A Lesson in Sharing

After all of the crap I've been through this week I decided to treat myself to a much deserved new pillow. I've been using the same once since my first year of college and it has lost all of it's once desirable traits. 

Finn was with me in the pillow isle and upon choosing my new pillow, Finn promptly took it and started running. Well, it was probably more of a waddle since the pillow was bigger than him. When he couldn't run anymore, he threw the pillow to the floor and tested it out for himself. 

We got home and got the kids upstairs to start bedtime. I tossed my new pillow onto the bed so I could go find a clean case. Finn once again claims it as his own. Mathew remarks at how comfortable it looks and steals it from Finn. 

I then hear, "This is a good pillow."

"I know. That's why I bought it."

"You can never have too many good pillows."

"You want one? I'll go get one tomorrow."

"You better make that three."

"Three more pillows? Do we really need that many?" 

I get my pillow covered and lie down to nurse Finn. Maeve snuggles up next to me and says "Mom, my pillow is too bumpy."

Never mind the fact that Maeve never sleeps on a pillow or that Mathew sleeps on a $100 pillow. 

Maeve is currently asleep on my new pillow and Mathew is headed to Target to buy three more. 

Nevermind

Kids are sick. This sucks.

A Birthday to Forget

I want to preface this by saying that my mother is a wonderful cook. I have never in my life gotten sick from her cooking. That is, until Saturday.

I turned 29 on Saturday. To celebrate, my mom, step dad, sister and brother-in-law drove two hours to visit. My mom made lasagna and garlic bread and cooked them when she got here. The day was decent. Maeve, for the first time in her life, adored her Aunt Katie and the two of them spent a great deal of time searching for ladybugs and woolly caterpillars. 

I was frustrated with Mathew because while he bought me a card, he neglected to sign it, put it in an envelope or even give it to me on my actual birthday. He also didn't have the kids do anything special for me. It wasn't a huge deal, but I only get two days every year where I get to be the center of attention. Pay me my dues please. 

So we eat the lasagna. The kids won't touch anything pasta-ish except spaghetti so they didn't eat it. Thank goodness. 

Late evening Mathew started getting violently ill. Mine started in the middle of the night. It was awful. I have never been so sick and my stomach still isn't very accepting of food. The kids watched TV all day on Sunday because neither Mathew nor I had the energy to do anything except walk into the bathroom. 

The odd thing about it all is that no one else got sick. Just Mathew and me. Did my mother poison us? She was, after all, the person who cooked and served the food. She maintains that there is no possible way we could have gotten food poisoning from her lasagna. We will probably never know the culprit. But I can tell one thing, I won't be eating lasagna anytime soon.

Thankful

I have been in a reflective mood the past couple of days. 

I am thankful for the food in my belly, the clothes on my back, a roof over my head, a husband who loves me and healthy children. We aren't rich, but we have everything we need and I am greatful. 

Alone?

While running errands today I asked Maeve if she wanted to go to the thrift store with me or if she and Finn wanted to stay with Daddy tomorrow while I went to the thrift store. 

Maeve's response, "Would Daddy go to the thrift store too?"

"No. You and Finn would stay with Dad and I would go by myself."

"Why?"

"Because some moms like to go places by themselves. Alone."

Looking perplexed Maeve said, "Why would they want to do that?"

"I don't know, Maeve."

Toilet Talk

My son loves to sit on the toilet. Even more so, he loves wiping while sitting on the toilet. 

I made the mistake once at bedtime to ask him if he had to poop. He immediately said "poop", got off of my lap and walked me into the bathroom. He then proceeded to "wipe" using half the roll of toilet paper. 

Now at bedtime Finn will pop up out of my arms and with a devilish grin say, "poop."   

Mexico vs. Heather

My birthday is this Saturday and to celebrate, my in laws are leaving for Mexico. 

My mother-in-law, laden with the guilt of missing her favorite daughter-in-law's birthday, bought me a serger for my birthday. 

As far as I'm concerned, they can go on another vacation the day before Christmas. 

Seriously though, I am very excited to serge. 

Life in a Grub House

My daughter adores grubs and has created a grub house next to our bed. What is a grub house, you ask?

A grub house is the narrow space between the bed and the wall. It is filled with pillows and blankets so that Big Sister Grub and Little Brother Grub can burrow.

Tonight Mathew, being the thoughtful father that he is, brought home two grubs. Maeve was very excited and wanted to hold them immediately. She then went to find a jar. As she was looking for a suitable death chamber, she screamed and threw the grubs in the kitchen. At me. 

Have I mentioned that I'm not really a bug person? I mean I'll touch them for my daughter and pretend that they're neat, but I prefer to not know they exist. 

The grubs had bitten Maeve's finger. She stomped towards her father, hands on her hips, and exclaimed, "Daddy, don't ever bring me those kinds of grubs again!" She was so mad at him for bringing her bad grubs that she stomped her foot numerous times and yelled at him for a good five minutes. 

Why I Love the Internet

I found this for free and it works beautifully.

Getting Organized

Where does the time go? Last I checked, it was Sunday and now, all of a sudden, it's almost Friday. We've had a busy week with lots of play time with friends. The dog, however, has been neglected and is behaving accordingly. 

I am in the mood to get organized. This is not such an easy task since we a) have lots of stuff b) don't have a basement and c) tend to pile things everywhere. We have sold a lot that was just taking up space, but what remains is usable and unfortunately still takes up space. 

Life would be much more organized if my children didn't have to keep everything. There is currently a dead fly, a very special dead fly, in a jar on my kitchen counter top. Another counter top is holding three plastic baggies full of melted ice cubes. 

Then there's the art work. Piles of post-it notes, half-colored pieces of paper, paper and tape creations...you get the picture. I've sent some of the art work to Grandma's house, but perhaps I should send more. 

Nothing says "I love you" more than a mound of clear tape on a white piece of paper.

In the Eye of the Beholder

Maeve was my hair cutter today. She wrapped ribbons around my neck and head and used several headbands to keep both my hair and ears in place. I found five or so barrettes in there too. When she was finished with her masterpiece she said, "Mom, you look beautiful." 

I kept my hair that way until I started losing feeling in my ears from the headbands being so tight.  

Nothing's Better

Every morning my daughter pops out of a seemingly deep sleep and says with great enthusiasm, "It's wake up time!" She then bounces onto my bed and I make every effort possible to keep her from sitting on her brother. This morning, however, Finnegan, who is not normally a morning person, popped up with Maeve like they had planned it the night before. 

The best part about the weekend, at least for me, is that for three days when they wake up they immediately go over to bother Mathew. I'm guaranteed at least five more minutes of pillow time when this happens so I'm willing to let Mathew take one for the team. 

Their morning assault on their father lately has consisted of shouting "dadada" in a very high pitched sort of scream and poking him on the side of the face. Sometimes Finn lays over his face while Maeve bounces on his stomach. I will occasionally blurt out a "stop bothering your dad" or "be nice" just so that Mathew thinks I'm paying attention.  

Photography

My dear husband and I had a conversation tonight about my photography business (which, by the way, I plan to start early next year). He became very passionate about something he has no control over and started droning on about copyright laws and jpegs. Because I am just as stubborn as he is, I had to disagree with everything he said. 

Mathew, bless his heart, was getting so frustrated that he eventually had to leave the room for a cigarette and another beer. 

Proof

Here are the skirts I've been working on for Maeve. I have enough fabric to make three more patchwork skirts, but those will be a pain to do without a serger. Please excuse the poor photo. My office chair is currently the only clean spot in the house.

So Cho, Take 2

I guess Maeve has a So Cho outfit and must make So Cho when she is wearing it. Granted, she's been wearing the outfit for two days now, but she has been requesting ingredients for her special concoction since getting dressed.

I was in a good mood today and the house was already a disaster, so why not dump flour, water and oats all over the counter and floor?

The best part about So Cho is that Maeve thinks it's disgusting, but has been talking it up so much that she can't admit that she hates it. It gives me great pleasure to see her shoveling that crap into her mouth, having it turn into a thick paste and then watching her try to talk.

Alone

Dinner time in our household is loud, full of whining and crying and generally crazy. As I was preparing the last bit of dinner, I turned on Dan Zanes to keep the peace and get the kids dancing instead of whining. 

The kids happily started dancing so I decided to do a load of dishes. I noticed after some time, while singing and dancing myself, that I was alone in the kitchen. Alone. And dancing to children's music. 

Yes, this is what my life has become. For what's it's worth, I saw Dan Zanes in concert too, but the kids were definintely with me. 

I Love My Minivan

Yes, I drive a minivan. I have no idea why people hate them so much. It's like having a living room, purse and closet on wheels. We can fold the backseat into the floor and have ample space for the dog's kennel, the stroller and a full trip to Costco. 

As an aside, I love Costco. They have delicious preservative free hams. I made one of the hams yesterday and told Maeve that I could eat ham all day. She told me that I shouldn't do that because it's not healthy. She said that I needed other healthy foods like cinnamon toast, green beans and carrots. Two out of three isn't bad. 

Anyway, my van is great. Maeve has told me several times that she can't wait until she's old enough to drive Finnegan around in the van. They will be driving on just the two back wheels and will listen to Smashing Pumpkins really, really loud. I guess that's one way to make a van look cool. 

They Call Me Betty Crocker

I made pumpkin puree today. I had planned to make a pumpkin pie, but we are out of evaporated milk and I didn't get the chance to go get some. 

I have no idea when I became domestic. It's a little frightening, really. 

My only saving grace is that I hate cleaning and will never wear an apron.

Delighting in His Awfulness

Do you see what I see (other than an out of focus picture)? This kind of face can only be blamed on his father and grandfather. 

Sweaters and Paper and Tulle, oh My!

I have been feeling rather crafty lately. I like being crafty and having something tangible to show for my efforts. So far, I have made Maeve three tierd skirts (pictures to come as soon as I have time) and have two more cut and ready to be sewn. 

Tonight I plan to start working on some sweater balls. I realize these probably sound like odd gifts, but my kids are obsessed with pillows and balls so what's better than combining them to make one super cool ball? Admittedly, the idea is not my own. I found these on Etsy and love them. I don't know how to do the fancy stitching on the ends so we'll see what I end up doing. 

Anyway, I'm feeling very inspired and ready to create.

It's a Bird, It's a Plane...

It's Super Maeve. 

Who Needs Sleep When You Have a Dad?

Mathew was home all last week and I couldn't get anything done because Finnegan refused to nap. Or sleep. I could not figure out what was interfering with his sleep. Teeth? Perhaps. Getting sick? No. Developmental milestone? Nope. Trying his best to ruin my life? Maybe...

Mathew went back to work on Monday and just like that, Finnegan has almost returned to being a good sleeper. Yesterday he slept until 9:30am and today he slept in until 10:20am. He is still staying up way past his usual evening bedtime (which, by the way, majorly cuts into my internet surfing and craft time), but he at least is finally getting enough sleep. 

My final diagnosis? Daddy. Finn just wanted Daddy. 

UPDATE: Nope. Not Daddy either. The good sleeping was short lived.