where my kids at?

my friend nickey sent this link to me today and i almost peed my pants.

i'm suddenly rethinking this whole car thing- i mean, maybe i should get a minivan, especially if i can call it a "swagger wagon" :) what's sexier than swagger?!




(no, seriously, hunny, where are the kids?)

tired much?

last night, after dinner, per my usual, i had to lay down on the couch and take 5. for some reason, after i eat any meal, i feel far more nauseous than i did before i ate. (good times, good times.) so dave finished up dinner with the kids, and then we put the kids to bed around 7:15.

so 7:45, the kids were asleep, and we regrouped on the piece of couch that is free of both wall hangings and laundry (yes, i have to finish painting today before company shows up at 6:30). we're both pretty exhausted, and i feel awful, so we lay on this 4 foot parcel of couch, and within 10 minutes, we're fast asleep. unconscious.

dave, apparently, wakes up and gets back to working creating a new flash web site for new hope. it's one of (what we've now labeled, because it's a slight illness?) his "immersions," currently, so he essentially doesn't sleep. he works for hours on sermons, websites, and any number of things...starting at 10 or 11 pm when i turn in. he eventually sneaks into bed in the middle of the night like he's been out drinking with his buddies or something, but no, he's been working.

i, on the other hand, continue sleeping until 1:30 am, when i wake up and realize i just went to bed at 8:00.

8:00?! i mean...really?!

and when i woke up to dave still working (huge surprise here), i made fun of him for a minute or two after he pretends like he'll be up soon, and then headed to bed (again?). and i fell asleep. mind you, i had already slept for almost 6 hours, and i managed to fall back asleep and sleep straight through until this morning at 7:15 when the kids woke up (and elias proceeded to admonish me for taking his soccer uniform to wash it. what was i thinking?! [uhh, that it was really dirty?]).

i mean, by the time you have two children, you've got to be behind, what, months of sleep? so i'm not trying to be hard on myself for sleeping like a raging college student, but...

it seems a bit profuse.

so- anyone else have a tale of ridiculous sleeping?
don't leave me hanging, guys.

laying it on thick

i'm making lunch this afternoon and elias is shouts from the toy room:
"mom, it's so great of you that you're making such a nice lunch! thanks, mom!" (note: i'm making annie's mac n cheese and nuggets. not exactly gourmet, but...)

and then he adds:
"you look beautiful today, mom. absolutely beautiful!"

enter: a running piper, pointing up at me, yelling (because piper, aptly named, mostly yells...everything):
"you a beu-eee, mum! a beu-ee!" (yes. she's calling me...a beauty.)

as we sit down for lunch, my kids actually won't stop telling me that i'm a beauty, and that i look beautiful today. must be the sweatpants and no makeup? i found myself trying to change the topic because the flattery from my nearly 4 and sorta almost 2 year old was, uhhh, overwhelming. and sweet and adorable, of course.

now, you may be wondering where my children got these complimetary notions.
do i vainly teach them to shower me with praise?
have they been watching leave it to beaver?
do i brainwash them as some part of the dharma initiative?

funny thing is? it wasn't me. not at all. i have my husband to thank for teaching our kids to always say thank you to whoever prepared the meal (Lord knows it's not always me; dave cooks a lot), and to tell me that i'm beautiful, which they learned from his example and from him encouraging them to tell me "how pretty" i look every day.

kinda nice for a pregnant lady in sweatpants to have her own personal confidence-boosting team. who cares if they don't really understand it?!
so husbands- teach your children to love and respect mom, but don't forget to teach them to shower her with praise and gratitude, too. it should be like mother's day EVERY day. moms need it wherever they can get it. and teach them lay it on THICK. like it's supposed to be.

that's what I'M talking about.

piper's sweet mullet

the other day, piper and i were watching a little ellen on tivo while i folded some laundry. we're both big fans of ellen. all the funny...all the silly...all the dancing. oh, and of course, her new shorter hair. she's great.

piper was playing with her baby listening to idol castoff alex lambert...

(loved him, by the way. he sounds just like ray lamontagne. mad about him getting voted off. not mad enough to vote myself, but...)

so anyway, piper was digging his soul ...

"dance, baby, dance!"

and as i was watching, i was thinking about alex's hair and this hair of my daughters...

and i realized, "wow, piper and alex have the very same hair-do..."

they both have sweet mullets.

now i know a lot of people feel like this about mullets:

but i never could rock that t-shirt because her mullet makes such adorable ponytails!

and itty bitty teeny tiny BRAIDS!

i officially dig piper's sweet mullet. and oddly, it makes me like sweet alex lambert's mullet, too.

but i do wish the all business on top would grow a little longer so i wouldn't HAVE to do her hair every day :)

eli's quote of the day

it's early, but eli's one liners wait for no one. i had told elias that i'd consider letting him watch one more show this morning, but he wasn't being very kind to piper, so i was undecided. i suddenly realized i was alone upstairs and when I came down, the two of them were sitting watching dora the explorer. i sat down to put on my socks, not saying anything yet about the tv and eli turns to me and says:

"i said to myself, maybe there is a show on that is appropriate for kids, and i saw this and so i watched it."

!!!
i mean, really?! i'm letting him watch dora just for saying appropriate! i'm not even mad...i'm impressed!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

what are these big things?

i am brimming with things to write. overflowing. and yet i still am struggling to find time to blog amidst the 12 hours missing from my week, a room above our garage being converted into a studio for our friends matt and beth, a moms group, a couples group, a new unnamed small group, house projects, a home to clean, two children and a husband to love and care for, annnnndd whatever else it is that us mother-type people do (what DON'T we do, really?).

i know some of you are on facebook see my little updates and quick snippets, and i'm glad to have a quick way to connect. but ultimately, i miss my blog, my little place for ramblings, insights, ideas, and anecdotes, amongst other things.

so here i am, for a quick moment to share a funny story. you may have guessed already who the author of the funny is, so if you guessed elias, well...you're right :) i just can't even get over him these days. he is a constant source of joy and laughter in our home, and the wonderment of a 3 and a half year old is just too much.

like today, for example.

he walks up to me in the kitchen, stands right in front of me, looks up, grabs my chest, and asks "what are these big things mommy?"

immediately, i cannot hold my smile, for so many, many reasons. i mean, c'monn- he called them big.

so i look down into his adorable little smiling face and say, "well, God gave girls breasts to feed little babies" to which he replies nonchalantly, "oh, right, so you can shoot milk out of 'em." (now i'm REALLY trying hard not to laugh. did he say "shoot"?!), and i answer "yes, milk comes out of them when the baby is little."

and i show him his chest, and explain about boys and how they can't feed a baby like a mommy, etc. but i was just DYING. the curiosity and innocence of little kids is just too precious.

i have to tell ya, i just love that boy*

*even if he wants to be referred to as spiderman and threatens to punch bad guys in the neck [i tell ya, explaining good and evil to a 3 year old is quite complicated...]!

:)

grease monkey

this story is a perfect example of why mothers don't have extra time. bear with me...

after our play date with lee, cadie, and jax this morning, i dropped by my mum and dads. he had back surgery yesterday to fix a herniated disc (one of like, five), and decided he wanted to come home...today. typical. but elias and piper do a good job cheering him up, mainly because they are slightly obsessed with him, elias especially, so we stop in to say hi real quick and get home in time for naps.

after we get home and i have the kids in bed, i hear some banging and crashing in piper's monitor, which is a clear indicator that elias is doing some rearranging in his room next door, ie, not napping. so i head upstairs to investigate. when i open his door, i see every (every.) toy in his toy box emptied onto the floor (in their place? a pillow and a blanket. he likes to sleep in there...), i see piles of books in his bed, but i don't see elias.

hmm.

i see that my door is closed, so i walk into my bedroom to find him pretending to be asleep in my bed. always a goof. i ask him if he wants to take a nap in my room, which is a rarity that evokes much excitement, so i proceed to tuck him in. i head back downstairs and remember that i'm cooking italian sausage for dinner. right. probably want to pay attention to your dinner, michelle. i give the sausages a turn, throw in some laundry, and head upstairs to make sure elias is quiet. i hear him talking to himself so i open the door to find him sitting on the floor next to the bed

covered.

in.

aquaphor.

and when i say covered, i mean covered. ev-er-y-where. slathered. his legs, his arms, every part of his body not covered by clothes is coated with a nice thick greasy layer of aquaphor.

i look at him with my "if looks could kill/choke/throttle/etc." stare, and he doesn't even flinch. or skip a beat. he just looks at me matter-of-factly and says "mom- i JUST had surgery."

oh, my fault! i didn't realize that people are typically coated with a thick layer of grease after "surgery". but thanks, elias, for the enlightenment.

sigh. kids...
and THAT is just ONE example of why moms are busy and exhausted. because of grease monkeys.

(note: soap alone is not an adequate adversary for aquaphor. next time maybe i'll try gasoline...)

i smell good

i walked into eli's room tonight to tuck him in and say goodnight, per the usual after dave reads him a story. he's at the age where he gets creative with requests or conversations to make bed time last as long as possible. i climb into bed next to him (he sleeps in a double bed, so there's plenty of room for snuggling) and he says "mom, i like how you (s)mellll" and i said "thank you" to which he replied "your welcome." i love this kid. what a total confidence boost after my much needed shower today. hahaha...

i proceeded to tell him that i like how he smells, too (which is very true- a mix of nappy breath, pee, dirt, and boy, with a splash of watermelon shampoo). he pauses, smells his hand vehemently, and says "i (s)mell like trees!"...

and then he tries to pick my nose.

ahhh, i love boys.

tea time...or pee time?

so i'm cleaning the toy room the other night and i'm looking for these magnets that go to something i wanted to hang in the kids toy room for their artwork. i had let elias play with them (my first mistake) and can't find them anywhere. i'm thinking "did he eat them?...did piper?...are they stuck to something random somewhere?..."

can't find them. but i open one of the cabinets in eli's little kitchen, and i see a tea cup. grandma nancy gave piper THE cutest tea set made out of tin for her birthday, and there, sitting on the shelf inside the little cabinet is one of these little tea cups.

full of pee.

yes- you read that right. pee.

now my first thought is "how in the WORLD did he ever pee into this tiny tea cup with out making a mess?! and without me KNOWING?!" there was no pee to be seen anywhere around this tea cup. not so much as a ring underneath it when i picked it up. (gross.) and this pee had been in there for a day or two (trust me, it just was). so i was never privy to nor invited to this pee party, which is uncharacteristic, because elias is the kid who's like "guess what i did mom!" or "yes, i hit piper"...secrets and lying are just not his forte.

so i'm puzzled by this pee/tea cup, and i'm also kind of impressed. not that i should be, i should be mad or something, but i was. i was just impressed. and a little mad at the peeing in places other than the toilet. we've been peeing in the toilet for a long time now, so i wasn't sure what to make of the peeing in random things. the thought of it started to make me a lit-tle nervous...

a couple of days go by. still no magnets, which is killing me because i can't stand it when i can't find something. i'll look all day and in every spare moment to find it. but no luck on the magnets yet. so i'm cleaning up again one night, and i pick up the tea kettle and i hear something clanging around inside. i look inside and there i find the three missing magnets...

and some more pee.

awesome. i guess when your mom says "no more water" in the tea set (since it was rusting), you have to find other ways to make believe. and, of course, now i know how he had such amazing accuracy- his pouring skills are fantastic.

anyone for pee time, i mean, tea time?!

when you ask for a trim...

i love lilacs.

although their life is short-lived, it is deliciously fragrant and beautiful...and enjoyed immensely by yours truly. much to my delight two years ago, i realized our home is full of lilac trees. or are they bushes? it remains to be seen, because the previous owner was a structural engineer, not a gardener. cool for the addition he put on the house. not cool for the rest of the grounds.

i'm no expert on plants, trees, flowers, and the like. i only aspire to be. i read and research when it comes to these things, because i am very aware that my thumb is not green. even if green is my favorite color.

enter: my dad, ray, one night last week. he had stopped by to see the backyard (that post is coming soon, too) and since my dad is a project kind of guy (apple didn't fall far from the tree, eh?), and i mentioned pruning the tremendously overgrown tree, seen here below, he offered to help dave (read: he thinks he is the only one who knows how to do things "right" so he inserted himself into the project quickly. especially because it involved chainsaws, and he loves chainsaws).

this is my lilac tree on the right.
actually, this was my lilac tree.

things seem to be going well. branches are being trimmed, i'm getting excited about shaping the tree better so i can reach the blooms and see some new growth...

eli's helping his "gp" (of course, he needed his own hand saw and ladder to work on the maple tree)...we're having a splendid good time (leave me alone, i get really excited when projects get started AND finished).


my dad's got his american flag bandanna, dead limbs are dropping, i am well pleased with the progress...

piper's loving it. nothing like a loud chainsaw and branches crashing to the ground. haha, she's hilarious...

"mom- this is NUTS!"

and then...

i take piper inside to start dinner, and when i come back out to check on the boys...one of the branches i had wanted trimmed had been cut off, so my lilac tree looked ridiculous. i had to have them take the tree all the way down to 3 feet. so instead of my 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 pruning approach...

i ended up with what is considered a hard prune:

yup.
there she is, in all her glory.
it's like when you go to the hairdresser for a trim, and she cuts off 10 inches. not exactly what you asked for.

luckily my husband and father were gracious with me when i berated them for destroying my tree. i don't know what got into me. i mean, it's a tree...it will grow back.

it's just going to take a few years.
ohhhh lordy.

"gotcha last"

so this morning, as i made my tea and waited for the clothes in the dryer to fluff, elias wanted to play chase. so we run around for a clip, but he had a fair amount of unwritten rules (such as "don't actually ever get me") and was whining when i would break them (i'm working on my mind reading skills), so i decided to teach him a new game.

when i was younger, my mom would play "gotcha last" with me, my brother, and my sister. the basic premise is tag, but in one room, and more along the lines of artful dodging, because you have only a small space.

so i introduce "gotcha last" to elias and he's cracking up as he dips and dodges, smacking me and giggling. and in true eli form, what does he do?

he opens the kitchen drawer and pulls out a knife.

talk about upping the ante, huh? albeit a plastic kids knife (yes, from ikea), i was fascinated by my child's response to grab a knife. to elias, knives are "swords" and he thinks that in all scenarios, swords are the answer (maybe it's time to lay off the prince philip?).

soo typical that my e-man would get a little west side story with my innocent game of gotcha last. no big surprise there.

i just adore boys. their logic never ceases to amaze and enthrall me.
but i think me and e probably need to have a little chat about the 'knives are the answer' thing...

:)

boogers, earwax, and eyelashes

the thing i love about children is they are in so many ways mirrors of their parents. our speech, our bad habits, our unkind behavior, our idiosyncrasies totally rub off on them.

which brings me to boogers, earwax, and eyelashes.

i have a lot of quirks (gross understatement). everyone does, i suppose. but i have a thing for cleanliness. from personal hygiene-type cleanliness to cleaning my microwave and trash can-type cleanliness. and this trait can be evidenced clearly in my son who can vacuum a floor very efficiently, gladly wipes up messes he makes, and loves brushing his teeth and washing his hands.

in terms of hygiene, i always want my kids fingernails clipped, their noses clean, ears free of earwax, and eyeballs not crusty. it's just how it has to be for me. i can't deal with dirt under fingernails or boogery noses. it makes me anxious or something.

so the other morning, as dave an i lay sleepily in bed, young elias jumps all over the place, playing, snuggling, telling us to get "our dress on," (ie, get dressed). piper wakes up (geez, i wonder why) and elias bolts to hop into her crib with her, as always. we stay in bed, listening to the two of them in the monitor, hoping for just five more minutes. two, even.

but in abut one minute, piper is crying.

this is not uncommon. elias is often a bit rowdy.

i call to him and ask why piper is crying, and elias yells back "i'm pickin she's buuuuggers mum!"

my son is picking the boogers out of his little sister's nose.

hahahahahaha.

and how do i tell him not to do that when i do it to the two of them all the time?! eek!

as his mother, i guess i should have seen the signs that his cleanliness obsession would escalate when he was "geddin eyelash out piper's eyeeee" the other day or when he goes digging around in his ears for earwax.

realization:

my son...

is me. in so many scary scary ways.

...it's nice to have a partner to fight hygiene crime, though.

i think we'll make a good booger-picking team.

the darnedest things

my silly goose

and my sweet boy

elias has really been killing me with some of his expressions lately. killing me. from the way he says things to the little sayings themselves, and of course, his inflections (and accent)...it's all too much sometimes. having a conversation with a 2 year old is pretty much always hilarious. especially with elias, because he's in it to make people laugh. here are some of his latest expressions:


"two times.." or "two minutes.." (sounds like "two mits") as he hold up two fingers. everything is in the framework of two. maybe because he's two.

"what time is it?" this is one of his newest questions. he like to be in the know, i guess.

"stop dooooin this to me!" this is what he says when i do something he doesn't approve of. like taking a toy away.

"cut it out!" yeah. i say this to him all the time, so now he says it to me. awesome.

"one second." he's a busy kid. so he likes to make me wait while he finishes things.

"real quick." he'll say "eyi-yi read this book real quick" it's a good stall for when we need to leave somewhere. along with "two minutes" and "one second."

today he tells me "i no have poops. i'm lyin." what?! i don't even know where he learned about lying. and he gives himself up so quick. always has. he's an honest little bugger. which is great, because he's always into mischief.

but any naughty behavior is followed up with a quick apology: "soirrryy"

"i'm very 'cited!" and "that make you happy?" he's into emotions. he often tells me "this frustratin me, mum!" when toys aren't performing as he'd hoped.

"wiiiiickedd. gp says that all the time." apparently my dad says wicked a lot. haha.

"...on tuesday" everything that happens, happens on tuesday. or "last night."

"siy-yey [silly] goose! deanna say that all the time." eli's quoting everyone these days. watch out!

"member dat?! [remember that?] he'll say "member dat truck right dere, mum? member dat?" lol. why, yes, elias, i do.

"cool dude!" matt and josh taught him that one.

"oh, MANNNN!"

"uh-oh, skeddy-oh [spaghetti-o]" compliments of his dada...

"my bucket" which is his binka. even though he can say binka. he still calls it a bucket.

"my he-bow" which is what he calls an elbow. or a knee. and even a shoulder sometimes :)

"really yummy down my froat [throat]!" haha, yeah...because i was teaching him that food goes down your throat and into your stomach. kids are funny.

"no, me good." it's his version of "i'm good. thanks anyway"

"that mans name, mum?" he'll point at any stranger who he shares a smile or interaction with and ask their name. but ask me. well, they say moms know everything, right?

"when ________'s birthday is?" he needs to know everyones birthday. everyones.

and my favorites:

"smooooooth like butta!" that one is all me. i teach him the good stuff.

"whoa! ho-ey mo-ey [holy moly]!" this is hilarious. that's all there is to it.


kids really do say the darnedest things...anyone have any good toddler quotes?

hitting the club with the reverend...

saturday night, dave surprised me with an impromptu little date night. he had asked my dad to come over and "monitor-sit" so he and i could go out and have a few adult moments.

dave has this spot called benjamins in taunton that he loves to go and read and meet with people for discipleship. it's this upscale restaurant that has a beautiful library that smells of leather-bound books and rich mahogany.

hehe, well, you know. it's just this cool place with bookshelves from floor to ceiling, a bar, leather chairs and sofas, and a fireplace that is always blazing. it's really quite nice.

when we pull in, the parking lot is jam-packed. no spots. we figured there was a wedding reception or something, so we park in a dark corner of the lot and make our way inside. we were expecting to have a quiet moment by the fire, but as we walk in, we can hear loud music pulsing from the library.

live music! perfect. dave had planned on taking me to a local jazz bar, but apparently, it is no longer in business. this was his plan b. and bonus, there's some nice live music. so we saunter in and steal a couple chairs to pull up to a high top. ahhh, live music, a cocktail, adult conversation. it's all lovely.

benjamins is filled with middle aged couples. mostly forty plus people, sprinkled with a few retired folks and maybe a couple or two in their thirties. maybe. so we're clearly the youngest folks in this place. this is a no jeans kind of establishment- everyone is wearing sport coats, slacks, and sequins. it's on the verge of a fashion nightmare, but that's another blog. so think middle-aged, mustaches, bad fashion, and slow dancing to music of the 50's and 60's. sprinkled with some 80's and 90's. a good mix for this crowd.

we enjoy our chatting for a while, as gq and the lady croons some barry white and some harry connick jr. they're very good. i'm pleasantly surprised at how well they can all belt.

a bit later, the band takes a break...we sip our drinks.

nice.

then, suddenly, i hear usher's "yeah" pumping through the speakers. bass bumpin.

and this band, this wedding band, starts covering usher. what?!

everyone gets up out of their leather seats, and they bust onto this little dance floor with their wives, scotch in hand, to shake it to a little r&b.

and then to beyonce's "crazy in love."
WITH jay-z's rap.
believe it.

and then lady gaga's "just dance."

for real.

and i'm like- seriously- WHAT IS THIS PLACE?!!?

all i could do was smile and laugh at how unapologetically this upscale restaurant morphs into a club for sport-coat wearing middle-aged men and women. don't get me wrong, i'm all for movin and shakin, having a drink with friends or a lover, but it unexpectedly just turned into club benjamins, and i wasn't braced for it. i simply wasn't ready for these middle-aged mustached men and their sequined wives to get jiggy. it was a sight. they were getting so crazy in there, someone knocked over a speaker. i couldn't stop watching them all. dancing in the library. what an oxymoron. but i loved it. i mean, they were having a blast.

and so were we.

so. next saturday night. club benjamin's. who's in?

some notable quotes

okay. my son is cracking me up the past couple days. he's just always got something to say that is funny or quick-witted or by the very nature of him being 2 1/2, silly. i must share.

quotes of the day:
(i try my best to write his quote with the inflections he uses. even though he may say the words correctly, his little boston accent and his high pitched tone have to be accounted for. here's my best rendition)

"mum, come wratsle me!" yes, wrestle. this kid loves to wrestle. he's been taking innocent children and adults down by the neck for over a year.

elias wanted the "choo-choo song on" so i told him to come give me a kiss. which he does. a nice long wet smooch, per his usual. he's a lover and a fighter. i stand up to put his CD in the player and he grabs my leg and kisses it and says "big mooch on your dress!" which is funny because i was wearing my bathrobe. i love this kid. i'll wear my bathrobe every day as long as someone thinks it's a dress.

every night when i go to tuck him in he playfully looks at me and says "i scay-id mum" and he smirks and throws a sweet side glance as if i won't notice he's trying to play me. i love his little silly boston accent when it comes out.

today he said to me when we were driving in the car past a lake "get na-ed and go in there mum." you know, 25 degrees, perfect time to get naked and go for a dip in a frozen pond. i mean, he's a little fish, always has been, but i guess now we know he's not joking around. summer or winter, he's game.

yesterday, we're playing with lightening mcqueen and mater from the movie Cars. i'm mater, and he crashes lmq into me. i pretend like mater's sad, and elias looks at me and says "li-ning mcqueen sit time out hitting mater" then looks to mcqueen and says "no hit mater again. give mater hugs. take him out for dinner." hahaha. dinner, too? time out's not enough, the poor guy has to take him out to eat? man...

i say to elias "how old are you, eli?" and he says "two yeeaahhs oowwwdd" yup. cute.

today when i tucked elias in for a nap i whisper in his ear "i love you the MOST" to which he replies "no, i love YOU a most in the WORLD" and being competitive as i am, i say "no, i love YOU the most in the world." and he says to me "i love you TWO TIMES a most in the world."

okay. you win.

and where the heck did you learn to one-up me like that? and how do you know that two-times is more? he can't be my kid if he understands math concepts...


kids are funny. i like funny. does that mean i like kids? hmm. that's tough math...

hit me baby one more time

(haha. sorry. i couldn't help myself. finding a title is hard.)

but wow. i feel so inspired! fact is, i was totally having writers block when i noticed my blog reached 100 hits. thanks, everyone. i wish i could wow you with some deep and amazing thoughts today, but i'm tired and my brain is literally struggling to make cohesive sentences. in light of my current condition (i think they call it motherhood?), i'll share a couple short eli anecdotes from this evening.

tonight at dinner, elias wants be to give him more of what we call fizzle. it's bubbly flavored water, really. so he stands up on the bench, slides his empty cup to me and says "more fizzo in that cup, kayyy?!", his voice rising ever so highly as he oh so matter-of-factly tells me what i need to do. and then he leans back, his little belly exposed as his hands reach behind his head, and lets out a big old belch.

it was so boy.

and so hilarious that i just lowered my head and tried not to drool out the food that was in my mouth. who is this small person?

and after dinner, instead of digesting, elias likes to run. you know, work off those calories straight away before the dust settles. so i chase him...and capture him...and tickle him. the standards. and then i spun him around a bunch (no, he doesn't throw up, don't worry) and when it's all over he says to me:

"get busy againnn, mummy!" which is even funnier because he can say dizzy. dizzy is the cement mixer on bob the builder. we know and like her very much. but for some reason, when we're spinning, we're getting busy, so i just had to laugh.

a good end to a long day. a little laughter goes a long way for me.

again, i am humbled that you're here to read about my little life. i'm glad you like it.

i know i do :)

some random thoughts for today

• what the heck do i live under a rock? 8-10 inches is a lot of snow. and wouldn't you know it, we're bringing elias to a 2:30 appointment with a GI specialist all the way in weymouth. maybe we'll just take the sleigh instead of the murano...
• elias cracks me up. we were talking about his cough medicine and he told me "cough mecine yut-ey mummy" to which i replied "it's not that bad, elias. it's sort of tasty" to which he replied deadpan "pri-ey yut-ey, mummy" (pretty yucky mummy). he's like "you're not fooling me, mum. i tasted that stuff." fair enough.
• the fact that babies poop up their back after you get them changed and dressed. ahem, piper. and what is the funniest to me is there is no good way to get that dirty, mussed up onesie over their head. no good way. poop will get on you. or the poor baby's head.
• when kids decide they're not taking a nap. eli slept until 8:30 this morning, and currently is in his bed singing the bob the builder theme song (boooob a builder. can we fix it. booob a builder. yuts we can! scooop muck dizzzyy ro-ey too, lofty wen-nyy...), and counting (one...two...free...fourr...six...seven...twelve...). oh, and now he's trying to open his locked door. (yes, we lock him in. the kid is literally macguyver. since he starting standing at 9 months, he's been trouble. nothing is safe. ever.)

if he's awake, i guess we should go christmas shopping!

p.s. the rat pack helped me get on my christmas cheer this morning. a little dean martin, frank sinatra and sammy davis jr. goes a long way :)