Funny Liam

Today while we were eating lunch Liam informed me that we would play "supermarket" after lunch. I asked him where he learned about supermarket, and he said, "Grandmere play supermarket with me". Then he said, "sometimes I call her Jean".

Before playing supermarket, I had to nurse Grady, so I told Liam to head into the playroom and we'd meet him in there shortly. A couple minutes later, he came out and said, "Mommy, I'm frustrated. I want to play supermarket now."

When we finally got around to playing supermarket, he decided that his market was now "closed. I know it's a bummer, but it's closed for the afternoon. Sorry, GradyMommy."

This kid's listening to everything we say. Better watch out!

More of Grady eating

This kid sure loves his food! He's definitely got some Bryan blood in him. Here is he after his THIRD helping of spaghetti and marinara (Emeril's marinara sauce, btw...it's my new fave). He wanted more but I was afraid he was going to get sick!

No more spoons, Ma!

Grady is sick of being fed. He wants to feed himself. But a lot of it ends up on the floor, in his high chair, and in his fat creases, plus he's not that good at picking up slimier objects like fruit with his hands. So I just throw whatever I'm feeding him (here is was plum puree with oatmeal) on his tray and let him go to town. He's surprisingly good at getting the purees into his mouth.

He's obviously not missing many meals.


We've all managed to get sick over the last few days. Mark was the first to fall, then me and G simultaneously. Liam seems to be holding on, but we'll see. I went to Urgent Care this morning because I just knew I had strep throat (I do), and sadly I was excited to go and sit there and read magazines all by myself. They weren't busy, so unfortunately I was out of there in a hour. I only got to read half of my Natural Health! Well, I guess there's always tomorrow at the pediatrician's office...yeah right!

Turn my back for 30 seconds...

And this is what happens. Markers are now hidden in a secret location only to be used under close supervision. Thank goodness they are washable!

Such modesty

Driving down Eastern Parkway tonight, Liam points and says,
"Mommy, that fountain is gorgeous!"
Incredulous, I replied, "Did you say gorgeous?"
"Gorgeous is my middle name, Mommy."

Raindrops keep falling on my head

It has been a wet summer here in the Ohio River Valley. Today was crazy, with two separate severe thunderstorms, one of which dropped an estimated 6 inches of rain over Louisville in one hour. We were very fortunate in these storms. We lost power for a few hours and had some water in our basement, but it's nothing compared to others in the city, some of whom have lost their homes and vehicles. The University of Louisville and Churchill Downs both had several feet of water, and we don't know what kind of damage will be sustained if it keeps raining and the river begins to flood.

Mark has been building a shed in our backyard and his work keeps getting delayed by rain. Hopefully the sun will come out tomorrow and he can get it finished before he goes back to school for an in-service on Thursday. Summer has gone by so fast...I can't believe he's already headed back to school! I feel for him, though I think he's ready to get out of this madhouse and back into a regular routine. Lord knows I am!

I am a lactating jungle gym

Some days in the land of stay-at-home-momdom are rougher than others. It seems like I'm having a lot of rough ones lately...Liam has decided that napping is not for him, both kids are cutting teeth/molars, allergies are rampant because of the mass amounts of rain we've gotten, etcetera, etcetera. I feel like I always have at least one kid hanging off me, while the other one is whining about something they need and/or want.

I'm not intending to ignite a "Mommy Wars" battle here, but there are days when I really just wish I could go to work. At least I could eat lunch in peace. Not that I'm ungrateful, because I feel very blessed and lucky that I get to stay home and spend this time with my kids. I realize that it goes by fast and that I'll never be able to get it back. But there are days when a shower without anyone in the bathroom would be freaking amazing.

Of course, when I'm about to explode, there are moments like these...driving in the car, Liam gets ahold of my Nalgene, opens it up and is pretending that it's Winnie the Pooh's honey pot, sticking his hand all the way in and flinging water all over himself, Grady, and his window. Just when I'm about to give up, he says, "Mommy, I really love you".

Maybe it's not so bad that I haven't bathed today.

Haircut!

I'm attempting to blog more (not that it takes a lot to blog more than I have been) in August. I don't want to make an everyday promise, but I plan to put forth a concerted effort.

Liam got a haircut a few weeks ago, his second. He never really had much hair until he turned two, and then it just sprouted. It was curly and unruly and oh-so-cute, but I didn't want him to turn into Kate Hudson's son, so I caved and got it cut. We went to one of those kid's cut places so he could sit in a car and watch Mickey Mouse while getting the haircut. 5 minutes and $15 dollars later, we were out the door, balloon and sucker in hand. Next time I'll spend $15 on a pair of shears and do the cut myself. I watched her very closely so that I don't have to fork out that kind of cash again.

Liam's curls before...

And the big boy afterward. It made me cry...he suddenly looked old enough to go to college.

We think Grady is going to have hair a little earlier than Liam. Here's a newish photo taken by none other than big bro, Liam.

Bear down

Since Mark has been home this summer, he has taken over the duty of getting Liam down for both his nap and bedtime while I take care of Grady. Occasionally, I hear bits and pieces of their stories and other night time routines, which have come to include singing both the UK and Trinity fight songs (those who know Mark well are undoubtedly shocked by this).

While Mark was busy working outside today, I had to get Liam down for nap for the first time in ages...and I knew that it was inevitable that he ask me to sing the fight songs. Of course, I don't know either one. So I sang the first thing that came into my head, being a child who grew up in the 80's in Chicago: Bear Down, Chicago Bears. I distinctly remember singing this during a Spring Sing at Rockland Elementary in the fourth grade, after the Bears took the Super Bowl in 1985.

Of course, the lyrics were hazy, so tonight before bed time (Mark was still working in the yard...he's building a shed), I googled "Chicago Bears fight song" and found a version done by the Chicago Symphony on YouTube. So I've got Liam on one knee, Grady on the other, watching this video (which consists of a picture of a Chicago "Bear"...literally a bear...holding a Bears flag and flexing his ripping bicep with the music in the background) and singing along. All of a sudden, Grady starts clapping and then Liam follows. It was quite a moment for this former Chicagoan. Mark walked up the stairs just then and saw us all in front of the computer, clapping and singing "Bear Down".

Sweet...it looks like I'm going to give Big Blue some competition after all.