Some Ramblings

It still amazes me everyday living with kids. Everyday is unique and we are always teetering between delight, chaos, peace, sweetness, rage, exhaustion, contentment, joy, sadness, sanity and insanity. I guess it only makes sense that sometimes trying to decide what to write about on this space becomes more verbal diarrhea then actual thoughts or moments. So here are some ramblings. 

Today Mae pooped and looked down in toilet and exclaimed, "It looks like a flower." I didn't really think that I would be determining what poop looked like but I got to give it to the girl to see the beauty in crap (literally). 

Whitaker is talking more and more. So much so, I can understand what he wants. The other night I asked him what he wanted for dinner and he said, "pasta!" Sadly for him, we weren't having pasta but I hope my excitement of understanding him gave him as much satisfaction as eating his favorite meal. 

Today, I "allowed" the kids to make "soup." I actually didn't realize what was happening until the process was well under way so although it involved a mess I decided to roll with it since they were having so much fun doing it. 

Mind you, they decided to make it in the closet downstairs. I need to go through that closet now to make sure there isn't an errant apple on the floor. 

They were discussing what ingredients to add and Mae thought beer would go well in the soup.

Here is a picture of their final product. Yummy. 

We went to the pool yesterday and Mae was diving under the water and getting rings off the bottom of the pool. Now, she wasn't able to do it herself, I actually had to force her underwater but I was so proud of how brave she was to do it.

Although the weather has been really cruddy (raining) in the morning this week, the afternoons have cleared and allowed us to go outside and enjoy the longer days. 

With the longer days, we have resumed our afternoon walks around the block at night. I have determined that Whit would follow Mae into the gates of hell if she decided to go. He takes her lead on many things including not listening when I call to her to stop walking. 

Yesterday, Whit decided to drink from the toilet that had Mae's urine in it. (Yes you read that correct).  Also an hour later Mae decided to "paint" her teeth with a red uni-ball pen. 

Man (or Mae's) Best Friend

The morning after we returned from our time back East Mae insisted she take a photo with Ditka. I don't know what to say but that our girl really loves that dog. Every time I even talk about us having to get rid of her (we probably won't be able to take her with us when we move back East), she always emphatically tells me how much she loves Ditka and how she is "my" dog. I even suggested we get a cat (one of Mae's favorite things) in lieu of Ditka and she emphatically insisted she "wants a cat and Ditka." 

I have so many feelings about all of this and don't think that I am ready to write about them tonight. However, I do know that my girl is as loyal as they come. 

Tulips!

I have lived in Seattle for over six years. In those six years I have always told Pearson that it would be nice if we went to the Tulip Festival in Mount Vernon (about an hour North of the city). In fact, I don't think I have told him, I have begged and pleaded that we need to do it. He hasn't had much interest. I don't know what turned him around on it, maybe the impending move but today we finally did it.  The condition were not ideal (rain on the drive up) but not terrible (didn't rain the entire time we were there) and because of the weather being not so great, we didn't have to fight any crowds. Unfortunately, we weren't able to frolic through the tulip fields because only a few were in bloom and there were signs saying that you had to stay on the paths but my kids did break the rules (par for the cross) and went through a daffodil field. Regardless, we had a great time hanging out in the garden at Roozgarten and seeing all the beautiful tulips and other flowers. We did have to be vigilant about Whitaker wanting to pick and touch all the flowers. 

Here are some photos from our day. 

Rainy weather = great parking. 

"You took us to see flowers?" 

"Oh you mean you don't want me to pick all of these?" 

He can FINALLY say the word flowers! 

We told him he could only smell them, this is his attempt at smelling. 

Flower maze. 

And yes, him touching the flowers was a common occurrences. 

Lots of mud. 

I think this shot is hysterical of my kids staring at the person taking a shot. 

My girl and I. (My hair is terrible) 

This is typical as of late. Mae getting bossy. 

Even bossier. 

Trying to get family shot. 

Happy boys after buying tulips. 

We Made It!

First off, I was shocked and very excited to see that Pearson posted while I was away. We missed him as much as he missed us.

Second, we made it! I will also say that it was probably one of the best flights - if not the best - that I have had with both kids (even flying solo). Why? First, we bought Whitaker his own seat. The first time he got his own seat. Second, many friends convinced me to bring Whitaker's car seat on the flight and strapped him in it. I did just that and it made the trip less chaotic. Although not for the person who sat in front of Whitaker who got their seat kicked.

Third, we had a great trip. Although the kids both slept like crap the entire time, it was wonderful to get to spend so much time with my parents, sisters, nephews, and brother inlaws. And also I got to catch up with a couple of good friends. I will post photos tomorrow from my phone of the trip. I didn't bring my camera so the pics aren't a comprehensive look of our trip but you will see some of the things that we did.