Nail

The fingernail is off, folks...gross...

Owwees

Yesterday was officially my last day of freedom. I started back to school today, and in preparation for the coming school year, I went a little crazy trying to cram all of the little tasks I "needed" to do into one day. I think on some level my frantic scurrying around is my way of avoiding the onset of a big change in our schedules. I also think it's a way for me to deal with mommy guilt. I'm leaving my kids in the hands of other people for most of the day, but, damn it, they're going to know I love them because they'll have all the stuff they need, along with a meticulously prepared lunch! (Ok, so maybe it's not so meticulous.) But I seriously hate the fact that Auden would be back in daycare today (even though his sitter is great) and that Logan would be in preschool for the whole day.

After doing a few loads of laundry, I decided Logan (not to mention Eric) needed a couple more pairs of shorts, so we went off to Kohl's just before dinner. The boys were a bit wild and instead of watching the boys dancing around in the checkout line, Eric took them into the breezeway by the doors, I guess so they could potentially knock over shoppers entering the store. Anyway, just as I was making my way to the doors myself with all of our new duds, I see Auden screaming his little head off. Apparently, Logan had opened the door a couple of times and let it fall back. Auden decided to reach up just as it was closing, and the door instead closed on his tiny pointer finger. It looked pretty awful, and I was about to cry, telling Eric we needed to go to the hospital. My rational side was thinking, "It's his fingertip. What are they going to do if it's broken anyway?" My hysterical mommy side was thinking, "But what if his finger is crushed?! I just want some assurance that his finger is not going to fall off."

We ended up going home since he calmed down pretty quickly in the car, and we tried to put some ice on it. I knew he would be OK when instead of crying, he said he wanted to go outside and play with Jackson and Mimi. It looks better today, but his fingernail may well fall off. As if that weren't enough trauma for him, one of his little daycare buddies bit him twice today. I sure hope tomorrow's an easier day for him.

When I asked Logan how his first day of full-day preschool was, he said "it was really confusing." As for his lunch, he somehow misplaced his sandwich, so he ate a bag of grapes, some goldfish, and a yogurt  today. The woman who runs the preschool asked, "Did you pack Logan's sandwich in a blue plastic box?" Yes, I had. They found the box and sandwich somewhere on a lunch table and asked all of the children if it was theirs. Logan, apparently, denied it was his, even though they were pretty sure it was his. He was adamant. It was not his sandwich. So he went without until the end of the day when I explained that, yes, it was his sandwich. "I wondered why my lunch was so small," Logan said with a chuckle. Then he devoured his sandwich in the car on the way home. Thankfully, the preschool teacher had put the sandwich in the refrigerator for the day. Best laid plans, right?

I want a Kindle

Logan still hasn't learned to print his name. He can recognize his letters but just has no interest in doing anything with them. So tonight I told him we should challenge (aka bribe) him: "When you learn to write your name, maybe we'll get you a special prize."
"Like what?"
"Well, maybe a small set of Legos or something."
"But I already have Legos." (Thanks for spoiling him and taking away all of our bribery options, mom.)
"Ok, so we could go to the store and see what you might like."
"I just really want a Kindle."

Happy birthday!

Happy birthday, my little angelic barbarian, my hilarious, sweet, snuggly, bright, cake-eating, crazy-coordinated, destructive, mess-making, parroting daredevil. I can't believe you're two! We love you to pieces!

What happens when I'm reading a good book...

My son transforms himself into an eyeglass-wearing zebra.

Grasshoppa

Here are some pictures of Logan's springy pal. The little critter was really docile since we fished him out of the wading pool. He gave us just enough time for an up-close investigation before his wings had dried out and he took off. Logan was fascinated

. Auden wasn't so sure about it.

Tomato Safari

I think we may have planted the tomatoes a little too close together again this year.

This post is for you, Grandma Kop. I'm a little embarrassed to post the pictures because I know how meticulous of a gardener you've always been, but they're just too funny not to post. I've realized this year that picking tomatoes can be truly enjoyable when there are no mosquitoes out. And I can't say how glad I am for that, as I now have to literally climb and crawl through our tomato plants to find the ripe ones.

The plants may look a mess, but they're proving to be pretty productive. The group of tomatoes in the picture is from just one evening's picking. I'll be sure to send some home with mom and dad for you this weekend, Grandma!

Prepositions Matter

Since our flooring project is still in progress, tonight we ate at a Mexican place--quesadillas for the boys--when Auden was making an especially boisterous request for more soda. Our convo went like this:
"You have to eat that piece of your quesadilla before you can have another sip."
Auden takes one bite and reaches for the soda.
"No, this whole piece has to be eaten. You have to put it in your belly."
You know what he does...He lifts up his shirt, places the piece of the quesadilla on his belly, smiles, and makes for the soda again.
We are laughing too hard to keep the soda away from him.

Not yet two, going on...

Auden has always been a funny kid. When Logan is whining or crying about something, Auden mocks him by puckering up his face and making this funny high-pitched "wha, wha." He likes to rub anything gooey in his hair. He'll have blank paper in front of him but prefers to draw all over himself. Funny stuff.

But these days, he's showing some spunk.

Tonight we had pizza because we couldn't use our kitchen since Eric is tiling the floor. So, of course I want a Pepsi with my pizza, but I gave the kids water because I don't want them all hopped up on caffeine and I had just caught them sneaking Swedish Fish that were meant for Auden's birthday party. By the time I had finished dinner, I still hadn't drunk all of my soda, and I was picking up, shuttling things into the kitchen, when I came back to the table to see Auden stretched over the table, craning his neck to sip my soda after I had told him he couldn't have it. So, I gave him a time out. As I'm sitting him in the corner, he reaches up to hug me: "I wuv you, momma. I wuv you, momma." I managed to keep a straight face, but the laugh was still breaking in my voice.

Eric was putting him to bed tonight, and he walked out of his room four or five times. Annoyed, Eric was pretty stern with him. Auden's face crumpled; he started to cry. Then he whimpered "Fine!" and went to bed.