T'was All Hallows Eve

Enjoy the little poem I made up. I am now waiting for Mr. Brighton to wake up because Day Care didn't give him a nap today so I'm afraid he's going to miss out on trick or treating...Visit his picturetrail website to view photos of him on Sunday, the only day he got to wear his costume...I'm not upset about it. Really I'm not....I like wasting $20 on a costume that he's going to wear on every other day than the ONE DAY he's SUPPOSED TO WEAR IT!

T'was All Hallows Eve
And all though the place
The rush to get candy
was, oh yes, quite a race!
The goblins and ghouls,
all ready to spook!
While the ghosts were all practicing
Their scariest...BOO!

But the children know better than to be afraid
Because all those ghost and goblins
Are just their friends in cloth sheets and chains.
So get your toothbrush and get ready to eat
There's going to be lots of candy
For every trick or treat!

Happy Halloween!

A Grand Day

Yesterday was a truly grand day. We got up and went for a beautiful but chilly, walk at about 7 AM. We came home and had a nice family breakfast (cooked by mom - thank you thank you...) and then Dad went outside to work while mom put Brighton down for a nap and played on the computer for a while. When he woke up, we went outside and helped Dad rake leaves and clean up window boxes and planters. Then when we were done with that, and after lunch, we went out and carved pumpkins before we went to Trick or Trunk. THEN we had a WONDERFUL dinner at Nana Sally and Papa Tom's house after Brighton trick or treated them in his halloween costume. The whole day felt like a Norman Rockwell Painting. I guess there are good things about living in a small community.



Notice anything particularly familiar about our three pumpkins? I picked Andrew's (top) because it reminded me of his head. I picked mine (in the middle) because it was round and jolly. And BRighton picked out his own - because it was cute :) And has an alfalfa hair on top.

Some new things Brighton has learned: To lick his plate, the signs for puppy, eat, mommy milk, car, to stash food down his shirt for the next time he gets hungry, to blow kisses, to give eskimo kisses, to pet the puppy gently...

Visit Brighton's Picturetrail website for more photos.

Ala Crazy Messy

I will post pics when I have them but yesterday was a terrible messy day for the BDog. Breakfast wasn't bad, lunch was another story. We started out good with mac and cheese and crumbly hamburger, then came the pudding. He wanted to spoon the pudding out all by himself so I let him. After sitting there with him for, oh say, 20 minutes, I decided to do some picking up. The next time I saw him and the pudding, it was all over his face, his tray, his clothes, his hands, the table and goodness only knows where else. Not to mention, when I went to throw the pudding away I noticed macaroni noodles and bits of hamburger in it. Which can only mean one or two things. He had the mac in his mouth and redistributed it to the pudding container or the less likely, he found some on his chair (less likely because the dog would have grabbed any stray noodles or hanburger bits.) He ditched the spoon and went right for the hands. YUCK! For supper, we had goulash. Which also started out OK until he decided to "lick the plate". Hmmm... Wonder who taught him that - Grandpa Luke? By the end his face was awash with red tomato and cheese mixture and flecked with bits of noodle and beans and hamburger. It was lovely. I promptly removed his shirt and placed him in the tub.

A Romantic Orchard View

The little cub and I decided to take a trip to the orchard yesterday to get some pumpkins and some apples before the weather changed again (it was in the 50's and sunny). You know when you have a grandios idea in your head of something you intend to do? You know, a romantic vision? I had one of those of Brighton's and my visit to the orchard yesterday. I envisioned us taking the wagon down to the pumpkin patch, picking out the very most perfect pumpkins (I know - grammatical error on purpose) then walking up to the kind of apple we sampled in the store and picking them from a beautiful green leafed apple full tree.

Here's what really happened.

As we were getting ready to go, I put Brighton in his carseat, let the dogs out one last time to go potty so I didn't have any unexpected visitors (namely poop) in the living room when I got home. Feebee took off and ran into the field - three lots down. After screaming and cursing my fool head off to call her over, I ended up having to go into the neighbors yard and finally it registered with her that she had better get her buns back here or face corporal punishment. Naturally, when she came back she wreaked of pig manure. Strike one.

Managing to remain optomistic, I still had my romantic image in mind for myself and my little grumpy bear. "This will make us both feel better. Some fresh air, some time outside together," lalalalalala into dreamland, despite the now pig manure and vanillaroma scented car, I go. About 3/4 of the way to the orchard, I look in the mommy mirror, and guess what? Little bear cub is asleep. Out like a light. So my romantic trip to the orchard, even though it ended in a perfect apple turnover, (ok TWO apple turnovers), ended up with me leaving Brighton and my poop laden dog in the car while I picked apples up off the ground from the brown leafed, frost bitten tree and eventually chose two medium sized pumpkins that they had picked from the field and were sitting outside the Orchard Store. Bright did eventually wake up and we went inside to pay for our apples and our pumpkins, and we returned to the vehicle with 10 lbs of apples and 2 warm apple turnovers. Right before we headed to Animal Kingdom to give Feebee a much needed bath.

Hell Hath No Fury...

Like an exhausted Toddler. So, it's my fault, I know that, for not giving Brighton enough time for naps when he needs them. I've put what I've needed to do ahead of him getting the rest that I know he needs. So, tonight, I get home and try to gingerly bring the sleeping bear into the house, in heels, walking over dogs and cats - the plan being to lay the baby in his crib to drift into dreamland while I did the chores. Yeah Right. I walk in the door, trip over the dog who is laying in the middle of the hallway (of course, because there is no other place in the house to lay...) and almost fall as I twist my ankle in my heels and fall against the wall, waking up the baby. Great. So I put said baby in said crib so I can do my chores and all the while listen to the whails and sobs. Finally I am done with chores and grab freaking out baby and proceed to the bedroom to change my clothes and get out of the dangerous heels. Finally we make it out to the kitchen where I attempt (foolish me) to feed my son who by this time has bags the size of double d's under his eyes who then swats the food away from him, turns his head towards the Tele which isn't on and shoves his sippy cup off his tray to the ground. Finally, I manage to coax the cub to eat some macaroni and cheese. When he is done, I take him from his highchair and set him in the living room in front of his toys and (haha) attempt to clean the mess in the kitchen. Well, all the rest of the night, he's throwing magazines in between reading books, slapping me in the face, I try like a fool to give him a time out for one minute. He thinks this is hilarious. Finally I grab "The Baby Book" by Doctor Sears and furitively search for "time out" and "discipline". All I get is a chapter on how wrong I've been doing things when it comes to discipline and how I need to study how I handle stress (HUH!? YEAH WELL BUDDY, I'm not a good example for that but I'm all he's got at this moment...) so I take a couple of deep breaths, oji breathing, pick up the overtired toddler, toss the book aside, and attempt to manhandle Baby to sleep...It almost works! But he's fighting it, so finally I put him in his crib and lock the dog in with him. LOL that's the funny part. All is well, until dog (feebee) shakes her head and the tags on her collar wake up the sleeping bear. Now he is fast asleep on the bed and I've escaped yet again to post this painful blog for your entertainment.

Ya do whatcha gotta do...

Sometimes, I've learned, you have to relent and give in to a toddlers' insatiable need for discovery and making a mess. No, this isn't a repeat of the spagettio fiasco. For some reason, Brighton found my purse particularly interesting tonight. Perhaps it was because I pulled him off the table three thousand, seven hundred twenty two times tonight, or perhaps it was because he just figured out the zipper, or maybe it was the lure of danger in messing with my expensive wallet, checkbook cover and business card holder. In any case, he found my purse terribly interesting. I'd read about finding various coins in baby poo, but I never really believed it. Until tonight. Brighton painstakingly pulled out every loose coin in my purse, laid it on the floor, then one by one put them in his mouth and took them out again. I'm not sure if I'm missing any, I think I got them all, and I don't think he likes the taste of copper. Next he found a tootsie roll wrapper from fall of 2005 and began mouthing it. Lastly, he found a starbucks straw wrapper (imagine that) that is still laying in 1/4 inch pieces all over the floor. But hey, I got supper made, the critters fed, the dishes put away and finished up handwashing some. So I guess it all works out right?

Day Four - Asking

Just a quick update, this morning, I asked Brighton if he was sleepy and wanted to go to his bed to go sleepy. He looked up at me and enthusiastically shook his head "YES". So I put him in his bed, tucked him in, gave him his puppy and away to dream land he did go! YAY! If I would have known how EASY it was, I would have done this months ago...

Playing in the leaves at Dubuque Campground

Bedroom Drama - Day Three - Great Surprises

Well, it's day three and the big boy is doing great in his own bed! He is napping right now - in his bed - and has been for over 2 hours. Last night as he was getting tired, I decided to put him in his bed until we were ready for bed, and VIOLA! He fell asleep! AWWWW my boy is growing up! But mom isn't 100% ready to relenquish that safety net at night, so when I was ready for bed I went and got him. No it didn't wake him up and it obviously hasn't discouraged him from sleeping in there for naptime.

Naptimes are no longer a fight for me!!! Why WHY WHY didn't I do this sooner?!?! Will keep you updated.

Tried to give Brighton tuna and noodles lastnight, hoping that he would eat the tuna. Nope. Ate the noodles and picked out the tuna and put it back on his plate. DADGUMIT!

We've also had to start putting the chairs on top of the table. My little boy is a monkey in a boy suit. He will climb ANYTHING. I see in my future many trips to the emergency room...better stock up on bandaids now.

Bedroom Drama - Day Two

It's DAY TWO and guess what? I tried and tried to get Brighton to take a nap this morning. Finally I figured out he was hungry. So he ate lunch, I gave him some benadryl to help his stuff nose (1/2 of a dose) and tried to get him to sleep again. After fussing about for, oh, 20 minutes, I got fed up and said "Ok kid, guess it's time to just let you figure it out on your own." And I put him in his bed, and following the pediatric nurses advice, I shut the door, waited to hear the cry, looked at the clock the minute it started. "ok in 10 minutes I'll go back in and soothe him". NOT NEEDED! He cried for about 1 minute then silence...HE'S ASLEEP! IN HIS OWN BED! YAY! Ok, the benadryl MAY have contributed, but whatever works! :)

Independance Hall

There are certain things that little boys still need their mommies for. Cooking a healthy supper, giving them baths, washing their clothes, dressing them. There are certain things that pose a challenge for a little boy and his mother. Say, for instance, the sudden disgust of meat. Of any kind. No matter how little mom makes the meat, no matter how much it gets smooshed, smashed, squished, blended in, disguised, the boy finds it - even the tiniest molecular piece, and spits it out into his hand and gives it back. Now, I'm a rational woman. I know that this is a phase and he will outgrow it, then possibly grow back into it again when he gets a bit older, then grow out of it again. That doesn't make it any easier to catch a slimed, chewed (sometimes) piece of chili in my hand. And it certainly doesn't make washing his clothes or hands much easier either.

Then there's nap time. Do you watch Super Nanny? You've seen those horrific images of families who have had their children sleeping in their bed since birth, and then all of a sudden, super nanny intervenes and puts that to a screeching (literally) halt. Super nanny tells a poor exhausted mother that she needs to put the baby to sleep in his or her own bed, then sit there and listen to baby cry, without looking at baby or acknowledging that baby is wailing until he or she is about ready to burst a blood vessel. When baby stands up, mom is supposed to silently and gently lay baby back down, then resume her position in the rocking chair or on the floor next to baby. Then after several exhausting hours, baby finally falls asleep (duh) and mom sneaks out and sleeps happily (uh huh - more like sobs herself to sleep feeling so guilty about her baby's broken heart and blood vessels that she can't stop weeping) in her own bed without her child. Well let me tell you. Yes, Brighton sleeps in our bed at night. Yes, you heard right. We share a family bed. Or co-sleep or whatever you want to call it. Which is fine, we all enjoy it. But the bad habit I would like to break is the one where I have to lay with him to nap. And if he wakes up (which he inevitably will) 1/2 hour into his nap, and I'm not there, he comes a pat pating out to where ever I am, sobbing and snotty. So today, I try this Super Nanny gig. It worked, kind of. He cried for about 1/2 hour on and off, until he finally fell asleep, in his own bed. I sat there for a while, waiting for him to wake, and when he didn't, I snuck out to finish working on the computer. After a little while, he started crying. So I went in, gave him a quick hug and kiss, and laid him back down and took my respective spot in the rocking chair. He quickly fell back asleep, then Dad came in asking about something. I answered in a whisper, he motioned that he couldn't hear me. I said it again, a little louder but still in a whisper. Still couldn't hear me. I responded again, in a slightly louder whisper, then it happened. CRYING. UGH! "GET OUT" I mouthed to my husband. I tried and tried to lay him back down but to no avail. So instead, I got him out of the bed, put his coat and shoes on and we went outside to help daddy with the pond. Yes, he was happy, tired, but happy. Fell asleep about 6:30 (after "eating" his supper described above) and off we go. Needless to say, yes, Brighton will be back in our "family bed" tonight, but we'll try the Super Nanny gig again tomorrow for nap time, so long as I can hold out.

Breaking Golden Rules

I broke a very important "golden rule" of parenting lastnight. One that they tell you in the hospital right after your child is born, one that the ped tells you every time you go in for a check up for the first 12 months of your childs life, one that every seasoned parent warns you of not breaking, even people without children and dogs seem to know this rule. A rule that, if not followed can lead to hours of heartache and headaches. I woke Brighton up to eat supper. **GASP** Yes, I did. Even Andrew was terrified at the prospect. And at first, he was very tired, tossing his sippy cup aside, slamming his hands on his tray. Then he ate a pea. Then another. Then he decided, hey, I might just be hungry. And all was well. I guess sometimes rules are made to be broken, but no one will ever tell you that they did it. Except blogging mothers.

Two Glorious Days

Well, it's been two glorious days without the news. I have no idea what is going on. I hear blips and blurps here and there, but I don't keep the stations on long enough to really hear it. And, it's terribly peaceful without the tele on at all.

Starting next Monday, I'm going back to Yoga. Janel probably thinks I've deserted her sessions, but I haven't. Really. I think about them every Monday and Wednesday. I just can't get myself to go. Probably part of this funk that I'm going through.

Bright and I went to Panera's today to visit with "the gang". We had a showing this morning at 8 (or was it 8:30?) and so I loaded up the dogs and brighton and we left for the morning. Though I ended up at Panera's, then to Barnes and Noble (Old Navy wasn't open yet) then to Old Navy, then to Von Maur, then to Baby Gap, a brief stint at The Gap, on to Sears then back to Von Maur and then to Fareway for ground beef for the meatloaf I'm making for supper. Brighton was his usual entertaining self. Flirting with the ladies and talking stocks with all the men.

Now for the last three hours, he's been meandering around the house catching up on all the floor time he missed this morning as the bags under his eyes grow ever-so-much darker. Yes, I can tell he's tired but he just won't give in. So I do. I figure he'll just poop himself out and eventually fall asleep in the middle of the floor curled up next to the dog or something. Or perhaps he'll just fall asleep here in my lap as I type. Either way, at least I can say he's got a nap in today...

One More Thing - 30 ways to eat a pumpkin

Thought you might like to know thirty ways to eat a pumpkin. If I'm not terrified of botchulism, I might try the pumpkin pancakes. (from Yahoo! Buzz Log on The Buzz)

"When trick-or-treaters hit the streets at the end of this month, they will be winked at and jeered by a nation of flickering Jack O'Lanterns. Already, buzz on "pumpkin carving" has spiked 130%, while searches on pumpkin stencils, patterns, and pictures have rustled upwards.
But there's another stage where autumn's thick-skinned fruit plays a more nourishing, if unsung, role—and that's at the kitchen table. Sure, everyone snacks on roasted pumpkin seeds and digs into pumpkin pie at this time of year. But when's the last time you sank your spoon into a finely wrought pumpkin Crème Brulee? Or woke to a steaming plate of pumpkin pancakes? Whether you have or haven't, we're sure you'll find something new to devour in this list of the top 30 pumpkin recipes, as cooked up by Search...
Pumpkin Recipes
Pumpkin Pie
Pumpkin Cookies
Pumpkin Bread
Pumpkin Soup
Pumpkin Seeds
Pumpkin Cheesecake
Pumpkin Muffins
Pumpkin Roll Recipe
Pumpkin Cake
Canned Pumpkin Recipes
Pumpkin Pancakes
Pumpkin Bars Recipe
Pumpkin Jam
Pumpkin Dip
Pumpkin Spice Cake
Pumpkin Butter Recipe
Pumpkin Spice Coffee
Pumpkin Ice Cream
Pumpkin Brownies
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Roll
Pumpkin Dump Cake
Pumpkin Ale
Pumpkin Desserts
Pumpkin Cupcakes
Pumpkin Crème Brulee
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Pumpkin Ravioli Recipe
Pumpkin Fudge
Pumpkin Beer "

A Day of Bad News...

So is it just me seriously, or is the world going to hell in a handbasket. Or in a $5000.00 Fendi Bag nowadays. Really. I'm not sure if it's hormones (maybe I am pregnant...) or what but I can't shake all this bad ratatatat today! Just before I go to bed tonight, I hear on the news about a little boy, 2 years old I think, Maxamillion is his name, who got ran over in his driveway by a family friend. Sure, an accident, but CRIPES! All I can do is empathize with the mother and think of what that poor sweet child must have been thinking if he was consious at all. What if that were Brighton? I wouldn't be able to function. I know I can't think like that but I can't help it. That's it. For all of our sakes and for the sake of this blog which is turning into gloom and doomdom, I'm swearing off the news! I'll do one even better, the only tele I'm watching nowadays is PBS during the day anytime between 8 and 3 is generally OK) and Lost and Desperate Housewives, even though the ladder is getting a bit iffy too. Oh, and maybe Extreme Makeover Home Edition. That gives me a little hope that there's good out there still. There. I feel better already. Sort of. I suppose I should wrap this up and get to bed. But before I do, I'll end on a good note.

Today while i was nursing Bright, I had a tickle in my throat and so I turned my head away from him (but he could still see my profile) and coughed. He pulled off, looked up at me, and coughed - an obviously fake cough. THen back to what he was doing. The pulled off again, coughed, and back again. I think he did this four or five times. He even had the tongue motion correct. What a hoot that boy is. I've got our lederhosen and suitcase set aside just incase we decide to get that one way ticket to Norway. I could still Blog in Norway, right?

Anxious Crazies

It was a normal wake up this morning. About 7:30 I hear bits and pieces of words, silly noises and see my sweet lovely boy greeting me. Then I turn on the Tele. That was my first mistake. First I hear about freako Kim Jung Il testing nuclear weapons off of the N Korea shore despite everyone in the free world, including China, asking them not to. And of course, the media encorporates their view of everything, "when will the N. Koreans strike the U.S.?" I'm sure this kept terrified viewers tuned in to their channel. So I switch. To another lovely story with Meridith on channel 7. There I see Donald Trump and some other wealthy looking fellow telling us that the middle class is disappearing (big surprise) and you'll be either rich or poor, why not choose rich? And in order to do that, of course, you have to buy their new book. Do we look stupid? Apparently. So I wake up happy to see my beautiful, happy, innocent boy and twenty minutes later, I have a hole in my gut brewing with fear and anxiety about becomming poor and not being able to feed my child unless I come up with some cooky idea that all the rich will want or write a book on how to become FILL IN THE BLANK and worrying about the present and future safety of my child. The first thing that comes to my mind is "Grab some lederhosen and move to Norway."

Growing Up

Our boy is growing up. Yesterday out of the blue, he decided to stand up on his own. I told you before that he did this without him knowing it a couple weeks ago, but yesterday he knew EXACTLY what he was doing! And he did it on "command". PERFORM MONKEY! is what I call it. We just asked him to "stand up!" and he did it! Then he started walking while holding only one hand. He looks a bit like he's drunk, but that's OK. Rest assured, we've not given him alcohol.

Last Friday we went to Coralridge Mall for their family night. I didn't know that they had a free family night on the last Friday of each month! But I know now! You can get into the Children's Museum free (usually $5 EACH for adults and kids over 1) and free carousel rides from 5-9...Or is it 7-9? Regardless, it was free and tons of fun! Andrew couldn't believe that I went to the mall and didn't buy anything. Skeptic.
That Friday night happened also to be the eve of the big Ohio state / University of Iowa football game, so we got a surprise visit from Herkey! Brighton wasn't sure what to think. I've cleverly photoshopped the majority of myself out of the photo...what you can't see is Brighton's white nuckle grasp on my shirt holding on for dear life incase that big bird like thing decided to eat him!

In the middle of the night . . .

. . . What do I hear, or feel, a little boy tickling my feet, and laughing. The worst fear at 12:17 a.m., he is going to stay up all night. Luckily he fell right back to sleep.

Dad