Karma

For quite some time now we've been struggling to get Lincoln to eat a better variety of fresh fruits and veggies. He frequently refuses to eat the following:
blueberries
strawberries
carrots
melon (of any kind)
cucumbers
tomatoes
salad
and on and on.
But tonight's epic battle will go down in history; all over CARROTS and DIP. Lincoln spent a very long time in his high chair while daddy tried to get him to eat two raw carrots. After about one hour of butting heads - and long after everyone else had finished their meal and left the table - we believed that Lincoln had swallowed the last of his veggies.
Hours go by, and now it's time to get ready for bed. As I'm putting on his pj's and tickling his bare belly, I see a splinter of orange peak out from his gappy grin. Upon further inspection, I discover that our little chipmunk has managed to pull one over on his old man. There, in the pocket of his cheek is 1/2 of a slobbery baby carrot!
I didn't know whether to be irate or impressed. He had hidden this deception through two hours of tent building, book reading, and valentine making - all the while sucking his numm. Amazing.
In conclusion: he continued to refuse to eat the %$*# thing and was put to bed without a bedtime book. When Nana and Papa hear this tale they will no doubt say that I have begun to enjoy my just desserts.

Back in the Workforce

So, low and behold - after two years of retirement, I'm back to earning a paycheck.

About a month ago, the Lord heard our prayers for a little more financial breathing room and brought two parttime jobs to my doorstep. I'm doing a temporary stint at CB Richard Ellis (only got about two weeks left) and have taken on some work-from-home-in-my-jammies-after-the-kids-are-in-bed work for Blue Harbor. It's been working wondefully (thanks especially to two very helpful grandmas). Although I don't always love being a 'working woman' again, it's great to have a little something to fill up the sometimes-boring winter months and really good to get some validation that I have skills other than doing laundry and building choo-choo tracks. Plus being able to add a little cushion to our savings account is great.

So, in summary - Mommy is working a little outside the home (which has been a challenge in the wardrobe department), Daddy is flying all over the country earning the real bacon, and Grace and Lincoln are spending some bonus quality time with their grandparents - everybody wins!

Funniest Thing Ever

At the dinner table tonight --
Grace: Excuse me I tooted. It was quiet.
Mom: Uh oh, a silent toot.
Grace: A holy night toot.
-- everyone (even Lincoln) cracking up.

LOL!!!!

The Beginning of Formal Education!!!

Grace and I went to tour Pilgrim Preschool today! We won't officially register until March, but Pilgrim is (hopefully) where she will start in the fall. Heaven knows I'm in shock that's she nearly old enough for school, but I think she's going to love it. When we were being shown around the classrooms, Grace was overwhelmed by the noise and activity, but was excited and chatty once we got in the safety of our car for the ride home.
Come September, we're going to have a big adjustment on our hands - for the whole family - but I know she's going to blossom in a classroom setting. (I'm hoping to get her into the two day/morning progam just to ease into the whole idea of school).
I know that summer will go fast and the first day of school will be hard - especially for Mommy, but we're ready to make some new friends and LOTS of beautiful glitter-covered-glue-dripping-macaroni-decorated art :)

Words to Remember

Just a few of the funny things I've heard the kids say today:

In the middle of lunch and out of the blue Grace announced: "When I grow up and have my kids I'm going to name him Sid."
Then, 15 minutes later as she was playing princess dollies, she was singing, "Now bring us some pretty pudding, now bring us some pretty pudding, and eat it right now."

And Lincoln has renamed the plastic, animal-shaped container for the honey from 'Honey Bear' to 'Honey Pig' -- and he's right it does look like a pig :)