Paint

So, we've had some work done on our house over the past several months - one of the projects we had was to install a new sliding glass door to our back porch.  This was completed last week and the workmen had gotten some paint to match the trim.  They apparently put this can of paint in an undisclosed location.  As Jeff was getting ready to go to the gym on Saturday, he heard several loud thunks and an "uh oh" from our two-year old child.  He discovered shortly that Jack had found this mystery can of paint and thrown it down the basement stairs.  Apparently to see what would happen.  It exploded upon hitting the bottom stair, leaving a giant spill on our carpeting.  I'm not joking - it was huge, covering about three square feet.  Jeff calls me in a panic - I was at Target - and tells me to get my butt to Home Depot and buy whatever gets out latex-based acrylic paint.  

I went to the store and the woman at the counter looked at me sympathetically, telling me that the only thing to do would be to replace the carpet.  But then I mentioned that the stain was like twenty minutes old, so she told me to get my butt home and use some Dawn dish detergent and scrub, scrub, scrub.  So that's what I did.  And then, like my mother, I used some white vinegar.  And a lot of elbow grease.  But you know what?  The stain came out.  It took us about four hours of solid cleaning, but it's better than spending a grand to replace the carpet.  

And that was our anniversary.  Actually, the day was pretty great, minus the whole paint incident.  We got up and went out for breakfast.  We tried a new place and we were not fans, unfortunately.  So, we came home and hung around the house before I went out to Target and Jack decided to toss paint down the stairs.  My parents came up to babysit and Jeff and I went out to dinner - actually to the restaurant we went to for our fourth anniversary right after we'd moved into our house.  

Speaking of houses, we spent the majority of dinner discussing a move.  We've been talking about moving for a while, mostly because we want to be in a smaller school district.  I've gotten all hot and bothered about the issue and have even checked out the occasional open house.  But here's the deal - while I'm a product of a giant high school, I think that Jack will need some more specialized attention.  Every time we have a school conference or a doctor's appointment, I feel like they're just biding their time until they can tell me that Jack has ADHD and needs medication, which is something Jeff and I are adamantly opposed to doing.  In talking this over with a friend, there is some benefit to being in a wealthier school district (which we are currently in) because of the resources.  But our district is huge - bigger than my high school - and our concern is that Jack will get lost in the shuffle, regardless of their resources.  So, I think we've picked the school Jack should attend, but (again after talking this over with a friend), it's best to stay in our current home, build up some equity, get Jack some assistance now, and wait to see if he actually needs extra help.  Point being, we're not going anywhere for a while, which I guess I'm fine with, seeing as how I truly love our house and neighborhood.    

Okay - so back to our anniversary dinner - we walked around downtown Wayzata and stopped into a little cafe for dessert.  We talked about the high and low points of our marriage and, of course, we talked about the kids.  We touched on a subject - I don't remember what we were talking about, but it was kind of depressing - when Jeff looks at me and tells me we need to go home because he wants to hug our children.  It warmed my heart to hear that and, of course, I was missing the babies too.  So, we headed home and spent the rest of the night snuggling in bed with Jack and Nora.  I said it before - it may not be fast cars and mansions, but it's our life and I love it.  Somehow we became a family and Jeff and I became a team.  Even though life is hectic and crazy, it fills me with a sense of peace to know that, somehow, we got here.        

Anyways, on Sunday we went to church and then out to my Aunt Jill and Uncle Brian's house for brunch as my Uncle Steve and Aunt Judy were in town.  Brunch was amazing, per usual, but we had to scoot out a bit early to get home in time for naps since Jack had soccer yesterday afternoon.  

So, Jeff stayed home with Nora while I took Jack to practice and I'm pleased to report that he actually did much better this week in terms of listening and participating in the drills.  Sometimes I wonder if Jack is just showing off for Daddy because he's always more amped up and excitable when Jeff is around.  After soccer, we came home and played outside for a bit and got ready for our week.  

This morning, we went to Grammy Camp, which was not awesome.  Both Jack and Wim were just pushing each other's buttons, so my sister actually left after about two hours and we came home after lunch for naps.  Tomorrow, Jack has a speech evaluation through our school district.  Yes, we are taking advantage of their resources, but my taxes do pay for them.  A few weeks ago, the ENT suggested getting Jack's speech evaluated, so the school district sent me a bunch of forms to fill out and they'll come do a home visit.  I'm not sure he's got serious problems, but if it's something that we can fix early, might as well get things going.  

Baby Nora is continuing to grow like crazy and her personality is starting to come out a bit.  She's more calm than Jack was at this age, but she's definitely got her likes and dislikes.  She knows if she's being excluded (meaning Mommy is chasing after her brother) and she doesn't like to be ignored.  She loves being cuddled but she's starting to enjoy kicking and stretching too.  My favorite thing is that she smiles now, almost on command.  

So that's about it for this week.  Nora gets baptized this Sunday, so I'll spend some time this week getting ready for that.  It's going to be much less of an affair than Jack's baptism was.  She'll be christened at the service and then we'll have a small reception afterwards in the church.  There will be no ham this go-round, although I think Blue would be able to control himself more than Maverick (RIP) was able to.  We leave next Wednesday for Winnipeg and before you know it, it'll be October and I'll have to force myself to start thinking about going back to work.  

Seven Weeks

To be honest, I don't have much to report over the past few days.  I suppose the big news is that Jack started soccer on Sunday.  Or rather, he had soccer practice where we (meaning me and Jeff) could go and watch him play.  This is interesting.  First off, I question how much Jack actually enjoys the sport.  I mean, he likes kicking the ball at stuff, naturally, but he likes tackling his coach and lying in the goal more.  He does not listen well.  Jack's antics at soccer bothered Jeff enough to the point where he went to talk to Coach Tim about it after practice.  However, Coach Tim did point out the fact that Jack is only two years old (not Ronaldo) and what two year old isn't going to be enamored with a soccer net?  That made Jeff feel better, but I think we've got to focus hard on getting Jack to listen better and follow the directions of his coaches and teachers.  He's going to start wrestling in November and fortunately, Jeff is going to be one of Jack's coaches.  Otherwise, I'm pretty sure that Jack would never learn the boundaries of wrestling.  As it stands now, I have to be on constant guard if we're outside and I'm holding Nora because you never know when I'll be caught around the legs by a flying man-child.        

And so, we've been busy yet again - we went to Grammy Camp on Monday.  I had two doctor's appointments, so Jack stayed with Nana and Boppa for a bit while Nora and I tended to business.  On Tuesday, we had a few workmen up at the house so I decided to organize the kitchen.  And that project continued into Wednesday.  Unfortunately, when I went to pick Jack up from school yesterday afternoon, he had a pretty high fever.  He was inconsolable and you could just see it on his face that he felt terribly.  I took him home and his temperature was 103.7 under the arm, which means it was almost 105 degrees.  I totally freaked out and called the pediatrician, who assured me that high fevers are somewhat normal in kids, but if it went any higher, I needed to take him straight to the emergency room.  So, I spent somewhat of a fitful night with Jack.  I had him sleep in our bed and I set my alarm to wake me up every four hours to take his temperature and give him another dose of Tylenol.  Fortunately, whatever was plaguing him worked its way out of his system quickly because he was right as rain this morning.   

Today, I spent the morning writing thank-you cards and getting things planned out for Nora's christening next weekend.  I met a friend for lunch, ran a few errands for Jeff, and now we're sitting outside enjoying the beautiful afternoon sun.  Nora absolutely loves being outside.  Honestly, I think its where she's the happiest.  Right now, she's sitting in her bouncy chair, totally engrossed in her little butterfly toys.  She's smiling and cooing up a storm.  

Tomorrow, Nora and I have a hot date with a first-year law student to go shopping up at the Albertville Outlet Malls.  Our date is going to stay for dinner tomorrow night and then Jeff and I will be enjoying a night out on Saturday while Nana and Boppa take over the childcare.  It's hard to believe that Jeff and I will be celebrating six years of wedding bliss on Saturday.  Two houses, two dogs, and two adorable children later, we're still together.  If we were Hollywood, we'd be on a list of long-lasting marriages.  The years have been hard but they have been good.  And you know what?  I really love that guy.  

About a year ago, Jeff and I were at a wedding.  A guy he'd met at the bachelor party came up to me and said, "When I heard Jeff was married, I wondered what kind of woman would marry Jeff.  And then I met you and I got it."  While that sounds bad, it was meant as a compliment and I took it as one.  Jeff and I are two opposites when it comes to most things - but where it counts, we're on the same page.  I love him for who he is, who he strives to be, the father he's become and the life he's helped to build with me.  

    

Pumpkins and such...

I can't believe that I didn't write an update this week - you'd think that I'd have lots of time, given the fact that I really don't have anything set for the day.  Anyways, I actually ended up having a rather busy week.  On Tuesday we had doctor's appointments (for both me and Jack).  Jack had to go back to the ENT and I'm pleased to report that his ears look wonderful.  His hearing is perfect (when he chooses to listen) and he can stop taking the nasal steroid he's been on for the past year.  We've got to go back in six months or so and they'll take the tubes out of his ears if they haven't fallen out naturally.  And then I cross my fingers.  However, the ENT suggested that we get Jack involved in speech therapy - I've been noticing that he's not exactly intelligible and he doesn't make a lot of consonant sounds.  For example, the "double l" sounds like a "b" and all his "w" sounds are "r" noises.  He has some problems making the sound of the letter "v" as well.  In talking about this with my girlfriend (whose son is in speech therapy) she told me that kids of a certain age aren't supposed to be able to make certain letter sounds yet, but she said it was a good idea to get Jack evaluated anyways - it's "free" through our school district.  So, we've got that set up for some time in the next few weeks.  

So, while we were at the ENT, there was a boy there of about seven or eight years old who was severely mentally and physically handicapped.  This boy completely latched onto Jack, who was being his typical self - looking at everything in the room, telling me about it, jumping off of stuff - you know the drill.  Anyways, when he figured out he had a shadow, Jack slowed down and spent time with this little boy looking at the fish tank, talking about all the "Nemos" and sitting on a bench looking at Highlights magazines with him.  It absolutely melted my heart to see Jack.  Anyways, after we got done with the hearing appointment, Nora needed to eat, so Jack decided he wanted to give her the bottle I'd brought with us:

Anyways, after that we had to go and pick up Jack's uniform for soccer.  He starts his Happy Feet soccer group today and I'm so excited.  They had a sort of practice and we pulled up to the field (which is a large grassy area behind a synagogue) and Jack starts screaming about "Bob the Bobcat Ball" and how he wants to feed "Bob the Bobcat Ball a carrot!"  Apparently, Bob is the soccer ball and a carrot is an orange cone and to "feed" Bob a carrot, you have to kick him directly at a set of orange cones - pretty clever if you ask me.  So, we pull up to the field, and my first thought it "Dear God, how many of these parents am I going to have to apologize to this season?"  My kid is head and shoulders above every other kid on the field (some of them look like they just learned to walk, honestly) and Jack goes tearing out of the car at 800mph and it's like his brain shuts off and he can only think of getting that ball.  So he runs over everything (and everyone) in his path.  Fortunately, there was another little boy about his size and they palled around together and I bonded with his mom over the plights of having a huge child.  

On Wednesday, the weather turned cool - and I mean really cool.  And this is how I know I'm a born and bred Minnesotan - the minute the weather turns crisp, all I want to do is stay inside, clean my house and make delicious tasting stews and soups.  It's in my DNA.  So anyways, on Wednesday, I started purging my house.  I cleaned up and packed the maternity clothes, gave away a bunch of clothes and started organizing various rooms in my home.  I may be crazy because this is all I did - all day long.  Here's me and Jack wearing our fall duds on the way to school:

  
On Thursday, it was another busy day with lots of errands to run.  I met my family for breakfast and got a bunch of little things done around the house.  I set up the fall decorations and got together some chili and spaghetti for the family of a girlfriend going through a rough time.  And I spent some time getting everything ready for Friday because I went to work!  Well, not back full-time, only for the day.  So, I laid out our outfits, put a meal in the crock-pot, packed up stuff for Nora and made sure the house was picked up.  

So, on Friday I was out the door bright and early and out at the Mall of America before 8:00 in the morning.  I spoke around 11:00 and then left a little after 3:00 to head back to my parents' house to get the baby and get home.  I may have gotten Jack some pajamas, his Halloween costume and some Mickey Mouse slippers during one of my breaks.  And on Friday night, we had dinner and made some popcorn to watch a movie in Jack's tent.  

All in all, it was a rather busy week.  However, my latest obsession has been pumpkin - I am in love with pumpkin-flavored everything.  Although I should qualify - it's not necessarily pumpkin but rather pumpkin spice that has me up in arms.  Yesterday I went to the store specifically for the purpose of buying stuff to make pumpkin treats.  I'm telling you - this addiction is really bad.  Jeff hollered at me because we're trying to eat healthy but of course, he's hovering around the kitchen last night, waiting for me to pull out the loaf of pumpkin bread from the oven.  I don't know what it is about fall that makes me crave this stuff.    

And so, here are a few more pictures of Jack - we went to the park last Sunday before the Vikings game to play for a little bit (and can I tell you how happy I am that I did NOT buy him an Adrian Peterson jersey?)

And a few more from his week at daycare:

And I suppose I should write a little bit about Nora as well - she totally rules.  She's still completely awesome.  She smiles, coos, sleeps, eats and poops.  A lot.  Right now, she's sleeping next to me in bed - it's 8:30 and she still hasn't woken up yet.  I'm counting my blessings because my other child came barging into our bedroom at 6:00 on the nose this morning.  He's currently downstairs with Daddy watching "Toy Story."  I am so lucky that Nora is such a good baby.  I don't know how we'd keep up with Jack if we had to deal with her a lot.  So, I'm really coating my blessings this morning.  And now, I'm going to make some pumpkin pancakes for breakfast.  

Nostalgia

I just saw the neighbor kids off to the bus stop this morning for their first day back to school.  I don't know why this day always makes me so sad - it's like evidence of my own mortality or something.  I can't believe that this day is here.  Again.  Even though I've been out of school for more than eight years now, I still get some kind of weird anxiety on the first day of school - like I'm the one going back or something.  It's kind of hard to believe that in a short time, I'll be the parent walking my kid to the bus stop and then sobbing all the way to the office.  

My girlfriend, Molly, once said, "The days may be long, but the years are short."  I think I've said this a dozen times over the past two and a half years.  It is so true.  We have lived in our house for three years now (as of yesterday, actually) and Blue will be two years old next week.  Jack will be three years old in a few months and Jeff and I will have been married for six years in a few weeks.  The wheels just don't seem to stop turning.

My brother-in-law starts his first day of law school today.  I really can't believe it.  Jeff and I have been together for just over ten years now and I can't believe that eleven year old punk (this is said lovingly, of course) I met more than a decade ago is starting his legal career at the University of Minnesota.  We are so incredibly proud of him, the person he's become, and the lawyer he will be.  The thing that blows my mind is that he's the age I was when I first met Jeff.  Actually, I met Jeff the night of my 23rd birthday although we didn't officially start dating until about five months after that.  I told him this morning to keep his mind open, take good notes, and to be a good boy.  Anything can happen.  

My parents came over last night and brought pizza with them.  I woke Jack up from his nap and told him that his Nana and Boppa were coming up to see him and he flew out of bed and told me that he needed to go sit outside on the front steps to watch for them.  So, we did.  And then the girls in the neighborhood all came over to tell me about their trip to Valley Fair, what rides they went on, and to describe their first day of school outfits.  Anyways, Nana and Boppa pulled up and Jack started shrieking and ran to get his Nana.  He was a big-time Nana's boy last night.  Only SHE could help him with his supper.  Only NANA was allowed to play with his toys and sing his songs with him.  And then, if it couldn't get any better, Nana gave Jack a bath and helped him get ready for bed.  It was a huge deal and this morning when Jack woke up, he kept asking me where his Nana went.  Like I was chopped liver or something.  And in keeping with the sense of nostalgia, I can't believe that my parents have gone from zero to four grandchildren in less than three years.  I love watching my parents interact with them.  I love it when Jack tries to tell them something and they look to me for interpretation.  I love watching the bond that grows between them and it makes me so happy that Jack loves them so much.  And I love the fact that my parents are still able to get on the ground and run around with the kids and I hope this continues for a long time.  

So anyways, today I am filled with nostalgia and love.  I hope that everyone has a great first day of classes and remember that this school year will be over before you know it.            

One Month

Well, we've made it through our first month as a family of four - one third of the way through our "fourth trimester" as it's called, I suppose.  Here's the baby girl at one month with the duckie her daddy bought for her when she was born:

So far, so good.  I kind of feel like my mantra is "Have baby, will travel."  We here at Team Storms don't really like to sit still.  And baby girl seems to be pretty happy to go with the flow.  She seems to be pretty content to sleep in her car seat or ride in the Baby Bjorn while we go out and see the world and enjoy what's left of summer.  

Anyways, Jack continues to be busy, per usual.  We started Potty Training Bootcamp this weekend and I have to say, I don't think he's quite ready just yet.  I was supposed to pick him up early from school on Friday to go to the ENT for a check-up, but the doctor had to cancel, so Jack decided to stay at school and play with foam soap instead.  

I think this was preferred over going to the doctor to have someone stick stuff in his ears.  He is not a fan of someone poking around his head.  So I got him at his usual time on Friday and we came home and made a fort, had some popcorn and watched a movie.  

Jack was pretty excited - Nora was wondering when she'd get teeth so she could have some popcorn too.  On Saturday morning, we had plans to go out to the Renaissance Festival, but the weather was questionable, so we went to the Mall of America to go on some rides instead.  

I was pretty excited that I could finally go on rides again - although the only ride I managed was the Merry-Go-Round and I probably could have done that pregnant anyways.  So, Jack did really well with potty training all day on Saturday, so Jeff and I took him for ice cream as a reward.  Well, the kid doesn't like ice cream, go figure.  He kept telling me that it was too cold for him to eat.  He's probably the only kid in the history of the world that doesn't like ice cream.  So anyways, he was kind of a maniac at Cold Stone - running around the parlor, climbing on chairs, and throwing out random quotes from Frozen.  Anyways, he's standing on a chair when he starts screaming, "Jack Storms go poopy!  Jack Storms go poopy!" and I throw Nora at Jeff and haul Jack into the restroom.  We're in the bathroom, and I'm trying to get his pants down and Jack hollers, "Hurry Mama, it's coming!  Hurry!"  Well, let's just say we "kind of" made it, but I did walk out of the ice cream shop with a pair of dirty undies in my purse.  Oh well.  I had to keep telling him how proud I was of him that he told me he had to go, even if it was somewhat belatedly.  

So on Sunday, we decided to go out to breakfast, but we had two accidents right away in the morning - and while it bothers him to have a load in his pants, he's got no problems walking around in wet ones.  This is why I don't think he's quite ready for the full-on big boy undies experience.  So, we got him cleaned up - twice and headed out for breakfast to our usual spot.  Afterwards, we came home and Nora and I went to the mall to see if I could find some new work clothes - hey, new body, new clothes, right?  We came home around nap time and after Jack woke up, we went on a "nature" walk.  He picked up a few rocks, a pine cone and a walking stick which he used to poke himself in the eye.  

This morning, Jack came rolling into our bedroom around 4:30 and woke me up by shoving his hand into my face to sit up.  The good news is that after that rude awakening, I received an unprompted "I love you, Mama" which involved him bear hugging my head.  Nora was content to continue snoozing.  She's a late sleeper, which I think I would be if I didn't have another child who happens to be an early riser:

So, we all got dressed - had two more accidents (Jack did, rather) and we went to the zoo.  It was the last day to see the farm animals and the Big Bug Exhibit (sniff).  

Then we came home and had some lunch.  Now, Jeff is at the office, both kids are sleeping and I'm enjoying my favorite thing - soaking up the sunshine on our back deck and enjoying a good book.  My parents are coming up in an hour or so with pizza and to see the kids and then it's back to our regular routine tomorrow.

Now, we have been so blessed with gifts for Baby Nora - everything girly, let me tell you.  I was with my mom the other day and she asked if I'd actually bought any clothes for her, and in truth, I've only gotten her a few things here and there.  But her closet is stocked.  Both Nana and Grandma Jersey went a little crazy shopping for a little girl and my friends have come over bearing all kinds of cute little outfits.  Daddy (Imelda Marcos) may have also gotten a little wild at the thought of having another female in his house to spoil with dresses and his taste is above reproach.  Anyways, Nora received this blanket from a court reporter (hey, Laura!) that I work with:

I just love it - and I think that Nora does too.  Jack has one that Laura had made for him when he was born and that's his go-to comfort thing.  It's his "guy" and it stays with him at school and it's tough to pry it away from him at any point.  I don't know if I can part with this blanket though - I can't stop staring at it!

So, coming up this week, we've got nothing big planned.  Baby girl goes to the doctor for her month check-up on Wednesday and that's about it.  I know she's gained weight - she's starting to get little rolls in her arms and above her knees and Jeff says that she's starting to get some cheeks too.  But really, I think that she's grown at least an inch.  While the newborn clothes still fit her, they're starting to get too small length-wise for her.  I'm not entirely certain which branch of the family THAT comes from since we're mostly compact people.