Temporary Good-bye to Mommyville

Last night I traded in my Mommy uniform of track pants and coordinating jacket for green satin. That's right...I tossed the non-athletic tennis shoes for heels and hit the town with my cute husband for his work Christmas party....minus the children.

A good time was had by all, especially since the buffet line consisted of Mexican food and there wasn't a chicken nugget in sight. Because I spend the majority of my time with the under three-foot crowd, I attempted to brush up on my current events beforehand in order to have something other to discuss than spit-up, diaper rash, and the theme this week at library story time. Everyone was quite gracious and I enjoyed watching my husband doing his thing among his co-workers. Sometimes I forget normal adult conversation can consist of topics other than figuring out the word's to the Elmo's World theme song or if The Children's Place is currently have a sale. It is nice to transform from Mommy into an actual adult from time to time.

Today I have left the role of festive holiday partier and become plain ol Mommy again. The green dress is back on its hanger and I figure the heels would just gather quite a few wood chips at the park today so my feet have found their way back into tennis shoes. I have already discussed how Play-doh is not meant to be stuck in one's ear and how Baby Evelyn is too young to understand the importance of not eating small toys. Seems that no one is interested in discussing such issues as potential frontrunners in the upcoming Presidental election or how to be green this holiday season, so I am stuck with discussing which Little People figures would like to ride the school bus. And that just happens to be fine by me.

Lookin' for Nebraska

"I lookin' for Ne-bas-ka."


This is what Isaac said to me the other afternoon as I entered the living room where he was playing.


Refraining myself from replying, "Aren't we all?".... because I have finally realized that sarcasm is lost on toddlers and Isaac only thinks I am funny when I talk in odd voices or make my hair cover my face.... I simply said, "I bet you can find it."


Yes, my two year old is looking for Nebraska. Yes, he knows Nebraska is a state. Yes, it is a bit creepy.


I might have mentioned Isaac's puzzle fascination awhile back. It begin shortly after he turned one when we purchased his first puzzle that simply had four large farm animals to put into place. He then moved on to your basic toddler puzzles and then to jigsaw puzzles by Melissa and Doug (24 or 48 pieces). He works them over and over again and knows exactly where each piece resides. Most likely, he can complete one of his jigsaw puzzles before I can. The other day, Tobe was cleaning up a puzzle that had been abandoned on the ottoman, when Isaac casually approached him and said, "That not right."


Recently, Isaac has moved on to a puzzle of the 50 United States. He can complete the whole thing by himself and can identify at least 25-30 states by location on the map and by individual puzzle piece. This is why his mention of Nebraska did not phase me in the least. States are a normal topic of conversation here at casa de phillips these days. My geography skills have greatly improved in the last week since the majorty of our dinner conversation revolves around Tobe asking Isaac where certain states are located.


In case you are in need of brushing up on your states or perhaps you happen to be traveling to Nebraska during this holiday season, just swing by casa de phillips and Isaac can help you out.

(***I have a video of Isaac working the puzzle but it is taking CENTURIES for blogger to publish it. Seriously, the child might be in fourth grade before it ever downloads. Check back later and maybe blogger will be my friend. Until then, I am posting this random picture of my children.....just because I can.)

All I Want For Christmas....is a package of diapers

Last night Tobe and I were writing out Christmas lists for Isaac and Evelyn, attempting to decide what they needed. As we surveyed the living room, which resembles a ransacked FAO Swartz after a big sale rather than the Pottery Barn showroom look that we prefer (however , it is minus a basketball goal which was relocated to the garage for the holiday season), we quickly came to the conclusion that there is nothing these two children need this Christmas....except diapers.

When we realized that our family was going to be blessed with children 21 months apart, we longingly kissed our bank account balance good-bye knowing that we were going to be shelling out big bucks to diaper two sweet little bottoms. I have researched purchasing diapers on-line, through diaper services (they don't just do cloth diapers anymore), and price compared the major supermarkets. Basically I discovered the cheapest diaper one can buy is through the large retail chains....when they are on sale....and when you have a coupon. When those stars are in perfect alignment, the cost of diapers is a tad more reasonable.

It is no secret that we love our Pampers brand here at casa de phillips....so much so that Pampers recently contacted us and asked the Phillips family to review their diapers and wipes on our blog. This meant free diapers and wipes arriving via FedEx, which I promptly declared the Christmas Miracle of 2007 (this was the Christmas miracle of 2005).

Because I have two kiddos in diapers, I have had plenty of chances to test these diapers out over the past week. Here is my review:

While pregnant with Isaac, I purchased diapers for him each week at the grocery store. I was not brand-specific at that point. I simply bought what I had a coupon for that week. Fast forward a few months and our home was blessed with a bouncing baby boy....who leaked out of every diaper we owned except Pampers. I am not the Mommy who loves changing a baby's clothes five times a day, so I quickly returned the other brand of diapers and became an avid Pampers fan. Pampers is currently one of the pricier diapers on the shelves, but the cost seemed worth it if it meant no leakage or extra piles of laundry.

Evelyn just graduated from Pampers Swaddlers, which are about the softest thing one could put on a newborn. Again, we never had leakage issues with these diapers except for when it was time to move up a size. Currently both kids are in Pampers Cruisers. These things are built to last and can withstand a 12 hour's night sleep. Also, we have only had minimal diaper rash issues here at casa de phillips. I believe the the lining of Pampers adequately soaks up the wetness and keeps it from baby's skin. If you have ever dealt much with a baby sporting a serious diaper rash, than you know how important such a lining happens to be.

Pampers also sent us two cases of wipes. We have not been consumers of Pampers wipes in the past because they tended to dry up easily in our wipes warmer and were on the thin side. However, the wipes we were sent were part of their new Stages line and are called Swipers. Tobe was using one of these wipes the other day on Evelyn and he proclaimed that they really do swipe quite well. In fact, I have noticed that Swipers get the job done in less wipes than the generic brand that we had been using and have decided to make the switch even after our freebies are gone.

One important thing to remember is that Pampers currently has a variety of diapers on the market, depending on the age and stage of your baby. This is great because it caters to your needs. Also, Pampers has two great marketing tools they utilize. Number 1 is that there is always a coupon in a diaper package for the next stage of diapers (for example, there is a coupon for Cruisers diapers in the Swaddlers diapers package.)to establish returning customers. The key to utilizing such a marketing trick is remembering where you placed these coupons when your baby is ready to graduate to the next stage. The second genius marketing tool is the Pampers Gifts to Grow points. Each bag of diapers contains a code, which you enter into your account on the Pampers website. You can collect points and redeem them for a variety of toys, videos, or Blockbuster coupons. We are currently saving our points to get the Ketrikke Oceana tricycle. If you would rather not mess with saving points and searching the rewards catalog, you can simply donate your points to the Today Show Toy Drive, UNICEF, or March of Dimes (or the Phillips' kids Ketrikke Oceana tricycle fund....).

Thank you, Pampers, for sending diapers our way. Now I just have to figure out how to make the package fit in each kid's stocking....




So, dear readers, what diapers are covering the sweet behinds of your babies?

The Phillips' Guide to Fine Dining

Living in a metropolitan area, we are surrounded by great dining establishments; some of which happen to be within walking distance of casa de phillips. On Saturday we chose to bypass such fine eateries and instead opted to have our breakfast in a fire station and our lunch outside a car dealership. We are a classy bunch.

Friday night when I finally found a moment to sit down, I decided to read our local paper (which we somehow get on an infrequent and free basis). The front page was devoted to an upcoming Breakfast with Santa at our local fire station. The next morning we loaded everyone up and set out for a fine meal of (free) pancakes and some Christmas festivities.

Evelyn enjoyed people-watching and Isaac was thrilled over the idea of eating pancakes while 20 feet from an actual firetruck. Santa arrived in a fleet of helicopters, accompanied by Mrs. Claus (or "that girl Santa" as Isaac has taken to calling her), Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph, and a slew of Elves (one who happened to give Evelyn a large piece of chocolate when I wasn't looking....fortunately I noticed and was able to snatch it away. Nothing ruins Breakfast with Santa like your six month old choking on Christmas candy.). We opted not to wait in the terribly long and unorganized line to sit on Santa's lap, but rather were the obnoxious parents who had him pose with Isaac in the parking lot.

Looking for the Helicopter

Random assortment of Christmas characters

Your fire station doesn't have a bag pipe/ drum band?Although we snapped quite a few pictures of our little family dining in a fire station, we did not feel the need to capture our impromptu picnic at the car dealership on film. The Phillips station wagon needed a tune-up and some new tires, so we dropped it off to be worked on. The dealership just happened to be grilling hamburgers and hot dogs for any and all customers and we are not ones to pass up free food. I told Tobe that we need to find some random church bizarre to have supper at that evening to round out our day of free dining, but we chose to eat the leftovers in the fridge instead.

If you have been reading this blog for a while now, you might have recalled me stating that I would not attempt the mall Santa because 1. He tends to be creepy and 2. It is ridiculously expensive ($17 for one 5x7 picture that doesn't even come in a paper frame....really?). Today the children and I happened to be shopping at our local mall for new tennis shoes for Isaac (his fit fine on Friday and were much too tight yesterday) when we passed Santa. There was no line and Santa was just hanging out in his big brown recliner. Isaac decided that he did want to speak to the man in red, which he did quite shyly and hesitantly. I decided since both children were being cooperative we would take a few pictures and see how they turn out. The photographer did a mediocre job of barely jingling some bells in an attempt to get smiles from the kids will she managed to hit her camera button a few times. Apparently the task of photographing Santa and children repeatedly has sucked the Christmas joy right out of her. The picture isn't great, but I now have documented proof that Isaac and Evelyn visited an official Santa this year. One day when they attempt to blame their teenage angst on the fact that we never took them to anything fun, I can whip out these pictures and prove that fun was indeed had at casa de phillips.

Finally, because I am the sentimental type, here is a picture of Isaac and Tobe on Saturday and one of the two of them on Isaac's first Christmas two years ago. These pictures melt this Mommy's heart every time I look at them.

Friendly Reminder...

It is December 1st and we have our first Santa picture of the season. I believe it was December 22nd of Isaac's first Christmas that I was still scrambling to find a decent and cheap Santa, so I am ahead of the game this year. This first meeting with Jolly Ol' St. Nick went quite well with no tears and only a smidge of hesitation. However, later in the day we encountered a Santa on stilts and a Santa/Captain Jack Sparrow (unfortunate) combination which proved to be quite confusing for Isaac as neither of these resembled the Santa with whom he ate breakfast with earlier that morning. More to come on that in another post....

As I mentioned, it is December 1st, which means it is time to get those Christmas cards out to friends and family. Check out Kinda's cards at http://www.mykindacard.com/ for some super cute designs and highly competitive prices. I submitted our order on Friday, which she promptly completed and then designed a second option for us as well (which we liked better than our original idea and ended up ordering.). Check out her cards and drop her an email if you see something you like. Then run to the post office so you can stand in line for 4 hours waiting to purchase festive holiday stamps.

Merry Christmas!

(By the way, this is my 300th post! 300! Think of how clean my house could have been had I not been typing away at 300 posts!)

A Legacy of Learning

In my former life before I was a Mommy, I was a teacher. Although I think the field of education is an excellent career choice, I actually happened to fall into this profession. Weeks before I was set to graduate with my masters degree in psychology our class listened to a guest speaker who strongly encouraged us to have a back-up plan and not count on making any money in the therapy field. Lovely. I was about to get married, my fiance was in school full-time, and we had loans from a private college. And now I needed a back-up plan.

My back-up plan turned into my career when I began teaching special education and discovered I loved it. As a young girl, who changed her quite lofty career aspirations on a weekly basis, if someone had told me I would become a teacher, I would have laughed in their face. My mom was a teacher. My grandmother was a teacher. And I thought I was soooooo not going to become a teacher. Funny how things change.

My mom visited my classroom on several occasions during those years I taught. One day after all the children had left and we were preparing to go home, my mom asked how I knew what to do in the classroom.

"It's in my blood." I told her. I spent years learning and watching my grandmother teach and my mother teach and it just spilled over onto me. What can I say, I am one lucky girl to have received such an excellent informal education.

In January, my grandmother is being placed in my hometown school district's Hall of Honors for her outstanding teacher career. Words escape me as I try to summarize her ability, love, and desire to teach. She was (and still is) amazing. Although she retired over 20 years ago, people still stop her and thank her for all the fun they had in her second grade classroom. Below is the nomination letter submitted on my Grandmother's behalf. Enjoy.

(I have edited this slightly for privacy)

To the ******* Education Foundation Board:

I would like to nominate Mrs. Marjorie M*** to the ***** Hall of Honor. Mrs. Martin taught for ­28 years in the Searcy Public School district. Prior to that she taught 3 years at Griffithville, Heber Springs, and Judsonia. Her teaching career began in S*** at McRae Elementary School. When Sidney Deener was built she rode the bus with her students holding their books on their laps across town to begin classes. She remained there until her retirement in 1985.
Mrs. M**** started every school day by reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, marching her children to a patriotic song and then leading them in singing several songs as they sat on their desktops. She had a beautiful voice and taught her children all types of songs, including Hello Dolly, Oklahoma, Billy Boy and Ashen was a Tootin’ Turk. She often said ‘you never know what kind of morning a child has had getting off to school and that by the end of their music time, every child has a smile on his face and is ready to go to work’. Before leaving the room for lunch every day she would have her children bow and sing “Father, We Thank Thee.”
Countless children sat around the reading table and learned not only to read but also learned the love of reading from her. She loved language and math. Her second graders (sometimes painfully!) learned to carry and borrow “tens” during their year with her and how to use ‘is and are’, ‘was and were’, capital letters, and periods and question marks.
Every day after lunch she would sit in a big old brown recliner and read to her children. In those days, the children would gather round and many of them would rub her feet as she read. They would actually often fuss to see who would get this privilege for the day. Any person who was in her class can remember the story of Little Lost BOBO and the different animal voices she used as she read the book. She introduced her students to the Boxcar Children series by reading the first book. Little Benny had his own special voice that her students remember today.
Mrs. M**** was known as “that red-haired teacher”. She was known to be strict and was most loved by her students. They were “won over” as she played board games with them at recess on rainy days. Expressions such as “why the very idea”, “I could snatch you baldheaded!” and “I’ve come to have a good day” were some of her favorites (and ours, too).
Mrs. M**** could be seen most days on the playground in her SAS shoes. In the winter she would have on her trademark plaid coat and a headscarf and often had a big umbrella on hot sunny days. Passing traffic often honked and waved, as she knew most people in town.
Mrs. M**** chose my name from a list of student teachers because she thought her husband was kin to my daddy. We immediately formed a bond that has lasted nearly 30 years. Not only was she my supervising teacher, she became my mentor and my close lifetime friend. I have been the envy of many other teachers who wished they could have shared that time in her classroom. Lessons I learned from her about children, teaching and life continue to have an influence on me and all of whom I come in contact.
Mrs. M**** was married to Leon M**** for 59 years. Together they raised one daughter, Janyth. Janyth and her husband Ron gave them 3 beautiful grandchildren, Joel, Lynley, and Andrew. Mr. and Mrs. M**** adored each of them and now their four great-grandchildren. Mrs. M**** has been a member of the *********** for over 60 years and was a longtime member of the ***** Beethoven Club.
I was privileged to move into her classroom when she retired and even though she is no longer physically present in a classroom her legacy continues both through me and all of her former students. I cannot think of a more deserving person to be included in the Hall of Honor than Mrs. Marjorie M*****.


Respectfully submitted,

November 29, 2005

Three years ago today, we found out we were expecting this little boy.

We haven't stopped smiling since.

Baby Boot Camp...The True Story

A few days ago I made mention of Isaac enrolling in Baby Boot Camp at casa de phillips this week. Before you gasp in horror or begin scratching your head in confusion, let me explain. Isaac is two. Last week while on Thanksgiving holiday, Isaac was two in full force. Out of the 21+ meals we consumed in Arkansas, I believe perhaps four were eaten without a major battle between Mommy and son. If I said one thing, Isaac immediately did the opposite. I was quite thankful for my little family this year, however, Isaac's sweet little name might have slipped a few notches on my list as the week progressed.



I knew it was time to get serious about his behavior when the notion of spanking him entered the picture. Although I believe in spanking as a form of discipline when needed (yet not out of frustration or simply because one has no other discipline option), we have yet to go there with Isaac and I honestly do not know if we will even go there. However, Tobe and I firmly believe in the importance and necessity of child obedience and limits. Hello, Baby Boot Camp.



Isaac isn't running around sporting a pair of orange coveralls and won't be appearing on a Dr. Phil special....ever. He is simply relearning (and relearning and relearning) that Mommy and Daddy expect first-time obedience, good manners, and respect towards everyone and everything. End of story. Our "time-out carpet" got a lot of use by noon on Monday, but has been relatively lonely since. Isaac is eating, Evelyn is glad she no longer has to hear her brother whine 24/7, and Mommy is happy. End of story.



Just so everyone knows that despite his stint (and future stints....he is two, people) in Baby Boot Camp, Isaac is still as charming as ever. That charm is currently being demonstrated in the wide collection of songs he knows and his precious singing voice. That little voice moved him right back up to my #1 spot on my Thankful List, where he shares a space with Tobe and Evelyn.

Because the Weather Outside was Frightful

Christmas-like weather.....check.



Matching brother/sister sweaters purchased last year for less than $5.00.....check.



Festive setting for an impromptu photo session....check.



Two children smiling angelically together in the same photo......um, still waiting on this one.



Christmas cards from casa de phillips might be a bit unique this year if this is the quality photo my children are yielding. I know I need to perhaps seek professional help for this photo fixation I seem to have developed. Perhaps next year. In the meantime, I have Christmas PJs to stuff my children in and force them to sit by the tree and look jolly.



Oh yeah....

Strangers inquiring if my children happen to be twins due to the fact that they ride in a double stroller and wear coordinating sweaters.....check.

From Somewhere Under the Laundry Pile...

As the holiday weekend comes to a close, our little family of four is safely back home at casa de phillips. Travel went quite smoothly (sorry to disappoint you, dear readers, with no travel woes...do not fear, we are traveling extensively at Christmas), however I am a bit confused by the new boarding procedures Southwest Airlines has put in place (no pre-boarding for families, must print off boarding passes 24 hours in advance to secure a good position in line, etc). Thanksgiving Day was rich in celebration this year as it was Evelyn's first turkey day and Isaac's first time to understand the wonderfulness that is my mother's ice cream dessert.



Because the children and I have been away from home for a week, the undesirable task of getting four people resituated after traveling has overtaken us. Alas, we did manage to put up our tree and get it decorated. We have priorities, people.

Here are a few pictures of our week, just in case you forgot what the children looked like.

Miss E. enjoying her new-found skill of sitting up unassisted on Thanksgiving Day
Due to an extreme dislike of baby cereal, we have skipped ahead to sweet potatoes. They are mildly tolerated. Yesterday, I hauled out the blender and about 10 pounds of organic sweet potatoes and made baby food. The good thing about one's baby starting sweet potatoes after Thanksgiving is that you can find them on major sale.
This little boy had a good Thanksgiving, but is really struggling with "Terrible Two" behavior issues. I told Tobe that Isaac was going to have to enter "Baby Boot Camp" this week at home. I will spare you the details for now, but it was not all sunshine and cute sayings from this little guy.

The highlight of Isaac's Thanksgiving holiday was playing with this Little Tikes Kitchen circa 1982. Yes, it was mine as a child and fortunately my parents kept it for my children to enjoy as well. Notice the rotary phone....I had to explain to Isaac that it was indeed a phone. He looked at me as if I had completely lost my mind because 1. There were no buttons on the receiver and 2.There was this strange cord connecting the two pieces together. Once this whole phone mystery was solved, Isaac played "kitchen" for hours on end.



Leaves! Isaac has been dying to play in piles of leaves since reading several fall-themed books where children play in leaves. He finally had his chance in Arkansas.
He was quite thoughtful and helped Pop-Pop out by relocating the leaves from the yard to the back patio.


Evelyn enjoys the police reports in the local paper just as much as her Mommy

We hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday season. Although we are lead to believe that this time of year holds wonder and joy for everyone, the reality is that many people's lives are less than jolly during the holiday season. Be blessed, dear reader.

Bring on the Turkey!

Saturday morning as we drove to the airport, I spied the Oscar Myer Hot Dog Mobile parked outside a local hotel. It was then that I knew our day of travels would be carefree, perhaps even enjoyable. How could a day not go well when it begins with a viewing of the Oscar Myer Hot DogMobile?



The travels did indeed go well. Southwest Airline personnel were friendly, accommodating, and only managed to slightly break my stroller (not the most awesome stroller, another single stroller). Evelyn slept for almost the entire flight and Isaac played with a single sheet of stickers. I won't mention how I had lugged a toddler-sized backpack filled with numerous activities and a portable DVD player to keep him entertained in-flight when apparently all I needed to carry was a sheet of stickers, but oh well. Kudos to Southwest Airlines for being a family-friendly airline and recognizing when a Mommy needs some help.



We have enjoyed our time in Arkansas thus far. Here are a few ways that I know I am back home:



*While shopping at the Wal-Mart, I spied a lady pushing a cart with a blanket laid in the front basket. In the blanket, a small baby was peacefully sleeping clothed only in a diaper. The only reason I saw this was because I was standing on the bread aisle gossipping with an old friend for 45 minutes.



*The headline on today's paper read, "Many Butt Chewin's: Police Chief Retires after 20 Years." One can also read the local police reports which detail such crimes as hate emails sent and threatening notes left at a local laundry mat. Such reading makes my morning coffee ten times better.



*The airbrush shop/portable trailer is open for all your holiday shopping needs.



*My grandmother called to inform my mom that Lantern Jaw Paynard had passed away. Yes, Lantern Jaw. Apparently everyone who attended high school with my grandmother had a nickname. We are forbidden to mention hers.



I joke because I am from here. In all actually, my hometown now has a Chilli's so one must assume that it is not entirely located in the sticks.



We hope everyone has a happy Turkey Day and a safe Black Friday!

A Time of Thanksgiving

The holiday season is almost upon us, which means bright and early tomorrow morning the children and I are boarding a plane to Arkansas. (Tobe is joining us later.)

Which in turn means there will likely be a long, dramatic post in the near future about my run-ins with airport personnel, security check-point fiascoes, and terribly fun it is to fly with small children alone.

Being full of holiday cheer, I am hopeful that a flight attendant does not mention having to remove either of my children from my dead body like one did last time we traveled. Because nothing ruins the holiday season like someone referring to your deceased corpse.

This week has been filled with a flurry of last-minute fall activities, school Thanksgiving feasts, picture-taking extravaganzas, and Isaac running around in an Indian headdress whose lone feather resembles more a plume rather than an authentic feather. In the midst of packing and planning for our upcoming travels, I found myself faced with the daunting task of writing a note of sympathy to a mother who had lost her adult child in an automobile accident. Amidst the constant whirlwind of activity that is a home with two babies, I was reminded of how fragile and precious life is.

As we approach this recognized time of giving thanks, I am thankful for numerous things: freedom, shelter, food, a good hair conditioner. However, I am most thankful for this small little family that makes up casa de phillips. I am thankful for the temper tantrums, the cries in the middle of the night, the insistence on wearing a t-shirt in 40 degree weather. I am thankful for sloppy kisses, sweet voices saying "Mommy play with Isaac", and a living room filled with plastic chaos. It is the presence of such things that reminds me of the presence of my little family.

That sympathy card sits on my piano waiting to be mailed out, serving as a reminder that life is unpredictable, that grief and pain reside next to joy and happiness. It is in this mixture that God calls us to offer thanksgiving and praise up to Him.

Happy Thanksgiving. Be blessed.

I'll Spare You the One with the Slinky

The Short Version...

It is fall. Evelyn turned six months old and her smile is as bright as ever. Isaac is cuteness personified.



All of this means one thing....a trip to the portrait studio.



Seriously, I should make a large sign that reads, "DO NOT ATTEMPT TO HAVE PROFESSIONAL PICTURES TAKEN OF YOUR CHILDREN. IT IS NEVER FUN." and hang it on my bathroom mirror. Somehow I have picture studio amnesia and forget how previous experiences were less than stellar. I then proceed to dress my children in their finest and march our little family to the closest studio to capture such preciousness on film for eternity.



I know the basics of having a successful photo shoot: The children must be well-rested, recently fed, and schedule appointments for "slow" periods of the week.



Check.



Yet, the basics were not enough today. I believe we were in the studio for over two hours for a 15 minute photo shoot, which generated sub-par pictures. The photographer's creative image was to photograph Evelyn holding a yellow slinky. It didn't really jive that well with her smocked dress, brown Mary Jane's, and perfectly placed bow. Isaac was quite willing to have his picture made at first, but after waiting 45 minutes, he had since changed his mind and opted instead to try and touch everything in the waiting area 52 times while singing "Jingle Bells" loudly (Thank you, retail gods, for feeling the need to break out the Christmas decor before we celebrate Thanksgiving. It inspires my child to sing "Jingle Bells" and ask multiple times a day when "it be Christmas?".).

The photo shoot came to a screeching halt when Evelyn toppled over backwards and bonked her sweet head (She is still working on the sitting thing, but is actually quite good.) She cried, then Isaac cried because he somehow got his fingers stuck in the cursed yellow slinky. I then had two crying children and had to decide whether to sit by a mother peacefully nursing her baby or a mother holding a sleeping newborn while we waited to view our pictures. We opted for the nursing mother, whose child immediately stopped eating in order to check out the noise next to him. (Many apologies were given and the Mom was super cool about the whole incident.).

Fast forward almost an hour....we had finally received our pictures (after being told multiple times, "Just five more minutes."). Evelyn had reached the melting point and was crying loudly while Isaac was pacified with the lunch I had snagged him from the food court. I am rapidly pushing the stroller towards the exit, counting the seconds until we are safe in our car while mentally detailing exactly how my complaint call will go to the picture studio's customer service hotline, when something jumps in front of our stroller. By "something" I mean a very old (yet quite mobile), very scary lady. This lady then pulls up the sunshade, which is concealing a crying Evelyn, and proceeds to make loud, odd noises in my child's face with one of the most disturbing facial expressions I have ever seen. Isaac then started crying while Evelyn increased her cries to a high-pitch wail. The lady then proceeds to tell me, "These children need a nap." (and likely some intense therapy after such an encounter with her).

I tell her that is exactly where we are headed and keep pushing the stroller. I told Tobe I don't even know if I hit the lady or not (she was standing directly in front of us). I just pushed and kept on walking, never turning around for fear the lady was laying on the ground with a broken hip.

Because Isaac is singing Jingle Bells about once every half hour, I am reminded that Christmas is rapidly approaching. Christmas means velvet, red smocked dresses, and black corduroy pants. Someone please stage an intervention before I once again have picture studio amnesia and drag my poor children in for festive holiday photos. Send me this post in the mail as a reminder and tell me to call this girl.

(By the way, aren't you glad you got the short version? Poor Tobe was fortunate enough to hear the long, detailed story complete with dramatic hand gestures and side rants.)

Six Months!

Evelyn hit the big "6 month" mark yesterday. Six Months! Seriously, the girl is growing much too fast for my taste.

To celebrate, we chose to feed her a bowl of warm, nutritious rice cereal. A cake would have been much too conventional. However, I think she would have preferred anything over the rice cereal.

She clamps her mouth shut and shakes her head to avoid this stuff, which likely tastes like the wallpaper paste it resembles (You could ask Isaac because in true sibling fashion he firmly decided that he needed baby cereal as well the first night we fed Evelyn. I mixed him up a big bowl. He has not asked for it since and has opted to stick with his mini wheats.). I pull out all the stops in attempting to get a laugh out of E. so I can shovel some more yummy goodness in her mouth. She, in turn, has perfected the art of smiling with her mouth closed.

Smart girl.

***

Here are a few things that Isaac managed to pull out in a thirty minute time period last night while Tobe was doing laundry and I was doing a song and dance routine while feeding Evelyn:

*81 Diapers (sorted by Sesame Street characters....guess I should not have taught him how to graph and sort last week)

*All of Evelyn's pajamas, which he laid in the bathroom in preparation for bedtime.

*100+ Mr. Potato Head pieces in search of the glasses, which he considers to be his personal pair

*Assortment of plastic food, cooking utensils, and pots

*A minimum of 25 books

*Entire container of Baby Einstein flashcards

He then proceed to drive his wagon (which is actually a dump truck, but he refers to it as a wagon) over everything.

Typically we make him clean up one big mess before moving on to the next one, but since both parents were occupied he went a bit crazy in his play. When I called Tobe to come inspect the disaster, he could not keep from laughing while attempting to firmly instruct Isaac to clean up. ***

Saturday you might have spied a woman skipping merrily through two (yes, two!) local malls. That would have been me. The grandparents requested the children and husband had to work, so that just left me to attend a baby shower and then shop, shop, shop! There were no sippy cups to retrieve from under sale racks and no little hands attempting to grab anything within a five foot radius. There was no stroller to push or diapers to change. Just freedom, my friend.

Also, the husband and I went out for supper at 9:00 at night! I almost forget sometimes that people actually do such things.

One lesson learned from my wonderful day of shopping was that if one wants to get the coordinating Christmas outfits from The Children's Place, apparently one must purchase such apparel before November 10th. The store was sold out as well as the online shop. Seriously, am I going to have to start purchasing Christmas clothes in August along with my Halloween costumes?

Happy Monday!

A Thought for Your Weekend

Being the second Friday of the month, the children (doesn't that sound quite formal....as if we were the VonTrapp family about to hike over the Alps) and I set out for MOPS. Isaac cried because class was over and I had the audacity to pick him up and want to take him home. Evelyn cried because.....well, just because. We think teeth, but the child has been gnawing on everything since day one so it is hard to tell.

A friend of mine took one look at me in the hall.....crying baby hanging from the Bjorn, crying toddler attempting to escape back into class.....and said "Bless Your Heart."

The VonTrapp Family we are not.

Anyway, during our devotional time at MOPS the speaker shared a sentiment she had heard at the funeral for John Weber, Chaplin for the Dallas Cowboys. Mr. Weber was quite the family man and his children spoke fondly of him at his service. One statement their father often said to them was, "We don't expect you to be spectacular. We only expect you to be faithful. Faithful to God, faithful to family and friends, and faithful to yourself."

Little statement, powerful message.

Have a great weekend!

And so it begins...

This evening while we were driving around in our car, I happened to be humming a little tune.

A tiny voice came from the back seat and said, "Um, Mommy, don't sing that song."

Good to know I already annoy him at the age of two.

Next week he will be asking me to drop him off at the corner by his preschool, rather than going through the car line, to decrease the likelihood of me causing him public embarrassment.

Sigh.

At least she still thinks I am super cool, even if she does only want to hang out at 2am.

Open Letter of Apology to Fellow Hikers

Dear Fellow Nature Trail Lovers,

I wanted to pause for a moment and apologize for any grief you might have experienced this morning on our local nature trail. I assume you visited such an area to enjoy today's crisp fall temperatures, admire some autumn foliage, and provide your body with much needed exercise.

Likely all those plans came to a screeching halt when your trek through nature was interrupted by the loud crying coming from a red double stroller (yes, it is an awesome stroller...and no, I am not the "lady who walks all over town"). I, too, wanted to enjoy today's cool weather and felt it was a good idea to take my two young children out to explore nature. We set out on a search for colored leaves and I was on my eternal quest to loose my baby belly.

However, I did not realize that removing two young children from a stroller, so they could frolic in nature, and then asking them to return to said stroller would cause quite the commotion. Apparently nature is cool and returning to Mommy's car is the worse fate imaginable.

I will refrain from offering weak excuses for the incessant wailing that was emerging from my children and will not get into the long diatribe about how Daylights Savings Time is causing havoc on my home. Nor will I discuss how my two year old son has decided that the phrase "You must hold a hand in a parking lot" means that he can simply hold his own hand and not Mommy's. The fun never ends.

My intentions were noble this morning as we set out on our hike and I hope you were able to resume your meditation in nature once our little car hurriedly exited the parking lot.

Sincerely,

A Fellow Hiker

If I Could Just Get Him to Do This at 3am....

Isaac wheeled into the kitchen this morning (He is on a "ride-on" toy kick right now) and asked, "Where da boppy go?". I directed him to the living room and he scooted away in search of the boppy. I finished preparing Evelyn's bottle.

I entered the living room to find Isaac sitting on the couch, boppy in lap, burp cloth in hand, little mouth saying, "I feed baby Evelyn." The child was on a mission and who was I to interfere?

I carefully placed Evelyn in his arms and he dutifully gave her about two ounces of her bottle before he complained of his arm hurting. I took roughly twenty pictures during this process because shots of the two of them together are quite rare these days.

Since Isaac apparently has "Baby Feeding 101" down to a fine art, we are going to tackle "How to Unload the Dishwasher in Three Easy Steps" this afternoon.