paris hilton has nothing on this boy

This morning Ed had planned a special boys' day with the little man, so I could tackle a mama project.

Little e has been fascinated with buses ever since we watched Papa both board and return home on one. So the plan was that Ed would take him downtown on the bus to the new library. Norman and I dropped them off at the bustop after our walk and watched them board. Then I walked home with a dog and an empty stroller. I probably either looked like A. A crazy person with her imaginary baby. or B. A very irresponsible mom who hadn't yet realized she had lost her baby -- or if she had, she was a little too calm about it. I was tempted to scream, "HAVE YOU SEEN MY BABY??!?" to anyone who passed by, but I didn't.

I arrived home giddy with anticipation. Not that I wanted to see the boys go, but if you know me, you know that I detest clutter and the project I planned was to organize the little boy's gianormous wardrobe. We've been very lucky that we've gotten lots of great hand-me-downs from his cousin Gavin (who conveniently was born in the same month making the seasons and sizes work out well). We've also received bags upon bags from our friends who have older boys -- twins -- so everything's in duplicate. Then there was the bag of barely-worn shoes from Ed's coworker. And add to that the at least one new t-shirt that comes with every visit from Grandma and Grandpa J. It all equals two dressers and seven paper bags filled with clothing ranging in sizes up to, from what I can tell, 4.

The good thing about getting all these hand-me-downs, is I never have to buy the boy any clothes. The bad part? I never have to buy the boy any clothes. Seriously, we have barely bought the kid a thing clotheswise. Sometimes I get a little sad that I can't pick out new things for him. It's just too hard to justify -- hard, but not impossible. Recently, I did break down and bought him one of these. I mean really, how could I not??:


But the amount of clothes I sorted through this morning is just obscene. I felt so guilty seeing things that still had tags on -- things that never saw the light of day because they were the wrong size for the season. Like that adorable fuzzy bear jacket pants. Or the little Petite Bateau outfit that we received as a gift that probably cost an arm and a leg.

We dress our kid like ourselves, not very fancy. So as I was sorting through all the fancy Talbotts kids clothes from the twins, I giggled when I imagined our little guy in them. I'm not sure he's a Ralph Lauren sweater vest sporting kid. Then there were the Hanna Andersson clothing-- where do I put the size 100??

So I'm done. Well actually only Phase 1 is done. Everything's in drawers but everything over a size two is still mixed together. All the old clothes are put into Rubbermaid containers and will go up in the attic until we decide whether or not we'll try for a Raisin 2.

In the meantime, note to self: Must buy stock in Rubbermaid.

things we probably should've thought twice about saying around parrot boy

1. What the...!?!?
2. Uff da!
3. SUCKA!

cuppa joe

After a somewhat challenging day with the little dude yesterday, today I decided that no matter how cold it was outside, we were going to the park. So we did.

Then, since I've been coffee deprived for a few days, I decided we'd go to the neighborhood cafe. Mama needs her caffeine. And I bribed the boy with the promise of animal cookies once we got there.

Wow, he must've been campaigning for good boy of the year. We sat down on the couch like two adults sharing coffee. Since this place is very kid friendly, I totally expected to be sitting in the corner as he poked away at the collection of broken, germ-petrie-dish toys. But instead, we took a few books and a puzzle to our table and laughed as he stole little bites of my scone. It was a motherly awesome morning.

On our way out, he scrutinized the messiness of the floor and attempted to pick up bits of muffins he found. I wanted to buy some beans before we left because I couldn't go another day without coffee in the house. At the counter he pleaded, "Hold it, hold it, hold it!" (he likes to do his part, holding my wallet and giving the cashier my money at every transaction). The cashier responded, "He's making me a little anxious." HA! I'll give you anxious Ms. Barrista!

I think the key to our best days is keeping us both out of the house as long as possible.

Well, that and caffeine.

the best things about fall

1. Crunchy leaves
2. Flannel shirts
3. Rosy cheeks
4. Home runs

our other, more angry, son

a mother's worse nightmare

My child likes Elmo.

As much as I tried to avoid it and give Grover the hard sell, it looks like Elmo has won him over.

It started with a few innocent games of keyboard-o-rama on Sesamestreet.com. But today he requested Elmo on TV. Up until then, he hasn't really been very interested in Sesame Street. So before his nap, I pulled an episode of Sesame Street off the Tivo and we fast forwarded to Elmo's World. There he sat. Captivated. Apparently under some sort of trance brought on by Elmo's annoying, er, I mean, adorable high-pitched voice.

In the meantime, I will not stop my campaigning efforts. Long live lovable furry ol' Grover!! I just have to remember, it could be worse.

It could be Barney.

now if i could figure out a way to channel his energy and enthusiasm

After announcing that we'd be making a trip to the library, the little man did about 28 laps around the house at full speed screaming, "LIBRARY BOOK! LIBRARY BOOK! LIBRARY BOOOOOOOOOOOOOK!"

quotes of the week

Heard from stroller while on walk:
Papa. Itches. Butt.
(Lately the boy's been a tad preoccupied by his bug bites and itching. Either he had an itch on his rear this time or it was some sort of commentary regarding his papa.)

Said after watching drool fall from his mouth onto the step:
Yuck. Mess. Mama. Clean.

Heard while on the changing table:
More powder. Tickles.
(No comment.)

labor day weekend '06

Except for the part where I was hurling (and something else) my guts out the entire first night from apparent food poisoning, our long weekend up north was splendid.

There was a new game invented this year called "Tickle Splash." When you throw the rock into the water, you get tickled. Raisin loved it and made many a request for tickle splash. He also enjoyed the basketball hoop which we were able to lower enough for his amusement. But that wasn't half as fun as watching papa act like a caged gorilla on the other side of the fence.

Our trip to the grocery store the first night there, I needed a box of tissues. I let little e pick it out for me -- a huge metallic box of Puffs tissues decorated with balls. He loved that box of tissue -- until we got it back to the cabin and he realized there were no balls inside the box (even after lifting the tissue to make sure they weren't hiding underneath).

He's now at the point where he recognizes toys and recognizes that he wants them. Being inside this touristy shop with their American-Indian-inspired knick knacks, made me recall the days when we'd go on family vacations when I was younger. When you're on vacation, every toy at the touristy stands looks so much cooler than it actually is. We ended up buying Raisin this little blue tractor. I hope that when he plays with it he remembers our stop at the logging camp to feed the goats and llamas.

driving under the influence (of balls)

...hi

I still have to sort through all the photos before I can post about our (mostly) delightful long weekend up north. Until then, I leave you with this.