Dumbest. Dog. Ever.

Otis. No, he's not snarling at anything, he just has a funky underbite!

Molly. I am sure she is standing there trying to find something to destroy.

I have two dogs. They are a cross between a shih-tsu and a weiner dog (a shweenie, I learned through the awesomeness that is google). They are brother and sister. Their given names are Molly and Otis. However, they go by many other names as well: the Moron Twins, Dweedle-dee and Tweedle-Duh, Dumb and Dumber, you get the idea. Well, last night (this morning actually) at 3:30, Molly decided to start whining to get out of her room. They are gated into the laundry room at night, we do not trust them to run wild in the house unsupervised. I have made that mistake and woken up to dirty diapers and other goodies strewn about the place. But I digress. So at 3:30 I am laying in my bed yelling shut up, because let's be honest, nice ends at midnight! Molly kept up her frantic whining and scratching, so I figured the poor thing had to go outside to do her business. So I let her out. As I lifted her over the gate, I looked at her brother and said, "You just lay there and stay quiet if you want to live to see another sunrise." Or something along those lines, a naughty word may have been thrown in. He, being the more intelligent of the two, laid his head in his paws and decided to wait patiently for his annoying sister. So I out Molly outside thinking this will be fairly quick, as it was 8'. She took off barking at some imaginary threat! Oh, I have never wanted to harm an animal as much as I did early this morning, standing on my freeszing cold porch BAREFOOT, screaming as quietly as I could (didn't want to wake the kiddo) for her to get back here right now! I finally shut the door and turned off the porch light, fully intending to make Molly sleep in the cold. I lay down and the guilt struck. I knew if I left Molly outdoors till morning, I would wake to find a little furry popsicle on the porch. So I went and got her. She finally came in, with her tail tucked right under her legs! Oh yes, she knew she was in trouble. I think she learned her lesson though, when the sun finally rose, she waited for me to feed her and let her out, rather than scratch and whine incessantly at the gate.

It's days like this when I really can't remember why I wanted dogs so badly? But that is another story, another post.

Baby, it's cold outside!

I really feel if it is going to be colder than 20' it should at least snow! If I can't go outside and play (my body rebels against the cold) then I should get to look at something pretty!

Yesterday I wanted so badly to take my little man outside so we could play until our noses and cheeks were red and then we could come inside and share a cup of hot chocolate. Is there anything better than the taste of hot cocoa after being outside in the freezing cold? I didn't think so. Yet, when I opened the door to test the temp, I about blew over. The wind was awful! Trees were falling apart! Okay, so the trees we have are a bit on the skimpy side and it doesn't take much to knock their branches off, but still. Needless to say, Brody and I occupied ourselves indoors. We did manage to run to WalMart just to get out of the house and I almost slapped a guy silly while we were there. Walking out of the store we passed a boy (man?) about 20 ish years old with two small (I'm talking maybe 1 and 2 years old) with NO COATS on!! And, they were wearing t-shirts!! Seriously guy? And of course, Dad (or whoever he was) had on a nice warm coat. I almost asked if he needed me to buy a couple of coats for his kids. The littlest one broke my heart, his face was all red and his eyes and nose were runny. Honestly, I can't get his little face out of my head! Now, I understand not everyone wants to bundle their kids for a wuick trip to WalMart, but at least grab a blanket to wrap around them on the way in and out! Okay, my vent is over. For the moment.

Brody has been sick with a little cold the last week or so. It makes him pretty whiny which makes me want to scream! He has no desire to try and talk to me when he wants something, he just whines and grunts. Once I figure out what he wants, I say it and make him repeat it, with a please tacked on. I know he is fine, but somedays I worry that he isn't talking like he should be. This could be due in part to the fact that I have three older very talkative nieces with one smaller niece well on her way! He does understand everything I say and follows directions really well (when he wants to) but I wish he would TALK!

Mike left for Quebec yesterday morning. He called last night to tell me his bag was left behind in Detroit. He is pretty ticked off, and I really can't blame him. It's happened to me a few times. Losing your luggage has got to be one of the worst feelings out there! Hopefully, the bag found it's way to his hotel last night!

Pictures and Presents!

My husband is back from the Orient! Is it okay to call China the Orient? He brought back presents as instructed. I got a very pretty silk scarf and he had some guy write mine and Brody's names on some strips of paper (vey cool) and he got two mini marble statues of some lions. Apparently, these lions are all over in China, guarding homes and things. They are pretty cool looking and they were carved from ONE piece of marble!

I am Mommy!

I guess with his father being gone, Brody has decided to (upgrade?) me to "daddy". He says "thanks. daddy" when I do something for him, "here, daddy" when he hands me something and so on. You get the idea. It's a little frustrating, I must say. Oh sure, at first it was cute and I giggled and said, "no, I'm mommy!" Then he would laugh and call me by my proper title. Now I have taken to rolling my eyes and sighing when he does it. I roll my eyes at my two year old! I wonder if he'll call Mike "mommy" when he gets home tomorrow?

Twilight

I caved. I bought the Twilight movie yesterday. I saw it in theaters last year, but I have refrained from buying the DVD. Why? I am sure it has something to do with the fact that having it in my home is sure to result in some child neglect. However, I waited until the kiddo was asleep last night before watching it and I am happy to say that although it was as good as I remember, I don't think I will feel the need to watch it again for a while. I am now ready to see the second movie coming to town this weekend! How sad is it that I, a 30 year old married woman, is so stiniking excited to watch a movie about a teenage girl and her vampire boyfriend? Really, what is it about this story that is so obsessive? It is a question I have pondered since I read the books a little over a year ago.

Sick weekend

Somehow, I stay amazingly healthy when my husband is home. But, the minutes a nasty stomach bugs decides to ruin my day, he is in Romania, or this time, China. Let me tell you, being sick is just not as much fun as it was pre-kid. I remember being sick almost like a little vacation from reality. I would call in sick to work and curl up in bed to sleep, read, and watch movies. Oh, that was blissful! Even when Mike is home and I feel yucky, I can somewhat relax in bed and try to get the rest I need. However, when it's just me and the little man, I have to suck it up and take care of him first. I guess I should feel lucky to have a pretty easy kid. Some matchbox cars and he's happy for hours it seems! I did feel guilty of course for not participating in his play much and I felt incredibly bad with it being the first snowfall and not being able to take him out to play in it! My mom did call later in the day and ask if I wanted to bring him to her house for a while, which I did. I got there and dropped him off telling her "I just feel yucky, but no throwing up or anything". Yeah, spoke a little too soon there. As I was walking back to my mini-van, I doubled over and fouled up the street right in front of my parent's house. I am sure the neighbors were thrilled about that. So I came home and relaxed in relative peace (I do have two small annoying dogs) for about three hours. By the time my mom brought Brody home, it was close enough to bedtime to put him down. And he was so sleepy from playing with his cousins at Mee-maw's house that he went right to sleep! Thank you, Lord! So I did manage to get about 9 hours of good sleep on Friday night and woke up Saturday feeling well enough to properly take care of my child. Now my concern is him getting that crap. I have a stop & shop to do today for the Pampered Chef and I cannot leave my baby with my mom knowing he is sick! I am praying like crazy that he stays healthy. Heck, I'll take a second dose of it all of it means he doesn't have to go through it!

Alone again

The hubby has left me again. China this time. China. How odd does that sound? People don't go to China. They just read about it and see it on TV. Now my husband will be in the land of the Great Wall for 9 freaking days! I am a bit jealous. It would be fun to explore China. Oh well. Someday maybe. Right now, I am pretty sure I wouldn't last very long away from my little man!
And speaking of the little guy, I think his ear infection is back. He's been rubbing it and there is a foul smell coming from it. Not what anyone wants to know, but it is the sordid truth. I still have the drops so I will use them and see what happens. If it doesn't go away, I might have to make another trip to the pediatrician. Which I SO don't want to do. I am pretty sure she will order more shots of Recephin and Brody is already traumatized from the last time!

Cookie Craziness!

Did you know that 2-year olds have a sneaky side? Well, until tonight, I thought they were pretty darn honest! Not so, as I found out when I caught my son stealing his 5th (maybe 6th) oatmeal chocolate/PB chip cookie. And of course, this was before dinner, which meant the little stinker ate nothing healthy tonight. Now, aside from feeling like a horrible mother who lets her toddler eat sugar for dinner, I am also exhausted but I know as long as Brody is playing in his room and not sleeping, I will be unable to sleep myself. Yep, at 11:00 at night, my baby is on a major sugar high. Mike had to shut the bedroom door to drown out his car noises (this is the man who can sleep through ANYTHING). I am starting to hear some breaks in the engines now, maybe he is starting to come down!

So the gym. Ah, the gym. I have been going. I missed last Friday, but that was Mike's fault. He dragged me out of town to look at a house that is the same floor plan as the one we hope to build next summer. My biggest issue with the gym is that it's BORING! Yes, I have my iPod, yes there is a few televisions, but still. I am now going to try putting favorite TV shows on my iPod and see if that helps. Maybe instead of 30-45 minutes on the eeliptical, I'll go one episode of Grey's Anatomy!

Potty Time?

Brody has taken to hiding behind chairs, under tables, or wherever he feels invisible in order to "do his business". Okay, this means he's ready for the potty, right? I mean, he understands that it is no longer alright to stand in the middle of the room and grunt while people watch. But when I try to convince him to sit on the toilet, he gets so upset! He'll sit on it and read a book when he doesn't have to go, but if I catch him heading for the back of the chair and try to take him into the bathroom, he yells "No, Mama!" So, at the advice of every "expert" out there, I am letting him decide when he's ready to use the potty like a big boy. Heaven forbid I force the issue and he spend the rest of his life in thearpy! ;)

Goodbye October, Hello November!

My dogs have decided to stay on their own time, rather than roll back with the clocks. Which meant that this morning, they were frantically scratching the baby gate that holds them prisoner during the night at 6:50. Did you get that? They woke me up BEFORE 7:00. I very calmly explained how rude their behavior was while I dished up the food. I don't think they listened to me though. Once outside, Molly stood very close to my window and barked at who knows what until I finally gave up and got out of bed for good. Rude isn't she?

So today will be my first visit to The Gym as a bona fide member. I am a little wary, as it has been over four years since I last set foot in a gym to actually exercise. I have an orientation with a trainer, whatever that means. I am pretty sure he will try to kill me, all the while telling me it's for my own good. You see, I have had a trainer before, and they are a special brand of evil. After the murderous attempts, he will ask me if I want to meet with him REGULARLY and pay money for it! No thank you, I can torture myself just fine for free!

Trick-or-Treating was a blast! Brody wanted to eat his candy right after he got it, and trying to explain the "rules" of Halloween to a toddler didn't go over too well. Mke and I finally gave him a tootsie pop and he rode on dad's shoulder's while mom looked like a nut going up to the houses (luckily we were with my nieces so I didn't look too ridiculous!). I got some very cute pictures of all the kids and then went and left my camera at my brother's house. I am sure this will result in some inappropriate pictures since my brother is forever 12 years old in spirit!

Hotels and Halloween

Brody enjoying having the King Size bed all to himself

Little Orphan Annie, an adorable tiger, and the queen (aka Maddy, Brody, and Jadyn)

How stinking cute is he?

We spent the last two days at a hotel in Hayden, ID. What is there in Hayden, you ask? Well, our hotel was attached to a VERY fun indoor waterpark and arcade! Okay, maybe it wasn't the biggest waterpark you've ever seen, but it was perfect for the three of us. The kiddie pool area was great for small kids. Of course, Brody wanted no part of it. He wanted to hang out in the wave pool and float. I am not sure if he was supposed to be in there, but the place was pretty empty and the lifeguards didn't say anything. Mike and I took turns going down the big slides and it was at the top of the FIVE FLIGHTS of stairs to get to them that I realized once and for all just how badly out of shape I am! It was sad, really. 30 years old and getting my butt kicked by a bunch of stairs!

Brody slept in the same King sized bed as Mike and I and to be honest, I don't think he enjoyed it anymore than we did! At one point during the night, I woke up to a little foot in my face. When I went to turn him around, he said "No, Mama". The kid argues with me in his sleep! He gets that from his dad. Once turned around, he decided to stay awake and talk to himself for a good hour. Needless to say, sleep was elusive for all three of us that night! In the morning, the little man slept like a sweet little angel (see above photo) until we rudely woke him up. Another hour at the waterpark, lunch at the Olive Garden, and we were on our way home!




We happened to make it home in time for the downtown trick-or-treating, so I frantically dressed Brody in his cute little Tiger costume (and I am not the only one who thought it was adorable, we saw at least five other little boys in the same costume, damn Old Navy anyway!). we met up with my brother and SIL at Subway and were off! They managed to get about two blocks ahead of us since every time a piece of candy landed in Brody's bag, he had to stop and look at it. This was cute the first five or six times, after that I was the mean momma on the sidewalk yelling at her 2 year old to get a move on! :)

The Gym

I feel like there should be Jaws-like theme music playing as I type the title of this post. You know, DA-DUM - The Gym. Yes, I joined a gym. It's time to force myself to overcome my aversion to all things exercise related and get in shape! Admittedly, my main motivation for this new venture would be the fact that the gym has a Kid's Club where I can leave my child for an hour. I'll take blissful alone time in any form, even if it means I have to do some working out to get it! Besides that, Brody needs to realize there are other people in this world besides his mother. So I will be attempting to get to the gym 3 days/week. M-W-F. Feel free to lay on the guilt trips when I "forget" to go or start making up all sorts of excuses to stay home!

10 AM and still asleep

This is killing me. I want to wake up the little guy, but I know he's feeling crappy with the ear infection and "slight cold" that the ped. informed me of yesterday. So I want him to get some rest, but it feels wierd to have my 2 year old sleeping in so late!

Outside Playing

While I went to the grocery store, Mike and Brody played outside. He got some pretty good shots of the kiddo.

Little Binkie Junkie

Last night as Mike and I were putting Brody to bed, he found an extra binkie and apparently decided 2 were better than 1! Seriously, I am NOT looking forward to taking this thing away from him!

Ear Infection

I took Brody to the pediatrician today because his right ear has been smelling kind of funky (not that I make it a habit to sniff my child's ears!) and twice I got a big hard ball of wax out of it. I didn't think it would really be an infection, he has tubes and hasn't had a problem since he got them last December! Well, there is an infection and the tubes were doing their job, I guess they are there to make sure the icky stuff drains out. So I get to put 5 drops in his ear 2X a day for a week. So fun. I hope this is the reason he hasn't been sleeping so well. At least I know I can give him some tylenol before bedtime! :)

Sweet Silence

Well, finally. after 2 weeks-ish of fighting, Brody fell asleep last night before the clock struck 10! It was beautiful. No crying, just some playing with his little matchbox cars. I, of course still stayed awake until 11:30 farming on FB and doing old lady word puzzles. But still, I went to bed knowing that for once, I won the battle!

I am thinking of writing another blog, just for fun. Hmmm...I'll think about it some more.

Homecoming and Up All Night

I decided to take Brody to the Homecoming football game last night. I figured, if he's going to stay up late I might as well do something fun! Turned out to be pretty fun! My good friend's son was crowned King, which was a little wierd. I knew him as a baby and now he is old enough to be Homecoming King! Wow, I am getting old. There were also fireworks at halftime, which Brody LOVED! He would crack up every time they exploded!

Here is Justin with his queen.It's kind of blurry, I don't think the flash was being used!

Brody and I left right after halftime. he was getting kind of antsy and it was pretty cold! We stopped at Subway to visit Grandma Pam and Cousin Jadyn. Jadyn loves to "work" at Grandma's restaurant, but apparently does not like it when I take pictures of her working. I thought this one was hilarious! She looks just like my mom when she's grumpy! Keep in mind, she is only 6 years old!

Once again, Mr. Brody decided to party with his toys instead of sleep! When it finally got quiet (about midnight) I went in to turn off his light and this is what I found:

I guess he decided that the hardwood floor was more comfy than his bed! LOL! I tried to put him back, but he got so ticked off at me! So I moved his bed over to this corner for the night and that made him happy. I guess 2 year olds have pretty strong opinions!

A night owl like his momma

It is 10:30 p.m. and I can hear Brody playing in his room. I have gone in there about four times in the last twenty minutes. I give up. Apparently, he will go to sleep when he is good and ready. This is why there will be a playroom in the next house, all those toys in his bedroom are much too rempting at naptime and bedtime. I wonder how happy he is going to be with me tomorrow morning when I wake him up at 8:00. I have been letting him sleep in however long he wants, which means he doesn;t come out of his room until about 9-9:30. I think it's time for me to crack down on the sleep schedule!

Carving pumpkins is Daddy's job now

I tried, I really did. I tried to carve a pumpkin for Brody this morning. We were bored and I was on the verge of hanging myself if I had to listen to the Imagination Movers sing one more time. So I drug in one of the five pumpkins sitting on the porch waiting to be made into a scary Halloween decoration. I got the top off and scraped out the guts easily enough. Then I tried to make a face. I got the eyes done and quit. Brody had long been done watching me (he was too scared to stick his hand in the pumpkin and help pull out the insides. So now I am offivially declaring pumpkin carving dad's job. Mike has way more patience than me anyway. I'll just do the clean up and pretend I helped!

Change of plans

The picture taking did not happen today. Brody and I went to Wal Mart and then my sister in law and her two girls came over for a while. By the time they left, it was naptime and once Brody woke up, it was time to meet my mom and nieces for dinner. It was still a good day. After dinner, we walked down to the lake and played on the toys, even though it was a little bit dark out. The kids all loved it! Brody took his bath, played with his cars and is now in his room, NOT CRYING! Please, Lord, let this not be a fluke.

Mike left this morning for Romania. He is planning to call me from Amsterdam tonight. It is so wierd to have my husband be in a different country so much, but he loves his job, and if I am being totally honest, I like it too. Not that I don't love my husband, but he has travelled for work since I met him and I don't know how we would handle being together every single day! :)

I managed to clean under the couch and chairs today, which may not sound like a big deal, but it is something I am always saying I will do later. I really need to make it a weekly chore, it was pretty dusty and gross under there! And I found one big spider hiding behind the chair, trying to make his home in my nice warm house. EW!

2 year picture plans

I have decided that this year, I will do Brody's picyures myself. Last year, we paid quite a bit for his one year pictures, and while I am not complaining about them (they were too cute!) I think I can do just as well, for so much cheaper! We'll see though, maybe I am not as good as I think I am! :) If I can get the little monkey to sit still today, I will take some pictures and post them later!

Bedtime Battles

Apparently, I jinxed myself and bragged one too many times about how well my child goes to bed. Usually, it took nothing more than a binkie and a blanket and he was good to go! The last 3 to 4 nights, he has thrown the worst fits at bedtime! I am at my wits end. He spends a good hour to an hour and a half freaking out. I thought he was scared of the dark, so I out a night light in his room. No luck. I rock him till he's alomst asleep and the minute I lay him down in his bed, he's screaming and crying. Mike rocked him till he was completely asleep and he still woke up and freaked out! I am now doing the "cry it out" thing and going in at five minute intervals to put him back in his bed and calm him down. Nothing is working!! I fear you will be reading about the crazy lady in the paper if this continues! Oh, and as an added bonus for me, Mike leaves tomorrow for 6 days. Yay.

The Pumpkin Patch

We took Brody to the pumpkin patch today and I think it was a hit! He loves anything that involves being outdoors, so it was a safe assumption that he would have fun! Mel, LeeAnne, Jadyn, Madyx and LeeAnne's sister and her two kids came along also. All the kids were having a blast finding their "perfect" pumpkins. Then Mike spotted a tiny field mouse running towards a pumpkin and the kids all went nuts! They chased that poor little mouse all over and I would like to think the furball made it safely home, but Jadyn informed me she accidentally rolled a pumkin over top of it, so who knows? Anyway, here are some pictures of the day!

Our little mouse friend

Some pictures!

Here are some new-ish pictures of the little man taken during the last month or two! We are going to the pumpkin patch today, so I am hoping there will be more later!

We were in the car wash in Soap Lake and it was scaring him, so he used his blanket to hide his face! We were laughing SO hard!

The night of his 2nd birthday, just family and the neighbors joined us for cake and BBQ. He really enjoyed his cake!
Here he is standing on the swim platform of our boat, he likes to get really close to the edge and give his mother a minor stroke!
Driving the boat
Wearing my headband and smiling like a doofus. This is what happens every time we tell him to smile!

Been awhile...

I am a terrible blogger! And really, there is no excuse, I have more than enough time to sit and write (type) about our days! I swear I will do better! I don't think anyone else reads this anyway, but it's still fun to go back and see how far we've come!

Brody-Wow, where do I begin? Brody is amazing. He is learning and growing every day! He keeps me laughing on a regular basis. It's hard to remember what life was like before he was here!

*He is talking more, though it's not always easy to understand what he's trying to say.

*His favorite word is still "Mommy" and while it's sweet, some days I wouldn't mind a "daddy" or two thrown into the mix!

*He is very active, he cannot sit still for very long at all. This is frustrating to a mommy that wants to snuggle and read stories occasionally!

*He loves his cousins and is great at torturing Maddy, who is 3.

*He eats fairly well but has days where I swear he lives on nothing but air and chocolate milk!

*He is big for his age. At his 2 year appointment, he was 37 inches and 32.5 lbs. Both in the 95-97th%. Basically, he is tall and skinny and makes me thankful for the adjustable waist pants! :)

Mike and I decided to start trying for baby #2 last month and I am excited to be pregnant again! I hope it happens quickly, it only took one try to get Brody. Though with Mike travelling for work so much, it may be awhile!

I started selling Pampered Chef and love it! Honestly, I am mostly doing it for the freebies right now, but I can it turning into something serious later on. Maybe when I have kids in school. Right now, my main focus is being a mommy, and the PC thing is more of a hobby.

Okay, that's my update today! Tomorrow, I will get my butt on here and post some pictures!

Brody at 16 1/2 months...

As time goes whizzing past and my little guy changes each and every day, I thought it might not be a bad idea to take a moment each month (or week, or whenever) to think about all he is doing (and not doing yet).

*He's not much of a talker, though he does say a few words: mama, dada, doddie (doggy), papa (grandpa), baw (ball), nana (banana), yeah, and of course, no-no.

*He absolutely HATES getting his diaper changed! It has become quite a challenge to get him diapered without getting bruises from his swinging feet.

*He's getting to where the high chair is no longer interesting. He would much rather sit at his toddler table and eat (and feed the dogs the food he is done with)

*He loves animals and thinks it is hilarious when the dogs lick his hands or face (which I think is gross). He also stalks our poor cat through the house, she already is wary of children thanks to all the nieces, so Brody just freaks her out. She has to hide in our bedroom most of the day (though I don't think she minds sleeping on our big comfy bed).

*He still uses a binky. Yes, my child has a binky. I was so against them before I had a child of my own. Now I don't know how I would get through a day without it! I have though of weaning him to where he only has it when he's going to bed or down for a nap, but it makes him so happy, I don't have the heart to take it away.

*He lovs to hold a blanket in one hand and rub his other hand on it when he is tired, it really is the cutest thing!

*He loves his crib when it's time to sleep. I feel very lucky to be able to put him down at bedtime and he grabs a blanket, pops the binky in, and is good for the night.

*If he could, he would stay outside all day. I would love to let him, but his little nose and cheeks turn bright red and he gets so chilly. I am looking forward to Spring and Summer more than ever this year.

These are the highlights of my little guy at the moment. I love him so much and he is at such an amazing, fun age. And even though I tear up sometimes when thinking of him in the beginning, I am really looking forward to the new things he is going to learn (and teach me) in the future!