleaner (his current occupational dream) I'm going to have kids.

Mommy: Kids are pretty awesome - at least mine are! How many are you going to have?

Wesley: Just one.

Mommy: Do you want to have a little boy or a little girl?

Wesley: A little girl.

Mommy: That would really be nice. But you might have to get married so your little girl can have a Mommy.

Wesley (heaving a sigh): Mom! Can't you just go get Mary and bring her here?

Mommy: No Honey. Not Mary! I said married! You know, like when you find someone you want to be with forever, like Grandma and Grandpa, Uncle Kirk and Aunt Sus, or Mommy and Daddy.

Wesley: Oh! Well, then I know who I want to marry. She's in my class and her name starts with a C!

Guess Mary (whoever she is) is out of luck.

Not Me Monday

I did not miss my one hour lunches/reading time while I was on "staycation" with the kids.

There is no way I bought three pints of Ben and Jerry's just because they were flavors I had never seen before. And I certainly didn't already have two unopened pints in the freezer when I made such a purchase.

I did not spend most of the morning about to rip my hair out because of Wesley's whiny attitude. And even if I did, that frustration did not turn into major Mommy Guilt when he came down with a fever that evening.

I did not create an Easter basket for myself and Duane from the Easter Bunny for the sole purpose of being able to dump the extra candy into the candy bowl without Wesley being suspicous of where it came from.

Playing Dress Up

Wesley and I have spent part of the evening on the couch watching "The Wizard of Oz" on TV. It's my second favorite movie of all time and he's one of my two favorite kids, so it seemed like a good way to pass some time. 

We had just finished watching the song the lion sings right before they go in to see the wizard when Wesley said, "You know, Mom, I don't think that's a real lion." 

"Why don't you think he's real?" I asked.

"Because real lions don't talk. I'm pretty sure that's a man in lion costume. The same with that oil can guy and the scarecrow."

Funny, he didn't call the witch out as being fake......

Mom Costume

Anyone who knows me will tell you that I am a girly girl. I love florals and sundresses and skirts and pink.  There was a time when I wore sundresses and skirts all summer long because they were just as cool as shorts and looked nicer.

But then I had kids. Now the cute skirts and dresses have become work clothes and my home clothes are more practical - things I can chase five year olds and change toddler diapers in while sitting on the floor. In short, I have adopted what I call my "mom costume."

During cold months or chilly spring days the mom costume consists of jeans, slip on shoes of some type and a sweater or long sleeve tee shirt with a hooded zip up cardigan. And yes, I have the same cardigan in four colors. When the weather the warms a bit, I replace the long sleeve shirt with a short sleeve tee (I know, I'm such a rebel) but at least my jeans aren't "mom jeans."

Now summer time is when I really change things up - capri pants instead of jeans. I know! Can you you believe it? And I sometimes even shake things up by wearing a polo shirt instead of a tee shirt. Of course my favorite summertime mom costume is a pair of shorts and a sleeveless polo shirt.

Seriously, how did this happen to me? I've never been overly style conscious and I'm far from a fashion plate, but I didn't think I was frumpy. Outside of work, I might as well be on "What Not to Wear."

So how about the rest of you moms? What is your default mom costume?

Revised Plans

The boys and I had plans all made for today. We were going to join Aunt Susan and go to a mutual friend's house to color Easter eggs. I even made cookies to take with us. But that was before Wesley's cold got worse and he started running a fever. I figured we wouldn't be too welcome with those symptoms right before Easter, so we stayed home.

After a yucky night, Wesley seemed to be doing pretty well today. Well enough that we colored eggs of our own this afternoon. Believe it or not, we only lost one egg in the process - that's the best we've ever done.

After egg decorating, I made the rhubarb pie I've been wanting to make. Ryan was in the mood to be "helpful" so I gave him the leftover dough to roll out.

He was pretty proud of his efforts and chose to spread the dough with Nutella. We made a rustic tart of sorts. He was thrilled when it came out of the oven!

Alright, it isn't pretty, but it's Nutella in a pie crust! You know it's going to taste great! I can't wait to give Ryan a piece of his very own creation for dessert tonight.

Macho Man

Ryan was showing off his muscles this morning. When I commented how awesome they were, Ryan replied, "They like Wesley's!"

Think someone kind of likes his big brother?

Be On the Lookout for Flying Pigs

Wesley just turned to me and said, "You know, Ryan might only be two, but he's the coolest brother."
There must be swine flying somewhere.

Not Me Monday

I did not call home several times one day to make sure that my 14 year old cat was still breathing.

I did not use Wesley's giraffe umbrella (complete with ears) to get out the door to work one morning because my grown up umbrella was in the van. Didn't happen.

I did not go see "Hop" with Wesley and possibly enjoyed it more than he did.

These Kids Today!

Wesley and I went to see the movie "Hop" today. It was really cute! Probably one of the best totally clean, kids movie I've seen in a long time. But what really cracked me up was Wesley. We were watching the previews and I guess he was getting a little tired of them because he sighed, "Can't anyone fast forward on this big TV?!" 

Gee, when I was a kid, we didn't even have fast forward on the tv. These kids today ;-)

Easter Family Fun Day

I love our new church. There are so many families and fun opportunities for stuff to do. This morning was the Easter Family Fun Day. We went for breakfast, games, crafts and an Easter egg hunt. It was so much fun!

Ryan had Cocoa Puffs for breakfast. This just seemed wrong to me considering we were at an Easter breakfast and Cocoa Puffs look like bunny droppings. Guess the Easter Bunny made an early delivery.

Craft time!

Wesley with the Easter Bunny. Ryan had his picture taken later.

Wesley did a great job with the egg race

Ryan did a pretty good job too. Of course, he held his egg on the spoon, so there was no chance he'd drop it.

Getting ready for the egg hunt. It was held in the Sanctuary since it was pretty wet and cold out.

The following video is so funny. When Ryan opened his plastic eggs, he pretended to crack them first. It's totally Daddy's fault, but so cute!

We had such a great morning! I'm so glad our church put this event together!

Mo Reading

Wesley is getting better and better at reading on his own. His latest obsession is the "Elephant and Piggie" books by Mo Willems.  I knew this kid had good taste! The volume on this video is kind of low, so you may have turn your speakers way up.

Wesley now wants to read everywhere (totally his mommy's kid).

He reads at the park instead of playing.

He reads in the kitchen while I'm cooking.

I am so proud of my boy! And thanks to Mo Willems for creating such fun easy readers!

Subtle Hint

So there is a chance I may watch too much Food Network. I mean, there was that whole episode when I was pregnant with Wesley and got dehydrated and ended up in the emergency room because I couldn't stop throwing up, but had Food Network on in my "room."  And our TV does automatically turn to Food Network when it comes on. But I think I got the final confirmation of my Food Network addiction the other night.

I was sitting on the couch watching "Throwdown with Bobby Flay." It was a Baked Alaska battle. Ryan climbed up on the couch beside me and started watching. The competitor broke out his kitchen torch to brown the meringue on the baked Alaskas.

"That pretty!" Ryan exclaimed as the meringue took on a perfect light brown hue.

"It is pretty. And there's ice cream inside it," I told him.

"Ice cream? Wow!" He was pretty impressed.

He was even more impressed when they cut into the creations. "Top Chef is tough!" he said.

Now, I know Top Chef is on Bravo, not Food Network, and to my knowledge, Ryan has never watched it. Still, it's probably one more sign that I watch too many cooking shows.

Cool Dude

Yesterday I made Wesley his breakfast and right after I set his plate down in front of him, Ryan looked at it and piped up, "I want bacon like Wesley!"

"Ryan," Wesley sighed. "Why do you always have to have everything I do?"

"Because you're the cool big brother," I said.

Wesley thought about it for a second, puffed his chest up and said, "Yeah. I guess I AM pretty cool."

And the Little One Said

Ryan woke up at 3:00 this morning. By 3:20 he had made his way over to our room and had climbed in our bed.  He snuggled down in between us, covered up, then said in the perkiest voice I have ever heard at 3 something in the morning, "All three together in bed! All three together!"

Yeah, kid. I'm thrilled. Go to sleep.

He did settle down and go back to sleep, but that was enough to put the rhyme about the "bears in the bed and the little one said" spinning around in my head.

On a similar topic, how come whenever you have a toddler in bed with you he either spins around so he's forming the letter "H" between you and your spouse, or you end up with a diapered tushie in your face?  Just wondering.

Writer's Block

I'm afraid I'm having writer's block today. I've got nothing to blog about. Nothing. I could complain about the weather, but no one wants to read that. I could write about how scared I was that my cat was about to die, but he's doing better now. I could write about how stressed I am about Easter coming up, but all that will probably do is make people feel bad.

So...writers block. I have it. See you tomorrow.

Not Me Monday

I have not started to check my voicemail obsessively in case the school system calls about the kindergarten lottery. That would be a complete waste of my time that way because the lottery results aren't due out for another two weeks.

There's no way I went to a department store and only bought stuff for the kids and nothing for me.

I was not a wee bit proud when Duane called me a food snob. :-)

I did not kind of enjoy a Saturday evening spent at the monster truck show.

I did not crawl under the covers with Wesley for a giggle fest after we discovered that his pajama pants glow in the dark.

I do not feel incredibly guilty that my mom has come down with strep throat after coming down to take care of me a couple of weeks ago.

Candy and Cars

Yesterday was another one of those days where I was slightly jealous of my kids. They had what must have amounted to an almost perfect day if you are a little boy.

I had to work yesterday, but Daddy and Grandma W. took the guys to an Easter open house at a candy factory not too far away. Apparently it was very crowded, but pretty well organized and really, what kid is going to complain about a candy factory and free candy!?

A friendly bunny greeting

Grandma and the boys

Wesley checks out where the chocolate comes from

Not quite Willy Wonka's place

Wesley visited a slightly freaky looking Easter Bunny

I love this picture of Ryan. It looks like he wanted nothing to do with the Easter Bunny, but stole a couple of eggs.

After I got home from work we decided to continue the day of boy themed fun and had a family trip to the monster truck show. Yep, me, the ultimate girly girl went to a monster truck show.

We bought the boys some ear muffs. Wesley loved his and didn't take them off even once.

Ryan was slightly less sure about them, but he kept them on too.

Despite the empty pizza box in front of him, Ryan dined on popcorn for dinner.

OK, I know Wesley is eating with this mouth open in this picture, but I love how enthralled with the show he is.

A very happy boy

I knew Ryan would love the trucks, but I was less sure about Wesley.  They both did great. Wesley grinned and yelled and danced. Ryan was quieter, but watched the whole thing with such intensity! He barely took his eyes off the floor.

It wasn't a Saturday night I ever expected I'd have, but I'm glad we went.