Warning: Not for the Faint of Heart or Queasy of Stomach

This story begins innocently enough, but do NOT read past the first paragraph if you are easily grossed out or if you are about to eat.... So, Caleb wanted to go to our local coffee place this morning, and it wasn't too difficult for him to persuade me since we both love the place. It's a little indy coffee shop here that even serves some fair trade, organic stuff. So we headed out for our white sugar, white flour breakfast :)

Breakfast was going well enough. Caleb was running amuck around the almost vacant second story. I was enjoying my coffee and making a few phone calls. He notifies me that he has poop. I debate what to do. I don't think they have a changing table, and I don't think it's appropriate to change him on the floor. Infamous thought "Wouldn't want to contaminate the place." STUPID me! So I tell him that I'll finish my coffee and then we'll go change in the car. So, I've taken a few more sips of coffee when he says "Poop on my legs." And this is when I realize that I've made a crucial mistake.

Alas, we are attempting to potty train the boy. It is a long and drawn out process, but we feel that we are making strides. He wears underwear at home and pull-ups when we go out. But not today; today I have forgotten to change him into a pull-up. He has on underwear, and poop is leaking everywhere! Any attempt at evacuating the place would only result in more widespread poop leakage. There is only one option; change him on the floor immediately! So, I put Madi down to crawl on what I hope is a non poop-contaminated spot - oh gross! And I attempt to clean up the mess that is Caleb. Poop is all over his legs, his feet, his shorts and the floor (which is green carpet by the way). His underwear find their new home in the trash can, joining "Bailey Goes Camping." I try to quickly clean up the mess before anyone sees. There are two other customers sitting in the room, and I hope that they are oblivious to the fracas. In case the situation has escaped their knowledge, Caleb loudly broadcasts "Poop everywhere, poop on my legs, poop on my shorts..." I beg him to be quiet as I frantically try to scrub his legs and the carpet, silently pleading with Madi to stay away from the poop-infested area. Thankfully, we are able to salvage the shorts (of course I don't have a wet bag on hand). Thank God, I do have wipes (my friends know that this is a RARE occurrence) and a pull-up on hand. I attempt to discreetly dispose of the evidence and scoop up Madi. We sneak out the back entrance (SO happy that the coffee shop has an outside staircase!) with Caleb clad in only a t-shirt, a pull-up, and his crocs (which he informs me that he has tee-teed on). We go straight home, and dunk the boy in the bath.

Why do I go out in public with the children? WHY?????

p.s. As I am writing this, Caleb informs me that he "has poop." Aurgh!!!!!

Bailey Goes Camping in the Trash Can

So, one of Caleb's library books met an unfortunate demise tonight. Caleb had spilled some water on the book, but it was in pretty bad shape to begin with, so I thought that maybe the library wouldn't notice. But tonight, we open "Bailey Goes Camping" to find it overrun with mold! Now, this is not that unusual an occurrence - our house grows mold easily. It's so airtight - good for our electric bill, bad for mold. So "Bailey Goes Camping" had to go. And now we have to pay for it - ugh! And it was a really sweet story. :(

Caleb Quote O' the Day

"Lastertime, I saw a dog playing basketball. And he said 'I no play basketball. I'm just a dog.'"

Madi's Mission

Madi's focus is singular these days. Her goal is in sight, and she wants it NOW! What is she striving for? Simply to Walk! Never mind that she is only six months old, and that most babies aren't even crawling at her age. She pulls up constantly, on every possible surface. Then, with a glint in her eyes, she lets go! And falls of course - after all, she has not developed the strength and coordination to attempt such a feat. Oh Madi - must you grow up so fast?

Rare Moment in History

Caleb and Madi pose together for a picture. Even at the photography studio last week, we were unable to accomplish this feat. They do have fun together; they're just both so insanely active that it is extremely difficult to have them both sitting still long enough to take a photo. How sweet!

Richard's Romantic Woes

Richard has had another girlfriend move out on him. Our neighbors and their dog, Lacey, have moved. Richard is a bit down, but it hasn't been as hard on him this time. After all, Lacey wasn't his first love. That honor belongs to Nikki; Richard is probably still pining away for her. If we get a house with a decent size yard one day, we want to get Richard a friend.

Date Night Success

After my lament, I was rewarded with a mini date night. We just had a couple of drinks, but it was refreshing. I made a new friend, the Mojito. The Mojito and I first crossed paths half a decade ago, but didn't hit it off. However, a mutual affection arose when we were reacquainted last night.

Caleb Quote O' the Day

"Have you ever seen a dog sitting in a chair at the barber shop getting his hair cut?"

Searching for datenight

O, datenight, datenight, wherefore art thou datenight? Longed-for and elusive, the datenight has sheltered itself in the same cave as the full night's sleep, the alone time, the cup of coffee in peace, and the clean house.

But these have been traded for things more precious and cherished... morning kisses, the sounds of tiny voices singing, lots of cuddles, toddler jokes, and baseball in the backyard.

Is the trade-off worth it? Absolutely and unquestionably!

Lots and lots of babies

Caleb's morning quote of the day...

"I want 2 sisters. I want lots and lots of babies. Lots and lots of babies. No sell them."

We'll see...

So, I just found out what superhero I am...

Your results:
You are Poison Ivy

Poison Ivy 52% Dr. Doom 48% Apocalypse 45% Mystique 44% Lex Luthor 40% Dark Phoenix 40% Catwoman 40% Riddler 40% The Joker 35% Magneto 34% Mr. Freeze 33% Juggernaut 32% Venom 30% Kingpin 23% Green Goblin 20% Two-Face 16%

You would go to almost any length for the protection of the environment including manipulation and elimination.

Click here to take the "Which Super Villain am I?" quiz...

Library Schmibrary

Let me preface this by saying that I love the library. I do. It's probably one of the more efficient uses of our tax dollars. I used to not care for the library. I wanted to own books, not just borrow them. But when you're short on space to shelve books and low on funds to buy them, you learn to love the library. Especially our library, which has a really outstanding collection of books for a small-town library.

But now the children's librarian says that only children who can sit still can attend storytime. Seriously? Storytime is by nature intended for preschoolers. Older children are in school. Preschoolers are not physiologically capable of sitting still for long periods of time. Can they dance a bit and wiggle while listening to a story? Is that too difficult? But no, let us dope them all up on Ritalin. Then, we'll all be happy, right? In the meantime, I have a little guy, an active little guy, who will no longer be able to attend storytime. A children's librarian, whose job is to cultivate a love of reading in little children, has failed.

Little Ones

Wee One has her first tooth cutting through. She is growing up so fast - crawling and pulling to stand already. Little Guy will be so excited when she can actually play with him. What a joy and a blessing and a challenge these little ones are.

Embarking

Well, I'm new to this business of blogging, but here goes.... I'm well acquainted with writing and journaling, so hopefully this will be fun. I hope to provide a behind the scenes peek at our family here. Hopefully, this will help everyone keep up with Caleb and Madi's development and all their antics. Plus, I'm sure I'll enjoy rambling about other topics that interest me. Thanks for reading...