Another attack...

...of mommy brain.



Surprise: postponed due to my inability to understand a calendar and use a clock. Ahem. Sorry about that.



However, we have another shocking development.



I've lost my battle to keep my toddler off the couch. He's outsmarted the second step behind our planning ahead when we agonized over what couch to buy.



1) we choose a dark couch to repel stains that were sure to arrive once a baby did and cat hair (ewwww)



2) we bought a sofa sleeper, so it's higher up, and in my brain, naturally defended itself against climbing toddlers. Not too mention it could welcome wonderful family to come help care for said baby once he arrived.



But not mine.



Hopefully he doesn't soon disprove reason #1. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

BTW: He just now crawled across the couch to watch himself on video. And 'dat?' is the cat he saw coming down the stairs. He loves that cat!

Cutie Pie

Over the last few events and gatherings, I've snapped a few sweet photos of my oh-so-sweet boy. And I recently redecorated (sorta) our bathroom (I'll post some before and after's one of these days...) and the walls called for some eye candy. So, I obliged... and then I thought I'd share some delicious baby with you too!

Psst....Stop back tomorrow for an exciting surprise.

A transformation

Before....

After...

Looking like a big kid!

After a week of absolutely wild and crazy hair, I decided the Booger was more than due for a 'big boy' hair cut. So far all that has been cut is along his neck and ears, which led to the predicament of a hairstyle he was sporting up to this week.

The style formerly known as a hot mess....

Look close- the fuzzy spot over on the left? Yep that's his hair. Waaay out there.

Little did I know how grown up he'd look without all those wispy strands. * The nice lady who cut off my boy's locks said it should thicken up and fill in now that *tear* his baby hair is gone.

*Nor did I know he still somehow has the remnants of baby bald spot syndrome. Sorry about that buddy... Promise I won't show these pictures to anyone. You know besides everyone here....

Monkey see, Monkey do

I don't know who started it.....

but this is how I happened upon the Booger and his friend George yesterday at naptime.

Road Trip

Summertime has given us some great opportunities this year- time in South Haven (one of our favorite places in the whole world!), lots of playing outside, time with friends, and time with family. Last weekend we were fortunate enough to reconnect with some long-lost family. As a child, my husband and his brother spent a lot of time with his single mother's parents and siblings. After his grandparents passed away and career and school moved his uncles to the UP and soon after to Texas, everyone went on with day to day business, and as with many families, didn't stay as close.

Over time, Mike has kept in touch with his Uncle Dave a few times, but this past January, as our son turned one, Dave and his family had some hard times. I don't know if the idea of how short life really is struck him, the need for family ties that had drifted and a desire for his son to know the family he loves, the fact that they now live only an hour and a half away, or all of these things combined.

Last weekend, we made the short road trip to Portage, IN. We spent an evening reminiscing with both of his uncles about times with his grandparents and family memories, joking with their four great kids, and then talking long into the night with Dave and his terrific wife of 20 years, Melany. We caught up on the last handful of years, talked a little about church, religion, and hoops (maybe someday I'll get into my thoughts about religion here...) and made plans for the next day and hopes for more get-togethers in the future. His uncle is a pastor at a great little church, that we attended with them on Sunday morning. Sunday afternoon, we joined them at the church's annual hog roast. It was a great, relaxing afternoon with friendly people and family time. The Booger spent his fair share of time eating, blowing bubbles, and running around like a madman. I was a bit too busy chasing him to catch any pictures of the trek all over the park, but the rest of the fun is well documented thanks to Smilebox!

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Top five reasons I love summer

5) Knowing I only have to work 4 half days a week for 6 weeks ( 3 weeks down, 3 to go!)

4) Strawerry shortcake

3) Boys in swimsuits

2) South Haven

1) Spending hours making him make this face and the amazing laugh that goes with it.

It takes a village

So, I'm all about it takes a village to raise a family. I love my friends and family, and am super willing to jump in and help out, and occasionally super willing to share the Booger with them, especially so I can sit and engage in an adult conversation that does not contain the words "poop" or "nap" or "toys", or my getting up to redirect a crazy curious daredevil toddler.

However, I question if a given person's village, should include a complete stranger who happens by their sidewalk. Mind you I don't even know whose village I was just whisking my son and his bike away from. Or where the person who is the chief of the village of 2 naughty little children was located while said children descended upon us like attention craving, yelling, pushing vultures as I desperately tried to extricate my son and his bike from their grasps.

Apparently the coolest bike ever!

Seriously! What in the world! Are you truly that busy with the rest of your life that you are completely oblivious for a matter of at least 7 or 8 minutes while your young children are outside, alone, in the ghetto? (reminder, we don't live in a particularly terrific neighborhood) Apparently these folks are okay with any random stranger, ahem, villager, stopping by and doing who knows what with their children. Not so much how I run my village.

The Booger and I were toddling quietly by when two little girls appeared from nowhere off of a porch and proceeded to mount my son's bike and push every button. For a few minutes, he was interested in checking out their things and it was a pretty fair exchange. With his toddler attention span, this happy exchanged turned sour quickly as soon as he realized his bike had been commandeered. However the younger girl was very interested in a toy that was complete and worked as it should (which does break my heart- very lucky for what we have).

All the while the girls yell at and hit each other, and one tattles to me that the other hit her. And I'm pretty sure how I handle a hitting child and how the adults in their home are quite different. So I advise her she should let her mom or whomever is watching her know. Thinking, "hey, this'll help, another adult will come handle them and I can get outta here! " No such luck. More time passes and the Booger is now less than pleased that he is neither walking nor riding his bike.

I pull out the polite, friendly, most-kids-this-age would-get-the-hint "We are going to finish our walk now, maybe we'll see you later". Which was promptly greeted with beeps and sirens from my son's bike.

That was still being held hostage.

I wait what seemed an appropriate amount of time and repeat my attempt at politeness. After several minutes of this, and some firmer words from me I manage to rescue the bike, pick up my son, and reunite them several feet down the sidewalk.

Only to be followed and surrounded again. One of the girls insisted on talking to me and running into my legs with her bike, while the other proceeded to push buttons on the Booger's bike.

While he was sitting on it. Yep. My space even felt invaded.

Somehow we managed to extricate ourselves again with some firm words-- including "you're pushing and hitting, we're leaving because we don't play with people who push and hit". Now I have an angry Booger under one arm, the bike in the other hand and am going back to our house.

And I'm still being followed!

Around the corner.

No longer in sight of their house.

By golly, you can believe I didn't want them to follow us all the way home. I'm pretty confident they would let themselves into my house and into the Booger's toys, and never leave. So I choose to stop moving toward my safe, one child home, and start pulling out some reasons why they need to go home.

"I'm worried you are going to get in trouble, you are too far from home. You might not get to play outside anymore".

"We are going to eat dinner and are all done playing".

"You need to go home, now".

Finally, someone from the little girls' village got a clue, and proceeded to yell obscenities, that effectively summoned the girls' to return home. Guess I should've tried that.

I have no plans to turn left at the corner ever again. No need to re visit that village.

I'm sure you've been anxiously waiting for me to get off my derriere (by the way... very funny if you look that up on Wikipedia) and post some pictures from Chicago.

The Booger is at a great age where everything is amazingly interesting and exciting. He just wanted to be a part of, really right up in everything. I have a handful of pictures of him, face to the glass, trying to step into the tanks, puzzled why he couldn't get in there and touch the super cool swimmy things. He was so puzzled by a searay exhibit - the glass tank continues under your feet, so it seems that you're standing on top of the rays. He tried so hard to get them, even jumped up and down trying to make it in there!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

You know you're the mother of a boy when...

you see this article. And realize that's something you really ought to know.