When life hands you lemons, make a cranberry chicken sandwich.

It's another rainy icy day here in the Land of Cold and Wet.

So icy, in fact, that our local library shut down for the day, so our scheduled trip to Toddler Time with our Play Group flopped.  Several ladies couldn't make it this week, but me and Miss L decided to power through, and after scraping ice off my windshield for 15 minutes, there we sat, in the library parking lot, with two little kiddos all dressed up with no where to go.

So we made a quick Plan B and headed down the road to a darling little cafe that serves all kinds of fancy adult food like Cranberry Chicken Sandwiches and Hummus and lots of other healthy things I can't pronounce.  We ended up pulling in at 10:20 and managed to keep the boys entertained until we could order off the lunch menu at 11.  I'm counting the fact that the kids weren't squirming after sitting in a restaurant for 40 minutes with no food, in and of itself, a successful play date.  But it gets better, because the Cranberry Chicken Sandwich was delicious.

Miss L is due to have Baby E in 5 weeks- just a couple weeks after Newbie's first birthday.  I'm just impressed the woman still gets out of bed on her own every morning.  I'm pretty sure this is the point in my pregnancy last year when I had to rent a crane to haul me off the mattress.

Newbie munched on some Cheerios and Puffs before diving into a delicious apricot/banana combo.  And before we ate, he showed off his mad praying skills.  We've been working on folding our hands when we pray, and he's starting to get the hang of it!

It takes some serious concentration on his part. His face in these pics cracks me up.  What. a. little. ham.

Wait for it....

KABOOM!

This little boy is like a sponge.  He is learning so many things so quickly. Yesterday he was pointing to different family members when I said their name while looking through his little photo book, and the Hubs has him slam dunking in his little basketball hoop.  Before you know it, I'll have him doing the laundry!  =)

We ended up hanging out at the cafe for a good hour and half stuffing ourselves with delicious grub and conversation before the boys told us it was time to throw in the towel OR ELSE.  When you notice ants in the pants of an 11 month old, you have about T-minus two minutes before everything hits the fan.  We pulled a "check please!" and got out of there in time for a good afternoon nap.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't keeping my fingers crossed for an extra little cat nap late this afternoon for Mama and Newbie.  We've been pulling some long nights around here, and I wouldn't be disappointed if I got to catch a few more Z's before the bewitching hours of 4 to 7 hit. 

I'm going to go see what I can do about burning off as much of Newbie's energy as possible in hopes of wearing him out for a 3:30 or 4:00 nap.  We're talking playing with Opie, bowling in the living room, and tag through the dining room.  We might even go outside and get the mail.  I'll pulling out all the stops here, folks.

Happy Wednesday!

A little yogurt, a little rugby, a little blood...you know, the usual.

Turns out my son is an early bird, so we got up this morning and got the worm.  Daddy-O left to play rugby at the gym at 5:45 this morning, and we followed not far behind to surprise him with a cheering section consisting of Newbie, Mama, and a YoBaby yogurt cup.

I'd like to think it was our sideline enthusiasm that won him the game.

After rugby, Newbie slipped in a quick snoozer while I basked in the glory of my official victory over Boris.  I can't say there isn't a basket full of pj's from last night waiting for me upstairs, but I can say my laundry was officially completed by midnight last night, and it feels so good.

We hopped in the car after Newbie's nap for play group with our cronies.  Newbie always has a blast with the big kiddos, but was bound and determined to make sure I didn't sit still for more than 30 seconds the entire time.  He spent his morning in the wake of his buddies, charging after bits and pieces of Goldfish crackers that he isn't suppose to be eating.  I have opted to skip the gym today because I am sure I burned more calories in Miss L's living room this morning than I ever could in 30 minutes on the treadmill.

I am also here to report Newbie obtained the first official play group injury, complete with blood and tears and drama, though I still can't figure out exactly what was bleeding.  He was playing with a toy in my lap when both he and the toy slipped, and next thing you know, he's bawling like his mama at the end of Armageddon, and the corner of his mouth is bleeding.  At first I thought he was just scared, but then I realized the red around his lip wasn't exactly a Puffs mustache, and that's when the mom-guilt kicked in, and I promised to buy him another dog and a rocket ship because I didn't notice how bad his injuries were right away.  He cheered up after a little cuddle time, and wasn't any worse for wear, so I snapped a pic for the baby book because what little boy doesn't want to show off his first official bum lip at his high school graduation party?

That is a break your heart into a million pieces picture, right there.  What a tough little guy.

I remember my first bum lip.  I was in third grade, and we were warming up on the field before a softball game.  I was a hardcore softball player back then.  At least as hardcore as you can be when you're 9.  I'm not saying I didn't look forward to the free Dr. Pepper at the end of the game and the snacks passed out to the team after a job well done, but I am saying that snacks and delicious refreshments aside,  I was one enthusiastic short stop with a love for the grit of the game.  So there we were, warming up. A teammate and I were playing catch along the third and home baseline when WHAMMY! BOOM! POW!  She chucked that ball before I was ready and that sucker hit my face and sent my lip straight through one of my front teeth.  I was bleeding like something out of Jaws, and my lip puffed up to the size of a blueberry- probably looked like one too- but being the Texan I was, even at the ripe 'ol age of 9, I got a hug and some ice from Mama in the dugout and then went right back to the field for the best game of my career.  OK.  Not really sure if it was my best game of the year, but I do remember looking at my daddy who was my coach, and knowing that I had to be tough and get back out there to play some ball.  And I did.  Just like Newbie got back out there and chased after some more Goldfish.  That's my boy!

Switching gears....

Yesterday I spent nap time here:

and it was heavenly.  (Don't you love the play-by-play?  Because I'm sure we don't have anything better to do than look at pictures of where I read. Someday I will get better at the need-to-know info filter, but for now, it's all hittin' the blog, baby.) I finished my book and can't wait to talk about it tomorrow night because LOVE.

The Hubs was a rock star last night and took care of Newbie for a while so I could wrap up some things on the to-do list before bed.  He snapped a few fun pictures of our little man:

 

Newbie is big into blowing raspberries on the side of his crib.  It's his new thing.

His other new thing is partnering in crime with Opie.  They are two birds of a feather lately, and they are all about sharing toys and making jail breaks together.  Cracks. me. up.

Well, as much as I'd love to spend the afternoon ticking away at the keyboard, there is a pile of dishes haunting me from the kitchen.  If it ain't one thing, it's another around here.  I'm just glad Boris was silenced for a good 8 hours last night.

Hope you all have a fabulous Wednesday!

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!