Climber

Lucy had her 15-month check-up this week and I was thrilled to learn that she's finally surpassed the 20-pound mark with a whole two ounces to spare.

When the topic switched to eating I stopped the doctor from continuing.

"We have absolutely no problems in that area.  I assure you."

Lucy can eat her weight in food and then some.  And she will it ANYTHING.  Even if she doesn't like it, she shoves it down the hatch, begrudgingly.

So how does she stay so tiny?  Allow me to illustrate.

A helpful stool because before I added it she was scaling the baseboards on her tippy toes while performing a pull-up on the window sill.

She could care less about the television, unlike her older brother.  But if anything resembles music, a song or just a beat, she beelines it to the to the armoire and gives herself a six inch boost.

How did she manage to get up here without bumping her head?  Heaven knows.

All these pictures were taken on different days so at this point you may be wondering: Does this child own clothing?  Indeed, she does, but she's such a sweat bucket, what with all the activity, that I find she's most comfortable in her bare skin and a diap.

And just to prove she is clothed SOME of the time, I offer you a shot of her absolute favorite perch, hands-down.  Stairs are like crack cocaine to this lady.  Up and down all day, every day.

An Evening on the Front Steps with William

When the trees don't have leaves that means they are dead.  But this tree isn't dead.  It has lots of leaves.  You see those bunnies over there, Mommy?  I like bunnies.  But Grandma doesn't like squirrels.  And Grandma's name is Peggy and that's her name [pointing to neighbor] too.  Two Peggys.  Yep.  Two Peggys.  But what's he doing?

Sweeping.

But why is he sweeping?

Because he just mowed the lawn.  He's sweeping the grass off the sidewalk.

But Daddy just mowed the lawn too.

I know but we have a blower instead of a broom.

But why doesn't he have a blower?

I don't know, honey.  Some people don't have blowers.

Hi, Mary Jean!  Mommy, look it's Mary Jean.

Hi, Mary Jean.

Is that Cooper [dog]?

Yes.

I like Cooper.  And I like Ellie too.  Nana said Ellie can sleep with me when I come to her house.  But she didn't.

Why not?

'Cause she did not.  And Papa does magic.

Magic?  Why kind of magic?

Well first I get up and then I go into Nana's bed.  Nana's bed is really high.  Did you know that Nana's bed is really high?

Yes, I do know that.  What kind of magic does Papa do?

Well, um, he brings us the toast and the peanut butter in Nana's bed.  And he said that's magic.  And then I eat it all up.  But Nana says, "No crumbs in bed!"  Hey what happened to her eye? [Pointing to a Cabbage Patch Doll's eye.]

Well, when I was a little girl I accidentally scratched her eye and some of the paint came off.

When you were a little girl did you have sharp claws?

No.  It was just my fingernail.  It was an accident.

Oh. But I don't have sharp claws because you just cut-ted my nails.  'member, Mommy?  You just cut-ted them.

William, it's almost time for bed.

But I was just in bed.

I know.  Why did you get out?

Well I was sleeping with Donald [Duck] you know.

I know, what happened?

Well he was flapping all around and he told me to get out of bed.  He told me he wasn't sleepy.

Oh really.  Can Donald fly?

Yeah he just flaps his wings and he flies right out of bed.

I didn't think Donald had wings?

Well he has hands and his hands are his wings and he flaps them really really fast like this and then he flies.  Hey, why is he doing that? [Neighbor wiping forehead.]

Because he's hot and sweaty.

But I'm not hot and I'm not sweaty.

I know but he's working hard and when you work hard you some times get hot and sweaty.

But I'm a hard worker.  I have big muscles.  Does he have big muscles?

Yes, I'm sure he does.

But mine are bigger.  See? [Flexing]  When is Daddy coming home?

As soon as church is done.

And then he can give me some more medicine?

We'll see.  If you're still sick.

But my head hurts.  And my neck hurts too.

I know, honey, that's why you need to stay in bed.  Laying your head on your pillow makes you feel better.

But it did not make it feel better, Mommy.

Sometimes you have to lay there for a long time before it starts to feel better.

Well I really want Daddy to come home so that he can give me some more medicine.

I promise when Daddy gets home I will send him in your room to see if you need more medicine.

But I really do need more medicine.

We'll see.  I'm going inside.  You wanna come too?

Sure.

Sunday Mass Sans Kids

William was fighting some sort of bug yesterday that left him with a horribly high fever.  So Brian and I found ourselves attending mass by ourselves at separate times.  Normally I like to attend mass as a family.  It's tough, during this season of babies and toddlers and preschoolers, but I think the dedication leaves a dramatic mark on their souls.

But, but, every once in a great while we are graced with a situation that forces us to attend mass without kids or even by ourselves.

"How'd it go?" I ask Brian when he returned from the Basilica last night.

"Hey, did you know there's this thing called a homily that comes right after the Gospel?"

"Yeah and did you know there are two whole readings before the Gospel?"

"Yeah.  And I was really surprised to learn that most people are respectful and reverent during the consecration."

"Hmmm," I reply, "What a novel idea!"

New Comment Form

Today I installed a new comment form. I wanted something where people could still comment anonymously (I love any and all comments even if I don't know who you are!) but I also wanted the ability to reply to you if you ask me a question or if I just really like what you had to say. There is also an ability for you to reply directly to other commenters, hence the name Intense Debate. Although I doubt we'll be getting into any intense debating here on mamanash.com.

A few things to note:

1. If you want to comment anonymously, simply make up a name or use the word "anonymous."

2. If you're ever interested in staying up-to-date on new comments or replies to your comment you have that option in the Subscribe to drop-down box. I think it notifies you via the email you provide.

3. You can comment via your Facebook, Twitter, IntenseDebate, Wordpress or OpenID account.  If you have none of these, no worries. Just ignore it.

4. If all of this sounds way too confusing know this: all you have to do is simply write your comment, enter a name, an email address and hit submit and you're done. Easy peasy.

Give it a try and let me know your feedback. If it turns out to be a big hairy disaster I'll just go back to what we're all used to.

That's all. Carry on!

A Date at the Fabric Store

Brian and I had a date night sans kids last night.  And it was pretty lame as far as dates go.  Not because of who I was with but because of what we had on our to-do list.  We are undergoing a pretty fun house project right now (pictures coming in the next few weeks) and as much as I'd love to tow the kids along to a fabric store followed by a home improvement store, well, I don't.  I'd rather pound my head against a wall, honestly.

Brian's all in on this project so he didn't mind taking up precious quality time together to go pick out a few materials.  The first stop was a craft shop to pick out fabric for a cushion cover.  I'm an anti-craft person so these places scare the crap out of me.  I try to limit my visits to twice a year and even writing the word "twice" just now gives me the cold sweats.

So we park the car and walk through the automatic doors.  I spot the fabric department and start making a bee line.  But Brian was still frozen at the entrance.  I noticed he wasn't following me so I turned back to look at him.

"OH. MY. GOODNESS."

And he said it just like that.  Three complete statements.  I never even thought about the fact that (a) Brian has never been in one of these types of stores and (b) he didn't even know these types of stores existed.

"This is going to be like the T.J. Maxx of my childhood, isn't it?"

Brian's mom used to torture her children at T.J. Maxx.  Torture, of course, being the word Brian uses.  Me?  I'd call it being real.

The woman had six children!  Can you imagine back-to-school shopping with six kids?  Four of whom are boys, who, on any day of the week would choose a slow, painful death rather than shopping for clothes.

But I know the truth.  T.J. Maxx boasts quality, name-brand clothing at ridiculously low prices.  When you have that many kids you've got to make your buck stretch.

"What's so bad about T.J. Maxx?" I once asked Brian.

According to him it was the ultimate betrayal in the mother/son relationship because not only did they have to go shopping for clothes but they had to do it in a store that contain no cool toys.

So back to our scary craft trip.  I look back at Brian, who is still stunned into utter disbelief and say, "This is no fun for me either so let's get it over with."

And here comes the part where I tell you this is one of the biggest reasons I married Brian Nash.  He can turn any lame, boring, torturous event into knee-slapping, tears-down-your-cheeks, side-splitting fun.

Immediately I immerse myself in fabric trying to find the perfect color, perfect pattern.  Immediately Brian starts pulling out ridiculous black fabrics with candy corn printed all over it.

"Too much?" He asks with a straight face, "What do you think?"

Then he spots fabric by Sandra Lee from Semi-Homemade on the Food Network.  If you don't know this woman you won't get the joke but, of course, Brian starts channeling her voice, "And this is just regular fabric from the fabric store."

At one point Brian becomes silent and I can't find him.  I start looking up and down all the aisles.  Finally I find him laughing to himself in the book section.  I can only imagine what he's found.

"Brian.  What are you doing?  C'mon.  Let's go."

"Wait," he says, "I think we need to get this."

Sun-night Fun-night

One of my favorite parts of summer is that every night feels like a weekend night.  In the winter the sun is down before dinner and everything, including mother nature, feels like it's screaming, "Go to bed!"

But not summer.  Summer keeps the lights on until 9 o'clock so we can play outside to our heart's content.  And even for those who have jobs to shower and dress for, it just feels easier to rise when you're greeted by a giant ray of sunshine.  Of course, I say this as a wife of a husband who rises literally hours before I do out of his own free will.  He and I do not have the same internal clock.

Sunday night was one of those perfect nights.  Clear skies.  No wind.  And just the right amount of humidity to keep it warm enough after the sun sets to still be comfortable in light clothing.

Sunday nights are usually a bit frantic.  And, if I'm being a honest, a tad bit depressing too.  It means it's the end of daddy being home with us all day every day.  It means five longs days ahead of me of cleaning, laundering, meal planning, errand-running, and...what am I forgetting?  Oh yeah, being a mom.  Not that being a mom is depressing, but it gets pretty lonely when I'm doing it by myself all day.

We threw out the same old, same old routine on Sunday and christened the new fire pit we got Brian for Father's Day.  It felt so rebellious and spontaneous to be sitting out there, cocktail in one hand, s'more in the other, without a care in the world while the rest of the neighborhood seemed to be getting ready for the work week.

There may have been some good-spirited fighting over this fire.  Brian and I each thinking we knew the best way to light it, the best place for the next log.  We kept arguing over who had to hold the baby so that other could "play" with the fire.  What is it about a fire that makes you want to keep poking and prodding at it?

And then there was the aluminum lining.  The fire pit came with an aluminum insert that, in theory, could be placed inside the fire bowl and used as a beverage cooler for a party.  It was cheap and not practical.  But it turned out to be useful anyway.

First it was a hat.

Then an awesome hiding spot.

Then it was a shield from fire-breathing dragons.

Then it was the fastest sled on the block after a massive snow storm.

And finally, it was your run-of-the-mill UFO.

But really it was just the best regular Sunday night in a long, long time.

Dr. Mom

On Saturday I woke up to the sound of William yakking.  Again.  Second time in two weeks actually.  But this time I'm sure it wasn't a bug.  In fact, I don't think the first time was a bug either.

Putting on my mommy detective hat, overcoat and super cool monocle I gathered these facts about both incidents:

1. He went to bed without eating dinner the night before on both occasions.  Not because of reasons that would necessitate a call to CPS, mind you, but because he didn't like what I was serving.  There are no second choices for dinner in our house.  I do try to respect his likes and dislikes so I won't purposely serve chicken, his most hated food, every single night, but we do have a family of four and the world, including my recipe box, does not revolve around him.  So because he didn't eat dinner and because I don't typically offer an afternoon snack, the last time he had eaten was at lunch the day before.

2. Both times he awoke in the middle of the night asking for water. I always remember when he wakes before morning because it's very rare for him to ever do that.

3. Both mornings he woke up earlier than usual and complained that his side hurt and that he couldn't walk.  He then asked for more water.

4. Both mornings we put him on the couch in front of PBS Kids in hopes that (a) he would start to feel better and (b) we could get a few more minutes of shuteye before Lucy woke.

5. Both mornings he threw up all over himself before he ate breakfast.  It was only water, no food.

6.  Both days he went back to bed and slept until around noon at which time he was 100% back to normal and started eating everything in sight without so much as a hint of nausea.

7. So far, no one else in the house has had any sort of stomach problems.

What would you conclude from these facts?

Me?  I think it's hunger pains turned into an actual stomach ache turned into retching.  Is that possible?  Can you really throw up from being overly hungry?  And if so, what's a mother to do about it?  I can't honestly serve noodles or pizza for dinner every night of the week.

Brian and I talked about giving him a small bowl of cereal just before he goes to bed if he hasn't eaten dinner but even that seems like something he'll catch on to very quickly.

"I don't like this bean salad so I'll just wait until later for my bowl of cereal."

We have been honest with him about it.  He obviously doesn't enjoy throwing up so we've told him that he needs to eat his dinner even if he doesn't like it.  And I think he understands that.  But still, he sits there twirling his fork, his head resting on his other hand, without putting a single bite in his mouth.

If anyone has suggestions I'm ready and waiting!

Lazy Summer Days

"Come look at this picture I just took of Lucy," I say to Brian.

"You don't have to prove to me with a picture that my daughter is cute."

"I knew we would always have cute kids, on average," I tell him, "I just never thought they'd be this gorgeous."

I really should get a better background behind our dining room table.  It's where I get all the best shots of my kids.

In other news...well, there isn't any other news.  We're still here, chugging along through this lazy month of July and loving every minute of our schedule-less schedule.

We're doing a lot of this...

Followed by this...

And this...

And we're eating a lot of these...

(Newly picked potatoes from Grandpa/Farmer Jim.  There are no words.  Like butter, I tell you.)

Followed by a lot of these...

And that pretty much sums up my life right now.

On Vacuuming, Mostly

For the first time in years (years!) we have nothing on the schedule for July.  No weddings to go to, be in or plan.  No pregnancies to consume my thoughts.  No birthdays.  No gatherings.  No selling of houses or buying of new ones.  No moves.  No appointments.  No parties.  Zilch.  Zero.  Nada.

May and June were quite the opposite so this feels like a slice of heaven.  Especially since it happens to land right smack dab in the middle of summer.

A friend sent me a text this morning to see if we wanted to join her at the pool.  I hesitated for a minute.  Wednesday is my cleaning day.  (I told you! I'm nuts about this cleaning thing!)

In my head I'm thinking:

If we go to the pool in the morning then that means Lucy will need a killer nap in the afternoon after all that swimming.  And if she's going to need a killer nap that means I won't be able to run the vacuum because she always wakes up when I run the vacuum and ruining a good nap for Lucy is like waking a bear from hibernation in January.  And if I can't run the vacuum that means I'll only be able to scrub the bathroom, dust the bedrooms and wash the sheets.  Minus Lucy's bedroom, of course.  That will have to wait.  I could save Lucy's room and the vacuuming for Thursday, I guess.  But Thursday mornings is when that good yoga instructor teaches a class at 9:45 and I haven't been in a week so I really should go.  Maybe if I get my act together I could vacuum and mop and dust Lucy's room before we have to leave for the gym.  Who am I kidding?  I never have my act together that early.

Just then William comes bounding in from the makeshift toyroom out on the porch.

"What are we going to do today, Mommy?"

I look at him.  I look back at the text from my friend.

"Go find your suit.  We're going to the pool."

It's time I got real with myself.  I have all the time in the world for the dusting and mopping and even--yes, Jenny--the vacuuming.  But summer's short and I don't think in ten years I want my kids to say, "Hey mom, remember that one really nice day in July when you washed all the sheets and dusted all the dressers and scrubbed the tub and Windexed the mirrors and vacuumed and mopped the floors?  That was awesome."

The truth is, no kid ever says that in ten years.  And maybe in ten years they won't remember going to the pool either.  But I hope they will.  I can still remember the days when my mom put down her rubber gloves for a minute to announce, "Today, we're going to the beach!"

Even still I know that in January, when it's eight below zero outside, a picture of the kids, poolside and baking in the golden sun, will pop up on my screensaver.  And I'll look at it and smile and be so glad that I soaked up every second of summer when I had the chance.  And then I'll go back to vacuuming.

Our Fourth of July STAYcation

We stayed home this long, holiday weekend.  Mostly due to Pukey McPuker Pants.  He recovered quickly but one can never quite tell if or when the bug will spread to another family member.  So instead of risking a sicky in the car or, worse, spreading the virus to a relative, we had ourselves a little STAYcation.

"Stop calling it that!" Brian demanded.  "It sounds so lame."

Whatever.  It is what it is.

The STAYcation started Friday morning cause mom was feeling fun.  And when mom feels fun everyone can have fun.

Recently we discovered a hidden gem when we were walking with the kids across a Mississippi River bridge into Minneapolis.  A new-ish wading pool.  For free.  In a gorgeous park.

[For those non-locals, Minneapolis and St. Paul really are TWIN cities only separated by this majestic river.  I often take for granted that the river is a mere six blocks from our house.  I shouldn't because it's totally awesome.]

Anyway, to the wading pool we went on Friday morn.

Brian's office shut down at 2 p.m. that day so we decided to make good use of the extra time and take the kids to the Como Park Zoo followed by a few amusement rides at Comotown.

Lucy literally had this look on her face the entire go-round.  Our little daredevil for sure.

Then she was totally ticked when she found out that her bother could go on the teacups but that she was too short.

Saturday was our first full day of the weekend and it was a scorcher.  Ninety plus degrees with 100% humidity.  Or something like that.  All I know is that we all permanently looked like we had just stepped out of the shower.

So back to the pool we went, of course.  Only this time we had dad and we all know how much fun dads are in the pool.

When we left Brian said, "Guess who had more fun at the pool today, me or the kids?  GUESS!"

After that both kids took hardcore naps.  William fought it, of course, because he just doesn't feel like he's doing three-year-olds justice if he doesn't.  But he gave in after a mere 30 seconds.

That evening we had ourselves a little grilling party.

There was corn on the cob.  From California.  BIG MISTAKE!  But Lucy didn't seem to mind.  Probably because she doesn't know the difference yet. 

Note to self: Never ever buy corn that is not grown in the Midwest.  Never.

There was also beef hot dogs charred black; the best way to eat them.  And grilled organic zucchini so juicy it dribbled down our chins.

Afterward, to make sure we were properly cleaned up, there was running through sprinklers in skivvies.  Brian and I sat this one out but laughed all the same.

And there were sparklers.  You can't have a 4th without sparklers.

On Sunday morning we "block partied" with our almost neighbors, Mr. & Mrs. Cruz.

There were more sparklers with Uncle Jo-Jo.

When darkness fell we joined the rest of St. Paul on the steps of the Cathedral, patiently restlessly waiting for the fireworks to begin.  Nevermind the overtired little monkey in my arms determined to ruin a good family picture just because it's three and half hours past her bedtime.

And when it was over they looked like this.  So full of fun they couldn't keep their eyes open a second longer.

A good STAYcation indeed.  Not lame at all.

The Good, The Sad, The Bad

The Good News

Well there's those new pair of ridiculously awesome rubber gloves I just bought.  Those worked out pretty nicely.

There's the fact that we haven't yet bought new furniture for our living room.

And the decision to travel or stay home this week, a decision I was 50/50 about, has pretty much been decided for me.

The weather is just windy enough to clean, disinfect and dry all necessary items outside.

Old ice cream buckets.  They come in handy for so many different purposes.

The Sad News

It's a perfect summer day and we're all stuck inside.

I had to miss yoga this morning.

Lucy is watching Baby Einstein right now.  She's never watched Baby Einstein.  You know, after it was revealed those videos turn baby's brains to mush and all that.  But I needed a way to keep her busy so I could clean.  A way to keep her from climbing the stairs for the thousandth time and not knowing a way down except head first.

There will be no boat rides this weekend.  Or drives up North.  Or hot dogs in the camp fire.  Or sparklers.  Well, maybe sparklers.  Maybe we'll still do that.

And then there's this picture.  This picture is pretty sad.  Especially since it was taken at 9:30 this morning when we should all be playing in the sunshine.

The Bad News

William threw up this morning.  And is doesn't look like an isolated incident.