Home.

Both of my brothers are in the Army. Mike went in as an officer and left for Basic Training in Ft. Benning, GA in March 2006. Devin enlisted as headed for Basic Training in Ft. Leonardwood, MO in September, 2007, a few weeks after Mike's unit left for Iraq.

After 14+ months on COB Speicher my parents received a phone call today informing them that my Mikey is on his way home. He is supposed to arrive in Ft. Riley, KS at 2:30 tomorrow afternoon.

Although he missed Thanksgiving (which he probably wouldn't have wanted to spend with us anyway--see previous post) he'll be home for Christmas.

Christmas will be especially special for us this year as Devin will also be home for the holidays. (He's currently studying Arabic at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, CA).

If you count Cate and Ben, this will be the first holiday that my entire immediate family has ever spent together.

Our Thanksgiving: A Short Summary

Wednesday: Ben has the flu.

Thursday: Ben has the flu. Cate has the flu. Erin has the flu.

Friday: Ben has the flu. Chris has the flu.

Saturday: Ben has the flu.

Sunday: Praying that everyone in our house wakes up happy and healthy.

WARNING! This post may not be suitable for all readers.

"MOM. This is a naked crayon."

A new equation...

Ben + Cheerios + Mom-out-of-the-room = BIG mess

Luckily Sadie is always willing to help with clean up...

Not to brag but...

The critics agree that my culinary skills are quite excellent, particularly when it comes to complex, flavorful dishes like French toast.

Tonight I prepared a delicious meal of French toast, yogurt and mandarin oranges (straight out of the can).

Cate took one bite and declared, "Mommy, you're the best French toast maker I ever met."

Question of the Day

Cate: Mom, does Elmo poop?

Cate's Chosen Profession

We are painting at the kitchen table while Ben takes a nap. Cate holds up her picture so that I can get a closer look.

ME: Cate, that's a really nice picture. Maybe you should be an artist when you grow up.

CATE: No.

ME: OK. What do you want to be when you grow up?

CATE: A noisemaker.

Happy Wednesday!

Good Manners

Although I rarely resort to the old parenting classic, "Because I said so, that's why!" when dealing with my 2-year-old, I do find myself frequently referring to manners when trying to extinguish a particularly annoying, gross, or naughty behavior.


Here are a few examples:


ME: Cate, please don't stick your finger up your nose/show your food to other people while you're eating/play the piano with your feet.


CATE: Why?


ME: It's not good manners.


Cate occasionally does something that she knows is naughty, smirks at me, and then asks, "Was that good manners, Mom?"


Then, of course, there are briefs moments when she really seems to have absorbed my pleas to just say "please," "thank you," and "excuse me."


I would like to think that such displays mean that I'm actually doing something right, that she's actually listening to me. (You can see where this is going, right?)


Last night Cate was coloring at the table with her Aunt Amy and they had the following conversation:


AMY: Wow, Cate. That's a really nice picture.


CATE: Thank you.


AMY: And you have really nice manners too.


CATE: I'm just makin' it up.

I think Oprah just might be a genius.

Feb. 08
Dec. 07


Although I greatly admire Oprah for a number of reasons, I rarely watch her show. Other than Sesame Street, I just don't have the tv on during the day.


My sister-in-law mentioned that Oprah is doing a series on how to "Clean Up Your Messy Home" and de-clutter your life.


One would think that I would have no reason to de-clutter my life since I just moved and thoroughly organized all of my belongings while neatly packing them into organized, labeled boxes.


(In reality, the first six boxes we packed were, in fact, organized and labeled. Then we ran out of time and started throwing things in boxes and hastily scribbling their contents on the outside. But I digress...)


Apparently one thing that Oprah's experts discussed was how to organize your child's artwork. The expert suggested that instead of hanging onto every piece of artwork that your child has ever produced and storing them in a pile in your closet (like I do!) one could take digital photos of your favorites and compile a photobook, allowing you to keep the images forever but discard the unruly stack of fingerpaints, watercolors, etc.


Brilliant.


AND my sister-in-law was gracious (kind, generous, thoughtul) enough to pick up Cate's masterpieces this evening and, as I write this post, is likely photographing them for a photobook.


Now that is really brilliant.

Good Question

The scene: One of the first cold days of the year. We're backing out of the driveway and talking about the cold weather.

Cate: Mommy, how does the warm get into our house?

Ben's Party!

Ben had an excellent birthday! Our families came to Iowa City on Sunday to celebrate with us.

I considered having a pirate-themed party but Cate was set on puppies. In retrospect, this was a good choice. Ben loves dogs (so much that he refers to any four-legged animal as a "dog") and dog was one of his first words.

We made "pupcakes" for the party:

Cate also decorated party bags for herself, Ben and her cousin, Ava:

Ben had lots of fun playing with (and climbing on) his new toys.

And the cake was good too!

Happy Birthday Dear Ben, Happy Birthday to YOU!

Today is Ben's 1st birthday! Happy birthday Ben!

The Best (Free!) Show in Town

Anyone with small children knows that the hour between 4:00 and 5:00pm is, without a doubt, the longest hour of the day.

I'm constantly trying to think of activities to distract us from the hunger pains, tiredness and general irritability (mine and theirs) that sets in around this time of day.

Today we went to watch the Iowa Hawkeye marching band practice off of Park Road (where they practice Tuesday through Friday from 3:30-5:15 during football season).

To say that Cate and Ben enjoyed watching the band would be an understatement.

They were statues. Rooted to the spot. Eyes wide. Mouths open.

They DID NOT MOVE for 30 minutes. Seriously.

They DID NOT MOVE for 30 minutes. I cannot EVER remember a time when BOTH of my children were completely still for 30 minutes.

They were simply mesmerized. The drums. The clarinets. The music. The marching. The golden girl. The conductor.

Cate wants to go back tomorrow.

(Big, big thanks to my friend, Sarah Tierney, for suggesting it!)

I love Mommy.

Many of you will remember a few months ago when Cate informed me that she loved Daddy more than Mommy (see "Have I Mentioned that Having Children is a Humbling Experience?")

Things have changed. Cate loves me so much that the mere thought of being away from me--whether for 5 minutes or 5 hours--launches her into dramatic crying jags. She clings to me, begging to be held, and repeats, "No Mommy! I don't want you to go! Stay here with me and Ben."

This, my friends, is a double-edged sword. It's nice to be loved but it would also be nice to get my hair cut without major drama.

Everyone assures me that this is a phase and that by the time she's 12 (or even 10) she won't want anything to do with me.

Cate is so attached to me that one might say she's become a bit possessive. A few weeks ago my mom was giving the kids a bath in the sink and she and Cate had the following conversation:




Grandma: I love you Cate.

Cate: I love Mommy.

Grandma: I love your Mommy too.

Cate: NO. ONLY I CAN LOVE MOMMY.

Nilla Wafers and Dog Biscuits

Cate: What are you eating?

Me: Nilla wafers. Want to try one?

Cate: What are they?

Me: They're like cookies. They're really good.

Cate: No. I don't want to try 'em.

Me: Why not?

Cate: They might be like dog biscuits.

The Princess and the Cowboy