Monster urge to giggle.

This morning was pretty funny around here. First of all, let me fill you in on the excitement. It's Pajama Day at school today. PJ Day is huge in Zeke's world. He gets to wear his pj's and slippers to school and bring his favorite stuffed friend. So, we've had his pj's picked out for weeks but not the stuffed friend. That came down to the wire with Mick the Monkey winning out. Mick always seems to win that type of contest. I tend to route for the smaller, less expensive stuffed friends (see my post called "Mick the Jip" and you'll understand why...), but Mick is always the lucky one. So, we got Zeke all washed up and dressed in his comfy pj's and told Mick to be on his best behavior. While Zeke was in his room looking for Mick, he wanted me in there with him since he feared there was a monster in the closet. This isn't unusual and honestly, it's getting old to me. Since our birdcage is nearby in the hallway, I wanted to just take a few steps out of Zeke's room, open the birdcage, and grab their water and food bowls to clean and refill them. Well, when Zeke saw that I had moved from his doorway, he FREAKED. He stormed out into the hall, put his hands on his hips and said to me "how dare you! Get back in my room and don't move a bone!" Ummmm, I think he meant to say "don't move a muscle", since I use that term many times when I'm trying to get him to sit still and I'm at my wit's end. I obeyed his serious command, but the urge to roll on his floor in laughter was overwhelming...

Frosty frolics.

Today was a real snow day. The kind of day I used to go to bed at night praying for. Like, literally, holding a rosary, saying millions of Hail Marys, promising I'd never punch Chris (baby bro) again - ever, type of praying. Snow days were always so downright awesome. We'd go outside with a million kids, play until our snot froze to our top lip or our mittens froze to our fingernails (whichever came first), then went into one person's house for hot cocoa and tons of marshmallows. It seemed like the day lasted for like two weeks. But today wasn't like that. I mean, Zeke was excited, but not flipping out excited the way we used to get. I guess nowadays a snow day is a bit easier to come by? Who knows. All I know is that I tried to make it cool - did the whole snowball fight, snowman attempt...heck, I even shoveled a bit of our walkway. I drew the line though when I found Zeke jumping up and down in 4 inches of mud and slush in the driveway. Snow day fun was officially over. I always liked the hot cocoa part best anyway. Can't blame a girl for lovin' her chocolate...

You don't know the half of it sonny.

The Naked Cowboy. That's what I've been calling Zeke lately. He consistently keeps me entertained with his renditions of sad songs, pitiful faces, and well, his cute little, errr, butt. You see, Zeke tends to enjoy playing the guitar in his skivvies. Maybe the skivvies are getting a little snug...maybe we need to size up or something...I don't know what it is. All I know is that when the clothes come off, that boy is ON. He grabs the guitar, sometimes a hat too, he gets in front of a mirror, a television screen or glass door (anything in which he can see his reflection) and starts to wail out some woeful tunes. Why do I call them "woeful" you wonder? Well, as I was preparing to start the nightly ritual of teeth brushing, etc. last night, I was giving Zeke a moment to finish up his cabaret performance. But this one took the cake. The chorus (or punch line, if you prefer) to his song was "Oh, yeah, yeah ba-ba-baby...my life...it's so horrible. Oh ba-ba-baby!" Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmm, WHAT???? What's so horrible about being an only child, getting to hang out in your underwear and drink chocolate milk and watch cartoons for 75% of your life so far and to not know a day of stress????? Holy moly. Wait until med school buddy.

Ew.

Some things I don't like at the moment:

1. freezing all the time
2. the fact that Girl Scout cookies are everywhere I look. It's really difficult to stay focused on my diet when super-yum cookies are talking to me telling me to eat them.
3. my nails. they're so yucky looking and dry and brittle.
4. not being allowed to wear contact lenses. i loathe glasses, usually won't wear them, and walk around half blind, squinting to see everything - thus creating crow's feet which will need to be addressed in about 1 to 2 years.
5. my digital camera. it's horrible. i had one and lost it. then i bought a good one, not great, but it was 2,352 times better than the one i'm using. but i lost it. i borrowed my mom's until i found it, then i lost hers. i bought my mom a new one, had none, then found the FIRST one i lost. but it's a dinosaur and just really corny. so i'm stuck using the corndog until pauly signs the purchase order for the new one..
6. we haven't seen neighbor horse in like 2 weeks because it's so darn cold. now that's not good.
7. winter just brings me DOWN.

That's it. Nothing else for now.

Mommy nose best.

Sickness has come over our household. I mean, it's not unusual for me to have the occasional cold, flu-y type stuff, or headache, but the boys in my house are normally super healthy. I actually don't think we had been to Zeke's pediatrician since his 3-year-checkup until this past week. Now we've been there twice in one week. And it hasn't been fun. Fever, runny nose, cough, congestion and basically just a bunch of ewwww going around in here. Being the ridiculous Virgo that I am, I've been walking around with a bottle of Clorox spray...spraying telephones, remotes, toys, counter tops, and pretty much anything that doesn't have a tail to wag. If the chi-chi's stand still too long, they'll get disinfected too. Here's hoping that some amoxicillin, some tylenol, and a bit of mommy lovin' will get my guys over the goop. There's nothing worse than seeing and hearing my boys under the weather. They're way too cute to be all schnottttty....

Ch-ch-ch-changes.

I'm in the middle of cleaning ALL of Zeke's toys out of my living room and officially reclaiming my space. He has "kidded up" way too many rooms in my house for waaaay too long now. So, for the past few days I've been bustin' a move getting all of the "baby toys" packed up and out the door, moving the "big boy toys" down to the basement playroom, and cleaning out all of the unwanteds. Next move: repainting and redecorating the living room! Today my mom and I went to pick out some paint samples and Pauly and I just had our first official argument over what color the living room will be. Why does he even bother??? He KNOWS I'll end up winning this war...it's not even worth discussing. It's absolutely ludicrous. He picked out some regurgitated pea green color that would remind one of a horrible stomach virus they once suffered through. Not going to happen. So, wish me luck. The battle is on. Like Donkey Kong.

It's not easy being green.

I can't believe my wardrobe today. I mean, I actually went outside of my house wearing AN EAGLES JERSEY. Not that I'm a hater or anything, but I'm just absolutely not one of those types of girls that wears sports junkadoo. The most I'll wear is like green underwear or something on football Sundays. Certainly not an Eagles jersey. But yep, I did. I felt very sporty today and definitely wanted the Eagles to win and go to the Superbowl. I think my reasons were selfish: I wanted a good Superbowl party. I just enjoy the social aspect of the whole "gameday" sitch. The conversations that take place all week long before gameday - who's going to have the party, what food will be served, etc., etc. It's just all very friendly and fun. But today...today stunk. I wore this stupid jersey, looked all manly and stuff, and the dummies lost. And now, worst of all, I can't enter into party-planning mode as previously anticipated. To top it all off, this ugly green color DOES NOT do a thing for my complexion. I've got to go change...

P.S. : Here's my list of peeps I'm sending my condolences to tonight since I know they were really, really hoping for an Eagles win:

1. Tommy, my big bro. I'll talk to you in about 6 months when you've finally come out of your medically induced coma. I believe the doctors will determine it is better for you to be comatose than to suffer this loss fully conscious.

2. Craig - I thought I'd be texting you up there in Boston with some whoopty whoo's....how sad, huh???

3. Missy. Seems you're pretty tuned into the Philly sports scene and I think you'll take this loss to heart since you're a heavy duty sensitive type. Think back to the Phillies, Missy...

4. My Mom. The party would've been awesome. *sigh* Save the green plates for a St. Patty's Day gig.

5. And finally, Pauly. You had it all worked out, babe. You had your appetizers, your lucky green shirt...it was all supposed to happen. Sorry for the letdown. Maybe in about 8 or 9 years when the new quarterback is properly broken in we'll get there again...

6. And really finally, finally: Blue our hamster: sorry you couldn't have been here to watch the game with us buddy. But here's hoping you're running on that big hamster wheel heaven. You were a true cutie and, well, the nights around here are pretty quiet without your squeaky wheel going round and round. See ya' little Blue...

Life lessons.

Today was a day that I think I'll remember for a while. It's one of those things that gets etched in your memory for one reason or another and seems to never fade. Today I brought Zeke to a retirement home for a bit of volunteer work with some of his schoolmates. I had mixed feelings going into it because it somehow felt "not right" since I rarely go to see my own grandmother in her nursing home. Why was I visiting complete strangers... did I think I was going to get some type of "extra credit" with God or something? I don't know. All I know is that when the flyer came home in Zeke's backpack, I felt the need to begin to show him that this world is made up of more than just himself and his tiny circle of friends and family. There are others out there who need stuff. And need people. And at some point in time, it's my job to show him how to reach out. I guess now is as good a time as any to get started. So, we went and we met a little old lady named Lilly. Lilly was precious. Not very talkative, very sweet and very alert. But there was something in her eyes and in her curiosity about Zeke that made me wonder what was going on in her head. She watched his every move as he colored on the construction paper cards they were making together. She studied his hands, his face, his hair. A tiny smile was on her pretty, wrinkly face the entire time they worked. And at one point, she reached over and touched Zeke's hair with just one frail finger. Zeke looked nervously at me and I told him it was ok, that Lilly was just happy to see him. And it was then, at that very moment, that I realized that Lilly may not have really been touching Zeke's soft hair. I think Lilly was taken back for a few brief moments today...back to a time when she sat at her own kitchen table, with her own toddler, with his own crayons, and they colored together on a cold winter's day. I think Lilly was touching her own son's hair, just for a second, and you know what? Giving little old Lilly those few moments to step back in time was very much worth any trouble it was to fit this project into our schedule today. And as far as getting extra credit with God? Who needs it? I feel like today was a gift - a little surprise tucked away that I forgot to open at Christmas. Thanks Lilly. And thanks Zeke. Today I've learned big lessons from a 3-year-old and a 90-year-old. Who would've thought?

Mindwarping

I've come to realize that January is probably the worst of all 12 months. One starts to realize that he or she is just plain fat and it's time to start Extreme Dieting if a bathing suit is in the future, the weather just plain sucks, and well, everyone and their brother has a cold. January in the Northeast is no fun. I played some mind tricks with myself today to try to make this January Monday seem less yucky and they really worked. And actually, they weren't even tricky. They were facts that just plain made me happy. I'll share them with you:

1. I went to a birthday party yesterday for one of Zeke's little friends and the only gifts the little girl was accepting were donations to a favorite charity. Ummmm...how cool is that??? And how great is the mom of that toddler for having made such a positive influence on her and instilled a sense of charity so deeply into her little, tiny being??? Kinda' makes you remember that there really are still good people in the world, huh?

2. One of my friends in our playgroup is recovering from her 2nd surgery in about 2 months. She's down for the count with stitches, staples and pain, and our playgroup has once again risen to the occasion to bring her dinner for about 3 weeks. This evening was my turn and it was just a nice feeling to be a part of something so heartfelt. It's a good thing when women can actually back each other up and help one another. It's just a really, really good thing. Again, it makes me remember that there are still good people in the world who I'm trying to model myself after.

3. One last one for you before I sign off and get some zzzzzz's. I giggle at the fact that I can still tell Zeke that certain "bad" words he says are "grown up words" or "curse words" and he CANNOT say them. Now let me fill you in...the words in question are words like "stupid" or "dummy" - but still, they sound horrible coming from a 3-year-old. So for now, in Zeke's world and mine, "stupid" and "dummy" are curse words. And he believes me. AAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!!!

G'night peeps.

Getting back to busines.

Wow. It's been a long time since I've posted. Like longer than I've EVER gone since the inception of this bloggity blog blog. I have only one thing to blame my absence on:

Yep. Wii. I've been Wii'ing every night after dinner, just barely fitting in time for my teeny tiny 30 minute treadmill workout and 15 minute weight workout. And if I'm really, really honest, there have been numerous times that I've changed into my workout gear, my sneakers, gotten my workout face on (it's usually a really mean, "don't talk to me 'cuz I'm in a bad mood since I'm about to be sweaty for 45 minutes face), only to be completely sidetracked by a completely AWESOME round of Wii Golf with Pauly. And anyone that Wii's knows that one round of any Wii game turns into a two hour long marathon of trying to dig yourself out of a losing streak. You can't put it down. And that's it. That's why I haven't posted. Nothing spectacular. No fancy European trips to blog about. No awesome grad classes or spectacular new careers here. Just Wii. Little old Wii. But, darn, I am liking my Wii.

But if you ARE interested in stuff that has happened in between games of Wii in the past few weeks or so, my dear friend Shannon emailed me some awesome photos that I'll share with you. Yay for Nikicham Photography - at least she has kept up with my social life on film!

Obsession - Denied.

I've been obsessing on a particular breed of cat for YEARS now. And yep, you guessed it, Pauly has been denying me for years. He thinks it will hurt the feelings of the canine residents in our household. I think I have enough love to go around. Just look at these beauties:

I really, really want this cat. One resolution I can reveal: I will have a Sphynx by the end of the year...

2009 - The Year of The King

Today is the first day of 2009. That seems unbelievable. I guess I say that every year, but I think when you have a child, the time really does fly by even faster. Note to self: slow down a bit and enjoy the scenery. It's going by a bit too quickly. You haven't even downloaded most of last month's pictures yet, Nance...

Ok, so now that the holidays are just about behind us, let me tell you some of the highs and lows. Let's see...I guess we had one of those awesome Christmases where it's all about Santa and how he gets the gifts into the house, how the reindeer fly the sleigh all around, etc, etc. Having a 3-year-old at Christmastime was probably the all time best! I tried to savor every moment of it - taking pictures and videos and even just simply looking out the window with Zeke on Christmas Eve night to try to find Santa's sleigh up in the sky. Something about seeing the wide eyes and feeling the hope in his heart - it made me feel like I was a toddler again and waiting for my big stack of Santa presents. I tell ya' people, if you're on the fence about having kids, it may just be worth it for this one day of the year! It's really the most fun I've had since keg parties in college!!! Who would've known...

New Year's Eve even took on new meaning this year when we invited our Goshen Crew of friends over for the First Annual Toddler-Friendly New Year's Eve Bash. We partied like Paris Hilton on her birthday and rang in the new year at 9:00 p.m. sharp. A few of the toddlers were having trouble staying up for the new year's countdown, but they were troopers and made it through. I think our neighbors were wondering why the house that's usually in bed by 8:30 was so rockin', but hey, it's time we shook up the joint a bit.

As for 2009, I have a few resolutions of my own, but I'm keeping them secret. I believe a resolution is a personal thing, a challenge to oneself to be conquered or quit as one sees fit. I hope to conquer my resolutions if they will make me a better person in the new year. But, if I find as I go along that I'm losing myself in the resolution obsession, I'm out. So, therefore, I won't bore you with the details, they will be locked away in my mind for no one to know but me and perhaps King Otto (my first chi-chi) if he's really good. You see, there's still something very precious about The King, something intangible, that makes him the keeper of all that's sacred. Maybe it's that he's lived before and knows more than most...or maybe it's just that he was the only one in my household who was awake with me last night at the stroke of midnight. And my first kiss at 12:01 a.m. was from The King. Thanks Ottie...you were and always will be a special, special man.