It's a shore thing

Here are a few pictures from our first two days here at the Jersey shore. We're staying in a ridiculously posh house a block from the beach. Yes, spoiled is a word that I could use to describe myself. Chase is of course loving the sand, sun and waves. Yesterday, he couldn't get enough wave chasing. He'd wait for the water to roll in and then splash his little feet all over the place. He took a couple of headfirst dives into the water, but it didn't seem to bother him too much which is a different story than last year. Today, he took great pride in collecting a bucket full of shells that he then used as cargo for his trucks. He was having so much fun, that he tried to keep us from packing up his toys when it was time to go. All that playing tired him out, so now he's taking a nice little nap in a big boy bed in his own private suite.

Noodle also has enjoyed putting on shows for Nana, PopPop II, MomMom and PopPop I. His ever growing vocabulary was a major source of entertainment--most especially the term "dump truck" or as Chase says, "Bum Crack".



We still have plans to visit Lucy and possibly storybook land, and of course there will be more trips to the beach. So be sure to keep checking back for more updates.

Memorial Day Weekend

We began our holiday weekend at the lake early Friday afternoon. Chase didn't seem to remember ever being there because everything was a brand new discovery. As we were walking through the woods, he'd stop at every fallen log and say, "What happened to tree tree?". He was very concerned for those fallen specimens. Little monkey was also on a mad search for "Sssss's" or in layman's terms: snakes. He'd look in every hole and say, "sssss". He really is an outdoor child as that evening when it was time to come in, he stood fruitlessly tugging at the closed door crying,"outside, outside" for a full 15 minutes. I think he would have slept outside if we would have let him. Instead he slept in the big bed in the smaller guest room. He really is growing up too fast.


On Saturday, we had a little barbeque with Mom, Dad, David, Danielle, Nate, Mandy, Avery and Jaden. It was a beautiful day even though it was a little chilly. We ate well, took nature walks and went for a boat ride. Then Grandma and Grandpa spent the night at the lake with us which was a special treat for Chase. We woke up Sunday morning to a yummy egg breakfast prepared by Grandpa and lots of love and attention from both Grandparents.






After the child spoilers headed back home, Drew and I took Chase to the Deep Creek Nature Center to see fish and snakes and turtle and stuffed bears. It was fun for the little guy, but a little on the dull side for us older patrons. After his nap, we went down to the lake for one last visit. Chase got to dunk his feet in the water and splash all around. He was in heaven. This also served to wear him out a bit so that he slept on our ride back to Virginia. Sneaky parents we are.



We're scheduled to visit the lake again in June. I hope that I'll be feeling up for it at that time. I think floating along in a giant inner tube while hugely pregnant sounds divine, don't you?

Jackpot

Here are a few pictures of Chase enjoying his new play set. We're quite pleased with the new equipment even though our favorite self-absorbed neighbors tell us that we are the epitome of inconsiderate as we are forcing them to look at a structure that is a "visual nuisance". Ever the resilient one, Chase hasn't allowed their cantankerous spirit to stop him from enjoying his new toy. The very first day he played on it, he did a happy dance from atop the platform while repeating the word "cool" over and over again. After that, he threw his hands in the air and said, "Jackpot"--or at least that's what it sounded like to us. I'm sure the sounds of his glee only served to make those next door even more irritable. What a shame.

Boohoos and Woowoos

Saturday night was my friend Nicole's going away/graduation party. She is relocating to Pennsylvania a week or so after school lets out. We're happy that she is moving on to greener pastures, but we're sure sad to see her go. Luckily her party had cupcakes, so that helped to ease the pain a bit.

Today, we went to the Volunteer Fire Department's open house. They were giving rides on the trucks, but the line was a bit long considering it was raining and we had a toddler who was 50 minutes past his scheduled nap. Chase didn't seem to notice that he'd missed out on anything because he was enjoying watching the trucks come into the station with their lights flashing and sirens blaring. As we were leaving he kept saying, "Bye bye woowoo".
Here's a family shot that the nice fireman took. Unfortunately, the nice fireman snapped the picture right as I was swiping a rain-soaked tendril out of my eye. Very flattering.


I will say that the little yellow hats they were giving away were a big hit. Chase liked it because it meant he was a little fire dude. Mommy liked it because it meant that her head stayed dry.

This about sums it up

Today has been my official "Be a slug" day. I got to sleep in. I got to watch Regis & Kelly instead of Mighty Monster Trucks. I even got to take a long shower that included a deep cleansing mud mask for my hair. This pampering was of course owed to me since on Mother's Day I had to cook a meal for 11 adults that consisted entirely of dishes that my sweet husband requested--but that's all just another example of my selfless nature.

Anyway, as part of my lazy day, I got to read through a few blogs that I haven't visited in awhile. I had so much free time that I was even able to click on links from my tried and true reading material in a search for more treasures to add to my favorites list should another day of sloth come my way. And--Hello--I'm about to turn into a blimp, so I'm quite certain that there will be more slovenliness in my near future. And that my friends is the story of how I came across this post from another mommy blogger that very eloquently expresses my feelings on why I choose to have this blog.

Sure, this little web space is a great way to keep family and friends updated on our daily lives. And yes,please forgive me, but I do often use it as an outlet for the release of the frustration and/or rage that I feel due to random irritations that I encounter in my daily life. There's also the occasional showcasing of things that I would like to have bought for me and wrapped in bright paper, but really that's just a public service that I provide for you dear reader.

But when you get right down to the heart of it all, the reason that I started and continue to maintain this blog is so that I can have a record for myself and for my children of what life was like when they were still my little babies, and I was still the center of their world. Time goes by so quickly, and it seems that my viable brain cells are deteriorating at a similar rate of speed, so I can't count on my memory alone to serve me in the future. Yea, I could write it all in a journal, but that could get lost, eaten by the dog, or possibly even destroyed in a fire or other natural disaster--plus my handwriting isn't always what you could call legible. More importantly, having it online gives me the added benefit of getting to read all of the love notes that are left for me in the comment section. It appears that I am totally self-serving after all.

Right Now

Chase says things like "Later School" when we're leaving his daycare and likes to eat off of over-sized utensils.


Also please note the dirt on his face that was acquired while he dug in Mommy's outdoor potted plants. He's an ornery little bird this one.

84

That's how many days until little Amaya arrives. Yes, I am that much of a nerd that I have counted down the days and marked them on my calendar. Frankly, I'm a little surprised that you hadn't already figured out what a dork I am.

For those of you who didn't know me during the last pregnancy or for those of you who were so traumatized by the events that you have since blocked it out of your minds, let me just give you a little preview of what I'll be like in the next 3 months or so...

First, I'm going to start swelling up like Violet in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I'll lose my ankles, my feet which are already absurdly wide will refuse to go willingly into any shoe, my face will balloon to Stay Puff proportions and my fingers will begin to show an uncanny resemblance to a certain processed meat found in the breakfast section.

Plus, I'm going to start gaining mammoth amounts of poundage as I will be too uncomfortable to move much...and little Amaya will still be demanding that I eat ridiculous quantities of food--chocolate being the most requested nourishment. That leads us to the fact that my belly will have grown to be basketball sized which will make a good night's sleep a rare commodity indeed. Oh, and if for some reason I am able to get myself comfortable enough to possibly sleep, the heartburn will surely keep me from actually sawing any z's.

And here's the scary part...this is what happened last time when I only had myself to worry about. Now that there's a little Noodle depending on me daily, who knows how exhausted and miserable I'm going to become. So, in short, I'm going to be one cranky Mamajama. I tell you this for three reasons:

1) so you'll feel sorry enough for me that you send me daily love notes, flowers or chocolate

2)so you can be forewarned and stay as far away from me as possible if you value your own happiness and sanity at all.

3) and finally, so if my posts become few and far between or full of whining and complaining, you'll know it's just a phase and I'll be back to normal someday. Probably in about 18 years or so.

Memo? Bye Bye Memo. Memo?

So the last few days, Chase has been obsessed with Memo. (Nemo) I am not sure why because he's only seen the movie maybe once in its entirety, but the kid goes around the house saying Memo all day long. At school he points out the Memo in the fish tank. And just this morning he found the flash card with the clown fish on it and very lovingly said, "Memo", kissed it and then gently placed it in his most treasured Smash Crash monster truck book.

Fast forward to this morning when we went on a nature walk at the local park. Part of the trek included a stroll past the pond. Little Chase kept calling for Memo as we walked around the marshy perimeter. "Memooooo...Memo??" When it came time to leave the pond and head for drier pastures, he kept turning back saying "Bye Bye Memo". Can the kid get any cuter?

I didn't get to take any pictures by the pond b/c I was too occupied with trying to keep the little man out of the water, but here are a few shots I got on other parts of our jaunt. As you can see from the pictures, he was so entranced with his fish hunt, that he forgot he was wearing a hat. Otherwise, it would have been swiftly thrown to the ground as the little stinker hates wearing hats.

Geese! With Babies! But Chase calls them "Ucks".

Listening to the guide talk about how tadpoles become frogs. He's soaking it all in...can't ya tell?

Walking along in his new Target sandals. Cool dude.

Listen lady, I know the difference between a real duck and a pretend duck & this here duck's a fraud!

Nesting

The past month or so, I have been on a mission to make the backyard and deck area my perfect little oasis. Pregnancy hormones are with out a doubt the cause of this over powering need to have a quiet little sanctuary. I am sure that I have driven Andrew crazy with my frantic search for the perfect pillows, bistro set, flower boxes and window coverings for the gazebo. Well, the man can finally breathe a little easier. As of last night, I am 95% happy with my outdoor area. That other 5% will come when I plant my flowers in their boxes and pots. Here are a few pictures of some of my treasures. So now when I tell you that I'm spending the spring and summer outside lounging about like I'm the Queen of Sheba, you will have a visual to go with my ramblings.


Here are pictures of the patio area:

Please keep poor little Fern in your thoughts. I nearly killed her when I put her inside next to a heating vent. She is starting to come back, and we continue to hope that the fresh air does her well.

Here's a view of Chase's sandbox. He loves to play here and get all gritty and grimy. I don't mind because I can see it from all of my comfy deck chairs.

Speaking of the deck, here are a few pictures of it:

This is the bistro table that I searched and searched for. It literally had me tossing and turning at night. Then, I found this lovely set at the Pottery Barn Outlet. And then Mellon was happy. The flower boxes in the back are going to be filled with hydrangeas--I wanted to see what they would look like before I bought a gazillion of them.

And here is my most favorite happy place: The Gazebo:

Curtains closed

Curtains Open. This by the way is where I take my daily naps. ;-)

Reading chair

Here's a view of the whole thing. Doesn't Chase's bubble maker add a certain degree of class to the whole ensemble?

Most of the accessories that I have used came from Target, Costco and the Outlet Mall. I am a bargain huntress after all. I am available for design and/or shopping consultations...

And lest ye think that I've only been nesting outside, I'd have you know that nearly everything is purchased for Amaya's room as well. I am just waiting for next Thursday and the arrival of Chase's new dresser so that I can move his changing table and little dresser into her room. Then, I'll be able to put her room together, too. Pictures to be shared in the next few weeks.

Our little bibliophile

Chase is a certified book worm. I think one of the reasons that he likes his new bed so much is because he now has free access to the bookshelf. When it's time for his nap, he'll spend at least 20-30 minutes after I leave devouring book after book. His routine is very predictable. As soon as I leave, he'll grab a book that is on the floor nearby and quietly flip through the pages. When he reaches the end, he says, "Next" and gets another. When he runs out of books that are close at hand, he'll get off the bed, go to the shelf, pick a book, bring it back to the bed, and begin his perusal. When that book is done, he repeats the process until he's piled so many books on his little nest that he now has to sleep in a very awkward position to avoid laying on one of the tomes. One day, I counted 16 books piled on his bed plus a few more that ended up on the floor. Here's a picture of the scene I discovered after one afternoon nap.


His love of books is so great that he even tries to read himself to sleep at night. He'll flip through the books in much the same fashion as he does at nap time with the main difference being it's completely dark in his room at night. I have no idea how much he can actually see when he's doing this, but he'll usually "read" for at least 10 minutes before calling it a night. Odd bird, my son.

Knowing this, you can imagine what fun we had at the library last week. His eyes lit up as soon as we entered the children's section. He headed straight for the shelf of enticing magazine covers and began flipping through them one by one. Next, came the shelves full of picture books. Having so many stories to choose from meant Monkey was in heaven. For mama it was a bit of a different story since I had to keep bending over to reshelve his cast offs. Bending over with a volleyball sized belly is not quite so easy. We probably looked at 50 books in the hour we were there. We came home with 7 books to enjoy--mostly books about trains, trucks, and airplanes. Noodle frequently turns to these precious books when he reads in his little red chair. I think this means that we'll be frequenting the library on a weekly basis.

He also loves to have you read the books to him. He'll bring you an endless stream of volumes to read. After you finish one, he'll say, "more" and bring you another. It can be exhausting even for a fellow book lover like myself. So, I have taken to recruiting outside help to feed the little one's addiction to print. You saw in the previous post that Nana has taken her turn reading to him. Now, here is a picture of Aunt Jenn sharing her literary services with the little guy. Be forewarned, if you enter my house, you too will be called forth to perform your duty as a book reader for the Noodlet.

Matzah, Matzah Man...

Chase wants to be a Matzah Man. Sing along now..Matzah, Matzah Man--Nana is reading The Matzah Man.
Isn't this a cute picture of Chase & Nate with Nana on Passover? Both boys got The Matzah Man book and a Thomas the Train for finding the hidden matzah (which is called a special Hebrew name that I can't remember nor pronounce--perhaps one of my dear readers will enlighten me?). Drew got to feast on turkey and mashed potatoes. I got to eat lots of Matzah brittle. So clearly, it was a very good day for everyone.

SWAK

As promised, here is a post about Noodle's growing vocabulary and his endearing new kissing phase. Let's start with the lip service that he's been giving left and right these days. He just loves blowing kisses complete with a loud smacking sound and a hand flourish as he blows them away. Everyone is worthy of receiving one of these beauties--his teachers, mama, the mail man--everyone. But the smooching doesn't stop there. Oh no. He likes to plant wet, sloppy kisses on anything with a face--could be Mama, Daddy, his puppy, his Elmo cars, a picture of a cow. If it has eyes and a mouth, he'll place a big smacker right on it. Of course, his most favorite time to love his mama up is when she's trying to do something important--like take a nap. That's when he'll plant 15-20 gloppy smoochies on me. Little stinker.

Now, to share with you bits of his increasing vocabulary, I have selected my top five monkey words and phrases for your reading pleasure. I am presenting it in a dictionary format so that my readers can have a thorough understanding of their meanings and use.

Atcsh (Crash)--This one is a favorite used often when playing with his cars as he collides them into each other or flies them off of the couch. You can also hear this particular word after the little darling throws any number of objects down the basement stairs. Doesn't matter if it's my decorative twine balls, his matchbox cars, or plastic cutlery--they all "atcsh".

Don no (Don't know)-- This is the phrase he calls upon when he discovers that a toy is missing a part. For instance, if he's putting together a puzzle and the last piece is missing, he'll point to the open spot until you say, "Don't know". Then he'll say, "don no", and a mad hunt for the little wooden trinket begins. Pray you find it soon, otherwise your ears will be filled with an endless stream of more "Don nos", "gahns", and "uh ohs".

Gahn (Gone)-- this one is used to describe everything from his dinner, to missing toys, to Mama. You'll hear it at least 543 times a day. He'll slurp the last of his drink, and say "gahn, gahn, gahn". He'll continue repeating the word until you acknowledge that yes, the white liquid is in fact, gone. He also likes to incessantly repeat "Mama gahn" anytime I'm not around. Lucky Drew.

Pur-pull & Boo (purple & blue)-- colors obviously. Except he only says purple if you say it first. And every color is blue. Example:
Mama : (pointing to a red crayon) What color is this, Chase?
Chase: boo
Mama: No, this is red. What color is this? (pointing to a green crayon)
Chase: boo
Mama: Green, this one is green. How about this one? (pointing to a blue crayon)
Chase: boo
Mama: That's right! You're so smart!

H pronounced just like the letter (no idea)-- He points to everything under the sun and says "H!". We still have no idea what he's saying, but it's awfully cute.

And there you have the top five Noodlisms for the month of April. Below is a video of him saying "Gahn". It's near the end of the clip. Before that he's saying "Cheee" (aka cheese) because there's a camera pointed at him. Also please note how he uses his mother as a jungle gym. Feels great on my pregnant belly. Oh, and the picture at the beginning of the post is from the Mr. Knick Knack concert at the mall. I took video there too, but I did it sideways...makes you dizzy watching it. Oops.

I will freely admit

that I am a posting slug. As you can see from the above picture, Chase is also disappointed with my slacker blogging. Even so, I still have no mojo today as far as writing a witty and entertaining post goes, but I can provide for you a few more pictures of Allie's second birthday party that was held at My Gym. Noodle enjoyed running amuck for the full hour and a half that Allie's parents reserved. He slept very well that night.

I promise that later this week, I'll add an entry about Chase's ever growing vocabulary and his new obsession with kisses.

Belated Egg Hunt

So, us mommies aren't really procrastinators or anything. Early in March, we'd decided that we were going to get together for a family egg hunt/dinner. The problem was that we are all such busy, important people that we couldn't find a date that worked for everyone until the first week of April. And really does it even matter that the actual holiday was done and gone? I mean it's not like the kids even noticed that Easter was a week and a half before. Plus, all the plastic eggs were on clearance, and you know how I love a bargain.



As far as the actual hunting went--well maybe next year. Chase played the game long enough to gather about 9 eggs, and then he decided that he'd rather climb up Allie's slide than pick random ovoids off of the ground.

Speaking of little Ms.Allie, that girl was all about the eggs. She was the only one that noticed that there were treasures inside the little plastic domes. So, while the other three played on her toys, she ran around the yard opening all of the abandoned eggs and eating all the crackers and oreos that were hidden inside. She left the broken shells scattered around the yard so that it looked as though a massive egg massacre had taken place. Too cute.

After such an expense of energy, it is certainly no surprise that the little ones were in need of some nutritional fulfillment. Enter the pizza delivery dude who brought our pizzas around the back of the house where he was met by our little group of delayed Easter revelers. I am sure that he thought we were very odd...especially when Andy shouted "Pizza Guy"--someone has obviously been watching too much Higgleytown Heroes.

Seeing all of the little turkeys sitting around the kitchen table eating was a direct reminder of how quickly time marches on. It seems like only yesterday they were each lying on his or her own play mat staring at one another and drooling. At this rate, they'll be the ones organizing the egg hunt next year. I wonder if they were in charge, if we'd have more success at scheduling the shindig in advance of the actual holiday. But where's the fun in that really?

A couple of incidental reflections on a Tuesday afternoon

A: It occurs to me after my visit with Molly and month-old Aiden this morning that I am wholly unprepared for the July arrival of my own little baby. We've got our groove going with Chase and his needs, and now I'll have to relearn all of the newborn tricks of the trade as well as train young Amaya in the ways of the family. It's too late to exchange her for a cat, right?

B: I really need to put away the box of mini-cheese sandwich crackers. Maybe just one more handful. Or two.