I feel so old when I say stuff like this but "I can't belive how fast the week went!" :) It was a pretty typical week. There were moments when I wanted to run away to Mexico never to return and moments where I loved my life and wanted to pause time and cherish each moment a little more slowly. Last Sunday gary played drums in church so I somehow managed to get the three of us up and ready and out the door in less than an hour. We were still late but the clocks were slower than ours so we were on time. We stopped at the nursery first since I had coats in addition to the bag and two kids and the carseat (which I have to take in b/c they have nothing to put Grace in or on when they are not holding her b/c they meet in the nurses office of an elemntary school. Don't worry, it's not lost on me the fact that besides the bathroom this is likely the room with the most germs in the entire building. We have service in the cafeteria which may be #3 for germs. Thankfully my kids seem to have a good immune system and the room always looks extremely clean.) Of course as usual Tyler was acting all shy. I think letting him sleep in till the last minute and then leaving is affecting his abilty to seperate from me when we get there. He's got to learn though. I agreed he could go into service wtih me but I should have left him. He sat well for the first song or so then he seemed to want to lay on me. He'd been up till 10:30 the night before so i knew he'd be crabby. He was jumping around and being... well... being two... and then he kicked over Pop's coffee. Pops and Gary were leading worship and Steph and Josh were on the other side of me and didn't see it till I had left, with both kids, to go find some paper towels. We meet in the cafeteria and they have a teacher room open with cofee and donuts () but they had NO PAPER TOWELS!! So we went to the bathroom to get them and Steph and Josh helped us all clean up. This took about a whole song and I've no doubt every person in the church was watching me/us. Shortly after that Tyler disobeyed again, and I took him out. I kept Grace with me b/c she usually still sits well and makes no noise so I try to enjoy the time with her and it allows me to pass her around to those who don't get to hold her before service b/c I'm always late. She even fell asleep in my arms! Tyler did well once I left him which cemented in my mind that I need to be more firm about making him stay. I really want him to learn to sit through the music though. I'm devising a new plan so we may start it this week... We went to Texas Roadhouse with the Bush's to celebrate GARY TURNING THIRTY and Tyler was tired and hungry- not a good combo. As long as we let him eat bread he's fine. I've decided that from now on we're going to order him a side of applesauce and share our sides with him there. H literally ate an entire basket of bread himself. Maybe more b/c Gary and I were both feeding him. Grace dind't need her bottle until I was ready to eat. I expected it though so it was fine. Small group was after nap and he was the only kid so Amanda and him played outside for a long time. This completely wore him out so we all got a good night sleep Sunday! :) Monday we had to go shopping and Tyler ended up at the bush's helping rake leaves and then jump in them. he didn't do it really last year but this year he was really into it! Gary, Grace and I hit walmart alone! wow! What a difference! Tuesday Jen and Jack came and the boys played and we scrapped. I got a lot done and Jen got two entire layouts done. What a fun day it was. Tyler had an episode that I can't bring myself to tell anyone about but suffice to say it's a good thing there were witnesses... Wednesday was trick or treat in Alliance adn it was so fun! Tyler was not into the scary costumes a lot of kids had on. He kept calling them "mad" boys and "sad" boys and even one he called a "very bad" boy. This huge guy was walking around in a white suit with top hat and cane and clown hair and as you got closer he had on this really scary mask and when he talked the voice was all distorted and he was giving out suckers. I know Tyler was completely freaked and had htis guy had anything other than a Thomas train or a sucker Tyler would have cried. He freaked me out! It was like IT was live in Alliance. i was not happy. I mean come on. If you are giong to be a scary clown walking around at age 30 please don't walk up to my 2 year old. Everyone thought he was the cutest thing ever (he was and is!) and he ate it up! His Thomas bucket was a big hit too. Even when he dropped it several times! We took a pertty long route to get past our pastor's house and towards the end Tyler was stopping at stoops and wanting to eat and rest. Finally he said we had enough candy and it was time to be done and go back to Uncle Dale and Aunt Mary's house. We got him to go to about 6 mroe on the way back but the last few he was yelling to the people on thier porches that he had enough. The last house he got all theway to thier sidewalk and remembered he was "done" and I had to almost drag him the last 5 steps. The lady thought it was cute and said since he had enough the candy could be for me. :). We rested awhile at Dale and Mary's and then we made him go to the mansion houses on thier block b/c I wanted to see them. he had a meltdown when the sucker he was eating got covered in cat hair when he petted a cat. He was just furious that I would not let him eat that sucker! He ran across another yard or two and I let him have a bite sized rescee cup which appeased him for about 5 minutes. @ the Mills an hour later he ate 2 pieces of pizza and drank (and spilled) a ton of water. Finally we left but of course it was about a half hour too late. He was over tired and grace was frantic. Thankfuly she screamed herelf to sleep after only 2 minutes! Yesterday I was a mad woman cleaning and cooking all day for the Neely Clan. Tyler had a few meltdowns and I called Gary crying. I think sometimes I expect to much of him. Some days are just better than others for both of us. He's easygoing like his dad but when he's upset he's pretty forceful and crazy like me. We had a wonderful dinner though and the kids all played well together. I just loved it. I love having people over. I love having adults for us both to talk to. It was amazing! We sat at the kitchen table almost 3 hours and talked! 4 adults!! Tyler was introduced the concept of a wooden spoon and his behavior today was 500% better than yesterday! He did have a couple nightmares or night terrors last night which really freaked me out. Thankfully I had more patience at 1 and 3 AM than i did all morning Thursady. Lots of excitement this week! He's also had probably 10 pieces of candy in the past 7 days and before that he probably had 10 pieces of candy in the previous 4 months. It's that time of year though where we aren't slowing down any so we're going to have to really watch his cues and not let him get too overly stimulated.... or at least try! Tonight we need to go shopping, tomorrow is Aubrey's birthday party and sometime this weekend we are going up to Cleveland to see Hannah and Zia. Monday we're going to the park, my dad will probably be here Wednesday, Thursday I'm going to my mom's for the day and Friday is his birthday! In the words of the Little Enstiens "Hold on tight cuz here we go!!" To update on Grace she's 24 weeks today. She's so good at the tummy to back roll that she won't stay on her tummy. :) She doesn't get near enough tummy time and hates it but we're working on it. I looked up what she should be doing by this age and she's not far behind if at all so I'm not going to stress about it. I've tried not to read any of that stuff with her. I"m not near as anxious for her to do new things as I was with Tyler. Funny how kids will change you. She sits with assistance still and loves it. She's obsessed with her feet. She likes to sit and grab her toes and kick so she looks like a little cheerleader which i love. Gary rolls his eyes. She bangs her toys together and throws them and giggles. She's doing better with cereal but still not crazy about bananas. Next week we may start squash but again, I"m in no hurry. She still only eats a couple tablespoons of cereal a day if that. Many days we skip solids altogether. She still sleeps 6-8 hours straight, they just usually come from midnight to 8 am. I'm a night person anyways so it works out for the most part. She loves books and wants to touch everything. She loves hair, mouths and eyes of anyone holding her too. She's just a joy and I could talk about her all day. Her favorite alone thing to do is the excersaucer or walker. She likes the different position and her legs are getting stronger! Tyler adores her which makes every day even more special. He's a pro at handwashing, helping me with Grace, getting in and out of his seat and eating alone. he's also gotten MUCH better with his lidless cup. Like everything else he'll do anything as long as he wants to. He's such a man. "...as long as it's his idea!" I could go on but you really ought to be off the computer now. he he hee....