Future Rockstar

Auntie Kirsten just sent me some awesome pics of the day I let her (begged her) to watch Finn. She took him to Connor's drum lesson. I think Finn has found a new passion.

Cousin Collin showing him how it's done.

I can do it all by myself.

Even future rockstar's need a nap. And someone to check on them.
Thanks Connor. And Collin. And Kirsten!

Tiny bubbles

Water. That's got to be Finn's favorite word. Although when he says it, it sounds more like, "whahderr" and can mean anything from milk, to the bath, to a fountain or lake. And sometimes it means that clear tasteless liquid stuff you drink that comes from the kitchen faucet. And when he sees water, he wants to touch it or get it in it. Taking a shower has become a challenge as he constantly opens the shower door and tries to join you while shouting, "WHAHDerrrr" like some sort of kamikaze pilot going in for the kill.

But the good news is that he loves bath time. So much so that the other night I was able to work while he played bathing beauty for nearly an hour. Relax. I didn't leave him unattended. I sat (rather uncomfortably) next to the tub, perched on his step stool, with my laptop teetering on my knees.

All this bath time, has resulted in lots of bubble bath. And being the good mom that I am, has resulted in a quest to find the best bubble bath. You know, it doesn't sound like a hard thing to do but you'd be surprised. The natural ones are often very expensive and don't result in lots of big bubbles, meaning you end up using half of the $12 bottle (purchased at Target) for one bath. The cheap ones in their Disney/Nickelodeon character shaped bottles with flavors (flavors?) like razzle dazzle blueberry scare the heck out of me. But I finally found one that meets my requirements: natural, medium priced, plenty of bubbles per squeeze and smells yummy, like citrus and honey and vanilla. It's Burt's Bees Baby Bee Bubble Bath. My tongue got twisted just typing that. First runner has got to be Method's Squeaky Green Hair and Body wash. That also smells really good (like marshmallow-y) although it is not particulary bubbly. But definitely still a favorite. And it comes with a cup shaped lid that is perfect for rinsing the young man's hair free of shampoo.

For shampoo, I can't help myself. I use the old standby Johnson & Johnson's No More Tears Shampoo. It still smells the way it always has. Like babies. Mmmmm.

Inauguration

I just watched the inauguration last night. We are a couple of days behind at our house. BTW, happy birthday Adam.

It was an extraordinary event. But there were a couple of things that struck me:

- Rosalyn Carter looks fantastic. Her skin was smooth and taut. Seriously, how old is she now?

-There was a moment when Obama was walking down the hall, just before he came out on stage. He had this look on his face that got me thinking that that guy who plays him on SNL is doing an outstanding job. I wasn't sure if I was looking at the real Obama or the guy that plays him on SNL.

-Aretha Franklin singing. How awesome is that?

-Purple is the new black. Don't believe me? Check out Feinstein, the senior Bushes and Hillary.

-Michelle Obama might just knock Jackie O from the top of the list of best dressed first ladies. Some didn't like her lemon sorbet frock but I thought she looked pretty hip.

A Million Thanks: Part II

I can say thanks a million times but these smiling

faces are more rewarding.

Thomas performing the first safety check.

Dude. It's not a surf board. But nice balance.

Kurt shows godson, Matt, the play house.

Oh boy. I think this twosome is excited about the slide.

Peace Yo. Connor breaking in the baby swing.

Yippee! Drew is enjoying the swings.

Who is that crazy kid swinging sideways on the top left?

Woohoo! This is awesome!

Not much longer before Finn has the climbing thing down.

Steve and the blondies.

Triple trouble on the slide.

Cousins Matt and Finn sharing a moment.

Connor showing us how it's done.

The next morning. Yay, it wasn't just a dream. It's still here.

I think Finn is lovin' the tire swing.

A Million Thanks: Part 1

Finn is a very lucky boy. And not just because he has the awesomest parents ever. And not just because he now has the awesomest play structure ever. But because he has the awesomest family ever. Spell check keeps telling me awesomest is not a word but I'm pretty sure it is.

Uncles Steve, Kurt and Eric took the day off from work and family to take apart, move and then put together his new play structure. Cousin Thomas also helped out at the job sites. Auntie Kirsten and cousins Collin and Connor spent the day babysitting Finn. Auntie Kym and cousins Matt and Drew performed a safety check of the structure.

And let's not forget to send a huge thank you to the McGannon family for donating their play structure to our young Finn.

Kurt's got it all figured out.

The swing set was detached by the time we got there.

Steve with power tools.

The boys doing something important.

Eric dismantling the play house area.

Even Thomas is pitching in. Or maybe just getting in one last hurrah before the structure is in pieces.

The boys kept the core in one piece so that putting it all back together would be a snap. As predicted by Kurt, the breakdown took about an hour and a half.

Here they are putting it all back together again. Reconstruction took a little bit longer but they were all wrapped up and enjoying a cold one by 3:30. All in all, a very efficient work crew.

Eric working on the new base.

Steve working on the swing set side.

Hey, there's Jason doing something important.

Thomas making sure the tire swing is working properly while his dad is still working on the finishing touches above.

The finished product. It's a nice size and fits perfectly in our side yard.

THANK YOU EVERYONE!!!

Crazy Cousins

Okay, okay. I'm a bit behind on posting photos. Here are a couple from Christmas of Finn playing with his cousins.


Peekaboo? Or maybe Finn is telling Connor a story about a fish he caught. "It was THIS big."

Thank goodness that Collin and Finn color coordinated before their photo shoot.

New Year's Resolutions

I'm not one to fool around with New Year's resolutions. I don't like to set unobtainable goals for myself that only result in disappointment. My husband provides all of the disappointment I could ever hope for.

But with the new year it is tempting to think about starting fresh. It's a good time to try to do things better. I'm not going to resolve to run a marathon but I can strive to run 3x a week, like I used to.

So here are some goals I have created for myself:

-Post to blog more often. Well, it's the 7th of January and this is my first post of the year so better work harder on that one.

-Run 3x a week. I ran yesterday. One down, two to go. We've re-instituted family walks. That sort of counts, right?

-Eat more vegetables. Last night I rummaged in the freezer and found a mini iceberg of mixed vegetables in the back (date unknown). I ate mine. Finn ate half of a bean and a couple of peas. I was so proud when he downed the baby carrot only to have it come back up a few minutes later. Jason didn't give the veggies a second look.

-Stay within 1500 calories a day. I started this on Monday. By 6pm I was ready to sacrifice hostages if I didn't get some sugar and fat pronto. By 8pm I negotiated with myself: a family walk in exchange for 2 (make that 4) freshly baked white chocolate macadamia nut cookies. I'm proud to say on Tuesday I stayed under 1500 calories and there were no casualties.

-Be a better mom, wife . . . blah, blah, blah. Whatever.

-Take more time for myself to do the things that I enjoy. Now that's something I can get my brain around. This New Year's goal thing is starting to sound all right.

* Calendar available at modernarteveryday.