By George I Think He Got It

We were listening to the radio in the car this morning with the boys in the back.  The DJ requests that the women listeners call in and tell him if they liked to be considered mysterious.  The question was whether or not the claim was good or bad.  Hubs turns to Little Man and says "do you think brother is mysterious?".  Little Man says yes in fact, brother is mysterious, after which he proceeds to ask "what does mysterious mean daddy".  Hubs describes the term as meaning "difficult to understand".  Little man confirms what he had already stated about his baby brother and then added "my states puzzle is mysterious too daddy".

What Happens At The Backyardigans...

Must not be exciting enough for hubs. While Nana and I took Little Man to see the Backyardigans on Sunday, hubs was driving to the state line to get a new cat. Why did he drive to the state line and not to the north side of town you ask? Oh, you mean the north side of town where the Humane Society is located? Well, you see, we had a cat once. Picatso was her name. Hubs and I got Picatso on Valentine's Day in 2001. We were not cat people but really liked little Pic. She was just sassy and feisty enough for us and was super cute. She moved all over the country with us but we had to put her to sleep in Florida. We were about to move back to Missouri when we were told she had feline leukemia. It broke my heart but the vet said the trip back would be too much for her.

We tried to get a new kitty before The Babe arrived. Little Man was about 16 months old and the kitty was too jumpy and bit a lot. I got tired of hearing Little Man say "bite, bite". He got bit enough at daycare; he didn't need to worry about it at home. So Frankie the kitty went to "a friend".

Hubs and I have been debating a new kitty for a while. Little Man really wanted one and when a new one showed up at his friend's home he was dead set on it. Hubs said if it was going to happen then hubs would pick it out. OK fine. Hubs fell in love with a curly haired kitten on line at a Humane Society in Arkansas. The woman said she would even meet him half way; but if she were to go to that trouble we had to be sure. So, hubs drove to the state line and missed the Backyardigans but it was worth the delight on Little Man's face when we came home.

Little Man named our new family member Poco. I thought this was cute since that seems to be the name of all his stuffed animals. All except the two stuffed dogs. Those are named Suzie and Dimitri for my dad and step-mom's dogs.

Poco is such a good girl and the boys are very good with her. Little Man loves to play with her but is still very watchful of The Babe. Today the three of them were playing and Poco was getting excited. Little Man said "Poco, be careful with The Babe, he's my guy" and stepped in between the two.

What Happens At The Backyardigans...

Must not be exciting enough for hubs. While Nana and I took Little Man to see the Backyardigans on Sunday, hubs was driving to the state line to get a new cat. Why did he drive to the state line and not to the north side of town you ask? Oh, you mean the north side of town where the Humane Society is located? Well, you see, we had a cat once. Picatso was her name. Hubs and I got Picatso on Valentine's Day in 2001. We were not cat people but really liked little Pic. She was just sassy and feisty enough for us and was super cute. She moved all over the country with us but we had to put her to sleep in Florida. We were about to move back to Missouri when we were told she had feline leukemia. It broke my heart but the vet said the trip back would be too much for her.

We tried to get a new kitty before The Babe arrived. Little Man was about 16 months old and the kitty was too jumpy and bit a lot. I got tired of hearing Little Man say "bite, bite". He got bit enough at daycare; he didn't need to worry about it at home. So Frankie the kitty went to "a friend".

Hubs and I have been debating a new kitty for a while. Little Man really wanted one and when a new one showed up at his friend's home he was dead set on it. Hubs said if it was going to happen then hubs would pick it out. OK fine. Hubs fell in love with a curly haired kitten on line at a Humane Society in Arkansas. The woman said she would even meet him half way; but if she were to go to that trouble we had to be sure. So, hubs drove to the state line and missed the Backyardigans but it was worth the delight on Little Man's face when we came home.

Little Man named our new family member Poco. I thought this was cute since that seems to be the name of all his stuffed animals. All except the two stuffed dogs. Those are named Suzie and Dimitri for my dad and step-mom's dogs.

Poco is such a good girl and the boys are very good with her. Little Man loves to play with her but is still very watchful of The Babe. Today the three of them were playing and Poco was getting excited. Little Man said "Poco, be careful with The Babe, he's my guy" and stepped in between the two.

Everyone's A Critic

I admit, I was one once too. Prior to having my own children you would find me looking at parents in the mall or park, or grocery store. I had all sorts of insights to provide them, if only they would ask. "They must give him a full can of soda each morning, how could anyone have that much energy?" is what I thought of some kids. "Don't reward him for that behavior", I would think to another. "Who runs the show at that house?" I would wonder to another.

Since becoming a parent, my outlook has changed. I empathize more than criticize. I realize they all have their moments, just like adults. We have good days and bad, and sometimes just need to eat and take a nap. Sometimes we just need alone time, or some time with Daddy.

The boys and I went grocery shopping today. I normally look forward to this outing with them. Little Man helps pick out items and The Babe helps put them in the cart. Today was no exception, all was going as planned, until The Babe saw the yogurt!

The Babe, being all of 20 months, still hasn't found all of his words. When he wants something he usually signs and says the word "more". Today he broke my heart while it melted when he added the word please and used the sign. He knows how to work it.

I have been known to let the boys eat while we shop. Who doesn't dip into the grapes, or open a box of trail mix while meandering down the aisles deciding what to have for the next meal, which is usually within the hour. Since yogurt is not on my approved list of items to eat while shipping, I tried to divert The Babe's attention to string cheese. "Do you think I am dumb woman?" is what the look that he gave me said.

A woman in her grandmother years was in the aisle with us and started to giggle. I mistakenly took this giggle as one of empathy but I was wrong. I soon heard her say "I'm glad those aren't my children". Although I too, was happy they were not her children, I laughed and said something to the effect of "You would think I didn't feed them". We parted ways. The three of us and the woman. Not me and the boys.

We see the woman again a few aisles later. The Babe had calmed down but the annoying attention he is getting from the woman makes him a little irritated and begins to whine. He is, after all, hungry and I did not give into to his yogurt whine so she is just a reminder of this fact. We part ways again.

The Babe calms down with some string cheese and we check out. Little Man helps place things on the counter while The Babe flirts with the checker. All is well again. We head to the in-store Starbucks after Little Man informs me we have been very good at the store and Mommy deserves a White Chocolate Mocha. I kid you not, he said that. He also added that he would like some milk and a donut. He orders for us; again, I kid you not. Tall nonfat WC Mocha for Mommy and too Chocolate milks for the boys. Here she is again. This time she notes the milks and says "Looks like you won this one buddy", she says while looking at The Babe. "Mommy shouldn't reward you for that kind of behavior". I love it when people talk to me through my kids.

In unusual form, I looked at her and said "It is too bad we have to be parents to be grandparents isn't it, being a grandparent is so much easier".

Everyone's A Critic

I admit, I was one once too. Prior to having my own children you would find me looking at parents in the mall or park, or grocery store. I had all sorts of insights to provide them, if only they would ask. "They must give him a full can of soda each morning, how could anyone have that much energy?" is what I thought of some kids. "Don't reward him for that behavior", I would think to another. "Who runs the show at that house?" I would wonder to another.

Since becoming a parent, my outlook has changed. I empathize more than criticize. I realize they all have their moments, just like adults. We have good days and bad, and sometimes just need to eat and take a nap. Sometimes we just need alone time, or some time with Daddy.

The boys and I went grocery shopping today. I normally look forward to this outing with them. Little Man helps pick out items and The Babe helps put them in the cart. Today was no exception, all was going as planned, until The Babe saw the yogurt!

The Babe, being all of 20 months, still hasn't found all of his words. When he wants something he usually signs and says the word "more". Today he broke my heart while it melted when he added the word please and used the sign. He knows how to work it.

I have been known to let the boys eat while we shop. Who doesn't dip into the grapes, or open a box of trail mix while meandering down the aisles deciding what to have for the next meal, which is usually within the hour. Since yogurt is not on my approved list of items to eat while shipping, I tried to divert The Babe's attention to string cheese. "Do you think I am dumb woman?" is what the look that he gave me said.

A woman in her grandmother years was in the aisle with us and started to giggle. I mistakenly took this giggle as one of empathy but I was wrong. I soon heard her say "I'm glad those aren't my children". Although I too, was happy they were not her children, I laughed and said something to the effect of "You would think I didn't feed them". We parted ways. The three of us and the woman. Not me and the boys.

We see the woman again a few aisles later. The Babe had calmed down but the annoying attention he is getting from the woman makes him a little irritated and begins to whine. He is, after all, hungry and I did not give into to his yogurt whine so she is just a reminder of this fact. We part ways again.

The Babe calms down with some string cheese and we check out. Little Man helps place things on the counter while The Babe flirts with the checker. All is well again. We head to the in-store Starbucks after Little Man informs me we have been very good at the store and Mommy deserves a White Chocolate Mocha. I kid you not, he said that. He also added that he would like some milk and a donut. He orders for us; again, I kid you not. Tall nonfat WC Mocha for Mommy and too Chocolate milks for the boys. Here she is again. This time she notes the milks and says "Looks like you won this one buddy", she says while looking at The Babe. "Mommy shouldn't reward you for that kind of behavior". I love it when people talk to me through my kids.

In unusual form, I looked at her and said "It is too bad we have to be parents to be grandparents isn't it, being a grandparent is so much easier".

This may lead to thumb wrestling

Have you noticed all the great blog contests that are out there lately? Me too; yet I rarely enter them. I am either too lazy, miss the deadline, or don’t meet the requirements. If I do manage to enter I doubt I will win. I am such a victim; being brought down by the man. Yet, one man recently brightened my day when he e-mailed me to say I had won a contest! Yeah! “The Man” is Joeprah and I have been remiss in properly acknowledging and thanking him for my fabulous winnings. You see, a few weeks back my man Joe had a drawing for a great lot of books. This contest was so up my alley and Joe made it easy to enter and win. If the book topic didn’t suit my taste I know of someone that will enjoy each one. I am especially looking forward to reading the novel by country music’s fab duo Brooks and Dunn. Who knew they were writers...oh yeah.

So Joe is having another contest that I just had to enter. Joe is giving away a new camera and I need a replacement. The boys have decided that my old Sony is theirs for the taking. I am not all that upset; I like to see their perspective in pictures. Brad has a D70 which is way to fancy and big for me to throw in my bag to take with us on outings or have handy for a quick photo op. Cross your fingers that I win this one too!

In an attempt to be a little more like Joe, we made a video for him. It is certainly not up to his standards though (I do realize that brown nosing will not help me chances in this contest but I had to try). As I watched the video I realized how far apart I am from the boys. This is due to them fighting over the very camera I am trying to replace; I had to send them to separate corners of the couch. The end of the video will demonstrate my fab parenting skills. I kid you not, I am not acting. That is utter surprise and delight that they actually did it without provocation ON CAMERA!

Also note G-Man's new "puppy trick" (phrase stolen from my friend Kim). When his three year old brain is ripe for the picking and we should be teaching him Mandarin Chinese or Sanskrit, we are teaching him stupid movie lines.

The whole family loves ya Joe! Keep it up!

This may lead to thumb wrestling

Have you noticed all the great blog contests that are out there lately? Me too; yet I rarely enter them. I am either too lazy, miss the deadline, or don’t meet the requirements. If I do manage to enter I doubt I will win. I am such a victim; being brought down by the man. Yet, one man recently brightened my day when he e-mailed me to say I had won a contest! Yeah! “The Man” is Joeprah and I have been remiss in properly acknowledging and thanking him for my fabulous winnings. You see, a few weeks back my man Joe had a drawing for a great lot of books. This contest was so up my alley and Joe made it easy to enter and win. If the book topic didn’t suit my taste I know of someone that will enjoy each one. I am especially looking forward to reading the novel by country music’s fab duo Brooks and Dunn. Who knew they were writers...oh yeah.

So Joe is having another contest that I just had to enter. Joe is giving away a new camera and I need a replacement. The boys have decided that my old Sony is theirs for the taking. I am not all that upset; I like to see their perspective in pictures. Brad has a D70 which is way to fancy and big for me to throw in my bag to take with us on outings or have handy for a quick photo op. Cross your fingers that I win this one too!

In an attempt to be a little more like Joe, we made a video for him. It is certainly not up to his standards though (I do realize that brown nosing will not help me chances in this contest but I had to try). As I watched the video I realized how far apart I am from the boys. This is due to them fighting over the very camera I am trying to replace; I had to send them to separate corners of the couch. The end of the video will demonstrate my fab parenting skills. I kid you not, I am not acting. That is utter surprise and delight that they actually did it without provocation ON CAMERA!

Also note G-Man's new "puppy trick" (phrase stolen from my friend Kim). When his three year old brain is ripe for the picking and we should be teaching him Mandarin Chinese or Sanskrit, we are teaching him stupid movie lines.

The whole family loves ya Joe! Keep it up!

Taint Misbehavin'

Little Man Update:
Thanks to everyone that sent well wishes to Little Man. The doctor told us that his adenoids were slightly enlarged and his tonsils had pockets in them that were probably holding infection. Of course, he made have just said all that to make me feel better about doing the whole thing in the first place. Thursday was a pretty good day after the procedure. We hung out at home and he slept a lot. He would fluctuate between the highest of highs and lowest of lows as days passed. We had a bit of a rough weekend. He spiked a 104 fever on Saturday and after a couple of calls to the doctor they seemed to think he caught a virus at their office. We decided to do our own investigation and it seemed to be related to the Tylenol with Codeine; as soon as we went to regular Tylenol all was fine in the world again.

I never thought I would say it but you can tell he is getting tired of his diet of ice cream, popsicles and geriatric food. He is also getting tired of taking his medicine. Last night we had a little showdown. He wanted to show Mommy just how much he was like her; stubborn. We spent two hours trying to get him to take it. By the time we went to bed we had taken all his toys out of his room and told him no movies or TV (what were we thinking?). This morning he still wouldn’t take it so he was sequestered to his room until he would do so. Finally a play date arrived for brother and Little Man was suddenly ready to take it. I should have called them over last night!
I am beginning to lose my patience with him. I realize he is sick but the whining and fits must stop. I hate to sound resentful but Daddy gets to go to work every day…and he wonders why I needed a beer last night.

House Update:
During one of Little Man’s Codeine induced naps we worked on the house a bit this weekend. We mulched the flower beds and I power washed the pool deck. I never thought that a “break” for me would include a power washer. I will take what I can get. Speaking of the pool; Daddy drained the pool cover and pool and then scooped out all the leaves and frogs. While doing so he watched one of our squatter lay some eggs. Due to our frog infestation Daddy decided to take matters into his own hands. I will leave that to your imagination; there might be some frog lovers among us. I may not have mentioned this above, but the doctors told us Little Man’s breath might be a little off after the operation due to medicine, burnt flesh and the like. That was an understatement. The only time I have smelled anything like that boy’s breath is when I smelled what came out of the bottom of our pool. No. Joke.

All the rain we have had lately has turned our Frank Lloyd Wright “falling water” inspired home into “retaining water”. Many homes in the area that never had water issues do now and we are one of them. Even on a slab we have moisture. We are working with the previous owner on repairing the roof, windows and carpets. Some of the items were already in our contract to work on but the rain has expedited this concern. I think I might be ready to move to Arizona.

Tadpole Update:
We have legs!

Work Update:
Beggars can’t be choosers. Murphy’s Law. When it rains it pours. What other clichés can I use? As many know, Daddy and I are a Jack and Jill of all trades. So while we need to be playing nurse, Daddy has to show multiple properties, finish two design projects and attend multiple meetings. I have a client ready to make an offer on a house, but not until after he looks at the house for the sixth time, and I have two editing projects that need to be completed. Now. (By the way, this blog is no indication of how fabulous an editor I am. No one pays me to blog…yet) Thank God for Nana. I am happy for the work but feel like I am only able to everything half-ass right now. Part of the problem is my inability to ease up and lower my expectations. I am a perfectionist and think I should be able to do it all. Perfectly. What happens is I get frustrated when I don’t then later refuse to try in an attempt to avoid failure. That is it for my arm chair psych today. Let me know if you need evaluation; my office hours are 12-3 on nap days.

I updated Our Crooked Tree and our logo...what do you think?

Chemo-Chronicles:
Mom is on a break this week. She has treatment for three Fridays then is off a week. Last week she had a reaction to the treatment. I guess they started her at full speed rather than a gradual progression like before. She described it as a burning in her stomach that went to her head, then her throat closed up and she couldn’t talk. Five minutes later she was fine and back at low speed. Mom’s spirits are good and she tells me my sister will be visiting in a few weeks. The docs will run a test around week nine of treatment to make sure the tumors have shrunk by at least 20%, if not they will need to look at other options like radiation and or surgery. Thanks again for all your well wishes.

The Babe:
Poor guy. So neglected through all the chaos. One of Brother’s fits woke him early from nap today so I am currently ignoring him so I can complain to my adorning fans. You must adore me to sit through this.

Child Development Update (really the only thing worth reading here):
Little Man is in the body exploration phase. And naked phase. Last night after bath he wanted to watch Scooby naked. OK. After getting brother ready for bed I walked in the living room to find him exploring himself. He asked me “what is this”. He knows what his penis is so I was curious. Little Man was referring to what Daddy likes to call the “taint”…it taint your bum and it taint your…
Like most moms, I know it as the “perineum”. So that is what I called it. I figure if he talks about it in public know one will understand; awkward moment avoided. Then Little Man proceeds to tell me that only he, Daddy, and brother have penises. Mommy only poops.


I had to save the best for last to make sure you stuck around ☺

Taint Misbehavin'

Little Man Update:
Thanks to everyone that sent well wishes to Little Man. The doctor told us that his adenoids were slightly enlarged and his tonsils had pockets in them that were probably holding infection. Of course, he made have just said all that to make me feel better about doing the whole thing in the first place. Thursday was a pretty good day after the procedure. We hung out at home and he slept a lot. He would fluctuate between the highest of highs and lowest of lows as days passed. We had a bit of a rough weekend. He spiked a 104 fever on Saturday and after a couple of calls to the doctor they seemed to think he caught a virus at their office. We decided to do our own investigation and it seemed to be related to the Tylenol with Codeine; as soon as we went to regular Tylenol all was fine in the world again.

I never thought I would say it but you can tell he is getting tired of his diet of ice cream, popsicles and geriatric food. He is also getting tired of taking his medicine. Last night we had a little showdown. He wanted to show Mommy just how much he was like her; stubborn. We spent two hours trying to get him to take it. By the time we went to bed we had taken all his toys out of his room and told him no movies or TV (what were we thinking?). This morning he still wouldn’t take it so he was sequestered to his room until he would do so. Finally a play date arrived for brother and Little Man was suddenly ready to take it. I should have called them over last night!
I am beginning to lose my patience with him. I realize he is sick but the whining and fits must stop. I hate to sound resentful but Daddy gets to go to work every day…and he wonders why I needed a beer last night.

House Update:
During one of Little Man’s Codeine induced naps we worked on the house a bit this weekend. We mulched the flower beds and I power washed the pool deck. I never thought that a “break” for me would include a power washer. I will take what I can get. Speaking of the pool; Daddy drained the pool cover and pool and then scooped out all the leaves and frogs. While doing so he watched one of our squatter lay some eggs. Due to our frog infestation Daddy decided to take matters into his own hands. I will leave that to your imagination; there might be some frog lovers among us. I may not have mentioned this above, but the doctors told us Little Man’s breath might be a little off after the operation due to medicine, burnt flesh and the like. That was an understatement. The only time I have smelled anything like that boy’s breath is when I smelled what came out of the bottom of our pool. No. Joke.

All the rain we have had lately has turned our Frank Lloyd Wright “falling water” inspired home into “retaining water”. Many homes in the area that never had water issues do now and we are one of them. Even on a slab we have moisture. We are working with the previous owner on repairing the roof, windows and carpets. Some of the items were already in our contract to work on but the rain has expedited this concern. I think I might be ready to move to Arizona.

Tadpole Update:
We have legs!

Work Update:
Beggars can’t be choosers. Murphy’s Law. When it rains it pours. What other clichés can I use? As many know, Daddy and I are a Jack and Jill of all trades. So while we need to be playing nurse, Daddy has to show multiple properties, finish two design projects and attend multiple meetings. I have a client ready to make an offer on a house, but not until after he looks at the house for the sixth time, and I have two editing projects that need to be completed. Now. (By the way, this blog is no indication of how fabulous an editor I am. No one pays me to blog…yet) Thank God for Nana. I am happy for the work but feel like I am only able to everything half-ass right now. Part of the problem is my inability to ease up and lower my expectations. I am a perfectionist and think I should be able to do it all. Perfectly. What happens is I get frustrated when I don’t then later refuse to try in an attempt to avoid failure. That is it for my arm chair psych today. Let me know if you need evaluation; my office hours are 12-3 on nap days.

I updated Our Crooked Tree and our logo...what do you think?

Chemo-Chronicles:
Mom is on a break this week. She has treatment for three Fridays then is off a week. Last week she had a reaction to the treatment. I guess they started her at full speed rather than a gradual progression like before. She described it as a burning in her stomach that went to her head, then her throat closed up and she couldn’t talk. Five minutes later she was fine and back at low speed. Mom’s spirits are good and she tells me my sister will be visiting in a few weeks. The docs will run a test around week nine of treatment to make sure the tumors have shrunk by at least 20%, if not they will need to look at other options like radiation and or surgery. Thanks again for all your well wishes.

The Babe:
Poor guy. So neglected through all the chaos. One of Brother’s fits woke him early from nap today so I am currently ignoring him so I can complain to my adorning fans. You must adore me to sit through this.

Child Development Update (really the only thing worth reading here):
Little Man is in the body exploration phase. And naked phase. Last night after bath he wanted to watch Scooby naked. OK. After getting brother ready for bed I walked in the living room to find him exploring himself. He asked me “what is this”. He knows what his penis is so I was curious. Little Man was referring to what Daddy likes to call the “taint”…it taint your bum and it taint your…
Like most moms, I know it as the “perineum”. So that is what I called it. I figure if he talks about it in public know one will understand; awkward moment avoided. Then Little Man proceeds to tell me that only he, Daddy, and brother have penises. Mommy only poops.


I had to save the best for last to make sure you stuck around ☺

You say that like it's a bad thing

Am I the only parent that gets a kick out of eaves dropping on the conversations of their children? It can be a real hoot to listen to the dialogue between a 3 year old and 18 month old when they don;t know you are listening. The other day, the boys were playing in The Babe's room. I am not sure what they were doing exactly, and I am not sure if what came out of Little Man's mouth was in jest or if he was mad at The Babe. Either way it was funny.

"You little Masterson"

I could not help but chuckle. Obviously Little Man pays attention to what Mommy says to The Babe. I am one of those moms that uses middle names when the boys are doing somethign they should not. You know, "Babe Masterson get off the cat". "Little Man Michael get off your brother".

Brother must have felt The Babe was doing something that was not safe and was looking out for him. At least that is the way I will tell it.

You say that like it's a bad thing

Am I the only parent that gets a kick out of eaves dropping on the conversations of their children? It can be a real hoot to listen to the dialogue between a 3 year old and 18 month old when they don;t know you are listening. The other day, the boys were playing in The Babe's room. I am not sure what they were doing exactly, and I am not sure if what came out of Little Man's mouth was in jest or if he was mad at The Babe. Either way it was funny.

"You little Masterson"

I could not help but chuckle. Obviously Little Man pays attention to what Mommy says to The Babe. I am one of those moms that uses middle names when the boys are doing somethign they should not. You know, "Babe Masterson get off the cat". "Little Man Michael get off your brother".

Brother must have felt The Babe was doing something that was not safe and was looking out for him. At least that is the way I will tell it.