Moments in Motherhood

 

Exciting News #2

 

In about a month, we are hitting the road (skies?) again and heading to LONDON!!!

Brian is going for business and I am going because I refuse to be left behind.

He will work in London for a week while the boys and I explore (and shop!)  and then he is taking a week of vacation while we see Northern England, Scotland, and Wales. 

Oh yes, and a day trip to Paris, dontcha know.

I am sooooo excited about this trip, although the details are a bit boggling at this point.

Also, Brian will be flying first class (thanks to his company) while the boys and I kick it back in coach. 

Who thinks Isaac on his lap will be a treat for the other first class passengers?

Exciting News #1

 

I got a new toy…

Argh

 

Dear Isaac,

Where is the lid to my blender? 

I know I left it on the counter, but now I can’t find it ANYWHERE!

I am 99% sure you took it, because, well, you know how Mommy keeps forgetting that you can reach the counter now and leaves little treats there for you?  Like the sugar bowl, or my glass of water, or the salt shaker.  Or the blender lid.

No more smoothies until we find it.

So get to it!

Also, please learn to talk, this YELLING phase is killing me.

Kisses and hugs, my cute little chubbers!

Mama

Typical Lunch

 

The boys ignoring everything else but the smoothies

(which taste so much better when served in my “Wicked” cups!  Holla to my sis-in-law who went with me on BROADWAY baby!)

Joseph in his underwear, “Like Daddy.”

and Isaac laughing hysterically at his brother.

Joseph hitting himself and saying, “AWWW! That’s DISGUSTING!!” over and over

(as he polishes off his third glass)

Just to make the laughs keep coming.

And, in case you are wondering, no, those are NOT french fries that I am serving my children!

They are veggie straws.

Wait…difference?

Lunch time.

Me

 

Well, alrighty folks. 

That is two posts in a row about Brian and, lest you start to think that this blog is called It’s Spelled B-r-i-a-n (which isn’t that hard of a name to spell correctly), it is time to get back to basics.

Me.

I’m the basics.

So, let’s chat about me:

.

I have a few broken blood vessels on my stomach currently from when I had to help my downstairs neighbor break into her own apartment a few weeks ago.

How did I get broken blood vessels on my stomach doing that?  You might ask.

Well, I was standing on a garbage can that she was holding steady, and then I had to leap through the air towards one of her windows (the garage is on the first floor, so she is really on the 2nd floor, you see).

I landed onto my stomach on her window sill and then had to flip head first into her apartment.

Joseph still talks about it all the time. “Mama!  You did a forward ROLL!”  As if he should be surprised by my supreme athleticism.  Sheesh!

My neighbor was super grateful and even gave me a hug and tried to kiss my cheek maybe but I turned and it was on my hair instead. 

I would like to think that, for a little while, it makes up for the fact that my husband has size 15 surfboards for feet (read: LOUD WALKER), and that Isaac skids blocks across our wood floor (read: her ceiling) before the sun has fully made its appearance.

-----------

I am now the proud owner of 3 pairs of these lounge pants (and I got them at %30 off!) and, as Brian can attest, I have worn them every day for the past few weeks.

Although they don’t look NEARLY as loose on me as they do on the model.  Strange.

I realized that I was wearing one outfit (deemed by me to be “cute” or “fashionable”) to go run a few errands, and then changing back into “comfy clothes” when I got home!  But NO MORE!!

I will be comfy full time!!!  Comfy is the new cute!!  At least until I start feeling frumpy and fat and need to look cute cute again!!

Or until I die of heat stroke and decide to shave and wear shorts.

I have been eating so much watermelon that it is effecting my “regularity.” 

And I mean REALLLY effecting it.

Does this mean that I should back off on the watermelon, or that it is an excellent source of fiber?

--------------

We have a few exciting things in the works around these parts right now.

(not quite having a baby exciting or we’re moving exciting, but still fun…)

I am not quite ready to share until I get all of these details ironed out, but here is a hint…

               

-----------------

Phew!  I am on a bit of a blogging rampage lately, am I not?

Turns out I have a lot to chat about lately and I figure, why let Brian and the cashier I trapped into conversation this morning have all the fun?

 

Let’s hear it for my man..

 

I’d like to take a minute to celebrate the unsung hero of “It’s Spelled Caitlin”, my husband, Brian.

.

He thought up the name of this blog for me, you know, and did the header.  And since then he has had to listen to me say

“I want to redo my blog!  Maybe a new header or lay out? Can you help me?”

(all things computer are his department, you see.  It’s called knowing your talents.)

Brian: “Sure, what are you thinking that you might want…”

Me (sighing and throwing myself across the bed):

“Uuuughhh… I don’t KNOW!!  I am just to tired to think about it.  Your kids today- SHEEEEESH!” and I’m off complaining about that for a while.

(Repeat a few weeks later.)

.

.

Did you know that he commutes an hour to work each way every day?

And it includes walking and public transportation, and the smell of NYC in July (yuck.), and homeless people wanting money, and tourists wanting pictures with the American giant. (I made that last part up.  But mark my words…)

And yet, when he gets home, he can’t even get out of his sweaty work clothes before I throw the children at him like testosterone-crazed hot potatoes. (Although I do go make him wash the city off his hands. Blech!)

I also…well, wait, I’m not sure if I have admitted this to him…oh well, best to be out with it! 

Anyway, I also fill Joseph’s head all day long with the fun! fun! fun! things that Brian will do with him when he gets home! 

“When Daddy gets home, you can wrestle! Play super heroes with him! Wear that costume!  Have him fix all of your toys!  Make animal balloons! Juggle!” 

You see?  So Brian walks into the world where he is now the sole clown/pillow to jump on / fixer of all things super heroes.

.

.

Brian also comes in contact with thousands of people each day.

No, no, I don’t really think I am exaggerating in this case.

He works right in the heart of the city and between getting there and working in his building, and walking to lunch/eating lunch, conference calls all day long, the commute back here…it’s a lot.

But, when he gets home, he has one special but very lonely little poodle waiting to leap into his lap, lick his face (ha ha! eww), and be showered with attention and affection.

A sweet, adorable little poodle named Caitlin.

.

But he also gets the added bonus of my mood swings!!  Huzzah!

Will he come home to find mopey Caitlin threatening to move to Oregon the very next day and wailing,

“But I don’t have any frieeeeennddds!!!  I ‘m loooooonely!!!”

Or will he find happy Caitlin who gushes about her day and is all

“I love it here!  Let’s live here forever!  I have all the social contact I need!  Where can we go on our next adventure?!”

.

 

.

And then there is the money issue.

He works hard for his money.

And comes home to me talking about

“Look what I just got!  Isn’t it cute?!  And we need new ---, and I need a new picture to put----.  I want to go to Oregon! Idaho! Kansas! Europe!”

Clearly, I am (inadvertently! I think! Probably!) trying to spend all of his money every day.

But if he starts to talk about budgets or monitoring my spending, I get all huffy and say something like,

“You can’t take it with you!” or,my personal favorite,

“You’re not my DAAAAAAAD!!”

.

Now, don’t get me wrong.  There are some definite perks to being married to me: Ahem,

1) Do you remember that I make all of our bread from scratch?

2) I also wash, fold, and put away all of his laundry. 

3) And I have sarcastic jokes for HOURS baby.

And maybe a few other perks too…(wink! wink!)

(Wait…to be clear, I am referencing my superior winking ability here, Not anything else.  For shame!)

.

But, for the most part,

I am not a walk in the park.

Unless your walk in the park is actually crawling through a desert with no map and no water.

But man that sand looks pretty!

.

So thank you Brian! 

I love you very much!

And I just sent Joseph to go find you!

So I hope you weren’t doing anything important in the living room!

 

Do you see me?

The Last Fair Post (I promise!)

 

Alternatively titled, “Brian for the win!”

.

Joseph may have gotten to ride on roller coasters with me, but with Brian he got to ride on

An elephant!

Kind of sad to see such a beautiful animal at a FAIR, but mostly really cool!

And, after that, Brian and Joseph got to ride on a…

Do you see it?

(PS that stadium is where the Jets play!  Or wait, is it the Giants?  whoops, I fell asleep!)

HELICOPTER!!!! (and a Batman one at that!)

Two videos for proof, feel free to skim:

(Is anyone else yelling inside, “Brian hold his hand!  Brian!! HIS HAND!!”  At the beginning of that one?) 

I also think it is funny that the man who is supposed to be guiding people safely to the helicopter is paying zero attention!

THE END!

State Fair Part 2

 

Riding the Ferris Wheel:

Note: these pictures of Joseph make my heart hurt.  Just raw joy!

(apparently he wasn't the only one!  My voice was hoarse from laughing so much!)

stay tuned tomorrow, when you will see Brian swoop in to the mommy-Joseph-fun-fest and prove that he is the coolest parent…

We put the “Joy in Joisey” Part 1

(Get it?  Say “Jersey” with a Jersey accent!)

One of our favorite things we have done so far this summer was a trip to the New Jersey state fair!

Where’s Isaac?  It’s like “Where’s Waldo” but scarier!

The kids were ridiculously excited over the (lame, lame, lame!) PIG RACE!!

Joseph volunteering to help cheer for the race. Luckily (sorry buddy) he wasn’t picked!

…And they’re off!!  (it was about 10 seconds long)

We got to see some animals in the petting zoo

(Joseph scared/excited about the parrot imitating Isaac’s yell)

 

And Brian got to go into a “freak show” stand to see “Tiny Tina” who they were reporting was one of the world’s smallest women whom you could hold like a child.

Guess what it was?  A little person.  You know, like a dwarf!  Isn’t that awful?  Poor lady…

Oh well, at least we all got cotton candy… or candy cotton as Joseph called it!

.

But, the best part for me was that Joseph is now tall enough to go on some of the rides! And, since Brian is a giant whose knees won’t fit on most of the rides, it was up to good old Mama to take him!

I LOVED IT!

We went on a pretty legitimately scary roller coaster, and a “fun house!”

It was super dirty inside and other than a few distorting mirrors the only “fun” thing about it was this wheel at the end.

(And yes, I DID want to sing “Better Shape Up,” Grease-style!…Anyone?  I know my sibs are with me!!)

The first time Joseph tried to get through it, he got stuck and just kept rolling and rolling.  I laughed to myself, “Ha ha ha ha! Silly child!” 

At this point quite a line was building up behind us, so I offered to let a few people go in front of us.  They decided to stay for the show instead…

“Here Joseph, let Mommy help you get through…”

(you know I love you if I am willing to share this with you.)