Friday + Saturday + Sunday

Friday night Mayhem and I went to my cousin's high school graduation.  He loves her so much!  He points to her picture on our fridge and mutters something because he can't say her name yet.

Waiting in the car to leave the parking lot.

Saturday morning my car rolled over to 100,000.  I don't know what it is with me and numbers I'll never see again.  I'm a little weird.  It's just so sad!  My car will never be less than 100,000 miles again!

Mayhem fell asleep in the car on the way to one of his friend's 2nd birthday party Saturday morning.

I laid him in the trunk to change his diaper and he just kept sleeping!

He woke up by the time we got to the door and for three hours he and about ten other babies partied hard!  They ripped and romped inside and outside, played with toys, ate cake and popsicles, and took turns riding in this sweet Ferrari.  (Mayhem wanted out once the birthday boy's dad started pushing him around the yard in it!)  He even fell on a bass drum and scratched his chin, ha ha!

Sunday we went to church and took a nap when we got home.  Boots had to work all weekend so of course we missed him.  Maybe the three of us can do something fun together soon.

Normal Behavior?

Boys are strange creatures, aren't they?  This we know.

I was vacuuming my car in the driveway and trying to keep an eye on him puttering around the yard when this happened.

He just climbed on in because, why not, the door was open!

Ok, I thought, I can work with this.  At least I won't have to chase him.

By the time I'd worked my way from the driver's seat, both sides of the backseat, the trunk, and made it around to the passenger's side he'd thrown all of my coupons out into the yard, found my pen, and climbed over to the steering wheel, punching every button he could find.  Then he started accidentally beeping the horn.  The neighbors probably thought about killing us, but I am so glad he didn't figure out he was the one making the noise and how to do it again.

I took out the garbage when we went back inside to cool off and he decided to relieve my cabinet of all of its plastic bags.

This is all except three, maybe.

They were so deep he looked like he was swimming trying to get out of the pile.

That night I went to put a blanket off the couch into the basket in the closet and I found the little hoarder's secret stash.  Inside the basket he'd crammed 2 clean (thank God!) diapers, 2 plastic bags, one of my socks, and a wad of fabric scraps.  It was pretty funny finding what he thought he'd hidden and I laugh a little every night when I look before bedtime.

He's figured out that he can smash his ear on my arm when I'm rocking him and then pull it off and break the suction after his head gets all hot and sweaty.

He spits and sputters when my hair falls in his face and tickles his nose.

He opened a box of soap and licked the bar so he'll be blowing bubbles before too long.  One of my hairbrushes went for a dive in the toilet and his daddy tried hard not to laugh.  The drawer one my jewelry box got such a workout from all the sliding open and slamming shut I had to turn the poor thing to the wall to give it some relief!

He was playing with a bib yesterday and trying to put it on himself.  When I turned back around again he had it on like a cape!  I went for the camera, but he snatched it off too soon.

Boys are so weird.

But when he's asleep.... I just love him.  Of course, I love him when he's awake, but when he's asleep I love him!

Look at those lips!

Menu Planning

Sunday night at church one of the girls in my class (I say girl, I think she's a few years older than me) mentioned something about how she doesn't plan what her family eats for the week because she can't think that far ahead.  Inside my head I was doing the whole CHA-CHING! YES! move.  

I don't menu plan either.  

I've tried.  

Twice.  I've done it twice, but that counts, right?

All the hippie mamas on the Internet swear by menu planning and how it will change your life.  Saving time, saving money, eliminating trips to the store, cutting out confusion over what's for dinner...

But, man, it's a job.  At least it is for me.

I get out all of my recipe books and pull up my Pinterest food board on the ipad, plus some paper and a pen, and try come up with about five different meals that don't feature the same flavors (I'm always heavy on the Italian) and that are borderline healthy, ie including vegetables and not out of a box.  This is harder than it sounds believe it or not.  I want to feed us real food, but sometimes Boots is like, "Where's the meat?" or "This must be something healthy."

I aim for five because with only two of us really eating (Mayhem eats, but not enough to be considered a third person yet) there will be leftovers for lunch the next day or maybe enough for dinner the next night.  I'm not always big on leftovers, but I am HUGE on saving money, so my five planned dinners usually stretch out 7 or 8 days.  

Sometimes, well, usually, when Boots works late I'll just fix a sandwich or something for myself instead of messing up the kitchen for one person to eat.

Then there's the whole side of me not being much of a repeater.  If I was I could just reuse a previous plan or two, but I haven't found the perfect sequence yet.  I like to try new things and if we ate it within the past four months it's either a serious favorite or requested.  Nothing is ever requested.  It's not that everything I cook is so bad he never wants to eat it again (or is it?  Have I been lying to myself?), Boots just never has any opinions on what we eat. 

"Anything in particular you feel like eating?"

"No.  Don't guess so."

Unless it's a real flop.  And when it's a flop we usually agree.  

There are even some menu planning programs out there to help, some free some you pay for, along with countless tip lists on Pinterest.  I'm just not with it.

All that to say this: Do you menu plan or just wing it by throwing something together out of whatever you've got?  If you do menu plan, got any tips?

Don't get me started on freezer cooking.  That's another hippie mama requirement I am not yet fulfilling.

Saturday + Sunday

Saturday Mayhem and I had a little visit with my mama and why didn't I take pictures of the two of them playing together in the kitchen floor???

Here we are pre-baby shower for my neighbor's daughter.  As usual, Mayhem charmed the pants off everybody there because of and in spite of his scavenging everybody's plates.  "Bite?  Bite?"  This kid... His mama needs to teach him some manners.

Sunday when I picked him up from his class after church was over one of his teachers asked me about moving him up to the next class.  I kinda figured that was coming after a playdate with a friend that's ten months older and seeing Mayhem just push the bigger baby around.  She said he wasn't being bad, just banging on the cribs while the babies were sleeping.  :|  So next week Mayhem is leaving the Bed Babies behind and joining the 1 & 2s.

It must be exhausting to try to keep babies awake because he fell asleep in the car on the way home and kept sleeping when I brought him in the house and put him on the couch.  Wild boy took a three hour nap!

14 Months

My model finally felt like taking pictures.

"His tail tickles!"

His face!

"Pick me up, Mama!"

Short legs sometimes require waists rolled down and legs rolled up.

"I got a big stick!"

Saturday + Sunday

This weekend has been pretty uneventful.  In fact, it's been the most low-key, do nothing few days we've had in a while.

Friday was spent on the couch all. day.  I watched TV and Mayhem coughed and cried in between catnaps.  Saturday was much the same, with a late afternoon burst of feeling better and wanting to play.  Sunday has been the day of sneezing and snotting as he sends this cold or crud, whatever this junk is, packing.  Endless nose wiping and mountains of tissues.  We skipped church just to be on the safe side even though he's probably not contagious anymore.

Maybe tomorrow we can get back to some regularly scheduled programming.  I'm anxious to do a small sewing project and get back to walking in the mornings.  I'm about TV'd out to tell the truth.  Cleaning and cooking have been at a minimum so that's sort of been nice.  I have made a kale frittata twice this week though and both times he has eaten nearly as much as me! 

Here's to sick days and feeling crappy!  They sure make you appreciate the regular ones.

Burnin' Love

Some days the mama job is a difficult one.  Those days are usually the ones the baby doesn't feel well, like today.

Mayhem nearly drove me past the point of insanity with his nonstop whining yesterday, but after partying like it was 2009, i.e. dragging out all the toys like some sort of mini-madman on a search, he rewarded me by sleeping nearly six hours straight.  Ya'll, that's an eight month record right there!

This morning, my little cupcake fell asleep in the stroller on our walk which never happens.  That was my second clue, the first being the new tooth I found in his mouth yesterday. 

He has been so pouty pitiful today, wanting to be held and loved on constantly.  So I have.

He's just sat quietly in my lap against me most of the day and has had a slight fever so I am really getting a taste of what the velveteen rabbit must have felt like when the boy had scarlet fever.  

There's even been some laying on the couch staring at the walls going on.  Even babies need to space out sometimes.

He's got a cough, too, most likely from a summer cold and is just the saddest little puppy you've ever seen.  So much "I don't feel good!" drama!

It drives me crazy and I love it at the same time.  I want the whining to end and him to happily go back to playing with his toys, but I'm like, "Sit in my lap and let me love on you if that makes you feel better," too.  It's pretty awesome knowing that your presence is absolutely needed for healing.  This mama job can be hard: conflicting emotions, difficult days, tough love or cuddling, there is no manual and there are so many guides, but right now it's my favorite.  So I put him to bed with a dose of medicine and just a diaper for jammies tonight and hope tomorrow is easier.

Sleep Talking

There are no secrets in our house.  I talk in my sleep, Boots talks in his sleep, even Mayhem talks in his sleep!  I've heard him say "da!" and dog, but last night was the funniest so far.  He woke up and wanted me to hold him and woke up every time I put him down so I put him in the bed between me and Boots.  He'd been asleep at least five minutes and I was waiting to fall back asleep when all of the sudden he let out a loud, spitty "PLLLBBBTTTT!" like he walks around doing all day long.  Crazy baby!

Saturday + Sunday

Ladies' luncheon with Em and Meme

Wagon rides

So exhausted he slept through a diaper change!

A new pretty is growing!  (What is this?)

Bursting

I'm feeling explosive today.  Not in the diarrhea kind of way or even really, really angry way.  Like I am exploding within myself like an emerging butterfly trying to get out.  Explosive in the do-something, create-something kind of way even though the only doing I've mostly been up to is rearranging my closets and I haven't had many creative thoughts to write lately unless you count this post.

Maybe it's because I'm all hopped up on cold coffee and milk and I'm feeling like I'm getting away with something because Mayhem is taking a nap and I'm not.  (I think I've had one nap in the past two weeks.  I must be getting more rest at night.)

Maybe it's because I had an excuse to go to the bookstore and I bought myself, I mean, Mayhem three new books.  

And I read them all while rocking him to sleep.

Maybe it's because I gave Mayhem a new haircut this morning and it's obviously gone to his head because he has been so feisty today!  

Frank says, "Be careful petting me, boy!"

Ya'll, I love this little boy.  And I do mean little boy because he is not a baby anymore.  Walking and climbing, playing and smiling, he is such a joy and delight to his daddy and me.  (He learned to drink out of a straw this week, tell me I'm not the only person who thinks that is the cutest thing EVER!)

Maybe it's because a friend sent me a Pin and I actually took a few minutes to do something to my hair this morning.  It didn't turn out the way it was supposed to, but I wore it to town anyway.

Miss!

Missed again!

Just take it the easy way!

I have no idea where this will lead or even what exactly the point of me sharing this is, but it's out there.    It's springtime and I'm feelin' good! 

Happy weekend!