Nothing accomplished

This afternoon I got pretty much nothing done that I needed to.  Tomorrow is Kayden's first day back for the new school year, and I wanted to be on top of things in case he's super needy and we spend the whole day rocking.  The ONLY thing I got done was my last towel, so my big order is finally done!  Hip hip hurray!

Real quick: I was cutting up an apple for snack today, and I found a seed that looked like this.

Is it supposed to start growing inside of itself like that?  We ate it anyway.
So what DID I do today instead of, you know, iron, clean up, scrub the floors, water the lawn?  After church I sat on my arse and blog hopped.  I never do that, but for some reason I just couldn't tear myself  away from the pretty colors.  I played with the camera.  Luke and I went on a walk around the block (poor kid was sweating buckets three houses down.  And it was already 6:30!).  Ashley came over and the three of us went to Tappy's for more delicious yogurt..  We drove around to different apartment complexes to see which ones looked nice enough to actually check into for her eventual new home.  That's right.  We totally judged the book by it's cover.  And that's about it. 

So whilst I was playing around with the camera, I got some fun videos of Luke pretending to be at the door, knocking and then "coming" in.  I won't bore you with those.  But then he got interested in the little screen on the back of the camera.  This generation is so spoiled with their instant gratification cameras.  Back when I was a little girl we had to wait a week to see how our pictures turned out.  Ha!  How in the world did our parents get photos of us actually smiling?  Sometimes it takes 10 or 11 clicks to get a decent picture of Luke, and let me tell you, if it was film I would not be wasting that many pictures. 

ANYWAY, back to today, after he realized that our little faces showed up on the back of the camera he kept wanting to see more.  Except, he hate Hate HATES getting his picture taken.  I think we've talked about that before.  I think it's the flash.  And since I was taking these pictures a little closer than normal, the flash was a little too close for comfort. 

It led to pictures like this.

And this. 

I promise I don't let my 2 year old get high.  Finally I just lost the kid.  ;)

Better.

Still knows how to party

First of all, there are a couple of things I forgot yesterday to mention-

#1- Luke tried to unscrew the screws on the door frame with my knitting needle.  FYI it doesn't work.

#2- While I was brushing my hair in the bathroom yesterday, Luke and Daisy walked in.  They brought with them a very strong odor of poop, and it smelled just like when Daisy has an accident.  So of course I yell at her, chase her under the bed, and commence to looking for it. Except I couldn't find any poop anywhere.  That's when I realized it was Luke.  My bad.

#3- As I was putting off dinner last night, Luke decided he wanted to drink from my glass, but there wasn't any water left.  He tried to pour water from his sippy cup into the regular glass, but it didn't work.  So he held it upside down and shook it.  Still didn't work.  (Gotta love spill proof sippy cups!)  That's when the bright ideas really started coming to him.  He took a big swig from his sippy cup, then BENT OVER the drinking glass, SPIT THE WATER OUT into it, then DRANK it again.  Like 5 or 6 times.  Half the time he didn't manage to spit just right, and the mouthful of water ended up on his shirt.  Or the coffee table.  Either way the whole thing was ew.  But then he tried to offer me some of his spit water.  While I was very proud of my boy for thinking of sharing all by himself......ummmm......double ew. 

Now on to today.  

Today we went to a birthday party.  And once again my little darling proved to be the odd man out. 

He pushed a pink stroller when everyone else was eating cake.

He played on the tricycle when everyone else was in the play room.

He ate his cupcake straight from the table.

One thing that was the same as the other kids?  His precious face after all that icing. 

Couldn't you just kiss it all off?

When we got home we mostly lazed  around the house.  I worked a little on an order, and then piddled around with some fabric.  I made Luke a cup-wrap, since a majority of our friends all have the same sippy cup. 

Sippy cup mix up no more!  We'll see if it's very practical over the next few days.  I didn't do the best job constructing it, why put a ton of effort into something that might not last?  At first Luke would have nothing to do with it on his cup, but eventually he got thirsty enough.  The real test will be nursery time at church tomorrow!

Hurricane Luke

Today I really needed to get caught up on some orders.  Being out of town for 4 days put me a little behind, and I really wanted/needed to get a particular order out today.  Which I hadn't even started yet.  So while I was busy.......Luke was busy too. I mean very busy.

So busy that there was a causality. 

As you can see, I found the little boy's head, but the momma head has still yet to be found.  I may be asking for a non-decapitated Willow Tree figure for Christmas this year.

Run down of today

This morning I opened  the browser up to the "composed" page and kept it open, jotting down what was going on throughout the day so I wouldn't forget.  This would be a typical day for me.  And it's all true.

-Woke up to Luke using my Ped-egg on his foot

-Picked up the abysmal mess of the kitchen and living room before breakfast.  At 8.

-Ate a breakfast of a cereal bar, chocolate chip cookies, and 2 cups of coffee

-While catching up on the internet I got my back scratched with the vacuum cleaner hose (he's still obsessed)

-Annoyed my child by putting a pillow case over his head.

"Why did you do that Momma?"

-Caught said child shutting my bedroom door very guiltily.  When I asked what he did he shook his head no and pointed to the dog.  That's never good.

-Played tickle monster and marveled at how raising and lowering the bamboo blinds can be hysterical to a 2 year old.

-Battled sever feelings of not wanting to do anything.  Must.....get....to......store.  Must....finish.......laundry.  Can't.....sit here.......forever.

-Got to the store, now at least my teeth can be clean.  Had lunch at Mom's, where I washed Luke's hands.

-I vacuumed this afternoon.  Luke ran screaming from the room.  I vacuumed out the couch.  When I went to attach the hose (NOT the one he's been playing with), I found a petrified lizard stuck in there.  What?  This is one of those reasons why I just never know which way my day is going to go.  The pen cap must have gotten sucked up along with him, so I'm guessing this little lizard was hiding under the couch or under the fridge when he got sucked to his death.  What a way to go.

-While I was changing the sheets in our room, Luke decided it was a good idea to spin around and around in circles.  Then he dizzily stumbled into the our bathroom where he fell over and his head met the cabinet door.  No blood, but the screams where loud.  We rocked for awhile and he was finally soothed by a call to Daddy.  He kept moaning Daaaaaddy Daaaaaddy while holding his hand to his ear, so I took that as "I want to call Daddy."  I should be a true toddler interpreter.

(this picture is actually from when I was vacuuming.  He got a hold of the toothpaste box,

and when I asked him to go put it back, he got a little upset.  He didn't wanna.)

-As I was washing some dishes before dinner I turned around and Luke's arm was in the trash can and after a quick inventory of the fridge decor I realized a yellow clip is missing.  I gingerly poked around in the top of the can, seeing as I had just scraped a whole bunch of hamburger grease into there, and I couldn't find it.  Bummer.  Then I turned around and it was on the table.  Double bummer.

-Dinner was steak, green beans, and rice.  Cody only ate the steak.  Luke only ate the steak.  Like father like son.

-After dinner Ashley came over and we watched the finale of So You Think You Can Dance.  Luke came in and out, but at one point he walked up to Daisy and kissed her on the bum.  *sigh*

-But finally it was bath time and bedtime.  Luke loves reading stories at bed time, and he always makes sure that we say our prayers, then runs around giving night night kisses to everyone.  I have such a sweet sweet boy.

Gross boy

I've got a little habit that has always horrified my mother. 

I'm not that great about washing Luke's hands. 


In fact, they pretty much just get washed at bath time.  But in my defense, we don't have a set lunch or dinner time, I just set food out and he grazes a lot, so there really isn't a decent time to do it.  Well, when we get home from errands would probably be a good idea.  I just typically forget.  Sorry.

But tonight I'm hoping that all those extra germs that he's encountered comes in handy.  Tonight after church my friends and I took our kids to Brahms for ice cream.  Okay, mostly to visit more, but the ice cream was a nice bonus.  At one point Luke was obsessivly pushing a high chair around the store, and I don't remember what I said, but I told him something and he was mad about it.  What does he do when he's mad/frustrated/sad/anything but happy?  Why throw himself on the floor of course.  And normally I'm okay with it.  My friends are all beyond used to his tantrums, and the various other people around just get a meek smile and apology from me.  They'll get over it.

Tonight was slightly different though.  Tonight I realized when he was face down on the nasty sticky floor, that his mouth was open.  That's right, he was LICKING the floor.  I wanna gag just thinking about it.  There was a wet spot left behind on the tile when I picked him up.  So see, a good imune system would come in really handy right now.  Otherwise over  the next few days you are going to have to listen to me lament and whine about the perils of having a sick kid. 

Other than that it was a very nice day.  I took him to the pool for the last time this summer.  It closes on Friday.  :(  We stayed so long that HE was telling ME it was time to go.   I don't think he got the concept of 'last time'.  And I made an excellent dinner of hamburgers and made-from-scratch chocolate chip cookies.  I like to call that our first dessert of the evening.  Second dessert was the peppermint ice cream.  Third dessert was a buffet of bacteria and viruses thriving on a filthy floor. 

*gag*

Luke's new tricks

So over the last few days Luke has learned some new things.  He got very proficient in "Papa" this weekend while we were gone, seeing as Dad was his go-to guy to do whatever he wanted.  Go play on a train in the blazing heat?  Papa's your man.  Wanna snack on everything within reach?  Papa will let you.  It was cute though, he doesn't quite have Pa-pa down, it comes out something like "Ba-ba"  But you can tell who he's talking about.  Oh, and the burping he's developed over  the weekend.  That kid can belch like his mother.  ;)

Another thing Luke has started is playing with the vacuum cleaner.  He'll push/pull it around the house for hours.  Which is funny because he's scared to death of it when it's running.  If he can get ahold of the rolling suitcase he'll pull that around too.  Cody came into the kitchen tonight while I was cooking dinner (did you catch that?  Yes, I cooked, and it got a "good dinner tonight, babe" too!) pulling the big suitcase I just unpacked.   He stopped and said "look Mom!" while unzipping it.  Lo and behold, out pops a Luke! 

After dinner I was relaxing on the couch when Cody and Luke came back into the living room.  Luke then proceeded to show me the new trick Daddy just taught him.  The wonderful trick of putting the crook of your arm up to your lips and blowing.  Blowing a big, wet raspberry.  Oh the giggles.  It really did warm my heart though, seeing my two boys being......boys.  Father teaching son such a boy thing.  I hope there are many more.

My Grandmother

Oh boy.  I've been putting this off for awhile now.  It's the reason I was having a bad day a couple of weeks ago. 

It's not been a big secret that my Gran hasn't been in the best of health.  A few months ago her breast cancer came back for a third time.  Then a few weeks ago they found a mass in her lung and lymph nodes.  She's been in sever arm pain.  Two and a half weeks ago, when she and Grandy left here, the arm pain was so bad he drove her straight to the hospital in their town, didn't even go home. 

Unfortunatly she didn't leave the hospital.

She contracted what they thought was pneumonia, and now they aren't sure if it wasn't that or just the lung cancer being very aggressive.  Last week Grandy called Mom  and told her she needed to come right then.  So she did.  Gran made it another week, and so Mom came home for a few days.  Then she went back on Wednesday, and things were looking dismal as ever.  Thursday it was determined that Dad, Ashley, me and Luke needed to go down there, and we were set to leave Friday night or Saturday morning. 

Friday morning at 5:30 my phone rang.  Gran's blood pressure had dropped significantly.  Mom held the phone up so that I was able to say my good byes in case we didn't make it in time, and we hit the highway by 1.  She passed at 3:30, about two hours before we got there. 

My grandmother was an amazing woman.  She loved Jesus more than anything, and she loved her family next.  She was the epitome of what a wife and mother should be.  Gran and Grandy had a true love that you just don't see anymore.  I can't remember a time when they weren't flirting, kissing, hugging, holding hands.  Even at 75 after 56 years of marriage.  I  truly envy what they had. 

The entire weekend was such an emotional roll coaster.  We (my cousins, aunt, uncle, Mom, Dad, Ashley) would be laughing, telling stories, teasing each other, enjoying each other's company, and then we would be tearing up at how much we are gonna miss her.  Gran loved a good laugh.  She loved a good practical joke.  She loved celebrations, parties, a good time.  She loved a great hamburger, ice cream, Coke, and the lake.  A vast majority of my memories about her include water, a boat, outdoors, and/or great food. 

I  have never seen an out pouring of love from the community like I did this weekend.  Not an hour went by without someone dropping off food, paper goods, condolences, anything they could offer. The funeral yesterday was sweet.  Our jaws dropped when we pulled up and there were cars lining all the streets since the parking lot was full.  It was standing room only inside. 

So now, it's just time for prayers.  Prayers for my Grandy now that he's lost his sweet bride.  I worry about him, in the house they've lived in for 54 years all alone.  We all are confident that Gran is healed in the loving arms of her Jesus, laughing and having a blast in heaven, but the hole she left sends waves of emotions when you least expect it.

To sleep or not to sleep

This morning Luke woke up at 6:15.

6.

15.

He actually startled Cody because he was already in the living room playing with the clean laundry I left in there when he went to let the dog out.  At 6:15.  Normally we just tell him to go get back in bed, but this morning Cody fed him.  FED HIM!  Now, I'm sure you're thinking "wouldn't a sane, loving parent feed their child when he's hungry?"  and normally I would agree with you.  But NO!  Not at 6:30 in the morning!  We've got to draw the line somewhere or the next thing I know there will be a little face next to mine in the dark saying "Mom.  Mom.  Mom.  I'm hungry." 

Nope.  Not going to be me.  So if I have to be the mean ole woman who won't feed her child at 6:30, so be it. 

As you can imagine, this made for a rather long morning.  I gave him a hair cut (best one yet, if I do say so myself).  We watched cartoons.  We ate crumb cake. Finally I  got him to eat lunch, and down for a nap.  I waited about 25 minutes to make sure he was down and not just playing, and then I went outside to catch some rays.  See, I have gotten so caught up on all my housework the last couple of days that I allowed myself the luxury of doing nothing today.  I laid out for about 30 minutes, and then called it quits because of the intense heat (heat index of 111 today).  I went in, peeped through Luke's door knob to make sure he was asleep, then went into the bathroom to turn on the bath water. 

Oddly enough, I heard a little voice over the rush of water.  Creeping out, I found Luke in the living room.  Aww man!  His nap didn't even last an hour.  Couple that with the early morning and it didn't bode well for the rest of the day.  He was snacking on what was left of his lunch, so I told him I would be right back, I was gonna take a quick shower.

Weeelll, it wasn't the fastest shower, but 20 minutes later I was damp and clean and looking for my kid.  Hmmmmmmmm.......the doors were all locked, so he had to be there somewhere........and then I found him.

He has not ever, I mean EVER, gone back to sleep once woken up from his nap.  Ever.  He has not slept anywhere in this house but his bed.  Ever.  Even when we brought him home from the hospital.  So imagine my shock when I found him asleep on the guest bed in the computer room.  In fact, at first I thought he was pretending to sleep.  I wish I could have watched what happened leading up to him sleeping there.  But sleep he did, for an hour and a half longer. 

The rest of the day went by as usual.  Lots of running.  Lots of laughing.  Quite a bit of whining/crying.  Reading the same "Trains" book over and over and over again.  Daddy came home.  Lots of climbing on Daddy.  Ate dinner.  Ish.  Mostly he ate just sweet potato fries.  Then it was bath time.  I'll confess, we have a habit of letting him play while we pop in and out of the bathroom to check on him.  Usually he just sits there and waits for us to wash us.  Real exciting stuff. 

But today, today was different.  Today he thought it was hysterical to take the big cup and pour water into the back corner of the tub.  Oh to be a toddler and easily entertained.  I just shook my head and told him he better not pour water on the floor.  Well, fast forward 10 minutes and the splash starts sounding different.  Same hysterical laugh, different splash.  Why did it sound different?  Because the water was hitting the tile.  Of the floor.  By the time I got in there, there was at least 6 giant cups of water on the floor.  I screamed.  Cody came running.  It took three bath towels to sop it up. 

New way to see

So last night we got the new (to us) fridge!  Wahooooooo!  This morning I joyfully went shopping to replenish the supplies.  The kitchen was so bare I didn't even have some to feed us for breakfast.  Couldn't bake anything, the eggs were all ruined.  We ate all the cereal bars up yesterday.  Bread was stale and iffy.  There was only enough milk for Luke's cup, so a bowl of cereal was out of the question.  What did that leave?  Donuts, baby! 

After our breakfast of champs  I took Luke to Lowe's to pick up a water filter for the fridge, and low and behold there are lots of choices.  I probably should have paid attention to little things like oh, the brand or where the filter was located.  Nothing big.  So, I took a gamble and picked one.  After that we headed to the grocery store where I basically went up each isle and got it all.  Okay, not all, but a lot.  I think that was the fullest my basket has ever been. 

Then Luke and I went home, I put the cold stuff away and got to work hooking up the water and filter.  Wouldn't you know, I got the wrong one.  Imagine that.  So I load Luke BACK up in the car (did I mention it was triple digits again outside?) and we headed to make the exchange.  Note to self:  always wear wedding rings and not your shortie shorts to home improvement stores.  When I was at the counter making the exchange the creepy old man who was obviously lonely launched into this story about how his long haired dog sheds everywhere and it gets on his clothes and the dog jumps in bed with him and even though he is growing his beard out he doesn't like how the long hair tickles his face and that little boy is cute, is he yours? 

Yes.  That conversation actually took place. 

Once I was safely home again I install the new filter and hook up the water line.  I really am super handy.  Cody's a lucky man.  Except something wasn't working and the water wouldn't come through the door.  Finally I called my dad and he came over after work, but he couldn't figure it out either, so he just took me and Luke to dinner before church.  Aren't I a lucky gal?

Anyway, if there is a way to make this long story shorter here it is: now the ice maker works, the water part doesn't, and I'm okay with that.  I just wanted the ice anyway. 

So what else have I been up to the last couple of days besides refrigerator drama?  Cleaning.  Lots of cleaning and lots of laundry and lots of ironing.  And what has Luke been doing while I did all of this cleaning and laundry.  Oi. 

He's put all of his toys in my entertainment center instead of his toy basket.

I counted 32 in all when I cleaned it up.

He's gotten creative.  During my marathon ironing today I looked up and realized he was taller than usual.  I walked around to the back of the couch and his bathroom stool had magically appeared.  And since his magic stool just happened to be behind the couch, it seemed perfectly logical to climb up and over the back and down the front.  MULTIPLE times.  It's not that I ever doubt he is a male, there are sometimes when I just have to laugh and think "man, he is allllll boy."  This is one of those times. 

And to wrap up this rambling novel, I just wanted to let you see my "new" kitchen.  The fridge looks very similar to the old, and I haven't bought anything lately, but it still feels brand new.  I rearranged the things I had on the counter, put a couple of the pieces away, and I am telling you I feel like it's an entirely brand new space.  Like I wanna have people over just to show it off.  Isn't that crazy?  So, it will look the same to you, but it feels brand new to me!

Happy Anniversary!

Seven years ago my name changed.  My initials went from LAL to LAC.  It actually spells something now.  And in those seven years I've come to realize that anniversaries shouldn't just be assumed.  They are earned.  They are fought for.  They are worth celebrating because they are a gift.  Things happen.  Life happens.  A  lot can change in a year and the reason for the anniversary is gone.  So when it comes around?  Celebrate. 

Although Cody and I couldn't celebrate quite as big as we would have liked, he let me have just the evening I wanted.  He let me pick my favorite place to eat, the sushi place, and then he took me to this new coffee/wine bar that I wanted to try.  Wasn't that so sweet of him?  We didn't exchange presents because we thought following dinner we would be fridge shopping (super romantic and totally necessary) buuuuuuutttttt........

Cody talked to his dad yesterday and they have a fridge in their garage that is only a year old that they are going to let us use! Ahhhhhh!  Isn't that great?!  We are so very thankful to not have to shell out the money for a new one.  Thank you Roger and Vicki! 

And now on to the best part- the pictures!  Aren't you so proud of me that I remembered to take a camera?  Now don't be too disappointed at the quality of the pictures.  I know you've come to expect great photographic shots with my fancy new camera, but I didn't want to haul that thing around so I got the ole point and shoot out.  I think you can deal with it. 

This is how hot it was on our way to dinner.  Bake you alive hot.  At 6:30 in the evening.

And a picture of my dinner.  This is my very favorite dish in the whole wide world!

Ummmm....this is pretty much the best picture of me and Cody to date.  I'm thrilled!  He really hates to be in pictures, so it's like pulling teeth to get a good one of us.  Expect to see it everywhere.  (example- I've already changed it to my FB profile picture)

And finally, the last shot of the evening of our empty Irish coffee mugs and the wrapper from my cupcake.  It was espresso flavor.  It was wonderful. 

So while it may not have been the fanciest of dates, it was just what I wanted.  Thank you baby for the life you have given us!  I love you!