Hawey's Visit

We got a surprise visit from Haley yesterday morning. When I picked the boys up from daycare I kept asking them if they were ready for an Aunt Haley visit. They rushed to the apartment and saw her sitting on the couch. Bear sort of stood there but as soon as Coop came in and saw her he yelled, "Hawey!!!" and jumped in her arms for a hug. Bear saw it was ok and jumped in her lap too and literally just lounged there for a long time. (He was tired and ready for a nap.) It was nice to see Haley and hang out for a little bit! After she left Coop looked at me and said, "Mommy where did Hawey go?"

Little Angels

I realized in my previous posts I may be depicting my two little angels to be a bit monstrous when we go out. I thought for their sake I would also post when we have days like today and I marvel at how well behaved they are- the stories just aren't as funny!

I was a little worried today because I had a lot on our to do list. I planned a trip to Wal-Mart then to the gym and then the rest of our errands. That part didn't happen because of stinky diapers right before we were leaving. They are also painting the apartment building outside so I had to navigate through 20 ladders and lots of paint buckets. We ended up walking around the entire building so they wouldn't get paint all over themselves. So off to the gym we go. There is typically some sort of tussle to get them in the day care. They like to play with the cleaning guy Enrique or play with the balloons, but today they just ran in said hi to the front desk and went right into the day care. On the way I out I said hi and they both just beamed at me and came running. (They even changed Bear's diaper for me and this crew doesn't do that so I was tickled pink.) They even went on to tell me how sweet and cuddly Cooper was- they were just raving about him and his little gibberish he throws into his sentences. No puddle today so no drama there just straight to the car and automatically holding my hand. Mail in the box- check. Wal-Mart here we come. There is a shopping cart where I park so bam in they go and we zip in grab the diapers and toilet paper laughing the whole way. We strolled through the Easter section and they have these army eggs. Cooper starts pointing saying, "Look mommy it's jungle eggs!" I opted for toy filled plastic eggs and two cute baskets- this year our Easter Egg Hunt tradition will start.

Next we run over to Chipotle for some "mommy lunch". It was empty and the boys charmed everyone. I tried to get Bear a job in the back but he followed me out when we left. (In and out in under 5 minutes.) So we zip to Harmony Farms, our local organic grocer, for our weekend groceries. We literally ran out of food this week and I just wasn't willing to fight the lunch rush for groceries at Whole Foods. Now I open Coop's door and unbuckle him. He jumps out and closes his door and waits for me as I get Bear out. We walk in and they both yell, "Hiiiii!" Like we're here the party can begin. The whole staff and all the customers literally stopped what they were doing and all turned and said hi and waved back to them. (It's a small store.) It was really adorable. There was no fussing for pecans just get the groceries and pay. Now to be fair Bear did try to escape a few times out the front door but we always pulled him back inside. Then Robyn showed up and Coop gave her a mini hug. He is just so sweet. Bear wanted to have a tantrum on the way out but I put a pecan in front of him and the fuss literally died in the air. Off to the bank with me trying to teach them the song you hear on the Apprentice, "Money money money money moneyyyyyyyy!" Then to CVS. We walk in and the cashier leans over to say hi and they both greet her by trying to get her to give them some of that bright brilliant packaging they have at the cashier. Bear starts to use a lollipop as a drum stick and Coop is asking for eggs (some sort of gum in a round can) so I toss Bear in the cart and Coop just follows behind not a single fuss. Grab the distilled water, pay, and into the car again. They were still mesmerized with that automatic door but we just kept on moving this time.

Last stop the only non-toxic hair salon in the area- they have some office space to rent me and I need to seal the deal. I hand them each a handful of snacks and stand at the door with her and we talk. (I now have office space and a babysitter!!!!!!) Get back in and head on home. Look back and Bear is dead asleep. Holy moly can this day get any better??? It does- we get back and I get the stuff and Coop in the house and throw Coop's lunch on the stove. Get Bear and he stays asleep while I take off his shoes and his jacket. To top it off Coop is keeping it all quiet so Bear can sleep!!!

Quote Of The Day

"Is your lunch good Cooper?"
"Shhhh Momm-y baby Bear is sleeping!"
"Ok I'll be..."
"Shhhhhhh!" big cheesy grin.

Some Funny Faces

When the camera is on he doesn't give me the full effect but here are some of his funny faces and just overall cuteness :-)

Backpack

Coop is all about his little backpack! I wear my backpack/diaper bag and he forever trying to get into it. Yesterday he pulled out his backpack and HAD to have it on. This morning was no different. He let me take it off to get in car seat but as soon as we were out he had to have it back on. This picture is the boys at the door banging on it saying, "Open, we're going to the gym!"

Little Goof

So today for lunch Bear start picking up these MONSTER spoonfulls and bringing it to his mouth and taking phantom bites. He finally starts eating it and then when he thinks I'm not looking I catch him eating with the spoon still in the dish or with the spoon backwards. He is such a little goof!!

My Cuties

Last Pictorial Spread of the Mall

We headed over to the mall Sunday morning and had a blast on the different rides. The boys were trail blazing the mall and getting in everyone's way. Up and down the stairs a gazillion times. Coop would get to a split and yell, "Look mommy 3 paths!" We'd go one way and he'd say, "Yes mommy we're taking this path!" To Jim it sounded like "paff". Now he does that to me in the car whenever we are making a turn. Later that morning Coop was pointing out the security officer but he wasn't being very friendly and waving back to us. So when Coop was on the motorcycle I got some awesome video and pictures and was showing Jim. Next thing I know the security guard was telling us we weren't allowed to take pictures because of mall policy. We thought he was joking but alas he wasn't and we had to put the camera away. Here's what we got before the mean man showed up.

Longwood Visit

This is my dear friend Chris and I enjoying a lunch at Macadoo's in Farmville, VA. It took us 4 months to find a day when we could both meet up at Longwood for a day without the kids but we did it! (That in of itself I thought was huge.) But nothing compared to the changes at our little old college that is now a University! In a way it felt weird to be there because it was just so different. They had about 6 coffee shops and a huge new dining hall. It was nice to see the campus but it was also a blast to see Chris again and actually talk. The time just flew by and was over way too soon.

Hall Monitor

Do you remember your hall monitors in grade school? We've determined (ok I did) that Coop has inherited Jim's love of following the rules. Those little bottles I bought at Wal-Mart yesterday were a big deal in the house. The boys wanted to play with them and I wanted them to leave them alone so I could use them. Both boys tried their hardest to get them but I was consistent and found a way to hide them. Today I pulled one of them out and put it on the counter to fill up. Bear saw it tonight and he really and I mean really wanted it. We'd just returned from a late night grocery run and I felt like I'd pushed them to their limit. (Imagine blueberries rolling everywhere and Cooper chasing them trying to eat them. It took 3 adults to pick them up and stop him from chowing down. Whole other story there!) My point is that they were hungry and tired so I said fine Bear you can play with this bottle.

Cooper notices Bear with the bottle and runs over and grabs it from Bear which causes lots of Bear fussies. I tried to explain to Coop that I had given it to Bear and it was ok. That did not go over very well. "Mommy mommy Bear has the bottle!" we heard that about 10 times and he kept trying to take it and give it back to me. Bear was not letting go though. I think when the words finally sunk in that Bear was allowed to play with the bottle his eyes just became little puppy dog eyes and he reluctantly walked away. I got a chuckle out of it because it was just such a Jimbo thing to do. (He is so rule oriented it baffles him when people don't follow the rules that have been explained.) Just as another example as we were leaving for the grocery store Bear saw "The Puddle." I immediately start in, "Up the stairs please." Bear ignores me and starts making a be-line for the puddle. Cooper runs up and blocks Bear saying in his sing song voice (just like I say it), "Ah ah ahhhh!" If Bear keeps going Coop will say it louder and louder. So Jim and I were commenting on how Cooper was our little Hall Monitor but the kicker (at least for me) was Jim admitted he was always secretly jealous of the Hall Monitors and wanted to be one :-)

Great Caesar's Ghost

So the jacket I bought at Wal-Mart yesterday still had the anti theft thingy on it so I thought we could just run in real quick and get them to take it off after the gym today. I had a bag of flax crackers so I felt confident I could avert any pre-lunch tantrums. We go in and I feel my heart drop a little because the line is about 8 deep for customer service. As I stand at the door the sensors start going off saying I've activated the security system! The jacket didn't beep on the way out but it does on the way in? Who steals stuff and brings it back in??

The cashier from yesterday comes over and I tell her the thingy is still on there so she says she'll take care of it. Whew- we'll be out of there in no time. I look over and Bear has taken off at an all out run towards Subway. I throw the bag at the cashier and take off running after Bear with Cooper behind me laughing his little butt off. Bear starts running faster looking behind him just cackling. The only thing I can think to say as I'm smiling is, "This isn't funny!" I grab Bear right at the Subway and put him in a shopping cart. He's pissed I caught him but the cart instantly distracts him. I look back to Cooper and he has picked up some red mud someone brought in on their shoes and has eaten it. The look on his face was pure horror. He obviously was expecting a goodie not a mouth full of mud. So I run back to him to try and get it out of his mouth and he proceeds to vomit all over him, me and the floor. Great Caesar's Ghost!!! Bear is playing in the shopping cart and some older man is standing there reporting that there is a lost child to my cashier. Luckily she was watching the whole thing unfold and assured the man I was there. I was in the Subway asking the owners for some napkins, "my son has just thrown up." He hands me two. I could very easily have said a few choice words at that point. But I just repeated, "My son has thrown up can I please have more??" He hands me one more. (Sigh- I guess napkins are pretty expensive!) I take what I can get and the cashier comes over with my no longer contraband jacket and rolls Bear over to us. She said she remembered the boys from yesterday and how cute they were. Guess she won't forget us any time soon!

All cleaned up and off we go- I grabbed the sponges I had forgotten yesterday and this new cashier proceeds to tell me, "You MUST try for girl. You just must." I laughed OUT LOUD at her. I said, "With my husband I'm bound for another boy and then we'll have to try for 4- I just don't think I'm cut out for it!" She smiled touched my hand and said, "Try for a girl, you have to have a girl." So I pretty much ran as fast as I could today from Wal-Mart thinking- you guessed it- GREAT CAESAR'S GHOST!!

My Little Helpers

The other day was clean the house day. I scrubbed it top to bottom and steam cleaned the carpets. I attacked the bathrooms and thought it was odd that Bear kept following me around. As soon as I pulled out the toilet cleaner he went nuts! He had to scrub the toilets for me. He did a pretty good job too!


Not to be outdone Cooper has become quite the little helper. When I tell him to go lay down for a diaper he will pull out two diapers. When it's time to eat he pulls out two bibs and two spoons. He tries to get the bib on Bear but Bear thinks it's a game and runs from him. But hey!
This was Cooper not feeling well but I had to capture the moment he pulled out the two diapers!

Speaking of spoons-

Great Caesar’s Ghost

Back to our routine today. Went to the gym and I decided hey, we can do a Wal-Mart run! I have some prunes in the diaper bag we are good to go. They were actually gems minus the throwing of all the little spray bottles out of the cart. The funny part was the cashier didn’t want Bear to fuss so she just didn’t charge me for one of the bottles and he kept playing with it. Who am I to complain?

Get a call from Jim that he’s found a GPS that’s on sale at Circuit City that I need for my trip on Saturday. Hmmmmm. We are getting close to lunch and nap time and I only have 4 prunes left? A smart mom would have gone home but me well I decide to chance it. (It’s only a few blocks away!) They direct me to the GPS I find the one I need and then I begin to wait and wait and wait. The dude is helping another customer and I can’t find another clerk to save my life. The boys are getting restless and finding ways to get into things. They find the speaker room and have a little dance party which was quite cute. Coop wouldn’t go in there but as soon as Bear did he looked at me with this look like well if he’s doing it I’m doing it!

The clerk is finally going to ring me up. I have saved 2 prunes for the occasion but they are now chasing and tackling each other so I leave well enough alone. Just as he tells me the cost I hear Bear’s blood curdling scream. I run over and find Cooper on top of him and Bear with a huge fat bottom lip and blood flowing everywhere. For some reason the only words that come to me is to yell, “Great Caesar’s Ghost!” I pick him up and ask the clerk to go get us some tissue. I start dumping my water on his lip and there is just blood everywhere. I try to use his shirt to put some pressure but he’s just screaming uncontrollably and trying to suck on his lip. Cooper at this point sulks over to the stereo room and puts his forehead against the glass watching us. The clerk finally returns with the tissue and I multi-tasked. I gave him my card and sat on the floor rocking Bear and applying pressure and signing for everything at the same time. (He just brought the little machine to me!) There seems to be a theme here of clerks going above and beyond when Bear starts fussing. Hmmmmmm.

The crying finally subsided as we left but Cooper wouldn’t hold my hand or catch up to us he would only walk 10 paces behind me with his head down. Until we got outside then all of a sudden Bear wants down and to hold my hand and Coop will now hold my hand and we get in the car as if nothing happened. I drove around for a few extra minutes and Bear was out cold.

Note to self: Carry a small first aid kit at all times.

Where does Great Caesar’s Ghost come from? Jim thinks it must be a Sherlock Holmes thing but I got it from a Backyardigan’s episode called “Whodunit” where there is a mystery and every time something shocking happens Austin exclaims, “Great Caesar’s Ghost!”

Funny Faces

Bear has the funniest faces he will make at you. I've been trying desperately to get them on the camera but it's harder than I thought. As he eats he will make all these faces at me until he gets me to laugh- it's so cute. Or he'll lick each of his fingers and make this slurping sound like he's drinking out of a straw- and it's all for the laugh.

AMAZING

Sunday we had big plans- pack up for a trip to Snowshoe, WV. We planned to be out of the house by noon but as is our typical fashion we got on the road about 2 pm. The 6 hour drive turned into 7.5 because of some severe fog. Jim was considering getting out and running in front of the car to lead the way but when I told him it was about 10 more miles of ALL uphill he changed his mind. The boys were AMAZING. Bear fell asleep and stayed asleep till 4 am. Coop ran around when we got there playing with Poppi and when we pulled out the sofa bed he went right to sleep with me. Jim slept with Bear on the air mattress. (We didn't want to regress on the whole night nursing saga.)

It was rainy, foggy, and windy on Monday. So instead of skiing we traipsed around the mountain exploring all the new stuff there was to offer. We decided we really needed a mini-van after I had to sit in the very back of the Subaru hoping Jim didn’t get in an accident so we could all ride together. (Kind of hard to get a tour if our tour guide is in the car ahead of us.) What was cute for me is I would poke my head over the back seat and the boys kept saying, “Hi!” to me and if I put my hand over the seat they would both reach over and just hold my hand.

Coop was good in the wind but Bear was not a fan until we showed them the slopes and he was literally off and running across the slope thwarting many a skier. Home for naps- and I mean all 5 of us napped! Then Poppi had lined up a babysitter for us- Jenna. She was AMAZING. She had every confidence that she could handle everything and put us at ease. When she said, "Oh don't worry I can handle it if they fuss when you leave." I was like cool she has it under control. Poppi took us out to a new restaurant Ember that was AMAZING. They are booked well in advance but we got lucky with their last table. Poppi said to get whatever we wanted and Jim took him seriously. I think he ordered 3 appetizers and 2 entrees plus some wine. (Sorry hon but you did eat a lot!) It was the most relaxing evening- we spread it out over 3 hours and just enjoyed every bit of it. I ran into some old friends from when I used to work on the mountain which was nice. Since becoming a mom going out to the night club just doesn’t happen anymore. When we returned Jenna raved about how AMAZING the boys were. She mentioned they were the best kids she'd ever watched so our chests did puff out a little bit. To top it off they just went right to sleep.

The next morning was my mom’s birthday. We woke up with the sun thanks to the boys and got ready for the day. While Poppi went out to get Jenna we tried to get the boys in their snow suits to have a little morning outing. Cooper’s suit just didn’t fit him right or he just decided he didn’t want it on and he screamed the entire time. I think it was a little tight but he was so dramatic. He fell and then we were done. I think it took us all of 5 minutes but it was the longest 5 minutes of my life. Jenna showed up and we took off for a day of skiing. Whereas the day before had been rainy, foggy and windy Tuesday was AMAZING. Lightly snowing, fresh snow and no crowds. Last year on Mom’s birthday her and Chris skied the whole mountain so we did a few practice runs and then did the same trek they did. It had been about 4 years since we skied and we just picked it right back up and had the most AMAZING time.

We had to get back by 2 and we found all three of the kids dead asleep on the couches. It was truly one of the cutest sights. When I woke Jenna up I scared her half to death but she raved at how AMAZING the boys were again and promised to babysit any time we needed her when we were there. What can I say we have two little charmers.

As soon as the boys woke up we got dressed again and took a walk down to mom’s favorite walking path. The boys had a blast walking in the snow. They would hit trees and delight in the snow falling down. Cooper loved us hitting each other with snowballs. We finally got to a beautiful spot on the path and Chris and I spread some of mom and Wolfie’s ashes. I felt like I’d been with her all day and could feel her smiling. The boys had kept on going but suddenly returned and they were done walking so Jim and I put them on our shoulders and headed back.

We got dinner together for the boys and then Jim and I headed out for some night skiing. We had a great time on one of the easy slopes that nobody was on so it felt like we had the slopes to ourselves. Then for some reason two young kids weren’t paying attention (and neither were the lift operators) and got in between us and the lift chair. Unfortunately Jim and I didn’t realize what was happening until it was too late and mass confusion ensued. It ended with Jim’s butt up in the air blocking the chair from progressing and me yelling, “What the hell!” about 20 times. I was so scared Jim was ripping his knee apart and everyone just seemed to have a thumb up their butts. Finally Jim just fell over and onto his back. I could see him trying but he couldn’t get up. Just picture two poles and two skies flailing about in the air and lots of grunting. One of the lift operators finally helped Jim up and we got back on the lift. The other operator came out and thought it appropriate to make fun of us. I’ll admit I’m still laughing about it but we’re lucky Jim wasn’t hurt. That would have been a whole different story.

We got back to the condo and as you might have guessed Poppi reported that the boys were AMAZING. I pulled both the boys onto the couch bed and they both fell asleep in my arms. (Bear was a bit frustrated when I wouldn't nurse him and tried to give my arms several hickeys) but they both wrapped themselves up in my arms and went to sleep. It was the perfect end to a perfect day.

This morning we woke up to more snow! Jim couldn’t take off more work so instead of leaving after lunch we sped up and were heading off the mountain by 10 am. I have to say my hubby did an AMAZING job driving in those conditions. It took us a really long time to make it but we made it. (We only saw 1 car flipped on the side of the road.) The boys were truly wonderful. (Yes even AMAZING.)

We stopped once for a late lunch and a game of chase but they never fussed the whole time and it took us 8 very long hours. (The picture of Jim laughing below is him pulling over into a snow bank and trying to scare me as he came out of it!) The boys were happy to be home and are now back in their beds. I was worried about the trip and thought it might be overwhelmingly sad but really it was a wonderful way to celebrate and have fun which is what my mom wanted. So happy birthday GiGi I love you!

Happy Valentine's Day (2008)

So last night as we are going to sleep Jim whispers, “Did you want to do anything for Valentine’s Day?” I think I grumbled a little and said, “No.” Then he says, “Oh I didn’t order flowers this year like you asked.” Whew- I love getting flowers don’t get me wrong but this year I didn’t want that bill of those flowers. I told him if he wanted to get flowers just grab some from the grocery store. We agreed, no flowers, no cards, maybe dinner but we’d see how we felt.

This morning when he got up I heard him putzing around the house and I thought good god what is taking him so long then promptly fell back asleep. When I woke up I found this note with three roses. Jim had strategically in the dark planted 9 roses around the apartment for me to find. Coop got into the fun of it yelling, “Look mommy a heart!” helping me out. We found 8 of them and I thought hmm well maybe he just got a cheap batch with only 11 roses?? It was still a nice surprise to wake up to my flower hunt this morning.

Today was errand day- first stop the bank. I went in prepared a tub of prunes a pecans and some flax crackers and Flora plus a bag of toys. The boys entered and said, “ohhhhh new playground!” and proceeded to jump on the couches, run into all the offices with Cooper yelling, “Hi guys!” I was trying to multi-task by being at the teller trying to pay off one of our rental property loans (Thank you Poppi!!) and trying to get the account I had set up for Bear fixed so I could see in on-line. During that time the boys ate everything I brought with me that was to last the whole day, and then moved on to tearing apart this poor man’s desk while I was on the phone with on-line banking. (Which I thought was interesting since when I called on-line banking at home they told me I had to go to the branch??) I pull out a bottle of probiotics and pour out a handful of the little plastic hearts! I start laughing but the lady at the teller didn't quite get it. Then Bear disappears and Cooper starts playing hide and seek with me yelling from behind a pillar, “Mommy where’s Cooper??” I turn and smash- the phone goes flying to the ground and I have hung up on them! The manager comes out and says for security reasons the boys can’t be on this side of the desk. (They were trying their hardest to type something on his keyboard but it was locked.) I’m thinking security? She does realize they can’t read right? But she pulls out a tub of toys and they are then content while I finish things up. The staff actually had a good time with the boys but man I was tired once we left and we still had a lot to do.

My GPS broke so I had to use good ol mapquest to find a Mission downtown to donate all the old baby clothes to. I was so thrilled that I found it without getting lost. The man getting my donation says to me he wishes he could enjoy Valentine’s Day but his wife isn’t with him anymore. My heart broke for him. I told him I was sure she would be with him in spirit and that she loved him. He said, “Oh no I’ll see her tonight she just divorced me!”

Next up- a quick stop at a book and gift store that rents out practitioner rooms. The boys went crazy. Coop was focused on the little waterfall and picking up candles. Bear was focused on pulling down the chimes on the front door and on throwing a candle down that I had to purchase because he dinged it up. We made quick work of it but they were making it REALLY hard to have a conversation with the guy about the rooms. We made it out with only 1 tantrum so that was good.

Next stop- Whole Foods. I figured since Jim had surprised me with the flowers I would surprise him with a nice home cooked meal that was a little special. Did I mention I went during the lunch crush? I cut someone off for a parking spot and cringed but I thought hey I got two kids back off. (Hey it makes me feel better.) It was crazy in there. Isles and isles of flowers and people packed in there. We grabbed a few things and I begged Coop to sit in the shopping cart so I wouldn’t lose him. He didn’t even fuss just got in and I took the easy way out and grabbed some sushi. Not my original plan but it was crazy and the boys were hungry. I had big plans to feed them and then they would nap on the way home. We went outside and sat in the sun. Coop refused to wear his jacket and had a t-shirt on. I chose to leave that battle alone. They chowed down and they even let me change diapers with no fuss. At this point I’m feeling like my kids are the bomb. They have been so good. They are showing no signs of tiredness so we stop off at Wal-mart for some diapers and shampoo and maybe a card. Coop wants me to chase him so he goes off at break neck speed yelling, “I’m gonna get you!” So I start saying “No I’m going to get to get you!” and when I catch him he falls to the ground and I tickle him and he squeals. Well the third time I did it, he literally tried to cuddle up on the floor and said, “Mommy I’m sleepy.” We made a drive by of the card section but I kid you not it was so packed there was a line to just get into the section. I told the boys- looks like no card for daddy! Believe it or not I was even contemplating trying to squeeze in a haircut for they boys until Bear started screaming and then fell asleep 1 minute from home and I thought- I have it made. Easy transfer. Hahaha ha.

I left the sushi/groceries in the car and toted the boys downstairs. Coop climbs into bed and I put Bear down and I swear I don’t know what happened. He freaked out and wanted to nurse. The rule is I don’t nurse for him to go to sleep so I held strong. For 40 long minutes. Inside I was freaking out because the sushi was in the car and I was just imagining the sun beating down on it. Whap! Bear smacked me across the face. So before I returned the favor I put him down in his crib and let him “fuss it out”. Got the sushi- it was fine packed with cold things. Came back he was at the door trying to claw his way out under the door. Put him back in the crib but moved it so he couldn’t crawl out. NOT. He was back at the door soon after. The second time he held on so tight I told him I would hold him if he wouldn’t nurse. Do you know he didn’t even try? So he’s out within seconds and I finally come out to do some work.

At some point I managed a call to Jim to check in about this potential 12^th rose. He had me searching all over. This apartment is only so big. Turns out it was behind the television, I just had not turned it on or even looked in that direction. But that mystery was solved. So the one wilted rose in the bunch is from being behind the tv all day.

So then suddenly Cooper wakes up screaming… and screaming and screaming. What the heck is going on? I think he's up and bring him out to the living room but he falls back asleep on me. Then Bear is awake and screaming. My little angels just turned on me! So Bear was up and he proceeded to poke at Coop until he woke up. I “prepared” dinner and cleaned the house and put a nice smelly candle on. The boys and I made a card for Jim. I mean really it’s the least I can do right? Jim gets home and hands me a bag. He got me a very sentimental gift and he actually made me the most beautiful card I’ve ever received. He actually came up with a list of 10 things unique to just us. I’m such a lucky woman. To top it off he gave me some lotto tickets. “Lotto for Lovers” to be exact. I ran around the apartment yelling, “I won the lottery whooo hoooo!”

So the day was fun, I can see why I don’t pack all of our errands into one day though. I like Valentine’s Day in a way because it’s nice to just remind each other how much you love each other but sometimes I think who needs another Hallmark holiday you know? But if Jim made me a card like that every year man I’d be one happy chica. Hope everyone had a great day!

Not So Unscathed

Well we may have enjoyed our dinner night but we didn’t make it out as unscathed as we had thought. Yesterday both Cooper and Bear woke up with these ballooned bellies. Cooper’s had been actually going down significantly and was almost normal but he grew to about 4x the size it had been before. I couldn’t fit the diapers around Coop’s belly it was so big. Bear’s was just 1-2x bigger but his big reaction was to get a horrible yeast infection in his diaper region. The yeast just had a field day with the sweet ginger sauce. By the end of the day Cooper was immobilized by a horrible wheeze and cough and he broke out all over his face. This poor little guy has been set back from the progress we made. I hate that he has to go through this torture to get rid of this yeast/candida issue. The good news is I know what to do! Wish I would have known 3 years ago.

While it totally sucks I do believe he’s the lucky one. Pretty much everyone who eats sugar and/or processed foods has an unbalanced flora eco-system. Most of us though don’t have as many symptoms that make it as noticeable as Cooper. We experience sinus or ear infections, a little rash, some allergies, maybe constipation and just take something to alleviate that symptom. But not Cooper, he likes to expand like a blowfish and break out in a rash all over his body. So he will have to be very careful and he won’t be able to eat “just a little” bit of whatever the treat of the day is. It may be hard on him (and others who are trying to feed him) but his health really will benefit from it in the long run. Can you imagine growing up not addicted to sugar????

So we have a hard couple of weeks ahead of us. When the boys get a taste of “the sugar”, as I like to call it, their normal tantrums get MUCH MUCH worse and they become obsessed in the kitchen looking for something sweet to feed the yeast. The first few days are the hardest so wish me luck this week! Me thinks I’ll be having them in the daycare for the full two hours every day :-)

We Have a New First!

We actually went out and had a family dinner!!! This may be hard to believe but we have never taken the boys to a restaurant for a meal together. It started off just because of the food allergies, and then the last time we went out with Cooper (while I was pregnant with Bear) he screamed the entire time because he wanted to eat what we were eating. It was mortifying enough we have not repeated the experience. Mostly we feel bad saying look what we can eat but you can't have any!

We traipsed the boys around again today to a new mall. It was a carpeted mall ya'll. You know there is some money up in there. It was by far the nicest mall I've ever been in. They have this huge play area and the machines take .75 cents not .50 like the one near us. I guess this part isn't relevant to the dinner story......

So we got home and Jim took a nap. Not 20 minutes into his nap we had a massive power outage in the area. The boys hadn't had any tv all day and were excited to have a show on. The power goes off and Coop was not a happy camper. He was bringing me the remote begging for tv. He had no idea what a power outage was and really didn't want to hear it. So I tried my best to entertain them while clearing out more stuff in their room to sell on Craigs List I can not believe how many clothes we had for 12 months! Two huge bags full. Again not really relevant to the dinner story guess I am just feeling chatty tonight...

So Jim finally wakes up and tries to entertain them with legos but they decide about 4:30 they are hungry and they get very very fussy. We open our now warm refrigerator and see we have nothing prepared and have nothing to give them except fruit.

We start to brainstorm. I swear you would have thought this was the biggest decision we'd ever made. If only we planned other things in our life this well! We first decided to go to a Chinese place and get them the garlic and broccoli we know they've eaten off of us before. But what if they don't do well in the restaurant? Maybe we should get it to go and eat it at the mall where there is always noise? We decide (after painstaking debate) to go to the restaurant and if they act up get it to go and head to the mall. But Jim's concerned we don't have plates there. I figure someone else will give us some if need be. So we pull into the parking lot and Jim says, "Well you know we could go to a buffet and that way we could have choices." That sounds like a good idea so off we go. We head in one direction and I come up with the Mongolian restaurant we went to many moons ago on a date night where we could pick all the food and add our own spices and sauces- it's like me cooking right? So Jim turns the car in the opposite direction. We get there and we see a Chinese place and figure ok they don't like the Mongolian then we come here and order Chinese. Sigh- this is a lot of stress!

I'm really sorry because I've made this story so much longer than it needed to be. We get there and they have this huge mirror and we pull out their toys. They had a blast. They took turns making funny faces at the mirror and playing with their toys. They downed the nasty tap water and ate with flourish the broccoli/cabbage/tomato/zucchini stir fry with sweet ginger sauce. We had to get them two servings and Cooper wouldn't leave until his last piece of broccoli was gone and all of his water was done. They never fussed, only charmed the waitress. Who knew??

Did a drive by the apartment and saw the power was back on shortly after we left. So probably by the time we'd actually decided where to go the power was back on but it was actually a lot of fun and a little bit freeing. There were no allergic reactions. We expected a bit of rambunctiousness from the sugar in the sweet ginger sauce but they got home watched a show and both fell asleep quickly and quietly.

Our Little Frog

Mall Escapades

Sunday morning is quickly becoming one of our favorite days to take the boys to the mall. Wide open yet contained space- it's a parents dream! I love it because it's always so quiet- you almost feel like it's your own little playground. Coop has figured out how to ask for "coins" and likes to ride all the rides. We actually had to give him a $3 maximum or else he would have put us in the poor house! I wish I could upload the video of the two of them riding this little spaceship- it's too long. It's so adorable. I know it looks like Coop might be choking Bear but he really was hugging him :-)

Mr. Independent

About a week ago Jim was working late and it was a bath night. The boys finished up dinner and I turned on the water and started putzing around cleaning dishes and whatnot. I forget how it happened I think Coop had a stinky or he'd spilled dinner but I ended up giving him some naked baby time. (Jim wasn't home so I had to take advantage. Jim hates naked baby time he runs around with the steam cleaner under them. Cracks me up but he doesn't find it as funny as I do.) I went in to turn off the water and there was Coop sitting in the tub playing with his toys. I almost sh*t my pants it scared me so bad. So now I'm careful to close the doors while filling the tub but I was actually proud of him for figuring it out.

Little Stinker

Our resident Stinker. Bear has taken to spending his bath time pulling on the drain and letting the water out slowly but surely. Don't try and stop him or he thinks you've committed the worst offense to him. But if you say his name he does his infamous, "Oh ohhhh!" really loud and yanks away from the drain really quickly.

Then as soon as I look away he does it again.

What Cooper Sees

What do you see when you see this picture?

The big question is what does Cooper see?? Cooper sees "Big Jet". There is a big jet on Little Einsteins and he is fascinated with it. I have several of these pens and Coop just has to have them and flies them everywhere yelling, "Look mommy a big jet!!" I find them stashed in the couch most days. Although yesterday he brought me three of them and put them on my laptop like he was all done playing with them now.

Under The Weather Mommy

Cooper is recovering nicely from his little bug. Bear has a nice little cough but it has yet to affect his energy levels. Now me on the other hand I haven't been this under the weather for this long in ages! I came down with a fever and all that fun stuff Wednesday night and had a day of hell on Thursday. I have the most horrible (self inflicted) sinus infection that I just haven't been able to kick yet. I have gone through many a sinus infection in my life but this one is amazing! I am exhausted and can barely keep my eyes open. I've started to get the cough. Every time I would start to fall asleep last night I would wake myself up with my coughing! I can't even remember the last time I had a cough but then again back then I was taking nyquil and dayquil so I may have had one I just suppressed it! All I know is It's Tuesday and if I could I would crawl into bed and sleep ALL day.

Do You Believe Everything Happens For a Reason?

I know I do. Sometimes I have to struggle to see the reason but yesterday was a most fascinating day. I had one of those moments where I saw how all these decisions we’ve made over the last 18 months have led us to this point. It started when we knew that I wasn’t going to be going back to work. My boss had told me she was leaving and I knew when I hung up the phone there was no way I could go back. (Interesting side note- she ended up staying but has just recently put in her resignation.) I knew life would change but I resisted it changing too much. Jim had wanted to go back in the Army but I could not wrap my head around moving around and him being deployed. We got two offers on our townhouse both of which we refused because it was so far under our asking price. (Our asking price is now below what both of those offers were for!) We started a house search in Willow Springs, NC but got sidelined when our tenants pulled out the lease and found some clause where we couldn’t put it up for sale until August- what Realtors call the dead season. It stopped our whole process dead in the water. I was devastated, I’d narrowed down the search to these 5 adorable houses.

Then I get a random e-mail from a woman I barely know talking about moving near family so that her children will have roots growing up. It was so moving it touched me in a way I didn’t expect. We decided to move to Charlotte, NC. It felt right that our process here had been stopped. Unfortunately Jim did not get the job in Charlotte. So we sat back and said- crap what now? So we pulled out that darned butcher paper and brainstormed again. Somehow Jim going back in the active military was our best option. Huh? Roots and all that fear seemed to go out the window. But it met every other criterion we had. As Jim started getting his paperwork together he ran into a major snag that stopped his process all together. We started wondering if the Universe was saying- nope this isn’t what I really want you to do. I started looking for waitressing jobs even.

Until Saturday- Jim got in the mail the first piece of paperwork he needed to move to the next step. We were ecstatic. Finally a sign that this was the right thing and it would be happening. Then yesterday Jim called me and told me that they’ve just told him if he wants the job in Charlotte it’s his- again I say huh? Now we see that as our back-up to the back-up plan. I can’t keep up with what the Universe wants us to do but I can see in some mangled way that every little step we’ve taken has all happened for a reason and without each step we might not have gotten here.

I know moving to Raleigh was destined to be short term. Moving here proved that as a family we can go anywhere as long as we are together. Our favorite saying as we go into a new towns is, “Anywhere USA.” I met my mentor and teacher and found my calling. Everything I learned has drastically turned Cooper’s health around to all those issues almost being a distant memory. I know in my heart that Cooper having the health issues he had saved our lives. He is our little angel. I have faith that we’ll do what is perfect and in accordance the Universe’s plan but all these twists and turns sure do keep us on our toes!!