A Night Of Firsts

Okay, let's start with this. Noah lost his first tooth!

His teacher, Mrs. Elsey, pulled it at school and they sent it home in a special little tooth holder. It was probably for the best that she was the one that did the pulling as he couldn't freak out about it quite as much as would have for us. He is very proud of the new hole in his mouth.

Another first for us was our first school dance. Last night Noah's school had a Family Valentine Dance. I will admit, at first I was skeptical. I wasn't sure if he would be interested and I was also nervous about taking Mr. Crankypants (aka Liam) out with us until 8:30 at night. However, we made plans to go with our buddies the Brunsons, and it ended up being lots of fun. The minute we walked into the darkened cafeteria - complete with DJ on stage - Noah, Liam, Abby Grace, and Caleb took off to join the mass of children going crazy in the center of the room. It was very hard for me to just let Liam go off - I mean there were giant 5th grade kids running around. I was afraid he would be trampled! But he would have nothing - I mean nothing - to do with me at all. He just kept running around after the big kids and no amount of coaxing could convince him to stay with us.

Noah immediately took off with his buddies and they played chase around the cafeteria. So much for dancing I thought to myself. Until I looked into the middle of the crowd and saw Liam. He was just standing there, staring at all the people around him and I thought, Oh no, he's going to freak out cause he's all by himself and can't find us. Nope. He observed for about a minute and a half and then just started busting out some sweet moves. And that is where he stayed. Throughout the course of the night he danced with several older women, and he also managed to stalk a little girl his own age and plant a giant kiss on her lips! Holy crap I think I have to worry about that one.

Noah finally joined the dancing when the DJ put on the song "Dynamite" by Taio Cruz. The kids went absolutely wild for that one, coming to the dance floor from all directions to jam. They all knew the words and even had hand motions made up to go along with the song. Apparently it's the anthem of their generation. They just wanna light it up, like it's dyna- mite!

By the end of the night the boys were part of the giant conga-line going around the room and I had to sit on the bench and laugh at myself for ever questioning whether they would have fun.

And, last but not least of the dance pictures, this one of Caleb busting a move. He was in the zone!

And just in case you were wondering, the tooth fairy did pay a visit to our house to reward Noah for losing that first tooth. We left her a note requesting that Noah get to keep his tooth, so when he woke up there was a tooth and a 5 dollar bill waiting under his pillow.

(I know what you are thinking. Five dollars?! All I will say is, it is very possible that when the tooth fairy awoke in a panic at 2am and realized she had not visited Noah Shealy, and then looked in her wallet, it was either the 5 dollar bill or a Target receipt. I mean, it's one of many theories!)

What I Did On Wednesday

So Liam has one of his epic diaper rashes. For real - this thing is scary. Bright red and swollen and extended all over his private area. And guess what that means? Oh yeah, it means that even with Tylenol and Motrin and a fresh diaper 4 times last night there was no sleeping in our house.

All of that to say that there is a reason why I find myself stuck on the couch with a sleeping boy laid out on my chest in the middle of the morning. And for the love of God, I refuse to move and wake him up so I have been goofing around online. Want to know what I learned? Good, cause I'm gonna tell ya anyway!

1. I have a love/hate relationship with Pinterest and I am not even on it yet. I feel like I should love it - everyone else does. And, when I look at it there are all these really cool pictures and ideas....But then, when I spend too much time looking, I start to get an anxious feeling in my chest. How do all these people have time to make/cook/craft/photograph all this stuff?! Then I start to feel completely inadequate and ask myself questions like, Why don't I have time to hand paint a "Time Out" chair for my kids to sit in? One that is covered in cutesy pictures and messages to let them know that even though they are being disciplined they are still loved. Listen, there are enough things in my life that make me feel less than perfect - I probably don't need to hear it from my computer screen too. I don't think I will be jumping on the Pinterest bandwagon.

But I did see this and laugh. (And then I thought of you Lisa!)

2. Okay, what else? Oh, I have discovered that once I latch onto to something I am likely to beat the idea into the ground. Like my love for nautical stripes. I saw about a bazillion things I wanted online this morning and they all had nautical stripes.

                                                                           source

                                                                             source

                                                                        source

Don't worry Wes, I didn't actually buy anything. (I couldn't move to get my wallet without waking up the 25 pounds of sleeping toddler on my chest.)

3. I took a People.com test about celebrities named 'Jennifer' and scored a perfect score. I felt awesome for about a half a second, and then stopped to think about the fact that I was celebrating a perfect score on a People.com quiz. (Higher standards Kelly, higher standards.)

And now I am laughing to myself because when Wes was trying to talk to me about politics the other day I got really mad and accused him of acting all condescending about me being uninformed. I believe I said something along the lines of, "I mean, I just don't have time to sit around and read politic blogs all day Wes! I am doing things!" But apparently I have plenty of time to take People.com quizzes. Hmm...

And that is all. (Well, not really. I did a lot of other stuff online during our random morning nap, but my laptop battery is dying so its time to wrap things up!)

Strawberry Picking

So even though it is February and it should be freezing outside, it's not. Here in Charleston it has been unbelievably beautiful lately - like, sunny and 75 degrees beautiful. And, because of that, the local farm that we use for our CSA has already opened their u-pick strawberries for this season. Score!

Saturday afternoon we loaded up the boys and headed to the farm to collect as many berries as we could carry. Which turned out to be a lot.

Family outings like these are so fun for us, mostly because they give such good insight into the personalities of our children. Saturday was no exception. Wes and I got a huge kick out of watching how the boys had such different reactions to the same situation.

Noah enjoyed picking strawberries - that he refuses to eat by the way - BUT did not really enjoy how dirty it was. (I'm not sure what he thought happened on a farm, but this is the same kid who once saw a cow in a field and declared it to be a horse.) Anyway, he was very reluctant to bend down anywhere near the dirt and touch the strawberry plants. Any berry that ended up in his bucket was most likely pulled by me. I think the following picture was the only time that he even attempted to get one himself.

As soon as his bucket was about halfway full he declared it to be too heavy. "I can't carry it anymore guys. I have a 'crankle' in my hand!" (I'm assuming that means a hand cramp?) And then the fact that his shoes were dirty completely distracted him from anymore berry picking and he spent the rest of the time asking if we could just go to the mall and get a new pair of shoes.

Liam on the other hand could not get enough of the dirt and grime. He kept grabbing at berry after berry and trying to rip even the green ones off the stem to fill his bucket. Then he insisted on carrying not one but two buckets and when Wes tried to help him he clutched them tighter and yelled, "No! My cups!" 

He also kept trying to sneak berries into his mouth. I would turn around and he would have one halfway to his mouth, and when he realized he was caught he would smile mischievously. And while Noah was in panic mode about his ruined shoes Liam was literally crouching in a ditch digging holes in the mud and throwing dirt in the air. And then rolling around in it. Seriously.

So to sum up: Next time, Noah will wear a Hazmat suit, we will bring a portable shower for Liam to use before entering our car, and.... Six pounds of strawberries is a lot for one family to eat!

What's New With Noah

Confession. I am really bad at baby books. And scrap booking. And any kind of organizing when it comes to recording my children and their milestones. Except for here on this blog. It seems to be the only place where I am really able to record anything cute or interesting that my children do. At least one day I will have this to look back on and show them pictures and stories about when they were young. ('Cause if they believed life as it is presented in their baby books... Well, let's just say that Noah would assume he only made it to 6 months and Liam would be afraid that he never existed at all. Yikes.)

All of that to say that I have some cute Noah updates to share with you. (Or, more importantly, future me.) Noah is 5 going on 30 - seriously. The things that he says! I vacillate between laughing hysterically and being utterly horrified. For instance the other evening he and Liam were watching a DVD after dinner. Liam had randomly picked a Veggie Tales DVD that I wasn't even aware we owned. (I know, I know, its like, heresy, to call yourself a Christian and not have your children watch Veggie Tales, but what can I say? We were too busy having dance parties to Lady Gaga songs.) Anyway, they had been sitting through about 15 minutes of it, and I was putting laundry away in the bedroom, when I heard Noah say in a disgusted voice, "I mean... how can vegetables TALK?!" I died laughing - mostly 'cause I have always felt similarly disgusted with the same idea.

Then there was a two weekends ago when we were staying at my Mom's. He suddenly turned to us and blurted out, "Something is wrong with my tooth!" Yep, you guessed it. He has his first loose tooth. And though he was excited about it for a few seconds, the emotion quickly swung to anxiety and he made us promise - swear - that we would just wait for it to literally fall out of his mouth. He does not want it pulled. Shocker.

Also, a few nights ago we were reading before bed when something happened that reminded me what a little sponge he is. We usually read one or two chapters of either a Magic Tree House book, or Magic School Bus book. That night we were reading about children on a field trip to see sharks. I was reading a part about an octopus when he stopped me and very seriously informed me of the following:

"Mama, do you know what? Octopuses are very good at getting away from predators 'cause they have jet propulsion. (This is all punctuated by his emphatic hand gestures by the way.) That's like, when the shark chases them and they use jet propulsion to get away. And they have ink defense too. It's like, they see a predator, and Bam!, they let out their ink defense. That's why they are so good at getting away from sharks. And, anyway, they could always just 'stang' them with their...tenta...penta...what are those things called?..." (trailing off).

"Tentacles?"

"Yes! They could always just stang them with their tentacles."

Of course, I was very impressed that he knew all those things and I told him so. Then I asked if they were learning about sea life at school.

"No", he scoffed. "I heard it on Wild Kratts."

(That is a TV show about two brothers who study wild animals, for those of you who don't have a 5 year old boy.)

These are just some of the things that he has done lately that are worth mentioning. I could go on - and on. But I won't. All I will say, is that Noah constantly amazes me with how smart and funny and sweet he is. I love having the privilege of being his Mom and getting to watch him grow up!

Friday Facts

Fact: I have sucked at blogging lately. I am trying to remedy that. We'll see how it goes.

Fact: We traveled to Atlanta last weekend. I was very worried about the 5 hour car trip but I must say, my boys did an awesome job traveling. We timed our trip - coming and going - to coincide with Liam's nap time, so both ways he spent almost half the time asleep. Noah played on the iPad quietly. Then, when Liam woke up, they both watched movies together on the portable DVD player. Throw in a couple of snacks and some funny faces to entertain in Atlanta traffic and you have a successful road trip.

(Sub-fact: My pictures these days are terrible. I vow to stop relying on my iPhone and start using my real camera. No really, I WILL do it!)

We did lots of fun things in the ATL. On Friday we got to see our good friends Jan, Clayton, and Abigail. That was a fun surprise for Noah - he had a ball playing with his buddies. We sure do miss them! On Saturday my Mom treated us to a visit to the Georgia Aquarium. The boys had a blast. We decided to brave it without the stroller and just let Liam wander around with Noah - it was the perfect decision. He hates to ride in the stroller and is finally old enough that I trust him to walk with us. We got there early and visited all the really popular exhibits before it got crowded. Everyone loved the underwater tunnel with the whale sharks and big sting rays.

(Aunt J, the above picture is for you. Mom must have been amazed by one of those Hammerhead sharks!)

As neat as it was to watch the fish swim around above us, Noah and Liam's favorite part was the moving sidewalk that went through the exhibit. Seriously.

We also really enjoyed the big tank. (I think I heard it is actually the biggest tank of any aquarium anywhere.) Noah, Bebe, and I staked out spots on the floor directly in front of the tank and spent a long time just checking out all the cool fish.

 Shortly after that Noah turned to me and asked when we could go visit the "lunch exhibit". Oh, and maybe after that the "toy exhibit". Is that what they are calling gift shops these days?

Fact: Taking two little boys to a train museum will always be a good choice.

Again, I am aware that the picture sucks but it at least proves that we went there!

Fact: It is inadvisable to try to go shopping at the mall with a 21 month old. You will end up in the Nordstrom men's shoe department wrangling an umbrella stroller, several packages, a bored 5 year old, two balloons, and said 21 month old in full melt down while your husband tries on expensive shoes and pretends he doesn't know who the crazy stroller lady with the loud children belongs to. Just sayin'. And after that super stressful meltdown in the middle of your favorite department store, it will be essential to stuff your face with food from Chipotle while you cruise down GA 400.

Fact: After being spoiled by Bebe for 5 days, it is always a good idea to have an impromtu play date to distract Noah from the fact that we are back to life as usual.

Abby Grace is a pirate, Olivia is a cowgirl... And I am not sure what the hell Noah is. Mario, the super hero police officer??

Fact: I am ready for the weekend. Happy weekend friends!

Random Monday Thoughts

1. I was seriously irritated with myself when I looked to the right hand side of my blog page and saw my post count for 2011. It says, 99. 99?! For some reason it bothers me that I didn't write just one more post and hit an even 100. I really like round numbers so much better. (I know, I know - I can file this under the heading of "White People Problems". On second thought, you can probably file all of what I'm about to say under that title.) Moving on...

2.  Last night my friend Jessica and I tried to go to our usual Sunday afternoon yoga class, but as we pulled up we were astonished to find both the main parking lot and the overflow parking lot completely full. I have never seen so many scantily dressed hipsters carrying yoga mats, walking down one street before in my life! The only thing I can figure is that it is January and everyone is full of resolutions and good intentions about working out so they all flocked to yoga class to begin their physical transformation of 2012. Well, even though I go on and on about the benefits of working out and how everyone should do it, I guess what I really mean is this: By all means please work out as long as it does not affect me in any way shape or form, OK? We opted to skip our class instead of being crammed like cattle into a hot room. It is one thing to roll around in my own sweat but the thought of having to touch someone else's sweat while trying to hold triangle pose made me throw up in my mouth. Here's to hoping people give up on their new years resolutions quickly so that I can have my non-crowded yoga class back as soon as possible.

3. Never, I repeat never, make important life decisions on your 5th glass of wine. By this I mean, it is not advisable to go to Bunco Night, drink 3 glasses of prosecco and 2 of red and, while basking in the glow of your $10 cash payout, commit to running a half marathon! I am kidding a little.... I did have that much to drink at Bunco but I was fully with it enough to know what I was committing to. One of my friends here in the neighborhood was signed up to run the Divas Half Marathon in Myrtle Beach in May and when I found out I immediately committed to doing it with her. I have needed a kick in the pants for my running for a long time now and I figured I wouldn't find a better chance than this. Running a fun, near-by race with someone else instead of by myself. So,  I signed up and now I have to get running. Officially I have no goals but to have a good time (They have feather boa and tiara stations along the course and firemen who hand you roses at the finish line so I think "fun" is a done deal!) Unofficially, I would love to run it under 2 hours. Even if that means 1:59:59.... Just sayin'.

4. Noah has a 3 day school week this week, and then he gets Thursday, Friday, and Monday off. Excuse me, but didn't we just have a 2 week holiday?! Oh well, we are using the super long weekend to head to Atlanta and see my Mom. Five hours in the car with Liam... I'll let you know how that goes.

5. Oh, and speaking of my Mom. She sent me this picture a few nights ago and I almost crapped my pants. I knew that Liam looked more like me than Wes, but I had no idea how much he looked like me.

I think my direct quote back to my Mom was, "Holy Crap, it's Liam in drag!" Wes is totally creeped out.

Happy New Year

And we are finally back to the old routine.

After 2 weeks straight of holiday events and time with family and friends we are back to business as usual. Noah is back at school, Wes is back at work, the guest room is empty, and my house is quiet. Can't believe it is the beginning of a whole new year. Although, I will admit, it felt a little uneventful. We rang it in quietly, drinking wine on the couch and watching Ryan Seacrest on TV. Yes, we are getting old. Whatever.

While I am not a resolution kind of person, I DO like the feeling you get at the beginning of the year. Like everything is a blank slate, and you can write whatever you want on it.

Let's start with this. I need some wholesome food...pronto! I didn't completely go off the wagon over the holidays, but I know that I consumed way too many treats. And that is fine - there is definitely a time and place for treats so I won't beat myself up about it. However, you can imagine my joy when I checked my email and saw that my first CSA pick up was this morning.

Look at all that green! Kale, bok choy, carrots, beets, sweet potatoes, squash, peppers, tomatoes... I have such grand plans. This should go a long way to helping me with my much needed holiday detox!

So, happy new year everybody. Whether you are starting it off with bok choy or a Big Mac - here's to hoping its a great one!