Best. Husband. Ever.

One thing that I admire about Johnny is his ability to make "preventive maintenance" a priority. Our cars almost never have mechanical problems because he fixes things before they can break. He's not just a "I change my oil regularly" kind of car owner. Our cars get EVERYTHING changed regularly, and truthfully, sometimes I question the necessity of it, but the cars' records speak for themselves. While he's on vacation this week, he's decided to paint our house. Our house is not even 4 years old. But, he wisely decided that if he put a fresh coat on everything now, he wouldn't have to scrape all of the old paint off in a few years, and our house is getting a facelift in the meantime. He also is good at relationship maintenance. Our day to day life exhausts me at times, but in big and little ways, he refuses to ever let me put our relationship on the back burner. When we first got married, we did everything together. Trip to Wal-mart? We're both going. Trip to the bank just to make a deposit? We're both going. I didn't understand the constant need to do things together all of the time, but I loved being with him, so I went along with it. You'd think that would have changed when he had kids, but it hasn't. We have three little people that need to be dressed, pottied, and snacked before we can leave to go anywhere, but it hasn't slowed him down one bit. If he needs to go to Lowe's to buy a new doorknob for our front door, we're all going. And do you know what? It's nice. Our family is in the habit of doing everything together. Our kids expect to go everywhere with us, and I think it helps us to stay connected to each other. We're also on the phone constantly. When one of us is at work, I'd say we talk on the phone at least every 2 hours. It may only be for 2 minutes, but once again, we stay connected. And that's a habit that he started when we were dating. He's very good at making sure things don't fall by the wayside, and that goes for everything from our cars, to our house, to our marriage. I learn so much from him, and he sets such a great example for our kids. I hope our sons grow up to be just like him. Oh, except I am making a promise to my future daughters-in-law: These boys will know how to cook and do their own laundry. You'll have to beat the women off of them with a stick.

eBay is my Friend. (My expensive friend.)

Not for the first time in my life, I am duking it out on eBay. I don't know how I manage to do it, but I always decide I want/need something right after it is no longer available in stores. My call sign on eBay is cdheffley. (I like to pretend it's a call sign, like Maverick, on Top Gun.) And look out, because I am the last second bidding machine. I used to throw things at the computer before we had internet that was faster than the speed of light. Now, if I want it badly enough, I'll usually win it. Johnny loves it when I "win" things.

"You did not win that. We paid for it. You bought it."

No, you buy things in a store. Anything that involves this much strategizing is a competition, trust me. Win. Win, win, win, win, win! (Everytime the UPS truck is seen near our house he looks at me suspiciously. "Did you buy something?")

Now, my frugal nature and competitive bidding do cause me issues at times. I want to win badly, but not enough to pay more than I think something is worth. (So I end up pouting in front of the computer a lot.) Right now I am on the hunt for Halloween costumes. My son asked if the whole family could be the Incredibles. Long, long ago I gave up on the idea that my family would ever theme out for me on Halloween. But he saw it on a commercial, and he asked, and I said "yes" and started shopping before he could change his mind. So far I have bought Ava's "Violet" costume and Aidan's "Dash" costume. Mine will be easy. There seem to be a lot of "Elastogirl" costumes floating around. And I think we'll find "Mr. Incredible" for Johnny without too much trouble. Cooper's is proving to be the biggest challenge. There are not too many "Jack Jack" costumes in size 12 months. They are glorified sleepers, and yet being sold for $40 - $70 on eBay. Ouch. I'm kicking around the idea of having my mom help make one, but it'd be so much easier if I could just buy it and be done with it. I'm all about making things be as easy as possible right now. I was feeling quite energetic at Language Lane's first meeting of the year, and now I'm working on this crazy float for the parade, and co-chairing the Fall Party planning. I think I had too much coffee before that meeting. I have three small children, a dirty house, a part-time job, and I don't know what I was thinking. Sometimes I feel like I only know two speeds; one involves running around like my hair is on fire, and the other resembles a coma, except with lots of whining. But I am having a good time. I guess that's all that really matters. Clean clothes and mopped floors are highly overrated.

Johnny Appleseed's Family

What a busy, busy week. Evenings were spent painting the float for the Homecoming parade. That's about done, though, so this blog should pick up next week. Oh yes, and Cooper is changing rapidly. Personality is just exploding all over the house! He is a very busy little baby. He crawls everywhere, and now he says "Ma", but so far only when he is upset. It's a start, right? He is also trying to wean himself off of baby food. He just wants to self-feed. The problem is he only has two teeth. He cannot exist on crackers and fruit puffs alone. Ava did this, too, but she was 10 months old. At 8 months, I just don't feel he's ready for table food. What a pain. And, he throws wicked tantrums when told, "No." He actually throws his little body backwards onto the ground and screams. I'm still just so stunned by it that I kind of just stare at him. Just when you think you've seen it all with your offspring....where do these kids come from?

Today we went to Vaughn's Orchard in Weston to pick apples. We had a fantastic time. The kids were surprisingly very into it. Aidan even mastered the apple picker, while Ava chose to inspect the apples already on the ground. We bought a "peck" of apples for $10. I think it's about 10 pounds. The kids got baby pumpkins, too. Then we came home and made Apple Crisp for dessert. I know,.......how very Norman Rockwell of us. I am just outrageously corny about traditions and making special memories for the kids. No interventions please, I like that about myself. Here's what I don't like about myself. I am ridiculously citified. It's not that I have any desire to be a farmgirl, (because I don't!), but I was actually surprised that the apples on the trees weren't all shiny and clean like the bags in the store. (I guess the apples on the trees have not yet been sprayed with wax.) Had the kids not been with us, I am afraid that Johnny and I probably would have bought one of the prebagged pecks because they were prettier. So sad.

Young Love

There is a darling little girl in Aid's preschool class named Audrey. They have been pals since last year, and occasionally a "love" letter will come home with him, and I'm happy to say that he's not too embarrassed to show them to me. Apparently I underestimated Aidan and Audrey's friendship when I informed him that we'd only be inviting the boys in his class to his birthday party. I don't have anything against the girls, but I felt like we had to invite all or none, and 16 preschoolers plus neighbors and relatives seemed like a LOT of little people to me. Well, Aidan informed me on Saturday that he didn't want to have a birthday party anymore, and after a lot of prying, I learned that it was because Audrey couldn't come. He would rather not have a party than have one without his friend. What do you say to that kind of devotion? I immediately said, "Okay, Aidan, it's your party. I guess we're inviting the whole class." He beamed.

Yesterday I was telling Audrey's mom this story, while we waited in the driveway for school to get out, and she told me the sweetest story. Audrey was telling her how Blake and John were fighting over who's girlfriend she was, and Aidan stepped in and told her, "You cannot be their girlfriend because you are my best friend!" I could have cried. I cannot say it enough, but I love preschoolers.

Cooper IS a great name, Aidan!

8 MONTHS

3 DAYS

9 HOURS

The amount of time it took for my preschooler to figure out that Cooper rhymes with Pooper. Sorry Coop. Don't worry. If it continues, Mommy will threaten to throw away Star Wars toys. He can be bought.

Newsflash to No One: Mommy is not very patient.

Thank God for public schools.

I really do admire moms who homeschool. As a control freak, I can totally see the upside to having your children in your care all day. But if I were to homeschool, I'm afraid my kids' IQs and self-esteem would plummet. I am not patient enough. We have developed a routine at bedtime where I spend 15 minutes alone with each child, and we practice reading with Aidan, and identifying letters with Ava. IT DRIVES ME CRAZY!!! I love it when they "get it". But when they don't, or when they start making crazy guesses, I have the hardest time remaining calm and encouraging. I never thought I'd be that kind of parent, but I am. I have to mentally bite my lip and keep a fake little encouraging smile plastered on my face, when inside I'm banging my head into a wall. But I must be doing okay faking patience, because so far they really look forward to this time together. And I do cherish the alone time. My kids don't get enough of that. So I don't want to spoil it. If I were to openly be impatient with either of them, they'd start refusing to do the activity. That's how they operate. That's why Ava refuses to practice handwriting with me. She can write her name so beautifully. Upside down. And it makes me want to pull my hair out when I suggest she turn it rightside up and she says, "No, Mommy. I like it this way." ARGHHHHHHH! I think teachers are such special people. And I'm so glad my kids have good teachers at Language Lane. Matter of fact, if my posts are short this week it's because I will be in my garage every night after bedtime, painting the homecoming float for Basehor's parade. Language Lane is the defending champion for "Best Float". Oh, the pressure.

I Get Away with So Much...

June... Cori... who is that?

Like most kids who grew up in 1980-something, breakfast in my house was usually cereal or poptarts, and the sooner you could fix your own--Woo Hoo!! I didn't mind this, but I used to love eating breakfast at Grandma's house. When I would spend the night over there, she always cooked a hot breakfast, and if you didn't laze around in bed until some ungodly hour, like 8:00am, she would even cook to order. Well, guess what my new fave time of day is? That's right---breakfast. I am slowly morphing into someone resembling June Cleaver, minus the pearls, dress, heels, and combed hair. Okay, I'm nothing like June Cleaver. But I do feel very 1950s-like each morning. I come down the stairs about 7:10am, and head to the kids' rooms. My children hate to wake up. This is because they have Heffley DNA running through their little bodies. But, as all crabby-morning-Heffleys can tell you, there is a loophole---food! We may not want to wake up and make cheerful conversation, but we certainly can be civil for some serious carb-loading. So that's how I wake the Blessings up now. I just stick my head through their door, and say, "Aidan, would you like waffles, malt-o-meal, or scrambled eggs? Can I get you some sausage or a banana with that?" I don't even have to say, "Please get up." The little feet just slowly find their way into the kitchen within 2 or 3 minutes. I don't cook anything fancy, just the basics: pancakes, waffles, eggs, bacon, sausage, oatmeal, etc. I debuted malt-0-meal the other day under it's pseudonym: chocolate oatmeal. Whatever works, I like to say. It's become a very cozy little time of day. And it doesn't take long. We're done eating and getting dressed by about 7:40. I rarely eat myself, though, which goes hand in hand with mimicking my grandmother. She has probably cooked me 10,000 meals in my 33 years, and I have never seen her sit down with a plate of food. I'm just not hungry that early anymore. I ususally eat a cereal bar while driving to L.L. Oh, and that's the other development. I'm a breakfast snob now. I refuse to buy poptarts or donuts for breakfast. I find poptarts kind of disguisting. They look like lard filled with sugar. Donuts, I'm not necessarily opposed to, I would just have to balance it with some protein, and once my kids see icing or sprinkles, I can just scrap that plan. They get tunnel vision and can only focus on shoving as many donuts into their mouth as they can.
You know what else is ironic? Like all kids whose mothers cook breakfast everyday, they already take it for granted, and will probably never appreciate it. That's okay. I don't do it to be appreciated. I do it so that someday my sons can tell my daughters-in-law, "That's not how Mom used to do it." (Kidding!) I just want their day to start on a great note, so that if by 7pm I am considering giving them away to the neighbors, they will know that it's okay, Mommy will be nice again in the morning. Love you my little people!

Taking W.T. to a New Level

I catered a "Fancy Party" today at lunch. My crazy kids had been begging to eat food with frilly toothpicks, and I mentioned that maybe if they went to a fancy party someday they could do that, and the rest is Ingram history. Ava and I dressed for the occasion, Aidan flaked out, and Cooper only had a cowboy hat. We kept tickling him and saying, "Who invited the riff raff?", and he'd giggle like crazy. Johnny took a look at all of the little party food and wanted to know where his lunch was, but I'm sure the ambiance made up for the fact that he probably ate 1/2 cup of food.

Le Menu

Little Smokies

Mozzarella Sticks

Ritz and Cheese Whiz

(except it was the generic Cheese Wow. Class all the way, baby.)

Grapes

Pudding Parfaits with Sprinkles

Sparkling White Grape Juice

They had a pretty grand time describing everything as "exquisite" and "delectable". Aidan kept saying, "Please pass me some of those fancy hot dogs." If you look carefully at the pics, you can see Ava's crickets that she's carrying around in a little bug house. She informed me that it's not a party if you can't bring your pets.

We ate on my late Grandmother's china, and used the champagne flutes that we got when we were married. I wish someone had told me 8 years ago, when I was standing at Pier 1 agonizing about whether I need 10 champagne flutes or 12, that the only time my stemware would get dragged out was for Bunco and "Fancy Parties" with my preschoolers. I'd have registered for more towels and washcloths.

Accountability sucks.

In my ongoing quest to fit into the skinny jeans, I have come up against three enemies:

The Salt & Vinegar Pringle

Coldstone's Birthday Cake Remix

and Starbucks Caramel Macchiato

They are almost, almost, worth being fat for. Stupid size 8 jeans.

Cooper, Clothes, Karma....

Cooper is all grown up. It's so cool to watch, and yet it breaks my heart just a little. In the last two weeks he has started saying "Da Da" to Johnny, he crawls, he sits up from a lying down position, and he sits in his highchair and eats fruit puffs. About the crawling....it's not pretty, but it's functional. He gets up in the proper position, but then instead of moving his legs, he drags them and uses his upper body strength. He looks like a tripod..... or Lieutenant Dan from Forrest Gump. He's still pretty slow so we haven't "gated up" yet.

Here's my cheesy attempt at a music video.

Also, I had some good clothing karma this week. Here's my experience with kids' clothes. Initally I saved everything because you never know if you'll have another baby or not. But now I feel pretty comfortable saying that I think we're done. Three kids is good. So every season I clean out closets and have lots of clothes that need a home. Aidan's stuff is saved in tubs for Cooper. But that leaves Ava's things and Cooper's baby things. To make a long story short, I used to sell the kids' clothes at Just for Friends. That was a lot of work, and I might make $100. Then I started giving them away, and ever since I did, I started getting great hand-me-downs from other people. My friend Beth takes care of Aidan because she has an 8-year-old son, and this weekend my friend Jodi gave me a TON of stuff for Ava, courtesy of her 6-year-old Sarah. Hand-me-downs from your friends are nice. They never give you crap. It's all in good shape and it tends to be the kind of stuff you'd buy yourself. Anyway, I jokingly call it Clothing Karma, but I really think if you help take care of others, God will meet your needs, too. And as much as I love buying my kids' new clothes, they seem to need so many things, and every season they outgrow things, and... I get off on saving money. I am weird like that.

My name never sounded so funny.

Quote of the week:

"Are you insane, Cori?!----Aidan Ingram, 4 years old

(Don't you like that? When I'm angry with him, I call him Aidan William. When he's annoyed with me, he calls me Cori.)

No Rocks, No Scissors, Just Paper

Long before I had children, I had a little Pug named Wolfgang. (He died 2 years ago.) I slept a lot during the day while raising Wolfie because I pulled 12 hour night shifts at the hospital 3, 4, or 5 days a week. Wolfgang used to bug me because he wanted to go outside while I was trying to to sleep. Wolfgang also liked to eat Kleenex. So I quickly learned that pulling a Kleenex out of the box on my nightstand, and throwing it on the floor, would buy me about 10 minutes of silence while Wolfie ate the Kleenex. Sort of like hitting a snooze alarm. I was not always the best Dog Mom. I reasoned that it's just paper, it's made from trees, it's not going to hurt him. My friends thought I was insane.

Fast forward 10 years. I have a baby who LOVES to play with paper (and put it in his mouth). When he sees paper, he grabs at it like he's manic. If you take it from him, he will scream for 5 minutes. Tonight I was cutting coupons from the paper, and he was happily shaking the newspaper from side to side, occasionally putting a glossy coupon in his mouth. Experience has taught me that this may not be recommended by his doctor, but it's not going to hurt him. But there's the baby police, Aidan & Ava, trying to ruin Cooper's and my fun. "Mom! Cooper has a piece of paper in his mouth! Get it out!" You know, it's a small piece, he's happy, he's not choking, just leave us in peace. It's the first time all night he's been entertained so that I could get things done. A similar incident happened at WalMart last week. Cooper was again gnawing on a coupon while I tried to check out and who should disturb us? More baby police. This time in the disguise of a helpful elderly gentleman who took it upon himself to try to pull the paper out of Coop's mouth. I almost slapped his hand. In this day and age of supergerms, please refrain from touching anything near my children's mouths, especially if I don't know you. Oh but he was just saving Cooper's life, or so he thought. No more checking out in peace. Someone took Cooper's paper. "WAAAAAAAAAH!" Cooper's screams pierced the air at WalMart. I was very annoyed at the Good Samaritan.

Anyway, I think I may be a bad mom. Who lets their kid eat paper just so they can get things done? And why doesn't it bother me the way that it bothers complete strangers? Is it killing brain cells? Is there a hidden danger that I'm unaware of? I should probably go on record and say this: My dog died of unrelated causes.

C's Favorite Things (O would love them, too.)

Some neighborhoods have to cope with crack addictions and drug dealers. Creek Ridge has an Uppercase Living addiction. This might be my all-time fave home party. It's like Home Interiors for a new generation. They sell inspirational words, phrases, and pics that stick to your walls with adhesive. This is not an annoying party that you search for any excuse to avoid. We don't dread these parties, we actually seek the consultants out. I went a little crazy a few weeks ago and now my whole family is commenting on all the "words" on our walls. Here's a sample, and forgive my poor photography.

Master Bedroom (Sorry for the reflection. Had to take pic in the dark. Coop is in the Pack'n'Play sleeping.)

Self-explanatory.

This is one of my faves. It's above our fireplace.

Family Room Bathroom.

This is one of the coolest, it's in our family room, but I took a very crooked picture. The gap between Aidan and Ava's pics is the nail where Cooper's pic will hang. (That is if I can remember where I bought these frames.)

Front entryway. Kind of a pictorial of our lives since getting married. (Copied part of this idea from Stephanie. She's a fellow addict.)

Aidan and Ava's bathroom. (Again, sorry for the pitiful picture and terrible glare.)

My #2 fave thing tonight is Cooper's new Monkey/Alligator jammies. They're cute enough on their own, but they made me laugh out loud when I took him into our dark bedroom and I realized that they glow in the dark. He is the cutest, fattest thing ever. I just love him so much.

And lastly, one of the best magazines of all times (if you like to cook)....

I have not read a magazine so thoroughly since reading Seventeen in the 8th grade. I love the recipes, the ideas, the gadgets. I highly recommend this as a gift for anyone who likes to knock around in the kitchen.

The Countdown Begins

We are now 4 weeks into school, and I have a confession to make. I have never been this busy in my entire life, but I am kind of liking getting up early everyday. By 8:15am, Monday thru Friday, we now all leave the house fed and dressed. (This is the norm for some families, but this is a HUGE accomplishment for those of us who stayed in jammies until lunch a mere 2 months ago.) We drop off our school kid, and then head to the YMCA to work out. This has been a pattern for 4 weeks now, and it's officially becoming the healthiest habit we have instituted in this house in a long time. We get home about 10am, start some laundry, answer some emails, feed Cooper, and at 11:15am we leave to pick up our school kid. Then we come home and do lunch, nap, and before I know it, it's 3:30pm. My days are flying by. This is good and bad. I enjoy feeling productive, but I feel like I don't have time to get everything done in one day that I'd like to. I could skip nap (yes, I nap!), but then I don't think I could get through the rest of the day as a nice person. I need a certain amount of sleep, and I never go to bed earlier than 11 or 11:30pm. This means a nap is mandatory for my mental health.



I need a day that lasts longer than 24 hours. It's that simple.



I feel panicky and anxious when certain things don't get done in a timely manner. Here's the short list:



1. My toenail polish is chipping. Must do pedicure.

2. Must clean out my closet and get rid of all maternity clothes.

3. I need a haircut.

4. I need to finish making Ava's hair bows.

5. I need to give away a bunch of toys. Our toy baskets runneth over.

6. Must go through Aidan's clothing tubs and find all fall/winter clothes for Cooper and wash them.

7. I need to clean our bathrooms.

8. I would like to change my blog template.

9. I would like to develop a storage system for our pictures, and then actually start printing some of them.

10. I have to finish decorating our bedroom and bathroom. We've lived here almost 4 years, and it's the only part of the house with nothing hanging on the walls and no window treatments other than blinds. It's ugly and sad. Since no one sees it but us, we keep putting it on the back burner.

11. I need to get recycling bins and put them in the garage, and force this family to start recycling.



I could go on all day. I could quit blogging and devote the hour a day that I'm on the computer writing and reading others' blogs, but that's not a good plan. This is my hobby. This has become the reason that I can view motherhood with an improved sense of humor. I think that's important, too. (I can justify anything if I want it badly enough. I bought a food dehydrator from an infomercial once because I had this idea that I'd like to eat banana chips. College kids should not have credit cards.) Sorry, but when I'm tired I get off on these mini-tangents. Anyway, I can't be SuperWoman, or Sarah Palin (ha ha), so here's my plan. Institute one positive change in my life every week. This week I am going to start a plan called Thin Within. It's a Bible Study/Eating plan to help me knock off these last 20 pounds I'd like to lose. I made the mistake of praying for inspiration, and my friend Nickie answered the call. Having lost my baby weight, I had started to coast, but I want to get back to my pre-fertility drug weight. It's the healthy thing to do. It's also the vain thing to do. I want to wear my skinny jeans for my birthday in December. Whether or not I can zip them, I will be taking a picture of myself in them and posting it here on December 4th, so be ready! (I believe this is the accountability factor I have been lacking.) Thanks Nickie, I owe you one.

Future NRA Members

If you were at Cabela's today, you might have seen this:

A 4-year-old boy and his 3-year-old sister creeping through the exhibit of stuffed exotic animals, each armed with a PopGun, occasionally whispering to each other before unloading pretend bullets into the already dead animals. They'd hide behind the faux fence posts and then whip around in a fury as the sound of pops filled the air, much to the amusement of other Cabela's shoppers. The little boy begged his Grandma to buy the PopGun, and mercifully, she said yes. The little girl ditched her PopGun at the last minute, and begged, with tears in her eyes, for a giant catfish-shaped pillow. And unfortunately, she got her wish as well.

My mom turned to me at one point during the outing and said, "I just don't think they're your's." That's a pretty fair statement. I am a long way from what you might call on outdoorsy girl. The thing is, I'm not sure that they're Johnny's kids either. We have a mutual distaste for all things related to camping/hunting/fishing. If Cabela's didn't have a cafe and displays that Ava refers to as "the zoo", I can assure you that we would never find our way into it's parking lot. We are a very urban couple (who survived a big reality check when the KHP moved us to Beloit for two years). But we don't try to explain Aidan and Ava. We just accept them. (This is going to be our mantra for many years to come.) And I don't know about other people's houses, but in the Ingram household, all new toys are bedfellows.

Ava and her new Catfish. (Ignore the Perch in the corner. He's yesterday's news.)

Aidan and his trusty PopGun. (He keeps it propped up against his bed in case his Pa hollers for help.)

A big thank you to Grandma for making two little kids very happy today!

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun (And Control Everyone)

Girls are complicated.

Me: Ava, do you have any friends at school?

Ava: Yes, sometimes Cindy is my fwiend.

Me: Why just sometimes? Is she mean to you ?

Ava: Yes, she is mean to me sometimes.

Me: Are you mean to her?

Ava: Yes. I tell her that she is not my fwiend. But sometimes she is.

Already? I remember how cliquey/sensitive/mean little girls can be. I was a little monster. But I didn't realize that it started at age 3. Then I watched Ava and Reese together at the Mall Thursday night. They'd hold hands. Then one of them would break, and the other would pout until the missing link came back to hold hands again. When Ava was the one left, she'd meanly scream, "Come back and hold my hand Reese!" If I were Reese, I'd have let her have it. But they don't seem to get mad at each other. It's more like a little manipulation game they play with each other. But their feelings get hurt so easily! It's so much simpler with Aidan. He loves everyone. He's friends with everyone. I don't think Aidan has ever been mad at any friend, except his sister. But now that I've seen her in action, I'm not sure I can blame him. But I don't think you're a bad girl, Ava. Anyone with an X-chromosome has been there and understands. Even at the tender age of 3, girls are very into relationships. You have a long road ahead little friend.

Because turning 5 is a big deal...

Possible party venues for Aidan's 5th Birthday:

1. Chuck E. Cheese (No, thank you. Too chaotic. Too loud, too many strangers, too many tickets to win cheap prizes, and too hot.)

2. Deanna Rose Farm Pumpkin Patch (No, thank you. Tried that. Can't trust Mother Nature. Rained all day and we ended up at Chuck E. Cheese.)

3. Ranch Bowl (Did that for 1st Birthday)

4. Home (No, thank you. Too much clean-up involved.)

5. Monkey Bizness?

So we spent Thursday night checking out a place called Monkey Bizness. The five of us, plus Reese (Ava's BFF) went out for some playtime and pizza. What a neat facility! Bouncy toys everywhere, and the parents are encouraged to play as well. A special toddler area for those 3 and under. And you can rent out their 5,000 sq. ft. party room and have the whole thing to yourselves! It's even better than the Open Play area you see in our video. The kids will get one hour of playtime, then 30 minutes in the Party Room for cake and ice cream. They even printed up the invitations for me! Oh yes, forgot to mention, impulse-buyer that I am, I immediately forked over the deposit. Aidan can invite up to 25 kids, with unlimited adults. I think I'm now more excited about his birthday than he is. I love planning parties.

Is this fun, Mom?

Okay, I guess I won't cry.

Cast your vote for a new crock pot

No one in this house is entertaining my newfound interest in politics. This means that if I think I'm going to watch the Democrat or Republican convention speeches, I'll be doing it on C-Span reruns the next day at the Y. That's right, I watched Sarah Palin's speech today while I was on the eliptical machine. And I enjoyed watching it enough that I did 15 minutes longer on the eliptical than I intended to. (Anyone who gets bored while doing cardio knows that 15 minutes on an eliptical is the equivalent to 5 hours regular time.) She's good. Now, I can't wait for the Presidential and Vice-Presidential debates. That's when I'll use my DVR, listen to all key issues, and once and for all decide how I'll cast my two votes. That's right I get two votes. The man who I've pledged to stay with until 'death does us part' cares so little about politics that he'll say, "Who are we voting for?" Yea for me.

On to important issues.....crock pots, slow cookers, whatever you call them. I need a new one, and I don't know what kind to buy. I am researching them, but if anyone has any advice I'd appreciate it. I love nothing more on a cool Fall day (or a snowy Winter day) than to have my dinner simmering in the house all day: Roasts, Soups/Stews, etc. It's like a warm homemade dinner without the work. Johnny is not a crock pot fan. I think that's because he doesn't appreciate the time factor. I'm the cook around here, so Johnny always has a warm, homemade dinner without the work.

This is my current crockpot. This is a single girl model, suitable for taking Rotel to work. It is not good for making a delectable roast with vegetables for a family of 4 1/2. I have outgrown it.

This is the crockpot that I made my sister register for. I told her that the timer was a good thing, the removable-inner-pot-thingamajig, and it was 6 quarts. How are you liking it Meg? Thumbs up? Features you wish it had?

Ending on a funny note, let's discuss Cooper. That poor little guy is trying to commando crawl, but he can only go in reverse. He gets so frustrated that he puts his head down and cries. I started to make a video of it, but it just seemed wrong. He was just too sad. He can spin, though. He sits down and can spin in 360* circles to reach what he wants. Enough spinning can move a baby 3 or 4 feet in 30 minutes. We haven't had to gate the stairs yet, but our day is coming.

Send Help.

Today is one of those days when I can't seem to finish anything that I start. This house is a MESS. And before I can clean a single room, someone needs to be fed/cleaned/napped/disciplined/changed, etc. We are eagerly awaiting Daddy's arrival at 3:05pm. Mommy needs reinforcements. Badly. Here are a few random shots of our day:

This area of the kitchen is fast becoming known as "Cooper's Corner". All brightly colored plastic toys seemed to migrate here in an effort to keep Cooper entertained while Mommy cooks.

Rain outside, tornado inside:

Here is Ava napping after dismantling her room. Looks like hard work.

I don't know why these little men are tied to the bannister.....just one of the joys of having a son.

Squeak wants to be a werewolf.

"I am feeding my hamster. Her name is Squeak."

The Olympics of the Imagination continue. Ava loves to be pets in these games. Sometimes she also plays a dog named Mystery. Aidan doesn't usually get to be the pet because he won't drink water out of a bowl. That is a criteria that Ava polices very carefully. I heard him trying to convince her that he could lap ice water from a cup, and she wasn't having it.

Sorry they're not clothed. They never have their hair combed or clothes on when these games begin, (hence, the reason there are no pics of "Mystery the dog".) My standards for what is acceptable behavior/dress get lower every day.

Happy Labor Day! I'm a little sad to see summer ending, but I started planning Aidan's birthday party today. He turns 5 on October 30th. We also did some Halloween costume shopping at the Legends. Right now, they're discussing the possibility of being boy and girl werewolves. They change their minds every day, though. That's right, we discuss Halloween costumes almost every day. They are obsessed year round with dress-up clothes and costumes. Halloween just provides the perfect outlet. I have begged them to let me come up with a cute theme for the three of them, and they just won't let me have any say. Bummer.