Some kidbits...

I haven't taken the time to keep track of some of the funnies that have happened around here lately, so here are a few from the past few days. It's hard to stay grumpy some days with stuff like this being said! Oh, and just so you know, any time you see the words "And don't forget..." from Miss G, picture her holding her right index finger up in the air like you do to get a hot dog from the vendor going up and down the aisles at the baseball game. It's her new thing.

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Mommy: You're doing such a great job going potty, Georgia!

Miss G: Yeah. I love to go potty!

Mommy: You're almost ready for big girl panties. You just need to start going poop in the potty.

Miss G: And don't forget PEE!!

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Mitchell: I'm ready to go outside.

Miss G: Me, three!

Mitchell: It's "Me, too" not "Me, three."

Miss G: It's me, too.

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Last night when we were trick or treating on our block, this adorable little black dog followed us from house to house. He was obviously loose from someone's house in the neighborhood, but he didn't have on tags and didn't want anyone to get too close. He didn't growl, he'd just back away. Mitchell was really concerned about him. When he got up this morning we were talking about how much fun we had last night...

Mitchell: Mommy, what happened to the little dog?

Mommy: I don't know, buddy. Hopefully he found his way home.

Mitchell: I wish I could have helped him. Batman ALWAYS helps save lost little puppy dogs on halloween, you know.

Mommy: Awwww.

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At breakfast this morning....

Mitchell: Can I have a treat when I'm done with breakfast?

Mommy: Hmmmm. Probably. Just one and only if you eat all of your eggs.

Miss G: Me, three! (seriously. she says that.)

Mitchell: And Mason, too!

Mommy: Well, Mason can't have a treat.

Mitchell: Sure he can. His MILK can be his treat!

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While I was making dinner last night, Mitchell and Georgia were each laying under a blanket on a separate sofa in the living room, pretending to sleep. After a few minutes, they started to run laps around the kitchen table. I told them to go play in the living room for a little bit and that dinner was almost ready.

Miss G: Let's play Mommy & Daddy!

Mitchell: Nahhhh, we just DID that! Let's read books.

Daddy: When did you play Mommy & Daddy?

Mitchell: When we were asleep on the couch.

Mommy & Daddy: Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!

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Here are some pictures of our little trick or treating trio...by the way - Georgia called her wig her "crazy hair" and Mitchell was quite upset that his outfit was missing the yellow belt that the picture on the package showed. That's what happens when you go for the cheapo craigslist costume, dude. Oh - and I think I should say that out of the whole big bucket of yummy treats that they collected last night, both of them were most excited to eat -- their chips. A bag of cheetos for Mitchell and a bag of fritos for Miss G. Too funny! Have a great weekend!

A Little Dose of Miss G.

Ohhhhhh, my sweet girl. She is a nut.

And I mean that.

Doing what she does best...making a mess. (And loving it.)

Wishing with every bit of her being that she could get on stage in her "princess dress" with Mitchell and the rest of the kids during his program at school.

Here's a glimpse of her eye after her little incident in the bathroom on Saturday.

And, in case you have ever wanted to spend a few minutes with The Hurricane, here you go. They are short little snippets, but give you just a little taste of what things are like when she's in the room. Enjoy!

I know. After seeing those it's hard to believe that a graceful little bird like our own Miss G could ever manage to get a black eye, isn't it?

Ahhhhhhh.... (that's me breathing, by the way)

That's my new strategy...Breathe.

Breathe again.
Breathe some more.

Physically, I feel pretty good. I get tired, of course, from growing a little person in here - but for the most part, I really can't complain. I mean, my left hip is killing me and the heartburn stinks...just kidding! Seriously, it's been a pretty easy pregnancy so far. By the way, the new little baby thing on my sidebar - sort of wacky how (s)he floats around in there like a little slow-paced pinball, don't you think? I mean, I know this one's floating too - that one just looks like it's on the moon or something. And also - I put that there so you can know how far along I am even when I'm flakey and don't post for a month or something. I get that "when are you due??" thing a lot, so thought this might help!

Anddddd...because it's my blog and I can interrupt myself if I want to - I will tell you that Mitchell felt the baby kick for the first time today! Oh, goodness - that is for sure in my top ten Mommy moments right now. I got all welled up because he just got so, so, SO excited! He is a bit on the impatient (or five year old) side of life, so before today when the baby has been kicking he hasn't managed to stay still long enough to feel it yet. However...about half an hour ago I was sitting here putting pictures from his first ever soccer game onto the computer and the baby was ripping off some good ones so I called him over and wouldn't you know it -- BOOM. His eyes grew so big and just absolutely lit up! He said "Mommy, was that the baby? Did it kick me?" When I said yes he got the giggles and was just over the moon. He felt about three kicks, I think. I can still see his face and hear that laughter -- oh, goodness. It was magical. When I was pregnant with Georgia, he was still pretty young so he didn't really "get it" but this time, he is definitely hooked up with what's going on, so it was a wonderful moment. I just wish my camera's memory card wasn't in the middle of moving those soccer videos so I could have taken a picture of his face!

Oh, and speaking of soccer: (ummmm, yeah - can you tell how nicely this will flow today?) I have to tell you that this whole thing of him being on a team has been hysterical. Our little wallflower has decided that he is just going to jump in with both feet and his personality is coming right on out of his ears! The team's practices are Sunday afternoons and we didn't know it (wouldn't have gone anyway) but the team practiced on Easter. The sad thing for Mitchell is that they also gave their ideas for a team name at that practice -- he was SO excited to throw out the idea of "The Buffaloes". I mean, his heart was SET on it. So, when he found out that they could only vote for three previously suggested ideas, well - that just was not gonna fly. (I was at home with Miss G for her nap, so Chris relayed this story to me, just so you know.) Apparently, the coach asked him for his vote and he said "Well, I'm just gonna call myself 'The Buffaloes' then!" The coach said "So you don't want to vote?" And he said he didn't. Then two seconds later, he did. And the winning team name?

The Fighting Machines.

I am pretty sure that was not the idea of the one little girl on his team, but I don't have proof. Other than, well - the name itself. Proof enough that it's not the work of a five year old girl, don't you think? Anyway - during his first game last night he apparently growled on the field the whole time he was playing. (Again, information from Chris. I was in the car with a sick baby girl.) I asked him about that this morning and he informed he that he was pretending to be a tiger. We agreed to maybe not growl during any more soccer games.

Anyone who knows Mitchell is probably not all that surprised that we had to make such a request.

Okay, so - back to me and my breathing. Physically, pretty good. Emotionally - well, it depends on the exact moment in time that you ask me. Yesterday, count yourself lucky that you didn't ask me. My husband did and whoooo - I bet he is still regretting that one.

BUT. My new strategy: breathing. Why breathing? Because. First of all, I have to, right? Second of all -- does it get any more simple than that?

Breathe in.
Breathe out.

I've been trying to be grateful for the little things in my life. The small joys. And breathing is one of them. So, when I get overwhelmed with it all - I just try to breathe and be grateful that I can. I just focus on being still, chilling out, and seriously - just being. If only I had a dollar for every time the scripture, Psalm 46:10 "Be still and know that I am God..." has come into my life lately.

Seriously. All over the place. So, I decided to listen to that and give it a whirl.

Guess what? It works. It seriously works. It's really given me some peace and calmed what I can only describe as an inner restlessness that I've felt lately. So, it's my new thing. I breathe.

Okay - I will leave you with a little snippet of Georgia cuteness. Yesterday (the day she was deservedly a crankpot) I heard her on the monitor waking up from her nap. She was talking and calling me, so I came up and opened her door. It appeared that she had fallen back asleep as I was coming upstairs, so she was laying on her tummy, facing away from me. When I opened the door, she picked her head up, turned and gave me the biggest two-year-old glare you have ever seen. She then stood up with her hair looking like she'd just walked out of a wind tunnel and loudly proclaimed "You no wake up ME!!!"

I couldn't help it. I laughed.

Which made her even more mad, which made me laugh even harder. One mention of finding some juice made her smile and say "Okay, Mommy - get me outta here!" Ohhhhhh...that girl is cute even when she's spitting fire, I tell ya!

Thanks for putting up with my randomness today. Feels good to just let it all hang out again. And oohhhh baby, is it ever hanging out! :) I added two of my fave crockpot recipes to the sidebar today, by the way. They are super yummy!

On the road again...

Well, we're loading up The Viper (that's our minivan) and leaving tonight for a quick weekend trip away to celebrate my father-in-law's 60th birthday. I'm not looking forward to the drive, as Miss G is not quite the stellar traveler that her big brother is. He really doesn't mind being in the car, especially when he knows that the DVD player will get fired up for long trips.

Georgia? Ummmmm, not so much. Here's a typical 5 minute segment with her:

Minute 1: We put her headphones on and she giggles and kicks her little feet because she's so excited and proud to be doing big girl stuff. Constantly looks at the screen and then over at her brother to make sure she's not missing any new big kid stuff to imitate.
Minute 2: Watches the video with her eyes bugged out of her head.
Minute 3: Starts playing with her headphones, eventually pulling them off.
Minute 4: Tries to put them back on herself, which never happens, and proceeds to screech and scream at the top of her lungs so that I will do it for her.
Minute 5: Says "Kay" when I ask her to please use her words and not scream to ask for help. Says "Peez?" and holds out her headphones to me like a little angel.

Minute 6: See Minute 1.

Oh well, we went to Walmart (ick!) yesterday and stocked up on snacks and stuff to keep her (Ha!) occupied in the car. Hopefully something will work for awhile, and maybe she'll even sleep a little bit. Who knows! Our neighbor let us borrow a stack of their DVD's, so I'm hoping that the novelty factor kicks in and buys us some time. I also bought an iPod car thing so that while they're in DVD-land, we can be in iPod land.

Of course, I'm also semi-dreading the whole "Georgia doesn't DO sleeping in hotels" thing, but it will all be worth it in the end. Maybe she'll surprise me and decide to actually just put her head down in her pack n' play and go to sleep.

*wiping my eyes* Hahahahahaha...ohhhhhhh, that was a good one, Tara.

I hope you all enjoy a wonderful, safe weekend! I'll see you next week!

*scratching my head*

So, somehow in the past week, Georgia has learned some Bushman language. We're not sure how this happened or exactly why, but now when she wants something to eat, she no longer says "I wanna sack," which loosely translated, means "I want a snack."

She now says "I wanna *click*click*."

We don't even OWN "The Gods Must Be Crazy."

Pictures from our lazy Sunday...

We are a Bronco-lovin' family (well, Eagles, too -- but that's sort of a long story) and it's that time of year. Here are the two littlest fans in the house on the first Bronco Sunday of the year!


Playing Peek-A-Boo on the couch...


I should have taken a video of how hard they were laughing at each other...


Uh, YEAH...that used to be a pair of pigtails before naptime. Does the look on her face tell you anything about this girl? (That would be a definite yes, by the way.) Whoooo, Nelly.


At the batting cages with Daddy...he wanted to get in there SO badly!!


Just a fun video from the park...this is what Georgia did literally the entire time we were there.



Okay, and when I typed "lazy Sunday" into the title of this post, I was reminded of one of my very favorite SNL skits. I have it bookmarked and had to go watch it, so now I'm feeling the need to provide you with a link to the video that makes my husband and I crack up every time we watch it. There is one bleep, but it's very tame and so funny. Double true!!

Stray thoughts...

Mitchell loves to play in our closet. He was in there playing Buzz Lightyear last night as I looked for a paper for his school at the computer desk:

Mitchell: Mommy, I love you so much.

Me: I love you, too.

Mitchell: I'm going to say a prayer for you.

Me: I would love that.

*Lays down his space shuttle and folds his hands.*

Mitchell: Dear God, Thank you for giving me my Mommy. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Me: Wow. That might be the best prayer I've ever heard.

Mitchell: Thanks. So, Mommy, Buzz Lightyear is going to go save Woody...

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Georgia has started to sing. I can hear her in her crib in the mornings and can tell that she is singing to herself. "Winnie The Pooh," "Twinkle, Twinkle," "Old McDonald," and "The ABC's" appear to be her favorites. It is absolutely adorable and so captures who she is at this age. I hope that I can always close my eyes and hear the sweet sounds of her little songs.

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A verse on my heart today as I send Mitchell off to his first day of his last year of preschool.

"Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." Proverbs 22:6

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I'm not sure if you're aware of this or not, but Georgia is apparently able to throw half of a toasted bagel the length of at least three tables. Frisbee style. Just, you know, in case it comes up in conversation or something. Might be good information for you to have, especially if you happen to be sitting, say, within three tables of us.

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Before I go - just have to share that I've added yet another great blog to my reading list! I followed a link to Alana's blog and found out how to make my own signature! Very cool...thanks for the inspiration!

Random thoughts on a Tuesday...

*Warning* Blogger with no direction!!

I just got home from getting the kids' haircuts. I brought home two handsome little boys. Seriously - that's what it looks like. The Cost Cutters lady and I did not communicate very clearly because Miss G looks like Mr. G at the moment. Her hair is WAYYYYYY shorter than I wanted it. Oh well -- it will grow, right? Bows, ponytails, barettes -- a MUST these next few weeks! (Ummmm, I have a bit of a "hair" thing with her, does it show?)

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I think that Mitchell must be in the middle of a growth spurt or something. All he does is ask me to eat. And eat. And eat. He is a bottomless pit.

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I bought this goofy little pink terrycloth babydoll dress thing at Walmart recently. (My middle of the night run with Miss G during her refuse-to-sleep-thing while we were out of town.) I love to put it on after my showers, and have been seriously tempted to wear it all day long a few times this week.

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Rocky Ford cantaloupe and Palisade peaches --- August in Colorado! Yum!!!

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Joke of the day from Mitchell:
"What do you get when you cross a duckie, a race car and a fan?"

"Daffy Duck that floats away and crashes into trains!"

Welcome to my world, friends. I don't get it either.

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I had about 10 extra minutes the other day in between seeing clients, so I cruised into this little consignment store that is in the neighborhood, just to see if they had any good jeans for the kids since they both need some for the fall. No luck in the jeans department for Miss G, but I scored about 4 pair for Mitchell and I also ended up buying Georgia a pair of pale pink knock off crocs. See, she went crazy over some twins' shoes at the ped the other day. They both had on pink crocs and she lost her mind -- kept bending down (doing that kid squat that makes my knees hurt just watching) and pointing at them saying, "Oooohhhhhh, SHOOOOOOZ, Mama! SHOOOOZ!" I tried some crocs on for myself at a store a while back because I was curious what the big deal was, and really - they didn't do it for me. They didn't feel very comfy, and (no offense to croc lovers) I think they are less than cute, so I never really even thought about getting some for the kids. Well, when I saw the little pink ones for $2.99 the other day in her size, I thought I would give them a try.

Oh. My.

There were tears getting into the tub last night. She didn't want to part with her pink shoes. Guess what went on her feet the second her diaper was changed this morning? Yep, the pink knock offs. So far, this is the best $2.99 I've spent in quite some time.

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And I'll end with a knock-knock joke since he just walked up and asked if I wanted to hear one.

"Knock, knock."
"Who's there?"
"Train."
"Train who?"
"Train on a dragon when he says RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR."

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Happy Tuesday!

Home

I did something this weekend that is a very rare occurence around here...I spent the night away from home without my husband and children for my MOPS steering retreat. Going into it on Friday afternoon, I was a bit concerned only because my husband was not having a good day. He was very stressed out by work and a variety of other things...he hit an emotional wall in a way, I think. Anyway -- not exactly the time that I'd love to go jetting off for a day and a half. I would have loved to have been able to sit with him that night, give him a backrub and just be there for him. Instead, there was a semi-frantic exchange of cars and a drive through rush hour traffic for him as he was off to meet my parents for dinner and begin his solo time with the kids. I did get him a card and a little treat on my way to the hotel, but a part of my heart felt sad as he drove away because I felt like I was just adding to his stress. I said some special prayers for him as I walked back into the conference room from the parking lot because I know that when I'm at home with the kids and I'm feeling stressed, it often results in a more anxious, less patient, short-tempered Mommy and I didn't want to be setting him up for the same sort of experience.

Talk about completely underestimating my amazing husband.

I called and talked to him as he was getting the kids into for bed and he already sounded so much better. He told me that everyone had a great time at dinner and that he and Georgia even developed a new trick together, which involved him jiggling her chin around and her making silly noises. Hearing the joy in his voice was a delight for me and I knew then that everything would be fine. Breathing a sigh of relief as I heard him tell me that he loved me and to enjoy my time with "the hens," I hung up the phone with no guilt whatsoever. When I talked to him in the morning, I learned that both kids slept all night (rare these days) and that everyone woke up in a good mood. I even talked to both of them on the phone without it leading to tears about me coming home! Again, I hung up the phone and enjoyed the rest of my day without any guilt about being there.

When I got home last night, I was met by silence, which was a little scary. I will say that there was no blood, broken furniture, and no evidence of fire or flood, so I decided not to panic yet.

As I entered the living room I found my son asleep (asleep?!?!) on the couch, but no sign of my husband or Georgia. As I walked into the empty kitchen past a sleeping Mitchell, I could hear the two of them chattering over the monitor, meaning that she likely just woke up from a nap. (At 5 o'clock?!?!) I was greeted by sunscreen on the counter (a trip to the park), a new trash can (yesssss!) and a picture of the three of them posing in front of a NASCAR car (what?!). Apparently the new Best Buy opened this weekend and my NASCAR nuts got to see the sponsored car parked in front of the store. (He claims he didn't know it would be there, but I'm skeptical.) As I studied the picture of my three happy loved ones, I noticed that both kids were wearing the same clothes that I had left them in the day before. That made me laugh, and I knew that my husband would be claiming to save me from more dirty laundry. I heard Chris say "Let's go downstairs" so I went to greet them.

When my husband brought Miss G down the stairs, I could hear him say "Guess who's here" to her. As they rounded the corner on the landing and we saw each other, the sheer delight in her giggle and the smile that stretched across her entire face both wrapped themselves around my heart. She held her arms out to me and joyfully yelled "MOOOOOMMMMMMAAAAAA!!!!!" I took her from Chris and she instantly wrapped her little arms around my neck, laid her head down on my shoulder and squeezed me with the tightest hug an 18 month old is capable of.

That feeling. That one. That's one of my happy places.

After my world class hug, she immediately sat up, looked at me and in a very serious tone said "I wanna muk." My husband and I just laughed because it was Georgia's way of saying, "Okay, welcome home, yadda yadda...give up the milk, sister."

After a wonderfully comforting bear hug from my husband, he returned to making dinner (pork chops, baked potatoes and a big garden salad - huh?!) and I filled a muk order. As I was putting the milk back into the fridge, I heard Chris say "Hey, buddy -- look who's home!" I closed the door and looked into the living room to see a tousled head of hair, two big brown eyes, and a shy but undeniably joyful smile peeking up at me over the island.

Our reunion was more subdued, but his sleepy grin and gentle hugs melted my heart as I rubbed his back while he woke up and showed me his new Tony Stewart racecar that Daddy had bought for him at "Wullmert." That lasted about a minute and a half, at which point Georgia sniffed out our physical contact and came to voice her displeasure at me hugging anyone but her. My snuggle time with Mitchell turned into snuggle time with Mitchell and Georgia, leading to my husband and I exchanging glances across the room. He could see that I knew I was back where I belonged and I could see that he had been longing for that to happen all day.

Home. I love being home.

In case you were curious...

Here is a sampling of what Hurricane Georgia is capable of accomplishing in under 10 minutes:

*emptying the entire book cabinet of books
*decorating the living room with 150 napkins (for the 3rd time in one day -- their current home is part of our "staging" process -- guess I need to find them a new spot)
*taking every ziploc baggie out of the box
*stealing hot sauce packets out of the front of the silverware drawer (note to self: move to the back of the drawer when I go downstairs) and running around the living room with them, all the while giving Mommy a heart attack that the clenched little fists will burst the hot sauce packets open all over the new carpet.
*getting snot all over 3 couch pillows while practicing her newly developed ottoman-climb-flip-onto-the-sofa acrobatic move
*partially unscrewing her sippy cup lid and proceeding to dump the entire contents (thankfully just water) onto the highchair tray after an exasperated Mommy straps her in there in order to try and get dinner on plates instead of chasing her around the entire downstairs

The next person who tells me "she's a busy girl" gets to keep her for the day and then see if they still think that's an accurate description. She is WAYYYYYYY beyond busy, folks.

I know that all too soon I will be wanting this stage back but now I'm remembering why 18 months was a tough stage for me with my son. And he was about 1/3 of her in the ol' mischief department.

By the way, the reason she's able to get into all of those drawers is because he never did so they don't have drawer locks.

Yet.

Things I don't want to forget...

I'm taking a break from my seemingly never-ending chore of "staging" the house to go on the market in order to make sure that I document some things I've been thinking about lately. These are little things that I so completely adore right now but are definitely not things I'd likely remember once the kids stop saying and doing them. I try to print my blog out every month or two and put it in my scrapbook stash, so I figure this is as good a place as any to preserve a little history.

*Disclaimer: If you're sick of gushy proud Mommy posts, you might just want to come back another day.*

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Georgia, at nearly 17 months, has this awesome habit of standing on her head at completely random times. It can be in her crib, in the middle of the living room, at the park, in the kitchen, on the sidewalk, or even in the (ewww) bathroom. When she does it, she just comes to a screeching halt, bends herself in half, plants both hands on the ground, and then puts the top of her head on the ground. She usually stays that way for about 15-30 seconds, then gets up and resumes life. It reminds me of Tivo, actually. Like when you pause real-time TV and then just unpause it. I used to think she was gearing up to try doing somersaults like her big brother does all of the time, but lately when I've watched her, it's more like she just decides that the world might look sort of cool upside down at that very moment.

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After he's done reading books and right before he falls asleep, Mitchell - at age 4 and a half , will lay on his back in his bed, put both feet on the wall, place his hands behind his head and stare at the poster next to the top of his bed that has 100 years worth of aircraft while he listens to music. I often just stand in the doorway and peek in - he doesn't know I'm there. I can't explain it adequately, but it is obvious to me that he is IN that poster. He is flying one of those planes. There is a wonderful, imaginative story being created in that little head of his. It is one of those precious moments in time (besides being peacefully asleep) where he has a look of complete innocence.

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Georgia says "Mama" about 458,234 times each day. I'm estimating here. About 400,000 of them are actually questions, demands or statements. Some of the following are examples:

Says: "Mama!"
Means: "Can I have some freakin' milk over here please??"

Says: "Mama?"
Means: "What the heck is this thing?"

Says: "Mama?!"
Means: "How dare you leave my sight! Where in God's green earth are you, woman?!"

Says: "Mama."
Means: "I need a hug."

I love that she does this -- it makes me smile about 89% of the time, which is yet another estimate. The remaining 11% of the time I forget how much I'll miss it when she doesn't do it anymore and I take it for granted.

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My husband is a Looney Tunes freak. He loves Looney Tunes, namely Daffy Duck. When we were dating I used to give him random Daffy stuff for gifts - a DD mug, some socks, ya know - nerdy stuff like that. Well, he has apparently created a mini-him in the form of Mitchell with regards to being an avid fan of the slapstick cartoon. One of Mitchell's favorite things in the whole world to do is to watch "Movie Tunes" with his Daddy.

Things have recently been taken to a new level.

When cleaning out the closet in Mitchell's room, Chris found the Looney Tunes talking clock that I bought for him. In hindsight, it was a solid purchase. Good "wow" factor, and here's the important part -- he lived in a town an hour and a half away from me -- the clock wouldn't be a problem. Fast forward 7 years and two kids later and the clock has come back to life. Chris promptly hung it in Mitchell's room and his biggest thrills of the day are on the hour when the clock brings the characters to life to say a particular phrase. He then sprints into wherever I am and imitates what he just heard announced on his clock. My favorite is his Yosemite Sam impression: "It's 1:00, ya mangy polecat!"

Incidentally, the carpet layers accidentally knocked the clock off of the wall and broke it, causing much heartache. I should have known Super Dad would find a way to fix it. He did, and all is well in the land of Movie Tunes.

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When I'm driving, sometimes I will look at the kids in the rearview mirror and see that they are holding hands across the aisle, looking at each other and laughing. I cannot begin to describe what that does to me.

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Mitchell's "5 Things" he was grateful for last night at bedtime:
1. Kix
2. His Thomas swimsuit
3. Chocolate milk
4. His toes
5. Doors

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When I say goodnight prayers with Georgia before bedtime, she snuggles her DuckDuck by her head and lays down in my arms. I say the "Now I lay me down to sleep" prayer and at the end she pinches her fingers together, and touches her chest twice by her shoulder and says "Mee-men". That's her saying "Amen" and I about cry each and every night because it is so cute.

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Georgia is in love with Mickey Mouse. If she hears the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse theme music, she will immediately start shouting "Maaaaaa" (mouse) at the top of her lungs and throw her arms in the air with every exclamation.

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When Mitchell talks on the phone to Chris during workdays, his last question is always this: "Daddy, what time are you coming home to tackle with me?"

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These are just everyday, random happenings in our house but I love and treasure each and every silly one. I just can't let myself forget them.

Over the top

So, my husband is a self-described NASCAR addict, and apparently it's genetic. Either that or he's into brainwashing. My four year old son is now an official NASCAR fan. Enthusiast. Addict.

Whatever.

It's actually pretty cute how into the whole thing they get together. That's actually what's going on right now. My husband is camped out in the recliner with a beer and my son is on the floor with his speedway and race cars re-enacting the big crash that just happened. They're both all decked out in their race gear and neither one seems to think that five hours is too long for a race. *yawn*

As you may or (hopefully for you) may not know, NASCAR is heavy on the advertising. I am surprised these guys don't have individual caps put on their teeth for their sponsors. Well, my little sponge, errr - boy, has now added many of the sponsors to his ever growing vocabulary of words he recognizes when he sees them in print.

For instance, we'll be driving down the street and he'll yell (not say, YELL) "Hey, Mom! Look! There's the UPS truck - just like Dale Jarrett!" I have yet to drive to the pediatrician without hearing, "Look, Mom! There's the Bass Work Shop" as we pass by Bass Pro Shop. He is an encyclopedia of commercial knowledge in the realm of NASCAR sponsorship.

My husband's favorite driver is Dale Jarrett, so he is also Mitchell's favorite driver. They also like to watch Dale Earnhart Jr. Dale is a big word in our house. It comes up often. Yesterday I found out...maybe a little bit TOO often.

We were driving home after a long day of packing, cleaning and moving things to a storage unit in preparation for putting our house on the market. We decided to just stop somewhere quick and cheap for lunch since we were all hungry and ended up at Del Taco. Mitchell asked what it was called and yes, you guessed it...it is now known as

Dale Taco.

I'll admit, that's pretty funny. I think we both got a good chuckle out of it but I told my husband that this whole NASCAR thing has obviously gone a little bit too far. I mean, Mitchell is half hispanic and it's a bit worrisome to me that he hears "del" as "Dale". Good thing his grandma is teaching him spanish!

The kids' meal came with a boy and a skateboard that magnetically stuck together. Mitchell started playing with it and said "Look, Mom! I got Dale Taco and his skateboard." I just looked at my husband and he started cracking up, shrugging his shoulders and saying "What's the problem?"

News flash -- Dale Jarrett is in the top 10 for the first time all season. There is major, big-time high-fiving happening in the living room. Such timing.

Ohhh, and a sad update there. His engine blew up. Hats were thrown. Lemon words were used. Read below for an explanation of that one.

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Oh, and just as an aside...a friendly warning from me to all of you who have not yet entered the arena of living with a four year old who is thoroughly convinced that he is smarter than you are. (He's actually somewhat convinced me on several occasions, but that's a whole different story.) Be prepared to defend, explain and hear a repetition of every single word that ever comes out of your mouth.

On the way home from Dale Taco, we were pulling up the driveway and my husband made some smart aleck comment about something and I in turn whipped out my most favorite non-cussing cuss word. "Friggin" is somewhat of a staple for me, but I think it's on its way out. Mitchell has latched onto his teacher's idea of "apple words" (words that make you smile and feel good when people say them...words like love, happy, friend, thank you, please, etc.) and "lemon words" (words that make you pucker and wrinkle your nose...words like stupid, go away, etc.) to govern what should and should not be said in our house.

As soon as the friggin' sentence left my lips in the van, Mitchell scolded me by saying, "Mommy, we don't say 'friggin'. It's a lemon word."

Thank you, Mrs. P.! School may be out for the summer, but it's obviously still very much in session at home!

Things I've heard and seen this week...

*clomp*clomp*clomp*clomp*

I look up to see my 4 year old son clomping across the dining room in the pair of heels I'd left by the front door. That alone was funny, but this was classic...

"Mommy, I really like your shoes with the sticks. They're fun!"

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I spent about 45 minutes last night getting so excited about Georgia bringing me discarded faux wood blind slats. They were from the excess we'd trimmed off the new ones in our bedroom. I was laying on the couch after an exhausting day of painting and furniture moving. The slats were across the living room from me. She would toddle over, pick one up and bring it to me like it was made of gold. She was strutting like nobody's business! I would reward her with an energetic "Thank you!" each time and she in turn would reward me with a very proud giggle. When I had the whole pile in my lap and she turned around to get more, I'd toss them back across the room and she'd do it all over again.

Seriously, she was E-N-T-E-R-T-A-I-N-E-D. Another "why in the WORLD do we have all of these bleeping toys?!" moment for ol' Mom.

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About 5 minutes later, we had to ditch the blind slats.

My son thought they made an EXCELLENT sword/Captian Hook hook. Yeah. That wasn't gonna go anywhere good, but it would probably get there quickly.

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As I opened the garage door and started up the driveway on our return home from preschool yesterday, my son said "Mommy, I love living in my blue house. It's my favorite."

*gulp*

Think he's internalizing any of this get-the-house-on-the-market craziness? Ouch.

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I'll end on a great note -- the last thing my hubby said to me before he went to sleep while I laid there in my futile effort to join him:

"I love you so much. Thanks for being my wife."

I've gotta be smarter, right?

I mean, he's only 4. I've got a few years on him.

Then why do I get the feeling that if he's not already smarter than me, he's closing in quickly?

I think it's just his quick wit that gets me. That and the fact that those little wheels never stop turning. (Well, perhaps BRIEFLY while he's sleeping, but I'm not kidding you -- half the time the first words out of his mouth pick up exactly where we left off before bed. Like he was on pause or something.)

Tonight we put him to bed a bit early, but it just worked out that way. He had a bit of a nap in the car because we were driving around a lot today, but we let him run wild at the mall play place for quite awhile and gave him free play time when we got home before dinner. A nice, soothing bath, a book with Daddy, and all set, right? That was at about 7 pm.

8:30 pm ... Chris and I are snuggled in on the couch watching Super Nanny (ironically). My husband would probably appreciate it if I let you know that he was only watching the show because he usually works late on Mondays and so I watch it by myself, so tonight he was just being nice by watching with me. Anyway -- I tell him to pause the tv because I hear little footsteps on the stairs. Sure enough, there's M peeking his head around the corner.

M: "Uhhh, Mommy? My leg...ugggghhh...it really hurts!"
(See me looking at Chris and both of us stifling giggles here.)

Me: "Well, come here and let us look at it."
(Under my breath to Chris: "Pause the tv since that's what he wants to see.")

M: (with a completely lame fake limp on the way over) "Uhhhgggg. It hurts." (In a weak voice.)

Pause. Looks at paused (love that tivo!) TV.

M: "Hey!! What's this show?? Who's that boy?" (In a completely rejuvinated voice. It's a MIRACLE!)

Me: "M. Which leg hurts?"

M: "I don't really know but it hurts bad." (His weakened state has returned.)

(See us both giggling out loud a little bit at this point.)

Chris: "Come here and let me look at it."

(Looks, prods, squeezes M's leg.)

Chris: "Looks fine, buddy. 'Night!"

M: "Uhhhhggggg..." (all the way up the stairs)


What I'd like to know is who taught him this trick??? I am a horrible sleeper myself. (As a matter of fact, it's 12:30 am right now.) I can remember being 4 years old and sitting on the top of the stairs wayyyyyy over next to the wall watching my mom and dad's tv while they watched from the couch in the living room with their backs to me. I never figured out how they knew I was there, but they usually let me sit there for a few minutes and then utilizing those infamous eyes in the backs of their heads, they'd tell me to go to bed. In all of my years of childhood insomnia did it EVER cross my mind to fake a leg injury? No. A stomach ache? (Last week's claim.) No. Any sort of ailment? No.

I can't wait to see what he comes up with next week. I'm guessing foot. He really likes that fake limp he's developed.

Random...

I don't have enough in my head for a good, long post so this will just be Random Monday happenings.

*Nothing will make me laugh faster than my kids laughing. For whatever reason, the car is the prime time funny spot for those two. Mitchell (even though he's strapped into a 5 pt carseat) manages to put on some sort of goofball show for her every day and she just laughs and laughs. Today she was FULL ON belly laughing for a good 5 minutes, Mitchell was laughing (mostly at himself, I think) and I was just giggling the whole time because it's contagious!

*Every couple goes through those swings of ups and downs. I wouldn't even term it a "down" but EVERY weekend for the past month, we've spent most of the time arguing. Sometimes downright fighting. Half the time we don't talk after a blow up...last night it had been a good 3 hours since we'd said two words to each other that didn't involve quick questions about dinner or diapers, and I was still mad. Know the sad part? I couldn't remember why. I was washing dishes, stopped, looked at the ceiling, remembered and said "Oh yeah. No way I'm talking to him anytime soon." (I guarantee he was sharing the sentiment.) Nice and mature. That's us! I hope we get out of this phase -- maybe some makeup nookie would help. He DID bring me a Starbucks yesterday so it's not THAT bad. Hee hee.

*We have a decent house. I'll tell you this -- it looked about twice as big before we moved in. No kids, half as much CRAP, but still -- it's average sized. Let me tell you about how much STUFF you can cram in here if you want to. I spent most of the day yesterday consolidating, organizing, etc. our four (yes, FOUR) overflowing toy baskets. I still have to do the train table. Again. As I was doing it, I almost felt nauseated because I know that there are families out there who are in agony because they can't afford to buy their children even ONE thing. And here I am disgusted with the amount of stuff we have to the point of calling it crap. That would be GOLDEN crap somewhere else. Ugh. We are overly blessed. I'm thinking about next Christmas insisting that everyone who wants to get Mitchell or Georgia a gift donate to this community thing out here. They have gifts donated and families can come shop for 25 cents on the dollar so that they still "buy" the stuff. I mean, seriously -- my kids don't need another thing as long as they live and the sad part is, I know many people who put our little stockpile to shame. It's really pretty crazy when you stop to think about it. (That said, guess who has already reviewed her list of bday and Christmas purchases and realized that she's already done more than she said she would.) *rolls eyes at self*

*I have some very, very good friends. I appreciate them more than I can say. I was thinking about that the other day and really -- I just can't imagine my life without my girlfriends. I feel sad for those women (I'm sure you know some yourself) who don't get along with other women. I can't imagine. I'm sure they're quite happy, but man (ha, ha), I'd be miserable.

*I bought some soy egg nog and let me tell you how much I love it. Lots. It's yummy. Get some!

Random enough for you?

Oh, to be 3 again...

Mitchell is behind me at the kitchen table right now playing with an airplane singing his own made up song "My space shuttle is gonna blaaaaasssstttt off. I know how to DOOOOOO it." That doesn't happen in adulthood.

Uh-oh. Guess what he switched to?

"La dee da dee da. La dee da dee da. What's the name of that sonnnnnggggg???"

Well, crap. And today was going so well.

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Here's Mitchell's day yesterday:

Wake up, get some cuddles in bed with mom.
**Come downstairs, eat some Cars cereal (yes -- mom is a sucka) and watch some toons.
**Get dressed, get in the car with whatever toys he chooses and drive to haircut.
**Play with some trains, then have someone entertain him with a silly voice and the video of his choosing, all the while sitting in a play firetruck. Get a sticker, a balloon and a lollipop on the way out.
**Drive to grandma's where lunch is waiting.
**Go with grandpa to see "Cars" (again) at the dollar movies.
**Come home and play with Grandpa. He lets him play on the computer, too.
**Go get some chinese food with Grandpa.
**Eat dinner, play some more.
**Fall asleep on the way home.
**Get a backrub in bed as he nods off for the night.

Come on...is that the life, or WHAT??

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When is it that we lose our imaginations? Mitchell literally just came up to me with his Blue Angel airplane under a video cover and said "Here, Mommy -- here's a lollipop for you. I made it just for you." When does that stop being a lollipop and start becoming just an airplane and a video cover? When is a fort no longer a fort -- when does it go back to just two chairs and a blanket?

I hope for my kids' sake, it's not for a long, long time...

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When you're three years old, not one person doubts your sincerity when you say "I love you" or you hug someone. Trust me, when you're three -- neither of those things happen unless you WANT them to. How many adults have you gotten the cardboard cutout hug from? Too many.
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Life is simple when you're three. I think I need to start living life through my child's eyes more often. (Right now he has his hands stuck in both ends of his slinky and apparently he's a robot. He just told me that when I get older he'll teach me how to do it.) Gotta go. I need to play robot.

Uh-oh...

It's starting. The monkey see -- monkey do business at my house.

Tonight, Mitchell was eating his dinner right next to Georgia's swing. He was chattering away to her and she was chattering right back. I was in the kitchen loading the dishwasher and making his lunch for school tomorrow, listening to him be goofy and her crack up but not really "watching".

So he says "Hey Mom (ouch - mommy is on the fade out), look! I taught her a trick." Okay -- she's not a DOG, but I am curious. So I go in there and he said "I taught her the silly shake your head trick."

Sure enough, he did.

He shakes his head and makes some goofy sound and she does the EXACT same thing back. They are both just giggling like crazy. I run to get the camera out of the car and make him do it again so I can get it on video. I get THE BEST video -- she did it exactly like he did -- the lighting was great, the sound was great -- I get back to the computer to email it to Chris at work.

Um, yeah. Picture of my feet walking to the computer and audio of me telling Mitchell how excited Daddy will be to get this video. As Mitchell would say "That's a big bummer, Mom(my)." I was so sad. I did get another video but it's only a half-hearted attempt on her part.

SO...cute! He was so excited and she just thought this was the best game she'd ever played. Actually, it might be, considering that she doesn't really play games yet. She does give high fives, but I think no one but Chris believes me because she will NEVER do it if I tell someone she does. She has that little "make Mommy look like a loon" thing down pat.

As I was watching them tonight, I thought about a lot of stuff:

*How cute are my kids??
*I love that they love each other so much.
*Mitchell is a certified GOOF.
*Georgia has one helluva mohawk happening right now.
*She is going to be his worst nightmare here pretty soon.
*Thank you, Lord, for choosing me to be their Mommy.
*I wish Chris was home.
*She is taking in sooooo much more than I realize. (I know she is but moments like that show it.)
*Mitchell is a GREAT big brother.
*He is doing the pee pee dance.

Then I made him go pee and the moment was over. My last thought on the subject remains the same...

Uh-oh!

Actually becoming a morning person...

So, in the past, the hardest thing for me to do was get up at 5:00 am to get to work on time. Now, I'm up by 5:30 on my own and I'm really actually enjoying it, if you can believe that. I get to check email, blog (if I want to!), enjoy a cup of good ol' decaf, watch some of the news, jump in the shower, listen to my fave morning show on the radio...I love it!! Mitchell usually isn't up until around 7, so it's great "me" time. I know I'll lose it once Miss Georgia gets here, but for now, it's great.

I had to turn the heat on this morning because there was a chill in the air!! Hooray!! I love fall and the cooler weather. Don't get me wrong...I love summer and the warm air too, but enough already. It's October...it's not supposed to be 88 degrees in October like it was this weekend!! I don't want it to be just freezing yet, but getting out the jeans and sweaters sounds good to me! I think I'll make something in the crockpot for dinner...maybe some chili with steak in it? Yeah... I think so!

To get a bit off topic, Mitchell has a major obsession. Trains. Thomas the Tank Engine to be more specific. The only good thing for us is that he makes ANY train into Thomas with that good imagination of his, so at least it hasn't cost us a lot of money...YET. That's what we're doing for his birthday party, which--by the way, he asks us about EVERY single day. (Is it time for my birthday party yet?) I love that kid. He wakes up from his nap..."So, Mommy. First we change my diaper then I watch Thomas. Okay?" His voice goes way up like he's actually asking and not demanding. Funny how the tide turns and brings about sudden bursts of tears when I say "No, we're not watching tv." Sigh. He's pretty easily distracted with humor and if all else fails, we go on a hunt for Thomas and his friends in the living room. That's always big fun.

He's going to be Bob the Builder for halloween. He's very excited about it and also fluctuates between being Thomas and Bob when he grows up. The Thomas love is starting to drive Chris a little bit nuts, but I was talking to his mom the other day and he was the EXACT same way at this age with airplanes. (Yeah, that might be why we have a copy of "Air Combat" in every bathroom in the house.) I think it's just funny how trains seem to consume about 90 percent of Mitchell's brain from day to day. He pretends he's a train when he's walking (he's started to shuffle and chug now, so it's even becoming more refined), he whistles like Thomas while he's eating, his trains have to sit on the window sill to watch him eat all of his meals, they go in the car and wait for him while he's in school, etc., etc. I do love it though because it brings him such enormous joy and really does bring out some creativity in him while he's playing. We don't even have a train track or anything...I've kept holding off because he's fine without it and I thought tha coming downstairs to one that Santa setup with an actual Thomas character or two on it might be a magical moment. I can't wait for that!!

Makes me wonder what Georgia will be obsessed with? Hmmmm.... :)