It's one of those days

Iain has reached that age. I'm not sure what age I'm referring to, but whatever it is, he seems to have arrived. Here's the running tally for today (and I was actually in the same room for most of these!):

- "wassing disses" at the kitchen sink (a wet but generally harmless favorite past time of his). This morning it apparently required 200+ coffee filters, which I discovered in a sopping heap (thankfully in the sink.)

- Drank and spit out an entire sippy cup of water onto the living room sofa, only discovered by me when I sat down on the wet spot and saw the empty sippy cup on the floor.

- Stripped himself naked during his nap. Thankfully, his crib appears to be unharmed.

-Somehow silently broke open a glass bottle of capers, giving him a nice briney puddle to play in and a snack for Lydia. Thank you Jesus for keeping the glass in 3 large pieces. It doesn't appear like anyone consumed anything harmful.

- Grabbed a stick of butter that I had set on the counter to defrost, unwrapped the top and was found by me in the living room, hiding behind the couch, eating fingerfulls of butter. Did I mention he's allergic? yum.

Any surprise that I walked into the bedroom, where Mark was working from home, and asked if he'd be interested in switching to stay-at-home-dad while I went to work? :)

Fortunately for all involved, I can generally keep my head on straight enough these days to realize that as crazy as these things seem, especially when they follow one after another, they are also what memories are made of. Where would be the great stories, if I didn't have days of wasted coffee filters, wet couches, naked toddlers, capers for snack followed by butter for dessert. Honestly, I love my life. I am very blessed to be able to stay home, raise our children and make our home homey. (On the other hand, it is surprisingly accurate to say that Mark could quit his job, stay home with the kids, I could work three 12-hour days a week as a nurse giving us 4 days a week as a family, and I'd make at least 1.5x what Mark does. Well, there you have it. So, when I'm asked what I do, I can honestly say that I am blessed to stay home. Very blessed. All this made possible because, as Mark's parents very rightly say, we live in "God's economy.")

In case you were wondering how I'm staying sane today, I let Iain watch an episode of "maggot" (Inspector Gadget) so I could get the dishes washed without fear of him teaching himself pyrotechnics when I wasn't looking. He and Lydia are currently sequestered in their cribs, cooing happily, if not softly, at each other while I down my 3rd cup of coffee (you know it's been a day when it's a 3 cup day!).

Falling off the wagon...bump, bump, bump

So, like any diet or lifestyle change, as I'm hoping the case will be, I've fallen off the wagon of my routine. The house still looks O.K., the laundry is getting done a load at a time and the bills are being paid on an ongoing as-needed basis (in otherwords, as they arrive). However, the sheen is gone from the floor, the bathtub has sand in it from a family outing to the beach and the cobwebs are reportedly appearing in the family room windows.

So, like any good dieter, I am ignoring this state of affairs and am blogging while sipping coffee from a beautiful teacup. The tea set was recently given to me after being rescued by a close friend...it's a long story. Anyway, I found it on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Johnson-Brothers-Willow-Blue-Piece/dp/B000VIGF0A/ref=pd_bxgy_k_img_b

Nice, eh? It came to me in all it's original packaging, apparently never having seen the light of day. It's a beautiful blue pattern that goes well with our decor, but not that of my friend's, so she thought of me. Hurray! Not to mention, since I've been married I've wanted a tea set and have had my eyes peeled at Goodwill, particularly for a sugar bowl and creamer. Now I have a whole matching set! I feel like I'm 6 and I need to have a tea party with my dolls. Something tells me Iain and Lydia wouldn't make great tea company, yet. No dolls or truly 6-year-old Betsy's around, so I'm making do with my coffee. I feel so refined. :)

In other news, as you may have heard, "they" say that smell is the sense most strongly linked to memory (or something like that). Some of my favorite "cozy" smells come from my maternal Grandparents' home: coffee and soap. Coffee - check!, Soap - well, no, but I found the smell! - Bath and Body Works "Sea Island Cotton" line. I am addicted to their lotion. I have it sitting in front of me on the table, having just slathered it all over my slightly sun-burned legs (note to self: just because my mexican friend can bake in the sun doesn't mean my freckled self can do the same! - in case you're gasping in horror, I kept 80% of me in the shade and only my lower legs in the sun, hoping to rid myself of my legs' pasty whiteness...I know, I know, just because we're all going to die of cancer doesn't mean I need to pull out the welcome mat. I will be sticking with my sunblock regime from here on out.) Back to the point, Sea Island Cotton - I'm in love. It was also nice that the day we were at B&BW, they were having a sale on their little lotions 3/$10 and also handing out coupons for spend $10, get a large lotion free. Bonus! We must have looked ridiculous, running around with our noses in all sorts of smelly lotions. 4 different lotions and $10 later, we're a happy family. Me esp, with my beloved Sea Island Cotton. I also highly recommend "Japanese Cherry Blossom" for the special occasion. It smells like a date (uh, not the fruit, the get-all-dressed-up-and-go-out-with-your-guy kind). :)

Ah blog, you are a wonderful way to procrastinate. I am sad to say that I really must get back to work. The floors won't shine themselves (espcially now that Lydia's crawling and pulling herself up to stand!!! rather than rolling around). Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Random, for your enjoyment

Lydia, just before she learned to crawl. She now crawls like a pro and at long last she's getting her first tooth! (bottom left center).

Do I have the cutest kids, or what?! Here's my favorite red-head in the entire universe. Sometimes he's so grown-up and sometimes he's still my baby boy.
The past couple weeks have been a wonderful adventure of normal life. We did have 3 house guests for a wedding, recently, but other than that, it's been pretty low-key. I'm getting my head around this whole routine business in such a way that I actually find myself with extra time on my hands. For instance, while the kiddos are napping, I can blog! And last night, after they went to bed I sat in the backyard, sipped some Baileys and watched the stars come out. Blissfull, really.

By the way, for those of you that HATE making a bed as much as I do, I have one awesome word for you: D-U-V-E-T. It's a fantastic invention. I've never been a fan of sheets (fitted sheets being the exception, as I don't know where we'd be without those!), since they inevitably swaddle you in your sleep. I hate waking up finding myself entangled in bedclothes. Duvets solve that problem, as they are comforter and sheet in one. Yes, you have to remove the cover to wash it, but honestly, it's really not so hard to put them back on. And it's heavenly to sleep under. Now, to making the bed, as that was the point. ONE layer. You simply pull it to the 4 corners of the bed, plump the pillows and the bed is DONE....and a made bed really does make a psychological difference. Even I must admit that much.

First ever video upload