I'm TIRED!

We've been busy around here, which means only one thing - we're TIRED! Hope you're enjoying the end of the year (and the fact that world did not end on the 21st as predicted), and I'm sure that one day I'll get a long enough nap to blog a big fat post. For now, here you go.


Milo and Nate give this blog (a combined) two thumbs up.

Milo got a Velveteen Rabbit, and he hasn't stopped snuggling it since! Thanks, Dant family!

A very serious conversation with that rabbit...

I've been making hats, and Tree makes a pretty adorable hat model, doesn't she?

This hat has a button sewn on so you can swap out the flowers to match your outfit.

Mommy the Locksmith

My mom loves to tell a story about me when I was just about two years old. The way it goes, Mom had put me and my few-months-old sister Sarah into the car, and then ran back into the house for something. When she came to get back in the car, Sarah and I were both locked in, along with Mom's keys. Woops! We had just gotten a new car with automatic locks, and apparently I was quite a whiz with locking them. The only problem? Apparently I wasn't as good at unlocking them.

Poor Mom stood by my car door, shouting through the window, "Katie, push the button! The little button!" I made a few half-hearted attempts as Sarah started to scream, then interested myself with a small bag of M&Ms that I tore open and began to eat, one at a time. "Katie, honey, push the button." Again, fumbled with the lock for a minute, and went back to eating, unfazed by Sarah's screaming. Mom explained, coaxed, pleaded, and finally shouted at the top of her lungs, "Katie, will you unlock that door? Push the button!" I calmly looked at her and said, "Mommy, I've tried and I've tried, and I just can't." Mom ended up having to call a locksmith, Sarah cried herself to sleep, and I finished that bag of M&Ms and chilled for a while. After Mom cooled off, it became one of her favorite stories to tell about me.

They say what goes around comes around, right? Today Milo and I spent some time playing in his room, and I had to take a potty break. I told him, "Milo, stay here. Mommy will be right back." As I closed the bathroom door, I heard him shut his bedroom door, too. No big deal - he closes himself in quite frequently (and then knocks on the door until someone lets him out). When I came back and turned the handle, though, it didn't budge, and I realized that Milo had figured out how to lock his door. Great...

"Milo, did you lock the door?" Milo responded by pulling on the door handle with all his might and yelling, "Help me help me helpmehelpmehelpmehelpme!" If there's anything that makes a mommy want to rip down a door, it's that. I took a deep breath, and said, "Milo, baby, it's okay. We'll get it open. Can you turn the little knob on the door?"

He calmed right down, and I heard a rattling on the handle itself, so I explained to him, "No, baby, the little knob on top of the big one." Again, a rattling of the handle, and then I heard him go back to playing. "Milo, come here! Come to the door and turn the little knob!" A tiny rattle, and then back to playing.

After a general inspection of the knob, I grabbed my phone, and called the person who always fixes everything. Nate. My call bounced straight to voicemail and I tried not to scream. I called Amanda next, for no other reason than she has four children, and I generally assume she knows how to do everything. No answer from her, either. Then I realized I should have been calling Gary in the first place, so I tried him next. He laughed, offered to come over, and then explained to me what I would need to get in. I promised to call him back if I couldn't get in, and ran for Nate's toolbox, shouting over my shoulder, "Mommy will be right back, Milo!"

I got back with the whole box and tried just about every flathead screwdriver I could find. None of them were small enough, and I tried to explain to Milo again about the little knob on the door handle. This time he didn't even attempt to rattle the knob, and I stopped and thought, "Oh my gosh, I'm totally getting what I deserve right now. I'm so sorry, Mom."

In the end, I finally found the right tool, popped that door open, and felt a rush of pride. Milo looked up from his playmat and toy cars without a bit of concern, gave me a smile, and went right back to what he was doing. We both survived, I learned a new skill, and had a great story to tell my Mom. What a day.

...

I wanted to sit down and write a lighthearted post about baking, cupcakes, and learning my limitations today. I thought it through this morning while I mixed frosting in vivid lemon and royal blue shades. And then my mother-in-law texted to tell me to hug Milo, that she was so glad we were safe, and that there had been a tragedy in Connecticut.

I couldn't have imagined the magnitude, though, until curiosity got the best of me and I opened my computer to the home news page. I should know better. And now I can't stop weeping because we live in a cruel and senseless world where broken families create broken people who do evil things like shoot elementary school students (and their own mothers) on a Friday morning.

So, yes. Instead of writing any more, I'm going to go spend some time squeezing my little man and keeping him as close to me as possible while I can.

Bedtime

Ever wonder how Milo's bedtime routine goes? Well, a few minutes before it's time, I change his diaper, put on his pjs, and brush his teeth. Then we curl up together in the recliner and read a few books. Then Nate puts on his daddy robe, and we all head into Milo's room. Then Milo grabs his blanket, turns on his box fan, and climbs up into Nate's lap. I sit next to them on the ottoman and Milo says his prayers, gives me huge kisses and snuggles, and then I head out so Nate and Milo can snuggle and talk for a few minutes. Have you ever seen anything so adorable?

Hanukkah decorations!

Well, I've been crafting up a storm, preparing for Hanukkah, which actually started on Saturday night. We were all pretty under the weather this weekend, so our decorations finally made it up today. I've seen tons of DIY yarn crafts, including candle holders and yarn balls, so this seemed like the perfect time to make these happen. I didn't put tons of thought into the fact that Hanukkah colors are blue and white, so our home is now happily Hanukkah decorated with blue balls. Hindsight is twenty-twenty, right? Despite all that, I still love our decorations and the warmth they bring to the home.

 

 

Candle display for the dining room table (in dramatic dark lighting).

Blue balls hanging from our horrendous chandelier.

Vase of blue balls...

This J took me (and Matt) half a lifetime. It was not the simple craft I had assumed it would be, but I'm delighted with it now that all is said and done!

Fingerpainting the blues away

Milo is finally on the mend, although he's still not his usual sunshiney self, and I'm still not feeling great either, so we needed something to cheer us up on a Monday morning. I remembered that I bought some finger paints weeks ago and we still hadn't used them, so we had a finger painting adventure today. Mission accomplished - we were both cheered. After all, who doesn't love making a disastrous mess?

I will admit, I haven't posted many pictures of Milo as of late, the reason being the oopsy we had with his latest haircut. It was never supposed to be this short, but situations happen, especially when cutting a toddler's hair. And the best part is, it will grow, and even though I cried about it the night it happened, this sweet boy is still the cutest little man I've ever seen.

Look at that short SHORT hair and those gigantic eyes.

Milo started out very gingerly, putting one finger at a time in the paint...

...had a little green paint make it to the head...

...and finally got adventurous and put both hands in (and all over himself and his chair) while I was running his bathwater.

I will say this - we got the Crayola washable finger paints, and I was delighted with them. They were, no joke, the easiest thing I've cleaned up in the last week and came right out of his cream-colored pajamas in the wash. Guess it was worth the extra fifty cents or so that I paid for them, right?

A week in a list

Well, hi. Here I am again, after another long absence... What on earth have I been doing?

• Caring for the world's surliest little sick man, for one thing...
• Fighting off exactly what he has...
• Entertaining... I think I had four sets of visitors in one day this week...
• Hanging out with my brother-in-law, who isn't opposed to bumming around the house with me,  which is AWESOME...
• Making Hanukkah decorations (can't wait to show pictures of that)...
• Puking myself polka-dotted...
• Eating a lot of cheese and vanilla ice cream (the Sprout likes dairy)...
• Trying to mix compassion with discipline...
• Learning that I am a horribly babyish sick person, and that no one else wakes her husband up in the middle of the night to tell him that she threw up (but I promise, my mom always wanted to be woken up, right, Mom?)...
• Thanking the Lord that Milo has slept until 10:00 the last two mornings, still taken a nap, and gone to bed with very little trouble. Rest, sweet boy, rest, and mend that little body back to normal.

So it's been a hard week, although there's been lots of good mixed in with the bad. But let me just tell you this little story. On Thursday, I finally got Milo down for a nap after a long morning (for both of us), and immediately headed for the bathroom. I threw up and threw up and threw up, cried a lot, and then laid down for a nap, entirely overwhelmed by trying to come up with dinner options when just thinking about food makes me gag. I awoke to a text and a voicemail from one of my very favorite friends (and not just because she did this) - "I made you broccoli cheese soup for dinner, and I'll run it by around 5. Hope that's okay!"

Oh my word, talk about saving my life. This is the same friend who, maybe a month ago, called me on another really bad day to tell me that we should come over for dinner, and that she had made one of Nate's favorite dinners (roast, potatoes, and carrots). Again, lifesaver. I am so thankful for her and can't wait until she gets pregnant again so I can maybe save her life every now and then (or at least have a good reason to snag her sweet little girl and make her hang out with Milo and I).

A few more of Milo's tricks

While I'm at it... Milo has been talking so much lately! One of his favorite things to do is ask if Nate and I are okay, especially when I'm crying (I'm pregnant and have been sick a lot, so it happens often). He also just learned how to say his own name, with a lot of help from his cousin Alex while he was here for Thanksgiving! Thanks, Alex!!!! And he is also in love with the number two, so it works out that he's about to be two at the end of the month. By the way, when in the world did that happen? Time flies!

Breakfast of Champions

I know I mentioned the other day Milo's favorite fruit - blueberries. Well, we finally got him on video talking about blueberry pancakes. I can't even tell you what a kick Nate and I both get out of this...