Rolling, Rolling, Rolling

Yesterday, Seth and I were sitting in the living room watching t.v., and Maggie was laying in the floor playing. Next thing we knew, she sounded muffled, and we looked down to find her flipped over on her tummy! I can't believe she's getting mobile already! Wasn't she just born? She's such a smiley little thing now - she loves it when you tickle her feet. We were looking back at the pictures from our trip to Gatlinburg when Carter was 4 months old today. It is amazing how much the two kids look alike! Then we pulled up some video of my niece Rebecca from when she was about 18 months old. We couldn't believe how similar she and Carter were at that age! They looked alike and their mannerisms were so similar - they are still a lot alike, I think.

Carter is still recovering from vacation. He was so tired when we got home from church today. He actually requested to go to bed to take a nap, but he wanted me to lay down with him. I climbed into his bed with him and fell asleep. Apparently, he did not. I woke up with Carter and Seth staring at me, and toys piled all over me. Carter must have piled toys on me for a while and then he went to hang with Daddy. Seth said he asked Carter where Mommy was, and he said, "I don't know." So they came back and found me asleep in his bed. The kid didn't know what he was missing. That was a good nap. That's about it for tonight. I have to go put the dishwasher going, or no one in this house will have anything clean to drink out of tomorrow!

Home Again

For those of you who didn't know, we've been in the Smokies since Sunday. We rented a cabin way up on a mountain for the week. It was beautiful, the weather was gorgeous, and we had a fabulous time. Once we got through the first night, things went smoothly. But let me tell you about the first night.

Seth put Carter to bed in his own room upstairs. We were so pleased with how well he went down in a strange bed. We went downstairs to watch some t.v. and put Maggie to bed. Our bedroom was downstairs, so once we got Mags to sleep, we went to bed, too. The fun started about 1:30, when the light came on and Seth said, "Do you hear that?" How could I not? It was the world's loudest cricket. I was still half asleep when I felt the THUD! "Did you kill it?" I asked. Nope, but he had killed a wasp that was on his pillow. I was awake now. The cricket sounded like it was on the wall above our heads, specifically in this heart-shaped wall decoration made of twigs. Next thing I knew, Seth is standing up in the bed with a book in his hand, telling the invisible cricket, "You're going down!!" The problem was, the cricket wouldn't show himself. But I'm telling you, he was the loudest bug I've ever heard. This went on for a while before Seth looked at me and said, "You're going to blog about this, aren't you?" Oh yeah.

The cricket got quiet for a few minutes, but then Carter woke up crying around 2:00. Seth headed upstairs to check on him and ended up sleeping with him the rest of the night. And I use the term sleeping loosely. Apparently Carter flops around the bed like a fish when he sleeps. Meanwhile, I was still downstairs battling the cricket. He was a tricky little fellow. He would get quiet until I got settled down in bed, and then he'd start up again. As soon as I would turn the light on and get out of bed again, he would be quiet again. I guess he finally got tired of the game and let me sleep after a while. But then at 5:30, Maggie decided that not only did she want to eat, but she wanted to play, too. Finally, about 6:30, I turned on the t.v., and that seemed to lull both of us back to sleep.

Even after a crazy first night (and no, the cricket never made another appearance the entire trip), we had a great time the next day. We went to Dollywood and discovered that Carter is a little daredevil at a theme park. He rode everything that he was tall enough to get on and loved every minute of it - even the little roller coaster and the big ferris wheel!

The rest of the week was fun, too. We went to the aquarium, the Dixie Stampede dinner show, a science museum, and a petting zoo. Carter loooved the goats. Literally. He ran around the pen until he had hugged almost every goat.

By today, I think we were all tired and ready to come home. I like to get away for a while, but I love to come back home even more.

Dog Day

This morning started out great. Carter came in this morning and climbed in bed with me while Seth took a shower. There is nothing better than a good Carter snuggle when you first wake up. Seth usually takes Carter to Mother's Day Out on Thursday mornings, so I was going to take my time, get him ready to go, feed Maggie, and then go get my shower. Ella had a 9:10 appointment at the vet for her annual exam, so we had plenty of time. Until I found out that Seth had been called in to do surgery and would not be able to take Carter to school. Then I kicked it into overdrive. I took a quick shower, got Carter dressed, put the kids in the car, took Carter to school, and ran back home so I'd have time to feed Maggie before we had to leave for the vet.

I really hate taking the dog to the vet. I hate it on many different levels. For one, Ella is horrible on a leash. She likes to run around your legs so that the leash catches you from behind and almost knocks you over. It is difficult enough to walk with Ella alone, but let's add a 3 month old baby in a car seat to the mix. Do you see my dilemma? Mmm-hmm. Also, now that I have the kids in the back seat of the car, Ella has to ride in the hatchback part of the car, and she refuses to jump up there on her own. I have to push, prod, and eventually manhandle the dog into the vehicle. Then we actually get to the vet and the exam starts. Ella has never had a completely normal exam. The good news today - she has lost 10 pounds and is down to 75 pounds. I thought we were doing great until the doctor told me that now she only needs to lose 10 more pounds to be at her ideal weight. Then the news got worse. Ella has a severe food allergy which has made her ears so inflamed that only 10 percent of the canal is open. So now she's on prednisone, antibiotics, two ear drops, and the most expensive hypoallergenic dog food I've ever seen. To top it all off, I have to take her back in two weeks for a recheck - on a day that I will have both kids in tow. I actually asked the receptionist if it would be okay if I called them from the car when I get there next time so they can send someone out to help me bring Ella inside. And I was quite serious. Luckily, they said they would help out.

When we got home, I pulled the car in the garage, closed the door, and opened the hatchback of the car. I thought Ella, who plowed me down jumping out of the car at the vet's office, would really be excited to get back to her house. Uh-uh. The stupid dog refused to get out of the car. I asked sweetly. I begged. I tried the aloof, "Well, Maggie and I are going inside. You just come on in when you're ready." approach. Nothing. She was bound and determined to stay in that car. I left the car door open and the door leading into the house open thinking that she would follow us, but after I had changed Maggie's diaper and clothes, I realized she wasn't coming. I had other places to go, so I really needed to get the dog out of my car. I put Maggie down inside and went back out to work on Ella. I tried threats, but I'm pretty sure she knew I was bluffing when I told her that I was going to take her back to the vet's for more shots. Then I tried pulling her out by the collar, but the collar was too loose and it came off. Then I nothing to pull her with. I finally had to climb into the car, wrap my arms around her, and drag the crazy fur ball out the car, the whole time growling, "Do you know how much money I spent on you today?" Ingrate. Well, I better run now. I would tell you some of the cute things the kids did today (Maggie can almost get her toes in her mouth now!), but I have to go force feed my dog expensive medications. I must really love this dog.

A Rainbow in the Dryer

"What could this be?" you ask. Well, let me tell you. Crayons in the dryer. Yep, crayons. A red one and an orange one to be precise. They were left in one artistic little 2-year-old's pocket. I opened the dryer today to take out a load of the kids' laundry, and was greeted by a rainbow. The inside of the dryer looked like someone tie-dyed it. The crayon was actually melted into the metal. It doesn't show up as well as I'd like, but here's an idea of what it looked like.

Of course, the entire load of laundry was covered in crayon, too. I really didn't think that any of it would come out, since it was dried in. Lucky for me, if you google Crayons in the Dryer, you come up with this wonderful page of people who have posted ways they have gotten crayons out of clothes and off of their dryer. For the dryer, I used ceramic cook top cleaner. It took about an hour, but it did get it all off. I put the clothes back in the washer, filled it with hot water, detergent, OxyClean, and Goo-Gone and let them soak for about 2 hours before I put it going. Amazingly, the crayon came out of everything except for a couple of socks and the mattress pad for the crib! I can tell you that I will check Carter's pockets religiously from here on out!

As I was scrubbing my dryer, which is not an easy task, I was thinking to myself, "This is not funny. I can't believe I'm having to do this." Sometimes I can find humor in situations like this quickly, but today I had a hard time. Before I started cleaning the dryer, I asked Seth if this was a sufficient reason to ditch our current washer and dryer and splurge for the awesome front load, enormous capacity washer and dryer that I covet so much. He said it was not. This did not help me find the humor. Then he had to leave for a meeting while I was left scrubbing and taking care of two kids, and on top of that, all three of us have colds. Still no humor. Then I started scrubbing the dryer, and Carter took my roll of paper towels and tossed it in the washer full of water and clothes to "help" me. This was getting less and less funny by the minute. But as I continued to clean, I had to lean further and further into the dryer. It was at this point, I felt two little hands, drumming on my rear end. That's when I realized how funny this must look, and I had a little chuckle. Not a belly laugh. Just a chuckle. Some days you're doing good to just find the chuckle.

New Pictures of the Kids

I took the kids (with some assistance from Sue-Suz) to have their pictures taken today. We got some really good ones of each of them individually, but together just wasn't happening today. That's okay. I really only meant to have Maggie's done, but since Carter was going to be with me anyway, I figured I might as well get a few in his Easter outfit. I wanted some good ones of Maggie in her baptism gown, and I think they turned out great. So, without further ado, here are the pictures.

A Rainy Day Can't Get Us Down

Does anyone else remember that commercial from the 80's? "A rainy day can't get me down, with Care Bear shoes from Buster Brown. Spread a little sunshine all around, with Care Bear shoes from Buster Brown." Okay, maybe I'm the only one who remembers that commercial so vividly. I guess I really wanted those shoes as a kid! Anyway, I guess you've figured out that it rained a lot today. We always have to work to entertain ourselves when we're stuck in the house all day.

We started out the day with a little cooking. Carter helped me make pigs in a blanket. He was quite the little chef! I thought he would lose interest quickly, but he stuck with me the whole time. He actually wanted to cook some more after we finished. We may have a budding chef on our hands. Now I just have to talk Seth into that kitchen set!

Later, we set up a tent in the living room. We read under the tent. We colored under the tent. We sang under the tent. Tents are good for hours of fun.

Maggie did a little rolling practice on the floor before settling down in her crib for a good rainy afternoon nap.

The sun finally came out late this afternoon, and we escaped to church for Wednesday night dinner. I'm not sure who was happier to get out of the house - Carter or me. After church, it was back home for baths and bedtime. It's supposed to be sunny and warm tomorrow. Don't look for us to be in the house much tomorrow!

Sleep, Glorious Sleep!

Whoo-hoo! Maggie has decided to sleep through the night for the past 4 nights! We're talking 8 or 9 hours at a time! Carter didn't sleep this well until he was 7 or 8 months old, so this is a pleasant surprise. She's staying awake more during the day now that she's sleeping more at night. She smiles and laughs, especially at Carter. We're going to go have some new pictures made on Friday morning. If any of you know my lack of self-control with buying pictures of the kids, you will be prepared for the onslaught of pictures!

On a completely different topic, I know that those of you with kids have experienced the complete lack of bathroom privacy that occurs once your children become mobile. Since we started potty training with Carter, this has been taken to a new level. I now have my own bathroom cheering section. First, Carter likes to announce, "Mommy's going to the potty!" Then, there's the praise, "Yea!! Mommy tee-teed in the potty!" Finally, there's the farewell as we flush, "Bye Mommy's tee-tee!" How can you not feel special when someone is cheering for you just because you went to the potty?

That's about it for us tonight I guess. Maggie's crying...I better run!

Hippity Hoppity

Well, the Easter festivities are officially over around here. We had egg hunts Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. Carter got the concept a little bit better this year. Instead of picking up one egg and wanting to sit down and play with it, he actually ran around and picked up quite a few eggs this time. We had a cold front come through this week, so I had to bundle up the kids to go to both egg hunts. I believe it was in the 30s for the Saturday morning hunt! I had the worst time getting us out of the house Saturday morning, so we didn't get to the hunt until after almost all of the eggs had been found. Luckily, I was rescued by a kind parent who had some extra eggs. He hid them specially for Carter, so everyone was happy. Of course, once the egg hunt was over, someone looked at Carter's feet and said, "Carter must have put his own shoes on today!" I looked down, realized his shoes were on the wrong feet, and thought, "Hmm. I should really just let her think that Carter did this to himself." Then I decided that you don't get much lower than blaming your mistakes on a two-year-old, and I admitted, that I was the one who can't put shoes on correctly.

Carter was fun with his Easter basket this morning. He doesn't get the whole Easter bunny concept yet, but he was excited about the basket of goodies. He ran to his basket and started digging through it. Then he looked up and said, "Oh cool!! I like it!!" Hmm. I guess Carter hears me saying, "Oh cool!" a lot. Sue-Suz gave the kids Charlotte's Web for Easter. Carter insisted on watching part of it before church this morning. His eyes got so wide when the animals started talking. He turned to Seth and said, "Daddy! Animals are talking!!!!"

After church, I had high hopes of getting some good pictures of the kids in their Easter outfits. This was not to be. Maggie decided that this was a good time to cry inconsolably. Carter decided that he might have to poo-poo in the next hour or so, and had to have both his pants and underwear off just in case. After about an hour of holding out hope, Seth and I gave up and decided that we'll just dress them up in their Easter outfits again another day and take some pictures. So, Easter is over, but I still have plastic grass all in my carpet as a reminder of the festivities. That, and a two-year-old who crashed hard tonight when he came down from his Easter candy sugar high. Think I'll go crash next.

I Feel Pretty

It's been a day of makeovers in our household today. Some planned, some not so planned.

First, my car got a little makeover-new tires! We switched the carseats to Seth's car this morning, dropped my car off, took Carter to Mother's Day Out, and dropped Seth off at work before Maggie and I took off to get our morning errands run. The car switch threw Carter for a loop. Every time he was in the car with me today, he kept saying "Momma's in Daddy's car. Where's Momma's car? Momma's car's at work? Daddy and Momma's car? Carter's in Daddy's car with Momma." I think the kid will be glad for things to go back to normal tomorrow!

Then I continued the makeover process with a trip to the hairdresser. I go through cycles with my hair, and today I decided that it was time to go short again. So, three pounds of hair later, I've got my new, cool summer hairdo. I went in with a picture of a haircut with lots of layers. Hollye took one look at it and decided that I, who dry my hair while sitting on the bed reading a book (and sometimes simultaneously nursing the baby), needed something a littler simpler and easier to fix. She was right, and I love the new cut and love that I can still read a book while I dry it!

Everything progressed normally until I was trying to cook dinner tonight. Carter was back in my bedroom quietly watching Snoopy. Or so I thought. I was cooking hashbrowns on the stove, when Seth came home from work and went back to see Carter. Moments later he came back to the kitchen with a very purple Carter, saying, "Did you know he was doing this?" I have recently gotten some new makeup that is all in powder form - even the eyeshadow. The very purple eyeshadow. And Carter had made himself over with it from head to toe.



Seth immediately put him in the tub and cleaned him off, while I discovered the next makeover of the day: the carpet in our bedroom, which was now purple also. So we've spent the evening trying to de-purple our child and de-purple the carpet.

Carter is in bed now, so I'm hoping the only makeover that happens for the rest of the night is that the huge pile of unfolded clothes in the floor turns into neatly folded and put away laundry!

Keeping a Straight Face

I have had the hardest time keeping a straight face when trying to discipline Carter lately. It all started the other night when we were having trouble getting him to stay in bed. We would put him in bed, close the door, and come sit down in the living room. A few minutes later, Carter's door would open and we would hear him doing what he thought was sneaking down the hallway. Then we would see this little head peek around the corner. Then he would laugh hysterically at himself. Now, Seth and I really do not enjoy this little game, but this particular night, it was just funny. We knew that one of us had to get up, with a straight face, and sternly put Carter to bed. The problem was, we were both turned away from him, trying really hard to regain our composure, so he wouldn't know we were laughing. I finally thought I had it together, but as soon as I stood up and looked at him, I lost it. Oh well, guess I lost that battle.

Today, Carter was on a roll. I noticed a very suspicious silence in the house while I was feeding Maggie earlier. I called to Carter several times, and of course, no answer. I heard a rustling in the kitchen, so when I could put Maggie down, I headed in there. I was greeted by a two-year-old, holding the container of Ovaltine powder. He was licking his finger, dipping it in the chocolate, and eating it. When I caught him, he proudly announced, "Look Momma! I have chockie!" How can you not laugh? Luckily, he willingly handed over the canister and let me clean him up.

Later, I went back to my bedroom to get something and when I came back into the kitchen, Carter was standing at the open freezer with a spoon. He looked at me and said, "I want ice cream!" I said, "No, it's too close to dinner." So he said, "Okay, then I want cookie." Like that's so much better.

Later, he snagged a cookie. How do I know this? Maggie started crying while I was in the restroom. When I got to the living room to try to calm her, I found that someone else had beaten me to it. She was where I left her in the bouncy seat, but there was a pacifier laying next to her head, and a trail of cookie crumbs leading down her clothes and away from the chair. I just let the little guy stay wherever he was hiding and enjoy his cookie. A little act of kindness to your sister deserves a cookie, doesn't it?

Car Wash

Seth got home from work at about 5:15 tonight, so he decided that he and Carter should go outside and wash the car. We didn't even know that Carter knew what washing the car was (I guess that tells you how often we wash our cars!!), but as soon as Seth said it, he took off running for the garage. I finally convinced the child to let me put him in a swimsuit and crocs, since I knew that he would be drenched by the time he finished. Seth wanted to use the power washer, but despite Carter's help:

he could not get it working. So they decided to just use the hose instead. Carter helped wet down the car:

Then he helped scrub the car:

Somewhere in the middle there was a Daddy hug break:

And then came the drying of the car:

Since it was such a beautiful day, Maggie and I joined the boys outside. We stretched out in the grass (Mags stayed in her tent. She said she didn't want a tan yet.) and watched the festivities:

Carter fell and scraped his knees on the driveway twice while he was running around in the water. It seemed to worry us more than it did him. Guess all that cheering we did when he would fall flat on his face as a baby did some good! He generally has to really be hurt before he cries. (Like today when he bit his finger at lunch because he was eating chips so enthusiastically. That one brought some tears.) Anyway, I digress. Back to the car wash.

I realized that Carter has really slimmed down when I looked up and he was running down the driveway with his size 2T swim trunks hanging down around his knees. So chalk us up for one display of public nudity today. Oh wait, make it two. He needed to potty in the middle of this and was so wet that I brought the potty out to the garage and let him go. Unfortunately, the garage door was wide open, so some of the neighbors may have seen public display of nudity number 2. That's about it for us tonight. We did have Maggie's baptism at church yesterday. Seth hasn't put the pictures from that on the computer yet, but I'll post some when he does.