He is so cool

This is just one of the many things that makes the Hubs so cool:

He plays hard.  And Newbie loves it.

I took these pictures in celebration of Boris' defeat last week.  He's back in action now, but those few hours of victory were oh, so very sweet.

Ladies and gentlemen, I want Spring so bad I could cry.  This mama's got a rip-roaring case of cabin fever, and the only remedy is going to be warm air and green grass and a driveway that isn't covered in ice and snow.  SER.I.OUS.LY.  I've never been more sick of my four walls, and I think its because I've never had to keep a 10 month old entertained in them 24-7 before, but Baby, that's where we're at, and I am ready to get outta here.

Some of my itch to get outside might be due in part to the fact that we are deep in the process of prepping the house to get it up on the market, and Homie doesn't like the prescribed changes.  We have an awesome realtor, but I'd be lying if I said I'm excited about all the things on the to-do list before this puppy hits the housing market. Only one item on each shelf.  Two pieces of furniture per room.  The baby toys have got to go.  You might want to consider repainting this living room ceiling.

1. Really?  One item?!  What about all my books?!?!
2. Two pieces of furniture?  That wouldn't be a problem if there weren't 8+ pieces of furniture in each room already.  Can we rent out another house to put all our junk in while we try to sell this one?!
3. The toys?  The TOYS?  THE TOYS?!?!?!?!?  Heaven help me, if we pitch all the toys, The Thaw needs to be quick on their heels, or else Newbie's going to be playing with toilet paper and kitchen spoons, and I have a feeling that won't end well. [Pops an ibuprofen and considers hitting her second cup of coffee in 10 minutes]
4. Repaint?  Yeah, I can see that.  This one I saw coming given that I painted that living room in the space of about 20 minutes when I was a high-on-life engaged 20 year old and on a gotta-get-this-joint painted before the fiance comes home and tells me we need to wait a few months bender.  Needless to say,  my less-than-stellar cutting-in job left more than a few splotches of green paint scattered along the white ceiling.  Ugh.

I'm stressed out.  So I went to one of my go-to treatments when I'm stressed: I hit the kitchen like a cyclone, and I shared some of the wealth with Newbie.  Lucky for the impending swimsuit season, my victim was an apple and not chocolate this time.

Newbie makes just about everything all better.  Gosh.  Just look at those pudgey little fingers holding that apple!  Yum. With those rolly poly cheeks and those big blue eyes, it's hard to stay frazzled for too long. He's my little Superman.

Check out what these two hooligans were up to this morning as I ran around the house trying to cram as many chores into Cheerio-time as I could:

 

There are at least 17 dog behavior and health code violations going on here, but that's kind of the way we roll at 8 o'clock in the morning.  I tried to tell them sharing Cheerios is a one-way ticket to the kennel for Opie, but they are nothing if not true to each other, and the kennel threat must have been well worth maintaining their mutual loyalty, because they did this for at least another 10 minutes before I finally stuck Opie in his kennel while Newbie finished eating. I am sure this is only a foreshadowing of Opie/Newbie mischief to come.  I love having a little boy.  He is just too much fun.

The Hubs is a lot of fun too.  We're taking off this weekend for a Family Life Today marriage conference, and I couldn't be more excited about a weekend away with my man.  I listen to the Family Life Today radio show at noon each day, and I can't say enough wonderful things about it.  I am so looking forward to attending one of their events. We've got big plans to sleep in a little bit and drink Starbucks and hit up Olive Garden for dinner.  Mmm.... The conference is just a massive bonus on top of an awesome opportunity to spend some time with the Hubs.  So I cleaned the house in a whirlwind this morning, and I'm off to pack Newbie's bags and get through some more laundry before we head into a fun weekend.

Hope you all have a fabulous Thursday and a very happy weekend!

Is there seriously an entire serving of vegetables in a Manwich sloppy joe? Because DOUBTFUL.

Every time I tell myself its time to hit the gym, I get a headache.

I don't know.

It's weird.

I get the same headache when I tell myself its time to do laundry.

Or take Newbie to the grocery store.

Or organize the upstairs closet.

Like I said, it's weird.

The headache came again tonight as I was telling myself how I really should get Newbie and I into our swimsuits so we could hit up the pool before we pick up Daddy-O from work.  So instead we have blockaded ourselves in the den with a slew of toys and new pictures for Mama to post on the blog.

You know, priorities.

Also, will somebody please tell me what's for dinner?  Because as of right now, I'm staring down a can of Manwich.

In other news, this guy got up and made me french toast this morning!

Well, the big one did.  The little one just sat in his highchair while the big one did all the work.  The Hubs was thrilled that his mom got him and Newbie matching Red Wings Hockey jerseys.  Now they can BOTH wear them when we go out to the movies!  Or the mall! Or a nice restaurant! Or any other establishment where people don't really wear full-on sports jerseys.  The family tradition continues...

He is his Daddy-O's boy, that's for sure.  That little guy might look just like me, but make no doubt about it, he is his Daddy's biggest fan!

After a hearty feast for breakfast, Newbie and I took off for play group where we hung out with some of our favorite littles and mamas.  Guess how many of these ladies are pregnant?  50%.  That's right.  Half the ladies there are expecting a little bundle!  I am so excited for them!  But don't worry, I didn't drink any of the water.  However, I did have some apple juice, because who loves to raid a sweet toddlers' apple juice stash?  Me, that's who.  I have no pride.

One of my favorite things to do at play group is let my child run wild and have somebody else watch him while I sit back and relax.  ...Apparently I am not alone. =)

That's Mama L in the picture above, and she was our gracious hostess this morning.  It takes a heart of gold to host play group, because we don't hold anything back when it comes to sabotaging living rooms. Thanks so much, Mama L! You, my friend, are a TROOPER.

We had a ball this week, and it was nice to see Newbie hold his own in the transportation department.  Before Christmas, he was stuck with the less-than-ideal army crawl that left him as the crowd caboose.  Today he was right up in the brawl. Check him out in action!

Faster than the speed of light!  He gets it all from his father.  Mama hasn't moved that fast in all her life.

...Except for maybe that one time with the raccoon.  But that's a story for another day.

I am so blessed to have girlfriends like these ladies. I treasure their friendship, and Newbie and I LOVE spending time with them and their littles.  They will be rewarded in Heaven for befriending me despite my crazy. =)

......................................."This post keeps going?", you ask.

Yes, my friend.  Yes it does.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, we've been dealing with a lot of this lately:

CUP SWIPING.

So we snagged a sippy cup for Newbie at my new favorite store, Buy Buy Baby.  That joint has got some seriously good inventory.  He absolutely loves to swig the new sippy cup, but by the end of the day, there's still 75% of the water left. We're working on the sip and swallow.  Right now we're kinda at the sip and.... nothin'.

 He's been hiding behind that cup for 24 hours now.

Well, if you don't mind, I've got some sloppy joe's to make for dinner because none of y'all piped in with an offer to come over and crank out a pot roast.  I won't hold it against you.  But the Hubs might.  Because I'm pretty sure we had microwave popcorn chicken for dinner last night and macaroni and cheese the night before.  Did I mention I get a headache when trying to plan what to make for dinner?  Because I do.

Wishing you all a wonderful evening and hoping your week is off to a great start!