Best snow day by far!! I made a snow day breakfast of chocolate chip pancakes, scrambled eggs and OJ (yummy until PJ spilled his OJ). Then it took me about a half hour to get everyone ready for the outside, but then we spent an hour and a half playing! We even took a walk because its really nice outside. I pulled out some sand buckets and shovels from summer and Lily went to town. I think her new nickname is "digger." When it was time to clean up and go inside, the kids decided to white wash each other, which was fun until Lily's boot came off!

Oh, and I found another use for the Swiffer Sweeper... I had to use the long handle part to fish out a shovel that fell into the storm drain. Should I let Swiffer know?

And so it starts...

This is a weird moment of bliss for a parent, but it is surely one we all share...

Lily peed on the potty!!

A day at the zoo

So we now know that the kids can handle an all dayer... What a great day! Last Sunday (7/13/08), we decided to seize the gorgeous summer day (low humidity, low 80's) and head to Brookfield Zoo. Rob and I divied up duties, and we somehow got out the door after only an hour and forty-five minutes, and no fights! That's a great start.

Two free passes and happy that PJ looked young (2 and under free) later, we were in the zoo. After slathering ourselves, we hung out by the carousel to get our bearings, then we headed on our trek to find animals.

We stopped by the lions and tigers, but they were sleeping in the shade, so the kids were like, "so what?" The next stop was the underwater viewing of the dolphins, and we were close enough to the next show time that we just brought the stoller down to the window and hung out with snacks. Oooh, that was neat! I think it was much better than seeing it up top. No crowd, no sun, and free! And you could see the whole dolphin up close. That actually kept the kids occupied for a whole 20 minutes!

Rob told me that when he was getting the kids ready, and looking at pictures, he asked them to pick one animal that they most wanted to see. Lily picked a giraffe, and PJ picked snakes. Interesting. So, we decided to go on a hunt for each animal. When we found a sign with their animal, we'd all get excited because we knew we were getting close. And of course I took pictures of the signs for future scrapbook pages. It was so exciting when we caught our first glimpse of the giraffe! The snakes, we found out, no longer had their own building, but it was still great to discover the ones hidden here and there. To finish our hunt, I found in one of the gift shops a toy snake and giraffe for the kids to take home. That was a hit!

We picniced our lunch and snack near the playgrounds, and for the whole day, we just took our time. The day ended with the monkey houses, and we met a very nice lady, who appreciated our creative way to keep the kids interested while standing in line (we had to park our stroller). Her name was Terry, and she took a great picture of the four of us (a rare photo of me!). (will post photos I promise!)

Well, the kids made it until 4pm, but boy did they crash in the car! A whole day of bliss...

Rare moments of bliss

Today was full of them! We are all getting over colds, so we stayed home today. Its been very peaceful. Earlier, they had a game of laying on the bean bag chair while listening to Baby Tad play the night-night music. Had to take photos of that! And just now, they we both playing with the legos, for about a half hour. These are the same legos that have been sitting around for weeks untouched, but for some reason, have been irresistable today. I love these moments.

Laughing/Crying

Notes: all of us sick, mommy's nerves shot, stay out of kitchen! crying in the doorway in unison until PJ start's laughing, making mommy laugh

Family Feeling

Notes: PJ started singing with us to a John Mayer song while Lily was passed out in the backseat. on the way to dad's no nap!

Mommy's little helpers

When its time to go anywhere, I'm sure every parent will agree that its a battle. At my house, there's more fighting, cajoling, begging and threatening than any other part of the day (bedtime is better than leaving the house). Even if its something they want, like going to a park or the "Flower Mall" (Randhurst), its still batten down the hatches.

That's why I had to document this moment. On Sunday of Memorial Weekend, Rob and I needed to go mattress shopping, and we realized that taking the kids might be sheer torture for them and us. I called my parents, and they said they'd take them and throw them in the pool. When I said, "Do you guys want to go to Grandma Carol and Grandpa John's and go in the pool?" it was amazing. Lily got so excited, she started yelling "Lily pool, LILY Pool, LILY POOL!" PJ ran straight for the gate and got his shoes and Lily's shoes, then they both put on their shoes (by themselves, Lily's first time), and stood by the garage door. No prompts from me. Wow.

True moment...

This totally fits my definition. Snapshot: yesterday, after I got the kids up from their naps (and PJ napped! a rare occurance), I decided we'd go to the park. And to save the environment (and our money, gas is over $4/gallon), I figured we could walk there. I also wanted to go to Osage park (or the piano park as PJ calls it), which is a little farther away. We had a great walk there, everyone was listening, holding hands, etc.

My moment of bliss happened at the park, when the kids were playing on this car/jeep play thing, which has a front seat, with steering wheels, and a back seat. PJ and Lily were in the front seat, and PJ says "Mommy sit in back!" It was so cool to be driven by my kids! To continue the moment of bliss, as we were walking back across the baseball fields, we were all pretending to be airplanes, swooping and diving, and making "vroom!" noises. Now that is being a kid!

This is also being a kid, and the mess moment. When we got back, we all washed hands and then I let Lily past the gate so she could play in the living room, while I helped PJ finish. When we got done, Lily was being quiet, too quiet. I turned the corner and she had found my big cup of water (which was probably mostly full), and had dumped it all over herself, the couch and the floor! I know it could have been worse (like tea or pop), so I am grateful I really only drink water. I spent the time I should have been making dinner getting everyone dry. I wasn't laughing then(probably because I was hungry), but writing these moments is showing me how life can be hysterical!

PJ quote of the day

PJ's tummy was bothering him yesterday morning, probably gastric cramps, so when he started squirming and complaining I asked him where his boo-boo was. He said his tummy, and then said "I need a band-aid on my tummy!" While trying to stiffle a laugh, I said I couldn't put a band-aid inside, only on the outside. He went to the bathroom and everything was ok--he didn't need a band-aid anymore.

When we got home from our morning travels, apparently his gastric issue started up again because he started dancing around and said frantically, "I need a band-aid on my butt!"

Happy Mommy's Day!

So when I first saw PJ yesterday morning, he walked in and said "Happy Mother's Day," of course after a hushed prompt from daddy in the hallway. Then when Lily came in later, she had some trouble saying "mother" since we don't use that name, so I suggested she say mommy instead. I got a beautiful "Happy Mommy's Day!" with the biggest smile ever!

Defining bliss and mess

I have been saying for a long time that since becoming a parent, my life is full of so many moments of chaos and mess, and then all of a sudden there is a moment of complete bliss that makes it all worth while.

And so the blog...

Mess is the whining, the constant "NO," the screaming, the stimming, the meltdowns, the hitting (and sometimes biting), and the crying. It's the everything in the mouth so I wonder what disease cocktail she'll have today, and the way I talk to walls and sound like the teacher in Charlie Brown (wah-wah-wah-wah). It's also the "I'm sad," with the best puppy dog eyes I've seen, and even the ramping up to the sensory meltdowns where we revert to when he was 2 months old and needs to be swaddled and sung to in order to calm down.

Bliss is the cuddling, the kissing and hugging, the "mommy" (since I waited so long), the laughing, the playing, and the raspberries. It's the finally talking, and the talking too much. It's the times I look at them and see just how cute they are (and yes, its their defense). It's checking on them when they are sleeping and so peaceful. It's knowing that I'll screw them up, but there will be therapy to fix them. And finally, its the moments when I see them growing up, but I want them to stay small.