Get Well Soon Gahgum(Grandpa) Billy

Dear Gahgum Billy,
We hope you get better in time for your trip.

the boys thought some flower-firework-balloons might cheer you up!

Ollie may have gotten lost in the shuffle here...

... but he did his best to help make your card too!
The crayon was just too hard to resist for teething baby

We love you! Davi and the boys

A little game of tag

I'll admit it--I have not really exercised in over a year. I don't exercise much while pregnant, due to vomiting till 20 weeks, followed by a few good weeks, followed by muchas contractions, followed by Finn and Ollie coming 3 weeks early. Not to mention those pesky c-sections that leave you hobbled up for a while. I'm not complaining...just observing. I think babies are worth every ounce of trouble.

I often marvel at my ability to watch inspirational weight loss shows, like the Biggest Loser, while happily munching on chips or oreos. Have you seen Jillian's rock hard abs? Impressive, but yah, no so much for me.

I sprinted to the mail box the other day and came back huffing and puffing like I'd run a marathon. It was quite pathetic. I had flashbacks to roller blading with Jessi Schatzle...her pushing my 2 boys in a trailer, while I pushed just Davis with my weak sauce legs.

Yesterday I took Ollie on a brisk walk and it felt great. I came home energized and made a mean batch of beef stroganoff. Immediately after dinner, I haphazardly started doing crunchies, push-ups and light weight-lifting. I had no plan, not even a p-l-a. I even set the timer for 5 minutes and started running laps around my family room. John, of course, thought this was hilarious and decided to turn on some rap music to further the amusement. The boys' eyes were as big as saucers, as they could not believe their good luck that mommy was actually going to play tag with them. So, around we went, they chased me and I chased them. John wanted to video-tape this spectacle, but I forbid him. Also, if you've notice, this is one of the few posts where I've conveniently forgotten the existence of the camera. If you want to see this, you will have to come play a little game of tag with me yourself!

This morning I woke up with a little cough-cough, like my body was already revolting. Pathetic, I know.

I am Pippi Longstocking...

Ollie got his 1st real cold this week and my bundle of joy turned into quite the sad-sack. At the mere hint of the mention of the possibility that I might put him down, he would start screaming bloody murder. Then he would get all blubbery & raspy & pitiful...a little eeping pile that I could not resist. Even though I was at my wits end, I was still thankful to be able to take care of him. But taking care of the boys all day, and even nurse Davi has her limits. Since I was out the night before, John and I jointly(and ridiculously) decided that he go to small group that night and leave me home with the 3 boys. After lugging my almost-20-pound baby around all day, my arms started to ache. Surprisingly, my scrambled brain thought of a somewhat reasonable plan. I went out to the garage and dragged our stroller into the house.
Round and round the living room we went, with the boys and their kitties strolling right along. We were having a jolly time. Then the phone rang and I stopped rolling the baby for 1 second. And the screaming starts again(flashbacks to my sister's post when her Kate fell apart:She dropped her pencil.SCREAM! She dropped her candy. SCREAM! and so on..). At that moment everything went haywire--the boys competing for the biggest melt-down, the house looking like a bomb hit...
and all I could think was "I'm gonna wake up in the morning and do this all again with no break in sight". I called John(around 5 times) and begged him to come home, ASAP. He peeled out of there, but by the time he got home, the boys were calm and he probably thought I was crying wolf.
My house is still wacky and disheveled, but I don't seem to mind as much as I used to(before kids, when every item had its place or I chucked it). I even dragged Ollie's high chair into my bedroom so we could be with the rest of the family while feeding him.

So, with my stroller in the living room and the high chair in my bedroom, I am starting to feel like Pippi Longstocking. Though I think she had a horse on her porch.

"a-hope in-a-hay, and a-hope shah-nah"

He luvs me

I've never been a huge fan of Valentines Day. Maybe because you're supposed(forced) to get things for each other...seems kind of contrived. Why do I just get candy on that particular day? What about the remaining 364 days? I think mainly I don't like it for grown-ups. It's so depressing watching clueless men shopping for teddy bears and lotions for their poor unsuspecting victims. It is kind of cute for kids though. My sister's girls make a pink heart-shaped cake for daddy and I think that's very sweet.

I was lost in thought yesterday, reading the story of Chris and Emery(I'm probably the last blogger on earth to have read it. Where have I been?), while Finn was dancing around peppering me with questions. He was supposed to be observing his afternoon siesta, but somehow slipped under the radar. As I read on, Finn was chattering endlessly, happily playing with strands of paper from the shredder. He came over and plopped something on my desk. A heart? For me? So sweet.

heart crafted from shredded paper.

In his extreme excited voice, he said, "I'll be right back" and he danced out of the room. A few moments later, he re-surfaced and handed me a paper bag with the word "mome"(mommy) inscribed on it in pink crayon.

I opened the bag to find a white sheet of paper with pink hearts all over it.

Aww. Finn can be so sweet when he's not being aloof. This was totally unexpected. I was mystified as to where he learned to draw hearts, as he's very preoccupied by his daily drum and firework drawings. He must have learned to draw hearts at church, I thought. So, I probed and heard what ever mother longs to hear:

"I learned it on TV....all the shapes and hearts on Barney."

Well the heart pictures went over so well with me, that he quickly went to work drawing me another picture:

Let's just say my sister Jessica has the artist in the family.

Not wanting to hurt Finn's feelings, I said, "Oh, those are lovely pink...things..." He heartily agreed and said "yah, it's those flower things over there".

This is my kind of Valentine's Day.

Band of Brothers

$30 to go!

Doesn't sound like much, but when you're 4 years old and your only source of income is a 50cents/week allowance and recycling cans, it's a pretty big deal. Since June, Finn has been pickling his pennies toward a drum set. Not just any drum set, but one that has a base drum, 2 mounted toms, a floor tom, snare, crash cymbal, high hat cymbal and a throne. Finn will tell you allll about it if you ask him:)

any deviation from this model is cause for great consternation.

Almost every day Finn draws an exact replica of this model.

And almost every day, he announces that he must practice playing his drums. I have to say, he is very faithful and diligent ~when I took piano lessons I only practiced once a week~ You are probably thinking "what mother in her right mind would allow real live drums in her home?" Well, one who has already endured countless jam session ending in shrieks and wails upon the collapse of such precarious set-ups.

those are black vacuum extensions taped onto the drums
and the paper plates are cymbals

And these are just a few samples. This has been going on for over a year. How could it get any worse?? I am a little nervous for these drums to arrive, but it's way too late to back out now. Finn has been steadfast and unswerving in his fund-raising efforts. My little scrooge could not be swayed or tempted by any other object ~unlike his mama who spends her birthday money before she even gets it~ I wish I had Finn's patience to save up for extended periods of time. I've been saving for a camera for less than a month, and I have already been sidetracked by candy machines and the likes.

Finn's protege

Calvin is saving for an electric guitar and is going to magically and conveniently get it the same day Finn gets his drums. Our band of brothers is finally starting to come together...

So serious, they are!

my little excursion

So after recovering from my cold, I flew the coop today while John watched the boys. I headed downtown, straight for my favorite junk shop--down, down into its basement. I don't know why I'm so attracted to this particular dungeon, but it 's the first place I go. I found the exact window frame I was looking for.

Isn't she a beaut?

I spied this charming little number back in June while pregnant with Ollie, and instantly fell in luv with her ancient dual sliding metal panes. It's just what I need for some of my Ellie pics. I don't know yet if I'm gonna pull the panes apart and make 2 separate frames, or if I'm going to keep it together as one unit. Then, out of the corner of my eye , I spotted the gem of all gems.

This is a definite want.

In case you did not know, I'm quite fond of gumball and candy machines .

This machine was very well crafted and I have the absolute perfect spot for it in my kitchen. I'm supposed to be saving for a camera though. The store owner said he could put it on layaway for 90 days. Hm. Decisions, decisions. Then this guy walks by, holding a handgun. I did not care if the gun was vintage or not, I was not going to stick around in the basement to find out. I was totally creeped out. Seriously, don't they have rules about guns being locked up behind the counter? The store owners should know better--they are scaring away moms and small children.

Here are a few other items that I did not buy:

vintage scale complete with 2 looking glasses.

As if the numbers on a scale were not harsh enough...you can actually watch yourself as you gain the weight. No thank you! Only a man could invent such a contraption.

Wouldn't a pair of these make a cute birthday gift?

I asked the owner where he got all his loot. He has 15 families in France scouting for stuff for their livelihood. So, I must support these poor people by buying that gumball machine, no? Why does french loot seem more appealing than plain old American junk?

sinus 101

Everyone here got that fun little cold for Christmas, and my version included a sinus infection. It's just misery, unless you take some of this:

My new best friend.4 tsp of straight pseudoephedrine syrup and you are good to go. Forget about adult sudafed, which does not contain pseudoephedrine.

And don't forget your get-well-soon flowers:
Finn and Calvin picked me some lovely flowers from Garden Erickson. I love my boys:)