What a stinky post

Someone needs a stinkin' thesaurus

I'm not sure if you can read between the stinky lines here, but there is a stinky word that our stinky five and a half-year-old keeps saying that is really starting to get old and stinky. I have heard other friends laugh at this stinky stage, but it is awfully trying at times (not to mention a little stinky). However, to our older son, this stinky routine is so much stinkin' fun. Please tell me this stinky stage will be over soon before I lose my stinkin' mind after hearing ten rounds of this stinky version of "Old MacDonald":

Old MacStinky had a stinky
Stinky, stinky, stink
And on his stinky
He had a stinky
Stinky, stinky, stink
With a stink, stink here
And a stink, stink there
Here a stink
There a stink
Everywhere a stink, stink
Old MacStinky had a stinky
E-I-E-I-Stink!

Do you like my stinky silly face?!?

I became deliriously stinky tonight in the stinky car after hearing this stinky version and only added fuel to the stinkin' fire with my stinky laughter. I guess it could be stinkin' worse!

Flashback Friday: Ken and Kristin (1973)

My brother would have turned 41 yesterday, January 22nd. I added a special post to his memory blog in honor of his birthday. This is my favorite picture of us, even though it is a little out of focus and it has a hole in it where I stuck a thumbtack through it to put it on my bulletin board when I was little. It makes it even more special because it was a favorite of his, too.

Tonight he's going potty like it's 2009

Yay, Pumpkin!

We have hit a major milestone in our household. On Friday, I picked up the boys and was given some great news: Pumpkin used the potty!!! I was pretty surprised since I have not really been working on this with him. We have talked about it, and he has accompanied most of us to the bathroom on occasion, but after a rough potty training period with Peanut, my mantra was: He will use the potty when he is good and ready. Fortunately, he has been positively influenced by our wonderful daycare provider and by a little boy who just turned three and is actively learning.

So, with so much pomp and circumstance over his first pee in the potty, he did it again the next day and the next day. A few times this weekend he has told us he needed to go and he wasn't able to complete the mission, but I told him how very proud I was of him for trying. While I was reading him his nighttime books last night, in the middle of a (non-potty) story, he looked me in the eyes and said out of the blue, "Mommy, I peed in the potty!" I said, "I know, Pumpkin! I'm so proud of you!" When Pumpkin was an infant, he flapped his arms like he was imitating a bird learning to fly, and he still does this when he gets really excited; my mom said I did that, too (apparently, I have grown out of that, though, thank you very much). Anyway, every single time he talked about using the potty, he did his arm flappy thing. It makes me teary that he is so proud of himself! In fact, in the midst of going, he was yelling, "I did it! I am peeing in the potty!"

Just to keep the enthusiasm going, I have slowly pulled out my potty pack: Peanut's old favorite potty DVD called Potty Power (which I highly recommend to any other parent going through the process), another classic potty video called Once Upon a Potty and two books: Too Big for Diapers and The Potty Book for Boys. (However, I draw the line at ordering these guys.) I have decided that when he says he isn't interested, I am not going to push. He seems totally thrilled with these new books and shows right now, so I have used them as a way to reward him for doing such a good job. But he didn't expect anything even though he received a lollipop at daycare the first time he went. In fact, he hasn't asked for any sort of reward at all; he was so proud, I think that just actually doing it was enough of a thrill. Anyway, keep your fingers crossed for me that he will be much easier than his older brother and that this enthusiasm will not wane anytime soon.

Gotta go...it's time to potty! :)

Flashback Friday: A Bumbo and a Big Brother

My husband and I were talking tonight that even when Peanut is whiny and tired and pushes every single button we own, we are still so proud of him. He is such a good big brother to Pumpkin. I remember writing in our first Christmas letter after Pumpkin was born that nothing in the world makes our baby light up like his big brother. Probably like all moms who already have at least one child, I was so concerned about Peanut's adjustment to having a baby brother. I was so worried he would think we had betrayed him. But he loved his little brother right from the start. Even now, Peanut uses a different tone of voice when he is trying to explain something to his little brother or when he is telling him something fun they can do together. And whenever his big brother is out of the room, Pumpkin immediately wants to know where he is. They already have their own little songs and words that make them laugh until they get the hiccups. When they tell each other out of the blue that they love one another -- even right after they were fighting over Peanut's Leapster -- I can't help but stand back and smile. We are truly blessed.

I am a big dork (times 100)

Okay, so I had it all planned out. I was going to have this amazing post for my 100th POST and blow everyone's socks off. It was going to be spectacular and grand. I have seen many other blogs celebrating their 100th, 200th, and even 300th posts, and I was looking forward to it. I would have more comments on my 100th post than ever before because it was gonna be so original and fun.

Well, guess what? I am a big dork...that's what.

I forgot.

I blame it all on my overzealous love of scrapblog, by the way. That, and the Superstar Blogger MckMama fans who flocked over here without any warning on the day she linked her blog -- one that frequents thousands of hits per day -- to my modest little blog. I got so caught up with my excitement over my new header that I had to post about it right away. And that's not like me. I am a planner who overthinks and analyzes most everything. And do you know where that got me? I wrote a post about my happy new header, and I didn't think for a minute about that super duper post I was going to write next for my 100th post. You know, the one I should have gotten all those comments about.

So, then a funny thing happened. On the post that was my 100th that I didn't remember was my 100th, I got 25 comments. Which -- if you remember from this plea on my blogiversary -- is almost twice as many comments as I have ever had on any one post.

And I owe it all to my sudden spontaneity about scrapblog.

Oh, and maybe to MckMama, too. ;)

Are you getting tired of me saying "scrapblog" yet? Yeah, me neither. But I promise my next post will have pictures of my sweet boys and no mention of the above word. I guess I better work on weaning myself off of it.

Honestly, I can't believe I have written (over) 100 posts!

Thanks to my wonderful readers for reading them.

You say the word "addicted" like it's a bad thing...

So, last night, instead of what I was supposed to be doing again (which may or may not have involved warm blankets and dreaming), I couldn't resist creating another header in scrapblog for my other blog. For those who don't know, I began a blog last February to honor my brother's memory called Remembering Ken. (To read how I lost my brother, click here. But first, grab some tissues -- just in case.) I cannot get over how easy it was to make this second header now that I sort of know what I am doing! It only took about twenty minutes to make it from start to finish, and I played around with many different options before I settled on a design. But now what am I going to do?!? I better start making up new blogs just so that I can make some new headers. :) Lucky for me, you can also make photo books, greeting cards, and calendars on scrapblog. And no, scrapblog is not paying me a dime, nor do they probably realize they have created the greatest...site...ever. (Hmmm...Maybe my next blog should be called SBA: ScrapBloggers Anonymous.)

Anyway, head on over to my only other blog (for now) and let me know what you think of the new header. I'm sure you can guess where I'll be in the meantime. :)

A New Year and a New Look

UPDATE: Due to popular demand, I have included directions at the bottom of this post. Honestly, I almost posted a how-to, but I figured that many people are much more technologically adept than I am. Also, I posted this before I even knew that MckMama had linked to me and that I would have brand new visitors. So, if you're a MckMama fan as well, welcome! I'm so glad so many of you like the scrapblog as much as I do!

I'm so excited! I finally have a real header on this blog. Instead of doing what I was supposed to be doing tonight, I chose to play around with this amazing website that someone recommended to me. Thank you, Beaver Bunch!!! She informed me that scrapblog.com allows you to make headers and downloadable scrapbook creations all free! And free is the right price for me. I was seriously considering paying a professional to make me a pretty header, but as an admitted creative control freak, I loved being able to create it all by myself. I just had to share this in case anyone else was interested. Let me know what you think!

Directions for adding your scrapblog header to your blog:
1) Click "publish" when you are finished with your header. (You can publish publicly or privately -- no one else will see your design on their site if you choose to publish privately.)
2) Click "No, thanks" when the pop-up asks if you would like to share your scrapblog with others on the site. (Don't click "view scrapblog" yet.)
3) In the upper left corner, click on "File" and then click "Export as JPEG."
4) Click "Download" on the page you want to use as your header, and save as you do your other photo images.
5) Then, after your scrapblog has downloaded, open your blog and go to the layout tab in Blogger.
6) Click on your header's "edit" link.
7) Then upload your image (you may need to check "shrink to fit") and save it! Voila!

Hope that helps everyone! Let me know if you have any other questions, and thanks again to the Beaver Bunch for helping me and introducing me to this cool site! :)

It's over already?

Attention All Readers: If you haven't commented on my last trying-to-break-my-own-comment-record-post, it's not too late! Please add your comment below. Thanks a bunch to those of you who obliged with such nice things to say.

Do you guys wish Christmas was a lot longer as much as I do? I felt the same way last Christmas (as I documented here), so I guess it's one of my many issues. I just feel like we spend so much time in preparation for the big day, and afterwards, it's on to New Year's. Not that we don't spread out the fun over here; we have three sets of grandparents who want to have Christmas with us, which is a great way to continue the spirit. But I am so disappointed when the same radio stations who broadcast nothing but holiday music starting on the day after Thanksgiving refuse to keep those songs playing after midnight on Christmas and I hear Fall Out Boy for the billionth time instead on December 26th. Don't other people besides me want to enjoy Christmas music longer than that?

Oh, well. Here are some of the highlights of our holidays. Hope yours were just as happy!

Peanut showing Rudolph some love

Peanut showing Pumpkin some love

A little excited for Santa to come

Peanut's gingerbread house he made in his kindergarten class. He ate some of it before it came home and one of the walls was falling off, but it did survive a bookbag walk home, after all.

Our family attempt at a gingerbread house. It's certainly not Martha Stewart or nowhere near Adrienne's masterpiece, but the boys really liked it and we had a good time creating it. By the way, remind me next year to cut an even smaller slit in the icing package. You can always make it bigger, Kristin!

Aerial view of the House of Gs

Anyone excited that it's Christmas Eve?!? Anyone?

One of Peanut's favorite gifts...a Christmas Edition Buzz Lightyear

Peanut was so sentimental about getting this talking Larry Boy plush from the Veggie Tales (that turns inside out back into Larry the cucumber), he said that even when he is a grown-up, he never wants to sell it at a yard sale. :)

Leave it to Pumpkin to enjoy the $1.99 M&M fan from his stocking as much as all of his toys.

Happy "brudders" as Pumpkin says

And finally...our beautiful Christmas tree in our garden room

Okay, that may not actually be our Christmas tree. But we did go to see it. And we did take pictures of it (along with hundreds of other people who apparently also wanted the Christmas spirit to continue even though it was a few days after Christmas). Hope you allow the Christmas spirit to linger in your hearts a little longer than the calendar suggests as well, and hope all of you had a wonderful holiday season.

Happy anniversary to me

Happy First Anniversary to Peanuts and Pumpkins!

(Can you tell they are excited about it?!?)

It's a bit hard to believe, but today marks my first anniversary of this blog. It's a bit funny to me that prior to one year ago, I never thought about whether parts of my life were"blog-worthy," and I certainly didn't have the creative outlet that I have found through blogging. A few years ago, I thought the word "blog" itself was a bit strange, and I falsely assumed that the people who had them must be somewhat self-important. I have since embraced term and the other blogs which I frequent have brought me both laughter and friendship throughout this past year.

So, in honor of my anniversary, I would like to thank each and every one of you who visit my blog. Whether you ended up here on accident, you read habitually and never comment, or you are one of my faithful commenters, please leave a comment if you are reading this. According to my Stat Counter, there are more visitors here than there are commenters, which is okay by me. I used to be a "lurker" myself and rarely commented on the blogs I read until I felt comfortable. But now is your chance! Let me know you were here and how you got here (if you remember). Feel free to also comment about anything else you want. Just comment! And if you have a blog, I promise to visit and comment, too. Let's see if you can beat the highest record of comments I have had on any one post: 13. I know you can! I have faith in my readers. :) And if you are a blog novice like I used to be, never fear. I have instructions on how to comment here.

Now let the comments begin! (And the thanks will most certainly follow!)

My Christmas Chipmunk

For your viewing pleasure, here is Pumpkin imitating a famous chipmunk. He is feeling much better now, thank you very much.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

'Twas the Night Before Christmas Eve*

*unfortunately, this is a true story

'Twas the night before Christmas Eve
When all through our house
Many creatures were still stirring
Daddy even caught a mouse. (Eeew!)

Little Pumpkin was sent home early
From his family daycare
And Daddy hoped that Mommy
Soon would be there.

For while the children were napping
All snug in their beds
Evidence of Pumpkin's illness
Was there on his threads.

On his clothing, his mittens
His coat and his cap,
We knew the stomach bug
Had lived way past his nap.

We tried to offer light food
When he wanted to eat
But he said it tasted funny
Even his very favorite treat.

After a bath and some books
Bedtime drew near
I sang him his lullaby
And said, "I love you, my dear."

A few hours later
I heard sad toddler chatter
I jumped up from giftwrapping
To see what was the matter.

Pumpkin sat up in his crib
And he started to cry
He had gotten sick once again
The poor little guy.

When I finally decided
To get to into my bed
I was feeling uneasy
"So much to do," I said.

But at four in the morning
I flew to the bathroom door
All of the sudden it just hit me
Thank goodness for linoleum floor.

I had to write lesson plans
Since I couldn't go to work
And Eric got a mop
While I felt like a jerk.

I'm no good with stomach bugs
The sight makes me faint
One more reason I am grateful
I married a true saint.

And I heard Eric exclaim
As he walked out of sight,
"I'm sleeping in the guest room,
Until you're all right!"

Surprise! It's not your birthday...

Tim, Eric, Rick, and Ray

So, speaking of my husband (well, we were -- last week, anyway), I would never want you to think that I didn't bring my A-game for his big milestone day. I wanted to surprise him, but having thrown him a surprise 30th birthday party, I really didn't want to do the same kind of thing. Plus, we have two little children now, so I was not about to have a party here while they attempted to sleep. So I had to come up with something original, special, and out of the house. Not an extremely easy feat, I promise you.

It all started clicking when Eric saw that one of his very favorite comedians would be performing in our area late September. I told him I would take him to dinner and buy the tickets for him as an early birthday present and that I would ask his mom (a.k.a. Gemma) to babysit. As far as he knew, that was his big birthday bash. But he was wrong.

My husband rarely gets to see his best friends from high school and college since we don't live near them. All of them are scattered around several different states. That goes for his younger brother as well; he is the captain of a ship, so he is always traveling. We hardly ever get to see any or all of them, so to have them in the same place at the same time to celebrate Eric's big day with us would just be a wonderful gift, right? So, I invited all of them to meet us at the restaurant and come to the show with us. And after all, I was trying to do something memorable for his big day. Original? Check. Special? Check. Out of the house? Check.

I wish you could have seen his face when he saw his best out-of-town friends and his brother yell, "Surprise!" when we came into the restaurant. Especially since it was over two months until his actual birthday. But hey, that's a minor detail, I figured. Besides, getting everyone together in December would have proven to be much more difficult. So, surprise, Honey! It's your birthday party two months early. No wonder he never suspected a thing.

All of us at dinner

(Yes, I am making another rare appearance on my own blog.)

The show was one of the funniest I think I have ever seen. You may not know who Patton Oswalt is by name, but you may know him from television shows such as "The King of Queens" and from his voice-over work as the main character, Remy, in the children's film, Ratatouille.

Patton Oswalt

I had contacted the manager of the theater months in advance to set up a "meet and greet" with Patton, and after explaining the special night I had planned for Eric, she seemed on board to try and make that happen. My directions were to find Ms. Very Important by the stage right ushers when I got there to learn if Patton had agreed to meet with us. The manager seemed optimistic when she called earlier that afternoon, so I admit that my hopes were high. So you can imagine that I was a bit annoyed when Ms. Very Important said that Patton wasn't feeling well, but he would sign a program for Eric. Boo! I was truly disappointed and figured he was blowing us off because we were lowly Delaware peons. No, it turns out that he was so sick that at times he joked that he was coughing up different lifeforms. He even took his medication on stage because "it was time." By this time, he had totally gained my respect back even though he wouldn't see us; I was surprised that anyone would continue on with a show who was that obviously ill. And anyway, serious flu germs weren't on the list of items I had planned to get Eric for his birthday.

Outside of the theater

So, there you have it, folks. This was my big tribute to my wonderful husband's 40th birthday evening. Yeah, I am posting this a little late. But since I surprised him two months early, now that I am writing about it two months later makes it all even out, don't you think?

Flashback Friday: Christmas 2006

We parents all know the drill. Sometime in November, we find the perfect matching or coordinating outfits (or -- depending on your level of perfectionism -- the perfect outfit that is currently not in the dirty laundry) for our little ones, and then we proceed to act like complete idiots. And by we, I of course mean the fathers of the family. At least that's the drill in this family; I am the picture-taker and my husband is the smile-maker. However, I had only had to acquire "the perfect holiday picture" with one toddler before the one below. I realized I would have my work cut out for me with a three and a half-year-old and an eight month-old, but I had no idea. Most of the pics of Pumpkin had his ubiquitous drool dripping down his chin. And Peanut had no problem showing his boredom at the entire process after just a few shots. After this attempt, we did seek professional [photography] help. But I'm sure my husband would have agreed to professional help of the other persuasion if he heard me utter, "Just one more shot, Honey" while he continued his best monkey impression for shot #82.

Below is the cream of the crop from 2006. And frankly, after looking through all of the "rejects," I had no idea how increasingly difficult it would become to get good shots when they became their current ages of two and a half and five and a half. Even the ones we vetoed back in the below shoot look fairly decent next to the ridiculous faces Peanut has now decided are more fun, and the drool of Pumpkin's yesteryear has now been replaced by a constant runny nose (which is even less forgivable when captured on film). But thank heaven for matching sweaters and hats. Those outfits really do make all of the frustration of getting a semi-respectable picture worth the hassle.



Did you get a Christmas picture of your family or children this year? I'd love to hear about it. And by the way, those of you with more than two children who send a Christmas photo where all children are looking in the same direction immediately get my vote for sainthood.

Flashback Friday: My Hubby

Look at that cute little baby face. Today is a big day for that little boy below; it is his birthday. And it's not just any birthday. It's a milestone birthday. Most people would never believe it if I told them how old he is. I mean, look at that sweetheart. How old could he possibly be?



Well, I'll give you some hints: He is old enough to be married with two children. No help? Okay, he grew up playing Atari, he listened to AC/DC as a teenager, and he still loves the television show, M*A*S*H. He is also older than I am (sorry, Hon, I had to throw that in there). But it doesn't matter; he still has that cute baby face all these years later. I picture us walking hand in hand when we're in our eighties and people thinking I caught myself a younger man.

So go ahead and leave a comment and guess how old my wonderful husband is today. And if you wanna give him a birthday present, visit his blog and leave him a comment, too. I'm sure that would make his big day even better!

Define "gift"...

Since it is now the gift-giving season, I thought I would share with you a gift I recently received in the mail. Remember when you were a teenager and all of the mail came for your parents? Remember how exciting it was to get a real, honest-to-God letter addressed to you? Or better yet, a surprise package with your name on it in the midst of all those credit card statements and junk mail for your dad? That's how I felt when I found this adorable addition to my own bill-filled mailbox. It did not have a company name on the return label -- simply an address. But it came in such a cute floral and polka-dotted box that I felt sort of silly because I was so anxious to see what was inside.

I really should have known better. But after all, I am an optimist. I try not to be cynical. I should have noticed that symbolically colored dot in the exclamation point. But I didn't. I just curiously opened the package, awaiting my surprise and the fitting gift just for me.

And what a cute play on words! I'm always up for a good pun. Fit to be tried! Hey, that's punny, right? So, what is this surprise that I can try? New shampoo? Body lotion? Cute miracle trouser socks that will make my feet hurt less at the end of each day? I opened the package with anticipation.

Ummmm...you are kidding, right?!?!? THIS is what passes as a "gift" these days? I mean, I know that times are tough, but seriously? Hmmph. Well, I guess I won't be re-gifting this one. All I know is it truly is better to give than to receive.

And just in case you are feeling like you just can't find that perfect present for someone, you will know that -- unless you give the one pictured above -- your gift-giving efforts are bound to be more appreciated than this "gift" was.