Too Much, But Too Tired

I have so much to blog about, but I am just too tired to put everything in words. Since Nanny's arrival, we have been very busy everyday. Today was Donny's Halloween party at school. He refused to wear his Buzz Lightyear costume, so I asked if he would like to wear his lawnmower costume from two years ago. He was so happy, so off we went. On the way to the party, he asked if I had any ribbon to fix Zoe's hat ( ) so he could hold her hand. When we arrived, he was very shy and held my hand most of the time. He didn't want to do much and we left early.

The doctor called and we had to go to the office for his H1N1 shot shortly after we returned from the party. He was a trooper and cried for just a minute. He wanted to know why the nurse put the stick on his arm, but soon forgave her and told her to make sure she went trick-or-treating.

I think Nanny will need a vacation when she leaves, Donny is wearing her out. Donny was sitting on the couch with Nanny while doing his breathing treatment. I put Nanny in charge and left to get Abigail ready for bed. The breathing treatment lasts about five minutes, so imagine how surprised I was about twelve minutes later when Donny yelled for me and asked if he was done. I came in and jokingly asked if the two of them fell asleep and Nanny confessed that yes, she had fallen asleep. I think Nanny has Narcolepsy, created by Donny.

Tiny Dancer

Stinky Word

On the way home from school, Donny was repeating one of the words he his banned from using. I scolded him and he asked when he would be allowed to use that "stinky" word. I told him he could say it when he grew up and had a home of his own. He replied, "So, you don't want me around?" This kid makes my brain hurt!

Buzz

Today was the local children's Halloween parade and what a day it was. From the beginning, Donny wasn't sure he wanted to wear his costume, but Abigail was dressed and ready to go. In fact, she was an angel the entire time.

I was putting Donny's costume on when his best friend arrived. That's when he decided he was going to wear his costume and be Buzz. Zoe, his best friend, was having a difficult time with the wind. It was blowing her hat off her head and that was completely unacceptable. She didn't want to hold Donny's hand because she was concerned about her hat, Donny seemed to take this in stride. Everything was going well until Donny spotted another Buzz. Donny took his costume off at that moment. He was so depressed because he wasn't the real Buzz Lightyear. I finally got him to put the costume back on, Zoe ditched the hat and we followed the parade to the bottom of the hill. Things were looking up.

The recreation director gathered everyone in a circle to do the Hokey Pokey. Donny went to the center of the circle without blinking an eye. Zoe's daddy figured out that Donny took the director literally when she said to get in a circle. When we went inside to see the magician, Donny really started to lose control. He would walk up to the magician during the show as if he was the only person in the room. The first time it was cute, after that not so much. I decided it was time to pull the plug, when I looked behind me to see Nanny practically lying on the floor trying to hold Donny who was sliding out of her arms because of his satin spacesuit. We all needed a nap and it was time to go. The entire ride home was spent trying to convince Donny that he was the real Buzz Lightyear and the other boy was just a toy. Life imitating art?

Spring in Fall

The weather this afternoon was beautiful, so we played outside as long as we could.

Young Love

When I picked Donny up from school today, his teacher informed me that Donny and his best friend Zoe, were getting married today. Since my only son was taking the plunge, I asked him a few questions at dinner. "Donny what time is your wedding?" "Twelve." "What are you going to wear?" He looked down and said, "This." "What is Zoe wearing?" "Oh, I told Zoe she looked beautiful as soon as she walked into the classroom today!" I guess that's all I need to know.

Two Tiny Thumbs Up

Halloween Hell

I spent the morning in Halloween hell yesterday. I took the kids to Joann Fabrics, what a disaster. Donny shouldn't have left the house, his fever reappeared 3/4 of the way there, I could see it in his eyes, but there was no turning back. He has never behaved so badly in public, I am not lying when I say that I was moments away from crying in the middle of the store. I had Abigail in the carrier, so I couldn't see her face, when I put her in the car seat and looked at her, she too had a fever, at least she was sweet the entire time. Donny was just off, pulling bolts of fabric off the rack, climbing into the back of the carriage and freaking out when I wouldn't let him look at a something he spotted. Then he saw a girl about nine years old and that was it, he became her stalker. "Hi girl, hi girl. Mama the girl won't say hi to me." The girl's mother finally leaned over and commanded she say hello to the little boy. I swear he had fairy dust in his eyes, he is too young for this behavior. He was mad at me when we left because I wouldn't let him find the girl so he could shake her hand.

Trying to find fabric for Abigail's princess costume was impossible. For some reason, I am listening to Donny who is insisting his sister be a princess for Halloween. I read the back of the package about 100 times, I felt like I was reading German and only knew two German words. I couldn't think, so I made the command decision that Abigail will be wearing Donny's pirate costume. I said a small prayer that I would be able to locate the costume and the it would be in good condition and fit Abigail, I know that is a lot to ask. Can you believe I found it packed away? I washed it and it looks big enough. I bought some girlie fabric to change it up a bit, so things are looking up. When we got into the car, I was so upset with Donny's behavior, I wanted to just sit there and cry. I told him that Abigail wasn't going to be a princess and he said, "That's okay Mama. She will always be a princess, she's a princess girl."


*****BTW--If one person even suggests that I go buy their costumes, I'm sending a three year old to your house for a week.

Catch A Flight

Donny has combined two of his favorite games, taking a trip and his babies. It started the other night when he packed his clothes in the carry on and announced he was taking a flight to Ohio to visit Aunt Stephanie. His plane was located down the hall in the nursery and just as he was about to board, Big Daddy took Abigail to the nursery to change her diaper. When Big Daddy shut the door, Donny collapsed in the hallway and cried, "Daddy and Abigail went to Ohio without me. I missed the plane." I had to try and reason with him on his terms. I told him Big Daddy and Abigail were part of the flight crew and they were doing the pre-flight and when they were finished he could board the plane. He decided to buy a magazine and snack for the flight while he waited. The door finally opened and he was allowed to board. Later he repacked his suitcase with his favorite teddies to keep them safe, he even put his pajamas on one of them and packed about twenty pairs of socks for them, just in case.

Yesterday, I had to put diapers on all of his "babies." He gathered all of his stuffed animals and we made a diapering assembly line. After everyone was diapered I suggested a movie and popcorn. He lined everyone up on the couch, I served him popcorn and the next thing I knew, he was shoving popcorn in Elmo's mouth. He then proceeded to walk into the kitchen dump his bowl of popcorn on the floor and called the dog in for a snack.

At 6:00 this morning, I was informed my flight to Ohio was ready to board. This was a full flight with every diapered stuffed animal. In order to have a cup of coffee, I had to fly us to Ohio. I'm sure you have all figured out that it is going to be a VERY long day in this house.

Pumpkin Picking

OSU (Ohio Sucks University)

It's a good thing the game isn't being broadcast today, otherwise you could find my television on the front lawn. Hey Ohio people, what the hell's going on in Indiana? Did I miss something? Is someone out with an injury? What in the hell is happening?

Response

I stated to write a response to Aunt Karen's comment to Really and realized it was turning into a post, so Aunt Karen here goes.....

Really
All I have to say is that it is snowing right now!
Aunt Karen "Hooray!!! put up the christmas tree"

You are so crazy or not! I got the first of the season's Pottery Barn catalog and started decorating our pretend home for the holidays. This ritual goes back to the year Big Daddy and I lived in a very small apartment down the street from Grandma's while waiting to move up north. We basically slept at the apartment and spent the rest of the time at Grandmas. Aunt Karen and I went through a few cases of wine that year. Grandma gets many catalogs and Aunt Karen and I would spend hours designing the perfect holiday house. You know the snow Thursday made me what to string the lights, drink some Beaujolais Nouveau and cook some starches. I love the holidays and all the prep. However, I am struggling this year. I still haven't finished Donny's costume, haven't started Abigail's and can't seem to find the backup for Abigail. (Donny's pirate costume I made him.)

I missed two sewing days because I was sick. It started Thursday morning with the sniffles through the entire music class Abigail and I attend. By the time I had picked Donny up from school, I was trying to figure out a way to remove my head from my body. I don't know what happened, that cold hit me so fast I didn't see it coming. I was even going to have dinner and drinks with a dear friend, but had to cancel because I couldn't get off the couch.

This brings me to the good old days of being sick. Oh, how I long for the days when I could chug some NyQuil, slather myself in Vick's Vapor Rub and crawl under the covers until the NyQuil hangover was finished. However, since I'm still breastfeeding, I didn't think it would be good for Abigail to covered in vapor rub or to get her first alcohol high before she's one. I do have to thank Big Daddy for taking such good care of me and letting me disappear for hours at a time. I'm not sure of any of this made sense, I'm still a bit foggy. I'm sure Big Daddy will let me know.

Really?

All I have to say is that it is snowing right now!

Photos Taken Today

Hanes

At dinner this evening, Donny finally noticed that I bought him new socks. He wanted to know what word was printed on the socks. I told him it said Hanes. He got off his chair, sat down on the floor, took his socks off and hung each sock on cabinet knob. When we asked him what he was doing, he told us he was hanging his sock because they said hang on them.

Word Play

There are several words Donny is forbidden to say and yes we are probably a bit too strict, but stupid and disgusting are just two of the words we have banned. He's is banned more for the way he uses them rather than because of the words themselves. He tries to see how far he can push it before we will send him to the naughty spot. He was in rare form the other day with Big Daddy when the following conversation occurred. Donny said something like, "Daddy isn't that stuuuu..." and Big Daddy pointed at him. Then Donny said, "Daddy I was going to say stupendous!" A bit later Donny said, "Daddy that's dissssss..." once again Big Daddy pointed at him, this time Donny said, "Daddy I was going to say let's discuss it."

This Is A Long One!

Yesterday, I surprised Donny by taking him to Poughkeepsie to see Toy Story in 3-D. I told him we were going to the mall to exchange some pants and then I had a surprise adventure for him. On the way, we past a nursery filled with pumpkins. He suggested we make Big Daddy a pumpkin cake and he had a great recipe for the cake, but we had to stop at Hannaford's (grocery store) to get all of the ingredients. I reminded him about the surprise and told him we would make Big Daddy a cake another day.

When we arrived at the mall, he asked if they had a Hannaford's. For the record, he asked about Hannaford's about thirty times before we got to the movies. We did our shopping, put the things in the car and headed to the movies. When we entered the theatre, we were the only people, other than the employees. I felt bad because the popcorn contained milk so I wanted to get him something from the candy counter since this was his first time to the movies. While I was purchasing our snack, Donny had spotted a video game and wanted to "check it out." With one eye on him, I ordered a package of Twizzlers and a medium lemonade. The girl pulled up a cup that looked like a bucket and yes that was a medium. How about a small? I was given the sales pitch of the 50 cent difference and for some reason said okay to the bucket of lemonade.
I grabbed Donny and started to explain where we were and what we were doing on our long walk down the hall, around the corner and down the ramp to the man taking tickets.

I thought we should probably hit the bathroom while we were there, so in we went. I escorted Donny into the handicapped stall, locked the door and hung up my purse. I had repeated, "Don't touch ANYTHING!" as soon as we entered the bathroom until I locked the door. What is the first thing the boy does? With both hands, he walks right up to the toilet and lifts the seat. Most of you know how I feel about germs, so you know that I almost had an anxiety attack at that moment. I had to find a place to put my bucket of lemonade quickly before he touched anything else, so I rested the bucket on the end of the handle along the wall. I took care of him, turned him around and told him to stand still, Mama had to tinkle. I was just about finished, my pants still around my ankles, when he opened the door. I went to grab him and my movement knocked over the bucket of lemonade which coated the back of my legs and fanny. I tried to use toilet paper to blot the lemonade, but since it was 75% sugar I basically just decoupaged the back of my legs with the toilet paper. I wasn't worried that Donny was now facing me, because he was looking down at his shoes, "Mama! You just cleaned these shoes! Look at my shoes! They're all wet." Meanwhile, I'm covered in toilet paper!

We go out and I tell the ticket attendant about the spill. He directs us back to the candy counter for a free replacement and for some reason I actually go. When I get there, I tell the man (rotation of staff) just give me a small please. He says okay and then speaks into his headset to the woman ten yards away and tells her he needs to do a refund. I tell him don't worry about it, just give me the small and I'll be on my way. The woman shouts over, "Did you need to do a refund?" I turn around and tell her no and we're off again.

The ticket man tells us the location of our movie. I feel a bit like Karen Hill in Goodfellas when Jimmy tells her he has some dresses for her to pick out down the alley. We are still the only customers. We finally arrive. Donny picks out where he wants to sit. I pick him up, put him in the seat and his fanny goes into the crack, the seat flies up and he kicks himself in the face. I put him on my lap as the movie starts. I put my glasses on and give Donny his pair. He puts them on his face and they fall off, so for the rest of the movie the glasses stay in my purse and he watches a blurry movie. Twenty minutes in, he wants to know when we're going home.

When we get to the car, Donny asked me why we came here to watch Toy Story when we could watch it at home. Half way home he announces the following......"Mama, I want my own house........What if I don't have a son?!.........Does God make new people everyday?...........I decided I want a new family, I want to live with Mr. T and Miss D.......I still love you and don't worry, I will visit you in my car seat.

Donny's Pumpkin Cake Recipe

• Flour
• Honey Juice
• 15 Chocolate Chips
• Baking Powder

Reading Material

Donny was kneeling in front of the couch reading his two new catalogs. All of the sudden, he stood up, tucked the catalogs under his arm and started walking. Over his shoulder he said, "Mama, I'm going to read my catalogs in the bathroom while I go poopy." I was reminded of the time I caught him on the potty reading the American Girl catalog. Is that the equivalent of Maxim and Playboy in a man's bathroom?

Fire Starter, Or Not

Before the start of the yard project, the house was flanked by two pine trees. Big Daddy relocated them because they were nice trees. We lost the first tree earlier this year and the second came down yesterday. Big Daddy was lucky enough to have a little helper but whenever he got too close to the action all Big Daddy had to do was start the chainsaw. Donny would take off across the yard and it would take him awhile to return to the job at hand.

Big Daddy decided to burn the tree today. I watched from the house as he tried to light the pile of branches and tree with a flare. Now, it has to be said that this particular firefighter sucks at starting fires. (Sorry babe.) I noticed that the flare had fallen over on its side, so I went to the door to tell him. When I turned around, Donny was standing in front of me holding a 33 ounce container of coffee. He proceeded to use the coffee scoop as a spoon and started eating the coffee. Disgusted, I asked him if it was good, and luckily for all of us in this house he said no. He is the last kid on the planet who should be getting caffeine and in its pure form.

Put That Down!

Last night Abigail and I went outside to check on Big Daddy and Donny. Big Daddy was doing some stonework on the steps and Donny was running around with a broken shovel handle. I tried to take the handle away from him, telling him that it was very dangerous to be running around with it and that he could fall on the handle and hurt himself. After quite a fight, I managed to pry the handle from his hand. With the handle in my right hand, Abigail in my left hand and Donny by my left side, we proceeded to walk down the sidewalk to look at Big Daddy's handy work. Abigail began to slip, so I went to grab her with my right hand and violently clocked my poor son in the face the the shovel handle. He went down and started to scream which scared Abigail who then started to scream. Big Daddy looked at me and all I could say was, "I told you that handle was dangerous."