naughty liam

busted!

About two hours after I put the boys to bed tonight, I heard an ominous sound over the monitor. So I snuck upstairs and took a couple of videos. The first is below -- I caught Liam in the act. The second is above. Max completely steals the show. In case you can't understand what he's saying, he says "Naughty Liam!" twice, then asks, "Why are you doing, Liam?" Funny stuff.

For some reason, I can't post videos from Blogger. It's so frustrating! They upload just fine, and I can see them in the preview window, but then when I publish the post, only a blank square appears. I've seen plenty of Blogger videos on my friends' blogs. So tell me, friends, what am I doing wrong here???

caught on video!

i fought the mom...

...and so far it seems like a draw. I've mentioned the problems we've had with Liam crawling into Max's crib, right? Well, there's also a tiny issue with us having to go upstairs half a dozen times per night because Max has flung his books/blanket/water cup out of the crib and cries inconsolably (and at the top of his lungs) until someone retrieves it. So we took inspiration from my friend Anna, who bought a crib tent a few years back to keep her son from climbing out of the crib. We figured it would keep Liam out, and Max and his possessions in. So off to eBay I went, and found a crib tent at the right price. It came today, and I set it up tonight while the boys were watching Diego (Liam's newest obsession. Guess Blue's Clues is on the way out).

The boys were fascinated upon going upstairs for bed and finding this strange new contraption in their room. Liam was very upset because he wants a tent on his bed too.


For the first hour and a half, my visits upstairs were pretty limited, so I guess it's a success in that regard. The blanket and water cup have stayed safely in the crib, but note the books on the floor -- Max is slipping them through the bars! And yes, of course, as soon as he runs out of books, he's screaming bloody murder for me to come and get him some more. Sigh.

liam poses

If I hadn't cut off his feet in my haste to get this picture before the moment passed, it would have been really something. I love the way he's posing with his scarf. What a ham!

out to lunch

We took the boys to our scenic downtown to have lunch at Gary's Hometown Diner. The food was good, and the staff was pretty accommodating, considering what the boys were up to:




Finally, we got them to actually sit down at the table. We had to bribe Liam by asking him to make a tower out of jelly containers. Once the food arrived, they were in good shape again -- but only until they got full. Then it was off to the races again until we finished, paid the check, and hustled the boys out of there. At what age can we expect them to go with us to a restaurant and NOT make a scene?

yes, michigan!

On Saturday we took Liam and Max to see Grandma and Grandpa's new cottage in Michigan. It's a cute little place with a big yard. Very rustic and charming. But the feature that Liam and Max found most appealing was the huge deck that wraps around the whole house. Sure, they wanted to see Grandma and Grandpa, but they were more excited to see their old friend broom and their new friend snow shovel. There was plenty of snow to play with, so they spent a long time out there. Max mostly swept up snow with the broom, while Liam alternated shoveling snow with practicing his newfound skill at making snowballs. But it was cold, and eventually we had to end their fun, which caused a fit that in turn ended the visit. Maybe next time we'll get to stay longer than an hour or two!

gobble

We had a great Thanksgiving Day this year. When the boys woke up, we made banana bread for breakfast, and while it was baking, Mike took the boys to the store to get the ad-filled newspaper. After breakfast, all four of us snuggled on the couch -- a rare occurence these days. Mike and I read the paper while the boys sat riveted to their John Deere DVD (a souvenir from my parents' visit to Deere HQ) until it was time to start getting ready to go.

By this time, the first real snow of the year had started falling. Mike took Liam to the window to look, and asked him what he saw coming down from the sky. "Dust!" Liam replied. I took the boys out to look at the snow, and Liam was so excited he was jumping up and down and trying to catch it in his hands. (It's too bad that the snow didn't show up in the picture, but it really was there.)


We had a nice lunch at my step-grandma's, then headed back to town for dinner at my grandparents' house. There was plenty of food, including Gram's legendary noodles. Everyone brought something to the table (our contribution: veggie tray and a delicious garlic-feta dip with pita chips) but my mom put everyone to shame with her pumpkin cake. Not only was it a pumpkin cake, but it was shaped and decorated with frosting and marzipan to look like one. It was a masterpiece, and nobody wanted to be the first to cut it open. Before that happened, I was able to take a couple of pictures to document this incredible creation.



The boys had a wonderful time running around, being chased by cousins and corrupted by uncles. The latter came about when Liam went outside to play in the snow and a couple of uncles taught him to make and throw snowballs. Liam figured out some mischief all on his own, though -- check him out sticking a piece of cheese to the wall when he thought nobody was looking! They were sad when it was time to go home, but once we got them settled in their room, they crashed quickly. As did I, in preparation for the dreaded Black Friday. All in all, a good day.

thanks,

Liam and Max, for being the delight and torment of our lives;

Mike, for all the gifts, especially L&M;

Mom and Dad, for our barter system of time, creativity, and efforts -- we only hope our contributions can measure up;

Barb and Kevin, for supporting us, and for taking the time to be involved and really listen to the boys;

Val, for really listening to me;

family and friends, for the millions of big and little things that add up to a pretty wonderful life.

Happy Thanksgiving!

hanging out, or why bambi is upside-down

you wanted it, you got it:


actually, it looks like bambi has antlers, so call him benji.

i may be "asked" to remove this. enjoy it while it lasts.

also, in case you were curious about the end result of all that raking (mind you, this is only the side and back yards):


that pile is 4 feet high in some places, about 2-3 feet in the rest. this road has been reduced to 1 lane. stupid trees, can't you clean up your own mess?

Update: The deer is now missing both head and skin. And no, MARLENE, we won't post a picture. Nobody needs to see that.

weekend edition

You know you're not in Chicago anymore when you wake up, look out the window, and find a dead deer strung up on some kind of gruesome swingset device in the neighbor's yard. Which is exactly what happened this weekend. Hunting season just opened, so I guess the neighbor got lucky right away and will be enjoying a vast array of venison entrees over the long winter.

We stayed pretty close to home all weekend. I had to work (ugh) both days so Mike got to have some real, er, quality time with the boys. Liam and Max managed to find time in their busy schedule of fit-throwing, disregarding authority, and whining to do a little coloring and some leaf raking as well.

From the "Explain It If You Can" file:

Can somebody please tell me what would possess Liam to climb into Max's crib every night at bedtime and try to sleep in there with him? It usually ends in tears when Max gets fed up at sharing his space and starts pulling Liam's hair or hitting him. This morning, Liam woke up (in his own bed), climbed into the crib with a still-sleeping Max, and waited patiently for Max to wake up so they could chat and sing. What gives?

that explains it

With a crew like this, it's no wonder the kitchen and playroom aren't finished yet.

what a feeling

The boys find the darndest ways to amuse themselves. The other night, they put on a couple of headbands and played "Flashdance" for a good 20 minutes, checking themselves out in the mirror, making faces, and lauging at themselves. Who needs fancy toys when a $2 pack of headbands is all it takes to keep them entranced?

super max

Max has been under the weather this week. I took him to the doctor Monday afternoon, and it turns out he has croup. Look at his poor little miserable face in the doctor's office:


But it's amazing what a few hours and a hit of Motrin will do. Here he is at my parents' house, that same evening. The cape is his special blanket, which he calls "Night Night" and is extremely attached to.

work in progress

Turns out it takes a long time to install all-new baseboards, chair rail, and crown molding in one room! I spent most of the week painting, staining, and prepping various levels of trim that will complete the playroom, kitchen, and one of the bedrooms upstairs. On Saturday, the boys went to a basketball game (Go, Nick!) with Mom and Lon, Mike had an interview in Toledo (yes, Ohio) for most of the day, and my dad and I worked hard on the trim. Dad brought the saw over and we set up shop on the deck, and started on the playroom. (Of course, that's the room with the most trim!) We measured, cut, sanded, spliced, and installed baseboard, chair rail, and crown molding (which gave us quite a challenge because the angles have to be different). When Mike got home in the afternoon, he helped us finish the room. We still have to putty in all the nail heads, do some touch-up paint, and make and install the curtains (that last one is on tomorrow evening's agenda) so I'll post pictures of the finished product. I'm really pleased with the way it looks so far, and I can't wait to see it all tied together!

so long, story time

Tonight was our final story time. All the kids were a little off -- maybe they knew something was up? Anyway, I've really enjoyed taking the boys there over the past six weeks, and I think we'll sign up again in January when the winter session starts. If by some miracle Mike can join us, all the better.

So with the success of story time, I'm inspired to get the boys more involved in activities. What do you think, readers? Swim lessons? Gymnastics? (Lon, do the boys do gymnastics too?) Foreign language? Yoga? Piano? Put your suggestions in the comments section.

[This is totally a joke. As much as I liked story time, it really stretched my resources at times. But I'd love to hear your suggestions -- crazy as you want to make them.]

a million thanks

...to my mom and Loni, who came over and rescued me Monday night. I was terribly sick all day, and in my delirium told my aunt Laura that I would watch her four kids in addition to my own that night. Laura says I sounded wide awake when she called to ask if the kids could come over, and I'm sure I did, only I woke up two hours later, dizzy and nauseated, with a vague memory of having agreed to something. Yikes! But Mom and Lon saved the day. They came over and sent me to bed, entertained the six kids, then put the boys to bed after the cousins had left. I guess it's a great benefit to living here, knowing that there's an emergency plan in place. If we were still in Chicago, I would have had to just suck it up and get through it. How? I don't know. I only know I'm glad I didn't have to last night.

table dance!

Sunday the boys inexplicably strapped on their frog rain boots and did an impromptu table dance for us. Huh.

pillow forticus

Mike helped the boys make forts this weekend with the pillows from the couch. Max mostly destroyed the forts, much to Liam's frustration, but eventually the two of them played together. Meanwhile, I was out in the garage toiling away, painting trim for the two rooms we hope to finish on Saturday. Stay tuned!

boys get busted

We've been doing a lot of work on the house lately (what else is new?). Right now we're working to finish up the playroom and the kitchen (sneak peek at the playroom paint below) and have had to move things around to make way for painting and other work. So the other day I was getting out of the shower, and heard a suspicious clinking noise coming from the playroom. I instantly knew what it must be, so I grabbed the camera and rounded the corner to find this:


That's right, the boys are licking sugar and flour out of my Fiesta canisters. Yuck! Check out Max's face, covered with flour. A nice classic "I'm busted" look with the big Liam eyes over the canister lid, too.

trick or treat!

This is the first year the boys have ever been trick-or-treating. It's kind of rare that Max gets to do anything first (though he did see a movie in a theater before Liam did), and it turns out Max is a natural trick-or-treater. He walked fearlessly up to each house, held out his bag, said "trick or treat" and "thank you" to everyone, and generally charmed the neighborhood. By contrast, Liam wouldn't even set foot on the sidewalk up to the first house, didn't say "trick or treat" a single time all night, and was all-around bashful. Not just with strangers, but also with my mom, my sisters, and Klaudia. My mom and Loni were kind enough to come so we could cover all the bases: Mom stayed at the house and handed out the candy, while Lon and I each took a boy to walk around the neighborhood. At the end of the evening, we put the boys in the car and drove over to Aunt Laura's house, but nobody was home (imagine that) and Liam was absolutely crushed that his cousins weren't there. So tonight we're going to put the costumes back on and make a special trip over there. Maybe this time Liam will even say "trick or treat."