Clothes for Little Boys

I have to admit that it's hard to get excited about clothes for little boys.

Seriously, how many striped polo shirts and pairs of cargo pants can a 10-month old own? I'm definitely a sucker for littler girls' clothes (ruffles, ribbons, seersucker, polka dots) but until recently I could walk by shelves and shelves of boy's clothes (stripes, plaid, denim, khaki)without once feeling the urge to buy something.

That being said, I adore--really, I mean this--I adore Halloween-themed clothing for boys. I spent 30-minutes at Wal-Mart lingering over displays of t-shirts with the words "I Love My Mummy" and "Daddy's Little Monster" emblazoned across the front. I'm entranced by the ghosts, Frankensteins and pirates darting across little footie pajamas.

I've managed a little restraint, only purchasing two articles of clothing for Ben: ghost pj's and a skeleton t-shirt ($4.88 from Wal-Mart AND it glows in the dark).

An Empty Fridge

Even though we haven't officially moved, we've been spending a lot of time at our new house.

We painted Cate's room on Saturday and my parents brought her over on Saturday night to see the transformation.

Later that night as I was putting her to bed I asked, "So Cate, do you like our new house?"

"Yeah," she said. "But there not any food in the 'fridgerator. And there not any popsicles either."

Hmmm, I guess we have a few more items to add to the to-do list...

City High Homecoming Parade-2008

Me: Cate, what was your favorite part of the parade?

Cate: The part where they gave me candy.

Yum! Sidewalk chalk is GOOD!

Well, at least SOMEONE is enjoying the moving process...

Why Do Giraffes Have Purple Tongues?

We go to the Niabi Zoo pretty regularly. It's just outside the Quad Cities, about 50 minutes from Iowa City. If you haven't been there, you should really, really go! It's a small zoo but perfect for toddlers and preschoolers--they can easily walk the entire zoo and are able to get very close to the animals.

Cate and Ben love the zoo and we spend a lot of time looking at pictures taken during our visits.

Today I was reading something to her about giraffes--they are the tallest mammals, they have purple tongues, etc.

Cate: Why giraffes got purple tongues?

Me: I'm not really sure.

Cate: Maybe they eat grapes.

Me (cracking up on the inside while maintaining a very serious expression): Good point. Maybe they do eat a lot of grapes.

Change of Pace

I'm tired of the dots so I'm experimenting with other templates...

The New Man in our Lives

Well, it's official.

Chris and I are now the proud owners of TWO lovely Eastside Iowa City homes. Although I knew the day was coming, now that we've actually signed the papers the prospect of paying for these TWO homes has ratcheted my anxiety to levels reminiscent of my days in graduate school.

We've done everything we can think of to make our house attractive to prospective buyers. As I told our realtor yesterday, we are definitely Motivated Sellers. Among other things we have moved a small couch, four boxes of toys, all of Chris' winter clothes, one oak table, 6 assorted throw pillows, and bunch of junk into storage.

We have mowed our lawn with feverish regularity. We have rearranged furniture.

We have turned all of the food in our pantry so that the labels face forward. (Picture the scene from "Sleeping with the Enemy" where Julia Roberts opens her cupboard and finds all of her Campbell's soup and green beans neatly arranged and realizes her crazy husband has found her).

We have even sorted our washcloths by color in case a prospective buyer views a disorganized linen closet as a potential deal-breaker. Hell, we even planted mums by our front door.

So, we are now turning things over to a higher power: St. Joseph.

I purchased him for the bargain price of $7.50 at the Mercy Hospital gift shop last week. (I'm not sure why a hospital gift shop even stocks statues of St. Joseph but the volunteer manning the cash register told me they've been "flying off the shelves").

On Saturday, hoping to capitalize on some positive karma after the Iowa/Iowa State game, we buried him upside down in our backyard.

I admit that I'm a bit skeptical of St. Joe's powers. I find it a little convenient that you can only use him once--if you move again in the future you need to buy a new statue.

Oh yes, and there is a disclaimer on the package insert that indicates for St. Joseph to be "fully effective, however...sellers must, of course, first do such practical, yet all important chores, as completing all necessary fix-up, properly staging the home and finally, adjusting the price to as to reflect true market value."

Apparently St. Joe doesn't make any promises when it comes to a dirty, disorganized, overpriced home.

I'll keep you posted...

Here we go...

Today Cate asked me, "Mommy, do horses poop?"


(This picture of Ben was taken a few weeks ago. Our friend Char invited us to visit her horse, Advocate. Although Cate loves horses, she was too overwhelmed to sit on him, preferring to admire him from afar).

Word of the Day: Maker

maker

\mak-er\noun. 1. a person or thing that makes something. 2. chef or cook.

Example:

There was no food in the house and dinnertime was rapidly approaching. In a rare fit of culinary inspiration, Erin whipped up a batch of French toast for dinner.

Cate took one bite and declared, "MMMM! Mom you are a good maker."

Labor Day Weekend in San Francisco

Over Labor Day weekend my brothers, Chris and I went to San Francisco. We stayed with my uncle, Steve, who was a wonderful host--so good, in fact, that we'd like to plan a return trip. :-)

Some highlights:

- Wine tasting in Napa

- Riding in Devin's Ford Ranger XLT (NOTE: This is a very small truck. If you don't believe me, see the picture. The entire time we were in this truck I was wishing that Chris and I had actually executed our wills before leaving Iowa City as I could not stop picturing the tragic accident that would crush us, making our children orphans).

- Exploring Chinatown

- Alcatraz

- Driving down Lombard Street in Devin's Ford Ranger XLT

- Watching the sun set over the Pacific Ocean from an amazing restaurant called the Beach Chalet

Cate's 1st Football Game

On Saturday Chris took Cate to her first football game. We weren't sure how she would react but she LOVED it!

She loved the cheerleaders, Herky, the marching band, the Golden Girl and the hot dogs. Chris said she clapped and shouted, "GO HAWKEYES!" over and over. Too funny!

Priceless

Today is my 31st birthday.

Not only is it a beautiful day that has been filled with phone calls, cards and kind wishes from friends and family BUT MY KIDS ARE BOTH ASLEEP AT THE SAME TIME and have been for an hour!

And that, my friends, is truly, truly priceless.

Baby Steps

Cate was an early walker. She crawled at 9.5 months, stood at 10 and was walking--really walking--by 10.5 months. I was thrilled.

Ben seems to be on the same trajectory. He started crawling around 7 months, stood at 9 months, and yesterday (1.5 weeks shy of 10 months) he took TWO steps.

It is, of course, indescribably amazing to see your baby wobble on his little legs and then, arms out for balance, take the first steps of his life.

My awe is tempered by the fact that once he gets going (and it's only a matter of time) life as we know will have irrevocably changed. He is already crawling into the dishwasher and climbing up full flights of stairs. He already tries to "walk" up the Little Tykes slide on his hands and feet.

I'm not sure how I will survive, say, a trip to the library or grocery store with a spunky toddler and a very mobile 10-month old.

At least I can probably cancel my gym membership...

Reunions and introductions

My youngest brother, Mike, has been serving in Iraq since September 2007. He arrived home on leave from the Army and we were all thrilled to see him. He was hoping that his 18-day leave would allow him to attend the Iowa-Iowa State game on Sept. 13 but, unfortunately, he will head back to Iraq that morning.

We picked him up in Cedar Rapids last week and he spent a few days with us in Iowa City. Cate didn't miss a beat---calling him "Uncle Mikey Mikerson," showing him her "tricks," drawing with sidewalk chalk, and going on walks.

AND, for me, one of the best things about his time Iowa (so far!) was that Mike was able to meet Ben, his godson, for the first time. Ben started grinning the second he saw Mike and immediately reached out his arms for Mike to pick him up.

Home Sweet Home

After several requests, I'm posting a picture of our new house. I'm just paranoid enough to avoid posting the address but will say it's about 5 minutes from downtown Iowa City and within walking distance of the school that Cate and Ben will likely attend. The neighborhood is great--lots of trees and lots of character.

AND the answer is no. We haven't packed yet. In fact, we haven't really started although I will admit that Chris did pack three boxes last month. (I'm not exactly sure what he packed but, whatever it was, we haven't missed it).

How two anxious, neurotic, Type A personalities can be so...unmotivated?...laid-back? ...lackadaisical?...is a mystery to me as well.