Oh So Terrible

Has anyone seen my sweet baby Joe? I can't seem to find him these days. I see little glimpses of him throughout the day, but then I blink and surely the screaming, fit throwing monster in front of me is not MY child? Where did Joe Bug go?? The terrible twos in all their glory have arrived. Big time. My sweet, agreeable, loving, goofy little man is replaced without a moments notice several (read: many, many) times throughout the day with an evil twin. It can be as simple as Joe wanting a cup of milk and being told no more milk, but you may have juice or water, and he will be on the ground in an instant screaming and pounding the floor. I typically ignore him and walk away and he will get up, come looking for me and sniffle a pathetic "sowy" as he walks away. It's almost like even he is confused by the demon that possesses him. Dean reminds me (every chance he gets) that I am not always Suzy Sunshine and should be more forgiving of Joeys amazing mood swings. But in all fairness to me, how are you supposed to handle a child who throws a major temper tantrum at the dentist office....when it is time to LEAVE. Seriously. There is no rhyme or reason to the madness. But days like yesterday make the craziness of life with a bipolar 2-year-old worthwhile. Joey and I went to our friend Taylor's birthday party at Geist Sports Academy. The kids had the run of the gym and Joey literally RAN (bounced, dove, climbed, skipped) all over every inch of the gym. He had a complete blast and was the sweet little bug I know and love. He was kind, excited, curious, brave, and polite. It was a joy to spend several hours watching his delight. The joy lasted until he was up at 11:30 p.m. and again at 3:00 a.m. and again at 5:15 a.m. Oh Joe Bug. Did I mention that Joe also, after sleeping through the night from about 5 weeks of age, is now a terrible sleeper?! Good times. It is now 7:15 a.m. and he is calling me to come get him up. "Mommy-Boo. Joe-Joe is awake. Come seeeeeeeee!" Fingers crossed that sweet Joe comes out to play and sticks around for awhile today :)

somewhere out there

As I write this post I am lying in the hallway outside the boys bedrooms. We are having some issues with bedtime right now and it seems to give them both some comfort when I am in the hallway versus 10 feet away in the family room! I can't really complain because I had terrible nightmares when I was younger and literally slept on my parents floor until I was 15 years old. Seriously. I can't say I really mind this near nightly ritual too terribly either. It is forced quiet time that affords me the opportunity to catch up on my reading, or work a crossword puzzle, or play on the internet, or update this blog! The reason I felt called to write tonight is because as I was lying reading Mitch Albom's newest book, Have a Little Faith (which is an excellent read by the way) I overheard an old, familiar song come on the radio in Benny's room; Somewhere Out There. Do you remember that song? Somewhere out there beneath the pale blue sky. Someone's thinking of me and loving me tonight. Somewhere out there someone's saying a prayer; that we'll find one another beneath that big somewhere. I used to listen to that song when I was a teenager and imagine that there was "someone out there" who was listening to the exact same song at the exact same moment and thinking about me. I longed to feel the passion the song writer felt and to have the certainty that there was a person who would love me and dream about me when looking up at the stars at night. As I heard the song playing in Ben's room just now, a rush of emotions came over me as I realized that I don't only have one someone out there, I have three! My teenage self could not have pictured my adult life in her wildest dreams, and probably wouldn't have ever wanted to imagine she would be laying on a floor someday overcome with love for her husband and children....it's not very romantic, at least to a teenager, but it is very real and I am so blessed that my dreams came true, though perhaps not in the exact fashion I had imagined. I do feel love beyond measure...love that I give and love that I receive each and every day from Dean, Ben, and Joey. Which reminds me of another great song. You can't always get what you want; but if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need. I have everything I need as I lay in this hallway tonight.

Snow much fun...until it wasn't

We got about 5 inches of snow on Thursday, which meant two things, the first being that we were not able to go to Lafayette to hang out with Brookie (booooo), but the second being that the boys and I were fired up to get outside and play in the snow! In preparation for the big snow I had hit up Menards the day before for a new sled and some fire logs to keep us toasty and warm when we were inside.

The boys and I made a fire first thing in the morning and made cinnamon rolls (Ben's favorite) for breakfast. After a great breakfast and a quick viewing of the movie UP! (Joe's favorite) we bundled up and headed outside to brave the arctic tundra. Ben had a blast riding the sled up and down the driveway - a good workout for me - and Joey liked walking through the snow and climbing on and off the porch. It definitely took a longer time for us to get bundled up then we actually spent outside, but it was well worth it.

Joey was particularly clingy when we came inside and wanted me to hold him. I plopped onto the couch with him and gave him a hug when he promptly threw up all over himself and me - down into my sweatshirt to be exact. Gross. I threw his little bum in the tub, where he promptly threw up again, and so it went for the next 8 hours!! Poor guy threw up about every 15 minutes for 3.5 hours and then a couple more times before the evening was done - including one unforunate episode involving orange Gatorade projectile vomited all over Dean, I think Joey was just trying to make him feel included since that was the one and only time Dean was in the vomit mix!

Dean and I both like being close to the boys when they are sick so we ended up camping out as a family on air mattresses in the family room that night! I don't think any of us slept great, but at least we were together!! So far no one else has gotten sick (KNOCK ON WOOD) and Joey and I spent the entire day yesterday lysoling every inch of the house. My nursing and cleaning lady efforts were evidently appreciated, however, as my sweet husband came home from work last night and promptly kicked me out of the house. He had arranged for me to get a pedicure at a spa nearby! It was such a great treat and a wonderful, thoughtful surprise. I'm not sure that it completely cancelled out the joys of being puked on all day Thursday, but I'll take it!

Random

While snuggling on the couch last night watching ABC's The Bachelor (I know, I am a horrible mom for exposing my son to such trash, but it is like a train wreck...I don't want to look, but I just can't turn away) here is the conversation that took place between Ben and I: Mommy: Ben, do you think I am as pretty as those girls? Ben (slowly turning his head to examine Mommy's face with a close-lipped grin): No. (said after much careful deliberation)....But you are cooler! YES! Regarding Resolutions, it being the New Year and all, I have decided to post my resolutions in the hopes that seeing them in writing will make me keep them: 1. Watch my language. I will note that Cherrylynn pointed out that it is not quite accurate to say I have a potty mouth. I will say, rather, I have a PG-13 mouth. How's that?! 2. Do not use my personal credit card. YIKES! This will be a tough one, but I have a plan for paying it off and am excited to tackle the challenge. 3. Work out diligently and consistently (at least 4 days a week). I would like to lose 15 pounds by my birthday, June 4. I hope to lose 5 pounds by Valentine's Day (so Dean will take me to Fogo de Chao since we've been wanting to go there), 5 more pounds by April when we go to Florida (so I can eat all the seafood and ice cream I want), and the last 5 pounds by my birthday (so I can go to Cafe Patachou and have chicken salad). Do you see what I need to lose weight?!?! 4. Memorize a bible verse a week. This week - Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Good luck to me and good luck to anyone else tackling resolutions this new year. I have a good feeling about 2010.

happy new year (past and present)

Though we were undecided up until Tuesday evening as to what we wanted to do to ring in the new year on Thursday night, we ended up having a GREAT time (as always) as a family. The Indiana Ice (minor league hockey team) had a game at Conseco Fieldhouse and they asked Dean to play the music for the game so he ended up doing that and the boys and I were able to go to the game and sit in a lower level suite at center ice with one of Dean's coworkers (Jake Vernon), his wife Traci, and their two boys Ashton and Avery. Ashton is just a couple days older than Ben and Avery is about a year older than Joey so the boys played well together and we had a wonderful time. Joey was SO pumped to be there. He was really into the game and love watched the action...but equally loved walking up and down the steps, climbing in and out of the seats, eating hotdogs, chips, and popcorn, spilling water, etc., etc. At the end of the game Jake evidently told Dean "man, that younger boy of yours is a handful." True. Ben was surprisingly, though maybe not so much, nervous at first. He sat at the back of the suite and watched the first period from a safe distance! I'm not sure what he was scared of, a flying puck perhaps? Regardless, in typical Ben fashion he warmed up after a bit and cautiously moved to the front row of the suite by the end of the second period! Dean played great music and the boys were pretty well behaved (and mommy had a great glass, or two, or wine) so a good time was had by all! We headed home from the game all together and stopped for a quick bite at White Castle (nothing says celebration like some boogie burgers) and were settled on the couches in our jammies with Dick Clark by 10:00 p.m. After watching Joey run around like a crazed person for a bit we plopped his happy bum in bed and he promptly passed out. Ben decided to "rest his eyes" and passed out around 10:45. At this point Dean and I called it quits and headed to bed too. We're so wild and crazy! Miraculously I awoke at 11:55 p.m. so I woke up Dean, we watched the ball drop and kissed at midnight and promptly fell back to sleep! HAPPY NEW YEAR! The new years I was really reflecting on last night was the one 11 years prior...Dean and my first date! We went to the wedding of one of Dean's former co-workers at the Pacers (the original Boomer, I think?). We both were a bit nervous as we were spending the night at the hotel where the reception was being held...I know, what a hussy I am spending the night with the guy on our first date?!? What was I thinking?! Regardless, we had a wonderful time with Doug and Jodi Morgan and Rob and Jolyn Robinson and drank a bit too much -we'll blame it on the nerves-and passed out promptly after leaving the reception. I think we may have kissed at midnight, though if we did it was nothing more than a peck. After that night I went back to Miami to finish my second semester of my junior year of college and Dean commenced his streak of dating random women; his trophy pacemate girlfriend was during this time period! I just think it's really funny to think about how life just works out sometime. Dean and I were totally just friends leading up to that New Years Eve first date and we were just friends after for a long time as well. It wasn't until the following November, in fact, that we really became a couple. I am so grateful that God put him in my life. He is truly the best friend I have in the world and my life is so much better with him in it. So this New Year's I celebrate my husband, my friend for nearly 12 years, and the love of my life. I look forward to many, many, many years of "first dates" to come.