My Two-Year Old.

A two-year old is kind of like having a blender, but you don't have a top for it.

~Jerry Seinfeld

I think this quote is right on and it makes me chuckle while I watch Owen in action.

I miss.

I miss my two little bubs....crazy miss them.

In our transition from one State to another State, the boys are spending the week, (half) with their grandparents and (half) with their Auntie and cousins. Pat and I are enjoying a little alone time together after a busy winter of not being able to spend much time with each other. But, I think we are both ready for giggles and snuggles with the boys. Soon.

Stay tuned...

We are working on some exciting stuff aka moving from Michigan to Minnesota...

we'll be back real soon.

Fiawook.

Fiawook..Fiawook...Fiawook.

This has been a request of Owen for the past couple of weeks. What he is actually requesting is to watch Katy Perry's music video, Firework on YouTube. He is slightly obsessed. He knows Jack likes to watch it, so (I think) he is just following his lead. Jack tells me, "Mommy, I like when the fireworks come out of her shirt!" So this must be what Owen likes too. The both of them got a little crazy asking for it a lot, so I tried showing them videos of just fireworks. But, it just was not the same as they like to sing along with Katy.  Good thing Firework is an uplifting song about being your true self.

Other kids like to watch YouTube videos of volcanoes or trains, but not my kids (at least, not yet), they like to watch Katy Perry and Glee.

They are also big fans of...

Forget You  

(the PGer version of that other song)

Soul Sister

(cause their Momma is a Blake fan!)
 
And this one for sure.

Hey, it makes prepping lunch faster, easier and headache free.

Valentine's Day.

Hug Hug Kiss Kiss Love You Mean It

The Valentine's Bandwagon.

We jumped on it with both feet (or all 6) this year. There are just too many too cute ideas floating around out there on the blogosphere. I couldn't resist. Especially now that my boys are at the ages where decorating, discussing, crafting, and celebrating holidays is great fun. And I may a little more time on hands than usual.

The Cards.

I thought it would be real sweet if Jack brought cards to all his friends at school. The specific card idea, I have seen everywhere (blog everywhere). I love it and so I had to try it for Jack's first go at putting a Valentine in each of his friends cubbies at school. Oh the days!

I love how it turned out...so does he kinda.

This Idea and This Idea and These Ideas are equally, if not even more cute!

And if I was making a card of Jack...I most definitely needed to make a card for O (for the grandmas!). However, there is no way (we tried) he would hold that arm pose. So, we punted and he held my lens cap instead...very Valentines. I then jazzed up his pic with hearts on picnik.

The Decorations.

I came across crayon hearts here and here. I instantly thought it would be a good project for Jack and I to do together while O is napping. Although it was an easy project for Jack, he enjoyed hanging the hearts on our chandelier most (while I did the actual project). It turns out that shaving down the crayons with a pencil sharpener is a lot of work. Anyway, I like that these hearts are something we can keep forever and add to each year. Memories :)

More Decorations.

Both these ideas, I found here and here.

And again...I love them.

I'm not sure I like the black frames, but its what I had...so I went with it.

Food.

The boys and I had movie night recently, we watched Alpha and Omega and munched on this yumminess. I usually am not into white chocolate, but this was so good, I actually think I ate the whole batch with a little help from Owen.

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Now, I have not made this pie, but gosh darnit, it.is.a.must. When Pat and I go out dinner, if there is a warm cookie with ice cream on the dessert menu...we will be ordering it. You too Keefe, right?! Well, my friends, here is Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie. Uh, I'm dying it looks so delicious.

 

One more thing....

How many more days till Spring? Cause I'm getting my house ready.

Happy Weekend!

Brothers II.

Good times and the not so good times.

This is my sweet, lovable, affectionate and funny O.

He is constantly giving out kisses and hugs. He grabs my cheeks with both of his chubby, sticky little hands and says, "Momma, kiss?" And when he hugs me, I can faintly hear him saying, "ohhhhhh" as he nuzzles into me. He is my baby bird, always following me around the house, wanting to do/see what I am doing, or eat what I am eating. If we laugh out loud at something random, Owen will laugh out loud too (even though he has no idea what he's laughing at) with the most adorable chuckle. Oh and if he figures out a way to make Jack laugh, then it gets nutty around here with the two of them giggling, wrestling and chasing each other.

The good times!

(and a few of the many reasons I love being a mother...Owen's mother)

Warning: 

He can change in an instant..in a millisecond...poof-right before your eyes into a wanna-be four-year old. He says, "me too..me too..me too" or "self..self...self" or "mine..mine..mine".And when this is not met with a "yes...sure...okay...whatever you want", it gets ugly around here people. Tantrum, screaming, crying ugly! He wants so badly to do everything he sees Jack (and us) doing. He screams so loud, like some sort of ancient bird or maybe a Velociraptor...its ear-piercing.

These are not so good times...

(but, I'm still glad I'm a mother...Owen's mother, even if some days I am counting down the minutes until bedtime.)

I lied.

I said I wasn't going to buy anything for this space and well, I broke down, I couldn't help myself and I bought something. But, it was all for a good cause aka a pretty, with lots of potential dresser that will totally have a home in our new home. It was for sale (at a very..very reasonable price) at one of my favorite stores for just the longest time. I always would look at it and touch it when I would go there, but at the time I just had no place for it in my house. 

This past weekend, Jack and I went to check out this lovely store (the owner gives kids old-fashioned candy sticks..tuti fruiti, ring a bell), so I could get my fix before moving away. Well, it just happens that this dresser was still there and I now have a place for it (for now...staging purposes, remember) in my house. Is this fate? I think so ladies! I snatched it right up. I think its pretty just the way it is, but I have other plans, big plans. It does need a little work on the inside to make it a bit more sturdy and one of the drawers is not sitting right...so that also needs to be taken care of. So, anyway here she is....

How tacky...someone left the price tag on. Sorry, I was being lazy.

 

 And here is what I hope she becomes....

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Wish me luck.

Highlights.

1. Pat came home to be with us.

2. We had a house showing and we parked our car around the corner to stalk the potential buyers (well, it was just about nap time for O, so we didn't want to be far from home) They were only here for eight minutes, we haven't heard anything and so we conclude, 'another one bites the dust'. 

3. Jack has two new friends, who happen to be a shark and a dolphin. The shark's name is Sharky-Darky and the dolphin's name is Tortoise. He talked about them all through breakfast yesterday morning.

4. Owen no longer needs his crib. He has gotten himself out of the crib in the morning and after naps for the past three days. But... I am not ready for him to no longer need his crib. Oh boy!

5. Pat and I went on a date last night. We had dinner together (just the two of us) and we actually had a conversation for well over an hour. It was wonderful. After dinner, we saw the movie True Grit...we both thought it was a really good movie...excellent acting. 

6. Jack and I had some alone time yesterday. During a quiet moment, I brought up the whole topic of moving. I talked to him about changing preschools, not living in this house anymore, getting a new room, making new friends, being closer to grandmas and grandpa, etc. He seemed interested in what I was saying, so then I asked him, "Jack, do you have any questions about all of this or anything you would like to know?" He looked at me all serious and said, "Yes mommy, I have a question....where does potty come from?" WaaaWaaaWaaaaaa....that went well.

7. We are watching the Super Bowl in our pajamas and the boys are sound asleep in their beds. In my opinion, the Black-Eyed Peas half-time show was the best one I have seen... since this one.

8. Glee.

10.

 Disclaimer....I apologize in advance if this post is totally random, a bit whiny (who am I kidding, a lot whiny) and extremely wordy. Numbers 1-3 will explain why!

1. I have been a single mother now for roughly nine days. Nine days people! I'm so ready for Pat to come home today...ugh! I need a parenting partner (to make it one on one instead of two on one), I need a breather (a break from the demands), I need my husband and I need a visit to the spa (ahh, sounds wonderful) And the boys, oh the boys...they need their daddy. Mommies just don't play the same as daddies.

This is what happens when you can't leave your house for 24 hours...window markers.

2. We had a blizzard hit Kalamazoo on Wednesday. A blizzard, that's actually what it was categorized as in the news. I guess I had never heard of it called anything but a winter storm (at least from what I remember) and I grew up in Northwest Wisconsin. My single mother status does not go well with a blizzard (that gave us 15 inches of snow) or the city that is virtually shut down due to this blizzard. But, sweet neighbors that understand my situation and help snow plow my driveway (out of their own goodwill) sure do! Love good, helpful neighbors!

3. I have snow-blowed/shoveled my driveway about 6-8 times in the last nine days. I actually don't mind doing it as it is refreshing being outside and its actually good exercise. As I have said on here one million times, Jack loves being out in the snow and he exerts lots of energy playing and shoveling. 

Here lies the problem, Owen hates it outside in the winter. And I mean hates it. Within 5-10 minutes, he starts whining and whimpering and within another 5-10 minutes it turns into full blown crying for me to take him "home" because he wants "hot coco". I'm not sure what to do about this as I feel I am being pulled in two different directions. The thing is, he gets super frustrated when he can't grab and hold onto things (and be just like Jack) so he takes off his mittens and then his hands get cold and then he cries and cries and cries. It's torture for all of us. I guess its time to get Owen his own pair of L-Bow Mittens because we are going to keep going outside..its a must with these boys.

4. Speaking of playing outside. While Owen napped yesterday, Jack and I went outside to have some uninterrupted play-time in the snow. Jack was wearing this striped hat..it has turned out to be a winter wardrobe staple for my boys. I love this hat so much due to its cuteness, longevity and the fact that both boys wear it.

Gosh, looking at these pictures makes my throat tighten up with emotion.

5. Being cooped up in the house for the past few days has not been good on my psyche. I have been trying to remember what Eckart Tolle told me, "Realize deeply that the present moment is all you have. Make the NOW the primary focus of your life." So smart that man...easier said then done though Mr. Tolle.  Pat is currently reading this book so we have been talking about his concepts and new ways of thinking a lot. Maybe it will help to reprogram my brain so I am able to make it through the rest of the winter/move out of house/selling of house/temporary living/building a house/move into house/change in life/change in routine...all with two little boys. Hmmm? Can't hurt, I guess.

6. Boredom Buster...Art! I saw this and thought it would be easy-peasy for my boys.

It was easy and lasted a good 10 minutes. Jack quickly moved on to something way more exciting and creative, squirting/smearing glue onto paper. I try.

 7. Another Boredom Buster...fishing for dogs.

All you need is a tape measure, a dog biscuit, a dog (or 3) and two silly little boys.

Tie the dog biscuit onto the end of the tape measure and send it down...the dogs will come a sniffn'.

8. In an effort to take a shower, I asked the boys to play in Owen's crib together (you know, to confine my toddler). Let me first just say, that Jack has never learned how to climb out of a crib, ever..in 4 years and Owen had not tried either. Well, as I stepped out of the shower, Jack and Owen came walking into my bathroom, "Hi Mommy", they said. WHAT?!? Yep, they taught each other how to climb out of the crib...great, awesome, perfect. Then this morning as I was just waking up, I could hear Owen talking and calling for me, but the next thing I know...Owen is walking into my room, saying, "Hi Mommy!".

So, although I am glad he has figured out a safe way (he showed me just how he gets out) to get out of his crib, I find this to be such a huge bummer because this Momma is not ready for the big-boy bed transition. In this house, we do this transition, Supernanny Style and its painful...gut wrenching painful. However, I must say that it works and its amazingly worth it in the end. I guess I will have to see how the next few days go!?!

9. Here is some home decor eye candy that has been making me drool....

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Totally Kidding. 

I saw these today at a thrift store. Seriously, who would put these in their house other than Barbie.

10. A Boredom Buster for me...dreaming about our new home. I thought I would share a picture of what our new house will look like, so here she is, give or take a few things (as this is not the exact house)....