Confessions of a 4.5 yr old

"Mom? Umm, I didn't mean to. I was playing and um. Well. You can see when you get out of the shower. Umm. It was an accident. I had my blue crayon and um. I didn't mean to. And the blue crayon got stuck. And i didn't mean to. Actually it was my brown crayon. And I accidentally put it in the door lock thingy. And it broke. But you can just see it after your shower. Yeah. Sorry."

Mike: Hey bud, you wanna go to the library on Sunday?
G: Just you and me?
Mike: Yeah. Sound fun?
G: Um, let me check my schedule.
Mike: Wow. Unexpected.

G: Mama, if you don't get me some root beard right this second-
Me: Ex-cuse ME!?
G: If you don't---ummm---err--- I love you?
Me: That's better.
G: That's all I was gonna say. For real.

"Well, that's not fair! And I'm telling your daddy next time we go there to visit!" I wonder if Gumpa will give me a time out...

Grant picked out Mike's card all by himself. It read: "You're like a father to me". So, of course, I picked up one that read: "Honey, there's something I've been meaning to tell you..."

Mike: G, getting packing!
G: I AM! I don't know HOW many times I have to EXPLAIN this to myself!!

G's so obsessed with his lego star wars wii game that i have completely given up on telling him it's 'BOUNTY hunter', not 'bunny hunter'.

G: Twelve, firteen, fourteen, twenty nine, firty two, forty five! Oh my gosh, there's, like, forty five and a half!
Chaeli (age 4): Wow! That's so much!!
G: I know! That's like...a Hundred!!!
Chaeli: Yeah, a hundred! That's so much!

G: I have to tell you a joke. Why was the duck crossing the road?
Me: I don't know, why?
G: (looking at me like I'm an idiot, complete with hands up and snotty voice) I already telled you with the last joke, TO. GET. TO. THE. OTHER. SIDE. Stop asking and start 'membering!

Grant: Chaeli, could you please just stay here? Otherwise I'm going to call the police. You choose.

Just registered my baby for 4K. (He asked if they were going to put him in a bag. Had to explain it was different than the CASH register at the grocery store.)

G: I'm hungry.
Mike: Well, we're going to the store so you can get a snack there.
G: Can we go to a lunchrant?
Me: A what?
G: A lunchrant.
Mike: I'm sorry bud, we really don't know what you're asking.
G: (disgusted) A LUNCHRANT. You know, where you go get food and eat it there!!
Us: Ohhhhhh, a restaurant!??
G: Yes! Can we go there for lunch?

Heat Wave vs. Microwave

We are well into week two of no microwave and after the first few days of accidentally heading towards it to reheat something, we have, in 100% honesty, not missed it. Not one bit. Everything tastes so much better when heated in the oven. We haven't had to give up any of our favorites. G's favorite nuggets and burgers taste even better in the oven. Whether its the nice crispiness the oven baking creates on the food, the anticipation (and growing hunger pains) that waiting thirty minutes vs two and a half minutes creates or the slow, ever growing smell of deliciousness we've all decided that it's worth it. Even my usually "I'm-starving-right-now-and-I-can't-even-handle-it!" four year old is willing to wait 40 minutes for his beloved enchiladas.

Having no microwave has also made me more creative with whole foods. Last week we feasted for several days on fajitas after a trip to the farmer's market left us with yummy peppers and onions. I found an all but abandoned bag of dried black beans in the cupboard. I cooked those up and mixed in some of the garden fresh onions and the delicious factor was so great that with the exception of a pinch of salt, no other spices were needed.

In the spirit of this no microwave business, I'm taking any and all suggestions of your fav vegetarian recipes, so feel free to email me! (And thank you so much to KE and TL for your fabulous suggestions.) Oh and if anyone has suggestions on how to reheat pasta, please let me know. All I know is not in a pan. Not. In. A pan. Just trust me on that one.

And now for this Heat Wave business. Wow. Just when you think being stuck in the house in the middle of an icy winter with a preschooler is the worst thing possible, along comes a blistering heat wave. From inside the a/c'd house it LOOKS like it'd be a great day to play outside, but even a trip to the pool has to be short and quick (not to mention, not at all refreshing--bath water, anyone? Ugh.). So we've been trying to get creative about the indoor activities that our small house can accommodate. Lots and lots of Candyland games, many obstacle courses created from the couch cushions. I am now an expert on finding pictures of all poisonous creatures on the internet, thank you to the Wii games that help burn off 4 yr old energy levels, and books. Lots of books. We reached a book milestone yesterday that has my heart singing. Grant is now old enough to sit still for chapter books. We read our first chapter book, and he was so excited to be reading (okay, listening to) a big kid book. He's equally excited about the fact that he now has a use for a bookmark. :) So is Mommy.

It's About Time

This article just made my day. Seriously, it's about time. It never ceases to appall me (and yes, I feel THAT strongly about it) that restaurants think so little of kids' palates. It's always the same fare at each place: cheeseburger, grilled cheese, pizza, chicken nuggets and macaroni and cheese (and it's usually boxed mac and cheese at that. Really? Can't even boil some noodles and add real cheese, people?). Oh sure, they throw in sides of fruit and steamed veggies in with the french fries and chocolate milk, soda, or heavily sweetened fruit juice. But why can't the MAIN part of the meal be healthier? Mike and I are very fortunate that we actually have a child who opts for the fruit or broccoli side dish (and no, we don't have to prompt him, beg him or bribe). And frankly, the portions are usually triple the size they need to be for a child anyway. Mike and I usually end up sharing our meals with G because even he gets sick of grilled cheese. I'm not saying there needs to be kid sized versions of the adult menus, though a modified version of such a thing would be nice. But would it really be that much more expensive for restaurants to expand their kids' menus a little? Maybe include a few more non-cheesy vegetarian options?

Hot time, summer in the (tiny) city

Well. Guess I'm getting an F in Blogging 101 these days. I don't really even have an excuse. Well, I could probably make up a ton or turn some of the itty bitty ones into exaggerated claims of busyness, but I'd only be lying. My summer started out busy but lately I've just been lazy.

At the end of May I quit my job at Barnes & Noble after 7 years of pure awesomeness. Okay, it wasn't ALL awesome, it's retail after all, but it was pretty darn close. It was just time to move on. Grant was finishing up school and we were faced with the prospect of having to either find a day care center--after last year's experience, no thank you--or hiring a nanny but our beloved sitter from last year had the audacity to try to further her career prospects by accepting an internship. I know, right? I was finding myself putting in more and more hours for my sister and getting increasingly burned out with the bookstore, the commute to Madison, not having enough hours in the day to get things done etc etc. So, the logical option was to quit.

Admittedly, I spent the first month post B&N pretty depressed, finding it much harder to leave my bookseller identity behind than I thought it would be. In the midst of that, I turned 36 which has oddly enough, proven to be a number I'm not that happy with. More on that in another blog.

Anyway, there seems to be only rambling going on with this post and that just goes to show how out of practice I am. I am loving my new truck, (picture it in silver, please, with tinted windows) mostly because I almost never have to drive it thereby almost never having to fill it with gas. And the times that I do have to drive it, the extra space has been much appreciated (camping, heading up north with dog and kid in tow). I am finally adjusting to being a stay at home mommy, which has actually been going smoothly thanks in large part to my sister graciously employing me to use my brain several hours a week and in part to my couldn't-function-without-her-neighbor, JK , who keeps me company so I don't go insane and in part to the Edgerton Pool which is only half a block away and only $35 for a season pass. Fantastic way to kill two hours a day and wear a kid out.

Oh, and our microwave died (well, just the heating element. You know, only the reason you have a microwave in the first place) and so in interest of eating healthier, we've decided to not replace and/or fix it. We're on day three and I'll admit I've tripped up a few times and tried to use it (we really need to get it off the kitchen counter already!) to melt cheese or reheat leftovers. But for the most part it has not been a problem. It's going to be interesting to see how we shop the next time. Will we automatically reach for prepackaged meals or will we remember we are now forced to construct our own?

Basically that's my summer so far. Grant and I have been getting along much better since I'm not constantly stressed, I feel a little more like I can breathe, I'm still contributing to the financial status of our household, (just from home and w/o the constant temptation of magazines, new releases and lattes begging for me to purchase them) and in addition, finding myself having more time to cook, read, and relax.

And...ummm...blog more? I'll try.

Woe is meeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Holy good Lord I am sick. I can't remember a cold EVER kicking my ass the way this one is. I suspected I'd get one as Mike had been suffering from a small one last week and my little neighbor Baby P, who I simply cannot NOT pick up and smother with kisses, has been a little sick. I probably put the final...err..nail in the coffin seems a bit to melodramtic...how about "log on the fire" by camping out in the pouring rain, having only one change of clothes thereby spending several hours literally soaked to the bone and then sleeping on the ground. Like that didn't just scream, "Immune system down!!"

I even had to call in sick to work yesterday b/c I seriously couldn't move and it killed me to have to do that b/c I only have tomorrow and three shifts next week left. I was not planning on missing a single second.

Anyway, I've been a little short tempered in the mommy department (you could tell because I usually have sooooooo much patience. *please read sarcasm here*). But that being said, G had a couple good ones today that made me laugh out loud. First, is it just ingrained in us to sing in shower? I let him take his own shower today and was serenaded, as I cleaned the kitchen, by the sweetly made-up songs of a 4 yr old singing at the top of his watery lungs. The best part? He wasn't even aware I could hear him. He was just in his own little world.

These next two I'll just write in convo form:

Me: (exasperated) I don't KNOW, Grant. I'll think about it.
G: (super positive) But, Mama! I ALREADY thinked about it, and it's a great idea!!

(Watched previously mentioned, still sick, Baby P this morning.)
G: (grossed out, teenage voice) Mama? Baby P has the boogers.
Me: (distracted, as usual) Whatever, G. He's fine, he just has a cold.
G: (snotty AND grossed out teen voice) No. Mom. The boogers are weally big. AND he's coming by me. Please, Mom. Do something. Now.

All for now. Oh, and I've been totally neglecting my appreciation part of this blog. Tonight, as usual, my appreciation goes out to my hubby. Thursdays are the nights that he online games with other gamers and he really looks forward to his one night of release. Well, he walked in the door tonight, took one look at me and said, "I got bedtime, babe. You just lay on the couch and chill." Don't you just LOVE him???

What is Wrong with Me?

There are two activities that I really despise. Running and yard work. And for some reason, in the last two days, I've done both. Awhile back I publicly declared that I was never running another step again. I gave myself permission to quit, something I almost never do. But then last week via good old Facebook, my old running coach posted that she was going to run Monday at 6:15 and anyone could join her. Before I could stop myself, before I could remind myself that I'd quit and that it was OKAY that I quit, I found myself writing her to tell her that I would be there. And I actually went. And I lived. And dammit, I actually feel good. I'm going again on Wednesday. What has gotten in to me?

Tomorrow will mark 4 years since we've signed the next 30 yrs worth of our paychecks over to Chase Mortgage. And for four years I've wanted to clean up the brush that takes up, literally, two-thirds of our yard. And for four years anytime I've attempted to do yard work, the single act of picking up a rake or donning a pair of work gloves has been enough to make me turn around and march right back into the house. Yesterday, for some unknown reason, I got the urge to work in the yard. So with Mike's help and about two and a half hours of non-stop pulling, raking, cutting and tossing, we made enough progress for me to actually *gulp* be excited for the next opportunity to get out there. Really. WHAT has gotten into me?

Henry Vilas Zoo

As a general vegetarian rule, I technically hate zoos. But I have relaxed my hatred a little bit when it comes to the Madison Zoo. It sits on a beautiful piece of property, it's free and considering Grant is not likely to go on an African Safari anytime soon, it stands right now as the best place to teach him about animals he'd only otherwise see in pictures. And when he asks why the tiger only paces back and forth all day we are not shy about explaining what his natural habitat should actually be. But animal rights aside, here's a couple photo's from today.
Grant loved this guy and asked me to take a pic. He does look pretty relaxed and happy.

Just a little more to grow before he hits walleye status.

Cutest polar bear ever.

Suddenly 6 feet 3 1/2 inches doesn't seem so tall...