the almost several hundred dollar Cheetos

My last post was about Logan, and his whirlwind two year old ways. He is a little tornado of chaos, and can dissassemble a room in five minutes flat.

So this morning, when Andrew was trying to head out for work and couldn't find his car keys, naturally we blamed Logan. He tends to pick up things. Things that don't belong to him. And drop them, stick them, bury them, hide them, into one of his bazillion special secret places. So the search began. All drawers, inside shoes, backpacks, clothing, the washer, the dryer, under furniture, inside vases and toys with compartments.. Nothing, nada, no keys.

I headed out to take Logan to gym class, leaving Andrew here to carry on the search. Surely, he'd find them. We arrived home an hour later and still no keys. More searching. More obscure places... inside game boxes, through the kitchen trash and the trash dumpster by the curb for trash day...

Andrew has two spare keys to his car, but being a VW, the spare keys just can't WORK and START THE CAR. They have to be taken to the dealership to be coded first. Except the FRIGGIN car WON'T START without KEYS, so tow trucks would have to be involved. Easily this was turning into a several hundred dollar problem. We'd ask Logan where he put daddy's keys, and he'd just smile and answer "keys?".

Finally, we decide that Logan and I will drive Andrew to work (at this point Dylan is at school) so he can at least get something done. And meanwhile, I'd go back home and look some more. Andrew contacts a locksmith, only to learn no one has the VW software to code the keys remotely. If the guy comes, there is a 50/50 chance he can get the spare to work. And even if he can't get it to work, we still have to pay him.

I continue searching, while Andrew, at work, continues calling more locksmiths. I look everywhere I can possibly think of. Inside pots and pans, empty every single toy bin all over the house and put toys back one by one, under every couch and chair cushion, rip through both of our cars, look into the duct work after pulling out the air vents (Logan is in there all the time hiding stuff).

Finally I call Andrew. Its no use, we've looked everywhere and they are just gone. Vanished. So we spend some time cursing out VW for being so jack ass about not coding spare keys for owners in case of a situation like this. We're about to hang up so Andrew can call a tow truck and have his car towed the the VW dealer. I'm searching thru the grocery bag bin in the pantry, just in case they got tangled up in one of the bags when I got home from the grocery store yesterday.

Not there either. I stand up. And out of the corner of my eye I see them. The Cheetos. About four shelves up in the pantry - way too high for Logan to reach so I never even looked there. The Cheetos have a stay fresh clip on them, and it has a magnet on the back. The keys are stuck to the magnet, just dangling in mid-air. They must have been laying on the counter yesterday, next to the Cheetos bag I had out during lunch, and gotten stuck to the magnet.

It was the Cheetos fault. Not Logan's. Stupid Cheetos. You're the Keyz-iest.

why i need a drink..

....because while attempting to vacuum (maybe 15 minutes?) this morning, Logan managed to get his toy lawnmower jammed under the rocking chair in the living room, empty out the crayon drawer and dump them all into the art easel tray, smear cream cheese all over his face and clothes and the dog, go onto the screen porch and place cat food, piece by piece, into the cats' water bowl, poop his pants, dump out a huge basket of Matchbox cars onto the floor, and empty out an entire brand new bin of baby wipes, wipe by wipe, into a giant wet white pile on the bedroom floor.

Bartender.....?

sick day

The first germs of kindergarten have invaded our house. I've been a hacking, feverish, runny nose mess for two days now. And last night, Dylan came down with a fever. I kept him home from school today, and we've been lounging. Well, maybe lounging isn't the word. Lounging doesn't happen with a two year old around. I'd call it "doing as little as possible to keep everyone fed." The first half of our day was spent watching Scooby Doo and cleaning out the toy box.

After Logan's nap, we got slightly more motivated and baked some cookies. I don't know why they came out so flat, but they're darn tasty anyway.

Then we moved onto pumpkin painting, trying to convince ourselves to feel better.

Except Logan got more paint on himself than his pumpkin and it took a good hosing down to get him cleaned up.

All I've really wanted to do is just crawl in bed for about three days, watch movies and turn off the phone. But there's no such thing as a sick day for mommies.

marshmallows, wine and giant hay slides

We love fall around here. Today is the official first day of autumn, and ours is already off to a running start! It seems like there are at least a couple of fun events every weekend to get us outside and enjoying the cooler weather, apple cider, animals, pumpkins, and all that fall-y stuff.


We kicked this past weekend off on Friday night with a marshmallow roast in the backyard:

Saturday we met some friends at a local wine festival - the perfect event for parents since it provides entertainment for kids and adults alike. We took in a hayride, ate yummy snacks, even got to play some corn hole, and let the kids romp around, all while enjoying our vino.

Sunday night, I snuck in a very lovely girls night out, and we celebrated Kristin's birthday over some delicious ravioli...

And today after school, we headed to one of our very favorite farms for the first week of their awesome fall festival! We met up with Jersey Baby and stayed until the place shut down. We can't get enough of their giant hay slides, spinning vortex and corn maze, super long hayride thru the disco light show barn, and all the cute baby animals (the baby piglets below were just born last night!).

The best part about having kids is getting to be a kid all over again yourself.

a weeks' worth in one post, and we're missing a tooth

How is it Friday already? Its been a quicky of a week with so much going on. Time I used to spend writing on the blog is now being spent working my new marketing gig. The adult part of my brain is very rusty and the gears need a little lubrication. I'll get with it soon.



Dylan had back to school night last night. We left the kids with our friends, and off we went for a two hour program at the school. We learned about how the kindergarten team approaches handwriting and reading. I've said it before but I just love his school so much. The community involvement is just amazing, and there are so many good things happening there.

Its amazing to me how much better Dylan's handwriting is getting so quickly. He's only been in school for three weeks, but its the everyday practice that's really making a difference. He also seems to actually enjoy practicing, which I couldn't say before school. I was also recently turned onto the BOB Books, and picked up the first set at Costco. He loves them and is getting a major confidence boost that he CAN DO THIS. Its really exciting to see him recognize words and the huge smile he gets after reading a book on his own!

I also volunteered to be room mom for his class. I have no idea what this means yet, but I'm sure I'll find out soon enough!

Logan is loving all of his extra activities: Pumpi's Playschool gym class at Pump it Up, and Music with Maddy. We're on the go all the time! I haven't done an in depth Logan post in a long time, with updates on his speech and occupational therapy, and I will soon. Everything is going great.

We also visited the fire station with MOMS Club this week for a tour of all the fire trucks, and to learn about fire safety.

In other weekly news, Dylan got bitten on his hand today at school, and it broke the skin. He told me when he got off the bus today, and I expected to see a note in his backpack. When I didn't see anything I called his teacher, and we're trying to get to the bottom of it. From what Dylan and two of his friends from his class tell me, there is a little boy who causes a lot of trouble and he's the one who bit Dylan today because, as Dylan says, "he was trying to get me to be bad and I didn't want to". Hmmmm. Whatever happened, a five year old should not be biting!! I hope this isn't going to be a year long saga, hearing about the bad boy. There's always at least one in a class, right? Let's hope this boys had his rabies shots.

Speaking of Dylan and teeth (but his own this time) his first loose tooth is REALLY loose, and the Tooth Fairy could be making her inaugural visit to our house very soon! I'm just wondering where I'll keep the upcoming collection of teeth these next couple of years, and what the heck I'll do with them. And if his tooth is hanging by a thread, will I have the gumption to give it a yank myself? The things you don't think about ever having to do before you have kids!

Holy cow, well, scratch that last paragraph. Dylan's tooth JUST fell out as he was eating a Kit Kat bar. Just like that. My baby has lost his first tooth. This whole growing up thing is happening way too fast. How's this for a close up?

What else, what else? Oh! This is a good one. My A/C fan is stuck on the HIGH ARCTIC BLAST position in my car and won't turn off, no matter what I do. I drive down the road with my hair blowing into Ziggy Stardust formation. It looks like a visit to the auto shop is in order for next week.

Lastly, and very sadly, my beloved Aunt Kathy in Arizona lost her poor dog Ben to lung cancer this week. Big hugs to Aunt Kathy and Uncle Bill, I'm thinking of you guys and I love you!

Kings Dominion

Yesterday, we continued with our weekend a la insanity, braving the heat, and taking in a day at Kings Dominion. Andrew's company rented the whole park out, and it was fun to run into people we knew and enjoy the shorter than normal theme park lines. It was still a long day, with a long drive and Logan was up most of Saturday night crying (for reasons unknown - I think playing with the kids on Saturday just got him all wound up). Still, with a total of three hours of sleep and halfway hallucinating from exhaustion, we put on a good caffeine buzz and sucked it up, and somehow made it through the day.

Logan and Dylan both love rides, and it was so cute watching Dylan help Logan get their seatbelts fastened and holding his hand. Except the one time he forgot and left Logan on the ride alone. But other than that, he was a good big brother.

I am constantly impressed at Dylan's stamina. He walked the entire huge theme park in 95 degrees and high humidity, sweating to death, and didn't complain a single time. He hasn't sat in a stroller since he was 2 1/2. He didn't even fall asleep in the car on the way home. And mind you, neither of them ate much at the park all day. I don't know where they get this stamina. Lord knows I don't have it.

Here's a sampling of some of the fun.....



Just like at the demolition dirty!

I'm not sure if I like this one.


Rollin' with my homies..


This is the closest either of them will get to driving a car until they're 18!




My retro helicopter needs a new paint job. And maybe a new transmission.



Scooby Snacks anyone?

Bazillions of balls

completely and utterly exhausted

girlfriends

This past weekend was a total whirlwind and its going to take us all a few days to recover. But, oh the fun we had!

Our good friends were visiting from Atlanta, and our whole group of friends had a chance on Saturday to let our kids play. We met as brand new mommies at a hospital group when our older kids were just weeks old. Now, five years later, we're such a support system for each other and I can't imagine my life without these ladies. The above photo doesn't represent our full group, but we were all together in spirit. The beautiful thing is, the husbands and kids all enjoy each other so much too. We're really lucky to have such an awesome group of friends.

Kisses all around!

the new normal

September, I'm getting a feel for how things are going to be now. A constant swirl of helping with homework, packing backpacks, and running to the next activity. Volunteering for this, that and the other thing. And very recently, I've added a little part time marketing gig on the side (thanks Sharon!). Weekends are packed, the calendar is full. I have to remind myself to stop, breath and just enjoy the little quiet moments. They happen about once a day, around 8 pm.

sometimes its just that simple

Sometimes, you don't need a big, exciting weekend full of adventures and parties and trips.

Sometimes, a couple of hours at the park on a beautiful day is just as good.

and here begins the exhibitionism...

Yesterday after school, I took the kids for ice cream as a special 'hooray we survived the first week of school' celebration. The line was long but its our favorite ice cream parlor, and worth the wait. Plus lots of our friends were there and everyone was yakking it up.

As we're standing there, I look down and see a diaper on the floor near Logan. And I think to myself "hmmm, that's the kind of diaper Logan wears".

I thought maybe he had run over and raided someones diaper bag. Surely my son wouldn't take off his own diaper and just let it drop. Although, considering the fact that he runs around naked each night before bathtime spanking his own butt, nothing should surprise me in the naked department.

I bent down and felt his little rear end and sure enough, it was diaperless.

He was wearing one of those cute one piece shorts jumper outfits (the kind I can't get away with on him for much longer). He clearly stuck his hand up his shorts legs, unfastened his diaper, and let it all hang out.

I think if the ice cream guy had asked me if we wanted nuts on our scoop of coconut pineapple, I would have peed my pants.

packpack

Before this week, I hadn't though much about Logan's reaction to Dylan going to school. Really, I should have, because Logan always tries his darnedest to do everything Dylan does.

The first day of kindergarten, Logan cried and cried after the bus pulled away with Dylan on it. He would have been perfectly happy to leave me, sit next to Dylan on that bus, go to a school full of total strangers and do what all the five year olds were doing all afternoon.

The next morning, I told Logan we had to say goodbye to Dylan but that he'd be back to play with us later. And in the meantime, he and I would go to Target. Target! What fun! So that day, he reluctantly waved to Dylan as the bus pulled away and seemed satisfied knowing Dylan would return in a few hours. "Bus! Bye!" he shouted.

Yesterday morning, as Dylan was putting on his backpack so we could walk to the bus stop, Logan decided he needed a 'packpack' too. He didn't even put anything in it. But just to wear a backpack like his older brother made him happy. He also had to have hair gel to spike his his hair, just like Dylan.

This morning, the same thing. "Packpack", he said, as he watched Dylan get ready for the bus. So, again he found his own backpack, happy to be just like Dylan.

Now I'm thinking I should be giving Logan homework assignments to do while Dylan is doing his after school. And I wonder if that could include some sort of cleaning up around here?

why p.m. kindergarten rocks

Dylan loved his first day of school. I didn't know if I'd get many details, but he gave me the full scoop. He said they did puzzles, and practiced a fire drill (or a drill fire, he called it), they listened to a story about a raccoon going to school, then did some worksheets about the story using scissors and glue. He said his teacher wore a green shirt and the assistant teacher wore a blue shirt. His school bus is new and has seat belts and he sat by himself on the way home. He only had time to eat about half of his snack. He drank chocolate milk, but not all of it. And he was a good boy.

This morning he was excited to go back. And I'm just so proud of him, and thrilled things are going so well.

I am truly so glad kindergarten here is half day, its a nice adjustment period for full day first grade last year.

Here's why p.m. kindergarten rocks:

1. We can still sleep in. Let me re-phrase. DYLAN can still sleep in. The rest of us are up between 7-7:30 am as usual. Dylan is not a morning guy. So to be able to put off the early morning battle of wake up go potty brush teeth eat breakfast get dressed get to bus stop all before 7:30 am for one more year is awesome. Next fall will be a huge adjustment to his routine.

2. By the time Dylan gets on the bus, Logan and I wave goodbye and have about an hour or so to go run errands before nap time. It is infinitely easier running an errand with only one child verses two. Over the next few weeks, Logan will be starting some gym and music classes which will give us some fun one-on-one time too, so all our time together isn't spent at Target and Wegman's.

3. We all have a good 2 1/2 hours in the morning for some quality time together. This morning we made three loaves of banana bread AND had a playdate before school!

4. Logan naps a good two hours while Dylan is at school. This equates to ME TIME. Which usually equates to cleaning something, organizing something, putting something away, making some phone calls, working on MOMS Club stuff and of course, blogging. But its dreamy to do all of this in a quiet house with no kids running and yelling and asking for snacks. And I plan to set aside some time to exercise during this time as soon as I can get my hands on some DVD's.

We have also established a new house rule, right from the start. Homework must be done right after school. He comes home, has a snack, and has to do homework before playing or anything else. If he doesn't do it then, I know I'll lose him by after dinner. Last night he was so tired. I can't imagine how he'd be if he had to go full day right now.

kindergarten, here I come!

A bittersweet and exciting day here at our house as Dylan embarks on his kindergarten adventure.

He was so proud, in a quiet and 'don't embarrass me too much mom' kind of way. I packed his snack - hummus, crackers and cantaloupe, and laid out his new shirt and shoes. He asked for oatmeal and fruit for breakfast and ate it all. He was ready to go.

He and the other kids happily climbed onto the bus, and off they went, as we waved and hid our misty eyes behind sunglasses. Logan cried because he wanted to go too.

Now here it is, only an hour before he'll be home, telling me all about it. He'll come home full of facts and it will be non-stop talking I'm sure.

I can't believe this day is here. He's just so grown up, and his little world is going to expand so much.

We're so proud of you Dylan! You're going to have so much fun!