Life's a bench!

That phrase, uttered from Jack's mouth, is enough to throw Patrick and I into hysterics.


You see, we got a new bench for one side of our dining room table and, well, Jack's pronunciation of it makes it sound awfully similar to another "b" word (not "beach"). Being the exemplary parents we are, Patrick and I thought it would be funny to teach him to say this little phrase. Surely he'd say it a few times and then forget all about it.

Not.


It seems that our outbursts of laughter served to firmly embed the phrase into his little head so that now he doesn't even just refer to the bench as a bench. He says things like "I want to sit here on the life's a bench and eat my lunch." Then, if we don't respond because we're smothering our laughter trying not to encourage him, he says, "You guys need to laugh now."

Note to self: Don't teach your kids things you don't want them to repeat.

Again and again.

In front of company.

Duh.

What's that, Parenting 101? We must have skipped class that day.

Anyway, speaking of beaches, benches, and, well, the other thing, I thought I'd use this time to post some of the photos from our trip to Assateague a few weeks ago. It was rainy most of the time, but on the one sunny - but freezing - day, we ventured over to the island to see if we could find some horses.

Or are they ponies? Ponies, right? Gosh, where's Pioneer Woman when you need her?

Aside from a few that were waaaay out in a field, we only saw this one up close. He was really pretty - I love paint horses...er, ponies.


PJ nodded off in the car while we were driving around, so I stayed back with him while Jack and Patrick took a walk on the beach. I love watching Patrick and the boys together. They just adore him.

It was so windy that I have no idea what they were saying, but it was so cute to watch I just couldn't stop taking pictures.

I imagine one of these might find its way into a frame on Patrick's desk for Father's Day. He's the best Daddy!

Lots more posts to come!

Spring crafts

I don't really consider myself to be a crafty person. I'm artistic enough, but not super-dooper creative. I usually need someone to give me an idea and then I can run with it.

Still, I've been excited for Jack to be old enough to do little crafty activities with me. Yesterday, we painted egg-carton "caterpillars" (that idea was in an email from Huggies, I think. I don't even use Huggies, so I'm not sure how I got on their email list, but thanks, Huggies!) while my neighbor's little girl was here for the morning. Two two-year-olds and paints might sound like a crazy combination, but it was actually a lot of fun. I had two little smocks for them to use and taped some garbage bags onto the table so they didn't make a mess. Washable paints and cotton swab "brushes" helped too. Not too messy. I still have to put pipe cleaner legs and antennae on our little caterpillar and then I'll take some pictures of him.

But in the meantime, here was another easy-peasy craft we did a few weeks ago: construction paper Easter eggs.

I have these little windows on either side of our door, so I like to make seasonal things with Jack to decorate them. We made paper snowflakes in the winter and crayon leaf rubbings for the fall.
It was a great project to do in the hour or so while PJ takes his morning nap, and Jack loved taping the eggs onto the windows.

He knows how to spell all of our names, so we made one egg for each family member, as well as a few that don't have names.

Our eggs were so easy. Jack picked the colors and helped to color in the lines.

For more Easter craft ideas, check out the Usborne book of the week over there on the right. It's a fun time to start learning about bugs, flowers, and all things Spring!

Have a great weekend!

Spring cleaning

Ok, so it hasn't really started yet...the cleaning that is.

Spring started last week.

(Where have you been?)

But we took the first step towards getting a grip on some of the piles around here.

Am I the only one with piles?

Bills, recipes, coupons, coloring books, construction paper...things just seem to pile up and then company comes and I move the pile. Sometimes into the garage. Usually on top of the washer or dryer. I'm glad our laundry room has doors.

(Please don't ever open our laundry room doors!)

Anyway, here's our new laptop-friendly secretary desk! Now the boys can't break my new computer, and I have cubbies and drawers in which to store things like stamps or the checkbook, which usually ends up in one of the aforementioned piles.

I know you're probably wondering when the cleaning part is really going to start.

So am I. When you figure it out, could you please let me know?

Thanks ever so much!

Time Out!

Some people use a chair or a mat or the bottom step for their Time Out spot.
We think the constant battle to keep Jack in his Time Out spot is tiresome and annoying.

We've found a dog crate works much better. It's enclosed, but he can still breathe. And it locks!

Don't call CPS just yet.

Jack put himself in here while we were staying at a beach house a few weekends ago. The owners apparently had two doggies, and Jack thought these little crates were just the coolest things ever.

These pictures crack me up.

So does LL Cool J on Sesame Street.

Oscar just called him "Mr. Mama Said Knock You Out."

Happy Friday, everyone!

The Pioneer Woman

I don't know how I seem to find the time to read other blogs, but not to write in my own.

If you find yourself in the same boat, and you're looking for a good blog to read, check out the Pioneer Woman. It's just to die for!

Food, photos, food, cows, horses, and did I mention food? Plus the most amazing love story to boot (scroll waaay down to the bottom to get to the beginning of the story of how she met her husband. Trust me, it's worth it!) How on earth does she homeschool and still have time to run a blog with different sections and several posts per day? I love it and am insanely envious at the same time.

So that's what I've been doing in between kissing PJ's I'm-just-learning-how-to-walk boo-boos and making every inanimate object in the house "talk" to Jack. (It all began with trying to help him not to fear the vacuum...I made Mr. Vacuum tell him not to be scared, he's just going to eat up all the crumbs and then go take a nap in the closet. Now he wants everything to talk - strings, noodles, peas, remote controls. I've created a monster.)

Go check out P-Dub.

Oh, and have a great weekend!

Peace out.

Oh, and one more thing...

Have we discussed this yet?

Look at that face. Soooo fun!

Top o' the mornin'!

We celebrated the wearin' o' the green around these parts yesterday. You may or may not know our heritage, but, well, I'm Eileen....he's Patrick. You do the math.

Patrick took the day off, and Jack was pretty excited to have a reason for a party. Since the only parties he's ever been to are birthday parties, he kept calling it a "Same Patrick Day birthday party" all day. I guess he was expecting cake and ice cream at some point, but really it was more of an all-day affair.

We started the morning with soda bread, Irish cream coffee and Irish breakfast tea. We munched on shamrock-shaped cookies and these

throughout the day. Don't you just love Irish potatoes? It's just an acceptable way to eat the block of cream cheese you've been eyeing in the fridge for a while. Or is that just me?

We all wore green or something with the theme for the day.

And we finished with the most amazing corned beef and cabbage I've ever tasted. Much better than typical boiled dinner, this recipe was full of flavor and we couldn't get enough. Even PJ was gobbling it up!

We watched Waking Ned Devine (love it), listened to Irish music, and drank lots of Guinness. It couldn't have been more perfect.

Hope you all had a happy St. Patrick's Day too!

Catching up

Things have been a little crazy around here.

PJ is just starting to walk - he took his first three steps at the mall on Tuesday - and that means there's a lot of babyproofing and a lot of falling. Jack...well, Jack is two. Need I say more? When he's not in time out, we're doing everything we can to burn off some energy in the house while it's cold and damp outside. Red Light Green Light, hotter/colder, hide and seek, learning how to catch and kick a ball down the hallway - we've done it all.

He's still the cutest thing on two feet, though (at least until PJ starts walking better), and every night before we go to sleep, Patrick and I crack up at something he said or did that day.

I am amazed at his speaking ability and the way he pieces things together. The other day, he said "otherwise" - as in, "We need to do X, Mommy, otherwise Y will happen." I was so flabbergasted by the "otherwise" that I completely forget what the rest of the sentence was.

We've had a few warmer days recently, and yesterday was one of them. It was grey and overcast, but in the 60s. Jack had it in his mind that he was going to uproot every one of the basil seedlings we planted together a month ago and have been so painstakingly watering every day, so finally I put jackets on them and took them outside to burn off some energy.

I love watching him run around outside - completely carefree and uninhibited. He'll just run in circles like a dog that has been let off the leash for the first time. It's great!


I remember right before PJ was born, I wrote a post wondering how on earth I could love another baby or think he was as cute as Jack.

Then this guy came along.

He was eleven months old yesterday. How did that happen?

He, too, loves the freedom that comes with feeling the grass between his...fingers.

He enjoys playing in the mulch.

Maybe eating the occasional rock or two.

It's so fun to see how much the boys love each other. Jack's always giving PJ kisses.

When he's not sitting on top of him.

Despite the frequent pinnings, PJ still gets such a kick out of anything Jack does, and Jack likes getting the laughs. PJ's laughing here

because Jack is doing this

I can't believe how big Jack is getting.

Is it me or does he look 15 in this picture?

We're all looking forward to exploring outside a little more this Spring. Yesterday's taste of the outdoors has us all itching for more.

Thanks for checking in. I promise I'll write more. This blogging thing has to be easier once your youngest child is, say, three or four. Or if everyone is so played out from a morning running around outdoors that they'll both take a nap at the same time. *Sigh* That would be nice. Until then, it's catch as catch can.

Oh, and one more thing:

Congratulations to Holly for winning the contest from last month! I'll be sending her a free Usborne book! I just have to look through my box of books and pick out a goodie for you, Holly!

Happy Office Day Thursday, everyone!

Where have you been?

I know that's what you're all thinking. Admit it. You've been checking in to see what's going on here in the T household.

Well, honestly, I had trouble keeping the happy going.

I got blindsided by another wave of the weepies that was lingering around, way down, from last month.

Sorry, folks. I couldn't even keep it going during the shortest month of the year!

I'm all cried out now though, I think, so there will be more posts coming. I'll also check through the February comments and announce the book winner (if there is one) in the next post.

And have I mentioned how supportive my hubby is? Somehow, he knows precisely when I need a hug...and he gives the best ones because he's nice and tall and I can wrap my arms around his waist. He really is amazing.

Really.

(That last one was for the anonymous commenter from the last post who I'm thinking may have been a member of Patrick's family.)

For now, I'll leave you with this question. It's no secret I'm a big fan of Ina Garten, aka Barefoot Contessa. She's elegant, yet down-to-earth. She likes Paris, flowers, and the color orange. I just love her.

(But not as much as I love Patrick.)

Anyway, I've found that even though I love her recipes, I rarely actually try them. I'd love to when I have more than 10 minutes to prep a meal, but I'm typically cooking dinner with PJ clinging to my pant legs, crying to be held. It doesn't make it easy to spend lots of time chopping or dicing, and I can't exactly hold him while working over a hot stove.

Still, I watch the show every day at 1:30. It's how I unwind while the boys are napping(ish).

It makes me wonder, do other people watch cooking shows for entertainment only? Is that weird? I guess it's like Patrick's watching home improvement/This Old House type shows, but not really having a house that needs a lot of repairs or renovations. (Thank God! Our home is only about 6 years old.)

Does anyone else find it relaxing to watch other people cook?

If only I could actually benefit from their cooking and get a day off from making dinner every once in a while...now that would be relaxing!

Happy Monday, folks!

Date night

I love date nights with Patrick.

We had such a whirlwind courtship that it feels like we didn't have too many date nights before we were in the throes of children and diapers and laundry (oh my!).

Trading babysitting with a neighbor has proven to be a great way for both of us to have a date night with our guys.

Last night we went to El Serrano, a local restaurant that specializes in Mexican and Peruvian cuisine. The atmosphere was amazing, and listening to the Gypsy Kings while we ate reminded us of our honeymoon in Spain. Ole!

Having the chance to go on a date with Patrick reminds me that I am married to the most charming, handsome and wonderful man in the world.