Look Who's Sitting Up!

Friday's Feast...followed by a heavy dessert.

Appetizer: On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being highest, how polite are you?
Eight. I have good manners, but sometimes I say things that, in hindsight, could've been phrased in a different way. It's the 15% Yankee in me, I guess.
Soup: What was the last thing that made you laugh out loud?
Something Katie did yesterday, but I won't share it without her okay (see "Appetizer").
Salad: Who is your favorite cartoon character?
Spongebob Squarepants
Main Course: Tell about the funniest teacher you ever had.
I had a lot of high school teachers who thought they were funny. I guess it would have to be my second grade teacher, Mrs. Hendricks. She was just always doing goofy things. Looking back, you can see now that she really loved teaching.
Dessert: Complete this sentence: I strongly believe that ______________________.
Dogs should be neutered and spayed, and there should be strict liscence laws to breed them. You should also be required to keep track of your dog in the same way that you are required to keep track of your car. There are TOO MANY strays, and whether they've run away or been abandoned, the responsibility always falls into the hands of human, who all too often fall short. These are animals who have evolved into a creature that can't really take care of itself...it is up to us to take care of man's best friend.

The ING Quiz

Copying Mandy here, who copied it from Wondergirl...

Reading: People Magazine (ahhh, mindless drivel)
Drinking: Milk
Listening: Tree frogs after the thunderstorm
Feeling: Content with life
Watching: Just finished watching Alias...good stuff!
Snacking: Brownie
Humming: Speed of Sound by Coldplay
Wearing: Pajamas
Cooking: Didn't cook tonight, but tomorrow it'll be Chicken Delicious!
Paying: Nothing until payday
Dreaming: Of what I could do with my house if I had money for renovations
Smelling: Rain
Loving: Three adorable boys
Anticipating: A good day tomorrow, hopefully!

All Sugared Up

We went to Luke's parents to eat dinner last night and they gave us our Easter baskets since we had not seen them yet. Luke's mom made me this cute-as-a-button tote bag, which is big enough to double as a diaper bag, so I love it! Patrick got a John Deere themed basket, complete with a tractor, a book, a t-shirt and minimal candy--good call, Ma! Ben got a basket with lots of candy in it for me to eat (another good call), and Luke got more candy and a Wal-mart gift card, which I am trying to figure out how to make him spend (kidding). Maybe we should spend it on more Easter candy, which is sure to be half price at this point...

Dessert Anyone?

Jenny and Mary Kate came to visit us Friday while they were in town. Have you noticed how Mary Kate seems to adopt a lot of food nicknames? First she was Mary Cake, now she is the Creamsicle...I am getting hungry just typing this post! Well, she certainly is yummy! Jenny took these pictures. I love this one because Mary Cake the Creamsicle is cracking up at me.

T.G.I.F.F.

Click here for this week's Undressed! Today's Friday's Feast is a bit of a downer...

Appetizer: List 3 things you keep putting off.
Finishing the bathroom, quitting breastfeeding, and potty-training Patrick.

Soup: What do you feel is your greatest responsibility?
To live as God expects me to and to raise my children to be responsible adults and to live as God expects them to.

Salad: If you could have starred in any movie, which one would you have wanted to be in and why?
The original Star Wars trilogy...I would be a legend!

Main Course: What is an expectation you had as a child about being an adult and, now that you are grown up, you realize you were wrong?
That it's more fun to be grown-up. I realize now that the best time of your life is ages 3-6...then it all starts going downhill.

Dessert: When was the last time you had your car serviced?
The sticker says its time to do it again.

Clap for the bikes!

I took the kids downtown yesterday to watch the big bike race. Patrick remembers going last year, can you believe that? Ben of course does not remember, seeing as how he was the size of a walnut at the time. He won't remember this year's either because he slept through the whole thing! That kid never ceases to amaze me!

There was an ambulance nearby, as there is at all big sporting events. Patrick got to look around the inside of it. SCORE!

Let's hear it for the grandparents!

Luke and I decided quite some time ago that we wanted to get a playset for the backyard. This year we decided to make it happen for Patrick's birthday. We found the one we wanted and then Luke's parents (Ma and Pa) very generously helped us buy it. My parents (Gigi and Grandpa) came up last weekend to help us put it together. Whew! This is not the most sophisticated playset, but it still took the better part of the day to get it set up. However, Luke and my dad did a great job. That thing is solid as a rock. If a tornado were to come along, I'd feel safe securing the house to the playset!!!

Patrick "helping" with the construction...this was very exciting to him!


The finished product!
Thanks, Ma, Pa, Gigi and Grandpa!!! We love it!

Mega Trucks! Mega Obsession!

At some point in time, you may have picked up on the fact that Patrick is obsessed with trucks. The boy has got so many books about trucks, I seriously doubt you could buy him one that he doesn't already have. The other week, we went to Borders book store for a new truck book, (which he needed like he needs a hole in his head) and it literally took us 10 minutes to find one that he didn't already have. The same goes for truck toys. He has them all. I have often wanted to line up all his trucks and take a picture to put on the blog, but I don't have an entire day to devote to doing this.

Anyway, last week, his teacher sent home one of those Scholastic fliers with the pictures of all the books on them. His school book fair was this week, and the idea was to spend the weekend looking over the flier to preview what would be there. Anyway, Patrick immediately honed in on this "book about trucks" and spent the next four days reminding me every five minutes that we had to go to the "book fairy" and get the truck book. Not only that, he also became surgically attached to the Scholastic flier, which as you remember, had the picture of the truck book on it. He even slept with the flier. Thankfully, we were able to go to the book fair on Monday and pick out a book (as if there was any question of which one he wanted) and all was right with the world again.

Wilson's Water Woes

This is our dog Wilson (aka Wee-Wee). You've been introduced to him before. His major talents include: sprinkling his hair on our culinary delights, getting hair on our furniture in the middle of the night, licking up baby puke, peeing in the exact same spot every day in a vain attempt to kill all living things in a one square foot area in our yard...and chasing balls. Oh my heavens, does Wilson love to chase balls! He's freakin' ball-crazy! Today he dug up a ball in our backyard that was circa 265 A.D. and was so gross I could not even let a dog touch it. But taking it away was like taking candy from a baby. The pathetic look of dispair! Wilson is actually one of those dogs that will chase a ball nine hundred times in a row until he collapses in a convulsive heap at your feet, but even then if you pick that ball back up, by golly he's back up, too! He would rather run himself to death than not chase a ball.

However, as we live in a rather balmy climate and Wilson is unfortunate enough to have a jet black coat that sucks up the sun's heat rays like a Dyson bagless, all that ball-chasing leads to one hot and thirsty dog. Here's where the dilemna comes in. Wilson is very picky about where his water comes from. You might call him the Shannon Doherty of dogs--a canine diva of sorts. He will not--WILL NOT-- drink from the water bowl he has outside. Take the above photo for example. See the bowl of water not two feet from him? See his Gene Simmons-like tongue panting away in an effort to keep cool? What would any normal mammal do? Take a drink of water!!! Not Wilson...he would literally rather die a slow death from dehydration than drink from that bowl.

Inside the house is a completely different story. He LOVES to drink from this water bowl. It holds at least two quarts, maybe a gallon, and he would easily drink it all at once if I let him (but I don't, because then he throws up mucus all over the house). When the inside bowl is empty, Wilson is very obvious in reminding us to fill it again. He will sprawl beside it and lick it completely dry, drop by drop. He will stick his tongue up into the resevoir to try and get every last drop. And when he finally gives up, he will lay his head in the empty basin and dream of the sweet, refreshing water that is hopefully in his near future...

Happy Easter!

Last Wednesday, Patrick had his Easter party at preschool, made possible by yours truly. I signed up for it while I was still pregnant and didn't realize what a crazy person I would become when I had two kiddies. No, just kidding, it was a lot of fun to do and went a lot more smoothly that the disastrous Christmas party, which took place when Ben was five weeks old, not five months old!!!!

Here are the cupcakes I whipped up for the occasion--watch out Martha!. Which is cuter? The cupcakes or the kids? I think definitely the cupcakes.

After the egg hunt (a subject in which Patrick proved to be a gifted student), they sat down for their lunch. I thought I did pretty good with it: a choice of turkey and cheese or PB&J sandwiches, pretzels and sliced strawberries. Here's what they ate: peeps and icing. Oh, and the Kool-aid Jammers. Of course they drank the Jammers. Actually later, while they were playing, we caught them sneaking over to the food table and finishing off the sammys and pretzels...they eat well when they think they're being sly!

Good Friday's Feast

Appetizer What movie soundtracks do you own?
Let's see...Forrest Gump, Grease, Austin Powers:The Spy Who Shagged Me, My Best Friend's Wedding, View From the Top, Annie, Heartbreakers, Notting Hill, The Parent Trap, The First Wives Club, The Mask of Zorro, Indiana Jones, Star Wars

Soup How much cash do you usually carry with you?
None. I'm a debit (points, Mandy!) girl all the way. Have been for years...the rest of the world is just now catching up with me.

Salad Are you more comfortable around men or women? Why?
Men, I guess. I'm surrounded by them!

Main Course What is the most mischievous thing you remember doing as a child?
Obviously, I was the picture of angelic innocence as a child (bring on the rebuttals, Mom!).

Dessert Who is the funniest member of your family?
I think...definitely my sister-in-law Sandi. Which is why she needs to start a BLOG!!!!!!

At-home Shopping

Patrick is totally psyched about the Easter Bunny. Yesterday at preschool, he did his first egg hunt (courtesy of me--my first true soccer mom moment--more on that later) and was instantly hooked on Easter. He actually thinks that Easter is just another reason to celebrate his birthday. Without getting too over his head, I have tried to explain to him about Easter being a "churchy" day, but all he can focus on is that the Easter Bunny is going to bring him surprises. I think he is more excited about this than Christmas (although I have to say, the candy is MUCH better this time around...there are very few thing on earth better than Easter candy). Anyway, here he is browsing the circulars, trying to figure out what he wants the Easter bunny to bring him. Hope he's not disappointed by a basket of candy!

Be very very quiet...

Shhhhh...don't make any loud noises or sudden movements...we don't want to scare the little blogger bunny. I have finally gotten a picture to appear!

I took this picture last weekend. I'm sure this has been done by millions of blogging mommies worldwide, but I couldn't help it...Patrick was just so darn cute trying to keep up with his Daddy. It warms the heart, you know?

Frustration!

Yet another day has gone by where I cannot upload a picture...GRRRRR! What is the problem, exactly? Anyone got suggestions? At this point, I'd do a rain dance if someone thought it would help. I am going to have to forfeit the Pet Blog-Off!!!!!

Yesterday the fire prevention people came by our house to install new new smoke alarms. Patrick was on cloud nine. Two firemen in his house? Does it get any better? Apparently not. He followed one of them all over the house, "helping" him put up the alarms and doing whatever the fireman did. He took it one step too far, though, when he put pillow stuffing under his shirt so he could look just like the portly fella. Luckily, they thought it was hilarious. Unluckily, I can't show you the pic. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

Katie Wins!

I just realized that tomorrow is April 10th, which means that unless Katie never posts again after today (and is that really likely to happen?), then she has won the bet against Paul! Congrats, Katie, you've kept a hobby for a whole month, and you probably have more posts than all of us combined! Click here for my all-time favorite post from Cup of Joe.

"At the Old Ball Game"

Luke took Patrick to the Rome Braves opening game on Thursday night. I did not go since the game started at 7:00 and Ben's bedtime is 8:00, but I hope to be able to go to a lot of their games this season. In my opinion, these games are much more fun to go to than the Atlanta Braves, just because it's so easy. And it's just the right speed for Patrick. He loves it. He's been talking about going all winter, so this was a BIG night for him...

Here he is with Romey, the Braves mascot, who was named by a school-aged child, in case you couldn't figure that out. Patrick worshiped Romey last year, but he seemed a little hesitant this year, perhaps because he has now realized that Romey has five HUGE french fries surgically attached to his head and looks like Cookie Monster's paranoid cousin. Maybe he is worried that Cookie Monster, who is now on a varied diet, will try to eat his hair at the next family reunion?

Here's baseball great Phil Niekro throwing out the first pitch. A thrill for die-hard fans, I'm sure.

Patrick modeling his new hat for me when he got home. This smile is genuine, folks. I think he went to bed murmuring "Da na na na da na...CHARGE!"

Long live summer.

Double Whammy!

Yes, two posts in one day...how did you get so lucky? The answer is simple, my friends: Ben took a good nap.

More Undressed! fun for the fashion forward among us...enjoy!

Also, I took an extremely scientific and accurate quiz on Blogthings.com that broke down my personal version of the American dialect. I thought the results were dead-on. So even though the results chart was not deemed pretty enough to post on my super-fabulous blog, I will share the content:
65% General American English--obviously, since I was taught to speak correctly (thanks Mom and Dad!)
20% Dixie--this comes from having lived in the South for almost 27 years now. Eventually, you start saying "ant" instead of "aunt" and "sur-up" instead of "see-rup"...and well, "y'all" just rolls off my tongue!
15% Yankee--but I'm still a transplant, and you'll never catch me saying things like "Butter my biscuit" and "I declare!"
0% Midwestern and Northern-Midwestern--nope, I've got none of that blood in me, eh?

Try it out for yourself!

It's Friday...Let's Feast!

Appetizer: Name a trait you share with your parents or your children.
Stubborn streak, with both my parents and my children—although I bet my parents won’t cop to it!

Soup: List 3 qualities of a good leader, in your opinion.
Intelligence, morality, and sense of humor.

Salad: Who is your favorite television chef?
Rachael Ray…loooovvve her 30-minute meals!

Main Course: Share a story about a gift you received from someone you love.
My great-grandmother traveled to Germany just prior to World War II. In light of what was about to happen in their homeland, many Germans were fleeing the country. While she was in Bavaria, she came across a china merchant who was also planning to leave and was selling his stuff dirt cheap, trying to get rid of it. She bought 24 place settings of fine Bavarian china, plus all the accessories, and had it shipped back to the U.S. She eventually divided it up between her two daughters-in-law (my grandmother and my great aunt), and when I got married, my grandmother gave her share to me. This was a really special gift to me, because not only is it now a family heirloom, it is also something that I never could’ve gotten for myself. My grandmother died two summers later, but I’m so glad she lived to see my wedding day and help me start my home. We do not have a lot of fine, expensive stuff, but thanks to my grandmother, I can be proud of my very nice china.

Dessert: How do you react under pressure?
Quickly, but not always effectively.

More weekend pics

There was another aspect to our weekend other than playing with Joe and Katie...we had fun with Gigi and Grandpa, too! I did not get any pictures of them, but here are two pictures of the boys having fun with them:

Ben taking in the view and enjoying the warm weather while Grandpa and Daddy do yard work.

You can't see Grandpa in this picture, but he's doing what he does best--giving Patrick a tennis lesson! Look at Patrick's great form...he's going to be a natural! Of course, he's got the best coach.

This one's for Shannon...

Feeling much better today, I went outside to enjoy the pretty sunshine. I was standing in my driveway holding Ben (because that is how I enjoy the pretty sunshine, okay?) and I looked up and saw this beautiful picture--the first spring blossoms in our trees! Inspired by Shannon's nature pics, I thought I'd blog this one. It wasn't taken with a Canon Rebel Andre Agassi Super Duper 2000, but I still thought it came out darn well.

I have also been eyeing a little piece that some other bloggers have been doing called "Wordless Wednesday" (in the same mindset as "Friday's Feast"). I am not quite sure what the whole point of it is, but I plan to do more research on the matter, because to my lazy nature a post intentionally without words is pure genius! So even though this post has words, it may well be the birth of my participation in WW...only time will tell...

A Day in the Life of a Sick Mother

5:00 a.m. Awaken to raging thunderstorm. How are my kids sleeping through this? Thank God they are. Uh-oh...what's that feeling in the pit of my stomach? This isn't going to turn out well...
5:45 a.m. Thunderstorm is over. We are now under a tornado watch until eight o'clock tonight. Great. Back to sleep.
6:15 a.m. Ben is up. Time to feed. I mumble to Luke that I will call him through the baby monitor if I need something to throw up in.
6:45 a.m. Done feeding. Ben is asleep again. Stomach is still intact.
7:00 a.m. Patrick comes downstairs. He wants breakfast. Luke is in the shower, so I get up to grab a Pop Tart for him. Have to quickly clear dirty dishes out of sink in response to a massive wave of nausea. Wait. Nothing happens. Back to bed.
7:30 a.m. Luke departs for work, leaving me still in bed, feeling more and more toxic with every minute. Patrick is happily watching TV.
8:00 a.m. Haven't thrown up yet, but the toilet now needs a good scrubbing, if you know what I mean...
8:30 a.m. Back to bed. Patrick is still watching TV. We should be leaving for preschool right now. I am trying to figure out how to get myself out of bed, get him dressed and get him to school so I don't have to watch him this morning. Ben is still sleeping. I decide I will deal with these problems when Ben wakes up.
9:00 a.m. Katie calls and asks why I'm not participating in the blog-off. I have to get up to answer the phone, so I take a Zofran while I'm at it.
9:30 a.m. Patrick goes to throw away his Pop Tart wrapper, finds a banana that I tossed in the garbage the night before, and eats it. I cannot move a muscle to stop him. I give up on preschool and call Luke. He says he'll come home. Miracle of all miracles, Ben is still sleeping.
10:00 a.m. Luke arrives back home. My body now feels like it's been put through a torture chamber, run over by a tractor-trailer, then fed to lions. I turn on E! and let Luke take over.
4:00 p.m. Still watching E!...still in bed...still dying a slow death. Luke is losing his mind, I can tell. I tell him to take Patrick and go, I will be fine alone with the baby.
4:15 p.m. Realize that I will not be fine alone with the baby.
4:30 p.m. The two doses of Tylenol that I've taken today are doing nothing. The Zofran is doing nothing. I need the good stuff. I call my boss' hubby, who is my unofficial emergency physician. We talk a long time about what I can take, what I have taken, and how it will affect Ben. I hang up and immediately forget everything he said except that he's sending pills. I don't care what they are...I'm taking them.
5:00 p.m. Lisa calls. I beg her to come over and take Ben off my hands. She says she will come, even at the risk of getting sick. A true friend. She will stop and pick up the meds on the way.
5:45 p.m. Where is Lisa? I am worried that she has gotten into an accident. I'm also worried for myself--I need those drugs! I want to cry, but I'm afraid the tears will hurt.
6:00 p.m. Lisa shows up--hooray! I learn that my chatty boss, with no regard for my health whatsoever, has held her up. I devour the drugs and lie in bed waiting for them to take effect. Lisa takes Ben, who has been sitting in a dirty diaper for the better part of an hour, and changes him.
7:30 p.m. Ben is very tired. Daylight Savings Time is still messing with him. Lisa helps me get him ready for bed and then leaves.
7:45 p.m. Feed Ben and put him to bed. Once again, back to bed for me.
8:00 p.m. Vaguely remember Luke and Patrick coming home. Patrick says goodnight and they go upstairs. I finally pass out at this point, as I do not remember Luke coming back down.
2:00 a.m. Wake up. Feel so much better, thank God. But wait, what's that feeling in the pit of my stomach? This time it's dread. What if my kids get this? I pray to God to take my life before He lets that happen and fall back into a deep sleep...

Weekend Fun

Katie had challenged me to a blog-off over the weekend material, but since hers has been up there for two days and my severe illness sucked all juices out of me (including creative ones), I am going to concede to her. She covered all the high points anyway. Here are more pics of the fun:

Here's Joe and Fat-pick toasting to each other's adorableness. "Cheeries!"

Chicken nuggets, fries and ice cream at Happy Donald's. Does it get any better than this? Let the smiles speak for themselves.

Ben and Aunt Katie are both enjoying this snuggle time!

Try again tomorrow...

Am so sick. Can't blog. Maybe tomorrow.

Be back tomorrow...

Well, I have had a super-busy weekend, so as you may have noticed, not too many posts. Not to fret, I'll be back to blogging with a vengeance tomorrow! Although it seems that I may not have been missed at all...everyone's been over at Katie's blog mackin' on her little brother Andy!!!!! Go girls!