Elmo's Throwing a Party...

...because Reed's turning TWO!

Because "Melmo" is one of the few words Reed can say, I knew that that lovable, furry, red monster would be our birthday mascot for Reed's big day. We decided not to have a formal party for the little guy, but instead will celebrate throughout the month as much of our extended family have made plans to come and visit us during the coming weeks.

Eventhough there is no big party, I still wanted to make the day special for Reed. You only turn two once, ya know! So I Googled "Elmo birthday," which brought me to Jessica's blog. Ironic, because I follow her blog (she's the one that hosts Project Life Tuesday), and as I clicked over to her Elmo party ideas, I had remembered reading about her son's Elmo party last summer.

So, all credit goes to Jessica...thanks for letting me carbon copy all your ideas! (I just love blogland!)

It was too bad that Reed's birthday fell on a Thursday...it's one of our busiest days. Preschool in the morning, speech therapy right after lunch, followed by quiet time. Brad also had some afternoon meetings today, so all celebrating had to wait until he got home. Around 4pm, our little family celebration began!

I decided to put together these Elmo foam visors as a fun little addition to Reed's birthday. In classic toddler style, he couldn't keep his paws off as I was trying to glue them together, and then once it was ready to wear, he wanted nothing to do with it. Leave it to big brother to convince him!

Opening gifts...with a lot of help from Drew.

A Black & Decker tool set for the workbench.

Kick Croquet set.

This was my favorite idea from Jessica. She used these Elmo Easter baskets as party favors. The stores are beginning to stock up on Easter goodies, so I was able to grab one for Reed, and loaded it with all things Elmo (thank you, Target Dollar Spot!). It included books, bibs, and a few new Hot Wheels.

Best buddies. (Oh, he also got a new jacket for spring. It's that green blob to the right of Reed, casually discarded without a second glance.) ;)

Birthday dinner at Culvers! (I swear I had nothing to do with this! Yes, it's my favorite and I chose it for my birthday. And Drew chose it for his birthday, too. Reed totally picked! I promise...)

Back home for Elmo cake and ice cream.

(Once again...it's so good to have a friend who has an endless supply of baking necessities and tools! Although I had Brad fooled, Elmo was made using an Elmo-shaped cake pan.)

Y.U.M!

We love you, Little Monkey!

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

TWO!

Sick Day

This has been the feeling around our house for the past several days.

So, so sad, isn't it?

Drew has had a fever of 100+ degrees since Friday morning. And because we share nothing in our house quite as well as we share germs, Reed hit 100.3 by Saturday night.

Big. Fat. BOOOOOO!!!

Besides the consistent fever (even with around the clock dosings of tylenol and ibuprofen), other symptoms include cough and lack of appetite.

Or, in Drew's case, zero appetite. In the past five days I think he has eaten a total of one and a half bananas, two spoonfuls of yogurt, four spoonfuls of pudding, three bites of toast, and one Dorito.

Thankfully, both boys have been sleeping well.

Err. Scratch that.

Both boys have been sleeping well since Saturday night.

Friday night was weird. Drew woke up several times before 2am. I even went in to sleep with him around 12:30 because he had been up so much. When he woke at 2 to go to the bathroom, he was so convinced it was morning. He couldn't understand why he couldn't go downstairs and play. At this point, I'm a zombie, having been snapped out of the precious REM cycle about 10 too many times, and trying to avoid any major meltdowns because, you know, it's 2am and Drew has gotten maybe one good hour of sleep, I tell him we can go downstairs and watch a movie.

So. 2am. Me and Drew snuggled on the couch watching Elmo.

Awesome.

I, of course, am totally convinced he'll crash once zoned out on the TV.

Oh.

My.

Stars.

By 5am, after having finished watching Elmo and Lightening McQueen, Drew is still awake. I only know this because halfway through Elmo he decided he wanted to sit in the recliner. Elmo doesn't bore him enough to sleep, so in goes Lightening. I don't even think I made it past the opening sequence of that movie and I'm out like a light. And when, after Cars was finished, he woke me up by saying, "Mom, let's watch Mater and the Ghostlight" and he was in the exact same spot with the exact same movie-trance blazoned across his face... I knew he had stayed awake that whole time.

I lovingly suggested it was time to go back upstairs to rest, and thankfully, he willingly agreed.

So, with the exception of Friday night, both boys have been sleeping well.

And it's actually been a pleasant sort of sickness. Both boys are quiet and lazy and extra cuddly. Reed has been a bit extra whiny at times, and Drew's been extra sensitive to being told "no"... but I guess I can't expect them to be sick and perfect.

When the fevers persisted on Monday, I called the doctor and got an appointment for both of them for today. Both boys actually fooled me this morning, acting almost back to normal, with the exception of their appetites. Playful, jovial, normal. To the doctor we went anyway...

...and back up to 101 degrees for Drew and 99 degrees for Reed.

The end result: a left ear infection for Drew. No strep, lungs are clear. Reed's lungs are clear as well, no strep, no ear infection.

So Drew will be on antibiotics for the next 10 days, and I'm hoping his fever will be knocked out by tomorrow so that he can go back to school on Thursday (he missed today, of course, and I told his teacher I wasn't sure if it made me more sad that he was sick or that he'd have to miss school...I love preschool!).

Reed will stay on his dosings of tylenol and ibuprofen and if his fever doesn't break by Thursday, the doctor will put him on an antibiotic to treat it. Perhaps Reed had the flu, but the window to test for it has passed and they wouldn't treat him at this point if it came back positive anyway.

Soooo....with any luck, and a few meds, they'll be back to their devilishly cute ways very very soon.

Picture of the Day, Week 9

Sunday {2.27.11}

We have been really good lately about limiting fast food dinners, but there are some nights that our schedule has us all running in different directions, it's the easiest option. Cheeseburgers all around, and then back to business!

Monday {2.28.11}

Laundry for me = fun for the boys. Reed is usually the instigator of such imaginative play. He flipped the basket and before I knew it, they were reenacting Superman's best moves.

Tuesday {3.1.11}

I love it when they love each other.

Wednesday {3.2.11}

Sippy cups are a staple of our household, but they are rarely found in the cupboard. In the sink, on the counter, jammed in the couch cushions, and at the bottom of the toy bucket are more likely places they'd be discovered.

Thursday {3.3.11}

Drew has reached the age where I feel like we can start introducing him to "chores." (I don't care for the philosophy behind that word, though, so I have some ideas on how to approach it from a "it's important we take care of our house" perspective. More on that another time.) Anyway, one of the things Drew is able to take care of is emptying the dishwasher. He requires help, of course, and what better person to come to his aid than Brad! ;)

Friday {3.4.11}

Brad and I enjoyed dinner out tonight with a couple from church who are our pastoral relations committee. We had a delicious meal at Logan's Steakhouse and a wonderful conversation. I totally spaced on taking a picture, though, so I'll come up with something to represent our night out.

Saturday {3.5.11}

Day two of 100+ degree temps for Bubba Joe. It was a day made for relaxing and being quiet - movies, video games, and a four hour nap.

When Mom's Mom Comes to Town

So I have a confession to make.

Well, maybe not so much a confession as an admission.

I don't know the difference. "Confession" makes it sound like I did something wrong. "Admission" is just telling you what I've done, right or wrong or indifferent?

Sure. Makes sense to me.

So here it is.

I admit that...

when my parents come to our house to visit, I kinda "check out" for a while. (The same can be said for when my in-laws come, and although I know they occupy the boys and help us with a lot around here, I don't want them to do too much...there's still a need to impress them.) :)

I'm still here physically. I don't leave the building or anything like that - although occasionally that would be nice. But mentally, I've dropped those "Mom" and "Wife" titles and take a day off...what my Dad used to call taking a mental health day. Thankfully, when they visit, it's a few mental health dayS!

Let me be frank... being a mom is hard. I say that with no intention of projecting a "woe is me" attitude. There is nothing else I'd rather be and nowhere else I'd rather go than to be here in my home, with my two little guys to love and raise. They bring me more JOY than my heart can hold.

But they also bring me more frustration and pain and tears and fits than one Mama can handle!

Motherhood is all those good things people say about it - it's rewarding, and joyous, and happy, and playful, and wonderful and yadda yadda yadda.

Motherhood is also exhausting.

I only have two kids. I marvel at women who have more. And work outside the home. And sleep. And still look good every day.

I don't allow myself to take a break. Truthfully, there is very little opportunity to. There's always something that needs to be done. Or should be done. Or could be done. Or would be really nice if it was done so I could cross it off my to-do list and actually feel like I got something accomplished between kissing boo-boos, changing diapers, doing crafts, preparing nourishing snacks, and playing Yahtzee, Jr ~ oh, and attempting to raise well-mannered, Jesus-loving, contributing members of society.

While I know my parents come to see their grandchildren...I know that they come to take care of me, too.

I am 31 years old. And I still need my mom and dad.

Their visits give me time...time to start (and finish) things that would normally take several hours or several days to accomplish. My dad's hands play games with the boys so I can organize my craft room. My mom's hands fold my laundry so I can learn how to operate the self-clean function on my oven. My dad's hands help the boys navigate the internet as they watch Disney online so I can fix a broken toy. My mom's hands hold books as she reads story after story after story to the boys so I can go to the bathroom by myself (it really is the little things, people).

They make it easy for me to relax.

They make it easy for me to take a break.

They make it easy for me to be "Lesley" first, for a brief while, before stepping back in to "Mom."

And when after four days, they go back home to Minnesota, I'm a little bit refreshed.

Until one throws a fit on the living room floor, the other is in time out, mac and cheese is caked to the underside of the table, the dog pees in the house, and we've run out of milk.

Ahh...motherhood.

{Mom, Dad...when are you coming back???}

February Art

No school February 1 & 3 --- SNOW DAYS!

2/10/11

Drew decorated his bag for collecting Valentine's with A LOT of stickers. The other side was halfway covered as well.

2/10/11

"I know you miss me when I'm away,

So I made this hug for you today!

This special hug from me to you

Will give you hugs all day through!"

2/10/11

Valentine door hanger made at his class Valentine's party.

12/15/11

A bag full of kisses

Drew cut (some of) the hearts and kissed each one with a rubber stamp.

(click on the photo to enlarge to read the poem)

2/22/11

Happy President's Day!

Drew cut out the circle and glued on George.

2/24/11

Mrs. Bland read a story today about the animals waking up from their long winter's nap. When they woke up, they saw a small flower peeking up through the snow. Drew cut the snowflakes, and glued everything on.

Picture of the Day, Week 8

Sunday {2.20.11}

The boys spend time in the church nursery during Sunday morning worship. Drew is old enough now to go to Children's Church, but for the moment, he prefers being with Chris in the nursery. He's finally willing to stay without crying, so there's no need to push any changes to his routine.

Monday {2.21.11}

Grammy & Papa arrived yesterday and stayed through Thursday. Our time was spent playing games with Papa and snuggling with Grammy.

Tuesday {2.22.11}

Reed is getting more and more difficult to keep in the cart while shopping. Thankfully, the toy aisle in Kohls made it out relatively unscathed.

Wednesday {2.23.11}

My parents showed us their goodies and photos from their ProBowl weekend spent in Hawaii. These two goofballs were having a jolly good time in these hats!

Thursday {2.24.11}

And among those ProBowl pics were some of this stud. My dad took them just for me. I heart Peyton Manning. He's so dreamy. (And yes, Brad's totally aware. I think he's the one that set us up...)

Friday {2.25.11}

Disney is a regular part of our morning routine. Reed's favorite: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Drew's *new* favorite: Jake and the Neverland Pirates. Brad's and my favorite: Imagination Movers.

Saturday {2.26.11}

During my usual blog hopping today, I found this at Funky Polkadot Giraffe via Tatertots & Jello. I printed it right away. It just oozes creative inspiration for me. And it just made me really really happy. :)