Simply Absurd

I went to the store the other day for no other reason than that my friends were running errands. 

Did you know that this is one of my very favorite activities? I'm so happy that I have friends that run errands together again.

Anyhow, I wasn't originally going to go because I was home with both children and didn't want to needlessly haul them all over. 

Cue Jesse.

He walked in the door from school earlier than I had expected him to, and heard that my friends would be running errands without me.

"You should go," he said. He even sweetened the deal and agreed to keep both Oliver AND Alice (being left alone with Alice makes him nervous or something).  

Guys, My level of excitement over heading out without two children, a diaper bag, and car seat, to tag a long on some one's errand trip was simply absurd.

BUT I LOVED IT!

I practically danced through the aisles. Ok, I'll admit it. There are a couple of aisles that I literally danced through.

I am out of control.

Zucchini Zucchini Zucchini...an email from Grandpa Than

Oliver and Grandpa Than at the B&O Railroad Museum February 2013

I adore the way that my dad talks with Oliver. Since we don't see him often, he often sends Oliver emails instead. They make my little man's day! This one is my very favorite so far...

Good morning Oliver,

                

...It is only Thursday, and I am looking forward to the weekend. I have things I want to do. I have a gate to make work in front of the trailer. I need to talk to Grandma about making our patio nicer and planting grass in the back yard. I need to decide what kind of vegetables I am going to plant in my garden this year...

...It’s supposed to be a nice weekend so maybe I can BBQ at Great Grandpa John’s house on Sunday. He likes BBQ, and Great Grandma Lucy likes it when I cook. Last week we cooked Pork Ribs on the BBQ and they were really good. It was warm enough to sit on the patio while the cooked, but on Monday it snowed again.

This year in my garden I think I will plant Tomatoes, Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, and green peppers. Usually I plant lots of jalapeno peppers, and anaheim peppers, but this year I won’t plant as many of those. I will plant some cucumbers, and zucchini, because they are good to eat and fun to say. 

Zucchini Zucchini Zucchini. :) 

I use to plant peas but nobody would eat them. I don’t have enough room for corn, but maybe I can plant some radishes, and carrots. I have to be careful because Andre doesn’t like to work in the garden and neither does grandma. So anything I plant I have to take care of.

                

Are you going to plant a garden this year? Will you plant a Tomato plant, and a Broccoli plant too. What about???? Egg plant! It’s fun to watch vegetables grow, and when they grow up you get a treat for all of the nice things you do for them.

Did you know that flowers and vegetables like to be talked to? I tell my vegetables nice things about how fast they are growing and how pretty they are. Sometimes I tease them because they don’t know how to standup straight. I tell all the bees thank you for visiting my garden, and I tell the Praying Mantis Thank you for praying for my friends the vegetables. Even though I know that he is there to have dinner, and sometimes breakfast or lunch. I’ll be nice to him and he’ll be nice to my Vegetables.

Have a Very nice day, I love you very much. I love your Mom and Dad, and Alice very much too!

Grandpa Than

Thursday

Oliver slid his pants drawer open this morning and exclaimed "I DON'T HAVE ANY CLEAN PANTS!" and it was true, so he wore skeleton jammies to preschool. I am SO over laundry.

Jesse spent a million years at the MVA fixing his drivers license. He tried to complain, but I reminded him that every time I've gone to the MVA I've done so with at least one child in tow. I would give anything to go to the MVA and sit quietly by myself for a couple of hours...

I sauteed spinach tonight at the suggestion of my good friend, the interweb. I liked it. Also, the spinach helped me feel a little better about all the junk I've been consuming lately. Seriously, don't ask me how many corndogs I ate. Suffice it to say that I won't be buying anymore treats until I recover some self control. I'm just SO HUNGRY all the time.

Alice is a chatterbox and we enjoyed many delightful conversations with her today.

Solid Evidence

Oliver is sort of a disagreeable little fellow lately, and sometimes, in the middle of a full day of tantrums, constant whining, and his selective listening, it's hard to remember why I like him.

Admitting this to you is a big deal because I have felt a lot of guilt about it lately.

Thankfully, at least once a day, he provides solid evidence to the argument that, though his little mind is somewhat addled by recent big events in our lives, my best friend Ollie is still in there somewhere...

Guard Dragons

I love the way the big trucks are friends with all of the toys. 

They seem to be able to integrate themselves into any game with any toy. They play with blocks, bugs, potato heads, and so on, and so forth. 

My favorite combination so far has been the big trucks and the two headed dragon. They are a perfect fit.

Families: Original Art by Ollivander

I Wish Carter's Made Clothes for Grownups

Today was a swell day.

I was on time for both dropping off AND picking up Oliver from his preschool group.

I had a free five dollars to spend at Kohl's! No strings attached. I spent it on Alice, as usual.

I finally got to the store to pick up new mascara...I've been mascara-less for DAYS which has truly been a tragedy because I'm in LOVE with my eyelashes. Also, I'm vain. 

I'm so vain I think ALL the songs are about me.

I got to spend the rest of the afternoon watching The West Wing.

And Alice was wearing my current favorite outfit. A llama shirt with bright red corduroy pants.

I don't know about you, but I'd sure love a llama shirt like this one! However, I'm not certain that I could pull off the red pants.

Holy Moly! My baby is adorable! 

I'll be happy when she has some hair on the top of her beautiful little head to deflect that glare that seems to be in every picture I take of her... Again with the vanity!

Homonym

"Mom!"

he called out while running into my room.

"Did you know that there are three sorts of stuff called P?

There's...bathroom Pee

There's...the letter P

And there's food called Pea. It's green!

Did you know that, Mom?"

The Moses Twins

Alice and Mingochicken spend an awful lot of time together at Oliver's insistence. 

Mingochicken always seemed so inanimate, but since Alice arrived, Mingochicken has really come to life.

She needs blankets, diaper changes, and bottles on a regular basis (Oliver tried nursing her, but he realized quickly that he doesn't have "Chests" so, bottles it is!). She doesn't need a crib though. Oliver has decided to cosleep.

Mingochicken used to cry, but there is currently a strict No Crying rule in our home. Alice is really struggling with that one. (BABIES! What can you do?) 

Miss Alice and Miss Mingochicken get their diapers changed (Mingochicken's diapers are invisible.

Mingochicken is Oliver's pride and joy.

Work Out Gear

Oliver came bounding down the stairs one day insisting that he was ready to exercise because he was wearing his exercising clothes. 

He then showed me his exercising skills, which involved a lot of grunting.

He's hardcore.

First, Middle, Last

Oliver is infatuated with his full name. Actually he is infatuated with everyone's full name, but he's very picky about his.

Oliver Jesse Moses is the way that he would like for you to refer to him.

He will remind you, should you forget.

Two

Sweet Baby Alice is two months old today!

Fun Things About Alice:

She consistently gives me seven hours of sleep and she tries really hard to be happy at all times, and in all things, and in all places. Her hair is growing, and slowly filling itself in on top. The simple fact is that we've gone completely gaga over this sweet baby and I don't expect that to ever change. 

Speaking of sweet..."Sweet Baby Alice" is the name that she has come to be known by to a few friends here in Maryland, and the name I use most often. It was given to her by my good friend, whose interweb name is Miss M.   When Alice was just a few days old, Miss M. posted a photo of herself holding Alice to her facebook page and she received many congratulations from friends who assumed that she had adopted again. Since then, she has earned the title of Favorite Aunt because of her considerable effort to spend time snuggling Alice at least once every week since she was born.

Speaking of names... Mom, you'll be happy/relieved to know that after two months spent with Miss Alice Miriam who, in my opinion, has the best name on the planet, we no longer think of her as Rocket Swish. It just never crosses our minds. And while it is fine with me that my friends are still referring to her as RS, it really throws me off sometimes.

Speaking of friends who are still calling her Rocket Swish... I asked my Young Women not to even touch the baby until March. I know that sounds like overkill, but you haven't seen a group of ten teenage girls converge upon a baby the way these sweet girls do, and at the height of flu and cold season, I wanted Alice to be a little older before they started passing her around. On Sunday, they walked into the Young Women's room with eyes only for Alice. It was like a very gentle game of hot potato...

And that is Alice at two months!

5 Ripe Avocados

Today, I found the avocados that I bought at Costco and then forgot about in the pantry. They were all very ripe and needed to be eaten. 

It was actually rather a glorious find.

So we ate guacamole for dinner and took silly selfies in celebration.

Who wouldn't celebrate five ripe avocados?

Welcome to the After Party

Oscar night on the East Coast... 

When the food is eaten, the friends are gone, and the party is over but the Oscars are still going because they didn't start until 8 PM...

...it's nice to snuggle up with new babies and attractive husbands, ignore the mess in the kitchen and enjoy the rest of the show.

Post Oscar conclusions:

Must see Gravity and Blue Jasmine.
Must get Kimber's funeral potatoes recipe
Must get a bigger house so I can invite more people next time.

Mom! I'm a Grocery!