Random bits and pieces

just a couple of random pictures that don't fit anywhere else.

The end of an era: Milo and I dragged his tiny climber out to the side of the road one day last week. We had gotten this for him for his first birthday, and Milo decided that he is too big for it, and that some other kid should have a chance to play with it. So out it went. Nobody picked it up; then a girl from Corey's work said she could use it for her kid. We delivered it to her house this afternoon. It was a little sad dropping the climber off at her house. Of course, Milo is taller than it is, at this point, but still. Our little boy is growing up too fast!


Yep, that's Lily sleeping with her tongue sticking out. Even with all the noise I was making while I was taking the picture, what with the snorting and giggling, she didn't wake up. What a goofball, even when she's conked out!

Milo's birthday celebrations begin

Around here, you don't just get one birthday, you get to party all week long. At least if you're Milo, anyway!

On Friday, Milo went to Mrs. Heiss's preschool and was treated to a surprise party thrown by Mrs. Heiss and all the big kids. They organized the whole thing, cupcakes and all. We donated brownies to the cause. Milo came home with an awesome hat, a gift from the big kids and a goody bag with bubbles and crayons in it. The gift from the big kids was a Spiderman activity book with lots of things to do. He was so excited and happy about the surprise party, Milo just couldn't stop talking about it yesterday. I was really impressed with how nicely organized the party was; the big kids made sure that all the little kids got a goody bag and that they all were able to share in the fun.

Then today, the fun continued with Grandma Carolynn and Grandpa Bob. I delivered Milo to their house around 11:30 this morning, and they were off to an amazing adventure at the Freehold Mall. They took him out to lunch and then.....Milo got to build his own robot!! Holy moly, the kid had a blast. He is so proud of his robot! The robot's name is Planet, and he came from Saturn. Planet even says "My name is Planet and I belong to Milo." That is totally cool beans!

While they were out partying, I was here having a party of my own: washing the truck and cleaning out the interior whilst listening to Buffett. Corey came home from work a little early; Grandma Carolynn and Grandpa Bob brought Milo back in time for supper, and we ordered Chinese food and had good cake.

Tomorrow the fun continues!


Checking out the options at Robot Galaxy. So many bot bodies to choose from!

That's it! That's the one! Milo's awesome hat came from preschool. He wore it all day today, pretty much, even when we went to the vet this morning with Lily and Monet.

The nice girl at the robot store helping Milo put together his custom made robot.

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When the robot is all assembled, apparently they go up into some sort of space pod to Saturn, where they get programmed. When he came back down the robot looked like...

This!! Dig Planet's space guns and jet feet with booster rockets!

Taking Planet for a stroll in Grandma Carolynn's backyard.

Milo looks like he's having a little too much fun being an axe-wielding maniac. You know, boys will boys! (Grandpa Bob had a HUGE tree cut down in his yard, and of course, Milo wanted to get in on the action of being a tree guy.)

Mmmmm, cake. Check out the spooky ghost hand in the background. That is an official objet d'art....it says so on its base. Grandma Carolynn and Milo dressed it up ages ago with a tinfoil watch and ring; it's still wearing them. At times I am tempted to paint its fingernails, but I haven't gotten around to it yet.

Progress Report: Daycare

It seems that Milo is starting to accept the fact that he has to go to Lakeview three days a week, whether he wants to or not. Last week we started a sticker chart. For every day that he goes to Lakeview and doesn't pitch a fit about it, Milo gets a sticker stuck to his coat at dropoff time. If he gets three stickers in a row (one for each day), then on Fridays we do something special. We only did the stickers two days last week, since Monday we were home sick, and on Wednesday, for the first time, Milo actually smiled as he was going through the door into his classroom. His teacher emailed me that evening and said that Milo had had a really good day and was in a great mood all day long. That was very encouraging. Milo's special treat last week was lunch at McD's.

Then this week started. Monday morning Milo moaned and groaned about going to daycare, but didn't put up too much of a fuss. He cried a teensy bit when it was time for me to leave after helping him with his coat and such, but other than that, Milo was okay. Then Tuesday morning, Milo decided he wasn't going to Lakeview. First he cried and moaned and groaned for a half an hour or so after he got up, and then when he realized that wasn't getting him anywhere, Milo said: "My tummy hurts and I'm having trouble with my butt. Oh well, looks like you have to take me to the doctor instead of going to Lakeview." Corey happened to be home, and heard him say it too, so I knew I wasn't hallucinating. When I said "Nope, sorry, still going to Lakeview," that threw Milo for a loop. He calmed down by the time we got to daycare though, and it finally dawned on me that maybe we should do all our hugging and kissing goodbye in the hall before Milo goes into the classroom, so I could then just hang up his coat and take off. (When we hug and kiss goodbye, I tell Milo that I'm filling him up with enough love for the day, so he doesn't have to miss me. Milo tells me to keep his hugs in my pocket so I can feel them whenever I need to, and that I need to do my best not to miss him, cuz it's hard, you know.) It worked like a charm; Milo was totally fine, no tears or anything.

We went through the same routine again this morning, except this morning Milo did not just have tummy troubles and butt problems, he also had a sore throat and a fever and maybe a rash. Once again, I refused to fall for it, and he was okay by the time we got to daycare. We did our goodbye shtick in the hall again, and Milo was all smiles by the time we opened the door.

Because he earned his three stickers, this week's special treat will be a trip to the playground. I hope the effects of the sticker chart last, and that the same things work again next week. I just can't wait to hear what ails him on Monday....

By the way, Milo is just like Norm from Cheers. As soon as he opens the door to his class, everyone yells "MILO!" That right there would be enough to make me want to go back everyday, but Milo just thinks it's par for the course, since he gets treated the same way wherever he goes.

My new name is....

Mrs. Nesbit! Milo called me that last night when he was taking a bath. He offered me a cup of "tea" and said "Enjoy your tea, Mrs. Nesbit!" At first I was laughing hysterically because I didn't know where he got that name from, and just thought it was funny as heck, and then I remembered that's what the mean kid's sister in Toy Story calls Buzz Lightyear when she's playing with Buzz and having a tea party with her dolls. Buzz is slightly off the deep end at that point and is wearing a flowered hat on top of his astronaut helmet. That made me laugh even harder, because it's one of my favorite scenes in the movie. A few times today Milo called me Mrs. Nesbit instead of Mommy, just to make me laugh, and it worked every time. So feel free to call me Mrs. Nesbit. I might announce that its' my new name tomorrow at work, just to see if A) anyone blinks an eye at it, and B) if they can figure out where it came from.

Feelin' better

Almost back to 100%! Woo hoo!! I had more energy today than I have all week...so I pretty much spent the day doing laundry. check that, I spent all stinkin' weekend doing laundry! Between sheets, towels and my boys, the hamper is never empty.

Milo is feeling better also. He is over his rotavirus, and appears to be quickly on the mend from a cold. Maybe we'll have a day or two of nobody being sick!

I got to experience the pooping in public bathrooms joy for myself yesterday. We were at Shoprite doing our once-a-month giant grocery shop and Milo announced that his tummy hurt. Finally after another aisle or two, he said he needed to go to the bathroom, although he had refused up to that point. We were in the bathroom forever. First he had to take off most of his clothes because it was a tall toilet (we were in the handicapped stall so we had more room; I hate being crammed into the tiny stalls when Milo is in there with me), and then it took forever for the kid to poop. It was a lot of poop and it was STINKY. I spent a large portion of this time gagging and retching, while Milo was saying "What's the matter, Mom? I think it smells fresh!" I pity the poor souls who came in and out of the bathroom while we were in there, goodness only knows what they were thinking. Once Milo was finally done, and got his clothes back on and got washed up, he said he felt all better. I'll bet; I think he left half his body weight behind!

Now I have much more sympathy for the poor girl who had to take Milo to the bathroom the other day :)