Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Bo-isms #5 & 6

5. Oct 29, 2008 - In the car today:
Me: Bo, We're going to Sam's Club.
Bo: Bo's, too.
(he thought I was talking about Sam and he wanted to go to Bo's Club)

*And this isn't really a Bo-ism but it's cute and his new question of the week:
"What the heck is these are?"

6. Nov 2, 2008 -
Me: Nana & Opa live in Texas. Where do you live?
Bo: Home

** Newsflash **

2 more binkies have been found recently with broken tops, bringing the current count (to the best of my knowledge) to:

Dead: 5
Alive: 4 (more have surfaced since the original report on 9/30/08)

The remaining ones better run and hide because I am getting sick of their mere existence and want them gone.

Sunday, October 26, 2008

This Smell Is Making Me Sick

I've decided to start a new series of blogs,

"You know you live with a spirited child when . . . "

And so, my first goes something like this:

You know you live with a spirited child when your dinner is interrupted by an overwhelming stench of baby powder oozing out of the back bedroom and into your lemon meringue pie.

Tracy Enjoying Her Last Day Here With Sam
(Not the "spirited" one)

Bo left the dinner table early and went back to his room where he was playing quietly. This usually means he's pooping so I didn't think anything of it. I was just happy to be enjoying a quiet dinner without Bo pulling on me or having to ask him over and over to sit down on his bottom. About 15 minutes later, Tracy asked, "Umm, Is Bo doing something with baby powder?"

I didn't even get up. I didn't want to know.

Wes went to check it out and when I heard, "BO ELIAS!", I knew it couldn't be good.

This is what he found . . .

The Air Was So Thick With Powder It Fogged The Photo

He had pulled everything off of his changing table, dumped the wipes all over the floor, and poured baby powder EVERYWHERE! And I mean EVERYWHERE!

It was in every dresser drawer, in the diaper basket, on the changing pad, on and in the fan, on his bed, in a baseball cap, in a diaper, in the dirty close hamper, and on his toys. You name it, he sprinkled it.

And now, many vacuuming times and almost 24 hours later, the horrible (once thought of as nice) smell of baby powder is making me want to vomit.

Chena Hot Springs

Last Thursday, Tracy, Tom, Bo, Sam and I drove up to Chena Hot Springs for the afternoon. It was really cold (8 degrees) but a beautiful sunny day.

It's a weird time of year as far as tourist activities are concerned because it's definitely not summer and there's not enough snow yet for snow adventures so we basically just toured the Ice Museum and had lunch.

The Museum used to be called an Ice Hotel but the Borough Fire Department shut it down because it didn't have fire alarms and a sprinkler system. Hello. Stupid! If there ever was a fire the whole damn thing would be a sprinkler system and you sure wouldn't have to worry about finding the closest emergency exit; the fire would do that for you.

So now they call it an Ice Museum and thanks to their lawyers finding a loop hole, you can now rent out an "Art Gallery Room" for $600/night instead of a "Hotel Room." But Museum or Hotel, it is still freakin cold in there and not a place I would ever want to spend the night. That's just crazy!

Ice Harvested for Ice Sculptures

Carved Ice Martini Glasses

Inside the Ice Museum

Ice Potty

Cheers! Appletini anyone?

In Front of the "Fire Place"

Bo Feeding Bert or Ernie

Sam Watching From His Cocoon

Warming Up In The Lodge

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Playing Outside

It snowed all day today so after dinner we decided to bundle up and go play outside. It was 9 degrees when we went out so it required some layers.

Poor Tracy (16 wks pregnant) was worn out after only putting on her ski pants and boots. There's a reason she lives in Texas.


Wes and Bo plowed the driveway while Tracy, Tom, Sam & I played. We first tried sledding in the yard but that didn't really work so we ended up sledding down the driveway and into the street.


It was fun to get out but the sledding wasn't great. We need a bigger and better hill. Hopefully we can hit the hills up at UAF on Friday and do some serious sledding.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Sisters are Awesome

Tracy & Tom flew in yesterday and are staying with us for a week. We don't have any big exciting plans while they are in town. We plan on just hanging out and having fun.


Sam smiling at his Aunt Tracy

This morning we took Bo to Open Gym at Gymnastics, Inc. but forgot the camera. (I hate when I do that.) We all decided we need to go back before Tracy & Tom leave so we can get some good pictures. Bo is hilarious and runs circles around the other kids. He is so freakin' springy and fast. You'll see what I mean when we go back later this week and actually take the camera. Sorry to leave you hanging but here are some other pics from this afternoon instead.

Photograph compliments of Bo

I call this one: "An Aunt, A Wedgie & Lots of Teeth"

I love this picture

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Pet-Peeves

I had a bunch of pet-peeves growing up that made me literally sick to my stomach (chewing noises, gum smacking, soup slurping, the sound of milk dropping off a cereal spoon back into the bowl, and so on) but apparently these have recently all (well not all) been replaced with new toddler induced pet-peeves.

What on earth is so fun about throwing, and I mean high speed whirlwind hurling across the room throwing, freshly folded clean clothes?! Is is really that gratifying to throw socks on the dresser, underwear on the floor, and shirts on the doorknobs? And as if that's not bad enough, when the laundry tornado isn't in full swing, the jumping onto piles of crisply folded towels commences.

Rarely do I ever get a load washed, dried, folded and put away without at least one of the steps having to be repeated. Yesterday I walked into the laundry room and found Bo shoving the used-to-be folded clothes back into the wet washer. Thanks, Bo, but THOSE WERE ALREADY CLEAN!!!!

Then there's the cleaning off of coffee tables, dressers, counters, and night stands. And by "cleaning", I mean forcefully bulldozing anything and everything out of the way and on to the floor. And by "anything and everything" I mean anything and everything. Trucks, remote controls, mail, magazines, phones, sippy cups, money, books. You name it and it has probably been tossed across our living room at one time or another. And if by some chance it hasn't been, I'm sure it's because we just don't own one.

This morning I added book throwing to my list. Yes, book throwing. While I was nursing Sam on the couch, Bo decided it would be fun to pull books off our book shelf and throw them across the room. Now these aren't little kid books, mind you, these are huge hard covered beasts of books and I don't know about you, but I sure don't want to get hit upside the head by American Soldier by General Tommy Franks (590 page memoir) which at one point landed on the pillow right next to me.

I yanked Sam off (sorry Sam), laid him on the couch, and dragged Bo to Time-Out. I had had enough, but Sam had not, so I took advantage of the temporary cease fire and finished nursing him in quiet.

Shit, I may need to start wearing a hard-hat and cevlar in my own house if this keeps up, but then again I would probably just get hit by it during one of the laundry tornados.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Randomness in Pictures

Sledding in our front yard

Who says trucks aren't cuddly?

2.5 and already a criminal. (I found these in Sam's carseat after leaving Fred Meyer)

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

More Of An Ohlendorf

Today was Sam's 4 month well-baby check up and other than a slight problem still with cradle-cap, he's healthy (and BIG) as can be.

Height: 25.6 in (75%)
Weight: 16.83 lbs (90%)
Head Circumference: 17.13 in (75%)

Bo was always in the 50% for height and weight, more of a Madden, but Sam appears to be taking on the size of an Ohlendorf. We'll know for sure if his calves start bulging out of his socks, oh wait, they already do. Sorry, Sam.

The doctor seems to think his eyes are going to stay blue. She says you can usually tell by 3 months if they are going to change or not.

He was supposed to get shots today but the doctor was running so far behind that by the time we finally got done, the Immunization clinic was closed. Gotta love socialized health care. Heaven forbid they figure out how to schedule more than one shift of people so they don't have to close down for lunch. But wait, that would make too much sense and nothing makes sense when you're dealing with the Army, now does it?! And as if lugging 2 kids to the hospital wasn't fun enough today, we get to go back again tomorrow. I can't wait.

Sunday, October 12, 2008

3 Party Weekend

Party 1: (Friday Night) Surprise birthday party for Randi at our house. We actually pulled it off and she was genuinely surprised.

Party 2: (Saturday Morning) Football watch Party at our house (Nebraska vs Texas Tech). Too bad we lost.

Party 3: (Saturday Night) H.I.P.O.W - Happiness Is Paying Our Way - It's a big fundraiser (dinner, silent auction, live auction & lots of schmoozing) for the Catholic Schools of Fairbanks but really it was more of an over sized garage sale with some panhandling mixed in. Seriously. It was weird. At one point the emcee flat out asked for money. He started with $5000, then $2500, $1000 & $500. I could not believe how many people donated. I guess it's the thing to do when you send your kids to private school or you want everyone around you to see that you have lots of money to give. I don't know; it seemed more of a who's who of Fairbanks than a let's help the kids thing.

But we had a good time nonetheless. I just wish we could have stayed the whole time. We got all dressed up for goodness sake. But Sam had other plans. He would not take a bottle and was screaming so we were home by 11:00.

It's ok, though, I was absolutely exhausted from the weekend and vacuuming the house three trillion times in between all the people coming over. So maybe Sam really did us a favor after all.

Oh and I almost forgot, before we left for HIPOW, Bo, unsolicited and out of the blue, said. "Mommy, look pretty." It was the best thing ever. He made my day. I love that guy even if he was a pain in the butt most of the day today. Uggh, we had a rough day but I'll save that for another entry.


Friday, October 10, 2008

What A Difference A Day Makes

How can kids be so good one day and the most stubborn, screaming twerps (and I say that with the utmost love) the next? Holy cow! Yesterday was horrible. And today has been wonderful. I don't get it.

Night Before Last: They woke me up 6, yes 6, times. Bo was up 3 times and Sam 3 but never at the same time. Seriously? Why do I even bother going to bed sometimes.
Last Night: Bo up once, Sam up twice. Not bad. I can handle that.

Yesterday: Bo didn't want to leave the house. He didn't want to get dressed and especially did not want to wear a coat. I had to pull him away from the TV screaming to go run errands. Today: Bo woke up asking for a sandwich (weird, but OK), gladly got dressed and was out the door before I was.

Yesterday: I was "That Mom" in Fred Meyer and I know you all know who I'm talking about. The one with the screaming, uncontrollable toddler that everyone stares at.

While returning some rugs I bought, Bo was trying desperately to pull the grocery cart away from me and towards the toys but when it wouldn't budge (because I had a death grip on it), he lost it. He started screaming and screaming and then began shoving the cart back in to me. And he's strong. Horrible I tell you. Horr-i-ble!

Then I made the mistake of going to the truck aisle and letting him pick one out off the clearance (50% off) table. I figured it would keep him happy long enough for me to get a little shopping done, which it did until I went to check-out and the damn thing wasn't on sale. It was $27.99! I was not about to spend $28 on a truck on a random Thursday. No sir. Oh and let me tell you, that was so not a good thing. The screaming returned and even louder this time. I asked him if he wanted to go to the bakery to get a free cookie before we left but in between the wild hysteria, he said no.

After walking all the way across the store to the other exit and trying to get his coat back on him before going outside, the hysteria turned to sheer "Nanny 911" drama. He now wanted a cookie. Damn it. I should have just gotten him one when I was over there in the first place, but I was not about to walk all the way back across the store to get him one now. He lost his chance and I had lost my patience.

The coat ordeal then became a wrestling match. Bo was in the main part of the cart (Sam was in his car seat up top) flailing and screaming, "No, Mommy No. No Coat. Coooookkiieeee. NOOOOOOOOOOOO", and I was leaning over him fighting to get the thing zipped. It sucked but I finally did it and carted him out to the car screaming about wanting a cookie the entire way with snot running down his face, but wearing a coat.

The screaming continued all the way to Wes' office where I was sure he would stop because we were going to see Dadddy and take him to lunch. (Bo always likes going to the office because he usually gets chocolate) But oh no, not today. I texted Wes and told him we were in the parking lot but not coming in because Bo was throwing a fit. I let him out of his car seat and he proceeded to lay on the backseat floorboard kicking and screaming for 10 minutes while I ignored him and nursed Sam in the front seat.

Today: We went to Fred Meyer again but with absolutely no drama, tears, or battles. Bo & Sam were wonderful. I was even able to pick up pizzas from Pappa Murphy's for tomorrows football party, and pick up the dry cleaning. We had a great time. But I cheated. As soon as we got in the door, we went directly over to the over-priced truck from yesterday and stuck it in the cart. I was willing to buy it today if it meant I could get everything done for Randi's surprise birthday party tonight.

Yesterday: All Bo wanted to do was watch TV or beg me to play with him. He was bratty and not very nice.
Today: The TV has not been on and Bo has been playing by himself or with Sam. He's been ultra polite and sweet.

Yesterday: Neither kid napped.
Today: Both napped on schedule and willingly. Bo took his new truck to bed and has it tucked under the covers with him. He's been down for 2.5 hours and is still sleeping.

Yesterday: Despite the mad-toddler chaos, I did manage to get something good done. Check it out. I found some really cool tubs at Fred Meyer (oh yeah, that was another thing Bo did not want to do yesterday, go to the Rubbermaid section and by golly he let everyone know it). They have handles and are perfect for toys. I labeled them with pictures of what should go in each one and stuck them on Bo's shelf. I love them and want more.



Today: I have been shoving things in closets to"clean-up" for the party tonight.

Yesterday: Bo wanted an ice cream sandwich for dinner which he drug out of the freezer by himself but when I told him "no" and took it away from him, the screaming returned. I told him he could have it after he ate dinner but he didn't want dinner, just the ice scream. Now I was not only dealing with a strong-willed-devilish child, but a strong-willed-sleep-deprived-devilish child and that is a million times worse. Somebody shoot me already. Aahhhh.
Today: Not sure about dinner yet. It's still too early but hopefully Bo will be pleasant and cooperative like he's been the rest of the day.

NOTE - Bo just woke up and came out of his room carrying his new truck and in a great mood. Thank goodness for over priced music playing, light blinking, self-propelled tow trucks and new days!

Monday, October 6, 2008

Happy Birthday, Wes!

Today was Wes' 32nd birthday and we surprised him with a birthday lunch here at the house. His assistants wanted to surprise him by taking him out to lunch but one of them (way to go, Jewel) accidentally sent the string of emails to Wes so the surprise was out of the bag.

They then decided to just schedule lunch with him (gotta be on Wes' calendar if you ever want to do anything with him) and surprise him NOT by the fact that they were taking him to lunch, but by WHERE they were taking him.

It was great. They (Jewel, Randi, Tara & Jeri) all piled in the car and brought Wes home. Kim & Jim came, and so did Ethan.

I decorated the house with balloons and birthday-ware, made a big batch of Halibut & Wild Rice Soup, a salad and hot bread. We topped it off with a ginormous (and I mean GINORMOUS) peanut butter pie from Wolf Run Dessert & Dinner House. Yummmm-mmy.

Bo begged Wes all through lunch to open his gifts. At one point he was even dancing on top of the gift on top of the table.

From me and the boys


Card from Randi & Ethan

It was a great 2 hour lunch with friends, and best of all, Wes got to hang out with Bo & Sam during the day.

Then tonight, I made Wes his favorite cherry pie. I didn't make it for lunch because I know how much he loves it and was afraid he wouldn't want to share.

After pie we rocked out with Rock Band. At one point Wes was on drums, Bo on lead guitar and I was on vocals singing Bon Jovi's "Dead or Alive". Quite the site but so much fun (unless you were one having to hear me sing).

Happy Birthday, Wes. I hope you had a great day.

Saturday, October 4, 2008

Bo-isms #1-4

Ok, so like all kids, Bo says and does some really funny things. Before I started this blog, I had been writing them down in a journal I kept in the kitchen, but now I am going to start keeping track of them here.

1. March 2008 - With Wes nowhere around (at work actually):
Me: Bo, did you poop?
Bo: No, Daddy poop.


2. April 2008 - While sitting on the potty trying to go pee, I once told Bo he needed to push his [belly] button to make it work. Of course nothing happened:
Bo: It's broken.

3. Sept 2008 - I had both Bo and Sam in the bathroom with me while I was taking a shower. Sam was in his bouncy seat with the fish/music attachment on and Bo was just playing in the bathroom. Sam started to get fussy:
Me: Bo, can you go make some bubbles for Sam with the fish?
Bo: Okay, Mommy.

A few minutes later Bo comes back to the shower door holding a big bottle of baby soap.
Me: What are you doing Bo?
Bo: Make bubbles Sam.

I looked out of the shower and Bo had poured soap all over Sam's tummy.

4. Oct 2008 - Wes told Bo his stomach hurt so Bo went to the freezer, dug out the ice-bunny (ice pack) and put it on Wes' stomach.

Friday, October 3, 2008

Love & Hate

It is October 3 and there is already a lot of snow on the ground. It is cold, winter is here, and I am not happy about it. So instead of writing about how much I am dreading the next 6 months, or how Bo refuses to wear a coat because the zippers are "owie", or how it took me 45 minutes to get to the gym today because the roads were horrible, (thank goodness I have an appointment on Tuesday to have my winter tires put on), or how our super cool new deck is just one more thing I have to shovel, I am going to focus on Sammers.


Sam is absolutely a shining light in my day. He is so much fun to be around. He laughs and loves attention. It still amazes me how quickly he is growing up. I want to remember it all.

The way his smile is a bit offset, crooked in the cutest of ways. The way he watches Bo's every move with a sense of awe. The way his cheek feels against mine. And the way his body feels all curled up on my chest during our naps together on the couch. I want to remember it all.

Well, maybe not all. I could forget about how he still doesn't sleep very well at night. He's still up about every 3 hours. Every once in awhile he'll go 6 but not often enough. I've still been swaddling him at night which helps, but despite my attempt to get him all snug, he still managed to wiggle out this morning.

So, while the weather is only going to get colder and more miserable, I'm thankful for what's inside.