All's Well

Not sure what Cooper had/has but he hasn't thrown up since yesterday at 4 p.m. Life is good. He did try having yogurt for breakfast, however, and so I'm just waiting to see if that comes up.


Last night I stayed in our "guest" bedroom, which is really Mason's bedroom. We have both the crib and the queen bed up there. It was nice to be so close to the kids. I only had to run into Cooper's room once. And it was a false alarm.


Now everyone is just relaxing. I'm not making Cooper do anything today. Just watching movies from his favorite spot... my bed. Allows me to get a few projects done. Namely, putting the carseat cover through the wash. Also need to figure out how to vacuum/shampoo the car interior. Blech.

PS -- photo note: even more pictures from our fun adventure at Copper Mountain. We're definitely going back. Anyone want to join us?

Daddy's Home

Steve just got in from trip. So, I'm not really in the mood to post. Enjoy these pictures in the meantime...

I Think I Ate Too Much Sugar

Gotta be quick tonight as I'm not sure when night shift will begin (SF is out of town). Cooper has the stomach flu or something. All I know is that I heard him moan, "I Think I Ate Too Much Sugar." from the backseat of the car and then all of the sudden there was puke everywhere.
I actually don't think he ate that much sugar given that I had not fed him his lunch. He was at school and she's pretty strict about sugar -- doesn't even allow juice during the day. So, I think he was just sick but didn't know what else to attribute the feeling to.
Anyway, like I said, no time to talk.

The Hierarchy

Tonight as I helped Cooper prepare for bed he asked me to organize his animals. I say this in all seriousness. It also gives me delight. You see he had a plan, a hierarchy, for his 30 odd stuffed animals (including Buzz Lightyear and Superman).


First he made a fortress on his bed of pillows. We started this to keep him from rolling off the bed, and now he loves it. Then, he lays down two blankets. The bug quilt that I sewed for him and the fuzzy Thomas the Tank Engine blanket that his great grandma gave him for Christmas this past year.


Once the fortress walls are in place it’s time to sort the friends. I’m not kidding. First he selects the chosen one. This is the one (of a top four) that he will actually hold while he is sleeping. Most often it is Mo the Monkey or Freckles the giraffe. But every once in a while – if he’s feeling sporty – he’ll pick a crazy turtle or Buzz.


The he lines up his fab four. As referenced above, these are the fairly prized possessions. The turtle (from Nemo), Buzz Lightyear, Freckles the giraffe, and of course, Mo Monkey. Everyone else is placed – with great care – at the foot of the bed on a fuzzy blue blanket. These are to “protect” him and “keep me safe.”


After all this business is through, Cooper finds a spot for himself. It’s a wonder the boy can find an inch to nestle in. Love him!


Mason is quite the opposite in his bedtime loves. His current request is a fuzzy blanket to lie on. Then a little scrap of a blanket that he has taken a liking to is grasped in one hand and held close to his face (sometimes he actually bites it). Then I prop up a soft bear or tiger in the corner of the crib. Sometimes he wrestles with these until he falls asleep. But usually, like tonight, he pushes himself backward like into position and puts his head down. Then he pops it up as if to say, “Are you still here?!?!”


photo note: random summertime photos... I'm especially fond of the one where we gave Mason his first hamburger

Do We Need Jackets?

Where has the summer gone? I actually said to the boys, as we stepped onto the patio this morning, "Do we need jackets?" It was that brisk!





Now, it's not too sad. We'll have warm temps far into October and even into November when we're lucky. But, it's still sad to see the sultry weather wrap up at the end of a great summer season.





We're accustomed to the kind of heat where running through the city fountains are not just possible, but an absolute requirement. The boys love to get wet -- but I suspect only because it's so freaking hot here.





Soon we'll be raking leaves and sipping hot cider, and it's just really hard to believe on a day like today.



So, enough of this online time wasting. We're going outside to savor every last sundrop.

A Tale of Two Birthdays

Well, it's just around the corner -- Super September. For our family, that's a lot of birthdays. All around there's something like 6 or 7. All this talk of presents, and invitations, and menus has got Cooper all hopped up. We're actually going to celebrate Steve's birthday really late. We decided it was best because Steve has some serious travel coming up. And then we'll celebrate Mason's birthday twice -- once with all the family and then with the mommas and babies we know.


For Steve's birthday we're going with a poker theme. We were going to shoot for a golf theme, as we do every year, but it just didn't work out this time. So, get your chips out and brush up on your Omaha rules... we'll see you for a tournament extrodinaire.


For Mason's we're going with a hide and seek theme. Not sure exactly how this will play out. But his present from us is a super-duper tunnel play set. We'll have that set up at the party for the babies to crawl through and have fun. (It's like the one toy we don't already have from Cooper.)


I'm working on the invitations today. I'm actually using a no. 1 shape in chipboard to create a three-dimensional invitation. I hope it works out. I also hope that all the moms/babies we invite will be able to make it. It's going to be really low-key, more like a playdate. This is what we did for Cooper's birthday and I liked it a lot. It's a better crowd for a shy little 1-year-old.


I haven't decided about the cake, yet. But I will probably do individual cakes, like I did for Cooper's 1st cake. (His 2nd cake was a tractor/construction site.) I have a new, fancy cupcake holder that I'm really wanting to use. It's so cheesy!



After that, I gotta get crackin' on my Christmas gifts for these guys. I'm handmaking a lot of stuff this year. Mostly because of the scare on toys made in China. Too bad we don't live in SLC. I'd have a long list of to-dos for Clair in the workshop!

Cheers everyone!

PS -- photo note: all the pictures were from a REALLY fun party Cooper went to over the weekend. As you can see he loved it. Construction! How about that cake?!?!?!?

Where Have You Been?

Many of you have written to ask, “Why the Fry haven’t you written a post!?!?!?”
I guess ya’ll miss me a little bit. Before I get to big for my britches, let me explain.
It wasn’t that I didn’t want to write. It was that I couldn’t. Actually, I could have. I’m just feeling a bit lazy. Happy to admit it all started with Mason. He pushed the button on the router that turns everything off, including our wireless connection.
For some reason, performance hasn’t been the same since.
Some of you may not know, I write the posts from the basement. And the wireless connection is a bit shoddy down there anyway. Now it’s just not working.
Then, to make matters worse, my beautiful mac is having battery issues. So, taking my laptop upstairs would mean taking the power cord, too. What?!?!?! Who does that? Anyway, to say the least, I’ve finally got my big arse off the sofa – from which I watch Devine Design and eat bon-bons – and marched my 4 lb laptop and power cord all the way upstairs to Steve’s office to write tonight’s post. Damn! And all because of you, my adoring fans. I think this is where many of your will begin fake burping, coughing and sneezing as you say, “Bull S***!” under your breath.
Te he he he he.


What a great 3 days it’s been. I’ve done a whole lot of nothing. The boys, too. But today we went to the zoo. It’s been a while since we’ve done that. Oh what a walk. But we went out early today and it was only 85 degrees. So gorgeous. We saw just about everything we want to see, including the stinking penguins.


Which reminds me, did I ever share with you the traumatic Rhino story of our past zoo trip?


In the past 3 days I’ve managed to finish up birthday gifts for 2 of my brothers, but none of my husbands. I think we’ve got Mason’s 1-year party all squared away… including gift. So, now I just need to send out the invites. Anyone want to come? I know Cooper does.


Coop’s been to a few birthday parties this summer, the most recent just the weekend. He loves them! He’s figured out the joy of the piñata. Oh man! I love watching him pick through the candy and such that spills out on the ground. He’s also pretty good about socializing with other children. Big milestone for him. Actually… he’s gotten much better at this since I started staying home from work. Why? Who knows. Could be my active imagination.


PS – Anyone have a good solution for putting down my neighbor’s dogs? They have kept us up. I’m on the verge of calling animal control. Only thing keeping me from doing it is that I’m too lazy to look up the number.

PSS – So happy to have received a little package from Claud today. Will start reading as soon as I load the post. (Claudia, please watch for a package from us… lots and lots and lots of books.)

Nananananananana Nanananana -- BATMAN!

Today Cooper announced, “When I growed up I’m going to be batman!”

I'm thrilled. Must set out to find a good batman dressup costume.

I believe this all stemmed from a great garage sale find. I bought three little books from a neighbor. The kind that have buttons that make story sound effects and music as you read. Anyway, Cooper loves them!

PHOTONOTE: More Copper Mountain pics for your amusement.

16,596

Today I walked 16,596 steps. Is that a lot? Didn't seem like much. I actually had kinda a slow day... read a book on the patio while watching the boys play in the grass.

It hailed today, so I wasn't able to take my usual walk with the boys. While we watched it come down from the porch, Cooper kept saying, "Oh Man! This is Hell!" Of course he was trying to say hail.

Also, shipped the little quilt. It has all the time in the world to get to where it's going, so I just used First Class... and it cost less than $4.

Here's some photos from our Copper Whopper of a Good Time Trip

Don't Ask!

Cooper had a terrible time getting to school today. If I hadn't been at the end of my rope I would have let him stay home. But, I was having a "my house is so cluttered I'm clausterphobic moment" and so he had to go to school.


Basically the routine went something like this... walk halfway down the block (to school) and then start crying because he wanted his jacket. Walk all the way home. (Did I mention I'm carrying Mason?)


Get jacket.

Walk half way to school, crying begins. This time in "need" of hat and glasses.


Get hat and glasses. Mind you, Cooper picks a really strange pair that I didn't even know we owned.

Walk half way to school, crying for juice.


Ugggg... takes 30 minutes to make a 2 minute walk. Seriously.

But, good pictures came of it.

Also, I am finished with my four seasons quilt. It's so little. If I do another internet swap, I'm going to look for a bigger project. I've included a picture of the binding. (Still not wanting to give too much away.) Anyone know how to send packages internationally? Mother? Suzy? Hints?

1001 Books To Read Before You Die

Why do they do this to me? I went to the library the other day and saw a book just sitting on the shelf. Actually I think I saw it because it was calling my name. "Pick me up, pick me up..."
It it titled, "1001 Books To Read Before You Die." Now, this is a list I can get excited about. I love lists, I love books, who could ask for anything more? Then I started looking through it. My goodness... I just don't know where to begin.
Also, trying to get myself excited about driving through Wyoming, again. So... here's some photos from a recent trip.






PS -- My doll quilt for the exchange is pertnear done. Just gotta do the binding, and that's just a matter of focus -- something I lack.