"What the hell" . . .

As you already know, we spent the past couple of days at Auntie's house. On Wednesday when we got there, Ash was still at work so we let ourselves in and waited for her arrival. When she did finally get home, I think Ryan was a little shocked to see her in her nurse scrubs and looking so professional - his first words to her were, "what the hell is that?" And yes, I am very proud of my profanity using 3-year-old son. He knows Ash is a nurse, but I'm pretty sure it never really registered until that moment when he saw her looking like one of the people in the doctor's office (a place he has been known to not like) and not like her normal self. After his shock wore off (and Ash and I were done laughing about it), I told him that was a word he shouldn't use and left it at that. Well, apparently he forgot, and proceeded to use the word two more times during our short visit to Auntie's house. On his last slip up, I again reminded him that "hell" was not a word that he should be saying. He said, "should I say heck instead and just say the other word to myself." After thinking about it for a second, I said, "yes, say heck and keep the other word to yourself." Well, there he sat (he was going potty at the time) and I was packing up our toiletries. Pretty soon I here, "hell, hell, hell" coming out of Ryan's mouth. I turn to him instantly and gave him the "I'm not happy with you face" and before I could gt anything out, he says, "what Mom, I'm keeping it to myself" - now how am I going to argue with that? Since then, there have been no more slip ups (yet), and I'm hoping it stays that way. Now we're onto trying to figure out where he picked up that word. I am constantly thinking about what I am saying, and listening to other adults who are around him a lot, and I just can't figure it out. It doesn't seem like anyone says it that I've seen lately - Mom, is there something you want to tell me? I can't remember the exact phrase you taught him in the past, but I do remember you standing there laughing at me when I finally figured it out and then you came clean and told me you knew already - so here is your chance to come clean before I figure it out on my own, and you know I will. So that was pretty much it for Ryan - he swore, I told him not to, he did it again - what a fun trip.

Then there was Lauren. She and Kelty (Ash's dog) have a love/hate relationship. She loves to poke and pet the dog, but hates when the dog pays attention to her. Somehow though, they are managing to work out their differences and someday might actually become friends. Here is Lauren "playing" with Kelty yesterday morning. Listen to her little devilish laugh, and then notice how once she sees the camera, she stops instantly and does her best "camera face."

After our visit, we made a quick trip at the EP mall to update my wardrobe (thanks Ash for being my personal shopper), and then headed home. We were all dirty and tired from trip so we hit the showers, and then hit the beds. As usual, another fun trip up north!

Kind of a boring Monday

It was a cold, dreary Monday so there wasn't a lot for us to do. I actually had to revert back to some of our "winter indoor" activities to keep the kids busy. Our day started off with a trip to the gym - it turns out both Ryan and Lauren really enjoy going now as their little friends' moms and I are on the same schedule so they always have someone to play with. After gym school we picked up Madagascar 2 for the afternoon and headed home. We did some Play-Doh in the morning, watched a little of the movie before naps, napped, and then built forts. You really can't go wrong when you build a fort for kids. They don't care how big or how grand it is, they just care that they can crawl inside and hideout for a while and that is exactly what they did. About every five minutes or so they would knock all the pillows over and the fort would crumble to the ground, but lucky for them, I am kind of a structural engineer and was able to reconstruct the disaster within minutes of it's demise. We did this little game of knock down and build up all the way until supper time. Then it was eat, take baths, read some books, and go to bed- like I said, kind of a boring Monday. Today however, will not be boring. Ryan is at school, and Lauren and I are (or were) busy packing up our things for a sleepover at Auntie's house. We'll be heading up after lunch and will be spending today and part of tomorrow with Auntie as she has a couple of days off - yeah! We haven't made any big plans yet as to what we will do when we get there, but depending on the weather, I'm sure we'll figure out a fun outdoor, or indoor activity.

Relaxing weekend, sick ending

We had a great, relaxing weekend just hanging out around the house. On Friday Ryan had Lindsay over for the afternoon so by 6:00pm I could see he was getting tired. Lauren was also very tired as she does not see it necessary to take her afternoon nap when Ryan's friends are in the house. So needless to say it was a pretty early night, but not before we managed to squeeze in some fun. Our neighbors just recently purchased a camper (which they have parked in their driveway). The new purchase was the talk of Ryan's day . . . "what is that?", "what does it look like inside?" - all intriguing questions which were answered when we walked outside and Jim (neighbor) was sitting in the new camper and invited us in. Turns out half the neighborhood was in there plus some of Jim's relatives so we joined them and Ryan was instantly in heaven. He checked out every square inch of the camper and asked numerous questions, all of which Jim answered (such a nice guy). After hanging out for a while, we were back outside standing around talking with everyone. Ryan was riding his bike by himself, and before we know it, he has his posse of girls (all neighborhood girls) asking me if he can go over to their house and play for a while. "Their house" was actually another neighbor who has a nice fenced in backyard, but is also across the street. I said yes as long as the girls promised to walk across the street with him (they are 1st graders to is 3 years of age) and walk him back across the street when they were done - they agreed, and off they went. Another sign Ryan is growing up - he goes to some one's house all by himself and plays with his friends (granted the house was just three houses away and I could see everything that was going on) - he is turning into such a little man. After Ryan was done playing (about a half hour later), another neighbor (Ashley) walked him back to us (we were still talking out in the cul-de-sac). By then it was a little after 8:00pm (late in our world) so we picked up the toys and went inside. Lauren had already been sleeping for almost an hour so we just had Ryan to get ready for bed and then off to bed we went - what an exciting Friday night. Although, we were outside pretty much the whole day so I can use the "we got lots of fresh air" excuse for my tiredness. Unfortunately Friday was not an uneventful night of sleep. When we put Ryan to sleep, he felt a little hot and said his tummy hurt so I told him to get me if he didn't feel better later. Well, later came around 11:00pm when he woke up screaming. I went to his room, felt his forehead and knew something wasn't right. He was on fire . . . his head, body, everything. So I brought him into our bed, pulled all the covers down and rubbed his head until he fell asleep again. You are probably wondering where Trav was this whole time, yeah, he got booted to Ryan's bed - sick kids take priority over healthy husbands. I thought that might be the end of it, but I was wrong, it was just the beginning. It seemed like Ryan couldn't get comfortable most of the night so he was constantly tossing and turning and waking up which meant I was awake too. After the eventful night, we woke up as usual around 7:00am (why don't sick kids sleep in anymore?). That morning Ryan seemed perfectly fine so I figured it was maybe just a quick bug, or maybe he was dehydrated from running around in the hot weather all day. Saturday was filled with more playing and relaxing at home. We went walking, played in the sandbox, made another visit to the camper (I'm thinking this might become the new neighborhood hangout), and watched Spider Man 2. The kids both got baths and went to bed early again (gotta love getting them outside, it really burns up their energy). There were big plans for a bonfire outside, but that never happened (that whole fresh air thing again making us tired) so we went to bed relatively early again as well. Sunday morning started out later than usual (Lauren was up at 7:30 and Ryan a little after 8:00am). Everything was going fine until I hear Ryan start crying from our room where he was watching cartoons with Trav. I walk back there to find puke all over the floor and Ryan crying his eyes out on the toilet - I guess he was sick after all. Trav took care of getting Ryan cleaned up while I went to work on the bedroom carpet (wouldn't you know, I had just cleaned and vacuumed the day before). The vomit was laced with his morning hot chocolate so that made for a real project - note to others out there, Nestle Quick is hard to get out of beige carpet. With everyone and everything all clean, Ryan resumed his position in our bed (looks like he'll be there most of the day) and I started in on all the new laundry. I hoping this is a one time thing, but I won't be washing our sheets and airing out our room until I know for sure. So here I am typing away, Lauren is busy pushing her baby around in her stroller, Ryan is laying in bed watching cartoons, and Trav is out running some errands for me - milk, pizza, and movies for the day, we should be good to go. I'm hoping for an uneventful rest of the day, but assume that might not be the case. Oh, great example happening right now . . . Lauren has stopped dead in her tracks and has the look on her face which can only mean one thing - a diaper full of sh** - wonder how much longer Trav will be gone . . .

Lauren's musical ability

I shot this on Easter morning and kind of forgot about it until today so I thought I would share it with everyone. Lauren is such a little ham for the camera lately and god knows she loves to "dance" so this was right up her alley. Uncle Aaron is assisting on the piano.

Busy little Wednesday

So the kids and I had a very busy day today. Everything started bright and early - it seems the early the sun comes up, the earlier the kids get up. Anyway, with everyone fed, dressed, and ready to go, I packed up the kids and we headed out the door to visit the train museum, one of Ryan's favorite places. About five minutes into the car ride I heard my first, "Mom, are we there yet?" This went on for a good ten minutes before I finally told Ryan we had about 30 minutes to go, should he should just sit back and relax and I would let him know when we were getting close. Surprisingly that worked and he played quietly until I gave him the warning that the place was just around the corner. With that he perked up, straightened his "Thomas the Train" hat and pulled out his camera (the new one he got from the Easter Bunny - what better place to try it out). The minute we pulled into the parking lot he was pointing and saying, "Mom, look at this, or Mom, look at that." Anything that involved a train (which was pretty much everything) was amazing, cool, and "totally awesome" - where does he learn to talk like that? Once we actually got into the museum, Ryan teamed up with one of the guides and off he went. The guide (an older gentlemen) was good with Ryan. He took him to see and do all the things a 3-year-old boy would want to do . . . ring bells, blow train whistles, and the list goes on. Lauren and I followed along and took in everything as Ryan was having the time of his life. The highlight of the day came when our guide took us outside to see some big trains up close and personal. After seeing all the trains, the guide told Ryan he had one more special thing to show him so we followed along to the edge of the building and were thrilled (mostly Ryan) with the miniature train we saw coming our way. "The Rocket" is a miniature version of the bigger trains and as luck would have it, it was running today (it was always broke on our other visits) and was open for rides - yeah! Ryan nearly fell running to the thing, Lauren did fall, and I just tried to keep them calm enough to get them in and sitting on their butts. When we were all aboard, we got a nice little ride along the building and through some of the big trains - Ryan was thrilled, Lauren was unsure of what was going on, but seemed to enjoy it anyway. Here is a clip from our ride:


And some pictures from the day of the kids. The first one is my favorite - they were so good together - no pushing, ho hitting, just smiles and fun.
After the train museum, we headed over to pick up Grandma Donna from her training session in St. Paul. With Grandma safe in the car, we headed back home to meet up with Auntie and have some lunch. After lunch we did some quick shopping, dropped Grandma off at her car so she could go home, headed to EP to check out garage sale (yes, it is that time of the year again and I love it), then headed back home again to relax and play. But, the day didn't end there. Auntie headed home, and at 6:30pm I had Ryan's school conference so when Trav walked in at 6:15pm, I walked out and was excited to talk to Ryan's teacher. All the news at the conference was good news so that was great, but it was more fun to hear some of the stories Mrs. Olson (teacher) had about Ryan. She told one story about him building a rocket out of some blocks, then inviting all of his friends over to see it while he told stories about it. She said he is always very animated with his stories and just makes things up as he goes - gotta love his imagination. I walked out of the conference with a smile on my face and was so happy that Ryan really seemed to be enjoying all that preschool has to offer. After the conference I raced home and helped Trav get the kids to bed because as you probably could guess, there wasn't a lot of time for naps today. So here I sit on an early evening blogging away with both kids sound asleep - another good day for the record books.

Easter Weekend

We had a fairly busy Easter weekend starting with the ending of my Target job on Friday night - oh, so sad. Saturday morning came early with both kids up and at 'em by 7:00am. I gave the kids their warm cocoas and threw them in bed to watch some toons with Trav for a while while I took a nice, long, warm shower - don't get that chance to often so I have to enjoy whenever I can. After I was nice and clean and got down to business and started getting the kids dressed for their Great Grandma Erwin's 87th (I think) birthday party. Ryan was pretty simple, jeans and a dress shirt he picked out. Lauren on the other the hand took a little bit time. I had laid out a cute dress the night before, but never actually put it on her to see how it fit - big mistake. The shirt was tight and a little too short and we couldn't even get the dress zipped up. Onto the next outfit . . . this time it was a simple blue dress - we got it on, but it wasn't pretty and she could hardly move - guess that isn't going to work either. By this time Trav has steam coming out of his ears so he walks away and I scurry to find a different option. I finally pulled out a skirt and sweater set she had in her closet. I put the skirt on - perfect fit. Next came the white undershirt - good fit too. The final piece was the sweater - it was a bit long in the arms, but with a couple of rolls of the sleeve, we made it work. Thank God! Even with the time consuming wardrobe issues, we still managed to get on the road on time with everyone looking cute and Daddy still calm - that's a good morning in my book. Great Grandma's party was very fun. We were able to catch up with family, some of whom we haven't seen in way too many years. Ryan and Lauren kept themselves busy playing with all the little kids, the men kept themselves busy in the bar, and the rest of us kept busy chatting and catching up. Here we are with the birthday lady.

After the party we headed over to see one of Trav's friends who was back in town from Nebraska and then finally made our way to St. Peter to Grandma and Grandpa Loken's house. Saturday night wrapped up early with the kids in bed by 8:00pm and the adults soon to follow.

Sunday morning started with an Easter Egg hunt in Grandma and Grandpa's basement. Ryan did most of the hunting while Lauren walked around clueless until she spotted her new baby doll stroller hiding behind a chair with her basket. She skipped right over the basket, grabbed the stroller, and was on her way (guess she liked it). Ryan found his basket shortly after with a brand new, kid-tough camera laying inside - he was very happy!

When the kids were done checking out their new gifts, they both got baths and we headed out again, this time to Grandma and Grandpa Quast's house. There we had another Easter Egg Hunt - Ryan was a pro at this by this time, and Lauren seemed to finally get the hand out it too. They both made out with a bunch of goodies - candy, toys, etc. . .

the cousinschecking out their loot

By the time we got on the road again, this time to go home, both of the kids were tired. After a long weekend with lots to do, and little time to sleep they were both shot. Here they are on one of the drives between parties and gatherings - what I wouldn't give to be able to fall asleep like that again.

The scavenging continues . . .

If a Child Protection Officer walked into my house today and saw what I saw; which was Lauren picking a grape out of the garbage can in popping it into her mouth, I'm pretty sure there would be some serious questions. But, lucky for me that didn't happen. Now I just have to figure out a way to control my little scavenger. You would seriously think that I didn't feed my kids based on Lauren's actions lately, but then I remembered this picture of Ryan . . .Yes, that is him pulling a box of Teddy Grahams out of the garbage - what is wrong with my kids that they feel the need to eat out of garbage cans!? Ryan was 16 months in this picture, and Lauren is 16 months now so I'm thinking maybe it is just a "16 month" thing that kids do. Yeah that is probably it, they don't like to write about stuff like this in all of those "What To Expect When Expecting" books, but I'm here to write the truth and tell future mothers what it is really like. So mark it in your calendars, at 16 months you should start locking up your garbage cans or else. . .

Onto other things besides garbage . . . Ryan had another play date at Lindsay's house yesterday. Let me tell you, this play date thing is great. I drop Ryan off, take Lauren home and put her down for a nap, then sit back and relax for the next 3 hours until it is time to pick up Ry - what a deal! Actually, it usually doesn't work out exactly like that, but being one kid down for a couple of hours does make a huge difference. I was able to get some laundry done, continue to organize the kids' closets, and even catch up on some Oprah - not too shabby. When I picked up Ryan, Charlene (Lindsay's mom) had a couple of good stories to share with me. First, when it came time for snack time, Charlene had pulled out some fruit snacks. When she asked Ryan if his mom let him have fruit snacks, he immediately said, "no." So she put the fruit snacks away and made him some cheese and crackers, something I apparently do let him have. Why he said no to the fruit snacks in the first place is beyond me, but whatever. Then there was the pooping incident. I had a feeling this might be an issue because leading up to his play date he had been in the bathroom on two different occasions trying to poo. Well, as you probably guessed, he never got the job done at home, but apparently the Pooping Gods finally blessed him at Lindsay's house. Charlene said he spent a good 20 minutes in the bathroom with repeated reminders that everyone should stay away and give him some privacy shouted through the bathroom door. When he did finally emerge, Charlene asked to make sure everything was okay and he just looked up at her said, "yup" and wiped his wet hands down the front of his jeans - well, at least he washed his hands. And finally, when Lindsay's older sister came home from school, she joined the younger kids to play for a while. At one point she said to Ryan, "you are just too cute." His response, "I'm not cute, I'm handsome and smart" - I can safely say now that we have a little Travis in the making - maybe a bit arrogant, but he says what he thinks. So after the stories, we say our good-byes and get in the car. On the drive home I ask Ryan how he day was and he has, "Charlene doesn't have licorice." It only takes a second before I realize that he is talking about not getting licorice after his pooping accomplishment. It is at that point that I have to break the news to him that not everyone in the world gets licorice after they poop, only he does because he is special. And I said going forward, if he is somewhere other than at home when he poos, he'll just have to remember to tell me and I'll make sure to get him some licorice later. He says, "sure thing Mom" and sits back patiently waiting to get home to his prized licorice.