A Sunday Morning

Today we decided to skip church (yes, I have been trying to go with Mae every week and have been pretty religious about it for the last few months) and head to spend a family morning taking the ferry to Bainbridge Island for brunch. I hope God forgives me. I can't remember the last time I have gone to brunch. And I don't believe I have ever been to brunch with my two kids since they both could walk. Brunch with MY kids does not equal a lazy Sunday meal with mimosas but instead scarfing down food and hoping that we don't ruin everyone else's lazy Sunday morning. 

All in all it was a pretty good day. Whitaker is fighting a cold so he wasn't in the best of spirits and Mae had a few meltdowns near the end of the trip but do I say that is a pretty typical adventure for our family.  

Here are photos from our little trip. 

Walking to the ferry. 

Whitaker and I beat Mae and Pearson across the street. Here he is screaming that we all aren't together. 

Waiting for the ferry. Pretty excited by the Ferris Wheel. 

Waiting. 

And more waiting. 

Trying to convince Mae to take a picture with me. She turned her back and refused. 

She eventually warmed up to it but refused to take a "normal" picture. 

This is what Mae's hair looked like. Yes, we let her go out like that. I also failed to mention that outfit, which was her choice. 

Done waiting and on our way to board. 

On board. 

A man and his phone and his boy. 

Pearson photo bombing this picture. 

Checking out the Seattle waterfront. 

Trying to get my kids to take a picture with me. As you will see this is a recurring thing and no one ever wants to cooperate. 

Ready to get off the ferry. 

Chocolate milk and ketchup (with hash browns) = breakfast of champions. 

And then I had to get out my phone so we could enjoy the rest of our meal in relative peace. 

Pearson had to have Whit on his lap. 

Walking off our breakfast. 

Whitaker upset that he couldn't get out. 

So we let him out.  

Attempting a family photo - again no one interested but me. 

And another attempt. 

Back on the ferry and lots of tears.  She was upset that Pearson wouldn't let her pick her own dandoline, even though we were going to miss the ferry. 

Another try at a mother/daughter shot. 

Outside after we set sail. 

You would have thought I would have learned my lesson by now. 

Nope. 

Nope. 

And nope. 

Just Plain Nasty

And this post is going to fall under the category of Just Plain Nasty. Like under the category of one of the nastiest things I have ever seen. If you have a weak stomach this might be where you should stop reading.

Tonight after coming home from working at the homeless shelter, I heard Ditka in the kids bathroom slurping something. I go in to discover that she is eating Mae's diarrhea that was in Mae's little potty on the floor. I mean NASTY! Yes, it is also pretty nasty that Pearson and I didn't know that that was in there. However to shift blame from us and to our most disgusting, nasty dog, Mae is a stealth pooper and just goes in and does her business and doesn't ever tell us.

Ok, time for some wine. 

Just Like Daddy

Last night Mae kept bouncing in and out of bed. (I think the reason was that she ended up taking an hour and half nap yesterday. Unheard of. In fact, this is the first time she has napped in a bed in months). After about the fifth time she came out of her room she wasn't wearing a shirt.

Me: Mae why is your shirt off? 
Mae: Because my belly is sweaty and I want to be like Daddy. He doesn't wear a shirt to sleep. 

Later in the night. After Mae FINALLY went to bed, Pearson and I are talking.

Me: You know you are teaching your daughter to enjoy being topless. If she likes doing it when she is older that one is on you buddy. 
Pearson: As I have said before, you spend the majority of the time with her so it will be your fault. 

Thank You Mom and Dad

Last night I volunteered at the shelter from 5 pm to 7 am. It is always sobering to be with little kids who don't have homes and find dreams in a tent housed in a large room with five other families. It also makes me forever grateful for what I have and what my kids have. I worked the 5 to 8 pm shift with my good friend, Kate. In our conversation about the families and being there she said to me, "We are so lucky to have the parents that we had."

From my personal experience of working at the shelter, I have realized that the majority of the parents came from troubled or less then ideal family circumstances themselves. Some families have shared their stories of growing up in foster care or having parents that weren't supportive. They all sound like they grew up on the margins and low income. These parents currently at the shelter love their children and are trying to do the best they can. I see it by the way they interact and care for their babies but I also wonder and worry are their kids on the path to homelessness? I don't intend for this blog post to be a policy or a philosphical debate about homelessness. Back to Kate's point. We are lucky to have the parents we have. Why? Because they have given us opportunities and an "easy" life.

A big thank you to my parents for everything. I am not able to say in the same sentence that I and my kids are grateful to have what we have without giving my parents the credit. They provided me with a home, my very own bed to sleep in at night, and food on the table. They provided me safety and security. They valued education and made sure that they did everything in their power to make me strive to do well academically. They have always supported me and encouraged my spirit. They taught me the importance of discipline, responsibility, and respect. They gave me everything in their capabilities to make sure I was loved, supported, and valued. They made sure that I didn't have to worry about finances as a kid or everyday "adult" stresses. They have always welcomed me home anytime I have wanted to be there - post college, post job, and now it looks like we will be moving in with them when we move back to Virginia. They have REALLY listened to my problems and troubles and have given me sound advice and help. They still do all these things today and MORE.

I feel like I won the lottery by having them as parents and it makes me feel lucky (and forever blessed) to call them Mom and Dad. 

Ramblings

My mom pointed out to me that I haven't posted in quite awhile. I don't know what has happened that I have gotten out of the habit of posting every few days - part laziness, part busy. Anyways, what has been going on.

I have been coordinating another week at the homeless shelter, Julia's Place. Tomorrow night is the start of the week that I have taken on. Along with coordination, I am spending the night twice, working the 5 to 8 shift twice, and Pearson is spending the night. I am looking forward to it and getting a chance to give back.

Whitaker speech has started to take off. Let's not get ahead of ourselves and think that he is speaking sentences yet. However, his vocabulary has progressed beyond "milk," "up," "owl," "mama," and "daddy." He can now say Ditka, blankie, shoes, plus many other words and has even started to count. I think he can only get to two but hey, it is progress! Whitaker particularly loves wearing Mae's pink boots. He brings them over to me and says, "boots!" Despite them being three sizes too big and them falling off every five steps. He rocks them like they are his.

I have agreed to run the bake sale for our community event Mayfair. It isn't till mid-May but the logistics are in motion.

Mae has started to work on floating on her back in the bathtub. She has never felt comfortable totally immersing her ears under water while on her back. We can only see if this translates into floating in the pool but happy that she has been willing to try it.

We have met with two real estate agents and are meeting with a couple of more to determine who we would like to sell our house for our move. Last week was busy making sure the house wasn't a total dump when they walked in.

Playing hide and seek has become a daily ritual in our house. I wouldn't say that my kids are the best hiders but their enthusiasm for the game is unparalleled.

This happened last Friday while three blocks from our house. Whitaker has no regard for his personal safety and fell while standing on his purple car. I blame myself for not making sure he was sitting on it. Thankfully there was a minute of tears and nothing severely busted.

Mae loves taking my phone and using it take photos. The only problem is that she doesn't take one or two photos but 30 at a time. And the 30 photos are the exact same thing. Here is one that she took of Minnie and "Mrs. Claus."

Pearson and I went on a date last night. The babysitter came at 5 pm, meaning she did baths for our kids and put them to bed. Nothing like a date night to get your batteries recharged. When Pearson and I asked Mae, "Did you have fun with Karla last night?" She replied, "Not much, Whit was a total maniac." Note to self: Stop staying that Whit is a maniac in front of Mae. He is though.

This afternoon Mae carried her scooter over the bumpy sidewalk on the way to the park. I asked her if she needed a hand. To which she replied, "Mom, I can do it. I am strong." Glad to hear that I am raising a girl with that type of "can do" attitude. And just to let you know she is strong - in spirit and physicality.

My kids love each other more and more each day. Here is them playing in the park together last Monday. Mae is blowing zerberts on Whit's belly and he thinks it is the funniest thing.

My kids also get annoyed with each other. Look at Mae's face after Whitaker rams her on the slide.

Even though my dog drives me crazy. My kids thinks she is great. Here she is being a willing patient.

My kids can't seem to keep their hands to themselves, which leads to a lot of fights in this house as of late. I tell them to keep away from each other but too often I find them like this. 

And this...

And this...

And this...

Well there you have it, this is what we have been doing.