Now He Wants A Goat

We had a fantastic time at the farm today. When we got there Robert was acting incredibly unimpressed. Then we got to the goats. He absolutely loved the goats. I think he would bring one home if I would let him. He got to feed them and pet them. We also spent a lot of times looking at the swans and ducks. He would watch them and just giggle. The Deanna Roase Farmstead is truly a great field trip. First off, it’s free! What on earth is free these days??? You can actually see the animals and get up close enough to pet some of them. They had farm animals as well as a bobcat, a bald eagle on loan from the Department of Natural Resources who has an injured wing, a koi fish pond and a red tailed hawk. They are building a lot of new buildings and have a lot of activities that we will definitely take advantage of when Robert gets older like fishing, hay rides and pony rides.

Aunt Barb had a lot of fun with her little guy today too. They are selling bricks for a Kansas Walkway so I’m ordering one that says:

Robert loves
his Aunt Barb.
May 30, 2008

to immortalize our first trip to the farm.

After the farm we dropped Aunt Barb off at her house which is just block’s from Daddy’s office so we stopped by to say hi and have lunch with him. Then it was off to the county courthouse to stand in line for our tax receipt. Luckily it was moving fast and we were only there about 15 minutes. Of course this afternoon Robert is refusing to take a nap since he slept in the car. He’s motoring around the living room seeing what sort of mischief he can get into.

We’re Playin’ Hooky!

Thunderstorms are moving through the metro so things today will be wet but hopefully not as muggy as they have been. Rain should be gone by the time we get to the farm. Robert woke up in a rocking good mood, all smiles and giggles so he’s ready for his field trip. I’ve got a pocket full of quarters for the animal feed and the camera battery is fully charged…. look out Deanna Rose, here we come!

Thank God It’s Thursday!

The tags on the Explorer expire Saturday. I would rather have a root canal than license a car. So, yesterday morning I ran in for the required state inspection. It didn’t pass. $600 in repairs later, and being without a vehicle all day, it passed. Ugh! In Missouri we can get two year tags. Can I find my 2006 Personal Property receipt? Of course not. So, tomorrow Robert and I will have to go the the County Courthouse Annex and pay $1.00 to get a new copy of that (I however have 2 copies of my 2007 receipt… go figure!)

Tomorrow we are playing hooky from school/work. We’ll pick up Aunt Barb bright and early and head to the Deanna Rose Farm. It’s a cool little farm designed for kids with lots of petting opportunities. We’re planning on being there as close to 9am as possible since it’s supposed to be hot and humid tomorrow. After the farm Aunt Barb has a list of people’s houses we have to drop by to show off Robert. She is definitely more of a grandmother figure in his life than a great aunt. Even my Mom says Barb is a better grandmother than she is.

Tonight Robert was determined that he wanted some of the scrambled egg I was eating. He was determined to take it by force or by charm. Neither worked, sorry buddy, you’re still too young for egg. He was awake until 8:30pm tonight and wanted to PLAY! He’s crawling all over the place and is a trip to keep up with. Tonight when I picked him up at preschool he hauled tail over to me, guess he was determined I wasn’t going to leave the room without him!

End of the Holiday Weekend

When I woke up this morning I couldn’t find the boys. Finally I located them in the basement. Robert sitting as far forward as he could in his swing, swinging and laughing at his Daddy and the dog. Jim was ripping up carpet and getting ready to start laying the new tile in the basement. The basement has flooded a couple of times this year which has prompted up to move up our replace the carpet project by a few months for fear of mold. We have been vigilant about using the steam cleaner to clean the carpets immediately after each flood and by the looks of things that has paid off. No signs of mold underneath the carpet or on the walls hidden by furniture. He got about fifty tile laid today. His plan is to do about an hour each night until the project is done. Since we don’t have anywhere to move all the furniture to while he tiles he is doing sections at a time. After that project is done we’ll finish tearing the rest of the carpet out of the bedroom. Then it’s on to outside projects, yee ha! Home Depot is loving us.

I ran to Kohl’s today to pick up some new shirts for Jim since they were having a huge sale. He needed some new polos so I came home with five of those and a new silk camp shirt for him. I also ran to Babies R Us for a new top of the stairs gate. The extra gate we already have is too tall to fit under the top of the stairwell… of course. I also got padded guards for the coffee table and the hearth along with a bunch of other baby proofing items. Jim got the gate installed today and I got the padding on the coffee table. I’ll get the hearth tomorrow night. At least we know Robert is a little safer motoring around the living room now. That kid has no fear of anything.

Talked to Mom today. She was pretty tired today and spent most of the day resting. Sherry was back out there today and made sure that she ate and didn’t exert herself. It has been so nice having she and my aunt helping out with Mom so that Jim and I had the majority of our weekend uninterrupted since he was gone most of the week. I got my aunt an Ott lamp as a thank you and she said today that she and my uncle were swiveling it between the two of them and really enjoying it.

Going to be a short work week for me. I’m taking off Friday so Robert and I can play with my Aunt. However, the three days I am working are going to be really busy. Jim is working late on Wednesday so I may stay at the office a bit later. We really need to get Robert back on his schedule. Tonight he was up until 9:30! He’s going to be a bear in the morning.

Peek A Boo

This is becoming a common sight when I’m sitting on the couch these days. First two little eyebrows, then eyes, then a nose and then usually a big smile. I think the flash going off in his face every two seconds was distracting him.

We went out to Mom’s today. She is doing great. We couldn’t ask for a smoother recovery. Her friend Sherry was there and brought a delicious casserole, a huge salad and bread from Panera. Donnie and Erika dropped by for a visit and Erika and I ran to the Gap for a little shopping. It’s a girl thing.

When we got home Jim took a nap while Robert thoroughly entertained me, truly living up to his King of Charm shirt. Tonight I’ve been picking up the house and getting some cleaning done that was neglected this week. It’s finally cooled off a bit so Jim is heading out to mow the back yard. When he comes in we’ll be installing another baby gate in the living room since little Mr. Robert is getting really fast and the last thing we need is him doing a header down the stairs.

Tomorrow we’ll start ripping carpet out of the basement and putting in the tile. We’re doing the basement in sections so hopefully in a few weeks it will all be done. We’re also going to need to replace the toilet in the big bathroom. Home Depot is loving us these days.

I need to go to Babies R Us tomorrow and pick up some more baby proofing stuff and I’m also hoping to run to Barnes and Noble. Jos. A Banks is having a big sale so I think we might try to get there and pick up some pants and shirts for Jim. Oh yeah, I also have a briefcase full of stuff that I brought home that I need to work on tomorrow.

Puppy Love

I don’t know which of these two loves the other more. They are thick as thieves lately. I swear Robert learned to crawl just so he could keep up with Harley. She is so patient with him. He will grab her fur, her face, her tail and she just takes it. She does love licking him and makes sure his face is clean. She will walk by and he just squeals with delight and flails his arms.

Last night the weather man reported no rain this weekend. So of course it rained off and on all day. Between rain storms we headed down to the City Market to pick up some fruits and veggies. Didn’t get any flowers for tomorrow, that was disappointing. But we did get some free range chicken and chicken livers so Jim could make pate for Mom. Robert loved being out among all the people. Eventually he wasn’t happy in the stroller anymore so I lugged him around while Jim used the stroller as a shopping cart.

Afterwards went to our favorite little cafe for lunch. When we got home I took a nice long (five hour) nap while the boys played and cooked. Tonight I ran a few errands and then came home and baked the brownies to take tomorrow.

I talked to my Mom this morning and tonight. Tonight she was making dinner for my aunt… um, aren’t you supposed to be resting??? I texted my niece and nephew today suggesting they give Granny a call. They both did and after she talked to them she took a nap. They are also going to drop by to see her tomorrow. I’m hoping it’s not too much commotion at the house for her but she thrives on having her family around. They also need to see that she is ok.

Number One Grandson

Robert is the number 2 grandson in the family. Number one is my dear nephew Donald who has so much of his Dad in him it isn’t even funny. Mom talked to him Wednesday and told her about her surgery. She said he took it in stride and didn’t seem real concerned but said to have me call him. Here are our text messages from yesterday.

Morning
ME – Granny is out of surgery and doing well. I’ll be taking her home in a few hours.
DKT – How did it go?
ME – It went great. She will recover fully. She is giving the doctor a hard time.
DKT – Ha Ha She’s going home today?
ME – Yes, after she eats something.
DKT – OK That’s good.
ME – Call her tonight. Aunt Barb is staying with her tonight.
DKT – OK I will. I love you guys. (I cried at that one)

Evening
ME – Granny is home and doing well.
DKT – Good. She ok?
ME – She is FINE
DKT – Ok, I just worry.

That quiet concern like his Dad always had. His sister on the other hand who was beside herself when she heard has not responded to any of my messages or called.

My Mom is doing great. Her surgery only lasted about an hour. Her blood pressure which is normally high was low all day yesterday so we wound up staying at the hospital until 5. After getting her home, having some dinner and chatting with my Mom and Aunt I finally got home at 9.

My Aunt is staying all day today and tonight. Tomorrow our friend Sherry is coming to spend the night so I told Mom that we would come out for a visit as a family Sunday. She can’t pick Robert up but she can watch him crawl. We also ran into a friend of the family (she is the mother of my brother’s best friend since 3rd grade) and her mother had just passed away. When I told Mom about it when she got to the car she insisted on going back in. Stood up from the wheelchair, looked at the nurse and said “you’re done with me” and headed back into the hospital. I cut the ignition and followed her. I’ve been detailed to make brownies and a fruit bowl to take out to them Sunday.

Robert was so happy to see me this morning. I got lots of smiles and cuddles. We’re getting ready to head out to the City Market for some veggie shopping and to get flowers for the cemetery. Last night was the second night this week I’ve been with Jim. Both nights I didn’t get home until 9… I’m ready to spend some real time with him.

Drumroll…….

In an otherwise pretty dreary, miserable day, Robert was a bright spot as always. Today, are you ready for this, he pulled himself up into a stand!!!!!!!!!! My little boy, standing on his own two feet. He’s just getting so darn big.

Slowly my body is turning back to a solid. Robert went to sleep at 6:30pm tonight, I think he knew Mommy needs some rest. I’m going to toss in some laundry and pile down in bed.

Two Words…

Food Poisoning. Yeah, it’s shaping up to be a real fun day.

Queen of the Doo Doo Heads

I think it’s the teething but the past few days Robert and I have butted heads. When we’ve been home it seems NOTHING I do is right. I swear he thinks I’m Mommy – Queen of the Doo Doo Heads. His schedule got royally off this weekend, combine that with Daddy being gone and his teeth bugging him and you have us right now.

This morning when I took him to his preschool classroom I swear he looked at me like “Thank God, rid of you for a few hours”. First time I dropped by the room he wouldn’t smile at me. The second time I dropped by the room he did actually acknowledge that I existed and flashed me this big grin. That mood held for a while. I picked him up at the usual time and we came home. We played for a while and then he had his dinner. He only ate about half his food and he hadn’t eaten real well at school today either. After dinner he played with his tippy cup in his high chair while I got his bottles ready for tomorrow. I got two bottles done but had to leave the third one for a bit because he was getting fussy. I’m sure the neighbors thought I was beating him when we put on his jammies… he was just wailing. The only thing that made him remotely happy after that was the dog. They are thick as thieves lately. After a while we had our bedtime bottle and he went to sleep.. until I put him in his crib, then the wailing started again. We rocked, we walked, we cuddled. He’d get almost asleep and then start shaking his head or waving his arm – he was fighting so hard. Finally we just spread out on the bed and I let him crawl all over me until he finally wore himself out… after 8:30.

Jim had called when I was trying to get him to sleep. He had eaten and was back in his hotel room and wanted to chat. I had to cut him short because I still had laundry to turn over, dishes to load in the dishwasher and the trash to get out. By the time I was done with that he would have been asleep. He’ll get a little taste this weekend of “home alone with the baby”.

He’s been home with Robert by himself before but never overnight and most of the time Robert is not the stressor it’s everything else that has to get done and you’re the only one to do it. Of course, Thursday I won’t leave until the preschool bag is ready to go and Robert will probably be asleep (if he’s back on his other schedule). Friday night he won’t have to worry about prepping anything for the next day. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to come home Friday night or not. Depends on if they keep Mom in the hospital or not. Saturday I’ll definitely be out at her house and probably Sunday too.