Happy Easter - Nothing But Pictures!

Easter Egg Smash

Grandma and Grandpa H. came over the other night so we could dye Easter eggs with Wesley

Things started off quite well, as you can see. Grandma and I put the first few eggs in the dye and we waited for a few minutes to take them out. Once Wesley could see how pretty the eggs were when they came out of the dye, it was all over. He couldn't put them in fast enough. He practically threw the eggs in the dye (and it didn't matter if there was already another egg in the cup), and tossed them onto the paper towel lined plate to dry. I cringed with each "CRACK" I heard. I think we lost about half a dozen eggs to Wesley's enthusiasm, but he had a great time.

Wesley's favorite colors to use were green and blue. We even made a green egg with his name on it.

>

Wesley shows off his newly colored hands. If there was audio with this picture, you'd hear him shouting, "My hands are geen! They're geen!"

Dying Easter eggs is thirsty work! Good thing there was some chocolate milk nearby!

After we were done with the eggs, Wesley wanted to hand them out to everyone. You can see that even Stinky Bear got a visit from the Wesley Bunny.

Already an Embarrassment

Apparently it is possible to embarrass your unborn child. I was helping with interviews for a children's librarian position today. Each candidate has to do a storytime and one candidate had us do the Hokey Pokey. I was able to do the whole song until the point when we had to put our backside in and shake it all about. I was shaking it, when 2.0 started violently objecting (read: moving A LOT). I had to sit down and could Hokey Pokey no more. I could almost hear a preteen voice telling me "Mom! You're embarrassing me!"

Unrelated Stories

Wesley is getting worse and worse to wake up in the morning. This morning I told him that it was time to get up. "But this is my pillow," he said without opening his eyes. I agreed that it was. "I'm laying on it!"


Wesley looked at our kitchen clock this morning and noticed that one of the hands was on the 10. "It's 10:00!" he said. I tried to explain that since one hand was on the 10 and one was on the 8 it was 10 till 8. "10 8:00"


I was filling my water bottle up at the refrigerator this morning. Wesley was watching me so I told him that I was drinking lots of water because it is good for our baby. "Where is our baby?" he asked. I reminded him that our baby was in my tummy. He wanted to look at my tummy and then told me that he was going to give our baby "nice, healthy snacks."

He Can't Dance

Wesley was dancing in the living room a few minutes ago. Understand that by "dancing" I mean "spinning around in a circle." He eventually toppled over and landed on his nose! I was laughing and he was laughing - until he tried to stand up and fell over again. Now if you ask Wesley to dance, he responds "I can't dance!" Poor baby!

Invisable Milk

We have fallen into the toddler trap of chocolate milk. It's now the only kind of milk Wesley will drink. In order to combat the mommy-guilt of giving my child chocolate milk every day (several times) I try to add the smallest amount of syrup possible to the milk. I guess I was skimpier than usual with the chocolate last night because after Wesley took a couple of sips he handed the cup back to me and said, "Invisible milk is yucky!" I know he meant "regular milk" but how funny is that?

Disaster at the Mall -GROSS!

It seemed like such a nice plan. I'd meet Duane and Wesley at mall after work. We'd let Wesley play in the play area, I'd get an Easter dress, we'd eat dinner in the food court and then buy Wesley's Easter outfit. A nice simple plan, right. WRONG!!!!

It started OK. Wesley played contentedly in the play area with Duane while I went to get my dress. I came back and watch Wesley make friends with a little boy who was probably four or five years old and Wesley's self appointed assistant. The older boy was able to climb on things Wesley couldn't quite manager yet, but that didn't slow them down. The older boy would try to pick Wesley up or take his hand to help him. Very cute.

We decided an hour of playtime was long enough. 2.0 and I were STARVED so the family headed upstairs to the food court. Wesley didn't do much more than pick at his dinner, but he drank his milk and was well behaved. After dinner we went back downstairs and lo and behold - there was the Easter Bunny. This is where things started to turn ugly. Wesley was pretty intrigued by the long eared one, so we decided we'd get his picture taken with the bunny. There was no line, Wesley was in a good mood, so things should have gone smoothly, right? WRONG!!!!

Although Wesley was very interested in seeing the Easter Bunny he was not so interested in sitting with him. Duane put Wesley on E.B.'s lap, the lady snapped a picture and the second the flash went off, Wesley bolted. He didn't just jump down from E.B.'s lap - he took off running down the mall. He has NEVER run away from us like that before. Duane chased him down, while the lady told me the picture didn't come out. So we tried again, only to get the same results. Remember, this is kid who was in love with Santa, so we couldn't figure out the reluctance.

Now most parents would have gotten a clue at this point and left well enough alone. But Duane and I are not most parents. We had already picked out the package we wanted and our son was quickly becoming unruly and we were not to tolerate it. He was going to get his picture taken darn it! Rather than resulting to threats, we resulted to bribes. There was a Godiva chocolate shop right across from the E.B. and we told Wesley that if he would get his picture taken with E.B. we'd get him a piece of chocolate. Wesley still wouldn't sit down, so we stood him up on the bench and managed to get this picture. If you look closely, you can see my hands holding the boy in place. Once again, as soon as the flash went off, Wesley took off. I sprinted behind him and herded him into the chocolate store. Yes, he was being a beaster, but a deal is a deal.

The beaster-like tendency did not end in the chocolate store. He kept trying to run away while I was trying to pick out a piece of candy and pay for it. I chose a raspberry filled star, which has tried before and liked. After I paid for it he begged for a white chocolate duck with some kind of filling. I got the duck too, just to make him be quiet.

We met back up with Daddy. Duane scooped Wesley into his arms and I gave Wesley the duck as we were walking down the mall. Wesley took a big bite of the duck, chewed it up, swallowed and pronounced, "I don't like the ducky," before projectile vomiting all over Duane, himself and the floor of the mall. Now this would have been bad enough in front of a kids store, but it happened just a few feet before the entrance of a semi-upscale women's store. I left the puke twins and dashed into the store and interrupted the saleswoman by saying "Excuse me. Could you please call mall maintenance? My son just vomited on the floor outside your store." Do I know how to make an entrance or what?

I went back out to the guys. Wesley was getting upset because he doesn't like to be dirty, let alone covered in vomit. Oh, did I mention that the diaper bag with the spare clothes was in the car? Anyhow, as embarrassed as I was and as much as I wanted to leave the scene of the crime, I knew we had to own up to the puke. Duane, of course, wanted to take Wesley straight to his car and head home, but I wasn't about to own up to the puke by myself, so we waited for the clean up crew as a family. Some kind woman took pity on us and brought us a big pile of paper towels, so I was able to mop things up a little before the clean up crew arrived.

Once we were able to make our red-faced escape, Duane took Wesley to his car. Stubborn Mommy still felt compelled to buy Wesley an Easter outfit. I ran into the store closest to where I parked my car and grabbed the first 3T Easter outfit I saw. I couldn't get out of the mall fast enough, but I still want Wesley to look nice next weekend.

When I got to my car I pulled out my cell phone and called my good friend and fellow mommy, Kate. I had to relate the disaster to someone who would understand. Kate understood alright. She started laughing so hard she was crying! I think the words "better you than me" were uttered somewhere in there too. And she's right. If you can't laugh at stuff like this, you're sunk. But it'll still be awhile before we have another family night at the mall.

Happy Birthday Uncle Kirk

We celebrated Kirk's birthday at Grandma H.'s tonight. The food was great, the company was great and everyone had a good time.


Wesley has been looking forward to Kirk's birthday for several days. Tuesday we told Wesley that we needed to go to the store and get a birthday present for Uncle Kirk. Wesley thought for all of 2 seconds before stating "Unc Kirk wants a car!" So when we got to the store we went to the toy aisle so Wesley could pick out a car for Kirk. The kid knew exactly what he wanted too. He scanned the aisle for a moment, then pointed to one and said firmly, "Unc Kirk wants that car!" So that's the car we got. Picking out a card was equally as easy. As soon as Wesley saw the card with the jumping cat he knew it was want Uncle Kirk wanted. Good thing Kirk is a good sport!

A pre-dinner story with Uncle Kirk and Aunt Susan.








Spinning on the chair with Sho








Playing cars with Kei










Super cute picture taken by Aunt Susan. Is she a great photographer or what!?

Confessions of a Slacker Mom

Yep! Slacker Mom strikes again! I had to take Wesley out to Aunt Melissa's early this morning and we had nothing to pack for breakfast. No cereal bars, no pancakes, nothing. I was too embarrassed to just mooch scrambled eggs off her (even though I know she wouldn't care one little bit), so I decided to pick something up for Wesley on the way. I usually pick up breakfast for myself on the days we go to Aunt Melissa's so I figured it wouldn't be a big deal. I figured wrong.

I tried to coax Wesley into some hash browns and eggs from McDonalds, but he kept saying "No hash browns." Strange, because he loves McDonald's hash browns. We also pass a Tim Hortons, so I asked if he wanted a donut. I know, real healthy, but I wanted to get him something. "No donut. No donut," he said as we approached Timmy Ho's. I was just about thru the intersection when Wesley changed his mind and started telling me that he did indeed want a donut. Fine. I maneuvered into the drive thru and asked Wesley if he wanted a little donut (Timbits) or a big donut (regular). "A big chocolate donut!"

So, slacker mom arrives at Aunt Melissa's with a pure chocolate donut for breakfast for my boy. I almost wanted the floor to open up and swallow me whole. See, Aunt Melissa is in so many ways the mom I wish I could be. There's a reason we want her to get custody of Wesley if anything ever happened to us. He'd be in the best care imaginable! Now I know Melissa doesn't think I give Wesley chocolate donuts every day - in fact he gets maybe one a month if he's lucky, but I felt like someone should just slap a big ol' scarlet "L" for loser on my forehead.

I'm mostly over it now. As a coworker and friend of mine pointed out - we all need a donut now and then.

Potty Animal

I only wish the title of this post referred to Wesley. Instead it refers to a different potty animal - Stinky Bear! I woke Wesley up the other morning and asked if he wanted to sit on the potty. He said no, because it was Stinky Bear's turn. Guess he was right.

Shake Shake Shake

Last night I had a terrible pain in my lower abdomen. It hurt to walk or lift my right leg, so I crawled into bed even earlier than normal. BTW - my regular bedtime these days is between 8:00 and 9:00 and if I'm being honest, I'll confess that it's usually closer to 8:00.

Anyhow, as I was in bed watching tv, Wesley started to bring me an assortment of stuffed animals to keep me company. He brought me his bear, an elephant, a cat, a lion and a rabbit. When he put the rabbit on the bed, he told me I had to shake it.

Mommy: Why do I have to shake the rabbit?
Wesley: Because it has baracas on it's paws.
Mommy: Baracas?
Wesley: Yes. It's a kind of trombone.

I LOST it!!! I don't know why I thought this was the epitome of humor last night, but I laughed and laughed until I had tears rolling down my face. I kept picturing a rabbit with these little teeny pictures of Barack Obama on it's paws. I think 4 days of being inside was starting to wear on me. Good thing I was back to work today.

Blizzard Update

Well, it's 4:00 and I'm starting to go a little stir crazy. I've read 3 books, baked a coffee cake, put on real clothes for the first time in a day and a half and I'm itching for something to do.

We did manage to get Wesley to go outside for a few minutes. I won't lie and say he was thrilled about it, but at least we got him to get snow on his boots.

I think I heard on the news that we got somewhere around 14 inches of snow. My car is under that snowdrift somewhere.

Wesley standing in a path that Duane shoveled out earlier. As you can see, the snow is nearly elbow height on him. We talked to Cathy on the phone earlier and she told us Kei can't walk through the drifts.

Wesley liked the snow MUCH better if he was in Daddy's arms.

This is Wesley's idea of helping Daddy shovel the walk. Dad did the grunt work and Wesley supervised from behind. Good plan!

Duane had to go into the shop a little bit ago. There's a "no heat" situation at someone's house, so Duane went in to get the tech a part. It took him nearly 20 minutes to shovel his car out. Wesley and I watched from the comfort of the living room. Duane and I were supposed to go to Shadowbox with some friends tonight, but we're not going (neither are our friends.) Instead we'll light a fire in the fireplace, make some soup and channel surf, while listening to Wesley talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk. I don't think he's stopped since he woke up this morning! At least he's perfectly content to play by himself and talk to his animals. Right now all the animals are saying "I love you," and "I missed you," and "I'm glad to see you." It makes me smile that those are the phrases he hears and wants to repeat!

Good Weekend to be Sick

I have had a rotten cold since Thursday. I managed about half a day at work before the department kicked me out. I stayed home sick yesterday too, which turned out to be a good call since we are now officially in "Blizzard 08" according to all the news casts. I can almost breathe through my nose again and my head doesn't feel like it's going to pop, so I guess I'm on the mend.

After being home sick for the last day and a half, I almost dread being snowed in this weekend. I know Wesley is getting restless and tired of being inside. The problem is, he doesn't like snow. He hates getting it on his boots, he won't walk in it and he takes his mittens off within 2 minutes of having them on. Translated this means that isn't a day of fun in the snow in our future. No snowmen or sledding (not that we have a sled), just too much tv. Maybe I'll force him out for a little this afternoon. I'll let you know how it goes.

Moving and Shaking

I felt 2.0 move for the first time last weekend. There hasn't been a whole lot going on since then - until today! He/she has been moving all over this afternoon. A couple times it's been strong enough for me to let out an audible "oh!" We used to say Wesley was Riverdancing in there, I think the little sibling is going to follow in Wesley's footsteps!

Rise and Whine

I think I've already told you that Wesley has a rotten time getting up in the morning if I actually have to wake him. This morning was one of those mornings. I went into his room and started talking to him, got his clothes out, then turned his light on. As soon as I hit the switch I heard a very sleepy and whiny voice say "No, Mom. Lights off!" Wesley then hopped out of bed, turned the lights off, climbed back into bed and pulled the covers up around him.

I walked over and turned the lights on, explaining that we were going to go see Aunt Melissa and it was time to get up. Again Wesley replied, "No, Mom. Lights off!" as he hopped out of bed, turned the lights off, got back into bed and pulled the covers up. We actually had to go this scenario a third time before I successfully got him out of bed.

In other Wesley news, look at the number of animal friends he wants to take with him whenever we go someplace. I've had to limit him to two friends only. But I do sneak Stinky Bear in my purse if Wesley doesn't pick him because I know that when he gets tired, he'll want that bear!

COSI Cousins

We marched into March by spending the day with Grandma W., Aunt Melissa, Kierstin and Mark. The day totally wiped me out, but it was so much fun that I don't care.


We ate lunch at the Spaghetti Warehouse before heading over to COSI. Wesley may be a COSI expert, but Aunt Melissa and his cousins had never been before and he was more than ready to show them everything they've missed.

We went to the Space section right away. The whole family went through the black hole tunnel - which Wesley and Kierstin especially loved! Mark didn't care for the noise in Space, so he waited in the hall while Kierstin, Wesley and I went through the tunnel again and rode the tilty spaceship. We practically had to drag Kierstin away from the robot arms and on to another section.

We headed to the Ocean section, which had all the kids excited, but once we got there Mark heard the loud rush of water and refused to go in. Grandma, Wesley,

Kierstin and I went on in and WOW did we have a great time! Kierstin tried every single thing there was to try. She loved the water bells and the water tornado. But the all around best part of the exhibit (for both her and Wesley) was where you use pipes to build a connection from the water in the ground to a basin nearby. Kierstin was terrific at this and had a connection built in no time at all! Maybe we have a budding engineer in our midst. Wesley of course had no interest in actually trying to make a connection. Oh no, little Mr. OCD took all the pipes and laid them in a row on the floor. After they were all in a row, he'd put them in the basin one at a time. Then back on the floor. Then back in the basin. And I think you get the idea. Of course, if dampness is any indication of how much fun Wesley and Kierstin had, their soaking wet shirts would be proof that they loved every minute of it.

After Ocean we decided to split up. Mark wasn't having a very good time and he's still young enough to get in the Little Kidspace, so Duane, Grandma and the boys went to play while Kierstin, Melissa and I hit the rest of COSI. We played with the old fashioned phones and carriages in Progress 1898 before becoming completely enthralled with the soda fountain in 1962. Kierstin and I tried the hula hoops too and just let me say that a pregnant woman should not hula hoop. Kierstin put me to shame! We went into the Life section. Kierstin spent most of her time trying to line up DNA on the touch screen. She was pretty good at it too!

We picked up Grandma and the guys and slowly made our way out. There was a detour for dippin' dots for Kierstin and Mark, but Wesley was more interested in the gift shop and going back through the Space tunnel while his cousins ate. Poor Duane ended up going through that tunnel at least a dozen times!!

I did finally get a few pictures of Mark too. Check him out on the stringless harp and heartbeat drum.

The little maestro!

Little drummer boy.

And of course, what visit to anywhere in Central Ohio in the winter would be complete without climbing the big pile of snow in the parking lot?

Visiting Mommy's New Digs

Wesley got the chance to check out my new department today. Grandma H. and I planned to meet in the lobby of the library after storytime was over. I went to the lobby at the appointed time to find Wesley running full speed up and down the ramp. Apparently they never made it to storytime. Wesley was having so much fun on the ramp that it took a threat to go home to get him to want to go get a treat from my desk. OK, I did have an ulterior motive - I wanted to show off my cute little boy. He was something, alright. He chanted "Treat! Treat! Treat!" all the way through administration to my new department. He picked his piece of chocolate, then spent a few minutes spinning around in my chair. When we left to go back to the lobby, his chant changed from "Treat!" to "Chocolate! Chocolate! Chocolate!" I'm sure everyone in the Administrative wing knew we'd been visited by a 2 1/2 year old!

Dinner Games

You all know the game Simon Says, right? Apparently there is a version I was unaware of called "Wesley Says Please." Last night Wesley insisted on an unusual dinner of scrambled eggs, dried corn and peaches. He ate the eggs, tried to put the corn in my belly button to feed the baby and ignored the peaches. Once the eggs were gone he asked for a pancake. We zapped one in the microwave for him and tore it up. After a few moments of staring at the pancake, Wesley pronounced it "too yucky." Exasperated, I asked why he asked for a pancake if he wasn't going to heat it. His explanation? "But I didn't say please!"

Toddler Yoga

We call this position the Sleeping Turtle.

Searching for a Big Boy Bed

We began the quest for Wesley's big boy bed on Saturday. Wesley wasn't too keen about our search until Daddy said, "Don't you want a bed like Colin's?" Those were the magic words because the rest of the day all he could talk about was getting a bed like Colin's and seeing Colin and playing with Colin. Humm....if he has trouble in his new room or staying in his new bed (when we actually buy it) perhaps we could invoke the name of Colin again. Think of the power!

Absence

A little FYI for all my regular readers. My computer fried itself last night. I logged on to check email and it smelled really funny. By the time I was done with email, I just wanted to log off before something caught on fire. When I did turn it off, it started crackling! A friend/co-worker of Duane's is going to look at it this weekend, but don't expect any new posts. In fact, I'm sneaking this in at work!

Party at Our Place

Wesley has been busy planning a party this evening. Apparently we will be serving "candy canes and hot dogs and cheese and prunes and all kinds of stuff!" I know that sounds strange, but Wesley LOVES prunes. They even made a second appearence on the party menu. Wesley was busily naming off all the kinds of cake we would have at the party: orange cake, yellow cake, red cake, chocolate cake, and strawberry cake. I asked him if there was prune cake for the party. His reponse? "There sure is!" With all those prunes, maybe this post should be titled "Potty at Our Place."

Seriously Sleepy

Wesley actually slept for 11 hours last night and woke up feeling quite a bit better today. Mommy, on the other hand, slept fitfully with nerves about starting my new job today. Truth be told, there was nothing for me to be nervous about, I spent the morning training with people I know in the building I've worked in for 9 years. Yes, there is a lot to learn, but I can already tell I'm going to like it (once I spend a year or so figuring out what I need to know.)

I came home for work and put my jammies on immediately and tried to stay awake for dinner. Wesley had the same idea. At 5:00 he laid down on the floor in the living room and said he was tired and wanted a nap. Duane and I tried to coax him onto one of the couches, but Wesley had other napping plans. He wanted to sleep in "the big red bed" - AKA Mommy and Daddy's bed. I took him upstairs and put him on the bed. After about a minute he asked for the blankets, so I tucked him in on Duane's side. Poor little guy fell asleep with 2 minutes and slept until we woke him up at a quarter of 7:00. He's been howling ever since! Maybe we'll go with an early bedtime tonight.

So Tired

Wesley came down with some kind of ickiness on Friday afternoon, so we have spent the weekend with a feverish, coughing, vomiting toddler. What fun. Wesley slept in our bed Friday night - which resulted in having to change him and the bed three times during the night. Last night he returned to our bed, but coughed so much that no one was getting any sleep. Duane returned Wesley to his own bed, but I still didn't sleep well. I'm nervous/excited about the new job starting on Monday and flat cannot sleep no matter how tired I am. I've tried watching TV, reading, counting backwards from 1000, slow deep breaths, but nothing is working (and I'm out of the prescription that makes me super tired). Please send some ZZZZZZZ my way!

Jr. Java Junkie

Wesley and I were out shopping with Grandma today and decided to grab some lunch in the food court. I listed off choices for Wesley, but nothing must have sounded good to him because he answered, "I'll just have coffee please."

Happy Valentine's Day

It's Valentine's Day and if you have been a reader of my blog for a while, you know what that means. It means I get to brag on my amazing wonderful husband and make lots of women jealous as I describe what wonderful thing he has done for Valentine's Day.

To put things in perspective, I need to let you know that Duane and I decided not to do gifts for Valentine's Day this year. We recently bought a 42 inch flat screen tv and we have to buy all new furniture for Wesley's big boy bedroom, so gifts weren't really in the budget. We made reservations to go to dinner tonight, but that's really all I expected. I really should know better by now - Duane never lets Valentine's Day slip by without making it something really special.

I woke up this morning and looked at the clock on our tv stand in the bedroom - only to see a dozen roses of various colors, a heart-shaped box of candy and a card sitting there. Needless to say, I jumped out of bed (as fast as a 15 week pregnant woman can jump) and teared up while I read the super sweet card. Next stop was the upstairs bathroom - a normal morning stop - where I found a small vase of carnations, another card and another small box of chocolate! I crawled back in bed to read and wait for Wesley to get up. When the boy did wake up and I went into his room I found another small vase of flowers, a card from Wesley and a bag of M&M's (Wesley thinks they are the best chocolate in the world, so that's what he got his Mommy.)
Wesley and I went downstairs to start our morning and what should I find sitting on the stove? Another vase! This time filled with yellow roses (my favorite!), another box of chocolate and another card. The downstairs bathroom held still more flowers, cards and chocolate.

By this time I caught on and quickly ran into the dining room (red roses, card and chocolate) and into the living room (2 pink roses, a card and a solid chocolate heart). I was laughing and crying and poor Wesley was following me around saying "Mommy? What's wrong?" How do I even begin to explain to a two-year-old that I love his father so very much? That Duane makes sure I know I'm loved every day of my life and that Valentine's Day is just the little extra. How do I tell Wesley that he and I and 2.0 are so blessed to have Duane in our lives?

I think I'm going to spend the rest of the day putting laundry away and playing with Wesley. Grandma and Grandpa P. are coming over tonight so Duane and I can go out to dinner. We're not going anyplace real fancy or anything, but as long as Duane is there, it will be perfect.

I hope you are spending your Valentine's Day with someone special and that you have someone in your life who makes it as wonderful as Duane makes mine.

New Job

As most of you know, I have been a children's librarian for the past 8 years (plus a few working in the kids department before getting my library degree.) It's been a lot of fun, but for the last year or so I've really been itching for a change and a chance to try something new. Well, the itch has been scratched! I begin my new job as Technical Services Manager for the library system I currently work for on Monday. I'm excited and nervous and a little bit scared. This is all behind the scenes stuff - lots of budget work and details, but I'm looking forward to it too. Wish me luck!

How Do Kids Know?

How do kids know when you have a morning to sleep in a little? Somehow they know and that's the exact day they need to be in your bed at 3:00 in the morning (when the snowplows at the hospital start.) Then they toss and turn, and start whining that they want juice/their daddy/to go downstairs at 6:30. And just when you are about to scream they crawl into your lap and say "Hug me Mommy" then repeat the request half a dozen times. Somehow they just know.

The Day from Hades

I am so exhausted! I don't know if I should whine, cry or just yell. I have been a snarlyhissypuss all day long and all I want to do is drown my sorrows in a non-alcholic beer and go to sleep!!!

In case you don't live in central Ohio, the weather forcast was for a big winter storm to hit overnight and most of today. Snow, rain, sleet, freezing rain, you name it. For once they got things almost right and I woke up to a decent covering of snow. Actually, that's a lie. I woke up to the sound of the snowblower in the hospital parking lot behind our house at 5:30. From the time I got out of bed at 6:30 until I gave up hope at 7:30, I begged for the library to be closed. Now you need to know that the library almost NEVER closes, but I can hope, can't I?

Knowing how awful the roads would be, I planned to leave the house 30-40 minutes early. I did mangage that incredible feat, mostly because Duane had already shoveled the steps the walk and swept off my car. So once I got Wesley bundled up I only had to coax him down the steps (he HATES getting snow on his boots) and into the car so I could clear the windows again. I decided to be brave and try the freeway. Bad idea. I got off the freeway at the first exit an opted for High St. which is much less curvy and was moving at about the same speed. By the time I was halfway to Grandma and Grandpa H.'s the gunk falling from the sky was causing the windshield wipers to freeze up. What fun. Let me tell you I was doing a lot of praying out loud, along with uttering a few choice phrases for whoever decided to keep the library open and make a pregnant lady with a toddler go out in that mess!

We arrived safely at Grandma's. She was waiting on the porch for us and Wesley was so excited to see her that he didn't even complain too much about getting snow on his boots when he got out of the car. In fact, he hollered, "I'm here Grandma! I need a paper towel - there's snow on my boots!" What a pumpkin.

I inched my way the rest of the distance to work and spent the morning snarling in the backroom. I was working too, but snarling took up most of my energy. Other than that, today has been one big grump fest. Paperwork I couldn't find, meetings that I didn't know about, and the dread that the weather would turn disgusting again before I got to leave.

Thank goodness the roads were only wet when I left and I arrive home to find a hot supper, non-alcholic alcohol substitue and cut out cookies waiting for me. At least it ended well.

Bubble Bath Boy

Duane gave Wesley his first ever bubble bath while I was asleep on the couch yesterday. Luckily Daddy remembered to take the camera upstairs. Why do I have the sinking feeling I'll have to hide my bubble bath and fight my son for the hot water in a few years?

News Flash

A pregnant woman and a toddler can put away a box of 20 Timbits (donut holes) in record time. Seriously. It's a frightening thing to watch.

Happy Lunar New Year

Yesterday was quite the day for the W. family. We got our taxes done (whoo-hoo) and even more importantly, I had my first latte since discovering I was pregnant. As with my first pregnancy, I lost my taste for coffee rather quickly, but since my nausea has abated with my medication, I decided to go for a sugar-free vanilla, non-fat, extra hot, decaf, latte. Ahhhhh, heaven in a cup!

We also celebrated Chinese (lunar) new year with Cathy, Sho and Kei yesterday. The boys go to Chinese school on Saturday and the whole school had a big celebration. There were games, tons of food - which Cathy assured us was very authentic and traditional - and performances by different classes. It was a lot of fun, but Wesley has been hit with some kind of crud and is having diarreah, so we left as soon as both Sho and Kei performed.

Sho getting ready for his big role.

Sho is all the way on the left here.

Kei is in the plaid shirt on the left (having stage fright)

We spent the rest of the day hibernating at home. Wesley insisted on wearing his boots and hat and coat inside. I'm not sure why, but it was really cute.

Wesley also spent some time taking care of his Mommy and sibling to be. Wesley must have thought the baby was hungry because he kept shoving plastic food under my shirt for the baby to eat. Of course, the cutest thing was when he sang me a lullaby. Wesley stood in front of the couch with his hands clasped in front of him and rocked back and forth, singing the following words to the tune of Braham's Lullaby. "Go to sleep. Go to sleep. Go to sleep tonight today. Go to sleep. Go to sleep. Go to sleep tonight today." How sweet!

Not Lost

I'm still here. I'll bet you thought I'd gotten lost somewhere and would never blog again. I'm sorry I've been lousy about posting lately. Every day does have something in it that makes me smile, but my meds combined with just being pregnant, make me so tired that I often go to bed before Wesley.

I did have two wonderful things from yesterday to report. Wesley and I spent some time playing peek-a-boo with a blanket on the couch. It was so much fun! I love hearing him belly laugh. The other wonderful thing to report is, of course, my hubby. I just cannot get over how amazing he is. Get this, last night he went out at 9:30 and went to three different stores because I was craving big gumdrops. They had to be fruit flavored and not spice drops and they had to be the big ones. Not only did Duane not complain at all about this task, he even removed the nasty licorice ones for me. Now that's true love.

So THAT'S Where Thunder Comes From

We woke up to a heck of a thunderstorm today. As I was getting Wesley dressed, we talked about the sound the rain made. A very loud crash of thunder interrupted us.

Wesley: I hear that funder.

Mommy: I hear the thunder too.

Wesley: But I don't see the funder.

Mommy: That's right. Thunder is a sound, so we can't see it.

Wesley: That's cause funder is from under the tushie.

I just about died laughing!!!

In a Daze

In case you were disturbed by a minor earthquake or a train passing way too close to your house last night, don't worry it was just me snoring. I slept for 11 hours last night! It's not that I was that tired, but the new medication my doctor put me on knocks me out!

I had an appointment with my OB on Friday and the poor woman had to listen to me whine and whine and whine. Apparently for the second month in a row, I have actually lost weight which is not ideal during pregnancy. When the doctor asked me what was going on, I told her that I was still throwing up 1 or 2 two times every day and that the only thing I can consistanly eat without getting sick is a peanut butter sandwich. She said that the throwing up 1 or 2 times a day wouldn't bother her on her own, but coupled with the weight loss, she figured it was time to put me on medication. The kind doctor gave me a choice. I could go on an anti-nausea medicine that makes you sleepy, or one that makes you constipated. Um...I'll go for sleepy, thank you very much. Which explains why I slept for 11 hours. But guess what? When you are comotosed, you don't throw up.

I must have whined enough about my heatburn too. I didn't get heartburn this bad with Wesley until I was in my third trimester. Once again, my doctor took pity on me and recommend a stronger over the counter heartburn medicine for me. I love that woman.

The good news about the appointment is that 2.0's heartbeat is nice and strong and was super easy to find. Doc said she wasn't surprised by either of those things since I've been so sick and miserable. Maybe there's something to that old wives tale about the sicker you are, the healthier your baby is. Let's keep thinking that since I'm most likely going to have the test for Downs, Trisomy 18 and something else I can't remember at my next appointment.

How Many!?!?

Wesley was crawling on me earlier today and I reminded him not to climb on my tummy because of the baby in there.

Wesley: You don't have a baby in your tummy, Mommy. You have a puppy in your tummy.

Mommy: No Wesley. It's a baby, not a puppy. It's your baby brother or sister.

Wesley: A baby brother and a baby sister?

Mommy: No, just one. A baby brother OR a baby sister.

Wesley: A baby brother or a baby sister?

Mommy: That's right.

Wesley: Wow! That's a lot of babies!

Little MD

Today was a miserable Monday as far as morning sickness goes. I felt almost as bad as I did last week when I couldn't keep a single thing down. Wesley was so sweet about it though. I had just put his coat on him when I had to make a mad dash to the bathroom. As I was retching, I felt a hand on my back and Wesley said "I right behind you, Mommy." I almost melted on the spot. I told him, "I know you are Pumpkin, but Mommy doesn't feel well right now."

We managed to get loaded into the car and on the road without further incident. We were about halfway to Grandma and Grandpa P.'s when Wesley piped up from the backseat. "Mommy, Bear doesn't feel well. He has a puppy in his tummy."

I was amazed that Wesley drew the connection between me not feeling well and being pregnant. Now if only I could convince him that we're having a baby, not a puppy.

Munch Bunch

Presenting three mostly unrelated stories about food

1) I threw an apple in my backpack today, hoping I'd have time for a quick snack at work. Wesley saw me do that and must have decided I needed some additional food because he unzipped the backpack and added a piece of play pizza and a play ice cream sandwich. Now that's a tasty snack.

2)Wesley asked me for a cheese sandwich for dinner, then climbed up on the couch next to me and snuggled in. After enjoying the love for a few moments, I asked Wesley if he wanted me to make his sandwich, or sit with him. His response? "Make my cheese sandwich, of course!"

3) We had junk food for dinner and I washed my meal down with a chocolate milkshake. I let Wesley try it (his second milkshake ever) and he LOVED it! In fact, he enjoyed it so much that he hugged the cup and said, "I love this cup!"

Still Here

I'm doing such a lousy job posting lately. Sorry. The W. family is still here, still alive and in my case still puking. Not a day goes by that I don't "worship the porcelain god" at least once. Will someone tell me again why I wanted to be pregnant?

I did pull myself together on Friday long enough for an outing with Wesley and Grandma H. I was hungry for some bagels and chicken salad from a particular bagel bakery/deli, so we all had a lunch date. Check out the super cute picture of Grandma H. and Wesley. The grey lump on Grandma's shoulder is Dusty the Elephant. Dusty was Wesley's substitute Stinky Bear on Friday. Wesley woke up on Friday and said his nose hurt and asked for Stinky Bear. Luckily, Dusty answered the call.

After a bite of lunch we decided to go to COSI for a while so Wesley could run around and play. We decided to copy Kate and Colin and took a walk through the "Progress" area before going to the Little Kidspace. I won't say that Wesley was enthralled, but he had a great time taking all the play veggies out of one basket and putting them in another, and spinning around on the diner stools.

I'm happy to report that Wesley was less of an OCD child in the Little Kidspace. He actually played with lots of different things (instead of the one toy he usually spends all his time on) and even tried some toys we've never played with before. The ambulance was a big hit! Check out Wesley's wing man - yep, Dusty the Elephant again!

After our big afternoon, Wesley and I headed home for a nap. He woke up screaming after about an hour and crying out for his Stinky Bear. Poor guy was inconsolable. Luckily Daddy had arrived home while Wesley and I were napping, and Daddy has a special knack for making things all better.

I had to work all day yesterday, but Daddy and Wesley got to go to Kierstin's birthday party - pizza and cupcakes for everyone! Wesley was on his best "show off" behavior and told Grandma W. how to spell cat. He even read one of his books to her! Wesley's reading involves spelling the animal word on a page (such as f-r-o-g) looking at the picture, and telling the audience what it spells. Grandma W. was properly impressed. And Stinky Bear was retrieved from Aunt Melissa's!!!!! Little Dude has been sucking on the tag all morning!

Carbivore

I've decided that during this pregnancy I have become a carbivore / carbitarian. I've always been a HUGE fan of potatoes and bread. Good thing too, since that's ALL 2.0 lets me eat these days. I'm practically living on a diet of bread and cheese, peanut butter sandwiches and baked potatoes since I am most likely (although not guaranteed) to successfully keep those down. I've also been informed that on the rare occasion I am allowed to eat salad, only ranch dressing may pass my lips - and I almost never eat ranch dressing!

I can't wait for 2.0 to allow a little variety into my diet.

Bear is MIA

I got home last night as Duane was tucking Wesley into bed. After hurling what was left of my dinner, I joined the boys for a bedtime story. As Duane was reading, I looked around and noticed that Bear was missing.


"Where's B-E-A-R?" I asked.
"I haven't seen him today," Duane answered.
"He went to Aunt Melissa's."
"Well, he didn't come home."


Wesley didn't seem overly concerned at the moment, so we let it go and Duane called Aunt Melissa a little bit later. Now, Aunt Melissa has caller ID and when she saw our number pop up at close to 10:00 at night, she knew exactly what we were calling for. In fact she answered the phone with the following words, "I found him 10 minutes ago."


Duane and Wesley already had plans to go to Aunt Melissa's for a little bit on Saturday, so they decided to pick up Bear then. Apparently the only person upset about Bear's disappearance is me! Duane pointed out that Wesley isn't nearly as dependant on Bear as he used to be. That's true, but he still sucks on the tag when he is tired or upset. Yes, we have Not So Stinky, but Wesley isn't even a little bit fooled by it.


In an effort to erase Bear from Wesley's mind for the next 36-48 hours, I dug through the toy box and found good ol' Frank. Wesley immediately hugged him and told Frank he loved him. We've spent time reading to Frank and feeding him apple juice and sitting on the couch with him. Maybe we'll survive until Bear is safely home.

Mr./Miss Independent

Sorry I've been absent for a few days. 2.0 has been busy letting me know that he/she is not just like Big Brother. See, I've been counting down the days until I was 12 weeks along. When I was pregnant with Wesley, I felt TONS better at 12 weeks. It was almost like flipping a switch. No such luck with this one.

Warning: lots of stories involving vomit to follow! I hit 12 weeks on Monday. So what did 2.0 do to me? Well, Sunday night I made soup for dinner, ate a bowl of it, and got sick. I tried some bread and cheese a little bit later and got sick. Monday morning I got up and got sick. I took a shower and got sick. I drank some tea and got sick. I got dressed and got sick. I woke Wesley up, got him dressed and got sick. I loaded up the car, strapped Wesley in his car seat, buckled myself in and got sick. Needless to say, there was no work on Monday. Super Grandpa P. came down and took care of me and Wesley. By mid afternoon I was finally able to keep a little bit of food and drink down.

I went back to work yesterday and felt relatively OK for most of the day. I even ate a little cheese pizza during a lunch meeting. By 5:45 I was feeling awful and when I left work at 6:00 I was just hoping I wouldn't get sick in the bushes next to the library. You'll be happy to know I did make it to the car and my handy dandy bucket.

I called Duane to tell him that 2.0 wanted nothing to do with the homemade mac and cheese that was on the menu for dinner, but that he/she wanted won ton soup and potstickers. Duane went and got me the dinner that 2.0 wanted. And how does 2.0 thank us? I ate a small serving of soup and 3 potstickers and got sick!

I'm feeling OK this morning but I've learned that doesn't mean anything. I'm just hoping that 2.0 decides to settle down soon! I am so tired of being sick all the time!

Someone is Going to Be Very Disappointed

Wesley has decided that I do not have a baby in my tummy. Nope. According to my son, I have a puppy in my tummy. Maybe it's easier for him to think we're adding a puppy to the household, but he's going to be very disappointed come August.

I Don't Want to Know

On our way to Aunt Melissa's yesterday, Wesley suddenly piped up from the back seat, "Mommy, Aunt Melissa have a cat?" I told him that yes Aunt Melissa had a cat named Autumn. All was quiet for a moment, then Wesley said, "Autumn really loves hot dogs!" I don't even want to know how my son came to that conclusion. I'm picturing two things 1) him throwing hot dog on the floor and Autumn playing the role of vacuum cleaner, or 2) him chasing Autumn around with a hot dog trying to force her to eat.

On a totally different topic, check out my little caveman watching t.v. yesterday.

My Hero

In case I haven't told you all lately, I married an amazing, wonderful and all around incredible guy! He spoils me on a daily basis - especially now that 2.0 is on the way. Duane fills my gas tank so I don't have to. He runs out at any time of day or night to get me whatever it is that 2.0 is making me crave. He's been changing all the poopy diapers because it turns my stomach right now. He plays with Wesley so I can rest on the couch. He makes dinner most nights because I haven't felt up to cooking. Tell me, could he get any sweeter? YES!!!

Wesley spent the night at Grandma and Grandpa H.'s last night because I have a conference this morning that is close to my house. Duane decided to take advantage of the fact that we didn't have the boy around. He showed up at work just before the end of my shift with a dozen beautiful roses and told me he was taking me out to dinner anywhere I wanted. And as we were leaving the restaurant he told me that he wanted to take me out because he figured we should celebrate. And do know what he said when I asked him what we were celebrating? Our marriage!!!! I don't know what I did to get such an amazing man in my life, but I couldn't be more blessed!

Humor A La Carte

2.0 wanted something substantial for breakfast today, so I decided to stop at Timmy Ho's for a breakfast sandwich (notice I said substantial, not healthy.) Anyhow, as we were in line at the drive thru, I told Wesley that I get a sandwich for me and donuts for him and Grandpa. Wesley was super quiet as I pulled up to the speaker and placed my order, but as soon as I finished talking, he yelled out "And one big pumpkin pie!"

Luckily pumpkin pies weren't on the menu and I was handed the bags with my sandwich and the guy's donuts. Wesley still must have a little confused though because as we pulled away he said," Mom, I want the french fries!"

He Speaketh the Truth

Wesley wanted me to play with him earlier, but I told him"Wesley, Mommy is tired." His response? "Mommy always tired!" I cannot wait for the first trimester to end, the morning sickness to end and my energy to return just a little.

Play Day

Despite the fact that I have been throwing up today and did something to my back when getting Wesley out of the car, this has been the best Saturday!!!

Duane has been on vacation this past week - which means Wesley has TOTALLY been a daddy's boy. In order to avoid mountains of paper work on his first day back, Duane went into work for a few hours this morning. That means for the first time in over a week, it was Mommy who was waiting for Wesley when he got up. The little guy wasn't too sure about that. He looked at me and said "You can go work at the library. I wait for Daddy."

I bribed Wesley out of bed with the promise of a trip to the big library. "Bear wants to go too!" was the response. In fact, it was all about Bear for awhile which is a little weird because Wesley is becoming much less dependant on his stinky friend. But for the morning, Bear ruled. When Wesley got dressed he said he wanted to wear his blue boots today and Bear wanted to wear red boots. Since Bear doesn't have boots, I dug through a basket of infant socks, found a red pair and ta-da Bear has boots. Wesley didn't want breakfast, but Bear wanted pancakes, eggs and strawberries. Wesley would touch each bite to Bear's mouth before eating it himself. Apparently a big breakfast made Bear sleepy, because we had to tuck him into Mommy's bed for a nap.

Once Bear was sleeping soundly, Wesley and I headed out to Wild Oats (an organic/healthy supermarket near our house). Wesley was SOOOOOOOO good!!! He grabbed a kid-sized grocery cart for us to put our groceries in and stayed with me the whole time. We got him a fancy "pup-cake" and they even gave him stickers at the counter. Of course, the best part for Wesley was that it was sample day. He nibbled on a piece of sausage, some cheese, and a wheat-free, dairy-free Oreo look alike. He also loaded the cart with things I didn't intend to buy - a huge navel orange, some yogurt and dried peas and corn. I can easily say no to junk food, but when it's healthy and I know he'll eat it (except the orange, he doesn't like oranges but insisted it was his "favorite") I have a hard time saying no.

Daddy was home from work when we returned, so we all had lunch together before going to the big library as a family. Wesley kept telling us he saw a doghouse in the children's department (there isn't one) and went on to tell us who was in it and what color it was and all sorts of details. Another mom looked at me and said, "Wow! He's got a great imagination for his age!" My response? "Yes. He often sees things we don't and tells us all about them." We only stayed at the big library for about an hour because 2.0 started to object to the grilled cheese sandwich we had for lunch. Luckily the big library is close to our house, because I barely made it home before...well, I'm sure you know.

We pretty much took it easy the rest of the day. I stayed on the couch with my sensitive tummy and achy back. We watched some football and some hockey. At one point I started to get really warm, so I pulled my sweater up over my tummy. Wesley kept trying to climb on me so I told him he had to be careful because there was a baby in my tummy. "A baby?" he asked. "Yep! Your brother or sister." Maybe that wasn't the thing to tell him because he was fascinated with my tummy then. He kept poking my belly button and trying to talk into it! Is this what I have to look forward to until August 4th?

It's Getting Hot in Here

Not only are we experiencing 50 and 60+ degree days in Ohio this January, but I have the joy of experiencing hot flashes with this pregnancy. I never had them when I was pregnant with Wesley and they are AWFUL!!!!! I'm talking "so hot I have to fight the urge to remove my shirt" awful.

I had a doosy of a hot flash at the Dancing with the Stars tour the other night. There I was, enjoying the show, when I suddenly began to feel uncomfortably warm. By intermission I was fanning myself with my program and Duane was fanning me with his. I looked around the arena, fully expecting to see half the room using programs as make-shift fans, but I was the only one. I was so tempted to remove my sweater (I had a tank top on under it), but stayed fully clothed and rolled my sleeves up as far as they would go. I didn't even put my coat on when we left -the cool air felt soooooo good.

Major hot flash number two came at work last night and I once again had to suffer through it. Like warm January's aren't hard enough to dress for, now I have to figure out a layering technique in case I need to strip!

Feeling Generous (Sort Of)

One thing I hope 2.0 will break Wesley of is the whole "Mine!" thing. I know part of it is being two, but it really bugs me that Wesley doesn't share better. Last night we had a whole bunch of folks over for the game (which I refuse to talk about.) Wesley and I ended up going upstairs to Mommy's room by the second quarter because he was being such a snot about James touching his toys. I can understand a fit about someone else touching Stinky Bear and I can overlook the fit about James wearing Wesley's blue boots. Wesley LOVES his blue boots and I think it's OK to have a couple things you don't have to share. But Wesley didn't want James playing with anything!!

Apparently the Share Fairy visited Wesley in his dreams though. This morning he shared a book with Daddy on the couch. Wesley wanted to share Sanders by taking him to Grandma and Grandpa H.'s (so not happening.) When we arrived at Grandma and Grandpa H.'s, Wesley continued his generous mood by shoving a book through the basement door for Sampson and waking Grandpa up to deliver Stinky Bear to him. Wesley can share with cats and grandparents, why not kids?

Property Dispute

Wesley and I had a bit of a property dispute yesterday. As many of you know, we have three cats - Gus, Sadie and Sanders. Sanders is 100% MY cat. He follows me around, sits on my lap all the time, sleeps with me. I don't know what I'd do without him. Over the last couple of days, Wesley has decided that Sanders is HIS cat. Wesley calls him all the little pet names I do - especially "Sweet kitty." He even tries to put the poor cat up and hug him. Last night he called Sanders his best bud - which was an honor that used to be reserved for Stinky Bear. I think I'd be jealous if Sanders was the least bit interested in returning Wesley's affection, but he usually runs away.

In other Wesley news, he helped me make peanut butter balls for buckeyes yesterday. At first we had a great system going, I'd roll the peanut butter mixture into a ball, hand it to Wesley and he'd put it on the plate (after calling it a coconut). This worked really well until Wesley tasted one of the peanut butter balls - then our system changed. I'd roll the peanut butter mixture into a ball, hand it to Wesley and he'd put it in his mouth! He's definitely his mommy's kid - that's my favorite part of buckeyes too!

I'm So Hungry

Now I know you are thinking that the title of this post refers to me and 2.0. While I am prone to sudden bouts of hunger (I came home last night at 9:20 and informed Duane that I MUST have a danish and I needed him to go get one), I'm actually talking about Wesley. "I'm so hungry" is his new stalling technique for bedtime.

It's just been in the past week or so that Wesley has started telling us when he is hungry or thirsty. At first I was thrilled, but now that he has turned his power to evil, I'm not so sure. Last night I heard the cry of "Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!" as I walked in the door. Duane was in the kitchen apparently making a plate of hot dog and strawberry for Wesley before bed because he had told Daddy he was "so hungry" and couldn't go to sleep.

While Duane went in search of the elusive danish I was the food police. Funny how a child who was "so hungry" was content to pick at his food. He kept trying to get up from his chair and get his toys out, but I wouldn't let him. If he was so hungry, he needed to sit and eat. I think it took him more than 30 minutes to eat half a hot dog and 2 strawberries. "I'm so hungry" indeed. Guess who is just going to have to go to bed hungry tonight?

Why Can't Wesley Read?

Maybe because he's only 2! But trying to explain that to Wesley does not work! The boy wants to read NOW. It's heartbreaking to watch him look at a book then bring it to you and say, "I can't read." I've tried telling him that he is learning to read, but that's no good. He doesn't get frustrated by it, but he sounds so sad.

He really is making great strides in his early literacy/reading readiness skills. He knows his letters, sees and reads letters on signs, shirts, and at the store. He seems to understand that we read left to right(because that's the way he points out letters). In fact, yesterday I was wearing at t-shirt that had RSC (a company Duane deals with) stitched on it. Wesley would say each letter, then run his finger across it and say "It says 'Mommy' " So close, and yet not quite there!