Boring beans or Wordless Wednesday

So, other bloggers have themes on certain days of the week.  Wordless Wednesday, Thankful Thursday, Blog Hop Friday, McFatty Monday (didn't I try that one with regards to cleaning?  Oh yeah.  That hasn't gone so well).  I don't lean towards these because I don't like cookie cutter blog entries and I never usually need a reason to put down a story.  My kids give me ever story starter I ever need.  Until now.

I don't know if my mind is swamped with the mixed emotions of quitting my job and becoming a SAHM- that's Stay At Home Mom for those not bump-inclined or if my kids really haven't been doing anything funny lately.  Is that possible?  I don't know but here's some pics in lieu of a cute anecdote or witty quip from Breckin.

Ella can wave bye-bye.

Breckin loves his sister.

Ella loves to watch Elmo.

Mommy loves these eyes.  Seriously?  Killer eyes, dude.

And, one more cause it's so stinking cute.  Holy Flagnar, it's cute.

A Game of Spoons.

This is Ella.  She is 8 months old today.

Ella LOVES her spoon.

If you take Ella's spoon, this is how she feels. 

Even if she still wants to eat, you cannot take her spoon.  It's a delicate game of spoons at our dinner table.  We need one to eat with, one to chew on, and one to throw on the floor.  Whoever sheds the most crocodile tears first, wins.

She wins. 

Also, Ella can roll from front to back, back to front, fireplace to table, under chairs to any exposed outlet.  She gets up as if to crawl but really it's just to wiggle a bit and lay back down.  Ella also LOVES to say dadadadadadada, glare/stare/talk to Elmo, chew on Puffs, watch her brother do just about anything, get whiplash following dogs and cats around our or the Ellsworth's house, and sleep from 7:30 to 7:30.  If she wants to, she can wave bye bye.  And do the twisty turny dance in her exersaucer.  Her favorite lullaby is Baby Mine and the WSU fight song. 

Swing and let swing

Breckin LOVES to swing.  I mean, loves.  Like, will stay on a swing for about 2 hours if you let him.  Just ask his Grandma.  It's the first thing he runs for when we get to any park and the last thing he wants to do before we leave.  Yesterday, I promised to take him back to Lake Wilderness Park because even though we were there on Saturday for the Kid's Festival, we never took the time to swing.  So after the obligatory Sunday activities of not getting dressed until after lunch, building new GeoTrax, running to Costco, and putting Daddy down for his afternoon nap- we went straight to the park. 

Mind you, this was Ella's first time on a swing.  Ever.  This is momentous in our household because it means either a) I will only have to stay in one spot at the park or 2)  I will be running back and forth from the swings to whatever she would rather do.  Yes, I know she's only seven months old and might change her mind, but at this point, I'm lucky enough to buy real estate in front of the swing set.  She's sold.  It's a challenge to say if she likes it more or less than her big brother but for now, she's in.  And in big.  Here, have a look for yourself.

We love festibuls.

What's better than a kid's festival on a gorgeous day?  A FREE kid's festival SPONSORED BY FIRE FIGHTERS on a gorgeous day when you RUN INTO YOUR BEST BUDDY FROM YOUR OLD DAY CARE.  Breckin and I (and now, Ella) love festivals.  We try to go to as many as we can during the summer.  Dustin, however, does not.  His least favorite things on the planet are crowds, inaccessible parking lots, lines, and generic disorganization.  Therefore, he does not accompany us to our festivals because no one in attendance would enjoy it. 

Last summer, this one snuck past us.  I think it happened to fall on one of those 114 degree days where it cooled down to 99 degrees at night.  At midnight.  This one might be the best one yet.  It was entirely free.  The bouncy house, huge fire truck slide, model airplane building, bubble table, fishing game, beach ball center, and weird coat hanger craft table (we skipped that one) were all free.  I spent $1 on the hugest Otter Pop you've ever seen and that was it.  We brought our own pb&j picnic lunch complete with circus animal cookies and capri-suns but that was to give us a break from the supposed madness and let Ella roll around for a bit. 

There were hardly any lines at the slide and bouncy house.  We ran into a fantastic family from back in the day when Breckin went to day care at Emerald Downs.  Breckin and his little buddy immediately remembered each other and pretty much hung out all day.  This great little festival took place right along side a small beach area so they played in the sand in between bouncy house trips and random running around the big grassy area.  Did I mention the candy cannon?  Oh, that was free, too.  That thing can seriously blow out candy and the kids loved it.  I've never seen Breckin so excited over a dinner mint.  Free fun is great fun. 

 

Girl Cheese

I mean, grilled cheese.  I'm so used to thinking words the way Breckin says them that I actually meant to write this title as grilled cheese, wrote girl cheese, erased it, laughed at myself, and re-wrote it back in there wrong cause it was just too funny not to.  It's like womenade or festibul or brefixt or toysker.  I think about these words wrongly and now I have to correct myself like George frickin Bush trying to say nu-ku-ler. 

So, GRILLED cheese.  (Man, I really have to force that one out.  Again, I typed girl cause that's what my head was thinking.  This could be an interesting psycho-linguistic study done someday)

I was eating said sandwich for lunch today while home sick.  I kept Ella with me rather than taking her to Denise cause even if I haven't stopped coughing for 35 hours straight and am operating on 3 1/2 hours of sleep, I'd rather spend the day with her while she's not crawling and/or walking and can just sit and look cute.  Which she obliged, happily.  So, there I was at milepost 25 sitting on the floor, eating my cheese, and had Ella plopped down next to me.  Eyeing me.  She had just drank a bottle and, I thought, was content.  But she kept eyeing me.  And twirling her hands in the air and clenching then opening then clenching her fingers.  And sticking her tongue out.  And making dadadadadadada noises.  And leaning closer and closer and reaching for my sandwich. 

So, what do I do?  Hand her a toy?  Nope.  My dumb ass says "you want some cheese, baby?"  I know full well that a)  Babies aren't supposed to eat dairy until 1 year old and b) the most solid food she's had up to this point is Gerber puffs and apple sliced through a strainer net.  I think the a) guideline is meant to be heard so that parents won't just bypass the $35 cans of formula and feed their kids milk cause babies need the nutrients that are in the formula.  They just say dairy instead of milk so it's easier to market and persuade people.  I mean, they make yogurt for 6 mos olds for crying out loud so someone else doesn't care if their kids eat dairy AND that yogurt is Ella's fav food.  Man, I get off topic easily.

So, I tear off a piece of that girl cheese sandwich, maintain some sense of parent sensibility, and hold onto the gooey, squashed bite while she teethes happily on it.  She gets little nibbles at a time and is ELATED.  Like, more elated than when Elmo is on a commercial.  She is down right tickled with this new found cheese and bread combo.  I had no butter, no mayo, nothing but cheese and bread so I continued to break off tiny chunks and let her gum pieces smaller than a Gerber puff into her mouth.  She didn't eat a major sandwich, just enough to satisfy her curiosity and feel like such a big girl. 

I guess, what I'm trying to say is, baby girl ate her first big girl food.  And, if she sits next to me that cute any longer, I'd probably feed her pickles and cake.  She is hilarious with those twirling hands and blah blah tongue.  And that girl likes food.  We'll be more calculated next time about what we offer her.  Any suggestions?

The only rule I'd like to stick to is no processed sweets until after her 1st birthday.... but, we'll see. 

The Sky

Alright, now I've done it.  I've made my son look like a fool at school.  Not cool.  Mom's don't rule.  And, that's enough of that...  Good lord, I'm getting off topic in the first sentence.

Ok, so here's glimpse into one of the many fascinating conversations Breckin and I have had in the car on the way home from preschool.  Remember that car commercial where the dad is seatbelting his little girl in the back and she's blabbering on about ponies and glitter and he walks around the car to get in and she's still talking and he just smiles and nods and inserts a "uh-huh" every now and then?  That's my daily life.  If you ever want some entertainment- or vouch for my silly anecdotes- ride in a car with Breckin.  He talks nonstop about anything and everything and if it gets too silent, he makes a weird noise and laughs. 

Again, I digress.  So, a while back, Breckin started asking about the sky. 

Breckin:  Mommy, does the sky start at the tops of our heads, at the top of the trees, or at the top of the skyscrapers?

I hate these kind of questions because there's not really an answer and I have to think fast and chances are, I'll be wrong.  And, to every question Breckin asks, he follows it with Really?  Is that a yes?  Is that for real?  Like he knows I'm BSing but if he just asks enough, it'll make it real.

Me:  Well, see how you can see the sky way up there?  points to the overcast
Breckin:  Yep.  But, where does it start?
Me:  I think it starts all around us down here but we just can't see it.  I'm thinking it's too early to bust out the word atmosphere but I can't think of a better way to explain the sky
Breckin:  So does it start at the top of Tiki's head?
Me:  It kinda just starts from the ground up and goes as far as you can see up there.  We just call the place where the clouds are the sky cause no one really thinks about the sky around us.
Breckin:  So, I walk through the sky every day?  Chase said we can't walk on sky.

Oh cripes.  Now we're getting into metaphysical stuff and I really don't want to explain that.

Me:  Well, we aren't walking on the sky, we are walking on the ground but the sky is everywhere. 
Breckin:  For reals?
Me:  Yep.
Breckin:  Is that true?
Me:  Yes.
Breckin:  Is that yes?
Me:  That's a yes, buddy.

Ok, fast forward to yesterday at school.  The kids are playing some stretching game out in the field while waiting for their turn on the slip N slide.  Miss Suzi (thank God I have a good relationship with her and she tells me stories about Breckin every day) says "Reach down to the ground."  Ok, "Reach up to the sky."

All the kids reach their arms up as high as they can and stand on their tip toes to reach into the nothingness of sky.  Not Breckin.  He sticks his arms straight out, winds them around in circles, and swoops them down to his toes.  The other kids laugh, Miss Suzi tells him to pay attention and reach up to the sky.  He says "Mommy says the sky is all around us so I'm reaching all around me."

Mommy forgot to tell him to just reach up high when he's told but take that, Miss Suzi.  Next time you'll have to get creative and tell them to reach up to the clouds.  I promise I won't tell him about low level fog in the mornings....

True Story.

Breckin had Hope over for a playdate last night.  She hasn't been over to play in FOREVER and he was bored with me telling him that I would play with him as soon as the dinner dishes were done so he walked down the street (with me standing on the sidewalk- no, he's not big enough to go scouting the 'hood ALL by himself) and asked if she could come over. 

They had a great time.  They play VERY well together.  And, she doesn't mind playing trains and he doesn't mind playing house so it worked out well.  Here's what Dustin heard:

Hope:  Honey, I'm home from work.  Now I have to go to the gym.

Here's what I heard a little later:

Breckin:  I'll be out in the garage building a deck.
Hope:  Do you want waffles for dinner, honey?
Breckin:  Oh, yes!  Thanks!  I love brefixt for dinner.  Here's $3.

So, I don't know if he thinks Dustin has to pay for dinner or if he switched to restaurant mode.  Either way, their little exchange is hilarious and VERY accurate to their respective homes.  Minus the paying for dinner part.  Although, I think I should start charging... that could be lucrative.  ;)


Want another True Story?

I think all of the essentials have heard by now: parents, co-workers, boss, girlfriends, Ella's Supernanny.  My last day as a paid employee will be July 30th.  I will be resuming my post as Stay At Home Mom. 

Breckin will be home with me for the month of August then he's off to half-day Kindergarten in Sept.  It was a tough decision and without going into our financial spreadsheet, it's what works for us at this point.  That's all I'll say about it but instead of broke, working, and stressed we will be broke, 1/2 home, and happy.  I love couponing and finding new recipes so this will be a test of stretching the grocery dollar and finding the best free playground in the local area. 

My parents did a lot more with a lot less when I was a small child so I know it can be done.  Honestly, although I'll dearly miss my coworkers and adult time during the day, I won't miss worrying about Ella's milestones escaping me and losing the precious time of playing pretend and enjoying the carefree youth of my babies.  Everything happens for a reason and I'm just rolling with this one...   

Meh.

Ok, so it's a week later and I'm just now posting about the 4th of July.  So be it.  For those of you keeping score at home, today is better than yesterday.  I got my errands done in record time, only spent $14.35 on groceries for the week cause I rock at couponing, and got $24 back from the consignment store for one bucket of clothes.  See, that's better, right? 

Anyway, 4th of July.  The explosion factor was at a x2 around here cause now we have quite possibly the coolest neighbor on the planet.  He rigged up some pvc pipe, yellow cord, 2x4s, something that plugs into his truck, and 2-liter soda bottles to blow up.  With no fire or harmful chemicals.  It's kid friendly and mom approved.  And, the grown-up boys got a kick out of it, too.  So what if Dustin had to drink an entire 2L of Sprite for breakfast.  Don't challenge him or he'll do it.  He has a minor in chugging- he went to WSU, remember? 

So, Breckin got his fulfillment of exploding stuff- pop bottles, smoke bombs, something that crackled and popped, parachutes, water balloons, and covering his ears when it was Daddy's turn. 

Oh, sorry about your face, Derek.  Let's try that again.

Ok, everyone look out.

Blast off.

The trouble is, you never knew which way they were going to fly.

So, we had pop bottles everywhere.  At one point, Derek had to climb on our roof with a broom to get one down.  All in the name of exlpoding stuff.  Cool.  Then, the bigger boys had their fun.  They didn't just take out soda bottles.  They took out 4 cantaloupe, 2 black buckets, 2 orange buckets (or was it more?), a stuffed doggie, and my poor old sauce pan from Ikea.  They only blew one minor hole in a piece of plywood and Bobby almost caught the pan on it's way down.  Good times.  Happy 4th.

There's a bunch more pics- including some from The Plan Time at our home in the evenings and fun in a kiddie pool last Thursday when it hit 95 degrees and humid- over there on the right.  Click on The Photos.  It's worth it.

 

Rewind. Do-Over.

Today has not gotten off to a good start.  Despite the fact that Breckin slept well and only got out of bed once after hitting the sack at 8:30- everything else is falling apart. 

• Things that shouldn't be missing are missing. 
• My memory is at it's worst cause I've been stressed all week. 
• My throat hurts and I've developed a cough. 
• I am not sleeping well- waking up at 1:30, 2:30, 3:15, 4:45, and just getting up at 6:00 cause I'm sick of it. 
• I didn't have time for breakfast today. 
• Our horrendously old software system at work decided to fall apart on me- when I really don't want it to cause we have one day this pay period that needs holiday pay and requires a bucket load of work anyway. 
• Ella needs a 3rd meal now so that involves more of my time in the a.m. when I'm already squashed for time. 
• I got a yams stain on my fav pair of khaki work capris. 
• I have a mosquito bite on my right cheek.  Not the one on my face. 
• Breckin is at a summer camp carnival today and I don't think he's going to get enough shade or rest so I'm going to end up with a sunburned, exhausted kid tonight and it's not fair to him to put him in that situation. 
• I am irrationally upset with the kids at his school who are allergic to peanuts cause we had to pack an unspoilable lunch that doesn't include pb&j.  Even though they aren't eating inside and the chance that his pb&j sandwich would have ended up near an allergic kid has worse odds than the Cougs winning the NCAA title.   

I want a do-over.  A rewind button. Fridays are supposed to be so great and mine is not.  I want a refund.  I hope tonight gets better than this morning.  There must be a light at the end of this tunnel.  I'm usually a glass half full person and when I'm not, it's because I'm intentionally playing devil's advocate to think of what could happen and if I can avoid bad situations.  Today is not either of those days.  It's a rare glass half empty day.  And, if that glass could just be half empty of Pinot Grigio, I would change my perspective.  Cheers.      

Well, then. Teeth it is.

Did anyone know Ella was teething? I mean, she's had a bit of a rash and she woke up once in the middle of the night last week.  Aren't babies supposed to get uber cranky and annoy the living daylights out of everyone when they are teething?  Will someone please pinch me or knock on some wood or call the Teething Fairies and let them know I owe them big time?

All of a sudden- she has three teeth.  She hasn't been drooling anymore than normal.  Not really crying.  Ever.  Not biting my chin or screaming about life or having trouble sleeping.  What did I do?  Three teeth are showing themselves on the bottom row and I- for one- am glad that she weaned off to bottles before these things appeared.  They are super cute (only a Mommy can say that cause they are, after all, the fingernails of the mouth.  Yuck.) and she only looks cuter when she smiles now cause she has three, tiny, white nubs showing on the bottom. 

I do think we'll be adding a meal cause she seems to be grabbing for food any time she sees it and did try to eat the dog's ear yesterday.  Plus, now that she has teeth, it's time for steak, right?  Breckin seems to think so.  I really tried to take a photo of said teeth but all I got was a close up of drooly gums.... no one would even see them except me.  I'll try again tonight....

Mad Skills

Do me a favor.  Next time you sit down in the evening to have a beer after work, try this.  Lie down on your right side.  Stick your right arm above your head as far as it will reach.  Prop the bottle of beer up against the back of the couch.  Grab your left leg with your left hand and bring your leg up to your shoulder.  Thrash both left leg and arm around wildly.  Pull your own hair with your right hand. 

Seriously?  Who drinks like that?  Ella does, that's who.  Her evening bottle feeding is a joke.  I don't know if she is channeling Suzanne Somers and trying to practice her thighmaster routine or if she is as hectic during the day as the rest of us and trying to fit in a little evening workout while eating.  It's ridiculous.  If you try this at home, please, for the love of God, take a picture.  I bet you a quarter it's a whole lot funnier when an adult tries it.

P.S.  She's got a little, sharp, white toothy-tooth sticking out of her gums on the bottom left side.  Yay!  And, she wants to eat everything that her brother is eating.  So, I took some steamed (but not pureed) peas out of the veggies we had last night and "popped" them in her mouth.... i.e. squished them until the middle soft part came out of the shell.  She gobbled them up like candy and grinned at me cause she's so proud that she's eating real-deal food.  Cutie.