Randomness

I have no good titles and just a whole lot of randomness here to share...and then we'll be just about caught up around here!

 Can I just say, we are so lucky to have such great babysitters at our disposal.  I can't imagine living in an area where we know no one and do not know who we can trust to watch our kids so that Jeff and I can go out.  With Jeff working at the high school, we have too many great babysitters to count!  Catherine is one of Claire's favorites.  Claire even remembers that the first time Catherine babysat the kids, Catherine wore a purple shirt.  I am so not making this up.  Claire adores her, and was beyond excited to find out that Catherine was going to come over to visit before going to prom.  How special for my little girl, and how thoughtful of Catherine to think of Claire on her big day!

 I was happy to have some family time on Mother's Day.  We had breakfast in the morning (blueberry pancakes cooked by Jeff and the kids), went and flew their new kites, got lunch, and went to the outlet mall after naps.  It was a perfect day!

 So I got a picture of Jeff and the kids on Mother's Day, but not of the kids and me.  Nice.

 I love that Claire and Jack are best little buds.  Yes, they fight over toys, hit each other, and drive me crazy sometimes, but it is such fun to see them interact now.  Jack still wants to follow Claire around and do everything she does, and Claire wants to pretend she's the mom and boss Jack around.  But then there are moments like this, when they are just so precious together that my heart melts.  I hope they can always be good friends.

 Yay!  It's finally nice outside!  This particular night a couple of weeks ago we played outside all afternoon, then ordered pizza and had dinner outside.  Then we went for a long walk in the stroller (Jack)/bike ride (Claire).  Being outside and able to run around makes such a huge difference in everyone's moods.  

 That ridiculously happy squeal of delight?  Instigated completely by his sister and her silliness.

 Daddy is imparting all of his lacrosse knowledge on these kiddos.  Who knows, maybe we are raising some star lacrosse players here!

 Jack waited so patiently for his turn.  And yes, since then we have purchased two new sticks so that they can both play!

 Little lax bro.

Easter

We had a pretty low-key Easter, with no big plans other than a family dinner for the four of us.  I stayed up late Saturday night and got everything ready for dinner so that we could enjoy the day as a family on Sunday and just take it easy.  I did not want to have to spend all day in the kitchen cooking a big meal while Jeff and the kids got to play! As I was prepping dinner sides (scalloped potatoes, green bean casserole from scratch, roasted carrots, and a trifle for dessert) it occurred to me that I'm the mom.  I am the one in charge of making the holiday dinners (sometimes--depends on our plans!), making sure that we do special things that the kids will remember.  Whoa...when did this happen?  How did I go from the little kid that could hang around and enjoy the food everyone else cooked, to the MOM in charge of making the meal??  I really should have enjoyed that kid status, which involved not cooking, just a little bit more.  Judging by my grandma, it's likely that I will be doing this for the next 50+ years.  I'm tired just thinking of it! 

We ended up having a great Easter together.  Here's how we spent our day:

 Jack and Claire got everything ready for the Easter Bunny the night before.  They set out carrots, chocolate milk (Claire's idea), and their empty baskets.

 The Easter Bunny came!

 Claire was very excited for some candy!  Hershey Kisses, to be exact.

 Let the egg hunt begin!

 Counting the eggs and the coins they found inside.

While she loved her basket and egg hunt, I'm pretty sure that the highlight of Claire's day was talking to Emma on the phone.  The highlight of Jack's day was shoveling stones with Grandma and Daddy!  The Easter Bunny just can't compete with those two events.

Easter Eggs...otherwise known as, The Day Our Dining Room Rug was Destroyed

 It started off well.  We found cups that were the perfect size to hold just the right amount of egg dye so that the eggs were pretty well submerged and didn't need too much attention once they were in there.

 Everyone was in good spirits and excited to get started.  And check me out with the easily wipe-able, protect the new dining room table, tablecloth!

 In case you didn't know, egg dyeing is very serious business.

 Waiting for eggs....

 Turning and checking....

 Posing for so-sweet family pictures.  Awww!

 And then this happened.  Jacques* picked up the green cup, and before we knew it, the cup tipped and green dye was running all over said wipe-able tablecloth and onto the dining room rug.  Nothin' like a little green dye to spice up an otherwise fairly neutral rug.  I even convinced myself, at one point, that it wasn't that noticeable.  Oh, it was.  It was very noticeable. Especially after setting into the carpet fibers overnight, at which point the color really seemed to intensify.  Claire informed me that it smelled quite terrible, too.  I'd just like to say, if OxyClean is looking for a new spokesperson, what with the passing of Billy Mays (may his soul rest in peace), they don't have to look any further.  Some of the powder, sprinkled directly on the rug and scrubbed out the next day, and the stain is almost gone.  Now, it truly is not that noticeable, and that's not my Mommy hallucinations talking.

*Names have been changed to protect the innocent

 Following that OxyClean commercial, we bring you back to our regularly scheduled programming.  It was like some kind of out-of-Betsy experience, as I did not freak about the egg dye at all.  Whatevs.  We cleaned it up as best as we could at that point, and kept having fun.  Oh yeah.  Watch out, world!  I'm finally loosening up!  Two kids under the age of 27 months will do that to you, I think.  They break you down, baby.

 Meanwhile, are those eyelashes not to die for?  I'm so jealous.

Okay, I confess.  The real reason I don't care about that rug stain?  Because the rug cost $99 at TJMaxx and I purposely bought it with the idea that it is completely disposable, looks good for now, but will probably be replaced once the children learn how to eat like civilized human beings that do not spill more food on the floor than they consume in one sitting.  I still consider not freaking out about the green stain progress.  Big progress. Easter week, egg dye incidents, this week playdoh ground into the white carpet, next week puddle jumping?  Who knows where it will end???

Happy birthday, Jackaboo!

Two.  My baby, the littlest guy in our house, is two.  More specifically, since I'm once again behind on my blogging and his birthday was exactly a month ago today, he's 25 months old.  Twenty-five months ago I was in my hospital room at Highland, holding this huge eight pound, seven ounce guy, and discovering just how it felt to love not one, but two babies.  Jeff has always said, since the day Jack was born, "Mommy has a new boyfriend now."  It is so very true. 

We've come a long way in twenty-five months!  Not only is Jack now twenty-nine pounds six ounces, and thirty-six and three quarters inches tall, he also talks, counts to ten, sings his ABCs (it's a jumble to the untrained ear, but I can follow him until he gets stuck at V!), plays with Claire, and even has his own opinions on things.  Take this morning, for example.  I asked Jack which shirt he wanted to wear, and held up two choices.  He thought for awhile, put his index finger to his cheek and said, "Hmmm.....", then thought some more and finally pointed to the Bruce Lee shirt (which, by the way, he insists is a picture of Daddy).  He climbs into his own car seat and goes up and down the stairs by himself.  Long gone are those sleepless nights that I thought would never end.  In place of that torture is a sweet boy who asks to be rocked and then tells me, "No cry in da crib".  We started that a couple of months ago, and once he "got" it, he just started laying down and going to sleep on his own.  I didn't even have to let him scream it out to get him to understand, he got it simply by talking about it.  When did he get to the point that I can reason with him?  It only took two years, but we have finally made it to the point where I am not constantly overwhelmed by someone needing something rightthisveryfreakingsecondyouslowpokeHURRY!  Life is good in the Dunham household.  Jeff's mom always says that two and a half is a magical age...how very true that is!

To celebrate Jack's birthday, we had a "ball party".  It's no secret that this child is obsessed with sports, especially those with a ball.  Yesterday he watched golf on tv and was enthralled.  What two year old loves watching pro golf on tv?  Apparently mine.  We had a little party at our house, with some cupcakes that I made and decorated with fondant to look like different sports balls.  Jack loved it!

 Birthday boy, chillin' in his "socku ball shirt", which he chose especially for his party

 Claire and Aunt Molly.  We were so happy when we found out that Neil and Molly were coming up for the party!

 Jack found some pink cups that morning and thought he'd be helpful with the party preparations and get them all set out for his guests!

 Party time!  Aunt Patti flew up from Manhattan and made it just in time, thanks to Nancy, who went to the airport and picked her up!  Nancy's reward was that she got some extra-special snuggle time with Baby Ethan.  It was a win-win situation all around.

 Yes, we served beer at our two-year old's party.  Klassy.

 You know the whole "A picture tells a thousand words" thing?  Well, this picture pretty accurately describes the flurry of activity surrounding present time.  No one is in focus because present-opening was pure chaos in the form of wrapping paper, bows, and five children under the age of Claire who so desperately wanted to help.  I barely made it out alive...

 Jack loved his new bike from Nonny and Poppy!

This picture is for you, Molly....my floor and I thank you for removing the semi-permanent foam stickers ;)

Jack has recently started saying, "No, I nice baby" whenever we say, "Are you a nice boy?"  The kid is on to something....he knows he is my baby boy, and even though he's two, I'm going to keep pretending he's a baby just little bit longer.  Happy birthday, Jack!