Not Now

There are the rare occassions when Little Guy is not an angel. I am almost positive there is something wrong with his ears that causes him not hear what we are saying.

Take a look below. At the 17 month mark I tried to get a nice picture of Little Guy and Jeter.

I heard Little Guy loud and clear.

Not Now!

Labor Day Weekend

I know. I know. It's been a while. As Little Guy gets more and more mobile (there isn't anything he won't try to climb) I find myself running around more and needing to do some household necessities at night and for my sanity, working out in the morning (except for this morning...my throat will not allow me to breath and I'll be gargling salt water very soon).

Anyways. I wanted to give you quick glimpse of our weekend.

Saturday brought some family to town. We just saw them in July in Chicago so it was a real treat to have them with us again so quickly. While Big Poppy, Ranger, Syd and Soy went to the baseball game, Little Guy, Aunt and I stared at a blank wall.

After we had enough of the blank wall, we hopped into the car and made sure Big Poppy had some work to do when they returned from the baseball game. (Ranger was a little upset and unable to be put to work.)

There is one less blank space on our walls. And for those of you who don't know, we did not normally have blank walls. Right before we Little Guy warmed our hearts we had the popcorn ceiling changed to a knock-down ceiling. Everything had been moved out of our home. We repainted and the pictures we had just were not us (I may not have had the best taste 10 years ago when it came to furniture or picture selections). I have been slowly finding items that we like without spending a small fortune, although there is a painting I am in love with and I may have to break down and spend a few hundred dollars on one picture. I'm not there yet but I'm getting there.

Did you think I would make Big Poppy stand there all day to finish out the space?

The weekend also consistent of more baseball on Sunday. Some of us longed around (some more than others).

There were parks to be played at.

Some of us could not get enough of the slide. And here I thought kids liked swings better than slides.

Some of us threw a fit when we had to leave the park.

GrandB and GrandC came to play with Little Guy while the rest of us enjoyed seeing Wicked. One critic was heard saying this play was better than Syd's school plays.

At in the end, when the family left, we were all sad to see them go. Once again, Little Guy had a bad night sleeping after they left. I guess he missed them already.

Swim Class, Please.

Little Guy loves the water.

I mean, Little Guy LOVES the water.

Many nights there are tears when it is time to get out of the tub. When he is at the pool (ghetto or real) there is normally a small (or not so small) fit when it is time to go. I have even seen Little Guy climb into our ghetto pool when it is completely empty, laughing at the memories of past pool experiences and smiling at the prospect of future swim opportunities. (Definition of a ghetto pool - above ground pool that is most likely an eye sore and has saggy sides to the pool. This is also known as a white trash pool which may be more fitting description of our pool since I grew up on the farm and there may or may not have been disabeled cars located on the premise.)

Recently the local warm water pool opened up registration for fall swim lessons. Registration began on July 28th. First thing Wednesday morning I completed the on-line registration and promptly received an email...returning families receive first priority, past families are serviced next and then us lowly new families will receive any of the remaining slots.

Now that a whole two weeks have passed, I wonder if it is acceptable to call the swim school and check in on the status of our registration. Luckily Little Guy is too young to grasp the concept he may or may not be in swim class for 14 (or was is 16) weeks on Saturday mornings with Big Poppy and I. I can only imagine the puckered up lips of disappointment if Little Guy is turned away.

Keep your fingers crossed for Saturday morning swimming this fall.

This is not a ghetto pool (aka white trash pool). This is a pool I would love to frequent more often...it will be two years before we return. :(

I Might Purchase a Boat - Or an Oar

Our family home is very close (so close we can see it from several different views) to a small lake. It might sound like we are living it big if you did not remember we live in the land of over 10,000 lakes. We live a good life but I will not be holding my beath for Bravo TV to ask me to become a "Real Housewife".

Living a stones throw, literally, from our lake and having so many lakes around us, some would think we either would have a boat or would want a boat. Alas, that is not the case. Maybe it is from growing up where there was a river but not much for lakes or perhaps it's because I like to move my feet over sitting on my seat, but no matter what the reason, having a boat had never been a dream or desire of mine. (However, if you have a boat, we have a cooler - call us. I know the benefit of sitting and lauging with friends.)

This past weekend has opened my eyes to the benefits of a boat. There maybe times in our lives where a boat might help you get from Point A to Point B. To say we got a little rain this past weekend is like saying intolerance of others is a little problem. Both statements are gross understatements.

It begins with Friday. Little Guy and I were on our way to a friend's house for good food, excellent company and hearty laughs. In hindsight, which came to me a few short blocks from our garage, I probably should have waited it out at home for a little while. Some of the roads were completely flooded over with water and was running over the curb. Floating down the middle of the road were used water bottles. We saw water shooting out of the holes of manhole covers. It did look a comical but all I could think was I was going to be one of those idiots you see stranded in a flooded road who need to be rescued. Thankfully our car appears to be cross bred with some type of boat and we made it just fine. (The return home was much calmer. The drainage systems had time to catch up with all the water after the heavy rains subsided.)

Based on our Friday night adventure you would have thought I learned my lesson for Saturday. As it turns out, I decided picking Big Poppy up at the airport, who had been out of town for a couple of days for work (but thanks to the storms probably won't be traveling anywhere else for a few days for a while - Thank You Thunderstorms!) was a better job for me than some taxi cab. I know how some taxi drivers can be and well, I like my hubby and wanted him safe. Little Guy, Jeter, who was not going to be stuck at home again with another night of lightening and thunder and jetted out the door to the car while I was leaving, and I buckled up to get the man of the house. The road flooding was not nearly as bad on Saturday night in our neck of the woods (a little further south was hit with the heavy rains) but it still crossed my mind that maybe what we really needed instead of seat belts was a life jacket.

You've probably guessed we are all safe and sound. My lesson learned from the weekend, I might just need to purchase a boat or at the very least put a couple oars in my trunk.

Safe and dry but refusing to eat unless sitting on Big Poppy's lap - what a daddy's boy!

Big Poppy's Barbershop

In case anyone was wondering, yes we planned on giving Little Guy a haircut, but not until hockey season is over. Although the NHL season is going on, we consider the hockey season over since our favorite college hockey team is officially done playing. :(

Thus, Little Guy can get his haircut. Unfortunately, I used poor judgement in when this should be done and how much should be cut. Let's just say there was no "Happy" in Happy Mom, when she got home from work to find Little Guy's ears were lowered.

I take full responsibility for butchering Little Guy's hair. I learned a valuable lesson in giving haircuts and that is, do not attempt without consulting your better half, and after seeing the results, I'm not so sure I should be the one doing the cutting in the future. Little Guy did manage a partial smile for me, but probably because he wasn't looking into a mirror.

Mean Mommy

Little Guy was recently introduced to these:

Click to link - no there is no money involved.

He is a big fan. There are lots "hmmm" and "yummm" and other sounds of happiness while Little Guy is enjoy some puffs. The other night Happy Mom went to put the food away. Little Guy started crying. He was very unhappy with Happy Mom's actions.

What does Happy Mom do when she realized what was causing Little Guy grief?

It became a game to her.

Show Little Guy the puffs, see a happy boy:

 

Take the puffs, see an unhappy boy and a giggling mommy.

Then repeat the above actions.

I love my wife but I need to put her in time-out. That's just mean to torture Little Guy and find it funny.

** Special Note by Happy Mom on Wednesday morning: The pictures taken above were done while I was out of the house. Who's the big meany now!?! **

Mocking Me!

So Little Guy and I are on our way to pick up Happy Mom from work, when out of nowhere he starts to laugh then stops. He laughs again and stops. Hmm, this might be a fun game to play. So I laugh. A few seconds later he laughs again. He stops, so I laugh again. A few seconds later he laughs again. This went on for a good ten minutes.

Although it started with Little Guy, his laugh changed to match mine, which prompted me to ask him, Are you mocking me? To which he laughed again! :) Today we tried to imitate the famous Woody Woodpecker. Enjoy!

Did This Happen At Your House?

Some of us had trouble staying away from the presents.

Some of us kept rolling right back there thinking we wouldn't get caught peaking.

Some of us found the shining objects too much and had to taste them ourselves.

All of us had a very Merry Christmas!

Naughty is the New Nice

Little Guy likes to cause trouble sometimes (well as much trouble as a 6 month old can cause - you know, making a mess while eating or pulling hair when he get's too excited).

You can't see "Naughty is the New Nice" very well but I thought seeing him smile while sitting was too cute to pass up.

Open Wide

Early today...

Big Poppy was checking on his fantasy baseball team.

The home was filled with Little Guy's laughter as I raised him up over my head and then down to kiss his cheeks.

And quite suddenly, I am shrieking. Little Guy is crying. Big Poppy is raising down the stairs to see what has happened.

At just the right moment, Little Guy launched this...

...into my mouth.

I shriek.

Little Guy cries because my shriek has scared him.

Big Poppy laughs.

How was your Sunday evening?

Horse Bets, Older Girls and looking for Bobby Jones

August 13

Have you ever wondered how my co-workers and I keep our language so clean between January 1 to April 15? Increased stress levels can lead to naughty words slipping out. To help keep the language clean we have “The Cuss Cup”.

The rules are normally straightforward. Most naughty words cost you a quarter. If the F one comes out, it will cost you 50 cents. On the days you roll out of bed and just know that today is going to be a bad day, a mere $5 you get an exception. I say the rules are normally straightforward because there is some debate on how to define naughty words. Apparently, there are some words that would have meant ivory soap in my mouth as a child that might not be a naughty word for one person but it would be a naughty word to someone else. The different rules for different “Cuss Cup” participants are part of the fun and I am digressing.

You may be surprised on how we use the proceeds of “The Cuss Cup” funds. We go to the horse track. Picture a bunch of CPA’s looking at the odds, debating how to bet the trifecta and then going to the window to place the $2 minimum bet. What wild risk takers we are! We have a fun evening of betting, eating and enjoying each other.

This year, Little Guy came along. He did not bring any winning luck nor did he pick any winners but he did learn some good math skills on odds, ratios and payouts. When Little Guy starts running numbers in kindergarten, I know exactly which partner to bail him out of jail.

Little Guy was not alone in his inaugural “Cuss Cup” horse betting event. My co-worker RCJ also decided to increase the chances of a gambling addiction in her little girl by bringing her to the track too. Now, little MAK is an older girl. I mean, she was soooo born in 2008. Little Guy was a bit shy around her at first (look at how well MAK poses for the camera).

However, it did not take Little Guy long to decide to reach out and touch MAK and that seemed to concern her – maybe because her daddy was right there watching very closely to Little Guy's moves.

During all the fun at the horse track Big Poppy was out searching for the next Bobby Jones. For the day, Big Poppy joined the PGA. OK, he was actually watching the PGA, in person. Big Poppy was walking the same 18 holes as Tiger Woods. I think it would be great if Big Poppy could walk and play the same 18 holes as Tiger. I could handle Big Poppy coming in second at a few of those tournaments.

Hmmm, maybe I should perfect my driving and then he could be happy with me coming in second in a few LPGA tournaments. I now have weekend plans.

Has it Started Already?

June 8 - 10

Each day continues to bring us joy. Our little guys cheeks and arms are starting to fill out. The feedings seem to be working there but have yet to fill our his little legs. The little guy is getting rather long. Big Poppy and I took him in for a quick check-up on June 10.

Length: 20.5 inches
Weight: 8 pounds 6 ounces

Even better than the growth of 2 inches putting on a little weight since birth, all has healed on the little guy's shoulder!

Look at those cheeks! Can you believe that is a newborn size onsie?

Big Poppy and I have noticed something about our little guy. Maybe it's the rock and roll music or maybe he just thinks it is sooo cute, but the little guy likes to be naughty. Take a second look at the picture and you'll see that this time he wasn't being naughty but we have caught him with a different finger. Has it started already?

Does being naughty start so young?

But with a face this cute, it is hard to say anything he does is really all that naughty.

Notice the LONG fingers? Big Poppy cannot wait for him to pick up a ball. I wonder if I should tell him that a friend told me that the long fingers are perfect for piano playing.