It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

We scoffed at the weatherman yesterday when he called for several inches of snow in south Puget Sound. The spring flowers are blooming, you crazy man! Easter already happened, it can't snow! The snow started falling at dinner time last night and we awoke to at least 2 inches. Steve decided to take advantage of a rare sledding opportunity. They bundled up and trotted off to the golf course behind our house. Thankfully, Andy was oblivious to the whole adventure and happily played with his cars on the floor. He's developed a charming little habit of smiling and saying, "teeee!" when we take his picture. It's so funny what they learn by watching the rest of us. Well, it's funny as long as it's cute. Not so funny when it's a trait or a word phrase you suddenly wish you hadn't modeled. I'm speaking hypothetically, of course. We definitely needed a snow day. I am so grateful. The snow just brightens everyone's day. It's so beautiful. Furthermore, it forces us all to slow down and savor a change in the routine. The commute is icy and dangerous, so dad is forced to stay home and go sledding. My daily activities are cancelled and we get to enjoy a relaxing morning at home. I was especially glad that Steve got to start his day off on a happy note. Fifty people's positions are being terminated at his company today. This is not a happy day for HR man. Perhaps the sledding adventure will carry him through.

He Eats!

I've seen more than enough commentary regarding the dangers of blogging about the mundane and ordinary events of one's life. I'm sure very few would like to see the contents of my 18 month old's mouth in mid-chew, but the fact that he is holding a fork and feeding himself is far from mundane. In our house, that's a photo op. You see, I have spoon-fed this little precious nothing but pureed baby food for a very long time. In fact, I don't even want to stop and count how many months he's eaten that stuff. (Let's see, at 73 cents a jar, 4 or 5 jars a day...oh, that's enough accounting for now). I got so aggravated with him not feeding himself that I started plucking him from his chair if he didn't eat what I offered him. Well, apparently the message was received because he started consuming normal, non-pureed people food this week. He is still battling his yogurt addiction, but we will continue to enable him for as long as necessary.

In other news, Megan and Jack invited us to join them at the golden arches today. The boys had little interest in eating, just wanted to roam around the playland. I saw Luke point to the top of the play structure and tell Andy, "it's very scary up there, Andy". Andy doesn't seem to be scared of anything, so I wondered what he thought about that. A few minutes later, my mommy conversation with Megan is interrupted by a very loud whail from the top of the playland.

You guessed it. My ever-so-cautious first born had climbed to the top and was too scared to find his way down. We sent Jack up to get him, but Luke was crying very hard and not willling to listen to the voice of reason. Megan was kind enough (and brave enough...who knows what's in the top of that thing?) to climb up and guide him down. I greeted him at the bottom of the slide, cheering like crazy. He would have none of it. He just cried and cried, then cried some more. Then, just like that, he was over it and he climbed back up to the top several times. He came back to the table, congratulating himself after every climb. What an interesting creature, this boy of ours.

Happy Easter, Friends and Family!

We hosted a small brunch for our Mothers of Preschoolers group today. Yesterday we went to an Easter party with our pre-school class. I'm already pondering which local egg hunt eggstravaganza to hit on Saturday morning. On Easter Sunday, we'll attend church and then visit the fam in Eatonville for more eggs, more treats and more fun. Hopefully we'll find the energy to dye some eggs at some point. As I was helping Luke with play doh this afternoon and he was asking what we were going to do next, I found a cookie-cutter cross mixed in with the play doh tools. I asked Luke if he knew that Jesus died on the cross. I was so proud of myself because I thought I was taking advantage of a teachable moment. Yea, me. He looked at me with utter confusion. "Jesus died?" He asked incredulously.
"Yes, on a cross. For our sins. Isn't that wonderful? Then God did a trick and brought Jesus back to life."

"He died??"

Oh, boy. What have I done? Where did I think this was going to go? In the back of my mind, I heard his preschool teacher reminding us not to go overboard with the Easter story. A three year old mind cannot comprehend the cross, the empty tomb, etc., so just keep it simple. Advice I conveniently ignored today.

So, for now I guess he will go on thinking it really is all about the bunnies and the chocolate hidden inside the plastic eggs. I can't wait to see how Sunday school goes this week. I'm sure his teachers will appreciate my efforts in getting a head start.

Enough about me, I know you just want to see the pics. Happy Easter!

Stink-o-riffic!

Our delightful first born has strongly resisted our requests to use the bathroom for all necessary functions, if you know what I'm saying. In fact, I am living in denial that he is nearly 4 and hasn't achieved this essential life skill. Today, he jumped off the couch and informed me that he needed to do a stinky. This has never occurred before. We went to the bathroom and parked on the little potty. He was a little apprehensive. We remained calm, cool and collected. We chose 2 of our favorite books, "Swimmy" and "Is Your Mama a Llama?" After the first book, he informed me that his stinky was talking to him. When I inquired about the topic of conversation, he said his stinky was talking about Andy and also knew all about Luke's favorite shows. This was a little weird for me. If bodily fluids and other such items can talk, we might have bigger problems than just going to the bathroom in our pants. Just a thought.
After our second book was complete, I realized Luke had taken care of business very discreetly. We yelled and high-fived one another, I lavished him with praise, promised him a much-coveted prize. It was ridiculous. I was helping him get cleaned up and he said, "Mama, I rock!" That's 4 year old speak for "I did something really great."
We celebrated some more by calling Daddy and bragging a little bit. Of course, his new prize (a matchbox car) became his most cherished possession for the rest of the afternoon.

Oh, Happy Day!

This day was a long time comin'. I have wanted a new sofa and chair for the front room of our house, well, probably since we bought the house. Steve had a sofa, chair, ottoman and bench that just wasn't my favorite. Those who know us well are probably laughing right now, because they have listened to all my whining and fussing about this furniture.
So, I opened up the newspaper on Thursday, and what to my eyes did suddenly appear...brown microfiber furniture ON SALE! I delicately broached the subject with my beloved and he willingly went with me to check it out. Both pieces fit in the back of the silver bullet (our van) and my joy was complete by mid-afternoon on Saturday. This is Luke posing on the love seat. The picture of the recliner didn't turn out so well, so you'll just have to imagine that for yourself.

Girl Time

I enjoyed some much-needed girl time with 2 lovely friends today. It's amazing how much motherhood consumes us. We most likely would have jabbered on all afternoon, if the littlest ones weren't tuckered out and craving their afternoon naps. Relationships require deliberate choices these days. Everyone is occupied with so many things and we feel obligated to maintain this frantic pace day in and day out. I have to deliberately choose to connect with other women. It should be a no-brainer, yet I struggle to make the right choice quite frequently. I don't get it. So thanks, girls. It was fun to hang out and compare notes on our little cherubs.

The Andy Show

Sometimes, when the older, blonder one has gone to bed, we stay up and enjoy the antics of our resident entertainer...Andy! Shhh, don't tell the other one we did this.