What does a lion say?

More Halloween pics to come!

A walk in the park?

Thursday. Wow, can I tell you about my day on Thursday? It started out pretty simple, we ran a couple errands in the morning, ate lunch and then as I was gearing up for nap time it was like a bomb went off. Or the sirens before the bombs. Or a full on attack where they storm the beaches and everything. Out of nowhere. Both babies had complete meltdowns. I tried all my mommy tricks. I would get one settled down and then the other would start again. I felt like I lost my super powers for the afternoon, they were nowhere to be found. Nothing was working. Absolutely nothing. For an extremely long 2 hours. So I decided we are just getting in the car and going for a walk. The ten minutes it took me to load up the car was the height of the disaster...so I thought. They both screamed for the entire 5 minute drive, the entire unloading of carseats and the loading of the stroller. What was I thinking? Why were we out there?
But then miracle of miracles right after we went up the hill and over the bridge they both surrendered and drifted off to sleep.
I walked the rest of the 2 mile loop in silence and enjoyed every minute of it. They were still asleep when we finished the trail , so I had my water break and watched the Williamston cross country team too. The crazies were great for the rest of the day. The afternoon started off as one of the hardest days of my life (this might sound dramatic but I am so serious!) and ended up one of my favorites.

Uncle John's

We hit Uncle John's Cider Mill again this week. So fun. We watched the big mill squish and squoosh the apples into cider, rode in the red tractor trailer, played on the hay bale maze, picked pumpkins in the pumpkin patch, and of course had donuts and cider. My favorite is still the cinnamon sugar donut while Dave's remains the cider donut. Noah's favorite is the one that is deep fried and has sugar. He could eat a dozen. And Gage, he's still a milkbreath.

Happy Fall!

The Sleepy Hollow Loop

I love to run. I'd forgotten this. In between prego bellies and newborn dazes I remember. I love to run. My favorite right now, the Sleepy Hollow Loop. It's a short run. Through Brattin Woods, down Lake Lansing Rd through the Sleepy Hollow neighborhood and back.


I didn't even want to go tonight. What I wanted to do was finish making dinner, get my kitchen in order and clean the whirlwind that is my living room at the end of the day. Just settle my house. Settle my day. Settle my mind.
But my sweet sweet David insisted. He took the measuring cup from my hand mid scoop and the baby from my hip mid wail and shooed me out the door. My husband is a stud. (...and in his head I know he's figuring out how this can be a one to one trade for fantasy football, intramural soccer and early morning basketball).
So I knotted up my asics and I was off. After two breaths of misty Michigan air and four tromps of sneaker on pavement I remembered. Again. I love to run. I love to be by myself for a minute. Hear my breath. I love to think about the day, the boys, the leaves. I love to not think. Let my head empty and slow down.
When I'm done I still need to settle my living room and kitchen but my mind and my day are settled.

What do you do to clear your head? snuggle you down? relax?

Last Lake Day

Our warm days are numbered. But yesterday was a nice 88 degrees with high humidity. Perfect for the lake. We packed up and met a few friends in Grand Haven. Noah loves Lake Michigan. On the drive over he said "I wish Grand Haven was closer" So do I Noah, So do I.
So we dug holes, chased the waves, ate grapes, ate some sand and enjoyed one of our last sunny days. Fall is coming...I can feel it.
Can you?

TIME OUT

Time Out started in Noah's chair.
Too many minutes of playing the game of down and up, up and down and too many giggles and squeals from Noah quickly stopped that version of Time Out.

Then we tried Time Out on the landing of the stairs.
He'd stay put, but started requesting to go to Time Out. "Mom, will you put me in Time Out?" Hmmm, not very effective.

So I started locking him in the bathroom. It's a half bath. No tub, no shower, not much in there really. This worked for awhile but when I had to spend a few minutes collecting all the soap, toilet paper, diapers before he spent his two minutes inside, I realized it wasn't working either.

Now I just distract, prevent and ignore.

I don't blame the dude for thinking Time Out is a fun game. I would LOVE to be locked in the bathroom, by myself. A minute for every year of age? Do you know what I could do in there for 26 minutes?! My hair could look amazing, my toenails could sparkle, my hands could be satin. Maybe a good book, or just sit there and be still.

What do you superparents do with an attention deprived two year old?

Baby Burrito

Cozy