Love & Logic...

So, this "Love & Logic" book has been talked about in several conversations held between my girlfriends and I. We all seem to have have unruly toddlers and soon to be preschoolers. We've heard this book has worked miracles and we're all itching to get our hands on it. So today, I took my VISA check card, headed to Borders, and vowed that even if this mystical book cost me $50, it would be give me back $100 + in happiness.

So in I marched. "Where is the Parenting Section please?" The nice lady, who seemed to know I was on a mission, pointed me towards the back of the store. I'm sure the "Parenting Section" was placed at the back of the store for a reason and I'm also positive that many parental breakdowns had to have occurred in this taboo section on a regular basis. But on I went...I scoured the shelves....nothing. I got down on my hands and knees...still nothing. And then. There it was! The only copy on the shelf! It frightened me that so many people needed this book to gain control over their children. It also frightened me that someone could swoop in behind me and steal the only copy on the shelf! So I grabbed it up and said a silent prayer: "God please let this help stop all the yelling in my house." And off I went to purchase my "Holy Grail."

Consider yourself warned Liam. I will soon know what makes you tick...what makes you un-tick, and how to get you to do what I want you to do without even asking you to do it! (insert evil laugh...muuuuaaahhh!). Game on short stuff.

The gym...

As many of you know, I've been working my tail off getting to the gym...It is painfully clear to me that I can slip back into my old habits if given the chance. Especially with all the Christmas cookies around! So after my last visit yesterday, I drove to the gym and realized I didn't bring my workout shoes. I drove home (18 miles), ate supper with my family and then drug myself back out into the cold. Yes, I went back out into the "deep freeze" even after I had cuddled up with Liam. I could have so easily said "screw it. I'll do better tomorrow." But I didn't. I drove another 18 miles, one way...and it felt sooooo good to put in the 4 miles on the treadmill...and I have to give myself a pat on the back because I'm succeeding. Not easy to do when motivation is low at times...but 'Here's to me!'

Collection of thoughts...

I have decided to start a collection of cute conversations Liam has with us...It amazes me what goes through his mind and he's only 3y/o! Here are a couple:

This morning:
Liam: “Momma. I don’t want a penis anymore.”
Me: “Why?”
Liam: “Because I just want to pee out of my butt like you.”
Me: “Well, when you’re outside you can’t pee on trees then. Daddy can, but I can’t.”
Liam: “I don’t care.”

Another conversation over a year ago:
Adam is in changing Liam's diaper and I hear the following conversation take place...

Liam: "I have a penis."
Adam: "Yes you do buddy."
Liam: "Do you have a penis?"
Adam: "Yes I do buddy."
Liam: "What does Momma have?"
Adam: "What do you think Momma has?"
Liam: "She has fur."

Oh lord...what am I in for.

Rosie Posie

Santa made a surprise visit to our house, about a month ago, and gave Liam an early Christmas present. Liam came home, immediately ripped of his pants "I have to pee sooooo bad" and headed to his bathroom. Inside the bathroom, in a large pet porter, lay Rosie. Tucked on top was a note from Santa that read:

Dear Liam,
I found this kitty and was hoping you could give her a good home. Her name is Rosie and she loves to be pet and carried around. She's a really nice girl that needs lots of love."
See you soon...
Love,
Santa

In the nude, Liam opened up the pet porter and out crawled the newest addition to our family. "Momma, can we keep her?" Of course I already knew the answer but to put on a good show the 3 of us "talked" about the huge resposiblity Rosie was going to be. "I can take care of her. Please?! I love her so much already!" Rosie had us at "hello."

Come to think of it...Liam never did go back and pee...at least for the next hour...

To Infinity and Beyond...

This past weekend Adam and I took Liam to see Disney Live Rockin Road Tour. As soon as we stepped in the door, not only did they soak us for $75/ticket, they sucked an extra $75 on all the miscellaneous crap every little boy has to have. We got him this twirling disco ball that had stars on it that lit up...I was sure it would either be wrapped up in my hair by the end of the show or Liam would be blinded by a stray star. Then there was the high gloss Buzz Light Year, with removable wings, that needed to be tucked into Liam's grip. And then let's not forget the photograph with a fake Mickey and Minnie and the snow cone with souvenir cup. Things got expensive.

I think my favorite quote from Liam that day was "We're coming Handy Manny! We're on our way!" He said this repeatedly on the way up to the Excel Center...Even though Handy Manny didn't make an appearance, as promised, we did get to see Woody and Buzz Light Year. He thought Buzz was "da bomb" and didn't mind that he wore purple tights and a fake backpack...one day it will bother him as much as it bothered me.

But Liam loves theater and I have to say that each of us adults (mom and dad went as well) even got into the show. It was fun to see the characters all dressed up, dancing, signing, and putting on a "talent show" for us. It felt magical and I got that warm fuzzy feeling in the bottom of my stomach knowing that we had gotten Liam the perfect gift for Christmas. He danced, he clapped, he smiled, and shouted...All good practice for the day he turns 21...

Some day, we need to plan a family trip to Disney World. I think he'll faint if he actually gets to touch Mickey.

I'm Ready...

To get the hell outta here! I feel like I haven't had a day off in months, if not years and tomorrow can't come soon enough. Adam and I are ditching Liam and heading to Door County for a couple of days to enjoy our 4th anniversary...Will I miss Liam? Certainly. Will I miss my cats and the comfort of my own home? For sure. Will I miss the constant: "Mama. Mama. MAMA!" No. How about the sound of Alyce hacking up yet another fur ball? Can't say I couldn't live without it...So I'm outta here! I'm not looking back! I'm going on a great adventure with one of my best friends, and I'm going to allow myself to lose touch with reality...I might even throw back some hard alcohol and do some karaoke...whatever I'm doing it's going to be AWESOME...sooo...See ya on the flip side!

Let It Snow...Let It Snow...Let It Snow...

This morning Adam went to volunteer at the Community Table...he woke me up before he left and told me there was snow outside! Immediately Liam and I had to take a peek...both of us looked at each other, squealed, and threw our winter clothes on. Snowball fights (which weren't really snowballs because we had to scrape the snow off of the cars because there wasn't really snow on the ground) and sorry to say, Jakie the dog lost the fight. It was very fun this morning and I can't wait for more snow!!!! Makes me think Christmas is right around the corner!

Sign Me Up For Insanity Please...

I'm not quite sure where everything started to go to hell today...we played hard last night with Jacob and Anna...we went to bed late, woke up before six, played hard some more...and then everything went INSANE! Wait, maybe it's the lack of sleep that is wreaking havoc on my 3 y/o's body?! In fact, I'm POSITIVE that is it! One would think a 3 hour nap in the early afternoon would do wonders for the both of us...but not so much. There has been melt down after melt down for each of us and there looks to be no end in sight. "But Daddy took the sign and he's going to hang it up!?!" WHHHAAAAA! "But Liam you can't put that there it goes in your laundry basket!?!" WHHHHAAAAA! We're both irrational and going to bed before 8:30 p.m. Tomorrow will be a better day...McDonald's with Claire, Deven, and Michelle...maybe Toy Story the movie...whatever it is, it's gotta be better than this! But, again, that's Life In the Crazy Lane...

Peace and Quiet...WITH my baby...

Today I took off from work. Usually when I do this, Liam goes to "school", Adam goes to work and I have peace and quiet...alone to do all the things that I want to do, but never have the time to do them. (This usually means endless hours in front of the TV). Today was different. Mom and Dad are on vacation...eating lobster and crab in the Hamptons, spinning tales, and living the high life and "school", for Liam, is not open on Fridays. It's nice. It's nice to be home with Liam. We have the whole day to run around, be silly, NOT clean the house, and nap and play cars at our leisure.

Well, we had a couple of errands to do today. So we headed out, after packing up the "awesome cars that need to come with us momma" and headed to Shopko. He crawled out of his car seat, instantly took my hand "so I don't get squished like a bug", and we headed in. He picked our cart because it had a TON of flyers in it (I hate carts with crap left in them...but they seem to be his favorite). Then he assumed his position at the very front of the cart. I looked at him today, while he was riding on the outside of the cart (like you're sooooo not supposed to) and I thought to myself: "When the hell did he grow tall enough and strong enough to do that?!?" I watched him in the store as he picked out toys he wants to write on his list for Santa...how chartreuse was a color "I don't like"...and how badly he wants to be a pirate for Halloween. After leaving Shopko, we headed to the library. He's a pro there! I had no idea where to dump the books we needed to return, I didn't know where the "cool toys" were, and sadly, I didn't know where they had story time. I'm thankful that I have parents that see the value in trips to the library and take Liam there on a regular basis. So, as I'm renewing my library card (the last time I used it, I was still a Pearson...holy shit), Liam told the lady behind the counter: "My Grandma brings me to the library all the time." And the next breath he said: "My Papa plays with the train with me." I had to smile and swear I teared up...

It's A Family Affair...

Mom and I both had the great idea that tonight was the night to get some pumpkins! So after supper, Liam, Adam, Mom, Dad, and I headed over to Connell's to buy our blank slates...Liam climbed all over the wagon to find his perfect pumpkin and the rest of us scoured as well. I think mom spent about $34 at that pumpkin patch...but we'll be back again next year, because they have the best pumpkins in town! I loved taking pictures of my family tonight. It's my favorite time of year and I can already tell that it's going to be Liam's as well. Next, carving...

Life in the Great Outdoors...

We made a trip to the cabin this weekend with family and friends. The kids were silly and everyone laughed and had a great time! We went 4 wheeling through the "Monkey Mud", made pudgy pies over the fire, s'mores, hand cranked home made ice cream, and listened to the Indian music station and danced the night away under the stars while howling at the moon...literally. I remember doing that as a little girl with my sister. Grandpa Phil and Grandma Jean would turn on the radio and my sister and I would dance the polka, howl at the moon, and laugh until our stomachs hurt...makes me happy that our kids are going to have the same memories as my sister and I. And not every time, but sometimes, we're even lucky enough to get Mom and Dad up to dance...makes the whole trip a beautiful memory. My family is wonderful...

Wii Love It!

The above should be posted on the outside of every Wii box as a warning.

"If your child should stick out their tongue, ignore you when you talk, or fail to see the humor when you shut the TV off so they listen to what you're saying. Your child may have Wii brain."

Repeat after me: "Put the Wii remote down and back away."

CONSIDER YOURSELF WARNED.

The Naked Chef...

It's that time of year where we get ready to go to our family cabin "up nort" every weekend in the fall. And this weekend is no exception. So much to pack, so much to do for such a short weekend getaway. Instead of cooking one of the main meals, Liam and I have decided that we will keep "the camp" supplied with homemade cookies. Liam is quite the baker. He loves to sample the "product" BEFORE it's finished and gets really excited about dumping the ingredients and stirring everything together. His future wife will thank me one day when she comes home from work to a home cooked meal. However, when he does bake, I can't convince him to wear all of his clothes...oh the dangers of cooking nude...not sure his wife will thank me for that one...but hey, I tried.

Chocolate vs. Chuck-lit

In an effort to make my life easier, Adam decided to take Liam downstairs and pull something out of the freezer for tomorrow night's supper. Roast was decided on and Adam, being the wonderful father he is, gave Liam the choice of rump roast or chuck roast...I mean really, what 3 y/o SHOULDN'T have the choice, right????

Adam: "So which one do you want? Rump or chuck?"

Liam: "Ummmm...I think chuck-lit"

Won't he be sad when it's a piece of meat that he is eating and not the hunk of "chuck-lit" he wanted? Makes me smile...

Strong Man...

So there I am...minding my own business when out of no where I'm hit with: WELCOME TO THE GUN SHOW!!!!

Midnight freedom...

Tonight is the second night that Liam is being asked to sleep in his big boy bed. It seems impossible that he has turned 3, has a full vocabulary (some what of a sailors tongue), and that he will be starting 4 y/o kindergarton next year. Where has the time gone? I know people always say this...but REALLY!? WHERE HAS THE TIME GONE?! My sweet innocent little boy that used to like to cuddle on my lap, hold my hand, and kiss my cheek has turned into a boy who squirms when I pick him up, would rather put something "alive" in my hand than hold it, and runs and laughs when I try to get my good morning and goodnight kisses. It seems like only yesterday I was rocking him to sleep and admiring how handsome his baby face was. Now I look at him and can see the grown up little boy who will undoubtedly drive all the girls crazy...So, even though tonight he may drive me crazy by coming to visit me in my bed every two hours...I will take comfort in the fact that he still needs me and is again the little boy that I remember from not so long ago...