You know you are a parent when...

You find yourself humming a catchy tune...when you stop to think about it you realize it is a song from the latest Blue's Clues episode about weather

You are late to every event, appointment or work because no matter how well you plan, it always take an extra 30 minutes to get everyone (and every thing) out the door

Preparing dinner for your demanding toddler (aka "the Tyrant") leaves you breathless and sweaty

You go to bed at 8:00 p.m.

You constantly hear phantom crying

At the end of the day you find a Cheerio trapped in your bra

When someone asks what you have been reading lately you refer them to the Knuffle Bunny series

You hug someone hello and instantly explain that you are well aware you smell like baby puke

Showering daily is a luxury reserved for the childless

You know multiple songs by the Fresh Beat Band

A super delicious snack is a handful of stale Goldfish crackers fed to you by damp, slimy hands

You smell shit and are 90% sure it is either on your hands or clothes

While talking to your husband you accidentally use toddler-speak and ask him for a glass of waa-waa or when he comes home from work instead of saying "Hello" you forget that you CAN pronounce your Ls and say, "Hewhoa"

You refer to your significant other as Mommy or Daddy...totally gross but sometimes it just sneaks out

At some point in the day it is not surprising to find stickers stuck to your face

Your house looks like a Toys 'R Us exploded in it

You are ecstatic to leave your kids for the weekend...4 hours into the trip you miss them

Parents feel free to share...

GG Turns 90!

Kristin's Grammie celebrated her 90th birthday this past weekend. I was not able to attend, but Gregg threw quite the party for his mother with lots of food, live music, and plenty of gray-hairs. I was able to enjoy lots of leftovers. The live music, of course, was played by both Grandpas on the guitars and solos from Gregg. Kristin said they even had a sing-along and everyone chimed in. Cole and Henry were a big hit and held by many. I hope Grandma DJ gave them a boiling hot bath afterwards.

I think the terrible two’s are coming out early. Cole loves saying “Hey, Hey!” “No No No” whenever you attempt to move him or make him do something he doesn’t want to do. Actually when he wakes up in the morning or middle of the night he is usually whining in his crib “No No No.” I have no idea what his problem is lately. He seems to be a very opinionated little man.

We got out the potty seat for Cole, just to try and start getting him used to it. He has yet to go in it, but seems to like sitting on it. Sadly he doesn’t always care if the seat is up. Plus, he is usually in his diaper or full on clothing when he takes a seat. I don’t think there is any way he is getting his little “wang chung” out through a diaper for a bathroom break. This morning he told Kristin, "I go poopy Mama!" When in fact he was fully dressed and only squatting over the potty. He also likes to pick it up and move it from room to room upstairs. Then he sets up a little nest with his blankets and sits on the potty and reads books. We are going to have to set some boundaries as this will obviously be a problem once he actually starts filling the potty.

On a non-kid note, I decided that I should stop being a girl and save some money by giving my Camry a tune-up all by myself. Well, five minutes after successfully changing the air filter I managed to break a spark plug off inside the engine. The car had to get towed to the mechanic to get it out.  So much for that idea. CRAP!

Keeping Busy

I don't know what is going on, but we have had a couple HORRIBLE mornings. We have gone through our same routine, but Cole has been quite difficult to say the least. He just screams and cries about everything. He asks (screams) for something, and you give it to him, just to have him push it away or grab it and chuck it. The first morning this behavior started, Cole went down for an 8:30 a.m. nap and we were convinced he was experiencing a psychotic break. Hopefully this won't continue.

In the midst of all the crying around here between Cole and Henry, I now constantly hear phantom crying. Similar to when you think your phone is vibrating or ringing. I just always think I hear someone crying. I'm a little worried I'm going nuts with these two little ones.

On a happier note, we had a pretty good weekend. On Sunday we saw all the grandparents. First we went to the Stear's, so family friend Margaret, who lives in Alabama, could meet the boys. She gave Cole a set of balls, which he loves and now tries to carry all three of them at once...not easy when your Cole's size. I'm looking forward to reenacting some of the upcoming Aaron Rodger touchdown passes with him and his new football. I just watched the ESPN 2010 Green Bay Packer season highlights and almost cried. I can't wait for this season. I'm just hoping the boys will watch the games with me. Well, they'll have to if they want to hang out with Dad on Sundays. (I'm also enjoying this Brewers seasons, but haven't tried to make Cole watch a game.)  We finished the day out at the Grand-Fuchs's home and saw some cousins (Lisa, Walt and Ellie), Jer and Karla, and Great Grandma Dorothy. Kristin told me her mom would have a lot of snacks, which she didn't, so I was happy to see my mom had a nice spread for dinner. Grandma Debbie was able to put some last minute snacks together though, so in the end we had a lot of good food (Thanks DJ). The best part of the evening was leaving my parent's house without a trip to the ER (we were all quietly nervous as Cole got in his jammies and was playing around before we got in the car...seemed too similar to our last large family gathering.)

On Monday, we took the extra day off to relax and have a little family fun. We took a walk down the block to a playground. Cole really enjoyed walking across the wood bridge. Although, the most fun for him was just picking up and throwing wood chips. Woohoo! Henry was happy in the Bjorn as long as Kristin continuously lightly smacked his ass...puts him to sleep everytime.

We also managed to hit up two BBQ's over the weekend at the Schilz's and Kroner's. It's always nice to see friends nowadays. Good food and beer always makes it better.

On the Henry front (neglectful honorable mention), he is doing awesome. We always thought Cole was such a good baby, and he was, but Henry is definitely taking the cake. He is always smiling and cooing, and now that he is sleeping through the night I like him even more. Below are some random pictures of our weekend.

Bumbo

We got out the Bumbo for Henry and it turns out Cole is not quite done with it. It was a hilarious morning, watching Cole stuff his fat butt in the seat and it kept him quite busy. Poor Henry got to try it out for about 20 seconds before Cole screamed, "no no no," and tried to yank Hanky out by his head.

Finally wedged in nice and tight

Learning the meaning of the word "stuck."

Surprised there was time for this camera shot before Cole attacked

Mr. Long Legs loving Goodnight Moon...but only because he found it in Henry's room