weekend with grandpa and grandma

kelvin stayed out west this past weekend instead of coming home between "weeks".

he had a great time staying with friends and making things go "boom" at the gun shop.

it was great to hear him happy and relaxed!

(but we still missed him!)

so, with daddy gone for the weekend, the kids and i went to my parents'...

the gerberas we got mom last weekend were still in full-bloom a week later.

LOVE these flowers; and the color was still so vivid, i couldn't resist.

they just made everything cheery.

before getting to mom and dad's on friday, we detoured over to goodwill in waupaca to see if we could scare up any irrisistable deals.

we caught one...

a pair of boots for cole.

cowboy boots, to be exact.

"mama! daddy... boots... feet... coley!"

i couldn't very well resist that enthusiasm, now, could i?

so we spent the $5 on the obviously never-worn boots.

by the time the weekend was over, i knew i'd gotten my money's-worth.

he didn't take them off.
for anything.
(not without a mighty good fight, anyway)

first thing in the morning?
boots.
never mind grandma, grandpa, toys, pancakes or even mama...
it was the boots.
(and speaking of pancakes, mom made her first-class buttermilk pancakes. madi ate three. they're good-sized pancakes, i might add.)

cole learned how to use the egg beater.
notice his boots were m.i.a.?
i'm not sure what happened to them either... one of the few shots from the weekend without the boots.

the kids helped grandma play the piano...

and cole was thoroughly convinced that the metronome was the ideal stand-in for a camera.
"cheese!"

cole did quite well going potty.
the boots seemed to help (at least, in his mind they did).
getting to read "once upon a potty" with grandma was pretty neat, too.

(later, i heard cole saying, "hat? no-ah hat. bird blath? no-ah bird blath. bowl? kitty? no-ah bowl." anyone that knows the book knows what he's referring to!!)

saturday night was the madrigals dinner at the high school, so mom had to go into work for that. the kids got to spend an evening with grandpa.
they took advantage of the time!!
madison thought it was pretty neat that she could stand unsupported for awhile.
(she took her first steps friday the 19th... just a few, but they were solo!).
i LOVE this shot... it looks like she's convinced that holding on to her little legs will keep her upright.
i chortle out loud every time i see it.
or laugh.
it cracks me up!

cole had a game going with george: george would 'walk' around the living room...

... go for a 'drive', take a 'walk', 'drive' some more, etc., etc.

it was pretty cute; somebody's started using his imagination!

madi wasn't about to be lefi out of the game-playing either.

she played peek-a-boo behind the rocker.

seriously.

(hey- who said they have to play together? as long as they play nice, it doesn't matter, eh?)

and of course, they BOTH had to have grandpa's complete attention.

speaking of grandpa, cole no longer says "bapa". now he says "gappa".

is it weird that i find that sad?

it means he's growing up...

~

in other happenings, events, hoopla and ado:

the week sailed by. well, it didn't at the time, but now that it's the weekend and kelvin's home for two short days, it seems to have blown past rather quickly.

madison went in for her second blood and urine test today. i picked up her u-bag yesterday so we could collect her urine sample at home; both times we've used the u-bag, it's been tears, leaks and mess. next time (if there is a next time), i'm going to ask them to catheterize her. more involved and uncomfortable, yes, but quicker, and therefore less traumatizing in the long run, i'd think.

we got our tax refund... thanks to my wonderful, hard-working husband, we are able to use some of it for a new fridge. this is BIG... we've been needing one for years. finally, a freezer that keeps ice-cream cold (as in, not half-soupy). we stopped and looked at lowe's, discovered they had the one kelvin had seen out in south dakota at the lowe's there, and even better, it was in stock, which means we could get next-day shipping. it'll be here tomorrow. i may not sleep tonight. yay!!!

eh, there's more, but i can't remember off-hand. and they don't involve photos, so i'll skip it.

*~*

happy weekend, everyone!

(edit: madi also had a weight-check after her blood-draw: she gained almost a pound (16 lbs, 10 oz WITH a wet diaper and pj's on, so now she's where she should have been at 6 months... yay!!)

not me! monday

("not me! monday originated by mckmama)

last week, when cole decided that he wanted nothing to eat all day besides cheerios, i didn't indulge him. absolutely no child of mine will survive on cheerios and milk alone. and when the laundry fell behind, we didn't spend yet another day in our pj's. and we didn't have fun doing it.  i didn't shell out an unnecessary $5 for the little cowboy boots we spotted at goodwill so that my son could be just like his daddy... and no, he doesn't love them. :)

i didn't cave in an make a stop at the grocery store for boxed mac-n-cheese (additive- and preservative-free, of course) because i was too tired to make supper from scratch. and i didn't let the kids take an extra-long bath for reasons other than that they wanted to... i'm not a selfish, "i-need-some-quiet-time" mom.

not me!

alrighty, folks... post your own "not me! monday" post!

madison's turn!!

since cole got his very own post, madi gets hers, too.

can't have the wee princess feeling left out now, can we??

although...

...if she stayed like this, she probably wouldn't notice.

only she can make a high chair look SOOO luxurious.
that's our princess!!
her chair is her throne.
and food rules.
(in case you doubt that, just see what happens when you don't refill her bowl fast enough- there's a lot of screaming and hollering and whatnot. complete chaos.)

miss big blue eyes herself.
sometimes i get lost in those peepers.
they're so deep...
and mesmerizing.

but she's got other things to do besides let people stare into her eyes.
like beat a shoe box into submission.
yup, she's a busy girl, she is!
what else is she busy doing?

• she says "beh-beh" (baby) and points to photos of babies. she LOVES them- she gets an excited grin and points so very dramatically... it's cute.


• the sippy cup is no longer her sworn enemy. she's making tentative peace with it. sometimes it still gets hurled to the floor, but there's much progress. :)


• is still in her rear-facing infant seat. poor girl.... she's got a good 4 1/2 pounds to go before she reaches the 20# mark and can face forward. she's realizing, too, that facing backward is boring. car rides have once again become loud. sigh. but, who can blame her?


• drumroll.....................................

madi

took

her

first

steps

tonight!!!!!!

~love you, baby girl~

cole, cole, cole...

...sigh...

sometimes i just can't wait till he goes to bed, other days i couldn't be more proud of him.

but all days, well, all days i love him. no matter what.

and he DOES make me laugh.

sometimes not right away, but i laugh.

or snort.

depends on the situation and level of "funny"...

like this. here he's cute, oddly happy to pose next to the box of diapers.

madi's diapers she has yet to grow into (thanks again, al!!!)

the EMPTY box.

empty because all the diapers are neatly lined up (still in their packages, thank goodness) in front of the door.

why?

you'll have to ask him.

i tried but didn't get a coherent answer.

sigh.

and then there's cole attempting to get read to leave.

all on his own...

he looks good from the front!

noooooot so much from the back.
when i asked him to get his own shoes so i could wear mine, he refused.
all attempts at reasoning with him failed.
several distractions were offered.
distractions were futile.
reasoning round two?
success.

toddlers. hmph!

so- this post IS about cole... because lately he's been quite entertaining.
very very stressful at times, but quite interesting overall.
let me explain:

• at my parents' house on saturday, he took my mom by the hand and led her down the hall, stopping at the basement door. he said "gamma, down 'ner?" grandma told him no, it was too dark to play down there. so he replied in an exaggerated whisper, "i' ceam down 'ner!". he was right- the ice cream IS in the basement. but we so very rarely have it there, it was amazing that he remembered that.
• since the kids have had colds recently, cole's been learning the difference between coughing and sneezing, since he referred to both as a burp. so... this weekend while bending down to play with his legos, he tooted and said, "mama! bum! sneeze!". yes, dear...
• he tells madi to " 'top 'cweamnin' an cwynin' " (stop screaming and crying, just for reference). nice.
• has been paying WAY more attention to what movie is on at biolife daycare than i realized... madagascar was on his mind a few days ago, apparently; he started dancing around the living room singing "i lahka moof it moof it". he was certainly movin' it, alright!
• he's getting better with the potty training... more successes, less messes... keep it up, little-big man!
• on his way to time-out, started tugging at my hand, hollering "no more!! hands off!". needless to say, that just made me whisk him to time-out all the faster, then lock myself in the bathroom and laugh into a towel. it was funny...

yes, our little man is full of funny these days!

and it's SO much fun to watch his creativity blossom.

couldn't love the little guy more!

old habits die hard

and by old habits, i mean procrastinating with posting. yeah- bad blogger!!

BUT... in my defense, we have been a little busy. with kelvin out of the state for work (rapids city, sd), i'm on duty 24-7. well, that's my usual shift, but now i'm solo. but it's ok- we're managing just fine!

so without further ado, let the catch-up commence!

(on a side-note straight from the inner part of my muddled mind: did that sound like the start phrase to a food fight to anyone else? catch-up, ketchup... anyone... ? i'll stop now.)

madison made it to the front page of our local weekly paper! her grandpa cal is proud: top right quarter, the display part!

the kids have a new storage bin for legos. the canvas bin that i thought was adorable apparently doesn't hold up to toddlers... and the wire frames poking them in the pits just wasn't working.

the new bin's bigger.

big enough to hold afore-mentioned toddlers!

this past weekend we went up to my mom and dad's for the day- mom's birthday was yesterday, but since it was the middle of the week, we thought it might be fun to take a cake up and celebrate a few days early. i made a yellow cake, mixed in some nice juicy raspberries, and topped it off with a lemon-cream-cheese frosting.

it was pretty good... and all from scratch, so cole could enjoy it too. more on that later...

anyway, there were giggles with grandpa....

... rides on the four-wheeler with daddy...

... being a (sock) monkey...

... making cut-out cookies with grandma (just like we used to do with our grandma)...

... and more giggles. with grandma, this time.

madi's able to wear the culver's outfit that my aunt and uncle gave cole when he was born. unfortunately, cole never got to wear it because by the time he was big enough to wear it, we were in arizona and it was h-o-t. and once we got back, well, he was too big for it. so madison's enjoying it! i think i put it on cole once, just long enough to say he wore it for a few minutes.

sunday morning came and kelvin left for rapids city again.

the kids and i spent the afternoon in our pj's and had blueberry pancakes for supper.

mmmmm.

(*drool*)

he's excited, not freaked out. i promise.

see the blueberry moustache??

madi one-upped her brother and went right for the goatee.

i learned a valuable lesson: never, ever let the kids eat blueberry pancakes while fully clothed. ever.

i had to sneak this in... madison LOVES her bath! i intended to videotape her because she splashes like no other baby i know. the damage is epic. but wouldn'tcha know... she chose THIS bath to sit perfectly still. at least i got a shot of her trying to scale the tub!

and then there was cole's post-bath hair... mohawk!!

now. back to the "from scratch so cole can eat it too" cake.

i decided, after researching some more, to eliminate as many additives and preservatives from our diet. i mean, it can't be bad for us to avoid all that, but i was thinking of cole in particular. also with that, i'm avoiding artificial colors. you know, the kinds you see listed as "red 5" or "yellow 3", that sort of thing. i've been watching this very closely for almost two weeks now, even having whipped up a batch of home made chocolate syrup for his milk. i wasn't sure if avoiding these things was making a difference... that is, until yesterday. at daycare at biolife, cole got a sucker. a red, heart-shaped sucker. i didn't have the heart to tell "mee-maw" that i didn't want cole to have it. mee-maw is the daycare lady- she's one of the most kind-hearted people i know. there's a reason i say that- after hearing that kelvin was laid off for a while, she made a trip to our house with some groceries. yes, we love mee-maw!!

anyway, cole had his sucker, enjoyed it thoroughly and after about two, maybe three hours, he suddenly became this unreasonable, out-of-control mess. an "i'm-fairly-certain-that-we-may-not-be-allowed-back-at-barnes-and-noble" mess. he had the hardest time settling down for bed and today is mostly better, but slightly "off" yet.

i guess that answers my question: yes, dye affects my son. now, i'm not saying that our new choice of lifestyle (for lack of better terms) is right for everyone, and i certainly don't frown upon anyone who doesn't avoid the things we're trying to avoid... i'm just saying that i think we've found something that cole does NOT benefit from. of course, i've taken into consideration the fact that he IS a toddler and toddlers are prone to outbursts. however, he was starting to behave SO well the past few days that i have plenty of reason to believe that artificial color doesn't sit well with his system. now we're on a new adventure... part of which will involve trying to find reasonably priced foods that are natural. which brings me to another question: why is it that truly healthy food costs WAY more than stuff that's not so good for you? does that make no sense or what?

crazy.

so... we had a full week and learned a few things. now, on to the next week! :)

"not me!" monday

(joining in the fun started by mckmama)

i did NOT, during our weekly trip to target, let cole have a toy tractor from the dollar bin to avoid a potential meltdown. furthermore, i didn't have every intention of asking the cashier to please not scan it... and when my son behaved near-perfectly, i did not just pay for it and call it good enough.

not me.

i don't spoil my kids.

i also wouldn't leave my kids in pj's all day when daddy's out of state for work (not even just one day) because it's easier that way. nope- i'm ambitious and organized and never ever let my kids wear pj's all day. and i didn't join them.

and napping... when madison decided she didn't want to take her afternoon snooze, i didn't put her in our room in her pack-and-play and let her have some solitary quiet time so that i could have some me-time. nope! i'd NEVER do that. no way. and when someone mentioned how adorable madison was and wanted to know how long ago she turned one, i didn't space out and look like an idiot because i momentarily forgot what day her birthday is. just like last spring when i was asked what my daughter's name was and i drew a blank... i would never, ever do that!!!

(sorry ladies- that's all i've got. these days i can hardly remember my own name, much less what i didn't do last week...)

a boy and his hat

how this little girl can be so bright-eyed after an almost-sleepless night, i have no clue.but she is. bright-eyed, that is.

with the kids being a bit (lot) goobery and outrageously crabby, we still had a good giggle this morning:
cole got goofy with his hat.

the child can remember to tuck his strings into his jacket (or in this case, his shirt) but can't listen when we tell him other simple things.

crazy how that works, huh? :)

yup- he's our source of entertainment!

although sometimes he's not- right now, at this very minute, he's in his room in a time-out (this one will be slightly extended. he can come down when the tantrum stops.), screaming at the top of his lungs. but... you know... ya gotta have those moments too.

finally!

i got a call from the clinic today regarding madi's tests results.

they came back normal, with the exception of a little blood in her urine sample and her liver levels were a bit elevated. however, dr h didn't think it was urgent enough for her to be brought in right away. he wants her back in a month to retest.

i'm relieved.

now i can (maybe) stop sleeping with my ear on the baby monitor just so i'm sure she's breathing.

and i learned something horrifying about human nature the last week. human nature is awful.

it transcends any other instincts we may have.

"like how?", you might ask.

have you ever thought back to a time in your life (maybe it was recent, maybe it's ancient history) when your heart was broken? you trusted your heart, mind, and emotions to someone and it backfired. your heart broke. you were miserable. you maybe even hesitated to trust anyone ever again, vowing to never ever let yourself be vulnerable, loving and open to anyone ever again.

we all have, i'm sure.

this past week, i've found myself pulling away from my kids.

i heard the collective gasp- it's ok, i've ashamed myself with this one, i know that.

.

let me explain further:

a parent's love for their children is probably the fiercest and most unbreakable bond to ever exist. it defies the parameters of nature, when you think about it. our basest instincts are to put ourselves and our needs first... the only exception (or rather, the 'easiest' exception) being our offspring. when we have little ones, they are the center of our world and nothing stops us from protecting them.

so... coming back to the pulling away. i can't believe i'm admitting this, but consider it therapy. :)

when this whole scary week started with madi, the first thing i did was nearly squeeze the poor baby to death. sitting in the clinic with her, not even the jaws of life could have taken her from my arms. i cried. i panicked. i held on to her for dear life, because in just a few minutes, i was shoved head-first into so many "what-if's" and the results possible outcomes. so maybe i was being a little over-dramatic about it, but in the immediate situation, well, there was cause for concern. i was abruptly reminded that nobody is immortal. nobody. not even my own children.

so why did i start backing away instead of trying to get closer to my kids? "closer" would be the obvious option, the one i should have chosen. but i didn't. my heart was afraid of breaking.

all of a sudden, all the time, love, tears, emotions, EVERYTHING i'd invested in my kids was threatened. my babies are my loves, my life. my fight-or-flight response kicked in, in full-flight mode. ready for take-off. or whatever you call it.

i'd have rather, in that point in time, have not loved than loved and lost.

because the thought of losing one of my babies was too much.

my heart didn't want to break and it was trying to protect itself.

now that madi's ok (as far as we can tell- there may be other tests later on, we'll see), now that we're not bombarded with constant worry and "what-if's", now that all the concern seemed so over-the-top, i am ashamed of the temporary detachment.

then again, it's natural. i'm thinking it's the "denial" phase of grief. not that we'd had anything to grieve about. not immediately, anyway- it was the fear. the anticipation of what COULD happen, the potential grief that might have been experienced, had those tests had a different outcome.

now that my brief "bad mommy" stint is over, my kids are more loved than ever.

yes, i love my kids.

that's why my heart was afraid.

wouldn't yours have been?

no news...

... should be good news, right? that's what they say. we're still waiting for madi's tests results. waiting.

waiting.

i despise waiting.

it makes me anxious.

in the meantime, we're keeping positive... not necessarily positive that she's 100% fine (although that's what we'd prefer, obviously), but positive that whatever the outcome, we can deal with it.

she's positive too...

positively CUTE, that is!

:)

cole's started a new "phase" the last few days.

he thinks he needs to have a pacifier too.

only natural, i suppose- wanting to be like his little sister,

there will come a day when SHE'LL want to be like HIM...

... but i'm fairly certain it won't involve copying this.

silly boy!

the winter whirl (the annual clintonville winter festivities) was this weekend. our neighbor suggested i reserve a table at the craft and vendor fair for my hats. so i did. it didn't cost much, so if only one hat was sold, i'd get my investment back.

well, i DID sell one. i sold one off the table and took 5 or 6 orders for sock monkey hats. who'd have thought?? it went better than i thought- and i'm going to be b-u-s-y the next few days, filling orders. but it's all good. i made a little profit on it, so i'm happy. out of all the designs i've done, i never thought the sock monkey hat would be the winner. it's not a new idea- you can find sock monkey-inspired hats other places, but i guess there's no suppliers around our little town to compete with. the majority of my orders are for adults. middle-aged adults. blame it on the nostalgia. (i think it's cute, for the record!)

please excuse the idiotic grin- the model has no clue how to pose for the camera. :)

(top view... some people wanted a longer 'do for the "hair", others wanted the classic pom-pom)