Old Moms

Katie D.

You know your an old mom when you visit a friend in the hospital having her 3rd child and all you and the other girlfriends can talk about is all the things that have changed since having our 1st kids. First of all, I laughed when I walked in to the maternity ward because it was the thinnest I had ever been in that place.  Apparently the breast feeding technique has changed and as our friend described the new method all of us old moms just laughed and said how silly it sounded.  This started the conversation about what old moms do compared to new moms.

Let me explain to you the difference! For example both my boys had pacifiers. Colby's were all boiled and kept in special, clean compartment and cleaned soon after they touched the ground. And then you have a second child and you keep that paci in your pocket, purse or just on the floor for them to find it later on their own.  As a new mom I brought Colby all around the house as I did things, even bringing him into the bathroom with me but as an old mom with Lincoln I knew as a newborn he was fine laying on the floor and I could go get a glass of water or pee without him needing me. 

You can't really explain the difference to a new mom because you cannot become an old mom before going through the ropes of being a new mom.  We all sat around and laughed because we had all been there and if only we knew how easy it was with one.....

Nothing like a group photo shot on a hospital bed!

 

We laughed and traded stories for the evening and then left our friend to rest.  She hasn't had that baby yet but as a veteran old mom she will rock it when she decided to come out! 

Oh, and she has a pretty kick ass blog too if you want to check it out!  Rub Some Dirt On It!

Flying the Friendly Skies and Longing for a Parachute

Katie R.

We travel to Ohio and Indiana pretty regularly, and for the most part the kids travel well.  Not this trip. 

When I have weeks, even months to plan a trip I still forget things, run around doing last minute errands and am basically a lunatic the day before we leave.  Because we were going for a funeral and decided the day before that we were all going to go I was off the chart crazy.  Then to add to the chaos we sold our CRV to one of Joe’s family members so we drove there and flew back so I had to think of packing enough for them to do in the car but whatever we brought had to stay because we couldn’t fly back with it. 

So of course I get the brilliant idea to leave at 3:00am because I thought that they would sleep all morning and we would be there by dinner.  So we left at 3:30 and Andrew stayed awake for hours, so when he finally slept Wes was wide awake.  No problem, I thought, I would put on some dvds and it will be fine so I inserted plug from new charger and the dvd player didn’t work.  At this point Joe and I realized it was going to be a long day.  We then stopped at Wal-Mart and get a new DVD charger (and DVD player in case the charger doesn’t work). We plugged it in and the sweet sound of Mater’s Tall Tales filled the car and all was right with the world again.  Of course this was one of a million stops so in the end we traveled for 17 hours, the kids were out of their mind cranky and I drank Dt. Dew which I gave up for lent.  Oh well they way I felt it’s a surprise I wasn’t chugging Jack Daniels and smoking cigarettes by the time we arrived.

Although we had to attend a funeral we were able to spend some time with the family and get a quick visit to the zoo in.  The boys had no idea we were there for a funeral so they had a great time with their family including the room of forts and tents that Aunt Nina and Uncle Jeff built for them. 

 

So they finally were caught up on their sleep and it was time to head home.  This was the first time we have flown with both kids and Joe thought it would be no problem. I knew he was wrong and guess who was right?  The first leg of the trip was horrible.  Wes wouldn’t sit still and when we had to force him to sit he screamed… like nails on a chalk board, high pitched at the top of his lungs screamed.  Andrew did fine until his ears popped and then he cried for a few minutes; and of course Wes took that time to really throw a fit so one was crying and one was screaming and I wanted to jump out of the plane- with or without a parachute.  Finally we landed and I avoided eye contact with everyone as they exited and walked out of the plane as quickly as I could with a kid, a diaper bag and a backpack.  I was filled with relief as we got off the plane;  however I seemed to have missed the discussion about the layover and when I went to look at our tickets realized we had a 3 hour layover it took every ounce of will power not to hand the kids to Joe and run to the nearest bar.    

So after 2 hours of walking with Wes in the stroller or chasing him around, I finally forced him to sleep.  He’s was so tired I though this is great he’ll sleep the whole flight, which of course did not happen.  He woke up about 15 minutes before we boarded; however, the airplane gods must have been with us because they were perfect on the 2^nd flight.  They sat quietly and watched a movie and people didn’t even know they were there.  I have no idea what changed maybe it was the dark, make it was that I looked so ragged they felt bad for me or maybe they are just night owls but whatever it was it worked.  We made it to the car looking like the Beverly Hillbillies with 2 cars seats, 3 suitcases, 2 backpacks and a stroller but we made it and they both fell asleep on the way home. 

So 5 days, 20 hours of driving, 5 hours in an airport, 3 hours of flying and we are home right back where we started.  The kids are tired , in fact Wes couldn’t even eat his lunch but they will soon be back to normal and ready to do it all again in 4 weeks.  I however am in complete denial that we will ever do it again.

 

 

 

 

Vacation

Katie D.

It's only a week long but somehow it seemed like forever.  I visited family, some family came to visit us and we had several playdates to pass the time but it was a long week. Yes, it was school vacation week.  Granted Colby only goes to school 3 times a week for only 3 hours each day but we all missed it.  Don't get me wrong I love being home with Colby and Lincoln so we can color, craft, paint watch cartoons together but we also enjoy our time away from each other!

The other reason why vacation week seemed so long to me is that I'm a creature of routine and schedules.  I don't like to be over scheduled or booked up but not having to be anywhere at a specific time gave me too much time on my hands to be lazy.  Some days are meant to be spent in sweatpants but not all days.  And because I had a coupon and a gift card that would expire soon I dragged both boys to a store to try on and buy bra's. That's a story that doesn't need to be told!

Colby had school today and everbody won!  Colby came home happy and tired and Lincoln had full reign of all toys in the house during Colby's absence.  And then they both took 2.5 hour naps! I love school!

The Tumbling Dynamic Duo

Katie D.

Why is it that furniture screams to be jumped, trampled and flopped on? All I want to do on the couch is curl up with a good book or remote and just relax.  On many occasions I have banned the boys from going on the furniture.  When Colby and Lincoln crawl on a couch usually chaos follows. My problem is they are so damn cute and get laughing so hard while they are reeking havoc in the living room I don't always stop them right away. It's only a matter of time before one gets launched off the couch and breaks a limb, cracks a tooth or busts through the glass coffee table. 

silly boys

 

right before they run at each other

Lincoln is too busy being Captian Hook
 to realize Colby if rolling into him!

 

Not a Tutorial on Hair Cutting

Katie D.

I cut my boys hair. Not as a cost cutting measure but that does help with the budget.  It started with my fear and dragging a kid kicking and screaming to a salon while someone with scissors attempts to cut hair while I stand by in a full sweat.  I've done some bad cuts on Colby, we had an old set of clippers and not many attachments, so I did alot with scissors which I could never make even.  And then when Lincoln came around and his hair was so fine it made me nervous to cut it. So off I went one day while Colby was at school to a local place to get Lincoln's hair cut.  He wasn't a hot mess but it wasn't awesome.  We both survived but I decided that I would try to cut his hair the next time he needed it cut.  I came to the realization that if I was going to do this I needed to do it right and buy a new pair of clippers.  A nice new set cost only $20 so I didn't know why I didn't buy one earlier; poor Colby! Armed with a new, sharp clippers it takes less then 10 minutes to cut one boys hair and I can do it on my time and when their moods are up for it.  With cartoons and a bribe for sitting still I have no problem cutting their hair.  As for my technique, well let's just say it's nothing to brag about.  All the attachments are numbered and they have one to go around each ear so I have changed it up to see what works best on each boy.  My fade is continuing to improve with each haircut; for example, on Colby I do a 6 on top then a 4 to a 3 and then I clean up the edges.  I've even started cutting Tom's hair because he hates the inconvenience of having to go somewhere to get it cut and then it gets soooo long and unruly!

Before and oh so eager!!!

Still thrilled but happy it's over!

I'm not a hairdresser but it's one of the hats I put on as Mom-Extraordinaire! I just keep discovering more hats to put on!  Lord knows what will be next!

Valentine's Day 2013.... It Wasn't So Bad

Katie R.

I love holidays.  I love to decorate, buy gifts, have parties... except for Valentine's Day.   I don't boycott the holiday or refuse to let my kids participate in things; however, I doubt I will ever have a big Valentine's Day party.  However, as far as Valentine's Days go this one was one of the best.

Why am I such a Valentine's grinch?  I think it started in my early 20s when many of my friends were getting married or at least involved in serious relationships and I seemed to never be dating anyone over Valentine's Day.  Also as I have already stated, I'm not a super emotional person and writing love letters, whispering sweet nothings and everything else that this holiday embraces pretty much gives me hives. 

However, as with many things, having my kids involved with this holiday made it much better.  Andrew and I went shopping the night before, of course, and stopped for dinner at 5 Guys Burgers.  Andrew loved the fries and I ate my weight in peanuts and all around had a good time.

 

The next morning Andrew couldn't wait for me to open the gifts he gave me.  First it was a ring he saw while we were picking out Joe's gift (beer) at the local health food store.  Joe told me that Andrew insisted that his gift to mommy was the ring.  Joe had to drive all over while Andrew tried to explain the store until Joe finally figured out what he was talking about.  The ring, a mood ring with butterflies on it, totally makes up for the 10 minutes of constant whining about him buying a ring for himself when I bought Joe's gift. 

 

 

 

Also Joe also let Andrew pick a few other gifts to give me. He picked out bath salts, lip gloss and a pie candle-yes a pie candle complete with pie rack. 

 

 

 

Joe was off that day so after gifts we walked to the golf course and went sledding which meant naps for all.  And the best gift of all was from Joe, not the awesome pajamas he got me, but when I was staring in the freezer deciding what to get out for dinner when he said "Let's just feed the kids and have wine and take-out for dinner."    Now I remember why I married him and maybe next year my card to him will be romantic and not funny...no probably not.

 

 

 



Ice Cream Cone Cake Success!

Katie D.

It was a birthday weekend in this house! Both Colby and I celebrated our birthdays with a fabulous party with friends on Saturday. We had also planned to celebrate with family on Sunday but all of our families were buried under 2 1/2 feet of snow so those festivities where postponed. With 2 parties planned back to back I wanted to do different cake options on the different days.  With lots of little hands around on Saturday I decided to tackle the ever-cute but never attempted before cupcake in an ice cream cone. 

Luckily I did a little research before just winging it like I have done in the past.  Many recipes called for putting the batter in the ice cream cones standing up and moving them and cooking them without tipping over.  This was my original plan but then I came across the recipe from the fabulous Betty Crocker and I was intrigued by what I found! Make regular cupcakes and just stick the cones upside down on the cupcakes.....would this really work? I decided to try out both options!

I'm so glad that I only tried a few the right side up, they came out a freaking mess!  The upside down ones did tip a little but Betty Crocker told me that would probably happen.

My concern with going forward with the upside down cone option was how tippy would they be and how the shape would look.  Well, they cooked up into most to half of the cone and became somewhat stable. A huge tip to pass along is to save a bit of frosting and use just a touch on the bottom of each cone to help it stick to the platter you use to display them!  Also, once frosted they shape of the muffin was masked by the frosting on the cupcake.  I used several types of sprinkles too to make them look even better!

They seemed to be a big hit! It was nice that all the little kids could hold their own and I didn't find random cupcake wrappers the next morning. 

More to come about the birthday festivities but this was a successful cupcake cone recipe that was worth sharing!

Happy Birthday Colby! I'm glad you liked them!

Just Say You Hurt Yourself Skiing

Katie R.

Yesterday Joe took Andrew skiing with a lot of help from our friend and his son.  We are so lucky to have such good friends who also happen to love skiing and have all the equipment we need.

Joe said Andrew did a great job and he had a blast.  He did a great job staying on his feet and we are buying him skis so we can go a few more times on our own this season.

Andrew of course is the kid without a helmet.  One is ordered righ now.

After they got back to our friends' house we had lunch before heading home.  We had Andrew wear his fleece one piece pajamas under his snow gear so he would stay warm (it was 10 degrees when they left to go skiing).  He got up from the lunch table to go to the bathroom soon to be followed by a loud crash and screaming.   I ran in and found him on the floor with his arms half out of his sleeves, meaning he landed right on the wood footstool with his chin.  I don't know how it didn't split open but luckily it remained a bruise. 

We talked out of the bathroom and our friend said "make sure you tell everyone your hurt yourself skiing".  Good Advice M.L.

Stay-At-Home-Mom Confession: I Hate Doing Crafts

I am a stay-at-home mom.  I have come to terms with the fact I will do the cooking, cleaning and laundry.  I also understand that my responsibilities include feeding the kids, changing diapers, potty training, playing with toys and reading books.  What I did not realize is that “crafts” now seem to be part of my job requirements.

I tried to like doing crafts.   I went to the store and bought all the required puff balls, paints, glue, pipe cleaners, foam things and stickers.  We went on blogs and web sites for ideas.  We even tried the dreaded fingerprint/footprint crafts which involve me spending a ½ hour getting the "scene" ready, then Andrew taking 3 seconds to put his handprint on a piece of paper and then taking then next ½ hour cleaning his hands and putting things away.  Finally I decided to throw in the towel and admit the obvious, I hate doing crafts.

That does not mean we don’t do art projects.  I have no problem with getting out the paint and letting him paint pictures or finger paint.  He can use stickers and cut and glue until his heart is content.  I just gave up on organized crafts or really my involvement in the craft process, until yesterday.

Against my better judgment I saw something on Pinterest that I wanted to try.  You take Ivory soap, put it in the microwave and then you can use it kind of like clay.  The first part worked fine it blew up and looked awesome.  Then as Andrew began to play with it (Wes played with it for 2 seconds and then ate a piece so he was banned from the room), the clay like substance quickly became a flour like substance and it was everywhere.

I decide what the hell it’s already a mess he can just keep playing.  Then he started sneezing and sneezing and sneezing.  I walk over and his eyes are red and he is covered in a thin layer of dust and so is the entire dining room.  So then I told him he had to take a shower to which he begged to take a bath and then of course Wes wanted to take a bath too. 

So, a craft to keep them busy and away from the television ultimately ended up with them watching TV while I cleaned the kitchen the dining room.  Ivory soap craft goes right into the Pinterest Fail board.   I will now stick with using Pinterest as it should be used-putting things in boards knowing I will never do them. 

Peter Pan's Right Hand Man

It's Peter Pan's right hand man; always ready and by his side! Peter even loses the ability to fly without it because he is not complete! Yes, I'm talking about his shadow for those of you who aren't up on your Peter Pan trivia. 

Seeing your shadow as an adult is just something you see and think nothing of it! But for a child, more specifically, a 2 year old that is exploring and learning everyday, to find and see his shadow is the coolest thing ever. Alas, my Lincoln has found his right hand man-his shadow!

The longer he has played with it the more he understands! He even went and got his zebra blankies from his room to see what they would do to his shadow! Another classic move of Lincolns is to dance and watch what happens which has lead to him bumping into everything!

 

Lincoln played with his shadow all morning long that day and continues to look for it wherever he goes. I love watching how his crazy, wild little mind works!

 

  

 

 



Where Can you Find?

-A huge Captain Hook
-Bats that look like monkeys
-A grey goose
-A giant glass bottle

Well according to Andrew the liquor store.  He went with my parents and was pretty pumped up about his finds.  I guess every place can be a learning experience.

 

 

What Goes On Behind Our Closed Doors

It’s Saturday night and I walk in dark room with only two small lights and rock-n-roll is playing on the radio.    Then I see him, the love of my life, our eyes meet and …. I say “lights out guys”.

Sounds like the beginning of great story but it’s really just another night here in our house.  Andrew and Joe are reading their books with their headlamps and “Life is a Highway” is on the cd player as they read a Cars book.  As usual they get carried away so I have to be the bedtime warden and tell them it’s time for Andrew to go to bed.

Photo with the flash on

Yep nights are wild here.  That was last week and  tonight my parents are visiting so Andrew is watching a movie, dad is sleeping beside him on the couch, Mom just put Wes to bed, Joe is drinking a beer and I’m on the computer.  Everyone is happy and it is pretty quiet although tomorrow may be a different story as it is the superbowl, my parents have Wes most of the day and Joe and I are taking Andrew to Disney on Ice so a few drinks may be needed by everyone.

Man's Best Friend

Katie D.

Man's best friend, yes, it's usually a dog but in this household it's a fluffy, purring, love named Isis Kitty.  She is part of the family and has taken in stride her slide down the totem pole with the birth of both boys.  She may not have always liked it but she loves them as much as they love her. 

Isis sharing me when Colby was a week old



Isis being patient while Colby
learned to be gentle

I can count on one hand the number of times she has swiped at them and they have deserved every single one (and more).  She loves to be around them and watch what they are doing. Colby is currently the child of the week at his pre-school and he wants to bring her for show and tell. I had to let him down easy but luckily we have a little scrapbook about her that he can bring instead. 

If you think a cat can't love a boy as much as a dog enjoy these next few photos over just the last three days!

Isis Kitty enjoying being part of the train track

Coloring with Colby

And my favorite, Isis Kitty taking a nap with Colby!

Guess this means we don't need a dog! Sweet! This is Colby's best friend!