Sugar Rush

This video illustrates the reason we spent chasing an out of control, hyped up toddler for 4 consective hours a couple nights ago.



Word of advice - brownie batter and 1 year old ---- does not mix well!

Random Items and Updates

Look what my poor baby did to himself 2 nights ago. This was by far our worse scare yet (and apparently we've had several by the obvious skinned nose you see). He fell off the recliner. Worse goose egg yet. Reed is so tough - if THAT thing popped up on MY forehead, I'd cry a lot longer than he did. After 2-3 minutes and a Popsicle, all was well. By the time he woke up Friday morning, it was gone.

Adalae will be crawling on all fours before long. She is very mobile and could put the best of the best armyman (is that a word?) to shame with her army crawl. I'm so sad my baby is growing up. I'm also so sad I can't set her down and expect her to be in the same place when I get back! Which means we will soon have TWO playpens set up in our family room to enable restroom use without either (or both) a toddler/crawling infant tugging on your leg or crawling in your lap while attempting to pee.


Last Friday, I organized a surprise anniversary party for Shelley. RightStaff celebrated 10 years this November. I got her hubby and her girlfriend in on the deal and she was expecting a double date. Our entire team was there to celebrate with her and she was really surprised!

Here is where I ended up later that night.











Don't even ask.

73 pieces of candy

I came home to an opened package that arrived for Thade today from his grand-parents. I opened the lid and to my dismay (delight?) I find it is filled to the brim with candy bars. Not the "fun size" candy bars but full fledged snickers bars, bags of skittles, sour patch packs and much more. I actually took inventory (after I sent 4 candy bars home with Nanny and the 2 candy bars I later find out Thade ate in rapid succession as soon as the box was open).

7 Sour Skittles

5 M&Ms

5 Starbusts

2 Twix

3 Hershey Bars

2 Super Size Sour Patch packs

2 Reeses

2 Kit Kats

6 Airheads

3 Snickers

3 Milky Way

14 Slim Jims

7 Blow Pops

7 Tootsie Roll Pops

I know what you're thinking. "Yeah right, you're embellishing. I mean who would go out and buy 73 candy bars, pack them in a box, and mail them 4 states away?"

I must admit, I'm tempted to lock myself in my room, eat candy bar after candy bar while I mourn the next 4 years in advance. (Why not, the government will soon be paying my medical bills right? Just like they will pay my mortgage? Rustin did change our mortgage billing address today to:

1600 Pennsylvania Ave Washington, DC 20500 Attn: Obama/White House)

But instead I'll take them to work, get in the Obama spirit and "spread the wealth".

Top 10 Reed List

Top 10 cutest things Reed does:

10. Says "bye bye" and blows a kiss to the stars when we come home after dark.

9. Sniffs repeatedly EVERY time he sees a flower, whether in person or a picture.

8. Now says I love you Adalae, which we have finally deciphered from "lal luv la lallalay"

7. Says a prayer before a meal (which consists of covering his eyes with closed fists while we pray).

6. Cheers, screams and claps when the golf ball goes in the hole or someone catches a pass (no matter the team).

5. This one requires a short story so try not to lose interest. Rustin's brother and his wife have a ceramic chicken in their living room. Anytime we are there, Reed stops what he is doing every 10 minutes or so and frantically points at the chicken while chanting "bak, bak, bak" and proceeds to hold his arms in the "chicken pose" and shake his hips (rather than flap his arms). Only video does Reed's chicken dance justice.

4. We sit sometimes and look at photos on the computer. Reed gasps with excitement at each new photo. He also always kisses pictures of girls, whether cartoon or real people.

3. Always "retrieves" Adalae's bottle or pacifier and personally tries to return to its place (I'm sure his aim is her mouth but we usually end up with a screaming baby with milk in her eye or a paci jammed in her ear).

2. Climbs in the toilet (obviously).

AND the #1 cutest/sweetest Reed attribute:

1. Always kisses Adalae after he steps on her.

Halloween was fun (sort-of). I mean, how much fun can you have chasing a 1 year old, keeping your tired 6 month old happy, and somehow entertaining an 11 year old?

Anyways, we went to the Fall Festival at our church. Honestly, I was sold on the petting zoo. Reed LOVES petting zoos. We get there around 6:30 and go directly to the petting zoo where Rustin and I proceed to take turns standing in line because the other needs to chase Reed around (since we have recently been blessed with the terrible 2s early, Reed will sit or be held in one place for approximately 3 seconds before it's meltdown city). After an hour (maybe it was 20 minute) wait, we finally get in and let me tell you, it was yucky! There was yellow water? pee? all over the ground and as you see Reed's costume tail was dragging the ground. And of course, you have to SIT DOWN to pet the animals apparently. Within 5 minutes, Reed was covered in water? pee? which means within 5 minutes after that I, too, was covered in pee water from picking him up. But really, that was OK. After 3 kids, I've had worse things on my body/clothing than goat pee I'm sure.

So, next was games. That was fun for the most part except that Reed doesn't understand the concept of 3 soccer kicks and it's the next kids turn. We tried 3 games and gave up after 3 meltdowns.

Thade complained that he didn't get the usually 32 pounds of candy so we stopped by his cousins house and cleaned out their supply.

Adalae was an angel the entire night.