Fall Fun 2010: Part 1

My favorite season is here! I love fall! A while back I did a little series of posts about all of the summer fun we were having. Well the fun has managed to carry over into fall. Maybe I love fall so much because it tends to be kind of a crafty time of year. Lots of "projects" and adventures. We've been busy exploring the ever-changing outdoors and exciting elements of autumn. The boys have been pumpkin crazy ever since we went to the grocery store at the beginning of October and saw the massive display they were setting up out front. We've brought home the cheapy "pie" pumpkins on more than one occassion so I decided that I'd let the boys create their very own masterpieces and paint the pumpkins. Eventually I think they'll get the point that you're supposed to paint a face on the pumpkin, but for now, they were just thrilled to get to go hog wild and do as they pleased.

 Oh, the excitement!

And in true Rudy fashion, he had to taste-test the paint. Goof ball.

 Don't disturb the little Picasso!

Rudy had to be immediately transported to the sink. This picture is after his scrubbin' but lets just say that more paint ended up on his body than his pumpkin. And he was quite obviously pleased.

Three Thought Thursday: Episode 43

1. This has been a good week, thus far. Don't know why, just has been. Positive attitude makes a difference, I suppose. I've spent the past few days frantically trying to get the boys' Halloween costumes ready. In a matter of two days I've made three costumes. Yes, I still have just two kids. And no dog either. You see, I planned on Rudy being a cute little clown. And spent a whole nap time creating an adorable clown costume out of the most annoying fabric in the world to sew with: satin. If you haven't tried sewing with it, don't. What a pain! Never again. (of course you know that's probably a lie...) But near the end of constructing the suit, I started to realize that it was way too big. Since they were both asleep, I couldn't tell for sure, but as soon as they awoke I realized that not only was it too big for Rudy, it was too big for Kolbe too. Apparently the size two is for a four-year-old. With patterns, it's usually the opposite. I'm typically a size six and in patterns I wear like a 14 or something. It's weird. Guess the same sizing doesn't hold true for babies. So I abandoned the clown suit...and considering the fabric, my arm didn't have to be twisted very hard. Maybe I'll return to it next year if the boys have grown a bit. Desperate to pull something together quickly, I pulled out some felt that I had on hand and opted for a candy corn suit for Rudy. Seriously, it took about 20 minutes to make. I think it's adorable. Mark think it looks like a dress. We'll both be lucky to keep the hat on Rudy's head for more than five minutes. So all of that was on Tuesday. Yesterday was much more successful. Time to make Kolbe's Maximillian Kolbe costume. Mark and I decided some time before Kolbe was born that one year for Halloween we'd dress him as his patron saint. Figuring we better do it before he has the mind to tell us he'd much rather be Superman, we decided to go for it this year. And the sentimental side of me couldn't help but relate back to my own childhood. I was a nun for Halloween the year I was two. Crazy Catholics. Let's just say that Kolb's outfit came out exactly how I pictured it in my mind. Priceless! Hopefully I'll have pics of both of them up this weekend.

2. Mark and I got a much needed date night this past weekend. Determined to not do what we normal do on a date night...which is dinner and a movie...we decided have our friends Ben and Erin come along and convinced ourselves to go to a new place on 82nd called The Funky Door. Shortly after arriving (like as soon as we walked in), we realized that we were fish out of water in this place. 'Swanky wine bar' would be a good explanation. We stayed and split between the four of us a nice bottle of wine and a yummy gouda cheese fondue with croutons and chicken. The atmosphere was, indeed, cool and sophisticated, and I'd totally go back. Just a little more prepared. And possibly with someone else footing the bill! After we transferred somewhere a little less up-scale (you know, where less cultured folk like us fit in) and headed to Fox and Hound where my brother is the doorman. There we pigged out on more typical fare: chicken strips, fries, and nachos. Mark then got his anticipated phone call from his co-worker, Sixtus, who had previously been at a wedding, and we headed to our final destination, a new bar called Nick's. This was my first chance to meet Sixtus and his wife though I hear about him day in and day out. He's the PA that Mark works with and is from Cameroon. The six of us spend a couple of hours just chatting and listing to Sixtus's fascinating stories. One thing that made the night unique was that neither of the two other couples with us has children and therefore, we didn't spend the entire night talking about the kids. A la our typical date night. And while I love my children dearly and talk about them all the time, I must admit that it was a breath of fresh air to just have normal adult conversation. With adults! Now if we could just arrange for that to happen, say once a month, we'd be set.

3. I think I've created a monster. And his name is Kolbe.
This kid is saying the craziest things! And the scary part is, they all seem to be direct reflections of me. Like he's a parrot. For example:
Kolbe: Mama, read me this book.
Me: Excuse me?
Kolbe: Please.
Me: Ok, just a second. Let me finish tying RuRu's shoes.
Kolbe: Mammmmmma! Listen to me. Listen to my words. I. want. you. to. read. me. this. book!

See!?! A monster! Or this:
Me: Kolb, eat those meatballs.
Kolbe: What this is? I not like meatballs.
Me: Well, they're not meatballs. They're called Buzz Lightyear bites.
Kolbe: Buzz Lightyear bites? I like Buzz Lightyear bites.
(proceeds to eat the entire rest of his meal...quickly)
Kolbe: RuRu, oooo needs to eat urs Buzz Lightyear bites. They good for oooo. And taste mmm mmmm.

Scary to think he's that easily influence by me. Lord, I hope I'm doing right by him.

Three Thought Thursday: Episode 42

1. First of all, could this really be week forty-two!?! Sheesh. Only ten weeks left in this year.  Has it not flown by?

So only ten weeks left means that it's got to fall. Or at least you'd think. But most of the days around here have still be up in the eighties. I got my hopes up when the weatherman forecasted sixties for yesterday and today, but yesterday was way above that. We'll see about today. I don't mind eighties. Really, that's my kind of weather. The only frustrating part is the variation from morning to afternoon. When we wake up (which is always way too early in my opinion) it's cold. Like long sleeves, pants, and a jacket kind of cold. Close-toed shoes too. But by three in the afternoon, both boys are stripped down to undies/diaper and I'm cranking up all the fans. Speaking of clothes, I just don't know what we're going to do about little Kolbe. The summer time is by far the easiest season to dress him. He can slip in to the size eighteen month shorts and get away with it just fine. Then winter rolls around and pants are required. He's by no means tall, but, at just weeks away from turning three, he definitely needs the length of a 2T. And the waist of an eighteen-month-old. With shorts, the length is not an issue. With pants, it's our biggest problem. When I pull 2Ts on to him, they literally fall down to his knees. Like I can fit my whole fist in there with his tiny waist. The only thing we've found to work are the pants with the adjustable pull tabs on the inside. Old Navy makes them as does Carter's. We stretch that elastic as far as it can go and button it down into place to create the perfect fit. Poor little fella. He's got his grandma Pinkie's genes.

2 Most of our mornings lately have been spent doing this:

And afternoons too. It's the boys new favorite activity. Other than The Wheels on the Bus, of course. But usually a good ploy to divert their attention from their favorite DVD. The little bike that Rudy is on was a hand-me-down from one of my old co-workers who owns three adorable little grandsons that aren't so little anymore. It was Kolbe's until his other grandma, G-ma, bought him the Texas Tech bike from our local grocery store. When Mark's brother and sister-in-law were in town we all went there for breakfast, and when the boys spied the bike, she decided they just had to have one. Actually, she decided they just had to have two, but Mark and I talked her down to one by convincing her we already had a very capable one at home. So Kolb cruises on the larger, Texas Tech model (he's known how to pedal for almost a year now) and Rudy scoots around on the old guy. Fred Flintstone style. They absolutely love going up and down the street on the sidewalk. And of course crossing the road to ride on the other side is always the highlight. Kolbe chooses to remind me that "I looked both ways, Mama. Now I can go." It's a fun way to get some of their energy out, pass some time, and get in a little walking for myself.  Next thing  I know they're going to be riding real bikes. The kinds that require helmets. Gees, they're growing up fast.

3. This week was Mark's second official week of being on-call. "On call" is hospital speak for "human torture." You know, it wouldn't be that bad if their group of doctors took a typical call schedule. Like each person is on call one or two nights a week. But no.
No, no.
Not Mark's group.
They've decided that each doctor should take a full week of call. Seven straight days of responding to each and every patient that comes in to the hospital that has a complaint even remotely connected to the head, neck, or back. Which means essentially no sleep at all, considering most accidents relating to these areas are from people doing shenanigans in the wee hours of the night or morning. And on top of that, they continue to carry on their regular surgery and clinic schedule as if they aren't on call. I don't know about you, but I think I'd take my chances on paralysis and opt out of the emergency surgery if I knew the person that was operating on me was running on little to no sleep.
Anyway, Mark was completely wiped out on Monday when he came home from work for a bit around five in the evening, and even more annoyed when he got called an hour or so later telling him he needed to come back in. The sky had been threatening rain all day but had never managed to produce anything, so Mark was pleasantly surprised to see this as he left the house to head back to the hospital:

Of course he immediately called me and told me to take the boys out front to see it. By far the brightest, most beautiful double rainbow I've ever seen. I think I could have stood there and stared at it for hours. Just a little reminder of God's presence in the gleaming as well as the not-so-sunshiney parts of lives.

Sleeping Rudy (and Kolbe too!)

Please forgive my cheesy-ness in the post title. I couldn't help myself. Heck, I could have just called it Sleeping Beauties all together, since they are two of the most beautiful creatures I've ever laid my eyes on.

And for some reason, they often seem at their most beautiful while sleeping. Maybe it's their innocence. The pureness of their little faces. The sweetness of their little sighs.

And quite possibly it's because they're actually holding still--something that rarely happens during the active waking part of the day. Holding still. Giving me time to appreciate a favorite toy to sleep with. A blankie that makes the perfect sleeping companion. Their little toes. Their tiny fingers. The things that change so quickly and seem to be different every time I get a chance to really look.

But then every now and then, it's just the sweetness of the situation. Like an evening when Mark had gone to bed early and I opted for an evening shower. And opened my bedroom door to find this:

Or sneaking into their room at nap time to find Rudy sleeping like this:

Sights that melt my heart.
That I may never get to see again.
That I want to hold on to forever.

Three Thought Thursday: Episode 41

1. This past week has been super busy. My parents came to town at the last minute, my etsy store has been busy, Mark's work schedule has been kind of crazy, oh, and Rudy has been cutting his eye teeth. I'm not sure if they're really called that or not. You know, the pointy vampire ones. One of them has broken through and the other is all sore and swollen. And he's been running a little fever with it too. Poor guy. And poor us too. He's just not a happy camper. Real cantankerous. For the most part, he's still sleeping pretty well though. So that's a blessing. Teething is just one of those parts of raising kiddos that isn't fun. And you kind of forget how bad it is until it flares up again. Though the former nursing mama in me is pretty glad they're not just born with them!

2. We were paid another visit by our plumber this week. Yippy! A visit from the plumber is never a good thing. And he just came a few weeks ago! The first visit was to replace a valve under the kitchen sink, replace a valve in the backyard, and fix a leak in the front yard. This time it was to fix a leak behind the wall in the boys' bathroom. Talk about nerve-wracking...the plumber came out mid-visit to let me know that if he couldn't get three screws out of the spout connection he was going to have to knock down the wall from the other side to get to the leak. And he was concerned because the screws were so old and rusted that he worried they wouldn't come out easily. Luckily, we dodged that bullet. I can't even imagine how much it would have cost to pull out an entire wall to get to a leak! On the positive side, we did get new hardware for the boys' bath tub that I installed myself and went ahead and bought some for out tub too that Mark installed when he got home from work. Oh, the joys of home ownership!

3. Have you ever seen The Wheels on the Bus video? My children are obsessed with it. And by obsessed, I mean obsessed. They seriously ask to watch it all. the. time. We actually found it at the library while picking our books for one of our school themes. I let them check it out, thinking that the bus and school might correlate well. They've been hooked ever since. So much so that I went ahead and ordered it from Amazon for them. Honestly, they are pretty good. Each episode teaches a moral or lesson as well as featuring different animals and healthy foods. Like when we go ride bikes down the street, Kolbe now says every single time "Mama, Argon (the dragon bus driver) says to look both ways before crossing the street." The only bad part is the annoyingly catchy songs. I find myself humming ridiculous lyrics like "eat it up, eat it uuuuuup. Kids will never grow unless you give 'em some food..." And Kolbe acts like it's the only worthwhile activity we have in our home. For example:
Me: Ok, it's time to start school!
Kolb: Actually, I think it's time to watch Wheels on the Bus.
or
Me: Are you ready to go to music class?
Kolb: No, I ready to go watch Wheels on the Bus.
One thing I guess is a positive to note is that this is the first show that has a plot that Kolbe has been even remotely interested in. He has never really been interested in the television, which thus far has been a good thing, but he's also never been really interested in books with a plot either, and I worried that, at nearly three-years-old, he wasn't "getting it." It seems like he's finally starting to put the pieces together and have the attention span to follow along with a story. I'm sure these little shows will be all the craze until the next best thing comes along....like  Frosty the Snowman in a month or so! Mark and I were just reflecting on how last Christmas every time he'd see a snowman he'd say "Raw-eee!" So cute! Can't wait!

Three Thought Thursday: Episode 40

1. Little town.... it's a quiet village...
Every day....like the one before....
         Little town... full of little people....
                             Waking up .... to .... saaaaaaayy...
Bonjour!                                           Bonjour!
                           Bonjour!
           Bonjour!                                           Bonjour!

Know what movie I'm obsessing over? That's right: Beauty and the Beast! It came "out of the vault" on Tuesday--an event I've been waiting for for quite some time! I love, love, love Beauty and the Beast. Definitely my favorite animated movie as well as one of my favorite films of all time. I have so many memories of Beauty and the Beast from my childhood. Going to see it at the theater....the night my mom brought it home on VHS.... Seriously, we flew through dinner, rapidly bathed and got ready for bed, and were back on the couch holding a bowl of popcorn in no time at all. And then there was the video of my youngest brother Dave and me singing it together for my grandmother, Mom Helen, the night before she passed away. Me, ten, and Dave just two. And yes, I'm pretty sure I have every word of the soundtrack memorized. It's the best. But no, I didn't go out and buy the DVD on Tuesday. I'm seriously trying to resist the urge and wait to ask for it as a Christmas gift. But I haven't exactly been face to face with it in the store yet. I'm sure the first time we cross paths in Target I'll be facing all sorts of temptation. And if we just happen to come home with it, I may just put it in the DVD player and click on the feature that says "play over and over." It's one of those things where I wouldn't exactly mind getting my bad-mom card pulled and letting my kids watch a DVD all. day. long.

2. We're in trouble. At least in public, we are. Kolbe has figured out that there's a difference between two little rooms found in public: the girls' bathroom and the boys' bathroom. If Mark is with us, he always wants Mark to take him. If it's just mom in tow, our conversation usually goes a little like this:
Kolbe: Mama, I need go pee.
Me: Ok, come on. Let's go in here.
Kolbe: No, I boy. I go in boy bathroom.
Me: Kolbe, I can't go into the boy bathroom. It's not nice for mamas to see other boys going to the bathroom.
Kolbe: I like those boy potties.
Me: I know, Kolbe. Next time that we're with Dada he'll take you in to the boys' bathroom.

So now I try to let him choose which stall he'd like to go into as a consolation.
Me: Which stall do you want, Kolbe?
Kolb: Uh, I guess that girl potty.
Sheesh.

3. I am now the not-so-proud owner of my third iron in just four years of marriage. I don't know what my luck is with irons, but apparently it's no luck at all. When Mark and I were engaged, we registered for a nice Rowenta iron and were so excited to receive it as a wedding gift. It was a pretty good iron. Probably not worth the lofty price tag, but nice overall. About a year-and-a-half a go, it up and called it quits. One minute it was working, the next it was dead. So I took off to Bed, Bath, and Beyond with my trusty twenty percent off coupon and purchased a new, slightly cheaper but still expensive Shark brand model. Also nice and effective. Until Tuesday. I used it during nap time to iron some fabric that I was going to sew with and it worked just fine. Then after dinner I plugged in it to find the light-up screen completely dark. Determined that it was just the outlet I was using, I waltzed over to an outlet that I was sure was working (you know, one with a lighted lamp already plugged in to it...) only to get the same results. How had I managed to kill off two irons in just four years!?! I'm pretty sure my parents had the same iron throughout my entire childhood. And how do you fix an iron with an obvious electrical problem? You don't. You throw it in the trash can and head out to the store to buy a new one. Or in my case, you coerce your little brother in to going to WalMart to buy one for you. And this time, we settled on a cheapy. Now that Mark is wearing scrubs to work nearly every day and we don't have tons of ironing to do, why bother with the expensive-obviously-not-worth-it irons? Hey, if we're going to have to replace our iron every two years, we need it to be something that fits into our budget. Grr.