Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Purple Day

Today is Purple Day at school.  One day a month, Breckin's preschool class has a color day and they encourage kids to wear that color.  We are down with all color days throughout the year EXCEPT purple day.  Even if it was Ella, and she wore purple on other days, she wouldn't wear purple on Purple Day.  Why? 

"I can't define it, I can't tell someone who isn't a cougar what it's like. There's something that happens at Washington State; you quietly and subtly become infected...Washington State is a passion. Being a cougar is a passion"
     -Jim Walden

Therefore, if the rest of the world declares Purple Day, we will not participate.  And I know it's not just me.  I walk into Breckin's classroom and I see: 
  • two kids wearing UW shirts
  • one little girl wearing a WSU cheerleader outfit
  • one kid with a REAL MEN DON'T WEAR PURPLE throwback t-shirt that clearly used to be his father/mother's cause it's tied up in the back with the sleeves rolled up and hastily sewn
  • Breckin wearing a Seahawks shirt cause I currently don't have any WSU shirts that are his size
I LOVE the football rivalry that is UW vs WSU and I LOVE even more that Breckin goes to school with some other, clearly crazed football fans.  Some kids just had on regular purple things with non-collegiate related pictures but the fact that five kids out of twelve took Purple Day beyond just the color warms my heart.  The funny thing?  On Red Day, no one but the Coug kids acknowledge this rivalry.  Those UW fans will send their kids to school in whatever red stuff they have....   

Let's all say it together.  GO COUGS!!!!!

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

From the mouths of babes...

Here are 2 classic Breckin conversations from the weekend.

1)   Friday on the way home from school.  About a month since we've been to Spokane yet it's still on his mind pretty much every day.

Breckin:  Mommy.  Guess what.  I was wondering why Joslyn's store is so small.  When will she make it bigger?

Me:  Well, buddy, not all stores are huge and her's is just the size she needs.

Breckin:  No it's not, she'll need a really big store.  She's selling olive oil.

Me:  slightly confused but trying to get on the same logic train...  I hope she'll need a really big store.  That means she'll have a lot of business and make a lot of money.

Breckin:  But she's selling olive oil.  She'll run out of room.  That closet we fed Ella in (yep, glad he didn't forget that one) was way too small.  I keep having dreams when I sleep that she actually has a big enough store for olive oil. 

Anyone on the logic train yet? Cause I sure as hell wasn't.

Me:  Well maybe someday she'll have a bigger store but I like the one she has now.  Leaves it at that but still wondering what the hell I just talked about.  Wait for it.  Wait for it.  Here it comes.  About five minutes later....

Breckin:  I don't think that's olive oil.  I thought there would be more. 

Me:  Buddy, are you thinking that it's called ALL OF OIL?  The stuff Jos sells is made from olives- like the stuff you eat.   Please, GOD, give me the grace not to laugh at my kid for misunderstanding the enormously confusing English language.

Breckin:  OH. 

Five more minutes later after it all sunk in.....That makes a lot more sense.  I thought she had all of oil- not from olives.  She needs a much smaller store, then, cause olives are really small.  Pfft.  That's so silly.  Silly Jos.  When can we go back there?  I like olives.  Can I put them on my fingers?  Guess what else I dreamed about Mommy?.......  and on and on and on til we get home.



2)  Last night after Breckin watched his nighttime show and it was my turn for the bedtime plan.

Dustin:  Should I turn the TV off or are you recording some crap?
Me:  No, leave it on.  I'll watch Dancing with the Stars.
Breckin:  OH HEY!  Haydn and I play that at school!
All eyes on Breckin.  This oughta be good.
Me:  Oh, yeah?  How do you play that?
Breckin:  We do Dancing with the Stars.  I put on the gold shoes, the green jacket, and the little green hat.   She wears the red shoes, calls herself Nicole, and wears the blue apron.  Then we dance.
Me:  Dustin, are you hearing this?  Breckin plays dancing.  Isn't that fun?  Looks at Dustin with the "you better smile and tell him it sounds like fun" face or else....
Dustin:  No, I missed it.
Breckin:  I put on the gold shoes .....  reiterates the set up for Daddy....  Haydn and I dance almost every day.
Dustin:  Great Buddy.  Bath time.  Let's go.

Oh to be a fly on the wall at preschool...  Anyone want to bust in and snap some photos of Breckin in gold shoes dancing with a small, blond girl in an apron?  I pay big money!

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Updates and Good News and Stuff

Update:  Breckin was watching the news with me last night as I was making dinner and getting ready to go to Zumba.  He sat patiently through the various reports of car crashes (he loves it when they show the ambulances and fire trucks), updates of the volcano (LOVES that one), and weather report.  I turn my back to help Ella reach her lost Little People puppy- who is really taking one on the ear due to her need to gnaw on stuff- and hear this:

Breckin:  Mommy! MOMMY! You'll never believe this!  Daddy is going to be SO excited!!!!  At this point, he's jumping up and down and running up and down the hallway  His favorite show is coming back on tomorrow at fourteen firty.  (Hey, when I quote, I quote exactly.  For those not in the know of 4 year old time telling, that's 4:30.)  We better tell him so he can watch it!

Me:  Whoa.  What are you talking about, buddy?  Calm down.

Breckin:  I'll give you some clues.  Dramatically stands still, holds his hands out in "just stop right there" stance.  Looks at me with a very serious face.  There are guys who throw something.  Guys who catch something.  And lots of guys who just tackle all over each other.  Huge grin cause he's so proud he came up with three, good clues.

Me:  Oh, no.  Not football.  Daddy IS going to be excited.

Breckin:  YES!!! YES!!!  Daddy will LOVE THIS news!!!!  Commence running up and down the hallway pretending to tackle things.  Actually tackle Tiki.

And, what did we forget to do?  Tell Daddy.  Hey, Daddy- there's football on this weekend.  There's no foolin anyone in our house about how much football you watch.  It is, after all, your favorite show and Breckin is now programmed to keep you in mind when he sees commercials. 

In other news:  My engagement ring (but not the wedding band) fits back on my ring finger.  Oh, you didn't know I was still swollen/pregnant in the hands?  Yep.  I am.  Last time, I gained 1 1/2 shoe sizes during the pregnancy and that lovely change decided to stick around to this day.  This time, it's the hands.  Here's the bad part:  I had a cheeseburger for lunch and my fingers swelled up again so both rings are back on my pinky.  It's an hour by hour update.  I refuse to enlarge the rings. 

Stuff:  Ella rolled over back-to-front and front-to-back but no one saw it.  She was chillin on her playmat, talking with her green frog, on her back.  I turned my back to take Tiki up to her crate and when I came back down, she was on her belly.  I gave her a quick kiss and congrats.  Got Breckin in his shoes and jacket for school, turned around, and she was back on her back.  Hoisted her up to congratulate her again, apologize for her being the 2nd child and me forgetting to have the camera ready, and packed both kids out the door for the day.  Sorry, Ella.  We'll get something on film.... I promise.  Oh, how life changes. 

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Thank Yous

I'm feeling very thankful lately for the blessings in my life.  Today was an exhausting day physically- between my early morning Zumba class, TBall game/photo day, errands, meal prep, etc. and even though I'm bleary eyed from it all, I'm grateful that I'm so busy.  It means I have people to be busy for.  Every now and then I have a blip of jealousy for those that can take a nap at 4 pm on a Saturday if they want to but, for the most part, I love my life and I'm glad Dustin and I are chugging through it together.  Here's my thank yous.

Thank you:
  • Wayne for rescuing Tiki from the pound and bringing her to us.
  • Coach Connie for being SO insanely good with 4 year olds and baseball.  For that matter, to all little kid sports coaches.  And I thought I was patient... ha!
  • Bobby #10 for introducing Dustin to me and being such a good, influential part of our family.
  • Mama Shirley for encouraging a love of baseball in Dustin.  I have never seen his eyes light up- EVER. not even on our WEDDING day- like they did today when he saw Breckin in his first TBall uniform and taking his place on the field. 
  • Jessica for bringing me such joy for 60 minutes every Saturday morning and making my hips, thighs, and rear end complete jello for the rest of the day.  Zumba is crazy fun. 
  • Fate for showing me signs of Breckin at 26 weeks, 3 days and not a day sooner.
I'll step down from the podium now and collect my gold statue.  What are you thankful for?

Friday, April 16, 2010

Reminiscing

Someone on The Bump (my fav mommy website) asked if we liked our Jumperoo. The short answer is yes. It made me recall some old photos of Breckin when he was a Jumperoo addict and scrolling through his 4-mos photos shows just why these two are siblings. Breckin looks like Dustin and Ella, while 4 1/2 years younger, is Breckin's twin.  My genetics are officially inferior.
I promise, these are Breckin- not Ella dressed up in boy clothes.






 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
And, here's Ella.
 

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

One of those days....

I'm at work.
I've been away from my desk for most of the morning but took a quick break to check my emails/get some lunch for Ella for tomorrow/freshen up. I just answered a phone call while taking this quick break and decided, while on the phone, to multi-task and brush my hair and put on some chap stick. Run the brush through the hair, notice it's a bit tanglier (it's a word as of right now), check the mirror. Bam. SOMEONE's tiny bag of m&m's fell out in my bag, melted while sitting in the sun yesterday, became glued to my hairbrush, and are now streaked throughout my hair.
At work.
And, my shirt and bra smell like spit up cause I got tagged on my way out the door and, although it doesn't show, I know it's there cause it's right under my nose. So, I put some new lotion on my hands and arms to try to mask it but the only lotion I could find in my desk was thoroughly past it's halflife and smells like bad, old, bathroomatthezoo lotion. I tried to wash most of the chocolate out of my hair but now it looks like I just took a shower.
At work.
I have to go back to the auditing task smelling like I just cleaned a port-a-potty at a park with mostly wet hair which is now in a pony tail. Let's just hope I don't have toilet paper stuck to my shoe or my shirt all jacked up cause I just pumped. Gosh, being a working mom is glamorous. It's not even noon yet.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Just like Mastercard....

I was tired and annoyed that I had to do my weekly grocery shopping late Monday night instead of Sunday afternoon. But, that's life and sometimes the weekend doesn't go as planned. Here's the tally:

Healthy, non-couponed (it kills me) groceries for the week: $100
Toiletries that somehow happen all at once: $30
Birthday party favors for 20 kids cause I know I won't get back to Walmart before his actual party day: $40
Random Hot Wheels conveniently placed near the checkout so I get them for my little man: $2
Having a 30-minute, full-on conversation with my 4 month old daughter consisting entirely of squeaks, babbles, giggles, flurbs, and raspberries while doing the shopping: $Priceless

Just when I thought I was going to fall asleep while pushing the shopping cart, baby girl kept me entertained and made the whole trip go a lot faster. And, snap!, the job's a game.

Friday, April 9, 2010

Have you seen my heart?

It is in the form of a small child- "yellow" hair (according to him), goofy smile, manic amounts of energy, usually running/skipping/jumping. Answers to the name of Gloria, Sally, Cindy, Buddy, Bubba, BreckinBall, and- sometimes- Breckin. Likes hot dogs, m&ms, lemonade (and until recently, called it womenade for lack of the "l" sound in his vocabulary), and cupcakes.

If you've seen him, give him a hug. Tell him he's a fantastic kid. Give him a high-five. Smooch him on the cheeks. Heck, you can give him some m&ms if you have any. Please show him as much love as you can.

Last night, he performed his first, miraculous, big brother stunt. Our baby monitor came unplugged in the middle of the night rendering me useless to Ella's cries. Our room is on the opposite side of the house from hers and without a monitor, I would literally never hear her. Breckin's room, however, is right next door to hers. About 4:05 am, he came in our room and said "Mommy. Mommy. Mommy. (shakes me) Ella is crying. I went in, gave her a binky, rubbed her belly, and told her it was ok. I think she still needs you and I can't hear her on the walkie talkie. I don't want to change her diaper."

I stumbled down the hall to find her screaming but her mobile was on, she had a blankie covering her legs, and there were four binkies surrounding her head. Tried as he might, Breckin couldn't stop her screaming but he called Mommy 911 and that's what mattered. I will forever love him for hearing her and coming to get me. How do you repay that? Good job, Buddy.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Oh.....

I added some "retro" Easter photos to the end of the Easterish album over there on The Photos. I ran across them while I was uploading this year's and Breckin's little face reminds me so much of Ella... I had to throw some old school shots in. I think he was not quite 2 years old. It was when we lived in the apartment after our Issaquah house sold.... Good times.

Monday, April 5, 2010

Self Inflicted Ridiculousness

We taught Breckin about April Fool's Day. It started with the simple humor of:

Dustin: Hey Buddy, my name is Buzz Lightyear. April Fools!

He thought that was funny and caught on that it's basically about doing/saying stuff that isn't true and seeing who will fall for it. It evolved to:

Dustin: Hey Buddy, Mommy's teapot is made out of junk. April Fools!

And, then finally- on the big day, I told him that Miss Carol called and said a pancake fell on their school and it was closed. April Fools. He wore pajamas to school just to be silly. And, after dinner that night, I served him spaghetti cupcakes. They are simply regular ol' cuppycakes with yellow piped frosting (to look like noodles), melted jam (the sauce), and whoppers (meatballs). He was fooled and quite upset that I would ruin cupcakes with pasta. His reaction was priceless and he almost had tears in his eyes til we convinced him it was not actually pasta. Poor guy was so upset. I guess we better stick to the simple jokes...
Wanna see pictures of the cupcakes and his reaction (as well as Easter, egg hunts, etc)? Click on The Photos over there on the right.







Thursday, April 1, 2010

BFL 2010

It seems like my life is surrounded by weight-loss lately. Do you watch Biggest Loser? My co-workers and I lovingly call it BFL. Big Frickin Losers. I don't know why- I'm sure Joe started it and we all just continued it. Anyway, long story short, we are doing our own version of BFL in our department. It's only for 30 days but it was a great excuse to jumpstart my IWillRegainControlOfMyBodyAfterThisBabyIfItDamnNearKillsMe phase in life. Don't get me wrong- I'm down 30 lbs since Nov 28th 2009 and I, honestly, could care less about my number. Like a contestant said on last week's episode- a 2 lb loss doesn't define me. It doesn't matter what I lose each week. It matters how much better I feel. I didn't even know my number until I "weighed in" yesterday. I was glad to see I'd lost some poundage but what feels better is pulling out my bin of clothes from my last after-child body-shrinking episode and fitting in some of them. All I really care about is how my clothes fit. Vain, right?

Unfortunately, now I have to care about the number. This friendly competition is solely based on percentage lost and to know that, I have to track my number. It's not cute. It's not fun. And, competition is steep. I am determined to beat my boss at something. We compete on a daily basis- usually we bet on reality show outcomes (keep your opinions to yourselves!). And he wins most of the time. I have motivation now: summer is coming, I need to get back into shape anyway, the gym is right across the street, everyone around me is body-conscious, and I WANT TO WIN. Damn it. Ella's back meat is cute. Mine is not. (wink, wink, J.) So, game on.