Momma never said there'd be days like this

If Eric Carle was a disgruntled mother...

 Brown bear, brown bear what do you see?

I see some chewed up food where it shouldn’t be. 

Red bird, red bird what do you see?

I see laundry multiplying before me.

Yellow duck, yellow duck what do you see?

I see fingerprints staring back at me.

Blue horse, blue horse what do you see?

I see tufts of dog hair floating in the breeze.

Green frog, green frog what do you see?

I see dirty dishes calling out to me.

Purple cat, purple cat what do you see?

I see crumbs on the floor beckoning to me.

White dog, white dog what do you see?

I see a potty that’s waiting for some pee.

Black sheep, black sheep what do you see?

I see too much Fresh Beat Band and Bubble Guppies.

Goldfish, goldfish what do you see?

I see a bathtub filled with bubbles and boo-boos on the knees.

Teacher, teacher what do you see?

I see scattered letters that should be in a tree.

Children, children what do you see?

I see a margarita on the rocks, and it’s not for me!

Two left feet

Ever since I bought Gavin his rain boots, which are spectacular by the way, he has learned he can put them on and take them off all by himself. This has led to him being much more active in attempting to put his sneakers on as well. Also, Awesome.

The trick is to get them on the right feet. When I say *right* feet, I mean the correct feet. Every morning as we get dressed we talk about the right foot and left foot. Even when we are in a hurry, we at least say them out loud as we put them on. I know deep inside that this information is registering, although it is only demonstrated seventy percent of the time. Having only two feet there is a fifty-fifty shot he gets it right, so odds are he is definitely processing the difference.

The other morning as we were rushing around to get out the door by 7AM, I asked Gavin to go get his shoes and socks to get ready to leave as I finished packing up his french toast to take to daycare. (Gavin is a slow eater, so on mornings we need to leave by 7, I still make him whatever he wishes, usually french toast or oatmeal, and we take it to daycare to eat) I hope I never get to the day I merely toss him a cereal bar or a pop-tart and call it a good start to his day. Wishful thinking? Perhaps. But if they come, may they be few and far between.

OK, back to the feet. After getting his breakfast, my purse, and work stuff into the car, I came in to help him finish getting his feet covered. If you have a toddler, you know they reach this age where they must do everything themselves. It can be quite a battle sometimes. But I don't discourage it, because I want him to be able to do it himself. Some mornings, just a little faster....

So this is how it played out:

Gavin is feverishly trying to get his socks on his feet.

Me: "Want Mommy to help you?"

Gavin: "No, I do it myself, Mommy." (he continues to lunge forward and attempt to pull his socks over his toes.)

Me: "Are you sure I can't help you get them part way on?" (I'm watching the clock tick and realize I might be risking a speeding ticket if we don't get out this door very soon)

The clock is ticking.

*Gavin successfully gets his sock over his foot*

*He pulls with all his might to get it over his heel.*

*He is unsuccessful*

Gavin: "Mommy, it's wrong foot!" (As he looks at me with a crinkly nose like I was suppose to correct him)

*He pulls the sock off and moves it to the other foot.*

Still ticking.

Well folks, I am now assured that he knows there is a difference between right and left feet.

I pulled into the parking lot of work right on time.

I now set my alarm fifteen minutes earlier.

A bathtub moment

Gavin: "Mommy, I want bubbles." (as he pulls out his Lightning McQueen bubble-bath filled race car) 

Me: "Not tonight, honey. We need to pour the bubbles in before the tub is full."

Gavin: "I make bubbles, Mommy?" (said in a question tone while he splashes like a raving madman)

Me: (sighing and wiping water from my face and arms) "Gavin, look at me, you got me all wet!"

Gavin: (without a hitch) "Put it in the dryer, Mommy."

Now why didn't I think of that?

I think the emphasis that I wasn't happy about being soaked was misunderstood.

Welcome to the world Garrett

On Thursday, May 12th, my cousin Bryan and his wife Val welcomed their son Garrett Charles to the world!

Their daughter Avery was born just two days after Gavin. Guess I better get on it....hee hee

Congratulations Had family and welcome to the world Garrett!

Garrett Charles Had 

7 pounds 0 ounces and 19 3/4

Way #67 to save money

Max out the Pampers.

I'm so kidding....kinda.

Wonderful-ness

Did you know that "Wonderful-ness" was a word? It is. I've decided. Do you know what it means, or what it means to me anyway? It's the way I feel inside when Gavin says "Mom, you're wonderful." It's great. It's a new thing he started doing a few days ago and it still catches me off guard when he says it. It actually all began with me as a toddler. After singing the ABC's, instead of singing, "Next time won't you sing with me?" I, for some reason I don't recall, always sang, "Tell me what you think of me." And my parents would always answer with, "I think you're wonderful!" And I felt wonderful. So this is how the song ends in our house now too. "Now I know my ABC's, tell me what you think of me." And I say "Gavin, I think you're wonderful!" while tickling his tummy or doing something else to get him smiling. I sure hope he feels wonderful, because I sure do when he says it to me. Just like I did when I was little. Really wonderful.

The grass is greener

                                   and thicker,

                                   and longer,

                                   than it has been in years!

Good thing we have these new cool boots!

Now who wants to make ten bucks and come mow my lawn???

Unexpected sunshine

The sky was still slightly gray, but the sun was peeping through some rays after days upon days of rain. We have been anxious to get outside! So that is just what we did. We went out to the quarry to run around like crazy, dig in the dirt, and get a little crafty.

I thought it would be fun to try and capture some of this sunlight. I saw a few different versions of sun catcher projects, and using what I had on hand at home, came up with this version. (buying tissue paper, foam board, wiggly eyes, pipe cleaners and the like, in bulk, really is a good idea)

For our version, we needed clear contact paper, foam sheets and tissue paper. That's all folks. And it's super simple! I secured a piece of contact paper to the table and gave each kiddo a bowl of cut up tissue paper and let them stick away.

They loved it!

And between breaks to run around more, dig in more dirt, blow bubbles and eat pretzels, we had an almost completely covered sheet. The mommies sprinkled a few pieces around to finish up. (I also placed another piece of contact paper on top to seal it)

The next day I finished up the project at our house by folding a piece of foam board in half and cutting out a butterfly. The butterfly was my choice. I thought they would look pretty in the window. But I have seen all sorts of shapes and designs--some with just tissue paper stretched across poster board, some with eyes, some with sequins and stones on contact paper. This craft could be completed in so many different ways. It will be fun each year to advance the project a little bit with age.

A little help from some scissors and a glue stick and I have a very pretty window, don't ya think?
Look at that sun shine through :)

 Welcome Spring! 

We knew you'd make it!

May the 4th be with you...

 Always.

The Bedtime Snack Anomaly

After an evening outside of some much needed fresh air now that the weather has warmed and the rain has stopped, we decided to bake some cookies after bath as a bedtime snack. This was obviously ALL Gavin's idea.

How do you say no to this face after he was so pleasant all evening!

 However, I must admit that I am starting to question the intelligence of baking cookies with a 2.5 year-old at nearly 9 pm.

Are they done yet? Oh, how the waiting is the hardest part!

Some M&M's from the cupboard would be perfect to stick on top of these babies, don't you agree?!

 Whatever happens for the rest of the night, I readily admit is my own fault.

The joy of being a TODDLER

Your only job is testing the patience of your mother.