Silly Mommy!

You know how you do something, and your little one giggles..so you do it again.. and they crack up..so you do it again..and they die laughing! You run to grab the camera & turn it on & do what you were doing over & over...and your child just looks at you like you an idiot...And you feel like a big idiot...

..What do you mean, only MY children do this???

Balding, Kittens & Trout

Ah..this will be a random hodgepodge( love that word) of thoughts before bed for sure!

I'm going bald..yep.It happened at exactly 3 months postpartum with Andy & I thought I could escape it with Ryan, but no such luck!


Its quite common, and due to my anemia with both pregnancies & my large amount of iron loss with Ryans birth, I suppose it was to be expected, but yuck! Its just on one side..a receding hairline.. Its very attractive I assure you. I guess its back to headbands for me!

ps- I'm not really BALD.. but I'm losing more hair in the shower than normal, lol.

On to the kittens... So, Fluffy.. our neighborhood skanky kitty had 2 adorable kittens the same time I had Ryan..Our neighbor named the mama Fluffy & he let her sleep in his garage that he's been in the process of remodeling for awhile now, he feeds her, leaves the light on for her, you name it. Well.. suddenly Fluffy & her kittens seem really hungry..So duh.. Mike & I feed them. We're obsessed with trying to make them like us, haha..Well.. they've suddenly started spending alot of time under this turned over kiddie pool that's resting on our picnic table, of course, its very cool & shady,a great place for a nap! We cant even pet the cats so it isn't like we forced them to hang out there, it was their choice.WELL!
Suddenly, our neighbor is avoiding us like the plague! He usually yaks Mikes ear off & always says hello to me, last night I was sitting outside reading & I saw him step out for a smoke, he stepped around the corner, saw me & drew back hoping I hadn't seen him..Whatever.. my reading time outside is my daily alone time, so I sure didn't mind.
Then I was walking a fussy Ryan outside last night before bed & I saw a girl I've never seen before open the garage, I smiled at her & she very obviously pretended she didn't know me. Now lets clear this up, this isn't a random house of people. Its a husband, a wife ( who are older, at least 40-50) her daughter & a weird combo of his daughter/her children/her ex ( they have some funny custody thing going on) They are very nice people! Every holiday they bring over gifts for Andy & they brought a large bag of items for Ryan & myself after his birth, they are really kind people. We hear them argue alot but really..who doesn't argue? So, they ARE friendly people, overly friendly sometimes! So this is weird they are so obviously avoiding us..Mike decides its because the kittens are hanging out in our yard.. Its possible..I know our neighbor is really fond of the mama..maybe hes jealous? They ARE cuties!!

So.. yesterday Mike did some fishing with his family ( that story is next!) and we decided to give some fish to the kitties..They practically live in our yard, remember this.. They LOVED it & had a ball with the skeleton..it was kind of gross but whatever..its one step closer to us being able to pet them! hehe..

Flash forward to today, after the odd avoidance of our neighbors..these kittens are GONE. I'm talking MIA, no where to be seen, GONE. Fluffy (mama) is sitting in our front yard all day sulking.. Mike & I cant figure it out..Our thoughts are this
1- the neighbor killed them..morbid, I know.
2- the neighbor found them homes, great! Lets hope so.. although, they don't let anyone pet them..how did he catch them & transport them to a new home????
3- the new neighbors did something to them..

We have new neighbors...This is where my eyes roll back into my head.. @@ is the symbol for this..
There is a house near us that has a pool in the basement, for physical therapy..its basically in our back yard..well..the elderly man died & his son just left the house to sit for MONTHS..pool in basement = MOLD. They couldn't auction the house off for barely $20k!! Apparently finally a young 20 something man bought it..and is fixing it & renting it to about 5 of his guy friends..LOVELY. We found this out by hearing what sounded like gun shot sin the back yard..Nope.. just them smashing car batteries on the ground. Gotta love our redneck neighborhood!! (although I will say this, since one of the rowdy ones had a baby the same time as us, the 4-wheeling has almost stopped!!!)

So..we are on a mission to find out what the heck happened to our sweet kittens! I mean, one kitten being in a car accident..that's realistic..but 2 disappearing over night?? I don't think so..Mike & I are really bothered.. We have such a soft spot for them & Fluffy!!
SO! Put some kitty prayers out there for these little ones.. If they didn't get a home I am going to be VERY upset not knowing what happened to them.. There are some sick people out there & animals often find the brunt of it =(

On to Trout..

Mike went fishing with his family yesterday!! He had a good time, lucky duck ;-)
His younger brother Johnny caught the biggest fish of them all which I baked up & Mike ate last night..It was great btw..thanks Jon! Mike seemed to really enjoy himself..there is something funny about men & meat ( steak they cook themselves, fish they caught, etc) Mike gets this tone while its preparing, and starts to make excuses about what could be wrong with it & then once he digs in..he talks like he knew it would be perfect & asks "isn't this great?" about 60 times just looking for praise on "his catch" haha..Men are so weird. i swear, he gets more excited about grilling a steak than an A on a test or his kid learning to walk ( I'm kidding Mike, you know this!!!)
So, good for him, finally catching some fish & enjoying some time out with his family. I know he really enjoyed himself & the fish was really good..hopefully they will do it more often!
Here he is!

=(

There really isn't anything worse than a sick kid. Today I remembered crossing my eyes to watch the thermometer in my mouth creeping up, thinking "Yay! No school!" and no matter how bad I felt ( or pretended to feel) I loved seeing the numbers rise.. Well..today I realized, when your the parent, seeing those numbers rise really isn't the same anymore.


Andy is sick. He woke up at 6am.. laid there whispering to me & I just tried to ignore him so he'd go back to sleep.. we snuggled..he did.. We woke up at 9:15 and wow..he felt hot! i took his temp & it was 101.6.. I gave him some Tylenol & we just snuggled all morning in between taking care of Ryan.,.He ate a good breakfast..more than usual in fact & played a bit, but was just sluggish & tired & wanted to be held alot..
At 11:15 he went down for a four hour nap.. Andy NEVER naps more then 2 hours unless he's been out & about ALL morning..He woke up BURNING up, I mean hot to the touch..His temp was 103.4.. we called the doctor & they said if it hits 104 to go to the ER they couldn't get him in today & if it keeps up for another day or so to get him in to them..

So.. we've been alternating Motrin & Tylenol, poor baby..He felt go nice & cool for a little while this evening & before it was even near time for his next dose, he got blazing hot again =(

Hes got a bit of a cough, his nose is running from crying & he is just sleepy & sad seeming..

So.. I'm praying Ryan doesn't catch whatever is going on with Andy,he was a touch fussy himself tonight.. Think about us & send some get well vibes, would ya? I don't think I can handle TWO sick nurslings right now.. I really don't =(

Blueberries!

I LOVE blueberries. My family tells a story about how my dad used to hold me in one arm & a bowl that hand & pick blueberries out of our yard.. He'd put one in the bowl, I would eat one from the bowl.. I ate them all.. basically.
So when we moved to a new house, I asked "Where are the blueberries???"

So, my mom found "the blueberry lady" as we call her. They have a huge blueberry orchard.. if thats what you call massive amounts of blueberry bushes..an orchard, that is.

We've been picking blueberries there since I was 4 or 5 years old. This weekend my mom & I went to pick & took Andy with us!!!

He liked looking at the ducks on the lake.. he liked running up the hill.. h eliked picking up stones to put in his bucket.. he loved sitting inside his new red wagon.. and yes..he LOVED eating berries out of MY bucket!!! I tried to distract him "Go help Gramma!" (help being eat from her bucket, of course) which worked for awhile, he'd pick a berry, Gramma would tell him 'that ones green, we just want blue!" and he would try to put it back on the bush as Gramma laughed..

Then he'd cut through the maze of bushes, run to me yelling & eat more berries, then take of, tearing around a corner, under a bush to Gramma!

It was fun, kind of cool to see MY little boy picking berries just like I once did... Maybe in a few summers I'll get to take both boys.. All 3 boys! Mike went last year while I set up Andys birthday party.. so it would be fun for all of us to go!!!




Eating my berries!


Walking with Gramma


The final product.. I picked them aalll myself! haha

The Boys

With all the big birthday excitement I havent posted much of what they are both up to..so heres the scoop..

Ryan

• Is loving to *talk* He babbles his little coos & calls so loud sometimes we think its Andy! Just the last 2-3 days hes gotten really into it in the evening.. Its pretty darn cute!
• I think he's going to be an eater, like Andy was not. Hes just 3 months old & he's already watching food. Hopefully when it comes time to start solids down the road he'll do well & not be as difficult as Andy was with them!
• Giggles..I'm talking belly laughs here people! Andy didnt do this til he was 5-6 months old, but here is Ryan, wearing 12 month clothing at 3 months old & chuckling along with the rest of the family!
• He thinks i'm silly. Really, he cracks up for me! Mommy is special!
• He loooovveees Andy. anytime Andy gets near him a HUGE grin crosses his whole face!
• Ryan wakes less during the night than Andy.

Andy

• Picked up his Alphabet cereal ( the first time he's had it)he was snacking on, and correctly named every letter he came acrossed!! He may not have his colors or shapes down but knowing a good majority of his letters at 2 is pretty darn good!!
• Has started syaing thank you, on his own.
• Is asking "Why? Why? Why?"
• Repeats "Mommy?.. Mommy?..Mommy?" for a good majority of the day, til it switches to.. "Daddy? Daddy?"
• Has begun the "me" stage. "Me! Me!" when he wants something.. not pushy yet.. I'm still waiting for that to kick in!
• Ate all of my perch last night. We each had 2 pieces.. I had less than a half of one pieces of fish & he ate the rest. HUGE accomomplishment!
• We've started going for walks & "run in the sun, have fun!" it the mornings at a local park ( not the pervy park!) He doesnt want to run & play,he wants to hold my hand & walk around the perimeter of the park & just check it all out, sweet thoughtful little man!

Space ROOSKY!

My sister & Matt got Andy a NASA space suit for his birthday!! Check it out...




All ready for his first mission to the mooooon!! ..Moon..park..backyard..eh..all the same when your 2!

Thoughts..facts, of the day.

-Our cat, Max, is in fact not a cat. He is an asshole.

-The Beach Sage Method air freshener, smells like kitty litter ( USED kitty litter)

-Mike absolutely hates his summer Chem. class.I told him 'well that sucks, but uh.. not much you can do about it huh?" Then I was so kind as to tell him "Wow..I cant even lie. I'm so glad I'm not still in school, I don't ever want to go back, that shit just SUCKS. I couldn't even imagine doing it while having kids too, yikes" He blankly looked at me and said "Yeah..thanks." We're so good for eachother, arent we?

-Name brand batteries do in fact last MUCH longer than off brand batteries. Go Duracell!

-I type with 2 fingers and my thumbs, instead to the correct manner of typing taught to me in junior high.. It gets the job done.

-I also make a good amount to typos, especially when I type at night. Get over it. (see?)

-Family.. cant live with em.. cant live with out em.

-Somedays I worry I'm like my mother.. some days that fact makes me smile.. other days it makes me want to cry. (Love you mom, really, I do. I think we're just the right combo of alike & very un alike that makes us drive eachother nuts)

-I bought myself earrings from Zales the other week with my PayPal money. When they arrived yesterday, I called Mike & gushed how he shouldn't have & they were gorgeous & I loved him so much! For a fraction of a second, his voice had no idea what I was talking about & said "Of course honey, your worth it!" Then he realized I was talking about what I had bought for myself.

-Just because someone can drink several girly beers with out getting a buzz, the same doesn't apply to their husbands cheap high proof beers.. those babies will give you,er..someone.. a head ache!

-Mike has really creepy toes.. I mean, not like "oh gross, ugly feet" I'm talking full on decrepit finger toes.. They are seriously scary. My poor boys.. both their baby toes look just like 'em! Mike insists a long second toe is a sign of royalty. He must be a king..

-What is it about baby carrots that makes them taste SO much better than full sized carrots? Anyone?

-The other day at a stop light, a teeny tiny kitty practically flew out from under a car in front of me, and darted across main street.. It was so quick, i couldn't tell if the man in the car threw it out, or where the heck it came from! I wanted so badly to go grab it, but with 2 kids in the car, I couldnt..I drove around looking for it a bit later & its been haunting my mind ever since. I bet that cat wouldn't be an ass hole like Max is!!

-Retail therapy is not a myth.

-I have more lotions than the average Bath & Body Works. I horde them incase a disasterous spell of dry skins breaks out acrossed the planet & no one can find lotion in any stores.. I'll be prepared & others will only wish they'd been as smart as me!

-I'm quite cranky, I'm not exactly sure how Mike & I wound up together. I used to be free spirited & care free & he was too.. Now I'm high strung & obsessive. I guess its love.. Or maybe all his years of partying knocked his brain cells around enough not to know any better? What do you think sweetpea? Is it love, or just a case of the crazies?

-I've decided my 2 life mottos are as follow-
1- "Its my way or the high way"
Suits me to a tee if I do say so myself..

2- "Men, cant live with em, cant kill em."
I've been enjoying that one lately, as I've read it in many many SAHM's blogs recently!

-I walked past a 17 year old girl & her boyfriend in the grocery store today.. I'd just passed them earlier, she was drooling over baby clothes, she squeeled & clapped as she looked at Ryan in his carrier & told her boyfriend "I wwannnt one NOOWW" and he smiled at her. I nearly smacked her & told her to take my kids for a day, I'd go eat all her cheetos & sit at the pool in her place & then we'd talk & see if she still felt the same. As Andy says.. Silly duck.

That's all for now.. yet another hour of precious quiet during nap times wasted on my version of Deep Thoughts.. remember those? Misch, do you still have em??

Being Honest..For you Ms.PITA!

For those of you who regularly read blogs.. Do you ever read a blog about a mom who is just *so* put together, so perfect, so... wrong? You know the type, either she's a miracle (or freak) of nature & manages to juggle her 20 kids though out 45 activities while finding time to be the perfect hostess to charity dinners.... or... she's full of crap.. Ah yes..
When I sent out the link to my blog today, a friend of mine joked "If I wrote a blog, it would say.. I sat my fat ass on the computer all day & neglected the kids in front of a movie while they ate candy all day" I laughed & told her, its funny because I'd been trying to do more fun activities so I could blog with out lying.. Then I told her about a few recent adventures I've been leaving out..
"Those are the BEST types of blogs!" she told me... So I've decided.. I've been holding back.. I mean.. who knows who will read this.. my dad? My mother in law?
Lets all be honest here..My immediate family knows I'm no princess charming, so do my friends.. my dry sense of humor is well known., as well as my..shall I say it? Bitchiness.... But my married family, my more distant friends..well..we have yet to cross that bridge..

So.. climb aboard my friends! From now on, your going to get it all!!

Lets start with Andy & my adventure to the park the other week..Ahh yes..I try to do things, just Andy & I sometimes.. I think its nice to focus just on him & leave Ryan at home with dad, so he can have some undevided attention..SO! We headed off to a local park..as we pulled up, i noticed a large crowd of kids playing on the equipment.. I saw an older male on the swing with the children, 2 older females sitting on the sidelines & lots of kids running about.. As we call know, Andy is far from the social butterfuly, so we decided to walk around the large park rather than going for the playground... As we made our way half way around, we saw a shadow in the trees... I peered closer.. what the *&^%? I saw the middle ages play group attendant smoking inside a cluster of trees in the park, staring down at the kids... No... smoking while on duty watching kids.. that couldn't be right.. So I kept my hand firmly in Andys hand & kept my eyes peeled..
Yep.. Sure enough, the mistaken "attendant" was hiding in the pine trees, smoking & peering down at the kids! I got a creepy feeling as I stared daggers at him, sped up, and dragged poor Andy towards the group of people.
As soon as I got there I noticed the summer play group ( which I realized is sort of a summer daycare for kids) seemed to be wrapping it up quickly..so not wanting to be left alone, we rushed off to the car as well.. As I loaded Andy in the car, a local police car pulled up & sat beyond the trees.. on the look out for said man..

As I drove away..past the police car, I noticed the man had quickly walked away, opposite the police car, as the police car was leaving the park ( to sit across ed the street) I saw the man re emerge from the back of the park...

I called Mike & admitted..I will never call him paranoid again.

Truthful story #2- Music Time!
Yes..we tried again..we woke up bright & early. My mom came to watch Ryan & Andy & I headed off for the library & some guitar singing & book reading! All was going well.. he covered his eyes briefly at the site of an old man as we walked into the entrance..No big deal..I thought...
We got to the childrens wing & sat on the couch, making eye contact & smiling at the moms we'd previously met & introduced ourselves to the last week.. not wanting to interrupt their conversation, but smiling & hoping to say Hi when they finished talking.."Whos here for a story!!" the story time mad called.. All moms quickly ran from me & Andy.. as if we had the measles, mumps AND rubella.. I was a bit put off..but Andy didn't care.. I took his nonchalant lead & we held hands..walked for the door & then I heard it "Non.." Andy said ( no, he isnt french, he just sounds like it) I said "Music time buddy!" "NON!" he said, and pulled his hand away from me...

...Okay...so we walked to the train.. sat down, started out windows.. laughed & looked at cars & books... 5 minutes passed.. We held hands & walked to the door again.. "Nnooooo" he said this time..

Ah yes..there was no music time this week, no dancing, no stories, no giggles or new friends.. Instead, we loaded up & went home to swing in the hammock.. Ah... solitude...
A boy after my own heart!





And yes, there is a number 3.. it perhaps might be the best of them all! (Although I'm not entirely sure ANYTHING could beat the perv in the bushes!)
Just a day or 2 ago for some odd reason, I decided to load both kids up, just the 3 of us, while Daddy was at school & to head off for a Bike & Hike trail! Ohh... what WAS I thinking...


My spirits were high.. I had bottled water, blankies, extra pacis, even suckers for bribing if push came to shove! After only a few minutes of grunts & sweats with the double stroller we set off...
It only took a minute to wrangle the stroller over those stupid rail road ties & then we were off! Ahh.. the beauty of nature.. Although..there used to be a waterfall.. ah..never mind..there was still water... I guess....So on we went..

Past the 17 year old boys in neon colors, digging weeds, pas the ladies on lunch break eating in the shade.. and on to the depths of nature...

So, naturally.. Ryan begins to hysterically cry.. and of course..the sun is high in the sky at 11:30..there is no shade for us pull over in.. so as I begin to warm up, I pacify Ryan, hand Andy some water & off we go!! We make it probably a quarter mile when oh no..Ryan cries AGAIN! So once we pacify I search in the monsterous stroller for a tissue to wip ethe sweat from my brow.. In doing so, my 40 pound stroller veers approximately 2 inches to the left.."HEY HEY HEY!!!!!!" rings out an angry man voice & I look up to see a unpleasant looking man on a bike with a handlebar 'stache screaming at me.. I push my stroller of precious children 2 inches back onto "my side of the path"
He zooms past, muttering obviously pissed at the slight chance he could have had to take his bike 2 inches to his right onto the treacherous gravel path..

Yes..I muttered "Asshole" under my breath..and heaved on up towards the approaching hill...Ah..sigh... I think we walked anywhere from a half to full mile before I felt like I might quite possibly die for heat, or embarrassment as some stranger hidden in the woods peeks out & saw my running with the stroller when I thought no one was watching as I yelled ZOOOOOOMMM!

Yes..we've had some interesting events the last few weeks.. and I'm sure, as my luck should have it, there will be plenty more to come! Don't worry, I fully intend to share each & every one with you all!

Andys birthday..

Andy woke up in a great mood today.. looked over at Max & said "meow, meow" until we pulled him out of bed, silly duck.
We opened gifts first thing, every package the wrapping came off, Andy said " Wow!" oh "Whoa, cool" It was adorable to see hes finally gotten the concept of gifts.
He was so thrilled, as if he had no idea what he had done to have such an exciting wonderful day but he was sure enjoying every minute of it! Mike said tomorrow he'll be like "uhm, dont I wake up to gifts today too?"









Then came the big gift.....

Check out this video: andy gets a car!



He eats muffins in his cop car, while on the kitchen beat...




Here is the cake I made for him, not quite done yet...I decided to be a slacker while I still can & just make it in the pan, rather than doing a figure 8 track. I figure right now, all he cares about is 2 things..that its cake, and the cars on top of it!




We've jumped on the bed, danced to YMCA & the bunny hop, eaten our new pretend food, colored pictures with new crayons & driven miles in the cruiser..
Andy is napping now & when he wakes up, Daddy will be here with balloons & we're headed out to play in the kiddie pool!
Pizza for dinner & a bubble bath with some new boats..How fabulous it is to be TWO!!

The big #2!!!

Happy Birthday Andy-Roo! We love you!!!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Swim!

Today we woke up & it was HOT outside! At 11am we were all dying even inside with the air on so we thought it would be a good day to blow up the big slide & splash pool we got for Andy..

Then we figured, by the time we went to the stroe & found what type of pump it takes to blow it up & get it blown up, it'll be late & it was SO hot Andy couldnt have stayed out for more than an hour. We have MILLIONS of cats in this neighborhood so we dont want to leave it blown up all night b/c it will get popped from our beloved Fluffy or one of her kittens so Mike went to 2 Walmarts to find our towns most popular item of the day.. a $5 pool!

He found one & Andy got lotioned up & headed outside for his first little pool adventure.

Go figure..the second we walk outside it cools off & is about to rain, so the water is FREEZING, Andy refuses to sit in it, just stand while splashing abit, throwing water balls & looking a bit cold & occasionally terrified as he slips & gets splashed by the cold water.

Sooo.. as Mike sat with his feet in the pool I put on a swimsuit ( yikes) and ran outside to hop in!

Holy crap.. no wonder Andy wouldnt sit..it was FREEZING! So I slowly got in & then sat down & tried to coax him to play with me, we splashed Daddy & daddy soaked Mommy..and Andy cried "Noo Noo" and told us to stop & then took away my cup of water I was using to splash him & Dad with. Ah.. a bossy one we have...

Finally it got too cold to be outside in the pool anymore so we got a screaming Andy inside & hes currently zonked out in his bed. Sweet baby, I cant believe he's almost 2 =(

The sun is back out, hopefully heated up the cold water a bit.. and we'll head back out later, for another try!

Birthday!

Can you believe Andys second birthday is a week from today?? I sure cant.. Somedays it seems like just the other week I was crabby, overly pregnant & dying in the Florida heat convinced that kid was never going to come out...And here we are.


Andy is almost 2 AND he has a little brother!!


He's been blossoming since Ryan came home, hes added hundreds of words to his vocab since April, hes even stringing them together slowly, which is exciting! Or as Mike likes to joke when Andy wont stop talking "maybe I liked it better before!"


No party for us this year, we figure, soon enough he'll want a party for all his friends to come to, so we might as well enjoy just small family fun while we can!


I am so excited, we got this for Andys big gift-

Which we're going to set up & bring into the living room when he wakes up on the big day. I can not WAIT to see his face!! As much as he loves his cars, having a Andy sized car should be just too much for him! I'm even making a race track cake, complete with grass & cars! Hopefully he likes it, I know I will!!

Ahh my little man, turning into a NOT so little man.. kind of sad, kind of exciting..I suppose its why they call it bitter sweet. I never thought things would turn out this way, but lately, when I'm giggling with Mike as Andy calls himself a silly duck, while trying to resist his nap, or Ryan is gigglign as Andy talks to him & offers him toys..I simply can NOT beleive how much I love these 3 boys. I am so incredibly lucky to have them all!

Keep an eye out next week for a video I made to colaborate Andys 2 wonderful years!!

Gigi & Nana

Welp.. today the boys met Gigi ( Sharon, Mikes mom) and Nana ( Mikes grandmother)who live in Florida, for the first time since Andy was 7 weeks old & Ryans 1st time all together!
For as iffy as Andy is.. I must say..it went quite well!!! He played kitchen with Sharon, giggled & held Nanas hands & asked her for walks.. He sat on Sharons lap for books & just jabbered away to his new found friends!
Ryan of course, was all smiles, as usual. Silly boy, theyboth cant believe how happy he is, neither can I sometimes!
Andy got pushed on the swing for about an HOUR, even some silly twisting & turning with his fun Gigi.. And Mike of course, is absolutely thrilled to see both of them.
Tomorrow we have the towns Heritage Fest so all of us will be embarking on a food adventure.. I mean.,.. craft adventure.. I mean.. uhm.. Yeah.. lots of food..who are we kidding?
And another long day of fun memory making for the grandmas!

Happy 4th of July everyone! I'm grateful we're all here to celebrate our freedom (keeping political jokes to myself here..)

Music Time!

Ah Story/Music time at the library.. I remember going to read books with Miss. Bee and sit in the little cheese house at our local library as a kid.. So, when our friends Emily & Sam ( who is 2 months older than Andy) asked if we'd want to go to Tues. morning Music Time, I thought "sure!"

10am isn't that hard to get to as I remembered alot of the classes started at 8 am.. when we're still asleep. So. we made plans to go this week.

We woke up at 9:30.. late for us and realized music time started in 30 minutes! Mike juggled the kids ready while I got ready & we raced out the door, Andy still bleary eyed clutching his bear & insisting he wear his little straw cowboy hat.

Luckily, the library is only a mile or 2 away, so we get there just as its starting & take a seat in the circle of young kids & moms.. I sit on a block & plop Andy on my lap, everyone smiles & Mr.Jim keeps singing his tune.. Oh Andy..my shy little boy.. his face goes white & he squeezes his eyes shut as tight as they can go, as if he could possibly will himself to be somewhere else.. And sits like that.... the entire session..

Emily & Sam showed up a minute or 2 after we arrived & Andy opened his eyes to peek at Sam, but as soon as Mr. Jim turned the book to the side of the room where we sat, Andy closed his peepers as tight as could be!

I have to say.. I actually got really sad sitting there.. Andy looks about 4 years old, hes so big.. And I feel sometimes, like people assume he is much older & wonder why Mike or I still carry him, or why he doesn't talk much, etc. Hes not even 2 yet, and he's shy, and a loud singing man first thing in the morning would scare me too, to be quite honest!

So, we moved a bit further back in the room & with 5 minutes left, Andy stood up, right after everyone else sat down from shaking themselves along to a song & watched from a small distance as music time finished up. All the kids excitedly took a turn using a pick to strum the guitar, to which Andy squeezed his eyes once more, when he was asked if he wanted to try.

"Maybe next week!" I said, and we went to play a puzzle with Sam.

Once Mr. Jim left & Andy found the large cushioned train caboose he could stare out a window & look at cars with he loved the place, he almost didn't want to go home.. So the goal is, next week.. Music time with eyes open for at least HALF of the 30 minutes..and the week after that, we might aim high, and even shake ourselves a little bit during the "shake shake" song!

And They Garden

Andy & I did some gardening this weekend so our yard looks pretty for when Mikes mom & nana come visit!
Andy helps by throwing rocks out of the garden, and I used a weed wacker for the first time. (Lets just say, our neighbor nearly peed himself laughing at my face of terror/amazement as I wacked weeds left and right!)
We had a nice chat about ants & I am pleased to say, Andy will follow in the family tradition of being a green thumb.. or so I hope.