LuLu, Princess of Poo Poo

Lucy is a farter. From day 1 she did not hold anything back. And then of course there is the now infamous Christmas Eve poo, where she fashioned her own way to welcome a new family member. For obvious reasons, her bodily functions are somewhat of a comedic novelty around here. That is, when she decides to go...
For 4 days Lucy has held it all back. Yes, ALL of it. She's frustrated, I'm frustrated. Both of us are near tears every time she pushes, grunts, and wiggles. It's horrible. I have even resorted to depths I would have sworn beyond the limits of my parenting: eating prunes (yes, prunes, the favorite fruit of the geriatric generation) so that my nursing baby would have a little more help in the diaper department. It has been an awful.
Today is New Years Eve and like many others we are planning to get together with a few friends to round off a lovely year and welcome in yet another. Our only problem so far is Lucy, the ticking time bomb of a baby we know will detonate as soon as we begin our festivities.
Wish us luck...

Petty Thief

SO...I just learned how to "steal" photos from my cousin's blog and save them to my computer. She's got some fantastic pics from Christmas and since my camera is no longer with us (RIP my dear burnt out Cannon) I am going to post them here too for your enjoyment. Hopefully she will not press charges...

Post-Christmas Cheer

I always feel like Christmas takes forever to get here then is over way too quickly. The kids make the fun last a little longer, but only because they get so much that some toys have to wait until the day after to be unleashed from their plastic packaging.
In order to make the fun last a little longer, these are my favorite things about this Christmas...



1. Lucy: I put her in her fluffy Christmas dress explaining to Todd that this is why we had to have a little girl. The fact that she ruined it taking a poop on my cousin's fiance's lap only adds some comedy to our tales of her first year. (Sorry again Jarrin.)



2. Family: Watching the kiddos run around with their cousins and hanging out with my own, the kids goofing with grandparents, gabbing about nothing with my BIL's & SIL's. I love spending time with our families during the holidays.



3. Great Gifts: We put a lot of thought into the gifts we gave and apparently so did the people giving to us. In our booty we received some very well thought out things...special lederhosen for Todd, tequila & margaritas for me, plasma ball for Nate, pop gun for Rex, Lucy's first Honey Bear uniform, and a Wii for the family. Gotta love knowing your family well enough to pull that off.



4. Waking up Christmas Morning: You know how they talk about the pitter-patter of little feet? Well, they sound the best on Christmas morning. Todd and I love to listen to the kids run down the steps, giggling and counting all of the things under the tree. It's a sound we look forward to every year and will never get tired of.



5. Playing with the New Stuff: Christmas at our house is a free-for-all for the kids. It's the one day they are free to play with whatever they want, refuse a nap, and eat any goodies they found in their stockings. It gives me & Turbo time to sit back and relax after the chaos of getting through another successful holiday!

Santa Baby

Just a quick post to say

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Unfortunately my camera is on the fritz...
but I did catch a few pics of the kids before it's untimely death.
Enjoy!

Year in Review #5

GINGERBREAD WARS - Episode 6

Finally...

The homes & their constructors

Thanks for playing with us!

GINGERBREAD WARS - Episode 5

And the winner is...

Nate & Rex

We thought both houses were great and apparently so did you. The boys are happily splitting a huge bag of Rollos (1st prize) while Todd reaps the benefits of the tie and is enjoying a tube of them (2nd prize).
Thanks for voting! I'll publish the photos of the kids with their houses tomorrow. Just to make you sweat it out one more day...

SNOW DAY!

If any of you have yet to look outside (or for you out-of-towners, watched the news) this is the view out our back door...SNOW. LOTS of SNOW. Close to a foot, from what most weather men are saying. That, however, is just what the kids needed to hear to jump start their Christmas Break. (Nate loved the fact that the Gurnee schools wasted no time canceling classes, they called last night around 8pm, long before any snow ever fell.)
The only way we know to celebrate a snow day is to bundle up and go outside. The kids immediately started digging, Harry grabbed his shovel, and Otis ran, flopping around in the wet snow with his soccer ball. Hot chocolate tastes so much better when you've earned the cup.

If you look in the background of this pic of Otis you can see that
neighbor dog I talked about a few posts ago ...you know,
the one that waits at the edge of his fence for Otis to play with him.
Stupid dog...

GINGERBREAD WARS - Episode 4

DEMOLITION!

So, we're finished with the houses and decided the best thing to do with a home made out of cookies and candy is to EAT them. All we have left to say is...Yum.

Oh, and happy voting! Only today and tomorrow left!

Sleepwalking

My cousin just published a post on her blog about her upcoming wedding and the distress they are feeling about finding "their song," wanting the perfect song that speaks volumes about them, where they are going, and how they will remember the day years from now. Being a lover of all types of music (and remembering how difficult this task was for me & Todd), I offered to pass on copies of prospective songs we downloaded for our own wedding to help them along. Of course, the closet romantic in me forced my more practical self to set aside household duties and sit around listening to our wedding playlist with fond memories for the better part of the morning.
So, now I sit (wasting nap time) listening to the soundtrack from my perfect day and still loving our timeless choices. Daydreaming about how I could sleep walk with Todd every day and never get sick of it, how my dad (a great dancer) nervously tripped over my feet during our father & daughter moment, the way our wedding party strutted into the reception to green onions, and sharing the dance floor with all of our friends during the only DMB song we like. All the while, wishing that my cousin finds music that makes her wedding just as incredible as ours was.

Year in Review #4

GINGERBREAD WARS - Episode 3

They're finished!!

Here are the two entries...

House A

House B

Please vote for your favorite house in the poll to the right.
And don't worry, both kids will get something for their efforts.
We're not that cruel.

Blue Christmas

FYI Parents:
...delicate subject matter...
.if your kids read too, you may want to screen this first.

Starting immediately this holiday season, Nate has been overly sneaky. Peering over shoulders, snooping in closets, even reading grocery lists for Christmas clues. He is 11 and though we have done everything in our power to keep the magic alive for him, this year we caved under the pressure of the increasingly difficult facade. Last night, we officially told him there is no Santa.
For a few years he's asked and we just went with the old "believe to receive" standby, but this time was different. We were worried he is too old and smart to keep it going, and because of this, his little sibs may not have the same lengthy experience as him. So, Todd was sent to do the dirty work.
I can't say that we were surprised to hear him say he pretty much knew for the last couple of years. Store tags, receipts, and a couple of botched gifts led to suspicion, but our overly protective stance toward the gifts & lists sealed the deal. He was not upset (though Todd did tease him a bit about crying and offered to wait until a better time to break the news about the Easter Bunny...Nate's got a cold & his sniffles were enough to trigger some joking). In fact he is eager to help with the grown up aspects of creating Christmas cheer, relishing in the ability to hang out late with us and surprise the little kiddos in the morning. Either way, when the time comes and his eyes are not full of the same holiday magic they were last year I will feel sad knowing our little guy is one step closer to being a man.

GINGERBREAD WARS - Episode 2

The dough has been baked, cooled and cut.
The homes are constructed and just waiting for decorations!

GINGERBREAD WARS - Episode 1

Every Christmas I make gingerbread cookies. This year, because I am not passing out bags of goodies, the kids and I planned to make a gingerbread house. Then we thought it would be cool if both boys made their own. Of course, the kids can't express their creativity without a competition, so we have decided to let them duke it out (for a small prize) via the blog. Here's how it will work...
Each kid gets the same house pieces, frosting, supply of candy, and parental help with structure. They get to decorate as they choose and the finished houses will be displayed (anonymously) here for you guys to vote on.
I'll post photos during the process, starting with this one of Rex mixing the dough!

Year in Review #3

1 Month and Counting

Today Lucy had her 1 month check up. According to the doc she is doing well. She weighs 9 lbs. and is 21 inches long, hitting the 50% mark in both categories. She also got her first post-hospital shots. She hated them so much I cannot bear to tell her she will be getting them every time she sees the Dr. for the next 2 years...

The Terrible Tale of Booger Stew

I enjoy food. I love cooking & baking. This is no surprise, most of you have probably heard me yapping about recipes or have had me force feed you things from my kitchen before. It's kind of what I do. I am also a big fan of vegetarian dishes. I pride myself on transforming Todd from a die-hard carnivore to someone who enjoys portabella burgers and kids that request such oddities as spinach lasagna and pesto spaghetti.
So last night, I tried something new. Split Pea Soup. Rex even helped me make it, adding each ingredient for me as I held Lucy. When it was finished, I thought it was delicious, healthy, and perfect for a cold day. Then I presented it to the family. Lisa said no thanks, Harry said he doesn't do pea soup. Rex and Nate giggled because it is "pee soup" and stared to concoct "recipes" of their own. Then Todd did the unthinkable. He called it "Booger Stew" and sent the kids into a frenzy.
I can forget about them ever ingesting the stuff again.

Roll On

Last night was bowling night. Yes, I am at the age when bowling is the primary way I gather with my friends. Granted, we use it more as an excuse to drink heavily and a way to ensure a babysitter every month, but we are in a bowling league nonetheless.
For me and the other wives the bowling is a vehicle for booze and gossip, while the hubbies throw a few back, make fun of each other, and compete. For obvious reasons, I have not had a drink with my favorite bowling ladies in quite a while. Until last night. After a good 10 months, I hit the ground running with my gal pals. A few (literally 3) Blue Moons and I was back to bowling as (I think) it was meant to be done. I bowled my highest game ever (161), enjoyed some awesome conversation, and forced Todd to take me to Taco Bell when it was all over.
I spent all morning with a headache and all day with a belly ache, but I had a damn great time!

Love Is In The Air

When my cousin Jenny announced her engagement, I was hardly surprised. Immediately after we met her fiance, Jarrin, Todd & I knew he would eventually be family. He is just as much a perfect fit for the Kordas clan as he is for her. This fall Todd's step-sis, Alex, announced her own engagement to longtime boyfriend Craig. They did surprise us a little, but only because I recall Alex saying she was not in any rush to the alter this past summer (something Todd said all girls say when they're not sure the boys are ready...). Thankfully Craig was and they're already starting to plan a beautiful vineyard wedding for next September.
I can't say enough how insanely excited I am for both of these unions. (And the weekend getaways to Indiana & [crossing my fingers here] California.) Fueling this fire are the glorious wedding web pages and blogs both couples are using to keep family & friends in the loop. Being a blogging junkie, I love and appreciate the thought, creativity, and passion that goes into every note and pic displayed on their sites. Every post brings us all closer to their vision of the perfect day, and helps me relive moments from my own wedding that were so special and seem (despite 5 years) like yesterday.
If you have time take a quick peek, share in their dreams, and recapture some of your own beautiful memories...
Jenny & Jarrin
Alex & Craig

Man's Best Friend is Now My Worst Enemy

When we had Boris the Beagle I would tell people all of the time how Charles Schulz had to have owned a beagle because of how he captured every aspect of their personality in Snoopy. I told people I could not imagine a dog with more of a personality, that our beagle went through the same emotions as Snoopy (weeping, gloating, laughing) and in similar fashion (always over the top). When we got Otis, our German Shepherd/Lab mix, I imagined he would be sturdy, lovable, and smart. I assumed our overly dramatic doggie days were over, replaced with the sensible sides of both hardworking and intelligent breeds.
Don't get me wrong, Otis is very lovable. He would do anything for his family, play until he dropped dead from exhaustion, and cuddle until he suffocated you. Before and during my pregnancy, he would follow me everywhere to make sure I was safe, wait outside the bathroom door (or on the bath mat if he could break in) while I showered, and sleep at my feet. He was by my side constantly. That was then. Since the birth of Lucy, I admittedly have been less patient with the dog. Overwhelmed by baby duties, the dog's antics have me feeling more smothered than loved. I push him away, scold him more than scratch him, ignore rather than play. It took him three weeks, but now he is onto my routine and I think it is safe to say he is not a fan.
To prove this point he has found a new way to force me to play. When he goes outside, he has decided he is in charge of what he does and when he comes back in. Since our yard is not fenced (this has never been an issue before) he runs over to the neighbor's house and plays with their (poor, unfortunate) fenced creatures by running up and down the length of their caged yard. (The fact that the neighbor dogs wait at the corner of their lot for Otis to come outside does not help either.) He grabs his soccer ball and runs around by himself, rolls in the snow, and chases (and almost catches) squirrels. When I call him to come in, he does not run eagerly to the door as he did a week ago. Instead he plops down in the snow and begins his standoff. The more I call, the less he moves. If I open the door, he stands up and prepares to flee. If step outside, he grabs his ball and tries to entice me into play. When I play, he is happy. If I call him to come in again, we just repeat the process: plop, standoff, play. I find this very tiring, so yesterday I left him outside after the first round. Despite the cold, he sat there in the snow for 45 minutes until Nate got off the bus. Nate called him and he came running (tail wagging) to the door and right in. (How's that for personality?)
Today (as Todd advised), I started the day off being overly affectionate toward him. Lots of love, ear scratching, and belly rubbing. He seems to be very happy with this, however I have yet to let him outside...

To Turbo, With Love

Dear Turbo,

Today, as you embark on your thirty-third journey around the sun, I want to wish you the best trip ever.
To celebrate this year, I've decided to do things simply. I did not buy you gifts (sorry, no gummy boobs, engraved flasks, autographed books, or, to Nate's displeasure, video games). Rather than give you things that collect dust, or an awesome sandwich that won't last the hour, I wanted to say thanks for the things you do every day that make you special to us.
So...Thanks for making us laugh every day (even if you make us mad first), for keeping your cool when I lose mine, for being a voice of reason. Thanks for warming the car up when it's cold, making dinner when I'm tired, helping with homework when it's too hard. Thanks for teaching us life lessons (like getting up early is just as cool as staying up late), for making great coffee and even better pizza pannies. Thanks for the big stuff (like choosing to go to work every day) but most importantly for the little stuff (like waking up with us every morning).
Tonight, instead of a pile of gifts, you'll be welcomed home with kid-crafted cards, a special dinner, and a cake made by your favorite budding chef. I hope you enjoy it.
Happy Birthday.
Karleen

Year in Review - #2