Small Amusements

Last night, I asked Logan what he did in school that day. He tells me he needs a brown shirt. I have trouble connecting those two things, although in the back of my mind I'm thinking this might have to do with the Kindergarten program coming up next week which I've heard nothing about. He goes on to tell me he's going to be a bird and birds wear brown shirts. (Who knew?)He's also going to play the maracas. Aww, how cute. Of course I'll buy him a brown shirt. Just wish I could get confirmation from the teacher that this is necessary.

He also tells me they planted flowers.
Me: Oh really, cool. Where did you plant them? (I'm thinking some kind of child labor work force the school is employing to do some landscaping. )
Logan: In a pot...I'm going to bring it home for Mother's Day.
Me: Hmmm...you think that was supposed to be a surprise?
Logan: No, I just told you.
Me: Oh. My bad.

He cracks me up.

A Day In the Life

• Woken at 7am with Logan telling me the Easter Bunny visited while we were sleeping. Followed that with Gracie climbing into bed with me and giving me a huge scwunch around the neck. Realized I couldn't leave Logan unattended with all the candy that was in his Easter basket. Reluctantly got out of bed.
• Watched as my two children opened every single egg in their baskets. Realized I needed to find an alternative to the constant opening and closing of the eggs or Molly would be eating a lot of jelly beans.
• Opened various candy and treats for the kids. Became amused by the $5 Barbie doll I got for Gracie whose legs didn't bend and sounded like chopsticks when they clicked together. Ah well, she likes the pink hair and butterfly wings.
• Helped Logan put together the Legos he received. Fought hard to resist the urge to do it myself - not because he couldn't, but because I wanted to so bad.
• Decided to make some breakfast, but figured the kids wouldn't want any since they'd had tons of candy, some powdered donuts, and Cheese Its. Proven wrong as Logan ate two helpings of scrambled eggs and three pieces of bacon and Gracie cleared her plate of eggs and ate a piece and a half of bacon. Where the heck do they put it all? Are they purging after every meal? I don't get it.
• Decide to hide Easter Eggs for the kids. This is fun, until we've done it about 100 times. Gracie finally has had enough and we move on to snack time. I think they each eat about 2 or 3 mandaring oranges, some cereal, and a couple more pieces of candy.
• I make peach dump cake, one of mine and Joey's favorites. Don't have to worry about the kids on this one - Logan gagged the first time he ate it and now calls it the "throwup cake." Still tastes good, though.
• Finally start laundry. Don't really feel like doing it though, and am only on the second load as I write this at 9:30 in the evening.
• Put Gracie down for a nap after a small struggle. Think I might need one, too.
• Try to convince Logan that I do want to take a nap, and I don't want to play Monster Jam on the Playstation. I finally win and sleep for about an hour.
• Woken up by Logan telling me daddy needs me. Find Joey sitting on the piano bench because his legs hurt so bad he couldn't make it to the bedroom. Help him to bed so he can take some pain medicine and rest.
• Realize I'm about 15 minutes past when I wanted to put the ham in the oven for dinner. Put presliced ham in a casserole dish, pat it with brown sugar, and pour a can of pineapple chunks over it. Note: did not cover it.
• Grace wakes up from nap. Play with her for a bit, then go upstairs to take a shower. After the shower, help Logan build something different with his Legos, then build a helicopter he already had. Of course, we're now missing pieces. Grace decides she is going to play some strange version of doctor, and proceeds to hit me in the stomach (gently) with all of Logan's play tools, one at a time.
• While getting beaten by Gracie, I realize I should have covered the ham or at least should be basting it. She won't let me up until she's used every one of the tools. Finally make it downstairs to find two hours have flown by, and the top of the ham is scorched. Woops. Set the oven to warm, lay a piece of foil over it, and move on.
• Make awesome mashed potatoes, microwave some frozen Green Giant corn with butter, and enjoy a yummy dinner. Logan eats everything but the pineapple, and a second helping of mashed potatoes. Gracie uses the beater she got to lick after I made the mashed potatoes to eat her food on her plate. This is messy. Will avoid this in the future. She manages to find places to store 3 servings of ham. My children and their appetites never cease to amaze me.
• Go outside for a bit. The kids run around in their bare feet while I pick weeds. Logan falls running down the driveway. He actually managed to not only scrape both knees, but tear a whole in the knee of his pants. He cries like his leg will never work again, but handles the Band Aid version of peroxide that doesn't hurt surprisingly well. Is devastated to learn he still has to take a bath and might have to get his knee wet.
• Gracie melts down right with Logan and tells me she has a boo boo on her knee too. I must kiss it and rinse it just like I did for Logan. If she were a man with a pregnant wife, she would be the person who puts on the sympathy weight.
• Bath time is not fun. Logan doesn't want to get in. Finally coax him in. He wants to stand so as not to risk getting water on his knees. This works, until it's time to wash his hair. He ends up laying a dry washcloth over his knee and propping it up on the edge of the tub, still crying every time water touches the less wounded knee holding him up. Finally get him out, get bandaids on his knees, and get him in his pajamas. Oh the drama.
• Get pajamas on everyone, but need to clip nails - Logan's toes and Grace's fingers. Logan generally fights me on this, so I expect tonight to be especially bad since he's already wounded. Am pleasantly surprised that this is not the case. One of the easiest times ever. Finish his pedicure, give Grace a quick manicure, read some books, and off to bed.
• Now to finish the second load of laundry, finish cleaning the kitchen and start the dishwasher, get Joey's pills ready for the week, get my clothes ready for the morning, and go to bed. Jealous yet?

A Week Off

This past week was Logan's spring break. Instead of figuring out something to do with Logan, my mother in law and two sisters in law offered to watch both kids for the week. This works out well for a number of reasons. The kids get to see all their cousins, which they love because they're all around the same age so they have a great time playing together. The kids get to visit with their grandparents and aunts and uncles, whom they don't see nearly enough. And finally, I get a break. An awesome, week long, much needed break.

We headed out last Saturday about 8:30 and met them in Princeton, WV to drop the kids off. I came back to Charlotte and immediately headed to Target to enjoy some calm, slow, shopping. Sunday morning I inteded to sleep until about 1:00, but woke up at 8:30 and began thinking of the things I wanted and needed to do that day. So I got up, made breakfast, and watched The Dark Night on pay per view. It was good, but the sound quality was terrible. I had to crank up the volume just to hear the actors. I then mowed the grass, vacuumed, and did lots of laundry.

On Monday evening, I watched the championship game of the NCAA tournament. I had trouble deciding who to be for. I had some hometown love for UNC, but if Michigan won I would beat Joey in our bracket challenge. In the end, I was happy UNC won.

I finally watched the Sex and the City movie. It was awesome! I have wanted to watch if forever, but always found a reason to put it off. I finally managed and it was very worth it. I also watched Marley and Me. The whole time I couldn't stop thinking about how much better the book was, until the end when I couldn't stop crying. The end made the movie for me.

I went to three stores by myself, which in my world, is a huge treat. I went grocery shopping at Food Lion, returned a shirt to Old Navy, browsed around Wal-Mart, and visited Target a second time. Oh, and I got a much needed haircut. She cut about 5 inches off and thinned out my thick mane to a manageable degree. I love it. I needed something different and at least I feel like it has some type of style now.

Today, Saturday, I got up and headed out to pick up my kids. They have been wild from the moment they got in the van. I'm not sure if they're extra nuts after their vacation, or if I just need to get readjusted. Whatever it is, I am happy to have them home. Feeling their little arms around my neck and sloppy kisses on my cheek makes any crazy they bring worth it.