little boy blue

We were trying to take our Christmas pictures the other week and the only one that would cooperate was W. I can't say that I blame everyone for being grumpy. It was lunch time and nap time and freezing cold. Here are a few of the pictures.

knee socks

It truly is amazing what you do as a mom and how your view of life does a complete turn-about. Back when I was a little girl there was nothing worse than having to wear long knee socks. I remember the stress of trying to convince you mom, that it would be ok to wear ankle socks to school even in the middle of winter with the wind whipping my skirt around and the 10 degree weather turning my legs into icicles. Of course I never won (after all you had school rules on your side). I remember pulling into the school parking lot and trying to figure out the best way and time to push them down without you seeing me and without my friends seeing me with them up. If I wait until just before I go in the door maybe you will be driving away already and won't notice? I don't know if you ever did or not but it was a source of great stress for my little life. Now I think they are the cutest thing ever. I just got M a new pair of pink ones and thankfully she hasn't decided yet that they are out of style. They look so cute on her.

neighborhoods

M and I were sitting at the kitchen table eating lunch when a truck drove by. She asked if it was Daddy and I said no. Then she wondered who it was. I said I didn't know.

"Well maybe it was Daniel (her uncle) or Dan (our neighbor). Mom, who is Dan?"

"Dan S.....r," I replied.

"Oh, our neighborhood", she said. "I call them neighborhoods because they wear hoods."


Yesterday I had a wonderful refreshing day with Evie. I left the house at 8:30, dropped M and W off at Anita's (thank-you Anita) and headed for Canton to shop all day with my sister. I didn't get home until about 8:00. We had so much fun just being together with no schedule to stick to. The only interruptions we had were the occasional squeak from H. And it was very occasional. Usually it was when he was about an hour overdue for his feeding. What a sweetheart. Mom, I wish you could have been with us too. Something about it was just so good for my spirit. I can't wait to have a sister (and mom) weekend.

shoo-fly

Saturday morning we had shoo-fly pie for breakfast. It's a special treat that we only get when we are in Pennsylvania or when Mom comes to visit. M absolutely loves it. Soon after breakfast she was "reading" a book to W and came upon the nursery rhyme "shoo fly, don't bother me". She got this look on her face that she gets when something comes together in her brain and she's putting two and two together.

"Mom, that's like what we had for breakfast."

She thought for a while longer then said with a little bit of a knowing tone and a little bit of question in her voice,

"We get a bunch of flies and bake them in the oven and then we have shoo-fly pie."

It was almost like she thought that had to be what it was made of but she looked at me hoping I would tell her she was wrong. Up until now she hadn't thought of flies as edible and she didn't look too excited about the prospect. But she does love shoo-fly so maybe they aren't too bad?

Pictures were taken in Pittsburgh the day we went with Chad and Mike & Evie to watch the Pirates play the Phillies.

mice!?#!

This is what your kitchen looks like if you have mice in your cupboards. Or at least it's what it looks like when you finally get around to cleaning them out. We have had mice off and on for a while now. First I would find the occasional little black terd in a dish. Then we'd here them scurrying around in the walls and duct work while we were laying in bed. Talk about gross. It was kind of humorous though watching Virgil sneak around the house in the middle of the night with a broom trying to catch one. After a while it wasn't funny anymore. They kept springing the traps and taking the bait. When they started nibbling my tupperware and hot pads, Virgil thought they must be building a nest. I could smell them every time I opened the cupboards. If anything will take away your desire to cook that smell will do it. That was the last straw. It was time for some serious action. Virgil lined the traps the whole way across the inside of the cupboard so there was no way around. In no time we had Mama Mouse, Daddy Mouse and Mr. Mole. Now Virgil just finished putting in a new floor so they hopefully can't get back in. I believe we are ready to settle in for winter in a single family home once again.

time

Today at Grandma's house M asked Grandma what time it was.

Grandma was surprised and said "can you tell time?" But she said it in dutch which translates as "can you say time?"

M so innocently and a little confused said "time." The expression on her face was like "How dense does Grandma think I am that I wouldn't even be able to say time? Doesn't she know that I am almost 4?

a whole world to learn about

So often the kids will say something that just makes me stop and think about how it would be to have so many things to still learn. I mean imagine not knowing the difference between nap time and bedtime. Today after M heard a song mentioning a riddle she asked me ...

What is a riddle?

A riddle is like when you say "what is long and skinny and slithers on the ground?" The answer is a snake and that's a riddle.


Oh, you mean a riddle is a snake?

Some things are just so hard to explain.





Mom this is that garage sale dress that you gave. I've been telling her that it is for winter because it has long sleeves. You should have seen her face when I pulled it out this morning. I'm pretty sure it's going to be her main dress all winter.

And here are some pictures of little H

And inevitably his hand (and whatever happens to be in it at the time) goes straight to his mouth to be gnawed on.

Really I think the most alarming thing about there being a whole world to learn about is that at every milestone in my own life, I look back and realize how little I knew a year ago, 2 years ago, or 10 years ago. It makes you feel not that much older or wiser than your kids. And it makes you wonder what else you still have to learn that you have no idea even exists.

who are you?

W brought me his sneakers to put on

and i asked him where he's going.

Huttin.

Where?

Huttin.

Oh, ok.(even though I had no idea what he said).

Then he pulled out Virgil's camoflage hat and the lights came on for me.

Are you going hunting?

Yes. And he holds up his "gun/broom", BANG BANG!

A little while later I found him like this and asked him if he is a cleaning man, a hunter, a worker man, a husband, etc. All these occupations received an emphatic NO.

"I am a DADDY."

And when he is a daddy that is all. He's never a husband and a daddy, never a daddy named Virgil, and most certainly never a little boy. Poor M never has a husband but at least her babies have a daddy.

Notice the nice pumpkins on the living room floor. They are the result of a fun trip to the farmers market to get pumpkins to decorate for fall. All because of the beautiful pictures in my Better Homes and Gardens magazine. Unfortunately this is the farthest I've gotten with the idea. They gave up their lofty dreams of being beautiful fall decor and have quietly settled for being the childrens playthings. Hey it's not all bad. At least they're not stuck in a corner with some dried cornstalks for the rest of their lives.

carseats

One day as we were driving down the road M said to me
Mom, I want to be a mom.
OK.
I mean like when I'm little I just want to pretend to be a mom.
Oh. Ok.
Then why am i still in a carseat?

Anyone have a good answer for that one?

One weekend this summer we decided to set our tent up on the patio. It ended up being so much fun and so cozy that we slept in it for 3 nights. It was a fun thing to do together as a family, it didn't cost a cent and there was no stressful packing or traveling. The baby even got to sleep in his own bed thanks to my trusty baby monitor.

And to all a good night.