little stinker

Little man had a friend over to play last night so Daddy-o and I could have a date.  I know this is the story of parenting, but Lofton and I always enjoy date night so much, say we are going to do it more often, and then let six months pass by.... I digress.  


Reese's friend was not actually a peer, it was Holland.  She has fully recovered from having her tonsils out and I am oh-so-happy.  Reese loves her and we 100% trust her.  Such a nice feeling.


I gave Holland specific instructions before I left on how to bathe Reese because that's not usually I job I leave her to do.  I have irrational fears about him drowning in two inches of water.


We got home about eight and Reese was sound asleep.  She recapped playing in the tent, reading a zillion books, and dancing to the guitar.  She is seriously a toddler's dream girlfriend.


This morning I woke Reese up from a deep slumber and plopped him on the changing table.  {I detest the smell of morning tinkle by the way.  It is toxic to my senses.}  While lying on the table we had a little conversation and it went something like this:


Me:  Did you have fun with Holland last night?
Reese:  Uh huh good.
Me:  Did you play?
Reese:  Uh huh.  And hair in bath.
Me:  Oh she washed your hair in the bathtub!  Did you splash her?
Reese:  Uh huh.  And I poop in tub.


Hold up..... you what????


Unfortunately when I got to school I was confronted with the embarrassing truth.  My son did, in fact, poop in the tub last night.  Holland called Janet to see what she should do.  It was actually a good thing she didn't call me because he's NEVER done that to me before.  Ever.  Sweet girl scooped it out with a disposable cup, then cloroxed the tub.  


Have I mentioned I love her?  I do.  Teen angst and all.  And this child of mine?  I mean I have laughed out loud ALL DAY at how he confessed on the changing table this morning.  He is the perfect mix of sass and humor.  


Little stinker.

he loves me...

Separation anxiety.  Google that plus “toddler” and prepare to be amazed at the number of results that pop up.  

For us, its kind of like the tide—it ebbs and flows.  Sometimes Reese really likes us {like won’t let us leave the room without him}, other times not so much {bye Mama… check you later}.

It’s both perplexing and strangely normal all at the same time.  Bi-polarism is evidently a strong trait in toddlers, too.

This week has been a doozy though.  Maybe it’s Reese re-adjusting to school, or maybe it’s his terrible two side rearing its head, I’m not sure.  I do know that I’ve heard the phrase “hold me mama” at least 1000 times this week.  The first 565 I was happy to oblige, but now?  I’m a little tired… I mean have you seen the size of this kid?  I’m no body builder.

Reese is quite particular about this holding thing. Wednesday night I suggested it might be more comfortable if I held him while sitting down.  He said “No mama.  Hold right there.” And then walked to a specific tile on the kitchen floor and pointed. 

He also uses "hold me, mama" to get himself out of trouble.  Caught doing something he isn't supposed to be... "hold me, mama, i sorry."  When he hits me {or worse, bites me}... "hold me, mama, i sorry."  I mean how can you get mad at that?

Whew, this parenting thing is exhausting.

the bunny hop

I’ve privately lamented the fact that little man doesn’t have any soft attachments.  No lovey blankets, no cuddly stuffed animals, no soft or squishy anything.  Just me—the kid is super attached to me. 

I even went as far as to ask Lofton {and okay our pediatrician} if this was normal child behavior.  For pete’s sake, I still sleep with my childhood blanket {keep your snickers to yourself} and lots of kids I know have stuffed animals or blanket they can’t sleep without. 

Was Reese abnormal?

Fear no longer, friends, Reese now has some cuddly animals he won’t sleep without!  Meet our rabbits:  Peter is on the left and our blabla bunny is on the right. 

Peter was a baby shower gift and blabla bunny was picked out for Reese {when he was still in utero} by my mom in Savannah, Georgia {when we traveled there for Cassie’s wedding}.  We didn’t even know he was a he at the time!

The bunnies have lived in Reese’s crib for two years—he never paid any attention to them—until about a week ago.  Now he sleeps with them every night. 

My still-attached-to-my-own childhood-lovey heart is so full right now!

thing one and thing two

Escape artists.  That’s what our dogs have turned into.  After three years of blissful backyard living, they’ve decided they no longer like having free reign of our humongous, dog-park sized backyard.  Nope… they’ve tasted freedom and want some more.  And they are hell bent on digging out to get it.


What’s a family to do?


Well, to be quite honest we aren’t sure.  We’ve entertained ideas of surrounding the fence in chicken wire {so attractive}, looked at encasing the perimeter of the fence in cement blocks {can you say prison?}, and priced having an electric fence put in {ching, ching… expensive}.  Leaving them inside all day just isn’t feasible. 


Today, they are locked up like little Rapunzels in the laundry room.  They’ve got room to move, food, and their bed.  A plus for me is that there is nothing easily accessible for them to shred.  You see Jake has a tendency to get chew happy when left in containment.  A negative is that we really hate to see them cooped up all day. 


This is only a semi-permanent solution to what looks to be an continuing problem…


Solutions anyone?

bathroom reno-part six: progress or lack there of

Work on the bathroom came to a grinding halt three weeks ago.  Not much of anything productive has gone on since the plague descended upon us... no grading papers, no cleaning, hardly any cooking.  BUT, I'm happy to report the plague has lifted, and work has resumed on our bathroom.  


In an effort to expedite the progress, I even got in on some painting action.  This tells you two things:  One, Lofton is desperate because I have the painting skills of a kindergartner. Two, I really, really want this project o.v.e.r. -- like yesterday. Hell, I'd even let Reese paint.


I'll spare you the photographs of my painting work until Lofton "touches up" my mistakes.  Instead, how about a picture of our tile selections?  You see, like most women I can be a little bit indecisive sometimes.  We thought we had a tile scheme picked out, but then I had three weeks to ponder my selections, and I changed my mind.  


Two trips to the "depot" {Reese's new favorite place} and one to Lowes later, I present to you my final choices:

The floor tile is not as pink as it appears in the photo, nor is the countertop as white, but you get the idea.  Now the tile man just has to get tiling...


What's that you hear?  The sound of me cracking my whip.  Just kidding!

i don't make this stuff up

Reese and I made a pilgrimage to Target this morning for laundry detergent and diapers.  Two guesses as to why we are running low on those specific items. Moving on...


I took the backwards loop around Target so I could causally peruse the clothes section.  The clothes happen to be right across from the lingerie section, and a this is where our story begins::


Reese:  Look Mama, bra.
Mama:  Yep, it is.
R:  Bra for boobs.
M:  Umm, yes.
R:  Mama boobs. Bra Mama boobs.
At this point he is POINTING at my chest.  And there are people around.
M:  Reese, I'm not really sure this is an appropriate conversation for Target.
R:  Bra, Bra, Bra ... boobs, boobs, boobs.  Mama bra, Mama boobs.  Emu bra, Emu boobs. {side note:  Emu is now what Reese calls my mom}


And there you have it.  The first of what I'm sure will be many embarrassing moments for me.

fall break field trip

Sweet boy's life has been pretty stinky lately.  He's on a very limited diet and he can't play with any of his friends at school.  Bummer.

We did make the pilgrimage down south for Brittany's wedding, and it was fun and fabulous.  She was stunning, the venue was gorgeous, and - thanks to my parents - Lofton and I got to spend a few adult hours with friends.

My parent's braved the possibility of getting sick by changing diapers and cuddling with the whiniest {but still stinkin cute} 2 year old ever. Thanks emu & buck.

I will say that Reese is much, MUCH better.  He still has the yuckies but we are leaps and bounds ahead of where we were this time last week.  I think he's actually starting to like almond milk, but he is missing cheeseburgers and fruit snacks.  Unfortunately most of his favorite foods are not on the salmonella diet plan.     Pretzels, crackers, toast, peanut butter, syrup-less waffles, and scrambled eggs are though.  Yummy.


Yesterday I was hell-bent to take a family trip to the pumpkin patch.  It was going to be fantastic: pumpkins, tractors, hay = adorable pictures.  I ordered Reese a shirt specifically for this occasion.  And then he had the fall... and then the salmonella... but my plans were not to be stopped.  


We made a trip to the "c-list" pumpkin patch.  Truthfully, it was not all I dreamed it to be, but I'm well accustomed to my "super plans" being not so super.  

my dreams of a hay bale photo aren't going to come true

Much like a christmas tree farm adventure last year, the pumpkin patch was pretty anti-climatic.  And, my charming toddler likes to yell "no Mama" as loud as he possibly can while I take his picture.  Like I'm the paparazzi and he's Justin Bieber.  Whatever, Reese.

"yeah okay I'll hold the pumpkin but I am NOT smiling"

I did manage one cute photo.  Reese was totally unimpressed by the pumpkins and hay BUT he did love throwing dirt.

And with that, our pumpkin patch experience was over.