Random Day In The Life Of A Mommy

The time has come...

2011-01-26T10:49:00.000-08:00

Alright...it is officially time.

For my new site to launch. And also for you to update your bookmarks (please do this...please...pretty pretty please).

The new site is located at: www.mygotfam.com

yup...I'm a dot com now...yay me!

Potty training the literal toddler

2011-01-23T15:11:00.000-08:00

You may be happy to find out that I am not going to talk about poop on my blog today (ok…well, I promise to keep the poop talk to a minimum). I am however going to talk about the potty…quite a lot in fact.You see, Carter is very literal. Very very literal. And I am not. I tend to be very sarcastic and often don’t realize that I have to break concepts down for him.

And so you can imagine how potty training could be a little confusing for a very literal toddler. We jump up and down and cheer when he sits on the potty…and get even more excited and do little dances when he puts his poop (sorry) and pee in the potty. And I often find myself saying, “This is where we put our poopies (sorry again) and pee pees.” So of course, somewhere along the line – the potty became a place to put things…that (in turn) makes mommy dance like a crazy woman.

Do you see where this post is going? If so, feel free to tell me what an idiot I am for not having seen this coming. If not, shut it.

Well, this morning I was bathing Carter and heard Chad scurrying (I bet he’ll like that I used that word to describe his mad dashes through the house) around. He ran up the stairs and swore a lot. Then ran back down them swearing even more. Naturally, I thought something was happening in the sports world…and he needed the ipad to change stats on his fantasy football game.

I was so wrong.

Here, he had used our upstairs bathroom and then gone downstairs to make coffee for me (insert “what a wonderful husband” comment here – for making me coffee…not using the bathroom). And at some point had noticed water dripping in our family room. A lot of water. Dripping from the ceiling beams, through the drywall, etc. And being that he’s the level headed one in the family – he searched for the source (I would have found the nearest corner and crawled into it, laid in the fetal position and rocked back and forth until he found me).

Turns out – our upstairs toilet had overfilled (by A LOT) and flooded our bathroom, flooded down through the ceiling and into our family room.

Why you ask (or…maybe you’re all “WOW..That had to have been quite a crap”)?

As it turns out – the nice plumber that rushed out to our house (on a Sunday) said that he thinks a toy may have been crammed into the potty and flushed down – causing a major backup. Picture (taken from my phone) below:

Perhaps I need to be more specific about what we put in the potty…and what we don’t put in the potty.

Carter's hair

2011-01-19T18:43:00.000-08:00

I didn't know how to explain Carter's hair... so I drew you a purty picture...enjoy:

Maclaren Post 4: Review Wrap Up

2011-01-18T06:10:00.000-08:00

I am sad to report that this is our final review post on Maclaren (unless they would like us to review more...I say with a big smile, nod and wink):

The kids have had such a great time reviewing these products (as have I...and Chad...and my parents....and some of our friends).

In fact, our friend Chris came over the other day and Carter ran to get his Maclaren Arctic puzzle to show him (I think Carter is proud that he can finally put all of the pieces together correctly... which in all honesty - can be hard (heck, it takes me a few tries)).(or maybe it's because the blue whale (bet you can't locate that in the picture below) matched his button-up perfectly), and then Carter made the animals line up in train-format. I know you're shocked. After that, madness ensued.

(I promised I bought him pants that fit after this)

Avery munched on her toys more (and her feet, her hands, my shirt, the corner of the couch, my hair, a passing cat (just kidding peta) and every other object she could get ahold of).
And, of course, I blogged about it. The funny part was that when I told Carter that I was blogging about the Maclaren toys, he made another train with the critters by my computer... and then lined them up to "watch mommy bog." I wonder if the animals find my blog as riveting as the other 4 people that read it...maybe they will follow me on twitter.

If they were to mention this post on twitter...what would their hashtags be?

Here's my guess:

Hmm, somehow I got off topic. Anyways, we have had a fabulous time reviewing all three of these Maclaren products.

1.) The Arctic Puzzle:

Photo From the Maclaren Facebook page (which you can "like" on Facebook by the way)

2.) Plush Stroller Toys (with bunny, balloon and octopus):

3.) Plush Stroller Toys (with plane, race car and sailboat):

Chic design + practical everyday use + fun and entertaining for kids...I guess you could say, I’m a Maclaren fan for life.

Disclaimer: Maclaren sent these toys to us to review - but did not compensate us in any other way and of course did not ask me to say happy, shiny things about them. All opinions are very much my own.

To sum up the day so far

2011-01-17T11:13:00.000-08:00

Disclaimer: I know I said I would not talk about poop as much this year. But... some rules are just meant to be broken. Carter could attest to this.

You know something isn’t right when you wake up with a killer migraine. Is this the universes way of telling me to get a sitter and go drinking for the day? Did I say that out loud? Because, the weird thing is, I’m just not one to get migraines (I can honestly count on one hand how many I have had in my life (and I mean actual migraines...not just really bad hangovers that I tried to pass off as medical conditions)). And since hiding under the covers all day in the fetal position isn’t an option (although I totally did this for an hour while I made Chad wrangle the kids and get them breakfast)...I had to get up.

And it began:

Carter was on a rampage from a renewal of energy after having been sick. He tried to fly (down the stairs on his belly), he tried to “bump the dog” repeatedly (whatever that is), he tried to break anything breakable, throw anything throwable, beat anything not moving (and some things moving...sorry kitty), he smeared his own spit across the window, he screamed (mostly the word “NO” when I tried to bring up any fun activity we could do that didn’t include destruction). He was just... unstoppable.

So you can imagine my excitement when I saw nap time slowly approaching. I know this makes me sound like a monster. But before you judge me...ask yourself this...ok no...just go ahead and judge me. In fact, leave me a nasty comment about how much I suck... it’ll be the cherry on top of this shit-tastic day.

Anywho, halfway through lunch (also known as: the-mommy-refuses-to-make-mac-and-cheese-fight) I start to smell something, and it’s coming from the general direction of Avery’s diaper. This can’t be good. She’s my rose-smelling child.

Upstairs we all go. Avery, cooing happily away (I mean, after that disaster in her diaper...of course she felt better), Carter screaming “no upstairs...I fly down stairs” and me...wishing it were last night again and I were laughing at all of the shoulder-pad abuse by hollywood's female stars at the golden globes.

I’ll skip through all of the gruesome details of the diaper explosion and just say... Avery needed a bath. And heaven forbid Carter play quietly in his bedroom while Avery had a bath....nope...Captain trouble had to be in the bathroom with us...and insisted that he too get a bath.

Now, If you’re wondering how the logistics of two kids in the bath at the same time (but not in the bath tub together) works, it’s like this:

I put Avery in her inflatable ducky tub on the bathroom floor and Carter in the bathtub and pop a squat on the bathroom floor between the two tubs. I’m a magical multi-tasker (seriously, if I can carry a carseat, hold a toddlers hand and hold the spastic dog’s leash into Petco for the spastic dog’s grooming appointment...I can for sure handle a dual bath). Hear that potential future employers? Magical Multi-tasker.

If you think you have the picture pretty well formed in your head...just remember to add the fact that I am smiling more and more as nap time inches closer. I need them to both nap today. I need this. Need it.

And just as the smile reaches it’s point of almost-bliss....I hear farting noises and the following conversation takes place:

Me: Carter, what was that noise?

Carter: I fart

Me: Ok...do you need to sit on the potty?

Carter (after more air bubbles and noises): No, I pooped mommy

Me: YOU WHAT? IN THERE?

Carter (now holding his own feces in his hand): I pooped...see...poopy!

I could go into how I had to now run him to the shower to clean him off, disinfect the bathtub, how he peed down the side of me on the way back from the shower and then also on his blanket ...but I won’t.

Sometimes I'm Dumb. Other times I'm super dumb

2011-01-14T07:46:00.000-08:00

This picture is unrelated to this post in every way except that it accurately displays just how dorky I was (read: am).

This picture was taken during the height of my dorkiness (although this is arguable),

when I was in the marching band. Plus I didn't have a picture of the following event.

A few years ago, a coworker and I went into a Chipotle (no, this is not the start of a “walked into a bar” style joke - it’s merely a quick and very pointless “I’m super dumb” story).

A little background: I hate cold weather. Correction, I hate being cold. Anyways, I was wearing a powder blue turtleneck sweater (it was the early 2000’s... don’t judge me), a long (almost floor length) tight skirt (again see note about the year), and knee-high boots with heels (I still wear these...and they're back in style now - yay me).

And a man (who was clearly on a date ... maybe even first date (I am guessing due to the awkwardness between he and his date)) looked at me and said, “excuse me, that is an interesting outfit of no skin showing what-so-ever” and then giggled uncontrollably by himself for about 3 minutes while (his date and) I blankly stared at him.

And my reaction (I know you’re hoping was witty, funny or at least rude)... nope... I smiled really big and said, “thanks” and thought, "what a nice man..."

Did your head just drop... and shake back and forth repeatedly?

The thing is, in my head ... he was thinking “I bet she’s warm.” And I was.

It wasn’t until the car ride back to work that my coworker clued me in that he was being sarcastic.

If you’re wondering why this story just popped into my head... it’s because I was thinking “I could go for a good turtle neck sweater today” when I got up. I love me some warm clothes.

She's come undone (almost)

2011-01-10T07:40:00.000-08:00

Perhaps my children have banned together to see how quickly I can unravel.

A little recap of last night:

9pm - I go to bed early. Headache

11pm - Avery up - needs a binky

12:30am - Avery up - needs a bottle

1am - Everyone is asleep....ahhh

2am - Carter is up screaming “Mommy!!! Mommy I pooped! Mommy come clean my butt!”

2:10am - Still yelling...I should go in. He had better not be faking it to get me in there

2:11am - I realize he’s faking it. He just wants to tell me about his day at Disney on Ice

2:15am - He’s back in his bed and seems calm enough that I can go back to bed.

2:30am - He’s screaming and crying again. And now it’s starting to wake up Avery (but not Chad)

2:45am - I give Chad Avery’s monitor and head for Carter’s room...not sure how this will work out...

3am - I find myself convinced into sleeping on the floor in Carter’s room. About 10% of my body fits on his “Cars” sleeping bag and I am curled in a ball under his fireman blanket.

The following conversation ensues:

Carter: Mommy in Carter’s room

Me: Yup - now go to bed. Ok buddy?

Carter: Mommy, you on my cars blankie

Me: Uh huh

Carter: Mommy, my butt hurts. Want mommy to change me

Me: Carter, you’re clean - remember....we just checked

Carter: Butt hurts. Kiss my butt. Put ice on my butt

Me: Carter - your butt is fine. Just go to bed

Carter: Mommy, I have boogies

Me: Go to bed

a few minutes go by

Carter: My boogies hurt. Kiss my boogies.

...........breaks into laughter........................

Me: Not funny. Go to bed

Carter: Done napping Mommy, go downstairs maybe?

Me: No

Carter: Watch mickey on tv maybe?

Me: No

some time passes....ahh...silence

Carter: Saw a famboni today mommy

Me: I know buddy - we talked about the zamboni at dinner. Go to bed

Carter: Rode on a train today mommy

Me....now realizing that responding is egging him on.....silence from my end

Carter: Train mommy....train....train mommy. TRRRRR....AIIIINNNN mommy

Carter: FAMMMMM BONE EEEE

Carter: Boogie. FAM BONE EE. Train. BOOOOOOOgie

more time...more silence...giving me hope that he's asleep

Carter (now climbing out of bed to lay next to me on the floor): I lay by mommy

Carter: Mommy, you napping?

Me: Carter, mommy is sleeping...go to bed

Carter (now trying to pull my eye lids open): Hi Mommy. HIIII

Me (checking the clock and seeing that it’s now 3:30am - am now feeling desperate): Carter...do you want a timeout?

Carter: Yes timeout....timeout downstairs...then watch front end loaders on tv maybe?

Me (realizing that he’s utilizing a timeout to get downstairs): sigh

Carter: What’s that smell?

Me: I don’t know...go to bed

Carter: I FARRRRRRT. Fart. Fart. Fart. Fart fart fart fart. Ahh haaaa haaaa

Me: Seriously...go to bed or you’ll get in trouble

Carter: Sorry mommy....

This went on until just after 4am. And then he woke up at 6am.

Three Days Later

2011-01-07T08:14:00.000-08:00

Ahh the difference three days makes in Northeast Ohio. Here is our yard three days after the last picture.

Maclaren Reviews ... Post 3: The one where I put the smack down...ok no...I still like them

2011-01-06T17:51:00.000-08:00

After a few weeks of harsh clinical studies (read: a lot of playing and chewing), here is what I have to say about the Maclaren toys sent for us to review (last month)

For Avery to test:

Avery is sort of an equal-opportunity teether with her toys ... but as these have carseat/stroller attachments (see below)... it bumps them to the head of class. This makes them teethers (for when she’s in her swing or high chair) and entertaining toys for when she’s in mobile-mode. Score and score.

And the puzzles Carter tested:

Well... they’re still in train-mode. That, or maybe they’re migrating? Regardless, they’re still entertaining him. Another score.

My review (what? Mom’s count too):

I would recommend these to a friend, a grandparent, a talkative stranger, and local companies (to stock Maclaren toys...why don’t they by the way?). And for me to recommend a toy takes a lot. It either has to educate, entertain (without the child getting bored quickly), hmm..what else...easy to clean (don't judge me...cleaning some toys can be hard)...and I am pretty particular about a toy’s quality. These toys have passed every mommy and kid test that we have put them to.

Next test - playdates. Tune in for more.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-01-06T08:57:00.000-08:00

Ok, a few words:

I fully understand that it's Thursday. But I took this picture of my backyard on Wednesday... so it somehow works (in my head). Plus, it's all gross and snowy today - what a difference a day makes in Northeast Ohio.

And also...let's pretend that those dark piles in the yard are just crud or mud or something... and not at all related to the dog and my laziness. I've ruined the picture now haven't I?

A special note to two very special people on their anniversary

2011-01-04T07:11:00.001-08:00

I will make this short and sweet (so I don’t get a “damn you, you made me cry at work” text).

One year ago today, you made it official (although we already all knew how much you meant to each other). But little did you know... how much you meant and continue to mean to all of us.

Then (with the cutest ring bearer ev-ah):

And now:

I know that today is very difficult to celebrate apart (traveling can be hard). But I hope you smile when you think of the very special love that you have for one another - and that we all have for you.

Happy Anniversary!

A day full of disappointing my children with normal-ness

2011-01-03T11:19:00.000-08:00

The holidays are over. Our Christmas tree is gone (I certainly didn’t expect the massive toddler meltdown - I’ll be sure to promptly forget about this new tidbit of parental wisdom so that I can be shocked and unprepared for the meltdown again next year), our decorations have been packed up and put away and life at the gotfam household is back to “normal.”

Little did I know though (another new bit of parental wisdom) that having had so many people constantly around the kids...they would grow accustomed to getting a ton of attention and whatever they wanted.

So you can imagine how happy they were with me this morning. If there could have been word balloons over their heads, they may have read things like this,

“a poptart for breakfast....where are my homemade pancakes, home fries, fresh fruit and puppets playing with me while I eat?”

“why am I stuck in this exercaucer? Why isn’t someone holding me constantly and telling me how cute I am 24 hours a day?”

“NAP? Um No.”

And here are a few of my favorite conversations (so far) from my day of getting-back-to-normal with the kids:

I went into Carter’s room to get him up this morning and he looked at me slightly disappointed...

Carter: No Chrissy, want Daddy

Me: Did you just call me by my first name? Call me mommy please. Mommy is going to get you up - because daddy’s at work.

Carter: Papa?

Me: Papa went home ... to Michigan

Carter: Santa?

Me: You have quite a while to wait for Santa to come back little dude

Carter: Phone Santa please

Me: Avery, eat your squishy food

Me: Avery, stop spitting your squishy food at me

Me: Seriously Avery, stop spitting food out

Me: Spit your food out Avery

Me: Hmm...so reverse psychology doesn’t work yet?

Me: Ok kids...we’re off to the store

Carter: Get trucks from Santa

Me (thinking oh crap..what?): Uhh...santa gets his toys from his workshop...remember we talked about the elves?

Carter: Truck store mommy

Me: We’re going to the grocery store...and I doubt they have trucks there

Carter: Get mac and cheese

Me: Sigh ... at least say please

Chairs, Puzzles and Bunnies (where could that go wrong?)

2011-01-02T12:15:00.000-08:00

This past week (three weeks ... um no ... month) seems to have flown past quicker than imaginable (just like my gain of almost 8 pounds (read: ok ten ... err ... eleven ... stop judging me - I’m on a diet now ... honest)).

We celebrated Christmas (post and plenty of pictures to come on that), we had a few toddler melt downs, we celebrated New Years (see note about posts to come), had more toddler melt downs, had a ton of super cute kid moments, celebrated more (read: drank more), cleaned up our celebrations... and now it’s back to life as usual.

One thing we set up (and are now enjoying) is the new activity table area. Technically, we set it up last year (the table was Carter’s Christmas gift from Nana and Papa last year). And this year they brought the kids two adorable chairs. So we used this as our chance to talk to Carter about appropriate areas to do crafts, color, play with puzzles and books, (pick his nose and rub it under the table...oh wait...no we said not to do that), etc. Even though we fully know (and support the fact) that he (and eventually Avery) will end up dragging their crafts, crayons, books, boogies (we don't support that so much...but we accept it) and puzzles all over the house (again).

One thing that we proudly placed on the activity table - Carter’s Maclaren puzzle. I just can’t get over how uber-trendy designy it is. My uber-techy-and-design-dorky family loved it too. My dad started to rattle off all of the design influences the puzzle’s creator must have had (he and I have a lot in common... a ‘history-of-design’ documentary and some popcorn would be both of our ideas of the best entertainment ever).

And Carter hasn’t seemed to bore of it either. I can’t say he uses it correctly ... but what can you expect - he would just much prefer to make everything transform into a train, truck, or plate of mac and cheese.

He likes to dump the pieces out, create a train out of the animals, crash a truck into them, and then stage an accident scene - that his fire truck (or other misc rescue vehicles) can arrive at - in a real hurried fashion. And then there is all sorts of mumbling that seems to occur, of which I can only assume is his version of the rescuers discussion of what must have happened at said accident.

Regardless, it keeps him entertained. So, I don’t question.

My only comment (this is more for kids that use it correctly) is that the outlines on the puzzle can be slightly too small (not to scale). The only reason I know this is because I was playing with it ... and it took me a few tries to get the pieces into the correct places (which speaks sad sad volumes about my intelligence).

And Avery (as you can probably imagine) continues to chew on her stroller toys lovingly. The bunny has already had to be wiped off (due to copious amounts of carrot (oh how appropriate ... nicely played Avery ...) squished into it’s fur).

Disclaimer: Maclaren provided the puzzle and stroller toys that I referred to in this post (free of charge). They did not, however, compensate me in any other way.

Note: hold onto your panties - a change is a-comin'! (in the form of a new website! I'll let you know more ... well ... when I launch the new site)

Christmas Eve Toast and Grandma

2010-12-27T10:52:00.000-08:00

Disclaimer: this post may seem sad. But if you look deep enough - it’s actually very happy.

Christmas Eve night, my family and I sat down to a huge traditional meal (it’s our tradition to eat lasagna on Christmas Eve - the big turkey meal is on Christmas Day). And my dad made a toast - to keeping family traditions alive ... and I think it was the first time I realized that I was ready to talk about my grandma.

When I was on my blogging break a few weeks back - it was because I had rushed up to Michigan with the kids to see my grandma - who had fallen terminally ill. Everyone warned me that she most likely wouldn’t recognize us and wouldn’t be able to acknowledge us. In fact, she had gotten so bad that she couldn’t talk or move anymore. And we all knew what she wanted. To see the kids and I.

And see us she did. In fact, she not only saw us, she recognized us (she heard my voice before she could even see me - from across the room), she spoke to me, she moved her hand up to me to hold my hand, she laughed, she smiled and it was the most wonderful day. Three days after that, she died.

And this is where it became hard to blog about.

I have a lot of personal feelings about her and about our relationship (all truly wonderful) ... and quite frankly ... I have just decided to keep them personal. I hold them very dear and it’s very very hard to talk or blog about them.

So, for now, I’m just going to describe her (and perhaps you will see some of the things that made her so special through my descriptions).

Lynette Helen Mee: January 1910 - December 2010:

Lynette Mee was born Lynette Seelig in Northport Michigan in 1910. She was the youngest of 6 girls - born into a German family (her parents are seen below). She and her sisters were not your typical group of women in that time period. They were encouraged to learn (in fact, their parents wanted them all to go to college), to study, and to have fun. And all of those things she did quite well. She graduated high school at just 16 years old - as valedictorian of her class (she was also the captain of her high school basketball team(seen below)).After that, she packed up her steamer trunks and headed (via train) to Michigan State University (by herself). Seriously, at 16...I was still picking my nose and whining to my parents about how hard algebra was.

At 18 years old she graduated from college (from Western Michigan University - she had transferred when she decided to become a teacher (graduation picture below)) and started her first teaching job (with 51 first graders - all of which could successfully read at the end of the school year). Later in life (while working as a teacher and raising two children) she earned her Masters Degree in education (she loved teaching - see below).

Do you see a pattern of (over) achievement here?

She met my grandpa (who’s parents owned a resort (read: speakeasy)) and had a garden wedding at her childhood home (seriously, how cute is that?).

She was a wonderful mother (so I am told by my mom and uncle (and everyone else that knew her)), she was the most wonderful grandmother (I could go on and on about how amazing she was ... in fact, my friends and I still talk about how much fun she was at my wedding (see below)),

she was a wonderful teacher, cook, role model (not a day goes by that I don’t ask myself what my grandma would think of me, how she would handle something or what she would do), pool player, poker player (in fact, she laughed out loud when I visited her a few weeks back because I told her I was going to break her out and bring her gambling), and great-grandmother (here she is with Carter when he was 7 months old). Carter had the honor to meet her and play with her and she loved Carter dearly.

Avery however did not get much of a chance to know her. I really wish that she had. Avery does have a very special piece of her great-grandma though...her name.

Avery’s middle name is Lyn - after her great-grandmother Lynette.

And I will spend the rest of my life making sure she knows how special that name is - because of how special the person she was named after was.

Ornament Exchange ... because that's how us bloggers roll

2010-12-19T18:35:00.000-08:00

I signed up for an ornament exchange this year. And before you’re all “oh how desperate housewives of you” ok ... well ... hmm ... ok ... bite me, it’s fun. I like fun.

And on typical years (not so much this year) I love the holidays. I love decorating, drinking, cooking, seeing family and friends, drinking more, the smell of Christmas trees, decorating more, wrapping gifts, shopping for gifts (online), drinking more, dressing the kids up like mini santa’s, watching Christmas movies, eating too much....I love it all. I love the holidays.

So naturally, when fellow bloggers announced that they were doing an ornament exchange...I was all “oh oh....me too....i want in!” In fact, I started looking for the most ridiculous and/or asinine ornament that I could possibly find. And when that failed... I looked everywhere for an ornament that in some way related to blogging with no luck (maybe I should create one...and sell it for tons and become rich .... does it work that easy? No? Ok).

And so my search began ... for a fun and out-of-the-ordinary ornament. Now, if there is one thing to know about my husband around the Holidays, well ... no, there are three main things to know about Chad around the holidays:

1.) He loves Christmas music. As does his best friend (hi Wang - by the way Wang, Chad said to tell you that our tree is "husky"... not sure what that means). They sing Christmas songs year round. In fact, they sang them at our wedding - on the bus from the wedding reception to the hotel (and people still bring this up).

2.) He loves Chevy Chase movies - specifically Christmas Vacation.

3.) He loves the Moose Mugs from Christmas Vacation (do you see where this is going?)

He loves them so much that two years ago I went on a mad search of the internet to find them for him. And long story short, we now have moose mugs that come out every Christmas.

Naturally, when I saw that amazon had moose mug ornaments ... I had to buy one. And what better way to share the moose-mug-joy than through this ornament exchange?

So, you can imagine my confusion when I opened the box from my ornament exchange buddy (Terri) and it was a moose mug ornament. I sort of scratched my head, looked at the packaging slip, scratched my head more, looked at the slip more ... and this went on for entirely too long before I finally realized that she had sent me the same exact ornament.

The coincidence is somewhat unbelievable to me. But it was a much needed laugh. Great minds think alike I guess. That ... or Chad and I are not the only ones that think Christmas Vacation is a funny movie (I like to think it's the 'great-minds' version though).

I have to point out - this is the statement on the side of the ornament box...

Note: Special thanks to Karen and Shannon for putting on the ornament exchange.

Yet another note: The blogging community has been so very supportive in this very difficult time. And I can’t begin to explain how much I appreciate it. Love you guys!

Maclaren Toy Reviews: Post 1

2010-12-18T18:00:00.000-08:00

Well, who'd a thunk it ... someone actually wants my opinion. Ok, well ... my kids opinions.

The kids were chosen as official Maclaren Kid Testers for two Maclaren products. And, as I have always loved Maclaren, I happily signed up and eagerly awaited for my package (seriously, I should be able to use the word “package” without laughing at some point in my adult life right?) to arrive. Unfortunately, then last week happened (which I am still not ready to blog about ... thus I am just going to go on blogging - and blog about last week when I am good and ready).

Needless to say, the Maclaren package-of-fun has been sitting in our foyer teasing us for over a week.

Well, we finally opened it tonight:

Carter’s toy is called the ‘Arctic Puzzle’ (designed by David Netto - which makes design dorks like me jump up and down)... and is absolutely adorable.

A-DOOR-A-BLE.

You know how there are two types of toys? The ones that look cheap (like you will throw them away within the year - but not before they leave a trail of broken pieces throughout your house that your cat will more-than-likely eat and then throw up in your living room in front of guests) ...

... and than the ones that look like your kids will have them forever and someday hand it to their kids and say, "I remember throwing this at your aunt when I was a kid...man did I get in trouble for that" well, this looks like it would be one that Carter will one day hand his kids. Which I can appreciate - quality kid products are hard to find these days.

Carter immediately grabbed the puzzle and dumped all of the pieces out (stomped on them, threw two pieces at the couch, drove his dump truck over the polar bear, made a train out of the puzzle pieces and then yelled “CHOO CHOO” for about ten minutes, stomped on them more) and then started to put the pieces back into the puzzle.

Avery’s toys are two separate stroller/car seat toys called “Travel Companions.” They are made up of three (on each set) stuffed toys that look like different things (i.e. a bunny,

a plane, a race car, etc).

They came with little story-like description cards that are just as cute (and imaginative) as the toys themselves (I love toys that have little add-on specks of entertainment for parents too).

I have not yet had a chance to attach them to her stroller or car seat - so I just handed them to her to see what her reaction was. She immediately crammed them in her mouth and started happily munching away (no big shocker there... that kid would put a living skunk in her mouth if she could get her hands on one). But they kept her entertained for quite a while - which in 6 month old terms of entertainment ... is a very very good thing.

All in all... the initial reaction seems good. Very very good.

More posts on these products to come (lets see what my little monsters...*cough*...children will do)

More Info: Yes, Maclaren is most well known for their strollers...but they obviously have other cool stuff too. Feel free to pa ruse their website for more information.

Disclaimer: Maclaren sent me these products to review. No other compensation was received. They did not tell me what to write, imply that I had to write any particular thing (i.e. good reviews - in fact - they asked for honest reviews (which is all I am capable of anyways)), threaten to force me to listen to Michael Bolton music for hours on end if I didn’t write certain key words or happy-sounding phrases. In fact, when I told them that I would be delayed in writing anything (due to an illness and then death in the family) they were not only understanding - but also wonderfully sympathetic. Rock on Maclaren... Rock on.

Sorry for my delay in blogging. I will be back soon:

2010-12-17T19:20:00.000-08:00

I’m sorry blogging world. I have cancelled the 12 days of Christmas posting series (maybe next year it will work out).

I am working on writing a very difficult post about a very difficult week (that will explain). But I’m just not ready yet. My apologies. I’m just not ready yet.

In the mean time...I am going to eat my weight in butter-flavored popcorn. Because it makes me happy.

Please pardon my absence. I will explain later...pinky swear

2010-12-11T05:02:00.000-08:00

The 12 Days of Christmas

2010-12-02T18:09:00.000-08:00

For the month of December, I will (sporadically) be posting a “12 Days of Christmas” Series (and I promise pictures will return soon).

Now, i’ll be honest, I’m not going to do twelve consecutive days. Because let’s be honest, things get hectic around the holidays (and in a house with two kids under three - or just two kids period). So, I am just going to give myself a little just-in-case-someone-gets-sick-and-our-house-turns-into-a-poopfest-or-a-kid-refuses-to-nap-and-turns-into-a-three-headed-monster-and-I-end-up-hiding-in-the-basement leeway.

The twelve days series will be things families with kids can do around the holidays. However, they won’t be location specific. I may refer to locations - but all activities I am planning will be things that anyone can do (with small variations) anywhere in the country or world (ok, smarties ... there are probably some places throughout the world that may not work. So, I’ll rephrase - “The vast majority of you will be able to do these activities” - the rest of you - if you cannot do one of these activities, feel free to email me and I will make an alternative suggestion catered to your location).

This fun series will be coming to a blog near you (ok...this blog...I just like 'a-something-near-you' as a statement...it sounds so official) sometime next week (read: when I get around to starting it). So be sure to check back.

It won’t start tomorrow though - I promise you this. Tomorrow, I will be spending the day trying to figure out why my jeep quit working (again)...and also at the department of motor vehicles renewing my license...that I didn’t realize had expired. And since neither of those things are fun...or something that I would suggest to anyone (that I like)...you won’t see a holiday related post from me tomorrow. In fact, if you see a post tomorrow I can pretty much guarantee that it will just be about how much I hate my jeep or the dmv.

Put some 'Tussin on it

2010-12-01T17:22:00.000-08:00

I don’t know how many of you are Chris Rock fans ... but if you are - you may have seen the “put some tussin on it” skit. And if so, i’m in luck ... because you may just understand me a tiny bit more from having seen that skit.

You see, I grew up in a family where there were two fix-it-all’s ...and they were:

1.) Vicks Vapor Rub

2.) Solarcaine

Now, I don’t think Solarcaine is even sold any more (which should say something onto itself). But if you remember it - you know that it’s spray (made up of misc ingredients that seem to disinfect, cleanse, heal and protect (shit, who knows what else it was capable of... maybe it could change my kids diapers, or better yet - potty train them ... I wonder if it would disinfect the diaper genie. I digress)).

And if you haven’t heard of Vicks Vapor Rub, then you live in a cave. It’s magical. Fairies must mix it at night when we sleep ... because it seriously works wonders. If you’re a fan of the movie ‘My Big Fat Greek Wedding’ it is my equivalent to Windex.

Or, if you like Chris Rock’s “tussin” skit ... it’s my tussin. I love it. I would eat it if it didn’t taste so nasty. I put it on my nose (which the box clearly says not to do), I put it on my neck, my chest, my kids necks, my kids chests, in my kids humidifiers, in wall-plugins, hell ... i’d wipe it on the carpets and furniture if I could (Chad drew the line).

If only febreeze read my blog ... they would for sure make a Vicks Vapor Rub scented spray. A girl can dream.

What is your “fix-all?” I’d love to hear some good ones. Leave a comment, email me (gotfam.blogspot@gmail dot com), twitter me (@mygotfam) or well, that’s about it. I love me some good why-people-are-weird-like-me stories.

Note: Please pardon the lack of pictures this week. I am still working on switching things over to my new computer.

Hello LOVA (Read: mac)

2010-11-29T20:30:00.000-08:00

This is my first ever post from my brand new Mac Book Pro. I can’t seem to come up with words to describe the awesomeness that is Mac. Or am I suppose to call it Apple? Crud, I don’t even know the lingo yet. I’m so uncool.

I won’t go on about how much I disliked my Dell - because in all honesty ... it was a great machine (plus, if you have read this blog before - you’ve read all of my opinions about Dell already and more than likely want me to shut up about it). My particular Dell didn’t suck. Dell just sucks - as a whole ... as a company (that doesn’t make it sound any better - but it’s my honest opinion (that, and the fact that Dell is run by a bunch of a-hole ass monkeys ... again ... just my opinion (based on my experiences with them)). But that’s not what this post is about.

As a matter of fact, there is no particular point to this post outside of ... I'm excited that I have a mac - I’m even more computer dorky than before (stop laughing ... YES, that is possible). But I am excited. Beyond excited. What a wonderful birthday present - from my wonderful husband.

I just have been wondering for awhile if Chad sort of woke up and thought, “I’m going to go buy my wife a mac today.” Or if it was something that he thought about for awhile. He had given me hints for a few days that my present was “something material” that I “really wanted.”

So I had guessed new boobs. Don’t judge me. I’ve had two kids...gravity plus two kids...well, I’ll just leave it at “gravity plus two kids” (plus, me being vain...but I’m the only one allowed to say that).

In fact, we had had a little guessing game going on. It went like this:

Chad: What do you want for your birthday?

Me: A new toilet for upstairs

Chad (glaring at me): no seriously

Me: I am serious. I’d prefer you didn’t spend money on my birthday. It’s not like this is some milestone birthday...plus...who cares about birthdays anymore...lets get a new toilet - we need it.

Chad (looking annoyed): I’m not buying you a toilet

-------------we ended up buying a toilet anyways....funny how homes that are less than 20 years old fall apart----------------------

And then it continued:

Chad: So do you have any idea what your birthday present will be?

Me: No, give me a hint

Chad: It’s material and you want it really bad

Me: And it’s not a toilet

Chad (obviously sick of hearing about the toilet): no...no honey...it’s not a toilet

------------A few hours later as Chad was out shopping with the kids (and Uncle Trad and Uncle Ben)-----------------------------

Me (via text message...just to mess with him): I figured it out - it’s new boobs!

Chad: Ha ha..No

----------------a few hours later- as Chad and the kids arrived home--------------

Me: Carter, where were you today with daddy?

Carter: Big truck

Chad: Tell mommy we were at the mac store

Carter: mommy, at the mag sore

Me: Tell daddy, “Yea right”

Carter (now chasing Chad): Yea right daddy yea right yea right yea right yea right

As it turns out - they were at the mac store. Not the silicone boob store. And I have a shiny new mac! Yea me! Yesterday and today was spent doing a million online tutorials on fun mac related things. It’s great. I’m in heaven.

I feel like I should get some sort of “street cred” as the kids say.

And before you PC users send me nasty comments, understand this, I’m not ripping on pc’s or pc users .... just Dell (well, specifically Dell corporation...not Dell machines). So don’t waste your angry comments on todays post....save those for when I am being a lame mommy ...and then lash out on me (and set me over the edge of not coming out of my bedroom and hiding in the closet in the fetal position drooling and mumbling incoherently - because that has to be WAY more fun than just lashing out on me about computers).

P.S. How cute is my husband to take over my blog just to write me a little birthday card? He rocks.

Chrissy's Birthday

2010-11-27T17:18:00.000-08:00

Note: Today’s post is brought to you by my lovely husband. I have no control over what he writes, posts, or does on this site for the next hour. In fact, I logged him into my account and won’t even see what he has done until it’s published. Enjoy.

This is my version of P.D.A. I don’t hold hands or cuddle in public like some of you freaks out there but I will scream from the mountain tops about how much I love and respect my wife; not only what she endures on a daily basis with two maniac kids and keeping a house hold running as smoothly as she does, and for those of you who know me out there you know I’m like a 3rd child, but how much I love you for just being you. You are the love of my life and I can’t say that enough, I LOVE YOU. Now, tomorrow is my wife’s birthday and nothing makes me happier then to see her happy so here I go.

I’ve been reading gotfam for the last 3 years and nothing that comes out of Chrissy’s brain that she puts down on cyber paper ceases to amaze me anymore. What started out as pictures for family and friends to see her first pregnancy and Carter born has turned into an amazing read on a daily basis. I’m so very proud of you and can’t even begin to tell you how talented you are. So, to aid in your ongoing blogging adventures your kids and I, with help from Uncle Trad and Uncle Ben, got you a little gift. We hope you like it.

LOVE the GOTFAMS

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-11-25T19:01:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving at Chad's mom's house. The kids played, we ate, Avery slept (for 3 hours), Carter ran, we ate more, Carter ran more, and then Carter passed out (literally while eating - he was still cramming pumpkin bread in his mouth when I noticed that he was starting to fade). And then boom ... his head hit the table and he was out (and I ran to grab my camera).

And now both kiddos are passed out. And we actually had a mini conversation about a 3rd kid. Family get-togethers can do that to ya. That lasted about 0.2 seconds. And now we're back to drinking. No more kids. For now :)

I'm thankful for you (blushing)

2010-11-25T07:56:00.000-08:00

Good Morning and Happy Thanksgiving.

A few pieces of artwork (from Carter) for Thanksgiving

I am writing this post from my non-turkey smelling house while lounging, drinking coffee, and watching the Macy’s parade with the family. And I’m thankful for that (I love cooking, but I also like it when someone else cooks every so often).

Its days like today that I am reminded of how thankful I am for so many things (a wonderful husband, beautiful healthy children, a rockin' family, amazing friends, cute pets (when they don't crap everywhere), health, freedom, there are more... I could keep going. But I won’t list them all - because I’m sure (if you’re on any forms of social media) you have been bombarded with a million lists of “things I am thankful for.”

But, as Bilbo stated best, I don't want to leave out how thankful I am for this little corner of the internet that I call my blog. Where I can say anything that I feel the need to say.

Because, however dorky it sounds when I tell people “I’m a mom blogger” – it gives me a little bit of sanity. The whole blogging (and social media) community gives me sanity and comfort.

And for that – I am so thankful.

I love having a community that I can vent to, ask for advice from, gush to about how much I love (or am annoyed by) my family, or just speak openly to.

To sum up, I’m thankful for you. Each and every one of you.

Note: I don't want to leave out how thankful I am for washable markers. SO freaking thankful.

A Little Thanksgiving Eve Poem

2010-11-24T16:53:00.000-08:00

Twas the night before Thanksgiving (a used-to-be bar night),
And not a Got-Child was stirring (by 7:30 ... but that took a fight).

The kiddos were nestled all snug in their crib and big-boy bed,
While visions of turkey (well, pureed apples and mac and cheese) danced in their heads

And me with my laptop and Chad with his ipad on his lap,
We’ve both settled down for one (read: 5-7) beers (we deserve a night cap)

What? There is more to this poem?
Sorry, I have beer now.