Things I never dreamed I'd say....

Don't put Eli's paci in your eye.
Keep your clothes on in the library.

Potty talk

What's a mom blog, without some mention of BM's?

Have you ever been traveling and been appalled at gas station bathrooms? As frequent road warriors, it is something we often face. A few observations: Why do preschoolers always HAVE to poop when the only thing within miles is a rank and dusty truck stop? Ollie likes to take his time in these places. Despite my constant nagging, he puts his hands everywhere on the potty and seems to successfully contaminate his entire body. If your booty is small, you have to use your hands to balance, you see. I, myself, prefer the hover, but I cannot hold a three-year-old up for eternity. We have used a potty seat, but that just means that a common house hold tool also has been in the pit, so to speak. He also comments on everything in the bathroom from the writing on the wall to inquiries about every sound coming from the adjacent stall. I have had to sing in a public restroom before to help him along. On our last trip, we stopped for the 14th time at a gas station that fits the previous description, and after about 10 straight minutes of discussing the grey, wet tiles, I lifted his cheek to find a clean bowl. He was stalling or pretending to have to go the entire time! Maybe he really did have to go, but froze up faced with such ambiance. At any rate, I was faced with the reality that we would probably have to stop again at another equally glamorous venue within the next hour so that he could take care of business. Ugh!! Not to be too graphic, but whenever I go, it seems my face is directly in a trash can, fake plant that is being used as an ash tray (um, gross to those of you who are so relaxed as to have a cig while on that gas station potty), or if it happens to be a port-a-potty, in a urinal. So as you can imagine, I prefer to hold number 2 until we reach a more suitable location, but I am suspicious that the younger member of our family actually is intrigued by the novelty of it all.

S is for Super and the U is for Unique.....

This is a picture of Ollie last October. Since then he has grown about 12 feet, yet he still LOVES this costume. He will wear it everywhere and all day. This costume seems to make strangers so very happy. He gets the biggest grins when he wears it to the grocery store or the community center. Never yet has he seen a Superman cartoon, but he knows a lot about this superhero. Once, I looked into his big eyes of wonder and had a similar conversation: “I want to fly.” “Me, too, buddy, but people can’t fly.” “But Superman can fly.” “Yes, but he is a superhero, and superheroes are pretend.” “NO THEY AREN’T! THEY ARE REAL!!” (Imagine this said emphatically, knowingly, and with the paten O-Ray scowl.) He wore it, sadly for the last time this week. I had to put my foot down. The legs now only cover his knees and his, um, how shall I put this, his super parts were being cramped in the costume. He wore it one last day, everywhere we went, and then bid farewell to it as if it were a friend promising it to Eli when the time comes.

Sports Mania

I have been meaning to post these pics of the little man playing some sort of sport. It's the latest craze. Croquet mallet, basketball, baseball glove wearing, knee pad & arm pad, skating, and calling it hockey kind of game. I love imagination, and for the record, skates work best on carpet if you are not an expert.

Pictures from La Playa (see complete story below)

Our spot

The Beach
Our home
Some strange kid with just a head
Punk- rock dude

La Playa

We've just returned home from a near perfect vacation to South Carolina. Normally, we vacation at the Gulf Coast, specifically Destin. But we decided to try something new and at the last minute settled on Surfside Beach because it was the only available condo we could find. It turned out wonderfully. Mom went with us so Evan and I got to spend some time together one-on-one. We did all the usual beach stuff: buried O-Ray up to his neck in the sand, ate boiled shrimp, boogie boarded, played paddle ball while drinking cervezas before noon, and came home with suntans and sand in every crevasse of everything we own. Eli had a great time as well. We slathered him in sunscreen and no less than 5 minutes after hitting the beach he would roll his face in the sand. Usually his nose ran, too due to the salty air. So though no one really wanted to touch him until he had his bath, he hung in! By far the best beach purchase ever for us fair skinned white folks was the easy-up shown above. It really made all the difference between sun burn and sun tan!

"A...B...Señor"

Ollie thought the above was a hysterical joke, and I have to admit, I do too! Again one of his crazy quotes. Señor for those of you who don't know, is our dog. He is so named not in relation to my Spanish interests as he has been around for longer than my college days. His name was chosen from this song. He is in doggy retirement in the country at my dad's house, where he now lives. So in a sense, we did drop him off in the country. He is extremely happy there. I know because my father makes me talk to him on the phone when I call. To the dog. On the phone. Now that is a little sillier than talking to a two year old on the phone, but I digress.

More sleep discussion: Ollie apparently had been playing with the alarm clock in Eli's room, so around mid-night last night, I heard a loud buzzing noise coming from Eli's room. I thought that I had diffused the situation without waking the baby and re-snuggled myself into bed. About 5 minutes later, I heard the same obnoxious tone, and realized that I had just pushed the snooze button. I had to go back into the lion's den, turn the damn thing off, and then resume sleep. Add that disturbance to the other wakings and I fear my end is not yet in sight! These children are so very perfect, that I fear I'll have nothing to complain about when they start sleeping.

"I like watermelon pie" and tales of the reluctant co-sleeper

Ollie says lots of interesting things throughout his day, and the above was stated just as randomly as the title itself seems. He may be the author of all of titles from here on out. Just so you are warned.

When Eli turned 8 months, I was really excited. Ollie began to sleep through the night unassisted when HE turned 8 months, and so I ASSumed that Eli would follow suit. I kept expecting it to be right around the corner. Eli is now 13 months old, and has yet to pass that landmark. He still wakes consistently 4 - 5 times a night, sometimes takes as much as an hour or so to pacify. When we are on vacation, I become the reluctant co-sleeper as our family often sleeps in the same bedroom. I actually like sleeping with him. Eli is one of those snugly babies that craves physical contact (aren't they all? Well, some more than others...) I really think he wakes and decides he needs a hug before falling asleep some nights. There are many theories and suggestions about encouraging a good sleeper, all of which I am happy to entertain. We are not cry-it-out people, as this really doesn't help anyone in the house sleep, nor am I comfortable putting him to bed before us in a big-bed with the intention of all snuggling up together later on in the night. Standing over his crib and whispering only infuriates the illogical creature and results in me being yelled at by an infant half the night. Oh shall I go on for the things we've tried. Mainly, we just rub our foreheads in desperation as we enter into the bedroom of doom and half way feel that we have some how failed something as parents that we have not trained a good sleeper. Once, I read a book where you could hire a lady to come stay with you for the weekend, and she would train your baby to sleep. Now that is a niche that needs filled. I told myself that I would train him to sleep through the night before school began again in August, and still we have made no progress. I think in the end, the best strategy will be for patience and vigilance to know that in the end, he'll sleep when he's ready.

Summer Cuisine

Let's talk food for a moment, shall we? Tonight's dinner included: fried green tomatoes, stuffed zucchini (stuffed with garlic, tomato, capers, goat cheese, and onion), white bean/ mozzarella/ basil salad thingy, cucumber salad,french bread (of course), and stuffed jalapenos (stuffed with cream cheese, garlic, and a bit of Parmesan). I tried to have strawberries for desert, but Ollie overruled that decision, and we opted for chocolate pudding instead. All veggies organic and local :) I still have a fridge full of squash and zucchini thanks to Bubba. Off to make some zucchini bread!

Weekend parties!

The R family celebrated several monumental occasions last weekend in one fail swoop. Father's Day, anniversaries and birthdays all loped into one park-playing, chicken-eating fiesta. Thanks to the illustrious and famous Emo for making it possible.

The pool above is a picture of my dad's place. He threw a rocking 4th of July party this weekend, and we had a blast.