A Colorful Wednesday

Plain and simple, I am a slow learner. One day I will grasp the concept that quiet is never good when combined with Ryder. Quiet, Ryder, and this smile is an even worse combination. It essentially screams TROUBLE!

I am so naive that I actually stood in my room, folding laundry and listening to the ladies on The View in peace, assuming Ryder was quietly watching Sesame Street on the I-Touch.  I stuck my head in the other room several times, making sure he did not start digging into anything toxic or dangerous.  After I had put everything away I grabbed my camera wanting to capture some of this sweet and quiet moment.  He looks up at me and flashes that big smile above saying, "Ryder Color".  Let me show you exactly what Ryder colors.

He also colored Grover (i.e. the screen of the I-Touch...thank goodness clorox wipes removed the ink).  It was all over his legs, his tummy, his shirt, his shorts.  Ryder...Mommy has a question for you.  Why do you do these things only on my watch?  Do you know how much better I would feel if you just sometimes did these things when you're with Daddy?  I'm just saying. 

My Tuesday

Since last September, I have spent every single Tuesday, one on one with this little angel. I love you, Rustin! I feel like you always get put on the back burner because your big brother needs me all the time, but you never complain. You are the most patient, happy, loving baby. I could not have asked for more and I absolutely can not imagine US without YOU!

He is getting ready to eat a Mum-Mum in this picture.  If you have a little one this age or know of someone who has a baby this age, you must introduce the Mum-mum!  I can only find them at Wal-Mart, but they are great.  They come in a bar shape, but are very thin and dissolve in their mouth.  Kind of the same idea as the Fruit Puffs, but they can hold these sooner because they don't have to have the pincher grip mastered to hold the Mum-Mum.  Rustin loves his Mum-mums!  

Hmmm....

Hmmmm....Do you ever have one of those week's that just zooms by and you wonder where it went? I did not get a single thing accomplished last week. Pretty much just went around in circles and survived each day. I am in denial about this whole moving thing...if I don't think about it then it isn't really happening! This week I am back to reality. I do want to enjoy some of the beautiful sunshine and I need to pull my camera out from under my desk so that it gets some use.

I spent Friday and Saturday at my parent's house which ended up being a "work" weekend, so no pictures were taken. They are making progress on a new project they are working on, so that is exciting for them.

Matt went to Cincinnati on Friday morning to visit his best friend. They go back a very, very long way and at one point I was pretty certain Matt loved Mike more than he loved me. Mike is a Veterinary Surgeon and let Matt watch him amputate a leg on Friday. Lets just say that my husband was ooober excited!

Rustin has a lingering cough that I want the Doctor to check out today and then we have laundry, laundry, laundry and house hunting to do! OK off to check on the brother and brother bear.

For Amber

This post is for our cousin, Amber. Just so you know...pictures are hard to come by here as well!

Ryder cries.

 Rustin decides to cry since Ryder is temporarily tear free.

Then Ryder cries some more.  In between the tears we keep our fingers crossed that the camera will catch something semi-good.  That is almost always how picture taking goes at this house!

PS... I forgot to say Thank you in my last post to my Mom and Dad for getting R&R these super handsome Easter outfits.  The way things worked out this year, we didn't see them on Easter so I promised to take pictures of them in their spiffy clothes!  They fit perfect and I absolutely loved them!

Happy Easter!

Spring is here

I took the boys to the Arboretum this week to soak up some sunshine! We may go again next week because it is a good energy burner for a 2-year old who loves to be outside and run, run, run! Here are some pictures from our trip. My sister met me out there with her little girl "Monster Anna". Not that I think she is a monster, but that is currently what she is calling herself...she is no longer Anna...she is "Monster Anna" and will chase you around while growling. It is pretty funny!

Easter Party

It was Easter Party Day at First Faith. Saying that Ryder's Egg Hunt and Class Party was chaotic is slightly an understatement. We are always pressed for time on preschool days. I am not sure why. How could it possibly be so hard for me to get two kids out the door by 9:00 a.m.? As I ask this question, I remind myself that it was hard for me to get just Ryder out the door by 9:00 a.m. last year.

To change subjects slightly, our house was showed this morning. I received a call at 8:45 a.m. stating that a showing was scheduled from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. Ummm...o.k. people...that does not give a lady with a 2-year old and a 6 month old enough notice to get everything in order for a showing. Really. Would you be able to get your house ready with 15 minutes notice?

Did I mention that Ryder is really grasping potty training and we are spending time at home in big boy underwear and lots of time is taken up in the bathroom? I may have also failed to mention that when said 2-year old is engrossed by "Olivia" (thank you Nick Jr.), he will forgo the potty and have an accident. This ensures that he doesn't have to get up from the TV and miss any of the highly imaginative pig and her little "bother". There was an accident that had to be cleaned up, which led to me stripping the beds of sheets, and then frantically making up beds with no sheets before the showing.

As I am throwing a pair of sandals on Ryder so we can get in the car, he decides that he can no longer wear shoes without socks.  Yes, I am even speaking of sandals and flip-flops. They can be worn, but only with socks. Seriously? Seriously? Tennis shoes it was. What happened to the boy who never questioned what I dressed him in?

So. We are late to school, but better late than never is my mantra. I find out from "Ames" (as Ryder calls his teacher) that I need to be back by 10:45 a.m. to hide eggs. I run back home to get Rustin his oatmeal and feed it to him in the car. Head to the bank, get gas in the car and then stop back by the house to grab my camera. Guess What? I can't grab my camera because the people are still in our house. I sit outside my house for 45 minutes and they never come out. No camera for the class party.

Arrive at school, the poop incident of 2010 occurs. Seriously. I go to put Rustin in my sling and notice that there is crusties all over his legs and hands. It wasn't pretty...the worst I have ever encountered. Luckily, I had a change of clothes for him. Poor baby had to endure a full blown baby-wipe bath in the Church parking lot.

Hide eggs, wait for Ryder's class to come out. As expected, Ryder had no interest in hunting eggs. Why would you want to hunt eggs when you can go down the slide, ride the car, swing in the swing? I urged him to put a few eggs in his plastic bucket. Yes, he was the only one with a plastic bucket. I guess no one else felt it was acceptable to send their kid with the $1 job from Wal-mart. Everyone else had the cutest baskets, some even had liners with their name embroidered. We have a cute basket, but I didn't send it to school. Poor kid.  Below is his massive loot (ha!) in his super cute plastic bucket!

Ryder then notices my phone and is only interested in that. He will not sit for his class picture, I bribe him with french fries. "Ryder sit with Reesie and say Cheese...then you can have french fries". Ryder is now fixated on French Fries. He does not understand why the French Fries do not just appear. He really does not understand that he can go back into his classroom and have French Fries (they had ordered Chickaflicka for the party). He insists on getting in Mommy's car for the French Fries. Now he only wants Mommy's keys. Mommy's keys turn on Mommy's car and Mommy's car drives us to the French Fries. Screaming insues. I don't feel bad because every other kid whose Mom came to the party is screaming.

I gained new respect for his teacher if this is what she listens to every day.

I brought him home after finally having French Fries for lunch. He didn't nap, but he did spend 2-hours in his room without fussing. Thank you!!

Finally, I find out that the people who spent so long in the house this morning did decide to go under contract on our house. We are totally lost but at peace. We have no idea where we are going, but we have 2-months to figure it out. The family is moving to Texas from Illinois and waiting until school ends before they make the move. This gives us a little time to figure out where we should be. I know that this is in His plan...I just wish he'd show us the answers.

Thanks for reliving and enduring the day with me...on another note... a sweet friend of mine's little girl underwent a lengthy surgery today on her foot. I just received the update that the surgery went well and all are happy. She is resting with an epidural and able to eat some ice chips. In the words of Jill..."God is Good!".