Nothing Classier

First things first:  look who's smiling!!  Nicholas has been smiling for awhile now, as well as cooing.  He also follows our voices by turning his head.  All three of us love to make him smile and "talk".  Sometimes he even smiles while he is nursing, which just kills me!  : ) No wonder I haven't let Josh introduce the bottle yet.  I'm still not ready to share that time.

 Today I decided to begin the arduous process of Christmas shopping.  Yuck! Jos A Banks is supposedly having this fantastic "corporate" sale, or something.  Josh is in need of some new clothes for work, so he sent me a half an hour away from home with his wish list.  I loaded up the boys for a "quick" shopping trip.  Ha!  There is nothing "quick" about taking two kids out for Christmas shopping, or any kind of shopping, for that matter.  While I was happy to get some of the shopping out of the way, I really wanted to spend my time at Michael's, the craft store. 

We maxed out at Jos. A Banks, and lost a lot of steam after shopping for Josh.  Nicholas was a dream, and Michael enjoyed pulling sweaters off of the neatly folded stacks.  He also enjoyed playing pretend games, while slamming the racks of pants together.  It was such a fun trip!  Who knows what I bought.  I certainly wasn't paying attention to the "sale" prices because my eyes popped out of my head when the clerk finished ringing up the new clothes. 

Being the stubborn individual that I am, I decided that the boys could totally handle Michael's.  Nicholas seemed so content, you know?  Well.  We arrive at Michael's and our son, Michael, was a complete dream.  And, his brother?  He screamed the whole time!  Lovely.  I had to pee as soon as we got to the store, so I rushed the three of us to the back of the store.  Nicholas didn't calm down the whole time we were in the restroom because it was feeding time.  Of course! We left Michael's directly after the restroom break.

 I hatched up this plan to feed him quickly at Borders while Michael checked out the books.  What a sweet idea, right?  We made it down to borders and Nicholas was WAILING at this point, with his "MAAA" cry.  Naturally, I unstrapped him from the Bjorn as fast as I could.  I sat down in the middle of the kid's section and nursed him without a blanket.  Eventually Michael took off his coat, which I used to cover us as much as I could.  It was hysterical, though.  We were quite a sight to behold.  Michael was yanking one Thomas book off the shelf after the other, and Nicholas was not content with his stressed out mother.  When he wasn't nursing, he was screaming.  I'm pretty sure that the customers could see my belly lopping over my too tight jeans, which is so classy!  The postpartum belly is not fun!  The kid's section cleared quickly, except for a Grandmother who was shopping for a three year old boy.  When she asked for help, I tried to stand up to offer assistance and in a bossy tone told me, "just sit down and finish what you're doing." 

The funny part of this story is that I STILL wanted to go to Michael's after this whole episode!  We didn't, though. Nicholas fell asleep after nursing (and screaming), which meant that it was Michael's turn to throw a temper tantrum.  He couldn't possibly understand why I refused to purchase twenty Thomas the Tank Engine books!  At this point, I knew that Michael's was out and nap time was in.  

Oh well.  We probably won't get around to decorating this evening anyway!  Thank goodness we're home now.  I hope the boys nap for a long, long time this afternoon.

GUEST BLOGGER! (Duncan K-H)

This is what I looked like a week ago:  (Check out the flashy, long, slicked back, dignified beard.)

Here I am now that my "master" is less than a week away from the due date:    

(I'm so embarrassed, I don't want to turn my head...)

Please don't laugh... 

It's all good, I got her back last night. 

Wanna know how?

 I'm STILL licking what's left of my beard, and it drives her CRAZY!  

Looks like someone's plan backfired....

Dry heaving...

The conclusion to the previous post:

Obviously, Michael needed to use the restroom at the cross country meet.  It didn't seem "appropriate" to take him to the bushes, so Josh reluctantly took him into a Johnny Blue for the first time.  I refused. (I'm pregnant and all, and subject to vomiting at the drop of a hat. How I love playing the pregnancy card!)  

As soon as Josh and Michael got into the Johnny Blue, Josh clearly and firmly told Michael to keep his hands to himself.  And, sure enough Michael reached out for the urinal. And, even rubbed his hand in it!!!  (EWWWWW!!!!) Josh wasn't fast enough to grab his hand!  (EWWWW!!!)

By the time the two of them got out of the Johnny Blue, they were both greatly stressed.  It was hysterical.  Michael was horrified by the conditions of the Johnny Blue.  (Truly, he was sickened!) As Josh and I were dousing him in purell and putting on his shoes, Michael stated that, "We need to buy them water, Mom. The potty did not have any water, Mom.  Why it not have water, Mom?"  

Towards the end of our excursion, Josh declared that he needed to use the restroom before we began the journey home.  Michael announced that he would NOT be going back in "one of those things."  He was pretty much traumatized.  Thank goodness for Josh that day because I would have marched Michael over to the woods if I were by myself in that situation!  Taking a child to a public restroom is bad enough, but a Johnny Blue is just unacceptable in my mind.

Never in my life, did I think that I would be writing about the adventures in a Johnny Blue!  I just hope this is the last time... Josh and I sure did have a good laugh about it, though.  

While we were at the meet, Michael made "hay bales" for his cow, Moo.  Thankfully, we talked him down from bringing all that grass in the car.  I really thought he was going to have a temper tantrum when we told him that the hay bale needed to stay in the field.  

For all the Tech fans, especially Uncle Clay and Granddad:.

CONGRATULATIONS ON THE WIN!!!  

It seems that our son is definitely "a boy".  He has a few favorite articles of clothing:  a basketball shirt, a soccer shirt, two pairs of "basketball shorts", a green and grey outfit from Gap, and his VT outfit.  If any of these articles of clothing are clean, Michael refuses to wear anything else.  He can't stand his church clothes.  (Can't stand them! )  The funny thing is that Josh was complaining at the beginning of the summer that Michael's wardrobe was "too preppy" and that he needed more t-shirts and more "gym/basketball" shorts, of course I disagreed.   I happen to like the $3.49 shirts from Target, thank you very much!  It turns out that Josh knew exactly what Michael was missing because Josh picked out all of the favorite outfits, except for the VT garb!  (Guess I need some lessons on picking out clothes for little boys.)

Our weekend was quite uneventful.  We spent a large amount of time at home, getting ready for this baby and staying COOL.  The three of us cleaned out the garage yesterday, which was an absolute mess!  And, we had a "family movie night" last evening.  Michael loves "family movie nights"!  The four (including Duncan as one of the 4) of us lay down in the living room, eat popcorn, and watch a family movie.  Josh and I are amazed that Michael is now able to sit through a whole movie.  

Last evening I noticed that the ice maker stopped making ice, and I literally flipped out.  I REALLY NEED ice! AT ALL TIMES!  (Lots and LOTS of ice!)  After mass and breakfast with Michael and Mary Jane, I called Sears and scheduled an appointment for someone to come out here to check out the ice maker.  (Wish I was kidding, but I'm not...) Josh fussed at me for calling because I didn't even give him the chance to troubleshoot.  He took the phone from me because he knew that the next person on my list to call was our friend, Jason.  Unfortunately, Jason was in PA last evening and got back today.   It turns out that Josh fixed the problem in less than an hour.  I definitely overreacted a bit, but like I said...I really, really need ICE these days.  (It's like, right up there with the air conditioning.)  And, I do realize that are such things as TRAYS for ice, but I just really cherish the ice maker.  (I don't have to wait for the ice to freeze. And, I'm lazy! )

More to come tomorrow:  37 week appointment update!!!

A Wonderful Dinner:

DOES NOT always equal AWESOME.  

Sugar Plum puked for the first time today.  (Spit up, in my mind, is not the same as vomit...) Josh got him out of the car for the sitter and he threw up right then and there.  Michael looked at the babysitter and said something like, "Hold Me.  Hold Me."  He loves her and needed her comfort. 

Obviously, I'm home.  I am hopeful that the bug has come and gone.  We'll see.  

Two for Two.

Well. The mornings just continue to get more and more interesting around here, I tell you what! 

Yesterday was the mother of all temper tantrums.  Today Josh locked his keys in the trunk. THis meant that he and Michael were not able to drive to work/the sitter's, nor were they able to get inside the house!  

I'll spare the specifics, but it was another interesting morning in our household.  I'm wondering where we will find ourselves tomorrow!  There is one little part of the story I would like to share:  I called the dealership to find out if they could "slice a key" for us.  When I finished explaining the scenario, this man says to me, "Well.  Did you know there's a little latch that you can just pull on next to the door?"  In a short voice I said, "Yes I know about the latch, SIR.  THE LATCH IS LOCKED AND MY KEY WON'T WORK, SIR. "  He seemed to figure out what I was saying by that point, but my goodness was I irritated and ready to bite off his head.  

We'll get things taken care of, I know.  It's really no biggie, it just made for an interesting morning.  Michael sure has been talking about it all evening.  All he can really get out is, "DAD LOCK! KEYS! Mom. Because he did."  Gosh, does he make us smile.  Our little sugar....

Run Duncan, RUN!

This morning, while I was taking a shower, I tried to contain our two year old as much as I possibly could. I locked the gate at the top of steps, I turned on the Wiggles, and also made sure he was comfy and cozy on our bed. I really tried to keep him as safe as possible, without putting him on a leash. (That would be Michael that I'm talking about, not the dog).

At one point during the shower I hear "BANG. BANG. BANG!!!" Naturally, I think Josh is so going to kill me...what happened to my son????...ACCK!! It turns out that Michael retrieved the Destine from the top of the changing table. Michael then walked into the bathroom and said, "Won't hurt ANYmore, Mommy. See, Mommy?" At this point, he's rubbing diaper cream all over his body, especially his belly. Breathing a sigh of relief, I let him continue with the cream. Once he finished dousing himself in Destine, he proceeded to go after Duncan, the mini Schnauzer. (Awesome, Michael. Awesome.) Duncan was covered from his ears clear down to his tail in the cream as well. (Again. Can we all say, "awesome?")

After going to the park, Michael and I came home to a crate full of vomit. (Again. Awesome.) Duncan must have licked the diaper cream off, or at least tried? Or, it could have been from the diaper wipes that he voluntarily ate during his forays with Michael B. Who knows? He doesn't seem sick, for those who are worried about the yappiest dog EVER.

And, let me share one more story while I have your attention...Michael B actually RAN a lap around the block this evening!! Boy, was I proud!! He took breaks throughout of course, but he did it! He ran a half of a mile. We pretended he was winning a race, so he ran most of the way with his arms above his head in a victory position. We laughed and laughed. At one point, he was so tired that he took a break on the side walk by LAYING DOWN. But, he hopped up. And, finished his run with great pride. : )

As crazy as our lives are with this sugar plum, I am so grateful for this wonderful life that we are able to share together. God is good.

Hang On...

Funny story for ya.

Josh is getting ready to meet with a client when his phone rings.

A very, very, very dear friend says, "Ummm. Josh...Hey...Uh...Did you know there's a stipper video beside Michael's video?" (She did enjoy the video of Michael, though.)

Josh, fuming, says,"UMMM. NO. Please let me go so I can call Katie and ream her out." (He didn't really do that, but he did sound a little panicked on the phone.)

So, I receive the call that there's an inappropriate site linked to our innocent (and, cute) M. B. video. Immediately, I delete the post and cancel my youtube account. So much for that.

The videos are on their way, I'm using a family friendly site this time around.

At Least He's Got a Cute Outfit.

You know, as much as I completely, with all my heart, adore my two year old son; I need just a little break sometimes. Just a little one, mind you. This, in turn, is why God invented napping. Naps are, truly, a gift. They help to improve Michael's mood, they give Josh and me a chance to take a break from answering "WHHHY?" to each and every sentence that comes out of our mouths, and they give us the opportunity to get things done around the house.

You see where I'm going with this?

Michael did not nap today. He slept for like, five minutes in the car this afternoon. I had to wake him on our way home from lunch and shopping due to a dirty diaper, that I should have changed before we left the paint shop. (Lesson learned!)

It's been a long, long day with our grumpy two year old.

Little sugar woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning, and was a real bear at mass. When he's in a mood like that, it's a good indicator that he did not sleep long enough the night before.

So, the fact that he didn't sleep well last night and did not nap today, made him the grumpiest tot in town. Seriously.

When we put him in bed this evening, Josh and I breathed a sigh of exhaustion. We realized today that we need the naps just as much as Michael does!

The cute pants made up for his demeanor today.

All for the sake of an A....

A story from the trip home:

We're moseying on down the highway. My stomach has been growling for about two hours because I didn't eat much breakfast, only half of one of Josh's disgusting "Entenmann's" doughnuts. (Those things have NO flavor, especially the chocolate ones. I'm a doughnut snob, you see...)

So, we're planning on stopping at this restaurant that my family ALWAYS stops at on the way home from the beach. Seriously, it's a tra-di-tion. However, Mapquest had different plans for us...We didn't drive past this family favorite, and we weren't comfortable with traipsing through this unfamiliar city. And, you know men...you can't stop for directions!

There we were: a starving mother and child, and a bunch of chain restaurants. I looked up from my book long enough to say, "Applebees, Josh. Stop." And so, we stopped. My stomach was feeding on itself at this point and the two year old? Oh, he was hungry, too. As we lifted Michael from his carseat, which was quite a process because of the beach stuff, Josh decided that he just wanted to check on something that he "thought" he forgot to pack. He made the mistake of opening the trunk, which was packed to the gild. So, everything starts to fall out....

Poor Josh apologized, as I threw down the diaper bag and my purse in the parking lot. I tend to behave like a two year old, too; especially when my stomach is feeding on itself. As soon as I re-worked some things in the trunk, this cute woman said to me, "Just because I know how much work it is to unload, I'm going to tell you right now that this restaurant was given a 93.3% by the sanitation board." I'm flustered and hungry and from a different STATE so I'm like, "is that baaad???" She says, "Well....it's a B." Josh unfortunately overheard this woman, and told me that we were getting back into the car. ACCK!!

Michael is going *Ca-RAZY* as this point, and on inside, so am I! Josh then suggests Wendy's. Sure enough, I scoff and say, "Yeah. I'm sure Wendy's is going to have a higher sanitation rating than Applebee's." We then found another restaurant, that earned a 95.5. : ) Woop-de-doo!

We're home, and we are so glad to be here, with Duncan. And, a note to our reps here at home; Josh would like to see each restaurant rated here at home, too. Maybe someone running for the board of supervisors should consider adding this movement to his campaign? I may not vote for him because I'll probably never be able to eat another restaurant again with my husband...but, it would win Josh's vote...

Mishaps with a Kite.

A family photo from this evening ( a self portrait...). Michael did a pretty good job of looking at the camera, which is rare.

After dinner, we decided to take the kite out for a fly. Let's just say that we weren't successful...

This friendly looking walker on the beach passed Josh as he was trying to re-wind the kite string. As he was doing this, the walker had to step over the string. In order for her step over the string, Josh had to step forward for the string to touch the ground. As he did this little maneuver, the kite went up in the air, not down on the ground like he had hoped! This surprised the walker, and just as all of this was going on with the kite; Michael proceeds to run in front of her! She was faced with a difficult decision: ram into this two year old or get hit in the face with a kite. As it turned out, Josh got control of the kite just in time...

I apologized for my family, and then looked at Josh and gave him a look for almost whacking this girl in the face with our kite.

This might be the last night that we get the kite out.

We're having a wonderful time, this place suits us quite well.

A Trip to the Dog Show!

Step right up, M.B., you've just earned yourself a trip to the dog show!!



The last time I took M. to church was December. He was just around 18 or 19 months, one of his most challenging stages. I was by myself; as in without my husband, without my parents, without my father in law, without my mother in law, without my friends. It was a traumatizing experience. He was loud, unruly, and boisterous. I threw in the towel the moment that Michael ran away away from me, straight up the aisle of the church, yelling. Eesh. After the game of chase, I lassoed my child and took him to the back. Even in the back, he was too much for me. Waaay to much. So, we left. And, he hasn't been back since. Until, this morning....

Last evening, Josh and I went to a wedding. I announced to Josh that Michael would be going to mass with me tomorrow; even though my original plan was to give M. the summer to mature a bit more. When I returned from running this morning, Josh was showered and ready for church! He even got M up and began to feed him shortly after I started to get ready. (Josh is awesome.)

The mass went pretty much like the start of our day. It was...so smooth, so delightful; and, much to my dismay, so painless! Michael received oodles and oodles of praise; he was quite, he was occupied with his cars and turtles, and was a complete joy to be around!

Instead of leaving the mass with beads of sweat, I left with a giggles of pride. He did it!!

This boy earned himself a trip to the dog show this afternoon. He's been asking to go since Friday evening. Check back for photos!

For. Crying. Out. Loud.

This morning I decided that Michael and I would make a trip to the library for his first time. My friend, Melissa, takes her girls on a frequent basis, so I decided to give it a whirl. On our way to the library, I decided to peel off at a garage to get my car inspected and to get the brake lights changed. This is the first time that I have EVER thought ahead about a car inspection...but, since the lights were out and I felt nervous about driving M. around without them; I figured why not today? Carpe Diem.

Well, two hours LATER M. and I are STILL waiting in the blasted garage for the guys to finish up with my car. Then, a man comes in with a sticky note and asks what type of car I drive. Wouldn't you know, the list is for my car. It turns out the brake lights aren't the only thing that needs replaced. So, I decided do what you want with the car, but get me the heck out of HERE!

As the man is talking to me, I try to call Josh to bum a ride. The receptionist tells me his phone is marked "private". (Which is code for, don't let Katie call me...we all know THAT.) Cussing in my head, I call my mother. Can't get her either. So, this man who is continuing to rattle off this list and take my personal info, eventually tells me that he can get me a ride. I give Josh a minute or two to call back, and then I finally broke down and told the man that I'd take the courtesy van ride.

The driver arrives, a real nice man, we're on our merry way....And then, I realize, CRAP! NO HOUSE KEY! It's raining. We can't spend the afternoon on the porch. ACCK. So, he turns around, I grab the keys, and we're on our merry way again.

Dag. Gone. It., I just wanted to go the library. This is where safety gets you....home, without a car, but watching TEN--NIS!! (Venus just kicked some butt.)

My son, though? His behavior was awesome. We're very blessed to have such a sweetie. ( The photos are, yes, from the garage.)