Maybe I should take a lunch break more often...

What's the bestest sound in the whole wide world?

The sweet little tinkle of pee-pee in the potty!

We had smashing potty success yesterday. Jo agreed to wearing her Elmo undies, and wore them with only one accident all day long. She even napped without a diaper (and woke up dry!) and ran a couple of errands with Daddy (without any pee-pee incidents!) She is SO ready to be a big girl, and has begun the "I'm-not-a-baby-I'm-a-big-girl" argument. Crossing my fingers that we're rounding the corner to potty-training happiness.

Today she has on princess undies, and as I was getting her dressed, she says "we don't pee-pee on princess, do we Mommy?"

Another whirlwind weekend in the month of July has passed. Can't even believe that we're looking at August already. Seems like just yesterday I was saying "holy cow. I can't believe it's July already." Guess that's just the way it goes, huh? Evie was either battling a doosey of a cold bug, or having teething trauma over the weekend. She had a low-grade fever all weekend, runny nose and general grumpiness. We had a couple of rough nights as she was having trouble breathing through all the snot and woke herself up frequently. But yesterday the 4 1/2 nap she took seemed to do the trick and she woke up her chipper self again. And I'm sure you're dying to know that her nose goo is no longer yellow, but a shiny-happy clear color again. :)

Saturday I went to Stillwater for my friend Dana's bachelorette party. It was a very "grown-up" party; we met at Northern Vineyards Winery for tasting and a tour, followed by a buffet dinner and boat ride on the river courtesy of St. Croix Boat and Packet Co. It's been a few years since I've done a bachelorette party, and I daresay that in our "old" age, we've mellowed a bit as no one got kicked out of any bars, threw any phallic-shaped objects at anyone, or slept on any toilets :) (Not that anyone I know ever actually did any of those things, you know, I'm just sayin') But it was tons of fun, and so good to catch up with some friends that I don't get to see very often. While I was having bachelorette party fun, Pat took the girls to a birthday party for his godson and cousin, Ben (who is 14, by the way. Geez.) They had a great time and Josie even got extra servings of ice cream. I'm sure she wouldn't mind going back to Paul and Erin's house sometime soon!

So there's your weekend wrap-up. I'm fixin' to post some more pictures soon. Hang tight.

Some Days

Some days, I feel like Supermom. (And I'm not talking about the bakery at SuperAmerica.)


My spotless, luxurious cape flows gently in the breeze behind me.


I efficiently and effortlessly whisk my two girls off to a doctor appointment after feeding them nutritious breakfasts and dressing them adorably in trendy outfits. They are clean and content and well-behaved. I stop for a moment to soak up all the Happy in my life.


"What good parents you are!" "Look how cute those girls are!" "You make it look so easy!" These are the cries of astonishment from the masses as we effortlessly Parent our children. We joyfully journey home in our family vehicle, singing educational songs and oozing love for one another. "I love you, Mommy!" "NO, I love YOU, Josie!" Meanwhile, Eve plays and smiles in her carseat, the waves of bliss crashing over her, helping to form her into a generous, caring child.


Eat your heart out, Hallmark.


I valiantly toss my beautiful cape over my shoulder and usher my children into the house, prepare yet another delicious, healthy meal for my smiley, cooperative, little ones, while keeping my kitchen spotless, putting away dishes from the dishwasher and opening the mail, all at the same time. There is no task that I cannot handle - for I am Supermom!


Then. There are the Other Days. The days when my cape is a little dirty and frayed at the edges. It falls in my face, gets shut in the bathroom door and trips me as I drudgingly move from one Chore to another.


One girl whines for no reason while the other makes messes of everything she touches. All I want is a shower and clean underwear, but there is no time, and the laundry has not been touched in what feels like a month - even though it's probably more like a week. I step in cat vomit while trying to identify moldy leftovers in the fridge and assembling unpaid bills in "now" piles and "next paycheck" piles.


Time to prepare another meal. We cook, clean-up, cook, clean-up. "I want ketchup!" "I need a napkin!" "I'm wet!" It never ends. Annoyed, I push my cape aside and wipe runny noses and disassemble Megablock towers left in the living room.

My temper is a bit short. I speak a bit too sharply. Don't put my full effort into reading all of the books or stacking all of the blocks. A bout of crying pounces on my last nerve and then kicks it in the shins. And I feel guilty about everything all the while. What if my lack of skills on this day shape my children into vandals, scoundrels, brats or social misfits? How will I live with myself?!

Okay. So I'm being a bit dramatic. Most days are... good. Some days are great. And some... not so great. Through it all, I wear my "Mom" cape. It fits better on some days than others. It doesn't get in my way as much on some days as it does on others. And there are a lot of days when I wish that I could "do more," could "be better." But as long as I'm "doing," as long as I'm "being" a mom, then I think everything will be okay. And I put those words in "quotes" because they differ from day to day, from person to person. I don't think there is an all-inclusive definition for doing more, for being better. If there is, please tell me. What I have to remember is that the ferocious love I feel for those girls is the same on the good days, the great days and the not-so-great days.

I have lots of Mom-Friends, and some soon-to-be Mom-Friends. And each and every one of them never ceases to amaze me. Most I have known since long before we became moms. We vary in personalities, abilities, backgrounds, strengths and weaknesses... but the one thing that doesn't vary is the cape. As tattered and worn as it may be some days, we all wear it with pride.

In a nutshell...

Evie had her 1 year well-baby check last Friday.

Weight: 18 lbs., 14 oz. - 10th percentile.
Length: 28 3/4 in. - 50th percentile.
I don't remember what her head measurement was - but it was a big one. Like, 90th percentile. My kids have big noggins!

So we can't face her forward in her carseat quite yet - she needs to be at least 20 lbs. And, we had tried to switch her over to a "next step" milk-based formula a few weeks ago, and she started to throw up, arch her back while crying and have bad gas. So we put her back on soy formula until her doctor appointment. She most likely is lactose intolerant, so we're giving her soy milk, just like daddy. Hopefully, she grows out of it. We're supposed to try whole milk again in a couple of months. She seems to handle a bit of yogurt and cottage cheese and cheese just fine, so if we only have to watch the milk, that will be do-able.

More soon. Just wanted to get that down in writing before I forgot.

Just Eve

A Letter to the Most Beautiful Girl

Evie,

Happy 1st Birthday! Please forgive me as I am struggling to find the words for you today. I want to be eloquent and insightful and give you a letter that will awe you with pearls of wisdom in the coming years. But try as I might, I could never adequately describe the pure joy that I experience when I open the door to your room in the morning and see your bright smile and even brighter eyes. To know that those gifts are meant for me makes me feel completely and totally blessed. It's a moment that strikes me every single time and never dulls with routine - a rush of emotion that can only be plain old unadulterated happiness. Whatever worries might lie on my mind outside of that door are instantly gone when I greet you. You have wrapped me around your little finger. You fill me with wonder at your abilities - already taking first steps, saying first words, mimicking sounds you hear. You amaze me. Thank you for... just being you.

To say that your daddy and I love you just doesn't seem like enough today. To the moon and back, Genevieve. Happy Birthday.

love, mommy

My ice cubes are melting, and I'd like a cocktail...

Do you ever have so much going on and so much to look forward to and so much to talk about and are so busy at work that your head is spinning and you don't know what to think about or what to do first or what to do next and don't know how you're going to get it all done but it's all so fun and tiring and exciting and so... worth it!

Yeah.

Good times.

Gotta get back to work now.

Ta Da!

Eve will stop whatever she's doing to smile and clap whenever you say "ta da!" AND... she took her first unassisted steps yesterday! She's been toodling around furniture and standing unassisted for a few weeks, and days, respectively, and yesterday I was folding laundry (speaking of which, mine eyes have seen the glory, and it's the bottom of a laundry basket! Hallelujah, I think I'm caught up!) while sitting on the loveseat in the living room, and she was playing between the laundry basket and the coffee table. Somewhere in there she decided to turn from the table to me - and instead of dropping to her bottom like usual, she took 2 definite, wobbly, hurried steps to my leg! Frickin' amazing.

I swear she's trying to say "Baxter." And "Brewster." And Pat thinks she told him "thank you." She is mimicking anything and everything, including matching and out-screaming me and her sister. I've never heard a kid with such a set of pipes.

Watch your toilet paper if Eve comes to visit. She's very adept at spinning oodles off the roll into a lovely pile on the floor. Picture it:

Saturday afternoon. I'm in the kitchen. Josie is in the living room. I haven't heard Eve for a few moments, and ask Josie what Evie's doing. Josie looks around. Spots Eve in the bathroom, unrolling toilet paper. "OH NO, Mommy - look what Eve did. NO NO, Evie!" Eve hightails it from the bathroom, hoping that if she's not caught at the scene of the crime that it can't be pinned on her. She's quite sneaky that way. BUT she forgot that she has WADS of toilet paper in her mouth. Slightly incriminating. Pat intervenes. Attempts to dislodge wet, gooey paper from Eve's chompers. Josie decides to become a rhino and begins to ram her head into Pat and Eve. Why? Who knows. Pat removes toilet paper from Eve's mouth, but there's still more. "How much toilet paper is in your mouth??!!" he exclaims, all the while getting rammed by Josie's head. Meanwhile, I'm just leaning against the sink in the kitchen, taking it all in. :) Ahh. Good times.

Josie and Pat went outside to play for a while after dinner Friday night. The nice neighbors were outside, so they went to say "hi." Apparently, Josie was sitting on the steps at the side of their house when she says to Darlene, "Look! My lion... ROAR!" while lifting up her dress and pointing to the lion on her diaper.

Anyone have any advice for getting toddler back on board for potty-training? She was doing so well, and now, not so much. No interest anymore. Do we up the anty in the bribe department? It's just very frustrating when you know that she CAN do it, but just doesn't want to.

Is my voice really THAT bad?

Wait don't answer that. Here's another Jo-ism...

I'm not sure why... but Josie never wants me to sing - other than during the nightly bedtime ritual, of course. I start a little diddy - and then soon I hear "Shh, Mommy." Or, my favorite, "Mommy. Enough."

But SHE can go around singing all she wants. :) I wish I would have had something handy to record with the other night - we had just finished dinner and Brewster was doing his usual scavenging around the table and chairs looking for any bit of food he could find (because you know, we never feed him) and somehow he ended up with a single grain of rice on his head. Josie found this particularly hilarious - and not too long after I left the kitchen and heard her singing a lovely rendition of "Brewster Rice-Head, Brewster Rice-Head..." If you haven't had the privilege to hear it, it's quite stirring.

Where did "3" go?

Josie Update:

1... 2... FOUR! Jo is counting everything. And no number 3. Ever. And even if it's blatantly obvious that there are, like, 99 of something... it's still 1, 2, 4!

And everything is "Watch THIS!" Then she runs down the entire length of the sidewalk in the morning going "whoooooaooaooaooaooaooaoo" the whole way. Or sticks her tongue out. Or gives a little kick. Or sticks her finger in the hole in the middle of an alphabet magnet. Or closes her eyes, but leaves them open just a tiny bit so she thinks she's being tricky and fooling us into thinking that she's sleeping, but watching us the whole time.

And if you say her name in an inquiring manner, she responds with "WHAT?" in a somewhat irritated tone.

And if you groan or complain or make an exclamation - she's dying to know "what, Daddy?"

And she is oh, so sensitive to everyone's emotions. Quick to give a hug or kiss if someone needs one, and quick with the tears if she's scolded. Or not allowed to have fruit snacks right before dinner.

And her imagination is taking off in full form. If you haven't been witness to the "wolf" story - let me highlight it here: We went to the Minnesota Zoo a few weeks ago. After that - she started to spin this yarn about the wolves we saw. If you asked her what she saw at the zoo, she's say "wolf." Then she started to hold up her finger and say "Wolf BITE me!" (Which it most certainly did NOT.) Then it progressed into this tale about how she'd given the wolf a time out, and told it "Bad Wolf!" and "Go away, Wolf!" and "naughty Wolf, no bite!" And I think last weekend she was even telling the same story, but it was Emily at daycare who bit her on the finger, not the wolf. (Which also did not happen.)

And we find her babies napping all over the house, and are told repeatedly to "shhhh, Baby sleeping!" if we talk too loudly.

And if she doesn't really care to do something, we are told that that something is gone. Josie - do you need to go potty? No - potty gone. Josie - let's brush your teeth. No- toothbrush all gone.

And her bedtime rituals continue to expand. Hugs and kisses to those not venturing to her room with her. SHE has to close the door to her room. Pick out books. Perhaps play with dolls for a bit. Read "a couple" of books. (Which in reality is probably between 8 and 10.) And she may have to then "read" them. Perhaps a potty break. And more books. And then maybe a drink of water. Finish off a couple of books - then it's time for lights out and songs. And you prepare to say goodnight, and she asks in a sweet little voice, "more songs?" To which of course you have to oblige. The whole ritual can take - well, longer than happy to admit. But I figure that this won't go on forever, so we're going to enjoy it while it does.

Eve Update:

She's so close to walking. She'll turn away from whatever she's standing holding onto, and will almost take that step, but drops to her bottom instead. And she likes to "stand" on her head. Just hangs out. Head on the floor, butt in the air, looking around. Goofball.

She busted through a couple more big teeth - uppers, molars, I guess.

She's beside herself with excitement in the morning. Such a morning girl - she cracks us up, which helps in the morning when we're not quite as excited about being up. It's like she's been separated from us for SO long... and just can't stand it.

She loves to pull Josie's hair. She still doesn't have much of her own, so I suppose it's fascinating to her. And she follows Jo wherever she goes. And tries to do whatever she does. Which is awesome to watch. I'm sure Jo will tire of it soon - but for now I'm going to soak it up.

She's still terrified of strangers. Just don't look directly at her, and it will be fine. Or make a move in her direction. Or say anything to her. Or touch her. :)

I think I mentioned that she's saying "uh oh." And I swear she says "this." And of course, "da da" and "ma ma." They were both pretending to talk on the phone the other day at the same time. We're in so much trouble. :)

Man. I love those kids. *sigh*

74 lbs. of Boomity Boom

Holy Wa!


Charlotte's a fun town. I highly recommend that you give it a whirl sometime. Bars, restaurants and down-right friendly folk a-plenty overflow into the very clean, very entertaining Uptown (which is actually the Downtown) district. I'm fixin' to go back sometime, y'all. There's just something about the South that is very appealing - it's an attitude, or an outlook on life, I don't know - they're just not rushed or worried or stressed about much of anything. Hotter than he-awll (that's Tennessee speak for "hell", that's right, 2 syllables) but it is here, too - so what the hey!

AACTfest '07 has come and gone, and Escanaba got screwed. It was the only comedy of the 12 shows there, and unfortunately, the 3 adjudicators were musical theater freaks. (No offense, Meg. But they are a strange crew, don't you have to admit?!) They did win the award for best sound design (awesome sound effects, including the most amazing fart I've ever heard, and I'm married to Pat!), and that was the only acknowledgement they received - oh, wait, they did get some runner-up award for backstage congeniality or something like that. Sure, I'm biased, but their show kicked ass, and everyone knew it. All week those who were in the theater on Wednesday night to see the performance kept telling the cast and crew that they'd be one of the top plays, for sure. And after getting the shaft, everyone was scratching their heads as to what the heck happened. There really should be different categories in the judging, comedies / dramas vs. musicals. Don't get me wrong - I love a good musical. But they are so different in so many aspects, I don't quite understand how they can be judged on the same criteria. And a great comedy is so hard to pull off - and they did it spectacularly. We actually witnessed people slapping their knees and doubled over with laughter. *Humph* But they made it to the national competition, and put on an amazing show, and had fun all the while. And I guess that's what counts. What an honor it was to watch my brother on stage, leading the laughs with amazing comedic timing. He got the shaft, too, for best actor - not even a nomination. Frickin' musicals. It's not ACTING, and that's all I have to say about that, before I get myself into trouble. :)

To the cast and crew of Escanaba in da Moonlight - thanks for an amazing experience. You are wonderfully creative, funny and talented people, and I can't thank you enough for welcoming us into the "Yooper" crew with such open arms. I hope you all enjoyed the Woo-Woos as much as Marie did! :)

So now I find myself back, at work, at home, drowning in piles of dirty laundry and work to catch up on. But it was worth every minute. Only 4 nights away from home - and my girls decided to grow up! Well, not really, but now Eve is throwing around "Uh-uh Oh"s and Josie is just - so big! It sounds like they had a splendiferous time and every minute was packed with some kind of fun. Thank you, Daddy Pat... you're kind of nice. I think I'll keep ya.

SSSSweet!!

Josie has been really good about using the potty for the last couple of days. And yesterday when we picked her up from Betty's, we got the wonderful report that she had finally asked to use the potty chair, AND actually went on it - ALL DAY. AND last night, she tinkled before bed... AND when she got up this morning, she used the potty AGAIN and peed so much I checked her diaper - AND it was stinkin' DRY. I am frickin' beside myself. Who is this big girl???!

AND... Eve is finally saying "mama." We've been hearing "dada" for quite some time now, so I'm pretty tickled. AND she's starting to stand while not holding on to anything. AND last night she was pretending to talk into the phone. AND a couple of days ago she was sitting on Josie's ride-on toy, and was actually using her feet to push it. Who is this big girl???!

I don't know if I can take much more! :)

Newsflash: "Relaxing" Weekends a Thing of the Past...

So you say "have a nice weekend!" to your co-workers on Friday afternoon (or Thursday, as the case may be) and head out the door while looking ahead to a whole weekend to revamp, recoup and recover from a long week at work. Yeah, right! If someone had only told me 5 years ago to stop for a moment and ENJOY long, quiet, self-centered weekends... well, who am I kidding, I probably wouldn't have believed them. But my point - it's pretty sad when heading back to work on Monday morning is a chance to recover from the craziness that now defines our weekends. I swear I'm more exhausted after a weekend at home than a week at work! The laundry, the cleaning, the shopping, the cooking, the playing, the mopping. To all you moms and dads out there - a big fat kudos. You are all some kind of special, because It. Never. Ends. and I. Don't. Know. How. You. Do. It.

Can you tell I need a break? And a break I shall receive... in exactly 9 days. Off to Charlotte with my sis to take in the AACT (American Association of Community Theater - I'm assuming?) National Festival where my brother and his Drama Center will be performing. Yahoo! I'm so excited I could... I don't even know. I'm just beside myself with giddiness.

Don't get me wrong. Spending quality time at home with my fam means more to me than anything in the whole wide world. But I don't have any evening activities to get me out of the house, and golly, haven't been on an actual vacation since before Josie was born. Of course, those are the choices that I make... but I'm feeling a little burned-out, nonetheless. Anyhoo. Enough of that.

To recap our weekend... yeah - it was good. How's that for boring? Back on track with the Gronaus-sans-Joel on Fridays for some playdate action. It's awesome to be able to be outside now - and Josie was especially thrilled with the new slide/climby thingie in Lucy's backyard. And we had our first "dance class"... and she paid attention for about, oh - 5 minutes? :) But it went better than I expected (from Josie, I mean, not Meg and/or Lucy, who both performed marvelously and were very well behaved! :) :) :) ) and I think it will be awfully fun as the weeks progress.

The bobblehead craze has begun again for another season. If you don't know already - we have a collection of all of the bobbleheads the Twins have given away since they started up again - oh, what, 6 years ago, or so, maybe it's longer than that, I don't know. But what I do know is this - we're giant nerds. But now that we have all of them, we can't stop. As much as I would LOVE to, we just can't. So the first BH game of the season was on Saturday night. (Joe Mauer. He only has one sideburn, and it kind of bugs me. The bobblehead, not the real Joe. But anyway.) Pat went to the 'Dome around 1:00 or so on Saturday afternoon to secure our spot in line, and I brought the girlies after they woke up from naps, just in time for the doors opening at 4:00. And we actually were able to stay for the dreaded 2 hour wait until game-time, and made it until around 7:30. Of course, hot dogs and malt cups help, but both girls did pretty well. Eve didn't start to melt-down until she got scolded for grabbing the beer out of the cupholder on the back of my seat, then she decided she'd had enough and it was time to go home. She is her daddy's daughter, after all. Take away his beer, and it's all over. :)

Yesterday was a whirlwind of yardwork, housework, laundry (in which I barely made a dent. grrr.) and a Target / Walmart trip AND a grocery shopping trip. Yadda yadda yadda. I'm really tired this morning.

OH! But happy day - we have central air. I now am officially a believer that it is installed, and more importantly, functional. A dishwasher and central air all in one year? What's next - an attached garage?? Naw.... that's just silly. :)

I don't have a square to spare

Summer is here. Yahoo! Dressing the girls for summer is much easier than tackling layers of clothing. Here's a recap of the last couple of weeks in our house:

We had an awesome Memorial Day weekend with no plans and tons of free-time to spend as a family at home. Just what the doctor ordered. Friday night I took the girls downtown to meet Pat after work for a quick dinner and then we headed over to the Children's Museum. Saturday we ordered up a Savoy and hung out with the Magnificent Mathews-3 before heading to the 'Dome on the lightrail. Jo was SO excited for her first train ride, the kids all did great at the Twins game, and we were very honored to be present for Will's first baseball experience!

After almost 6 years of being homeowners, we've decided to give yardwork a try. :) And by "we," I mean Pat. So he's been busy attempting to spend some time in the yard, which isn't easy with a 2-year-old and 10-month-old who demand a lot of time and attention. And not to mention that he's got obstacles-a-plenty to overcome as the yard is in pretty rough shape after Brewster has had his way with it and after a previous homeowner just didn't give a darn. I applaud his efforts thus far. We're not going to be gracing the cover of BHG or anything, yet, but it's progress, nonetheless!

Summer softball has started, and so Pat is spending Wednesday nights out of the house and at the softball fields. The girls and I hope to go take in a game sometime. But the effort involved with getting home from work and daycare and getting kids (any myself) fed and ready and out the door and to the game, then home again and to bed requires much more effort than I can exert by myself, unless the stars are perfectly aligned. I know I'm a wuss. I'm sure next summer will be much easier. At least, that's what I like to keep telling myself :)

Josephine's world is awfully fun right now. She's eager to get ready in the morning and help make her hair "pretty" and see what "pretty" shirt or dress I've picked out for her to wear. I'm just thankful that she's still allowing me to pick out her clothes! Then she gets dressed and shows off for Eve, and for the girls and Betty at daycare. She's still successfully using the potty most mornings and evenings at home, but hasn't actually produced any "output" at daycare yet. She tries, but nothing happens, so she must be asking to go too late. We're going to have to step it up a notch soon, she's so ready and we just haven't pushed it yet. She even empties out her potty and flushes all on her own. And - we even put some "big girl undies" on her last Saturday, with none-too-successful results. But she did feel what it was like to have wet underwear, and now talks about not having a "potty accident." So I think we're headed in the right direction. She's talking in full sentences now, and comes up with words that we didn't even know she had ever heard. Most of her sentences end in "Okay?" I didn't realize how much I say that until I noticed her using it all the time. Josie loves to color. Josie loves to run errands with Daddy. "And me, Daddy? And me?!" Josie loves to use her new lawnmower and do yardwork with us - she even helped me plant some flowers a couple of weekends ago. Josie loves her little sister - most of the time. She's always giving Eve big hugs, but sometimes they resemble head-locks and Mom or Dad has to intervene before little sister gets really angry. They're starting to play together more and more, it's so stinkin' fun to watch. Jo's imagination has really taken off - her animals have conversations with each other, she talks on the "phone" all day, and different places in our house are "the park" and "the store" and "work." She sings songs to herself and her babies, she can climb into the booster chair and her carseat on her own and is all about "me do it!" She's a shy little bugger, though, once she's around anyone who doesn't reside in her house. She was so excited for this past weekend and Eve's baptism and having a "party" at our house... then once people actually come over, she pretty much hides out until they leave, then she starts talking a blue-streak again. *sigh* I'm sure it will pass, and we'll be wondering where our shy little girl went... right, Kay?? :)


We actually heard of another little girl named "Genevieve" at the MCM the other night. I was kind of bummed - here I thought we were so original. Anyway - oh, Eve. Where to start?! She. Is. Everywhere. She crawls with this kind of stiff-left-leg maneuver - her left leg is mostly straight, I don't know - for propulsion, I guess, and it works, because she is quick! She's pulling herself up on furniture. And the dog. And our legs. I watched her move herself from standing at the coffee table to standing at the couch. She likes to be wherever her big sister is, and will pull herself up on Josie's chair at the table to see what she's doing. And Betty told me that when Josie is napping, Eve will seek her out, go into the room and sit by the pack-n-play where Josie is sleeping. If you haven't witnessed the power of Eve's lungs first-hand, then you're really missing something. She likes to put on a good show at church, as our families can attest to after her baptism yesterday. She's sleeping well - for the most part. And she's eating well - for the most part, although she does want to feed herself exclusively, which she's not *quite* ready for, although she would disagree. :) She is already 10 1/2 months old, and I can't even believe that my baby will be one in a little over a month. And to head off any silly questions... NO - we're not ready for the next one any time soon. :)

Okay. This got long. But that's what happens when I can't find time to blog anymore! My new assignment at work is busy. That's an understatement, but pretty much sums it up. I'm liking it, though... I find the chaos quite addicting. Kind of like how I like blizzards and the mayhem they cause... well, it's a constant blizzard around here. So we're treading water, trying to keep our heads above water, and whatever other water-related descriptions you can think of for being really busy. Hopefully I can post some pictures sometime. The girls have changed so much, even just in the last couple of weeks. I hope everyone is well, and enjoying the warm weather! More soon. Maybe. :)

Whoa.

Holy-long-time-no-post, Batman.

We're still here. Work, eat, sleep, finish an assignment, take a week off, go to the Children's Museum, have a girls' weekend, start a new assignment, start summer softball, celebrate Mother's Day, celebrate Grandma Janet's 88th birthday, crawl all over the house and get into everything, and play and play and play. And that's what we've been up to.

More later. :)

Vamanos!

This probably isn't going to be nearly as funny to anyone who didn't witness it - which, I guess, is everyone but me... but I'm going to share anyway. :) It cracked me up all the way to daycare this morning.

We were ready to head out the door today when I realized that I was naked - and by that I mean that I forgot to put any jewelry on. So I scooted back into the house to grab a bracelet, which lives in a little drawer in a little stand in the bathroom. I was kind of kneeling / squatting in the bathroom with my back to the door trying unsuccessfully to get the bracelet fastened when I hear the flip flop of tiny sandals approaching me. Then there's a chubby little hand on my shoulder, and I turn to look at Jos and she leans in real close-like with her little head cocked to one side and says in the sweetest little condescending voice, "Betty's house, Mommy" then turns and walks back thru the kitchen and out the door.

Roughly translated - "Get your butt in gear and your act together, Mommy! I've got my raincoat on and am ready to go!"

A real person

Eve turned 9 months old a couple of days ago. I was looking at her this morning while she was sitting on the floor playing, and I can't even believe she's not so much of a baby anymore... but is turning into a little... girl. Imagine that! You think this wouldn't surprise me since I've been through it once before... but it happens so darn fast.

She's starting to pull herself up on furniture and still doesn't really crawl - but manages to get herself around using a combo of rolling, scooting and pulling techniques. If there's a toy in her sights that she wants, she's going to find a way to get it. She's using those 8 teeth and has started to eat some "real" food in addition to her baby food, like mashed up pieces of fruit, mashed potatoes, fruit puffs and little chunks of bread. Josie's having a hard time dealing with the mess that Eve makes when she's eating... so that will be an adjustment we'll have to work on, because it's only going to get worse once she's feeding herself exclusively. "Oh, no, Evie... Mess!!" :) Eve isn't entirely convinced that sleeping through the night is for her, even thought I've sat down and had some very serious talks with her. Some nights she does great, and then some... not so much. One thing that I'd forgotten from when Josie was this age was the pure joy and happiness to see you that is all over her face when we go in to pick her up from her crib in the morning. Eve is so excited to see us, she can hardly contain herself. Sure makes the morning a little easier. :) She's babbling away all the time, and "dadadadada" is her favorite phrase right now. She's our vocal, determined, funny, chubby, happy little girl!

Moving Forward

Finally... Mom and Erwin just found out that he will be able to be part of a study group at the Mayo Clinic and treatments will begin next week, continuing through late May. It's been a lot of waiting, so what a relief to finally know something. Please send some positive vibes their way!

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On another note - the blog world is a crazy world. It's so fun to have more and more sites to check up on and to feel part of the lives of friends and family that you may not get to see or talk to as often as you'd like. But one of the dangers is getting caught up in checking out the links on everyone's blogs, then checking out their links, and adding to the list of sites that you'd like to keep up on! Well, I stumbled on this Nitty.Gritty. site a while ago - and have been hooked ever since. Jody is truly inspirational. Whenever I'm feeling bogged down and sorry for myself, I go check out her site. It never fails that she says something that exactly rings true to something I've been feeling or thinking about. (Meg... I hope you're astounded by a couple of her comments today, as I was - especially in light of our recent convo!) She's been through a lot, and has come out with an amazing, positive attitude. Be sure to read the link to the story about her tragedy and loss of daughter, Teagan, located on the left-hand side of the page. And for my scrapbooking friends and family - she's really into that, too. The reason I'm passing on her site today is because of a link to a Washington Post story she provided in one of her latest posts. The article about our perceptions of beauty is really cool and has made me stop and think a lot today, and I just wanted to share. I hope you enjoy her blog, and the article, too.

A Poo of Many Colors

We came home from work one night last week to discover that Brewster had decided, for some unknown reason, to eat some of Josie's crayons. He's never shown any interest in them before, but whatever. I've stopped trying to figure that dog out. So after 15 minutes of Josie walking around the house saying, in a very dramatic tone, "OH NO, BREWSTER!" we finally convinced her that everything was going to be okay. (Even though, technically, it wasn't - because we came home on Saturday to discover that his affinity for aforementioned crayons didn't go away. I had thrown the bits and pieces of crayons in the bathroom garbage, and he discovered them and tore the garbage apart. And he's never gone after the bathroom garbage before. *sigh*)

Anyway - maybe he was just trying to make Pat's job of picking up doggie-do a little more thrilling, because there was some very colorful poo in the yard over the weekend. I'll bet you're all wishing you had such exciting lives, huh??

And in other potty-related news, Josie decided on Friday during a playdate at Lucy's house, that she needed to go pee-pee in the potty, all morning long. I swear, between the two of them, they must have gone about 15 times. And the trend continued all weekend at home, as well, though she wasn't quite as enthusiastic without her Potty Partner-in-Crime. :)

Funnies

Here are a couple of stories that I haven't blogged about yet, but have been meaning to get down in writing.
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Picture it:
I was strolling to the car after work a couple of weeks ago. I had just walked the diagonal sidewalk through Mears Park and was about to cross the street at 5th and Wacouta when I noticed out of the corner of my eye a man, standing outside of an older model, small, red pickup parked at a meter. He appeared to be looking at some papers, trying to find an address or building. I didn't pay him any more attention, and started to cross when my light turned green. As I stepped into the street, I couldn't help but notice that the small red pickup appeared to be pulling away from the curb. I offhandedly thought that he must have gotten dropped off, and now his driver was leaving.

Except that there was no driver.

All of the sudden, the man started running along beside his pickup, trying to grab on to it and slow it down. He looked around frantically - and wasn't it just my luck, I was the only pedestrian around at that exact moment in time.

And even more lucky for me - we made eye contact.

"Ma'am! Ma'am!" he began, as he was able to get around the front of the vehicle and brace himself against it. The pickup was now at a stop diagonally across 5th street. "I left it in gear!Can you come hold my pickup while I get in??!"

I stopped in my tracks, with a dumbfounded look on my face. "Uh... why don't YOU hold your pickup - and I'LL put it in park??!" I replied, thinking that putting myself, or at least my foot and arm, INSIDE the truck long enough to put on the brake and put it in park, instead putting myself in FRONT of the truck, was the more desirable option.

"Okay... " he started to reply, "but you'll have to go over to the passenger side, the driver door doesn't open, and climb over, and..." as he's rambling, I take a moment to get a better look - and can see that the small pickup is chock. full. of. STUFF. And I mean FULL. And not so much stuff, as CRAP. Garbage, really - empty fast food containers, papers, cans... you name it, it was probably inside that vehicle.

Yikes. So now I'm thinking that putting myself in front of this moving vehicle may just be the better option. Actually I'm wondering how I can get myself out of the situation entirely, but I've already committed to it, and feel like I have to help the guy.

Keep in mind that all of this happened within seconds, really, but it was long enough for traffic to start building up behind him since he's blocking pretty much 2 of the lanes, and for more pedestrians to have ambled by and given some long stares at this interesting scene. Given long stares, but not offered to help, mind you.

So I did it. I braced myself at the front of the pickup wearing my red coat and heels, while he climbed over the mountain of crap in the cab to get himself behind the wheel and back it up to the curb once again. And as he said "Thanks!" out the window, and I dusted myself off and resumed my walk to the car - a guy who had planted himself on the corner to take in the scene yelled to me, "Girl, you ate you Wheaties today!" How's that for an act of kindness?? Or maybe an act of complete stupidity, you take your pick. :)

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We were in Chatfield over Easter weekend, and needed to run to the local grocery store, Skippy's, on Saturday to pick up a couple of ingredients for the green bean casserole I was requested to bring for Easter dinner on Sunday. Eve was with my sister, so Pat, Josie and I went to the store. Actually, we had gotten ourselves fancied up and were intending to go to church, until we realized that the service had been moved to 8:00 pm instead of 5:00 pm for the Easter vigil service. So we went to the grocery store instead. Talk about confusing for a 2 year old! I hope she doesn't now think that going to church involves produce and checkout lanes. Anyway, we get in the store, and they have the kid size carts, which of course, she desperately needed one of. So she's on a mission to push that cart around the store, while wearing her Easter dress and little white sweater and carrying her new pink purse. We try to find our items while making sure she doesn't maim any old people with her cart or topple any displays of Parmesan cheese. While we were wandering around the store, I spotted my friend Tricia's sister, who also recently had a baby boy. I walked over to chat with her about the new addition to her family, while Josie and Pat meandered off with her cart. We talked for a couple of minutes, and pretty soon I heard my family behind me. Rinnea started laughing as Josie approached with her cart, still in serious shopping mode. I looked in her cart, and there was a box of Ex-Lax, and a bottle of Mylanta alongside our cheese and french fried onions. Nice. Just the impression I want to make on my hometown. :)

And after we were finally able to distract Jo long enough to return the unwanted items back to the shelves, pay for the rest of our stuff and get back to the Coe residence, Josie walked up the sidewalk to the house and says "Church... shhh, quiet!"

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We were driving to my mom and Erwin's house for dinner on Sunday and approached an intersection. There were "rumble strips" on the road before the stop sign. After we drove over them, Josie looked up and said "Whoa, Mommmmy!" as if she thought that I had farted. This, of course, was followed by her customary sniff, and declaration that I was "stinky."

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After Easter dinner on Sunday and Josie's egg-hunt outside, we were just hanging out, visiting in the house. I think we may have been getting ready for the much needed Round 2 of meals, and Josie was walking from the kitchen towards the table where we all were sitting. As she was walking, my mom turned from the kitchen and was heading in the same direction, and bumped right into Josie. She didn't fall down or anything, it wasn't even that big of a bump, but Josie goes "WHOA," and gave her grandma (she won't say Grandma Sue... she only will say either Grandma, or Sue, which comes out without the 'S') the dirtiest look I've seen her give anyone. She was very traumatized, but none of us could stop laughing... especially Mean Grandma. :)