At Least His Arm Feels Better

Thanks Jake. Lesson learned. Keep baby powder under lock and key.

Light Reading

Hayden fell asleep a couple of nights ago studying "Star Trek-The Next Generation: Technical Manual".

Nerds Rule!!!

A No Good Very Bad Day

Do you ever have one of those days where you feel like you weren't made to be a mother? Like, mothering is too difficult for you and no one should have put you in charge? I had a day like that yesterday.

Jake broke his arm.

My 22 month old baby broke his arm on my watch.

He loves to climb on everything and I've been desperately trying to find ways to keep him from climbing onto my counters. But he got onto the counter (for the fifteenth time that day) and slipped and fell. I feel so lucky to have the new hospital so close and a great group of pediatricians at my disposal. They fit us right in and took great care of him. The injury happened right before pick up time for Hayden so I had to call Shilo to pick him up so I could run to the hospital. And it was Shilo's birthday. I still feel bad about it. She's a good Auntie.

He broke his long arm bone near the shoulder. It's too far up to cast so he has a sling. He wants out of that sling so has an Ace bandage too.

I love him and seeing him in pain has been difficult. It's funny how kids get over stuff so quickly though. He has already figured out how to navigate the stairs one-handed and how to drink a juice cup, hold blanket and eat toast while watching Sesame Street.

I hope I recover almost as quickly. Right now I'm working on getting my mommy confidence back.

Cookie Monsters

My boys and I like cookies. And cookie dough. And playing with the mixer.

Jake at 20 months
Hayden at 18 months

Grandma Ruth

(Four Generations last year)

(Hayden with GG)
Early morning on New Year's Day, my grandma passed away.

My aunt Donna talks about her mother on her website. She sums up her mother's life beautifully so I won't even try to compare.

She was a great example of how to live life well.

Love you Grandma. Tell Grandpa hi for me.

My Poor Washing Machine

I've been frazzled lately trying to keep up with my house since Santa came with all these new toys. Lego's are on my dining room table, we cleared two shelves of our bookcase in the living room off to fit Jake's stuff, an entire bookcase has been taken over in the family room etc etc.. It also does not help that Jake is into everything. He drew on our computer monitor with a pencil, drew on his auntie's iPod with a permanent marker, drew on my tile with a crayon and picks stuffing out of the hole in my recliner. I tried to come up with strategies to handle it all. So far the 'I'm going to stand in the kitchen and stare' strategy is not working. Then I read an article in 'Shape' magazine (it was only five dollars with another subscription, I have no intention of getting into any kind of shape) telling me how to sanitize my home. Boy oh boy, that was a scary article. There are more germs on my bathroom floor than on the toilet seat apparently. Oh and you have to wash your hands after you place wet laundry in the dryer because the high temp in the dryer kills the germs that just washed all over your clothes. Anyway, feeling more than overwhelmed (because how am I supposed to sanitize a floor I cannot find under all those toys?), I just accepted the fact that the toys have taken over and I am going to have to stop caring.

Then it happened.

Living in a multi-level home, I often find myself throwing things down the stairs instead of carrying them. This morning I got Jake out of bed, changed his diaper, threw it downstairs, took all the bedding off both his crib and Hayden's bed and threw them down the stairs. After getting Jake's breakfast I scooped up the laundry and put it in my precious red front loading washer. Now I did all of this early so it would be dry before Jake's nap. Blanket, the beloved blanket, was also in this load. And apparently the diaper was in this load as well. I opened the door after the wash cycle ended to see tiny pieces of liquid absorbing gel all over everything. The door, the bedding, blanket. I was traumatized. The part of the diaper that makes them so absorbent was all over Jake's blanket. You want germs 'Shape' magazine? I'll give you germs.

Two hours and three wash cycles later, I had removed all of the gel I could see and felt comfortable putting them in the dryer. Now I just stare at the washer, remembering a time when it wasn't infested with urine, gel and blankets. That was a good time, a very good time indeed.

Moral of the story-My house wants to be dirty. I shouldn't even think about sanitizing it, or it will make me pay. And even though it would help to not throw things down the stairs, I'm not going to. So if you're ever in my house, don't stand at the bottom of the stairs.

UPDATE: I guess I don't know the names of my magazines. It was 'Health' magazine, not 'Shape'. Thank you for your time.

Best Invention Ever

I love cafeteria style trays for Jake. He likes to put things on the tray in their little squares. It's like a place mat and plate in one!