and so it starts

Pretty sure I do NOT like the fact that Cayden has figured out what lying is and just how to do it.  At least he has yet to figure out that there are certain things he can lie about that Mama will always be able to tell.  Like when I tell him to pee before we get in the car and 30 seconds later he comes out telling me he did when there was no toilet flush (or even the sound of the lid opening and closing) to back up his story.  Sorry, dude...back to the bathroom. 

Or when he comes out of his room at 6am saying he needs to pee and when I get up to help him realize he is completely naked so I ask "Cayden did you pee in your bed?" To which he quickly replies "No, I just wanted to take my boxers off but don't go in my bedroom."  Mama knows somethings up.  Suspicions confirmed when I wake up again an hour later to find him with new boxers on sleeping on the couch.  Yup, he peed in his bed but the lying on this one is forgiven by the fact that he changed his own clothes and found somewhere to go back to sleep without crying for me to change his bedding. 

when it rains...

As I started writing I realized that my choice for the title of this blog post is really applicable in more than one way.  The first, it has been raining like crazy.  Every-other day it has been raining or pouring or both forcing those of us with nothing but dirt and weeds for a yard to stay inside, find alternative ways to entertain the kids with all of their exploding, "I want to be outside" energy all the while cursing the dogs for tracking mud in the house (like they can help it). 


The second reason for the title, and really the reason why I am writing today in the first place, is that old, cliched but very true statement that "when it rains it POURS."  And I mean, it has been pouring in every way possible.  Between both of our (mine and Jake's) jobs, the kids, the dogs, the rain and all of our awesome parties and celebrations I feel like I am doing everything half way and am forgetting so much. 


To catch up on all the interesting, non-work related happenings...my grandparents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary to be immediately followed (like, the next day) by Harper's first birthday.  More on both of those and lots of pictures later, I promise.  We have had other birthdays, friends over, play dates, movie dates, major grocery shopping that had been put off for weeks, etc.  Finally all the craziness exploded this past Saturday about 10 minutes before Daddy got home from work. 


I drug my poor, sleepy, nap-refusing babies out shopping (to Kohls and Walmart but hey, it still counts) and decided we would run by DQ on our way home.  DQ was their reward since they had actually been pretty good and by pretty good I mean Harper only screamed a few times when she got ger finger pinched in her phone and Cayden sort of stayed by me walking through Kohls as he touched every article of clothing along his side of the aisle as he walked past.  I thought I was being smart by ordering Cayden something with a lid and making up some excuse that would force him to wait until we got home before grabbing his shake.  As I was delivering our shopping loot to their respective rooms I suddenly heard Harper started screaming.  Like someone just cut off my leg (or stole my toy) type of screaming.  I ran out to the living room only to see that she had apparently tried to drink Cayden's shake by tipping it back instead of using the straw and had covered herself (and the floor and couch) in freezing cold chocolate ice cream.  The only solution...the bath tub.  With her in the tub and her too-cute-for-words outfit in the sink soaking off the chocolate ice cream, Cayden decided this is when he needs to poop.  So, I get him all situated on the pot and walk to the closet to grab a towel for the ice cream mess everywhere else just in time for him to tell me he's done.  I get him finished and off the pot only to glance in the tub and see that all too familiar expression on Harper's face.  I left Cayden on the pot and grabbed Harper 30 seconds too late...she had pooped in the tub.  Next came the mad dash to get all the toys out of the tub as fast as possible, followed by getting Cayden off the toilet so I can fish Harper's little mess out of the tub and into the toilet while SHE SCREAMS BECAUSE SHE'S COLD, CAYDEN YELLS THAT HE NEEDS HELP GETTING BATMAN ON HIS MOTORCYCLE AND THE DOGS BARKING TO GET PAST THE GATE TO "HELP" ME CLEAN UP THE ICE CREAM MESS!  Seriously...when it rains it FREAKING pours!

memorial day weekend

Last weekend the kids and I packed, loaded up the stroller and our "pack-packs" with activities and necessities and we headed to North Carolina for a short, three day vacation.  To say that I was a little nervous about flying alone with both kids for the first time and with Harper's first plane ride is an understatement.  But, as I was packing our suitcases and carry-ons I made the decision to ignore any nasty or annoyed looks from other travelers, to stay calm and just do what I need to do in order to get myself and the kiddos from point A to point B.  And I actually managed to do just that.  I didn't worry about the people behind us in the security line that were annoyed because I had so many items (including my huge double-stroller that saved my freaking sanity by having it along).  I didn't care that all the looks I got from other travelers, both on my planes and in the airports, were a mixture of pity for the Mama traveling alone with two young kids and annoyance that they have to occupy the same space as my kids.  It just didn't matter to me and I did get help from some very nice people when I needed to get Harper, a dead asleep Cayden and all of our stuff off the plane.  What did matter is that we were going to see Pop, SuSu, Uncle Addy and Unci Bun. 

Cayden and I had been counting down the number of days until airplane day and when it finally came, it did not disappoint him one little bit.  He was so excited to get to ride on the airplane and was his usual ROCKSTAR self while traveling.  I swear I can take him anywhere, any time, by any means of travel and he will keep himself entertained or fall asleep.  It's awesome.

Harper really didn't understand much of what was going on other than we were in all kinds of new places and that she got to ride in the stroller with Cayden a lot.  She used our time in the Chicago airport to practice walking and it paid off.  Our baby girl is an official walker and she looks pretty cute doing it because she's so little.  She made eyes at all the other travelers and did pretty well on her first plane trip despite the fact that she HATES sitting still for any length of time.  She also decided that there was too much going on for her to sleep and so she cried for the last 20 or so minutes of our last flight into Raleigh and then proceeded to fall asleep as soon as we got off the plane and into the stroller. 

In between all of the traveling craziness we got to have an amazing weekend filled with swimming, playing on the beach, fondue at The Melting Pot and a trip to the NC Aquarium.  The kids had a blast.  Harper LOVES the beach and Cayden wasn't afraid of the waves for the first time.  The aquarium was great and just getting to see the kids' faces with all these new experiences made my heart burst. 

waiting for our first plane

This is how he looked on all of our flights.  Rented iTunes movies and an iPad are the BEST!