Oh, it's what you do to me

Well, it's been a while since I've posted - my apologies for that and for what will probably end up as a LONG entry! Our 6+ hour road trip to Massachusetts turned into an 11 hour trip - traffic was just horrible! Thank goodness the kids weren't....

We had a very relaxing time with our friends, Mike & Shelley. They were wonderful hosts, especially considering the fact that we brought along all the accoutrement that come with traveling with 3 kids: snacks, toys, lots of diapers and wipes. After our visit, they might just put off starting their own family for a while! Ryan was an eating machine while we were there. He polished off an assortment of juice boxes, waffles, scrambled eggs, and his favorite, crackers. I don't know where he puts it all. Hopefully that means he's getting ready to grow (one can only hope!) His shirt says it all in the photo below - RASCAL... The kids made some new friends while we were there. Liam and Nathan are only 2 days apart, and Brenden is 2 1/2.

This past Friday, we went to Ocean City, NJ for the day - normally wouldn't do this, but my parents were there for a week and knew we'd have a place to clean up after the beach. On the drive down, we were listening to the radio and one of our favorite songs came on - Hey there, Delilah by Plain White T's. Mark turned it up and then we heard this little voice from the backseat singing the chorus, "Oh, it's what you do to me. Oh, it's what you do to me..." Here, Ryan was singing his little heart out (through his binky, I might add) SO DARN CUTE!

My poor parents had the worst weather of the summer - it rained Sunday through Thursday, but Friday ended up being a decent day - partly sunny and not too hot. The kids all LOVE the beach - the sand and the water. Even Nathan got into it this time - he loved sitting on Pop-Pop's lap in the surf and splashing in the water. Megan & Jim were down with Abby, Chris, and Alex and the kids had a blast playing together. I love when we all get together like this - I'm so thankful that my kids have cousins their age. We played on the beach for a few hours, showered up, had pizza, and then hit the boardwalk. I love that Evan is old enough to ride the rides. He and I went on the tilt-a-whirl and on his first roller coaster - and if you know me, the kiddie coaster is about my speed. He LOVED the roller coaster and wanted to ride again. One the tilt-a-whirl, I got a little nervous because he said, "This is making my stomach feel weird." Ryan got to ride some little rides for the first time this year. He was all business about driving the dune buggy and ringing the bell on the boat. Everyone was zonked out in the car on the ride home, including Mark. It was a great day - thanks, mom & dad, for letting us invade!

Good Job, Mommy

Ryan continues to crack us up on a daily basis. He regularly raises his sippy cup at the kitchen table and says, "CHEERS!" and expects us all to clink his cup with ours. What 2 year old does that???

Earlier this week, as we were sitting and eating our lunches, Ryan took a bite of his sandwich, looked at me, and said, "Good job, Mommy!" I looked at him and asked him why he said that. He returned my look with a smile and said, "Good sam-ich." He made my day!

He also thinks quite highly of himself. Tonight in the car, he was singing every song on the Laurie Berkner CD and at the end of each one, he congratulated himself...."Good job! Awesome!" What a monkey!

Yesterday at breakfast, Ryan kept saying the same thing over and over again. Something like "Pie-pooey." I couldn't for the life of me figure out what he was trying to say. I kept asking him what kind of cereal he wanted and he kept repeating himself. It finally dawned on me that he was telling me he wanted Pirate Booty for breakfast. I guess it doesn't hurt to ask...

This morning, we were all laying in our bed trying to wake up. Ryan was the last one to join us and when he did, he greeted everyone but Evan with a "Hi,______ (fill in the blank)" Evan felt slighted and said, "Ryan, you didn't say hi to me." Ryan, not missing a beat, turned and said, "Hi, me!" :) Mark and I were cracking up over that one. He's a piece of work.

Clouds, Keyboards, & Chicken Nuggets

This past weekend, we spent a lot of time together as a family while driving in the car. Always interesting. Sometimes it's loud, sometimes it's exhausting, sometimes it's frustrating, and sometimes it's even fun. The comments made during this weekend's car trips were priceless.

Evan was a trip.
Laugh #1: We were driving past a factory and Evan said, "Look, a cloud-making factory!" :)

Laugh #2: Evan asked Mark to take the childlock off the window so he could put it down himself - he IS 4, you know....-as soon as he had control, he started putting it up and down and of course, "ME, TOO" a.k.a., Ryan, started to do the same. Mark told Evan to stop and he said, "I'm just teaching Ryan how to use the keyboard." :)

Laugh #3: We were driving past a huge construction site and Mark asked Evan what he thought was being built there. He said, "Chicken nuggets." Mark asked him what he meant. He said, "Chicken nuggets factory." I think McDonalds should change their name.... :)

We're headed to Boston to visit some friends this weekend. I'm sure the 6 + hour roadtrip will net some more gems. I'll let you know....

Peas & Na Nu

Ryan, who just turned 2, has suddenly begun "talking" up a storm. (We were actually worried about him for a while there) He has become SO polite. He always says please "peas" when he asks for something - "Apple juice, peas." And then comes "Na Nu, Mommy" - thank you. How sweet! Now if we could just work on the messy eating thing!! Somehow, he manages to cover the table in his food - he has even thrown his utensils over the 1/2 wall into the family room. Maybe we should sign him up for baseball...

In this pic, I think he had mushed up a donut, mixed it with his applesauce, and then put his messy hands on his head, hence the "up-do." This morning, I made the mistake - AGAIN!- of bending down to pick up cheerios around his chair while he was still strapped in, giving him the glorious opportunity to grab my hair with his sticky honey-covered fingers. LOVELY! "Ryan, PEAS don't pull mommy's hair!"

Evan has turned into such a little helper lately. He loves helping vaccuum, dust, and he'll even jump at the chance to do the windows if he sees the Windex out. This past weekend, he helped Mark wash the trucks and clean the inside, too. It may not be perfect, but who cares!?! Last night, he gave me a huge hand and spoon-fed Nathan his dinner. What a great big brother :) (most of the time)

Nathan is teething - need I say more? My normally easy-going, smiley guy has not been himself. Yesterday, he took a whole 20 minute nap - ALL DAY! This too shall pass...and I'll wonder where the time went.

Gotta remember to always be "NA"-ful for this precious time I have with my boys - and that saying peas and na-nu will usually get you what you want :)

411

411....everyone uses it - to find a phone number, get an address. Just dial it and there's someone on the other end of the line to help you out.

Here's a thought - wouldn't it be nice if there were a 411 moms could call when they need to find something? The phone, the car keys, the lone shoe, the binky, the blankets that our children cannot sleep without, so-and-so's sippy cup full of milk that will soon curdle and start to stink....
I have wasted more time than I'd like to admit looking for things that are lost or things that we THINK are lost.

Friday, I was frantically running around attempting to get myself packed for a well-deserved girls' weekend getaway to the beach while also trying to get the boys' lunch, keep them from killing one another, and write down any pertinent information Mark might need while I was gone. Ryan sweetly brings me a magnetic clip that we use to keep chip & pretzel bags airtight - JUST the clip. So, I ask him where the bag is that the clip was attached to - he tells me (in his 2 year old language) "the pay-oom" (playroom). I run in the playroom, do a quick glance around, and can't find the bag of Pirate Booty I was eating last night (weak PMS moment). After asking Ryan several more times where the bag is and running back and forth between our family room and playroom to see if I can find it, I give up and figure Mark will come across it after I'm gone.

While all this is transpiring, Mark asks me to call the car dealership to see if our car is finished being inspected. "SURE, I don't have ANYTHING else to do," I lovingly answered....

Can't find the number in the phone book, get frustrated at yet another thing I CAN'T FIND and tell Mark I give up. He suggests I call 411 to get the number. Easy as pie. As I'm dialing the dealership, it dawns on me how valuable such a service would be for mothers such as myself who waste lots of time looking for "lost" items. IF ONLY....

Never did find that bag of Pirate Booty - come to find out that Mark finished the bag after I went to bed and left the magnetic clip in the family room....gotta love it!