Silly Silas eats chips with toes (PIC)

OTTO - one, MOUSE - zero. DATE NIGHT

We enjoyed an early Valentine's Day date night on Saturday. We went out for a very nice dinner and then to a play while Emily babysat the boys.

When we got home, we asked "How did it go?" (We were hoping for a good report since Silas had JUST been upgraded to a big boy bed.)

"It was interesting." she replied.

"Uh-oh. Why? What happened? Did they not go to bed well?"

"No, they went to bed just fine. I've just been a little freaked out."

???

"Your cat.... (scanning the room)... not that one, (Eddy) but the other one (Otto) ran through here a little while ago with a mouse. He ran upstairs and I followed him. I think it is under your guest bed. I made sure to shut the door to the boys room so that he wouldn't take it in there. It looked like a fresh kill. It appeared soft and limp. I think it is still up there... somewhere."

My hero, Mike, went upstairs with a flashlight and searched under the bed. When he came out empty-handed, he noticed that Otto (for once) was NOT under the bed. Otto sat calmly under the computer desk. Sure enough, right in front of him lay his prized dead mouse. Mike took it outside and disposed of it.

I am SO THANKFUL that we have cats!!!

No evidence of mice. Hope that was the only one. Traps are now set. And my cats are likely THRILLED for the opportunity to play with more. I'm hopeful that we're DONE with them!!!

• • •

This morning, immediately upon him waking me up, I headed to the bathroom and Sydney followed me. As I went to the bathroom, Sydney announced "You and me. We both don't wike (like) mouses in our house. Do we, mommy?"

"No, we don't!"

• • •

We've NOT ever been to Pepper Sprout before. This was our Valentine's Day date, I'm told.

Pepper Sprout was great!  (http://peppersprout.com) 

We saw the chef walking through while we were looking at our menus so, I stopped her, asking "If we have never been here before, what do we have to eat to guarantee that we will come back again?" She suggested the venison dish or the pork tenderloin so, those are the dishes that Mike and I selected. (Mike had seen something that he wanted immediately when he saw a menu online, but the discovered that they have a WINTER MENU and the dish that he wanted is NOT on that menu so, he had to settle for something else.) 

Mike and I giggled while we ate... when he announced "I was meant to have venison because we're going to Deer Camp after this!!"

Mike had:

Grilled Pepper Crusted Venison Tenderloin 28.95 
Grilled pepper crusted venison tenderloin with a blackberry cabernet sauce. Served with caramelized onion, chipotle sweet potatoes.

I had:

Pretzel Crusted Pork Tenderloin 24.95
Pan seared pretzel crusted pork tenderloin with a bourbon, molasses, mustard sauce. Served with caramelized onion and chipotle sweet potatoes.

I had soup... tomato basil with artichoke and feta cheese; could tell it was homemade and NOT a just-add-water soup that so many places claim as homemade. I liked it a lot. Mike had caesar salad. Both were good. Homemade caesar is HEAVY on the garlic, but was good. (We were, thankfully, warned of that prior.) Homemade bread was very tasty... you could tell she (chef) used a nice blend of spices in it. The chipotle sweet potatoes were really good. Neither Mike, nor I could figure out at first where the slight HEAT was coming from and couldn't put our fingers on it exactly; it was nicely done.

For dessert, we had an Irish Car Bomb cake that had Guiness, Bailey's and Jameson Irish whiskey in it. It was a dark, dense chocolate cake with a cream-cheese-type frosting and homemade rich chocolate sauce drizzled on the plate. It was WAY BETTER than the desserts we've had anywhere else.

It would be worth going back for a special occasion... Mother's Day/my birthday, an anniversary, etc. but I think you couldn't afford to go there all the time.... at least, WE CAN'T afford that. It was, however, a WONDERFUL DATE! (And we are hopeful to go back... Mike will keep his eye on the men for the Potato Gnocchi that caught his eye from a past season's menu.)

From there, we went to the Grand Opera House and saw "Deer Camp: The Musical". It was quite entertaining. Two of the 4 castmates were the brother Darrel and the other brother Darrel from the Bob Newhart show.

It was a FANTASTIC DATE NIGHT! (I'm one lucky wife!)

Test Run... BIG BOY BED for Silas

For the past week or so, at bedtime, Silas climbs into Sydney's bed while we read bedtime stories in the recliner. Then, he announces and signs "Ni-night!" The past few nights, he got angry when Sydney tried to climb into his own bed - pushing him away.

"Silas big boy bed?" he asked innocently the other night.

"You want a big boy bed like Sydney's?" I asked.

"Yes." confirmed with a nod of the head as well.

"We'll have to ask Daddy if he can change your bed."

"Big boy bed." he clarified with a furrowed brow and sense of seriousness.

"Yes. Make a big boy bed for Silas, too."

"Yes!" he squealed. "Need pillow. Silas need pillow too."

"Yep, we'll have to go shopping so that we can buy you a pillow, too."

"K!" (OK)

Upon talking it over with Daddy, he questioned "Are YOU SURE you are ready for this?" and reminded me how much we struggle to keep SYDNEY in his bed at night.

Sydney objects to the idea of Silas in a big boy bed because we have forewarned that once Silas is out of his crib, we will have to shut the gate at night to keep him safe. Sydney confirmed that he did NOT want the gate shut. We reminded him that HE has demonstrated the ability to climb over the gate with ease.

At bedtime last night, we asked Sydney "Do you think that YOU could sleep in the crib tonight so that we can TRY Silas in a big boy bed... just to see IF he can do it? Do you think that would be OK?"

"But the gate..." he whined briefly.

"The gate MIGHT be closed to keep Silas safe. What-do-ya say? Can we just TRY IT? Let's see if Silas can sleep like a big boy yet."

"Okay. Let's twy it!" Sydney declared, sounding much like Elmer Fudd.

At bedtime, we tucked Silas into Sydney's tiny bed and I asked him "What will you do in the morning when you wake up? What will you say?"

"Mommy.... Daddy.... Silas UP NOW!"

"Good. Sleep good, baby. See you in the morning when the sun shines. Love you, big boy!"

"Ni-night, mommy!" 

Silas did FANTASTIC!!! (Sydney was out of bed a handful of times, but Silas STAYED IN BED.)

• • • • •
I snuck into the room to check on them after Mike FINALLY convinced Sydney to stay in bed so that we could make pancakes in the morning. Then, I grabbed my camera. (Mike teased "Is it OK or do you need your tripod? I don't want to you to miss it?"

"No, I'm fine." I replied. "Miss what?" I wondered.

"Capturing the first night in a big boy bed."

"I'm not THAT CRAZY... I don't think I need the tripod. We're good."

• • • • •
This morning, I thought I had heard Silas talk, but when I muted the tv, I heard nothing. (Sydney had woken before the sun and we were snuggled together in the recliner with a cat in our lap, enjoying Iowa Public Television.) A few minutes later, I left Sydney in the chair, went upstairs and pushed open the door.

Immediately, I heard "Up now, Mommy!" as Silas scurried to an upright position, beaming with a HUGE SMILE.

"Did you call for me when you woke up?"

"Yes."

"Sorry, baby. I didn't hear you."

"Sorry, mommy."

"Don't be sorry, Silas. You were a good boy! How did you sleep?"

"Good."

"I'm glad."

"Go downstairs now, mommy?"

"We can go downstairs now OR... do you want to go wake Daddy?"

"Daddy seeping?"

"Should we go wake him? Or should we go make Daddy coffee?"

"Um, NO! Pita jewwy, mommy. Pita jewwy."

Our little boy isn't so little anymore... he's getting BIG, fast!

Massage = Relaxed Mom

Attempted to take the boys out for lunch today at a local bar for their Tuesday Burger special. Turns out, Sydney and Mommy ended up in the car. (Service was very s - l - o - w. And they didn't do us any favors for entertaining the kids with crayons until 2 minutes before our food arrived... and forgot to bring us the appetizer that we had ordered to get us by until the meal came. They did, however, satisfy the need for chocolate milk to drink.)

Afterwards, we went home for NAPTIME. Then, I showered and shaved quickly before heading off for a one-hour massage.

It was DELIGHTFUL!

(I really needed that A LOT, I think.)

What's going on around here

Wasn't expecting 20.5-month old Silas to show such an early interest in potty training, BUT he's surprising us! On and off, for the past month or so, he has sometimes wanted to wear big boy pants. All of a sudden, he's wanting to wear NO PANTS or big boy pants and is extremely interested in the potty chair, as well as the reward stickers. 

A few days ago, he proudly pooped one little turd into the potty chair. (Truth-be-told, it was likely a cling-on because another fell out of his big boy pants, but we've accepted it as a success story.)

Nana came to visit us on Friday and stayed until this afternoon. She spent significant time reading to Silas on the potty chair on Saturday morning. (We had wanted to go out, but he insisted that he needed to "go bathroom" and kept running back to his potty chair.) Nana brought him his own package of brand new big boy pants and HE WAS PROUD!!!!

At naptime today, he was angry that I attempted to diaper him. He wanted only to wear big boy pants! After his nap, we switched him back to his big boy pants and - for the day - he made it until 3:20pm accident free!!!

FINALLY, this evening, after a few days of NO POOP, he figured it out and pooped on the potty chair! (He was incredibly proud, but is unsure of this whole WIPING-thing.)

He is doing FANTASTIC!!! (Demonstrates great bladder control and is having minimal accidents.)

FAMILY FUN - Bowling 01/18/13

Oh, what cute little (bowling) shoes!

After the first frame, SYDNEY is winning!

THE END

Silas sings GINGO BEWS_011613 (video)

Silas sings JINGLE BELLS. (He was distracted with seeing himself on the computer screen... and liked to play with his ears for this one... that is, until it was time to clap for himself!)

Gingo Bews! (Jingle Bells)

Silas sings Twinkle Star (video) 011613

Silas likes to sing. He sings Gingo Bews (Jingle Bells) AND Twinkle Star (Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star). Sometimes, he gets more of the words to the songs, but he was pretty distracted seeing himself on the computer screen.)

Knock Knock (video) SILAS_011613

Silas is 20 months old and picked up this Knock Knock joke from Daddy & Sydney.


Knock Knock
Who's there?
Atch.
Atch Who?
Bless You!

If only there was an easy button for ORGANIZATION

Feel as if I haven't been blogging as much lately. Truth is, I am trying to catch up/finish my Project Life 2012 album and stay current with 2013. That, and I have been doing some organizing... and reading... and staying busy with my boys!

I've got 2 weeks of PL2013 in my album and need to throw in a couple of journaling cards yet.

I read a parenting book cover-to-cover. (Love and Logic Magic for early childhood)

I pick up the house all the time, but have two very little boys that undo faster than I can DO!

(I've got a large box of papers to recycle after cleaning out 2 boxes of junk in the office last week. YAY! NOTE: NOT READY to tackle the box under the bed or in the closet yet.)

The invention of Pinterest has shortened the hours in our days. Mike and I both enjoy to check things out AND view some very clever things, recipes that sound delicious and fun things to try. The past few days, I have been scoping out ORGANIZATION boards/posts, hoping to find the inspiration I need to FINALLY get things under control around here. Sadly, looking at them online and actually DOING THEM are two different things. Sigh. If only there really WAS an Easy Button.

Discovered a wonderful solution to having our ironing board tucked behind the office door that I think I want to try out.

Discovered a tutorial on how to frame out an outdated bathroom mirror (and sent that to my mom/dad for their bathroom).

Today, I organized all kinds of things for the kids. We have a tiny bag containing scissors. A bag containing paint brushes. A bag containing crayons. A bag containing dry erase markers. A bag containing card games. A bag containing flash cards. You get the drill...

I organized our junk drawer. We now how separate boxes for pens, pencils and markers/highlighters. We also have a baggie containing all of MY dry erase markers. All of the paperclips are in an empty pill bottle in the drawer.

All of our twist ties are in a baggie in the spice drawer.

I changed the lightbulb in our fridge. I pulled out the contents of the fridge, wiped the shelves down, moved them around and put things back. (This time, I did NOT take all of the contents out of the door or drawers, but I had to start somewhere.)

I also admired fabric online... Dinosaur Train! (And wondered HOW COOL would that be to have blankets for the boys?)

I did LOTS of things that don't look like much. Mike reminded me that there is STILL a pile of laundry in the kitchen to trip over. (We SHOULD do laundry daily.)

Not sure WHAT I will tackle tomorrow, but I'll keep plugging away... trying to find a home for everything and put everything IN it home. One day at a time...