Our coloful house

Donnie has pink eye.

Bug has a gold belt (congrats, little man)!

And I'm seeing red. I stepped on my glasses the other day at Bug's Tae Kwon Do class and can't find my old pair.

Hey, there's no beach here

We’re back from vacation. Sigh… The trip was good and we learned that Bug can go nonstop…not just the typical three-year-old gottabemovingallthetime energy but his mouth as well. He can talk ALL day. The chatter is more apparent in the car or maybe it’s just harder to tune out in that closed environment.

A few comments on the trip:

Donnie and I got away for an overnight when my in-laws offered to watch Bug. Funny how quickly we could get out the door when that offer was made!

Beach time.

Bug took swimming lessons in the ocean. He seemed to be less interested in the water after the lessons. What did he learn? Every so often he’ll put his hands together over his head and say “I’m a rocket.” (Well worth the money, don't you think?) Best part for him…he got to wear goggles while in the water and got a lifesaver after the lesson. He thought they were tiny Oreos obviously, the boy needs to be introduced to more candy.

Great seafood dinners but spaced out enough that I have a hive-free body.

Great steak dinners.

Two trips for cantaloupe ice cream and a pint in the freezer at the house.

Wine, wine, wine…

(Umm, too many food references here, maybe?)

Reading time never enough but always grateful for what I can sneak in.

A Cape Cod Baseball League game.

Dancing with Bug in the dining room to the new Bruce DVD before dinner.

Uneventful drives to and from the Cape with extra stops each way when Bug announced he had to use the potty. Now if we can just get him to stop taking off his shoes when he pees...

pillow talk--parent style

A conversation that, no doubt, has played in many of your homes in one form or another.

Here's our recent pillow talk...

Donnie: What did Bug want at dinner?
Me: I gave him the apple juice in a yellow box but he wanted orange juice in a cup.
Donnie: We have orange juice?
Me: Yeah, who knew? Bug said he saw it in the fridge and he was right. (AND it wasn't expired!)
Donnie: I thought he liked the green boxes of apple juice.
Me: He does like the green boxes but they're bigger and if he takes them to camp he doesn't drink all of it and it ends up spilling/leaking in his lunchbox. Plus, he announced he hadn't had orange juice ALL DAY. (this last portion included a heavy sigh and hand gestures to re-enact the overacting by Bug at dinner)
Donnie: Why do we buy the green boxes?
Me: He likes them but drinks them at home.
Donnie: No, I mean why do we have the smaller green boxes?
Me: I bought them for him to take to camp in his lunch box but he doesn't like those.
Donnie: So why do we have the yellow boxes?
Me: J has those and Bug drinks them at his house. And they're great for his lunchbox because they're smaller than the big green boxes.
Donnie: (silent but I could almost see the cartoon bubble filled with question marks above his head)
Me: The ever-changing moods of a three-year-old's preferences, huh?
Donnie: I'm still surprised we have orange juice.

Clearly, this should have ended with...Say good-night, Gracie.

sleepover

Last night was one of those not-so-typical nights at our house. I had a meeting and Donnie and Bug were going to hang out at home. Before the meeting started Donnie called to say our power was out (again) and they were heading out. (Lucky me, they stopped at the bookstore and picked up a book I wanted--yay!!) By time I arrived home at 9:30, the power was scheduled to be back at 11. Of course, 11pm became 5am, 5am became 7am, 7am became 9am and then we just stopped checking. When we left the house the power still wasn't on.

Bottom line: the three humans in our house slept together on the futon in our basement and our little girl was curled up on the floor in her bed. I'm not sure when Bug has slept better. Not a peep from him during the night. Donnie and I, of course, were tossing all night and dodging flying arms and feet that come from the ninja moves toddlers make in their sleep. Apparently, Bug should have been called for a low blow after one particularly hard kick to Donnie.

The biggest surprise: our sweet little girl, MissClaraVeraCora (call her any of these names and she'll respond in some manner), is the noisiest thing in our house. She farts, she snores, she licks, she paces, she yawns (loudly--like an old man) ALL. NIGHT. LONG.
But she's cute.

Home again

Highlights of our trip:

Spending time with my mom
Seeing Bug give kisses to Grandma T
Being fast enough--often enough--to stop and/or guide Bug while steering Grandma T’s wheelchair
Spending time with family
Hearing Bug sing “Let My People Go” in a catholic nursing home
Having a date night with Donnie
Getting two (good!) steak dinners, wine and dessert for $45
Watching Bug play with his cousins and mixing up their names so often that he started referring to one of them as “that guy”
Eating at Taco John’s (more than once but who’s counting)
Eating at the Dairy Queen (more than once but who’s counting)
Taking Mom to see some of her friends in my hometown
Hearing Bug tell stories to the ladies in the nursing home
Watching Twins games on TV
Running into high school friends
Hearing my 16-year-old nephew tell me he loves me
Realizing that Bug listened to me and didn't kick the seat in front of him on the plane (thankyouverymuch!)

Of course there were some challenging moments as well but we survived and while I’m happy to be sleeping in my own bed again I’m so (SO) glad we made the trip.

update and a date

So...the Black Eyed Peas concert was fun! (Anyone surprised by that?) I was the only one in the suite who was familiar with the first opening act, LMFAO. The second was Ludacris. I probably didn't need to admit that I knew LMFAO because I read in the paper the week before that they were involved in the Mitt Romney airplane kerfuffle. Oh well--for a second people were impressed. The suite was a blast and at one point there was a conga line happening. One of my friends told me she thought my dress was perfect for Serena (Samantha's cousin on Bewitched). I Dream of Jeannie or Bewitched...I think you get the picture.


After dancing, eating and drinking for a few hours, I walked in my front door to hear, "Hi, Mommy." Not what I usually hear after midnight but I quickly learned that Bug had been throwing up for the past couple of hours. I went from concert going party girl to mom in a snap--or keeping with the Jeannie theme--a blink. Smart woman that I am, I took off my suede books before going up the steps to the little patient.


Since then I've had a day home with Bug, lunch with an old friend, an adoption fundraiser, a visit from my in-laws, a successful solo trip to Target, a new faucet installed (I'm 100% giddy over a full-time working kitchen faucet!) and today...our neighbors are going to watch Bug so Donnie and I can go on a real late afternoon/early evening date. Actually, the time doesn't matter I'm just thrilled to be going out for a bit of alone time with my fella AND have free babysitting. Our boys are 2 months apart so it will be a playdate for Bug...he won't even know we're gone. He's as comfortable at their house as his own and, of course, he likes the toys better over there.


My sister-in-law arrives on Monday. She's leaving Thursday afternoon and I'm headed for the airport the same day at 4:45am. (Do you think airlines frown upon women traveling in their jammies?) I'm visiting my mom and always try to get the earliest flight so I can be in South Dakota by noon (fingers crossed). Any book suggestions for the flight?

Random Tuesday Thoughts

Maybe being snowed in since Saturday and shoveling a mountain of snow has affected my sleep/dreams or maybe it's the extra chocolate and wine I've been consuming at night. I often have interesting dreams but last night's dream was a doozy. Donnie left me for Alec Baldwin. Apparently, we lived in a high-rise building (with a hospital on the first floor but that was just a short scene in the dream). Alec was our downstairs neighbor so Donnie moved in with him and I kept our apartment upstairs. Alec, Donnie and I all got along well and it seemed like we may become cozy like Ashton, Demi and Bruce. My apartment was decorated with all kinds of Twilight stuff (I've not read a book or seen a movie so I'm not sure where I grabbed that from in my little head) and I had the Turbo Tax logo hanging on my wall (really, the Turbo Tax logo is how I decorate in my sleep? Good grief.) AND...if anyone is going to leave anyone for someone in my dreams...why didn't Bruce show up and why isn't he mine? (Meanwhile on the other side of the bed: Donnie had a dream we bought a house outside Sacramento.)


So this morning I told Donnie about my dream. A bit later he was wearing a shirt that I like so I commented on it. He said, "Thanks, Alec likes it too." bwahahahaha


Over the weekend I had a dream that I had to wait for Tony Soprano to show up and let him know that someone (his mother) was trying to kill him. It was a ugly scene plus try explaining that you know his mother died but still has a hit out on him. I can't imagine what will be dancing around in my head tonight when I hit the pillow.


Forecast for tonight and tomorrow: between 10 and 20 inches of snow. You know what this means, right? I need to get more wine. My fingers are crossed that we don't lose power.



Go to The Unmom for more randomness.

Dear Someone

Dear Cold,

Oh, if only I could run as fast as my nose these days. You win. I surrender. I've taken plenty of cold tablets and ibuprofen but now I'm giving up. Yep, that's me waving the white tissue flag. How about we don't do this again for a long time, okay?

Signed,
Sneezy, Dopey & Doc

Dear Computers,

You got me good yesterday and it wasn't even April Fool's Day. First I arrived at work to find out my computer had a virus (why should I be the only one not operating at peak, right?). I'm always a bit hesitant, even shy, when I report problems to our IT department because somehow I think I caused the problem and should know how to fix it instead of bringing in the big guns. Oh well. I received a computer (none of my files but could work via email) but that quit on me so my replacement computer was replaced with a laptop that also shut down. THREE of you died on me yesterday..ain't technology grand? Had it not been the end of the work day I wouldn't have been surprised for the IT dept to bring me a typewriter.

Signed,
Bashful & Grumpy

Dear Bug,

The middle of the night is for sleeping.

Not for eating cookies.
Not for playing outside.
Not for watching TV.
Not for going to the store to find a mirror with purple stripes (but nice try on that one).

Signed,
Sleepy

Dear Donnie,

I'm very excited that you'll be home tomorrow. Safe travels!

Love,
Happy

Visit Amanda at Family of Shorts for more Dear Someone letters.

Dear Someone

Dear Self,

It almost happened--the intention was true. The clothes were laid out, the sneakers were ready and the iPod was charged but somehow you forgot to set the alarm for 5:30 to get on the treadmill. There's always tomorrow but today I enjoyed sleeping until 6:35 when the other alarm--the one with two legs, blondish hair and cries Mommy--woke me.

Signed,
One who's not giving up (yet...)

Dear Donnie,

I'm looking forward to our date tomorrow night!

xxo,
Mag

Dear Trick-or-Treaters,

I can't wait to see you on Saturday night. As for the teenagers who are trying to score free candy, can you at least do something to make it look like you're wearing a costume?

Signed,
One of many with candy

Dear Bug,

I've been a Bruce fan longer than you. I appreciate that you've jumped on the E Street Band(wagon) and love it that you want to know if Bruce sings at church, that you want to play Bruce when company comes over and that you always ask to hear him the minute you get in your car seat BUT stop telling me not to sing. To paraphrase lyrics before both of our times, It's my car and I'll sing if I want to...yes, sometimes loud and off-key but I'll do it.

When you sing along to "Girls in Their Summer Clothes" I don't correct you on the words, I simply take it all in. There's a lesson in all of this, little man, and if I weren't tired I'd come up with a great line from a Springsteen song to sum it up.

Love,
Mommy

Dear Bruce,

I've got my Bruce boots ready for our date Monday night. When the lights go up, look to your left and down about halfway in the arena. I'll be the one dancing!

Love,
You know who

Ah Friday

The morning was filled with errands. It was a special treat because I did them solo. No little boy in my cart shouting "I want to see everything" at Target. I went to the Target in the mall so I could swing by Macy's and was thrilled to find a pair of jeans that fit...even happier to find out they were on sale plus an extra discount. I didn't ask questions I just paid $30 for $70 jeans.

I stopped at DSW and tried on shoes that made me feel like I should be on a red carpet somewhere and heels so high that I could probably dunk a basketball. I made a stop at the grocery store and then sauntered over the library to pick up the book that I had on hold except I didn't specify which library so my book is somewhere else in the city. Sigh...

I'm home now--and found my house without getting lost--thankyouverymuch. Bug is napping. I just finished my Doritos lunch and think I'll do some laundry (or not) and read a non-library book before Bug and I go out to play. I'm definitely in favor of Fridays.

In other news, Donnie's having dinner with a women he dated a bit in college. They haven't seen each other since junior year...a number of years ago. She's married with three kids. She googled him a couple of years ago and now we exchange holiday cards.

So, Donnie's in Chicago and they're getting together. I asked him what he's wearing--he jokingly told me his favorite sweater from college--and I reminded him that he better look good because I don't want her thinking he fell apart after college.

Happy Mommy on Father's Day

I explained to Bug that today is a special day for Daddy. Bug announced that Daddy gets to change all of his diapers because it's Daddy's Special Day. Nothin' like a little gift for Mommy on Father's Day!

gender issues

Me: Who's your girl?
Bug: Daddy

Me: ?????

Me: Who's your BEST girl?
Bug: DADDY!

sigh...