It's my morning off! Kinda...

Zachary has his first day of Mother's Morning Out today.

It's two days a week from 9 to 1. As Daniel and I were walking back to the car after dropping him off this morning, I was trying to figure out what was so weird about leaving Z behind. This isn't the first time I've dropped him off somewhere: he's been going to MOPS since he was 5 months old; I've dropped him off with friends for a couple hours, sometimes with D and sometimes not; but what was so strange about this morning? Then I realized that I've never left him for so many hours as part of a scheduled, weekly thing. Two days a week! Until May!

On our way home I kept thinking of so many errands I could run real quick, and I had to remind myself, over and over, that I'll have plenty of opportunities to run errands with just one kid - this isn't my only chance. Today I'm focusing on cleaning and organizing (which is why I'm blogging, obviously) without a little whirlwind coming behind me and undoing everything.

I'm excited for him: hopefully he'll make a friend or two, and on future mornings he won't find it necessary to walk behind me as soon as he catches sight of the room.

I love you, Little Bug. You amaze me every time I turn around. Have a great First (of many Firsts) Day of School.

Camping

I don't know if you've noticed or pay attention to the Twitter feed in the sidebar. In two more updates, the camping post will disappear, but it's still there for now. Four days ago, on Friday, we had planned on taking LB on his first overnight sleep-in-a-tent camping trip (car camping). Well, it being a holiday weekend we realized that by the time we were going to arrive at the campground (about 2 hrs 45 min from here), we may not get a spot as it's first come, first served. There are several campgrounds near us, but they all require 2 days advance reservation and 2 night minimum on weekends (3 on holidays). So we didn't plan far enough ahead.

BUT we couldn't just give up! So we "camped" in the living room.
It's hard to see his face in any of the pictures I took of him in the tent, but he LOVED it. He was beside himself this was all so exciting!

We had hamburgers for dinner, and then HAD to have a fire, because, after all, we ARE camping.

Is that the saddest little campfire you've ever seen. It's a very sad little campfire. The briquettes (because we didn't have little pieces of brush etc.) were a little wet, and the wood wouldn't catch. Oh well, it was fun to sit on the patio in the dusk. And LB loved staying up late.

So after we gave up on the fire it was time for bed. We spread blankets in the tent for padding and imported some pillows from upstairs. It's just a little two-man tent (great for backpacking because it's so light), but with three of us (incl. one who wiggles and squirms A LOT) it was really warm inside. DH gave up shortly (I think his excuse was that the cats needed to be fed). After a while LB started to calm down and I was able to slip out. About twenty minutes we checked on him and he was sound asleep.

So LB spent his first night in a tent all by himself! Such a big boy! And we got to sleep in our comfy bed (with my comfy pillow, mmm) - it was a win for all of us! lol.

The next morning Lb woke up raring to go. So we went on our hike (because what's camping without hiking?)
Isn't he cute in his hat, camo shorts, and boots? All ready to go!

Group shot. LB doesn't understand to look at the camera unless there's someone holding it. (Silly cats are the same way. Impossible to get good family portraits at home!) We were only out for about 45 minutes, but I wore my boots (because I like them, that's why) and we had our water. And even though it was rather warm and sticky, we were in long pants because of ticks.
About halfway through, naptime hit.
That's when we turned around and headed back to the car.

Look at that little head! That can't be comfy! DH says they're all rubber at that age, but still! So we went home. It wasn't quite the camping trip we thought it was going to be, but it was a good first time, so when we try to go to a real campground, LB will be a little familiar with the tent etc.

So one of the things that we hadn't spent enough time figuring out was cooking food while camping. We have a backpacking stove, but during the Whitney trip (last summer) it wasn't working quite right. PLUS we don't have any fuel. It's all in California. Well, I was browsing the free listings on Craigslist and came across someone trying to get rid of a gallon of white gas! For free! A gallon! DH is supposed to pick it up this afternoon. Isn't it amazing how things work out like that? I mean, it's free! We've been able to sell off a few things (through Craigslist mostly), so we'll use some of that money to pick up a Colman camping stove.

Weekend Snapshots

Friday morning LB and I played at a park near Vanderbilt. (We dropped DH off and had time to kill before my chiropractic appt. but not enough time to go home). There was a middle aged man sitting on a seat in the playground, playing an instrument similar to a recorder. He played several tunes, all of them lovely, none of which I recognized. Then he got up and left. He told me (after I commented how lovely the music was) that he stops for a few minutes every day on his way to work.

That afternoon I thought we should have a picnic, since LB and I enjoyed the park so much and DH had had to go in to work. (He got out before lunch though, so not too bad). Also, it was one of the first days without rain!! (And not only without rain, but WITH sun!) So after the chiropractor, we got home, had a snack, then LB took a nap and I put together our picnic and got everything ready. After LB woke up, we were headed out the door, and (I kid you not) the moment we stepped out the door, very large raindrops began to fall. Very quickly. Well, having gone to the work to pack a picnic, I wasn't going to change my plans for a little bit of rain (little bit, hah!), so we headed to the park anyway (different park). But the covered eating area had been booked for a party. So we opened up the back hatch of our SUV and had a tailgate lunch while watching the rain fall! It was great. There was just enough room for the three of us, LB in between DH and me.

Saturday afternoon, the sun came out again, and since LB had spent much of the morning watching DVDs (it was Saturday after all), we decided to take him to (yet another) park. On the way there, a car with Alabama plates was stopped at a stop sign and waved us past. Wondering if perhaps they were lost, we rolled down the window. They were very grateful for the help and were soon on their way. We continued to the park, pulled into a spot, put the car in park, looked in the backseat, and saw the most peacefully sleeping angel face. I laughed out loud. Then we ran errands (well, DH ran errands while I stayed in the car with LB and played sudoku on my phone.) And then it started raining again.

That evening DH and I finally got the stuff listed on Craigslist that we've been meaning to get rid of. We listed 25 items, including that fridge in the garage that never seemed to work. I mentioned in the ad that I wasn't sure it worked. And because we're not sure it works and because we just want it OUT of the garage without having to pay someone to haul it, we offered it for free. Within 2 hours I had 15 emails. By the time I went to bed I had 30. Twenty-four hours later, I had over 70. (If you've never listed anything on Craiglist before, there are many times that a seller is HAPPY to get 2 emails, and hopes that ONE of them will actually show up to buy the item.) Obviously I wasn't asking enough. So even a broken fridge, as long as it's clean is worth something. Oh well. As nice as it would be to make some money off that thing, at least we can be sure that someone will take it away.

On Sunday the forecast was clear, so we played hooky from church and went to the Renaissance Festival. We got there just after 10 (when it opens) and didn't leave until 4:30 (it closes at 5). So much fun! LB enjoyed it much more than he did last year. I've uploaded the pictures to Shutterfly, and there's a video of the full-armored jousting here.

Tonight I'm responding to Craigslist emails, wondering how many of them will stand me up (two, so far), and getting ready to kick DH off Sacred as soon as I post this :)

Late Night Lovin' on my Boy

So I'm headed up to bed (at 11:30, oops) and I'm picking up toys and such along the way (Lego pieces strewn about, a book ok my bed, a zippy cup in the middle of the entry way, the contents of my nightstand drawer spread out on the floor) and it just makes me smile! Even though I'm tired and our house is a mess, I love seeing the evidence of our little one who's been sound asleep for hours!

(I'm posting this from my phone - we'll see how it goes!)

Posted via Pixelpipe.

Time Well Spent

DH has a lot of work to do this weekend (as always). So the plan was for him to get as much done as possible while I took care of LB. But LB had different ideas: he is absolutely insistent that his daddy read to him. We tried switching places, DH even tried hiding, but LB would not be gainsaid. It's really the sweetest thing in the world when he chooses to spend time with one parent. He doesn't consistently choose the same parent every time, so there are never hurt feelings. I don't know why he does this sometimes. Other times LB is perfectly content with either parent, or he plays by himself. But not this afternoon. So DH is sitting on the couch and reading the books that LB brings over to him. He'll still have to get the work done, but it can wait.

The radio is so mean

LB loves VeggieTales. He would watch them all day long if he could. His favorite DVD is the Silly Songs Collection.

This morning, Mike Nawrocki, one of the creators of VeggieTales, is on the Doug & Kim Morning Show. So, naturally, they played the VeggieTales intro song. As soon as it started, LB looked at the TV, and before the song had ended, he had turned the TV on and dragged me over so I could get everything working. I tried explaining that it's not on the TV and I kept pointing at the radio, but he dissolved into tears anyway. <feigned indignation> What a mean trick! He can hear the intro song, but there's nothing to watch! They're messing with my baby's world model. </feigned indignation>

Speaking of messing with LB's world model, DH got a little grumpy at me last week for doing just that. I was trying to watch American Idol, and since it's music, I thought LB would enjoy watching it with me, rather than putting him to bed before it starts. He watched some of it at the beginning, but I guess because I was muting the commercials he had a hard time staying focused. So, since HE wasn't interested in watching, NOBODY could watch: he kept turning the TV off. I dug the TV remote out of the drawer so I could keep my behind firmly planted on the couch.

Poor baby! He would turn the TV off, and it would turn itself back on! He couldn't figure it out!! He'd turn it off, it'd turn right back on. Then he'd turn it off, and it would stay off for a little while, so he'd turn it on, and then it would turn off, and then back on! And this continued for quite some time!! Over and over... (It was during commercials). I was laughing so hard. I realized I was teasing him, but the confusion was so cute. I could just see his little brain working, trying to figure it out. He didn't realize he was missing a piece of the puzzle - he had never seen the TV remote before, we don't usually pull it out (the volume is controlled by a different device).

When I told DH about it later he didn't seem to find it as funny as I did. Guess you had to be there...

Horsing Around

5 Minutes for Moms is hosting a photo contest of rambunctious kids. The prize is a rocking horse! I know LB would love to have a rocking horse to play with.

Here's a semi-recent picture of LB at play, taken last October. He crawled in the box all by himself and back out too. Pretty good for only having learned to walk two months before! I also took a video of it, which you can see here.

He's such a cautious little thing, this is as rambunctious as he gets! (Case in point: for his first birthday party, we put a chocolate cupcake with chocolate frosting in front of him. He poked it with one cute little finger. He didn't even try to pick it up, let alone taste it. So Mama had to resort to drastic measures: I picked up the cupcake and held it for him to take a bite. He did eventually get the idea.)

Head on over to 5 Minutes for Moms to enter the contest yourself!

Learning From Your Children

Never trust that because your child is being quiet and you can see the top of his head over the couch that all is well. I was enjoying my coffee, surfing the internet (okay, reading blogs), and LB was quietly sitting on the couch. I should have known better!! When he got bored of whatever he was doing and I had to stop him from climbing over the couch into the forbidden computer area, I saw what had occupied him so long: he had gotten hold of a container of Vaseline and its contents are now smeared all over the couch. Eww!! I am SO grateful that we have a cover on the couch! (I was grateful before, because it's not a very pretty couch, but now I'm even more so.)

Next up on today's Parade of Daily Activities:
take a shower wash couch cover

Nicknames

I am terrible at coming up with nicknames. It just doesn't come naturally to me. In fact, I will continue to call a person by the name that was originally used when I met them. For my bro- and sis-in-law, that means using their shortened names (Beth and Ben) even though now that they've graduated from college they're preferring their lengthened names (Elizabeth and Benjamin). (I met my DH's family when we were all in high school - thanks to Boy Scouts!)

But when my son was born, it was completely different. Not that any nicknames I come up with are that unusual, but they are nicknames nonetheless. I call him Little Bug, Baby Boy, Big Boy, and Little One (I call him by his name too, no worries.) My favorite is Little Bug - he's had that one since he was born (he looked like such a little bug!) What's funny is other people use my nicknames! (At least, I think it's funny. Do they have the same problem I have with coming up with them? Are they afraid we'll get upset if they come up with their own? I dunno) So DH will use the one I used most recently, and SIL likes Baby Boy. The funniest is MIL: she picked up on the Little Bug, but either didn't hear it right or purposely changed it - she calls him Little Butt!

A Moment of Clarity

Yay, I got all my wrapping done! We're in California now (after a long night of flying on Wednesday night: snowstorm in Las Vegas --> re-routed to Phoenix --> missed connection to Ontario --> flew to LAX --> long drive home.) The wrapping station is upstairs and I have several things to wrap because we actually thought about Christmas all year long and picked up little things for people throughout the year. DH is downstairs doing "work" on the computer (found out later he was fiddling with the webservers and creating problems that wouldn't've existed if he hadn't messed with them, lol) and DS was wide awake. DH ended up being primarily in charge of keeping Little Bug (DS) out of trouble, which meant he didn't get as much "work" done. When I was finally all done wrapping everything, one of us said something about being so productive, followed by a comment about how unproductive DH was in the same amount of time. He explained that it was because he was chasing Little Bug around. I paused for a moment and looked at him, then asked if maybe he could see now why I don't get as much work done during the day at home. I think maybe something dawned on him in that moment. Whether he remembers it, I don't know, but at least I got through for a moment!!

Poop

The other night at dinner DH commented that I was brave for feeding DS with my fingers and not flinching when he got food all over my arm (DH jumps back several feet if a grubby hand moves in his direction.) I looked at him blandly and said, "I play with poop every day, why would I be scared of sticky hands?" Perspective, you know? Later, I was upstairs in the hall bathroom, playing with poop, and realized that what I had said was true: I do play with poop every day! I'm either shaking baby poop out of a diaper (we're a cloth diaper family) or I'm scraping cat poop out of the cat box (we have two cats - see pic in sidebar). Some days I get to do both. Yay for me!