A Rookie Mistake 8.30.09

Ugh! I'm so annoyed with myself right now I can hardly stand it! I made a rookie mistake and I've been at this mothering thing for almost 4 years now. Grrrr...so here's the story of the mistake in all it's glory. Last night we had some friends over (see previous post), and while it was very, very fun Logan didn't end up getting to bed until about 10:30. This is quite late for him, so I was thinking, hoping, wishing, praying, that we might have a late morning. Oh Amy, sometimes you really are a blithering idiot! Sure enough, at 6:08 this morning standing next to my bed, is my little ray of sunshine telling me, "Mama, it's mormen time. You pwobabey wake up now." After unsuccessfully convincing him that actually, no Mama should probably not wake up now, we started our day. So, I'm thinking with so little sleep, it's gonna be a very, very good nap day. Again, idiot! After lunch Logan sits on the couch to watch a little show before nap time. As I get some laundry done real quick, I come in from the garage and this is how I find my son....


He only could have been out for like 5 minutes since he was awake on my way to the garage. So, I'm thinking sweet, sweet peace and what do I do? (Here's where the rookie mistake comes in.) I MOVE HIM!?!?!?!?!? What the hell was I thinking??? As I transport him to his room, he groggily lifts his his head up, looks around, smiles at me, and says, "It's nigh night time?" So, I say, "Yes honey, it's nappers time." And proceed to lay him on his bed. Do my mistakes end there? Oh no, that would too easy. He then asks for a story. A smart woman would have said no. IDIOT!!! I oblige, which gives him just enough time and energy to get really alert to hear the story. So, after the tiger tells his tall tales, Logan is rearing to go. So I gently remind him, "No, no honey it's nappers." Quick kiss and I'm outta there. As I'm just getting into a really good episode of House, out walks my wide awake son. "Mama, I have to go pee-pee." "Okay, honey, go ahead." Pants off, underwear off, pee, move the stool, hands washed "Me do it myself", hands dried, underwear on "You do it Mama", pants on. "Mama? I sit wiff you a couple minutes?" "No Logan it's nappers time." Quick kiss, back in bed. Back to House. Ten minutes later, out waddles my big blue eyed darling. "Mama, I need go poo poo and den I get a specwell pwize?" "Logan that's fine, go poo poo sweetie, but no special prizes." "Wet's just check." "No honey, go poo poo." Pants off, underwear off, poop happens, "Mama, I all done." The bum gets wiped, "Now I get a specwell pwize?" "No honey." Hands get washed, hands get dried. "Mama? Wet's just check weal quick for a specwell pwize?" (Internally...AHHHHHHHH!) Externally, "Okay, honey, but I promise, we don't have any special prizes. They're all gone." So we check and there's nothing. So it's back to bed. Quick kiss, back to House. 3 minutes later, out runs a very awake Logan. "Mama, jus west for a couple minutes and den get up?" As I'm walking him back to his room, "Yes honey, just close your eyes for a little bit and then you can get up and then we'll go get you a cookie and Mommy the tallest vanilla latte they make! Okay, sweetie!" "Okay, wright Mama, jus a wittle west." I blissfully stumble back to House where I'm hoping to make it through the next 35 minutes of the show...I gotta find out if Chase kills his patient....needless to say I'll have to get back to you on that. It is now an hour after I initially found him asleep and this is what he's up to.

I definitely lost the battle today! So, now I'm loading up the boys and we are headed to Starbucks. If I'm gonna make it until this evening, it's a venti beverage for me! Wish me luck. Life is ever so good even when you make rookie mistakes!!!!!

An evening with friends 8.29.09

Reese the daredevil!
Reese and Linda (right before Reese decided to run and proceeded to fall off!)

Logan practicing his swordmanship.

Brooke, Holly, Reese, and Logan winding down for the night.

Tonight we had a few friends over for some cold beverages, cool, crisp salads, delicious pizza, and chocolatey, melting ice cream! The grown ups got a chance to visit and the kids got to run and play and watch a little movie. It was great to get a chance to catch up with some of my oldest and dearest friends. Thanks guys, for a great evening. Life is good.

Picture Day 8.26.09

Thinking about whether or not to go for it!
The boys had a blast playing.

Freakin' precious!

Apparently I was quite concerned about something...???

Karen and baby Brett! :-)

Ever since their first summer together, Karen and I have gotten professional pictures taken of Logan and Craig. Soon enough this little tradition will end, but until then, I'm enjoying every moment of it. That's not to say that getting two 3 and 1/2 year olds to stay still, smile, and look at the camera all at the same time is easy, but it's life...crazy and loud with a little pleading, bargaining, and bribery thrown in for good measure! :-) The pictures won't be ready for a few weeks, but I think we were able to get a couple really good ones of our little guys. And the Sears ladies were fantastic and oh so patient! So, after we got the boys taken care of, I took them to a play area so Karen could get some of Brett (it was his one month shoot...I can't believe he's already a month!). Then it was off to McDonald's for lunch. Yes, I do take my child to McDonald's...live with it. Hello, they had Lego race cars in the Happy Meals...it was a no brainer! And to top it all off, when we got home, Logan took a 3 and 1/2 hour nap...yea for Mommy!!!!! Life is so good.

All Aboard! 8.25.09

The old tracks
Two very excited little boys!

One of our engineers, Chuck.

Hot chocolate!!!

My little engineer!!!!

Logan and I did not take a big vacation this summer, instead we did what has become quite the popular trend with the economy being in the toilet and all...we had a bunch of staycations! As you can tell by past postings, we've had plenty of adventures this summer, all within our local area and none of them costing an arm and a leg. Well, today we went on what was maybe the best adventure yet. About thirty miles from our house is an old train station and every summer they have train rides available. You get to ride the old deisel engine, take a trip in an old passanger car, get your ticket punched, have hot chocolate, snacks, and pump an old hand car. For an almost 4 year old little boy, it doesn't get much better. And to top it all off, we were lucky enough to go with our dear friends Jonathan, Kara, Pierce, and Sam. It was a terrific couple of hours and the setting couldn't be beat, especially because it was a bit cloudy and rainy on this day which just added to the old locomotive and hot chocolate feel. Life is very good!

"My fwiend da swug" 8.24.09

Slug friends and people friends...good times!! :-)

All summer whenever Logan has seen a slug in our yard, it's been, "Mama, wook, it's my fwiend da swug!" And he gets so excited I fear he will burst. And yes, he has picked one or two up to show me. (Slug slim is very hard to get off of hands, clothes, tables, etc.) Anywho, this morning we we're playing outside as we awaited the arrival of Karen, Craig, and Brett and we happened to find some more slugs. Good times. Life is so good even when you have very disgusting and sticky friends. :-)

Projects 8.21.09

Backyard weeded and rebarkedAwesome pictures that Becky took, enlarged, framed, and hung

Livingroom and hallway painted...now a nice warm taupe, before a pinkish peach.

Fence stained.

Canvas project done.

Every summer I make a laundry list of projects that I want to complete and every summer I'm lucky if I complete just one or two. This summer I'm happy to report that I got five whole projects done! Yea Me!!! :-) I didn't get the computer room painted, but hey, I gotta have something to do next summer, right? Here is what I have to show for my summer off...Life is good when you feel like you've got something accomplished!

A morning in the life of Logan 8.20.09

Start the day with a story....

...then take Thomas for a spin around the track....

...then line up cars to get ready to race....

What a perfect morning...I love watching Logan play. He's at that age where the imagination is really unfolding. From reading stories (everyone starts with "Once upon a time...") to having conversations with his toys to setting up scenarios that we need to play out. It's so much fun! Love you Loganberry. Life is good.

A Day at the Beach 8.19.09

One of my most favorite things about summer is those spur of the moment adventures. On this particular Wednesday Mom had Shaneo and they called us up to see if we wanted to get together. Logan and I jumped at the chance, so we loaded up, grabbed a Starbucks (please, as if you didn't know I was gonna stop there!), picked up Mom and Shaneo and headed to the beach. We spent about 2 and 1/2 hours there and could have stayed even longer but we weren't prepared with lunch or anything. We saw very cool shells, watched some guys catch some crab, played on the coolest playground I've seen in a long time, splashed in the water (even Logan), and threw more rocks than I could count. It was a fantastic day! Thanks Mom and Shaneo. Life is good.

Breakfast of Champions 8.19.09

They say you should document the little things and not just life's big events. Here's a little thing...anyone who knows my son, knows he's a very picky little eater. So, for the past, oh I don't know, YEAR, Logan has had the same breakfast. Now once in awhile I can mix it up on him and we're fine, but for the majority of time...it's waffles, bacon, niva yogurt (that's vanilla for all those people out there who don't speak Loganese), and milk. The breakfast of champions!! :-) Life is good.

Time with friends 8.17.09

Good times in the sandbox.
Karen and Brett

Today we got to spend some time with Karen, Craig, and baby Brett. We thought the boys would LOVE to get together for a playdate. Well, it didn't go so great. Maybe they were both a little tired. Maybe they were both feeling particularly 3 and 1/2 that day. Whatever the cause, they just weren't at their personal best. It's times like this when I'm so thankful that Karen is my best friend...even though she has a brand new baby and we were both disappointed that the boys weren't playing better together, we both just laughed it off, because really, what are you gonna do? (I say as long as no one is getting hurt...not much.) Not to say it wasn't fun...they definitely had their moments of glee, like in the sandbox, and sharing a recliner to watch a show with their arms around each other's shoulders (yes, we got to the point that we put them in front of the tv for a bit), and giggling over lunch together. Thanks Karen for hosting us, we love spending time with you guys. Life is good...even when you're a cranky little boy.

...and continues....

My mom got the check another lighthouse off her list!
Finding that perfect rock...

It takes so much balance...

Shaneo and Loganberry

... team work...

Not to end our time together too early, my sister suggested that we check out a local beach that none of us had ever been too, but had always heard about...so after a near death experience on a major highway to get there, we arrived to see a beautiful lighthouse, two weddings, and a great beach to throw rocks and climb logs on. It was a long but absolutely fantastic day. Life is oh so very good.

And the adventure continues...

Logan scored at the gift shop.
If you've never been, I highly recommend it.

This was on the first rotation...I still had high hopes.

Skyline.

Next up was lunch at a local restaurant that I LOVE! After a delicious meal of fish and chips and beer (you know that meal is incomplete without one), it was off to explore the boardwalk where we came upon a very large carousel that just screamed ...RIDE ME!!!!! So being the nice people we are, we obliged. Life is good...even when you're dizzy from holding your son on the carousel that apparently goes around 50 miles per hour and $2 bucks buys you an hour long ride!

A day in the big city 8.15.09

Tell us where to go Logan.
This tank was HUGE and there were 2 divers swimming around.

The gang.

My favorite...the sea otter.

Me and my boy. :-)

As the summer starts to wind down (dookey), my mom, sister, nephew, Logan, and myself decided to take advantage of the time off and the great weather and spend the day in the big city. I had wanted to get Logan to an aquarium for some time, as all he talks about are sharks, whales, orcas, crabs, etc. So, we were off to the aquarium (that was the original intention), but we were having so much fun that we threw in a few more adventures for the day...but first, the aquarium. Life is swimmingly good! (Come on, I had to!) :-)