A Pirates Life for Me

Sucess!

Two things I really wanted to do today actually got done!

1) get pirates costumes read for tomorrow

2) visit a new playground

I have a goal to visit a different playground every week this summer because Milwaukee has so many great ones. If you live in the area, and want to meet up, email me and I will let you know when our next park exploration is. Great sites to get park locations are:

Milwaukee Moms Park Page

Milwaukee County Parks Page

I can't wait for the free wading pools/splash pads to open in a few weeks!

Milwaukee Moms' is particularly good because it posts a picture, tells you if there are restrooms, reviews from other moms, etc.

Quick and easy DIY pirate costumes:

1) buy dress shirts from Good Will, on the cheap, a few sizes too big

2) Good will is also a great place to get costume jewelry and belts

3) Good Will is also a great place to buy pants- a few sizes too small so they are knickers

(can you tell I love Good Will. There is a reason I once had the nickname GoodWill Girl)

4) if you live in the area Bartz in Wauwatosa (kinda by the zoo) is a great, year round, costume store with great prices. We picked up a hat for Andy, swords, hooks, balloons (who doesn't love a balloon) and a few sand toys. Fantastic store. MOM, you would love it!

5) Assembly: cut off collar, cuffs and edge of shirt (on both sides) where buttons are/ button holes are. Sew shirt closed 3/4 the way up(be careful not to sew the back! It is surprisingly hard to sew the front together without sewing it to the back... trust me). Leave the last 1/4 open from the neckline down. Poke holes with scissors on each side of v-neck opening. tread holes with leather straps, shoes laces- or if you don't have any of that- just yarn (like I did).

Total cost: 2 pants, 2 shirts, 1 belt: $7

Tomorrow we will be rocking these tunes:

He's a Pirate! (Pirates of the Caribbean)

Sailing for Adventure

A Pirate's Life for Me

The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything

See you at Pirate Fest!

Request for help

First request:

We had a kitten.

She was adorable.

The boys fell in love with her.

Now, we have a cat.

She's naughty.

And sporadically bites.

Friends come over, she climbs on them. The pet her.

Some times, it's fine. Other times, she bites.

All of Nate's friends are afraid of her.

I want to get rid of her, but the boys still love her, naughty as she is.

I guess I can understand that;)

Does anyone have any cat training tips? She never bites me, which tells me that she is teachable. Mainly, it's the little boys or their friends, sometimes my friends.(and some times the boys deserve it- like when they chase her with tongs) I am thinking about trying the spray bottle tactic out. Email me if you have any suggestions jen.russell816@gmail.com

Second request:

Andy has been potty trained for 6 months.

Last week he wet the bed every night.

This week too.

More than once a night.

I don't want to give in and put diapers back on him.

Before the last few weeks, he would wake up on his own at night and go potty.

I have been waking him up 2,3,4 times a night to take him potty. Every time he goes.

But still wakes up wet in the morning.

AHHHHHH!!!

Has anyone ever experience this with potty training?

Email me with any tips: Jen.russell816@gmail.com

I am off to look for pirate costume supplies and to pick up some pull-ups, but still hoping I won't have to use them.....

HAPPY FRIDAY!! Friday means dad is home tonight! It's always a good day on Friday:)

Conversations with a Two Year Old/ Really fantastic clip

This morning we went to Bayshore Town Center to listen to a junior high orchestra (2 young women in our church play in it) and then stayed for Alterra cinnamon rolls (loved by Russells since 2008). As soon as we had our take-out bag Andy started screaming, "Iwantmycinnamonroll! Iwantmycinnamonroll!"

We made it out of the cafe and started to head down the sidewalk when he started to cling to me, still screaming about the cinnamon roll, but now alternating that demand with, "pleasecarryme! In an amazingly "good mom moment" , I bent down to his level and calmly said, "Andy, I will give you your cinnamon roll as soon as we get to the fountains. I can't carry you because I am carrying the bag of cinnamon rolls. We are going to walk over to the fountain and sit down and eat the cinnamon rolls, but if you want to stay here and cry, we are not going to be able to eat our cinnamon rolls."

He sniffed. Wiped his nose on his hand. Said, "Ooooh kay". And started walking toward the fountains. Just like that.

Huh.

Just like that.

So.... all of these other times that tantrums have turned in to all out brawls, was it because I lost my cool? Or did we both just have an "on day" today? Was this a magical moment that will most likely never be replicated? Or have I just been really distracted and not giving my son respect and credit for his intelligence to address his needs?

I'm pretty sure I will have a chance to test the new " listen to your child and address his needs" magic tomorrow.

Until then,

this makes me laugh.

I hope it makes you too.

Secret

Even if this guy comes home early (1oish), but then unintentionally falls asleep on the couch.

Even if we don't get to "hang out"

I still really love to have him home.

Awesomeness

Pirate festival?

I think yes!

Memorial Day

On our way back to the car, Andy ran up and dropped in front of the news camera and started doing "sand angels". Nate rushed over to join him. The news man turned the camera on them. Instead of going over to get them, I stood and laughed and laughed.

Love those boys.

Love my family.

So happy together.

p.s. Don't you just LOVE the boys' little swim trunks Chris's mom brought back from Greece?

LOVE them!

LOVE those little boy chicken legs :)

Memorial Day weekend

We had a great weekend. Chris's hard work paid off this week. We had him all day Sunday and Monday! His parents came to visit. Lots of picture to download, but it's another beautiful day here (and so far this year it's incredibly rare to have two nice days in a row!) so we are headed outside to enjoy every minute of it! Hope to post tonight.

love,

j.

Truth .... a better description of the truth

Truth is, if you write a bit dramatically on your blog, people will think you are... well, they will be worried about you.

Truth is, I am a drama queen.

....

..

Truth is we did not get summer hair cuts done this morning, and I can probably put Nate's hair in a pony tail now.

Truth is, we had the remaining Redvines for breakfast.

Truth is, I didn't wash my hair today (or shower, for that matter) because we were in a hurry to meet friends at the playground.

Truth is today the workers at the Good Will drop off told me I looked like Jessica Alba, and I kinda loved it (especially since I had not showered).

Truth is, if you let your kids stay up all night, they will forget all manner of civility and become beastly (but you will still love them).

Truth is, if you secretly watch your husband from across the bookstore, you will realize how truly handsome he is.

Truth is, we went out to eat, and only ordered dessert (still celebrating no school :)

Truth is, we had a great night.

(blurry cell phone pics)

Andy kept laying his head on Chris's shoulder.

Melted my heart.

I LOVE FRIDAY NIGHTS WHEN DAD IS HOME!

p.s. I disabled the comment option, so feel free to email me if you want to get in touch. Jen.russell816@gmail.com

More than Words

Chris called at about 8p.m. and said, "I miss you guys. I'm coming home." I said, "Okay, but we can do movie night again tomorrow because tomorrow IS pizza and movie night Friday." He debated, "Well...... let me take a look and see how much I have to do and go talk to (M) and see what he says about this project." Me, "Okay". ..... (3o minutes later). Chris calls, "Did you tell the boys I was coming home? 'sigh'" me, "no." chris, "okay, well, i better stay because there is no way if I don't get this stuff done that I am not going to get in trouble". me "okay. love you".

I passed out somewhere after 10 (andy too). I woke in the middle of the night because in his exhaustion Little Bear (andy) did not get up and go potty. I scooped him up to take him to a dry bed and new undies and saw this.

Chris came home and, whether we were awake or not, joined in on the family sleep over.

Words cannot express how much I love this guy.

Eating my words

Movie night in full swing.

Pretty sure these guys are going to outlast me.

10pm.

3rd movie.

ugh.

rethinking the "stay up all night watching movies" tradition right about now ;)

p.s. Summer hair cuts for the boys will be making their debut tomorrow!

Conversations with a Lawyer

Me: We are going to the lighthouse library (the library downtown) to get movies for an epic sleepover tonight for our end of the school year bash (remember how we use to do that at the end of a semester of undergrad? Go to Walmart and buy a bunch of $5 movies and candy then drag the mattress out in front of the tv and stay up all night watching movies? Tradition must carry on!) . Do you want us to wait and go this afternoon when you can take off a half hour and come with us?

Lawyer: I can't. I just got out of a lunch meeting and lost that time. I have more work that I can possibly get done today.

Me: Okay

Lawyer: I'm not going to be able to come home tonight.

Me: I know.

Lawyer: Or probably tomorrow night.

Me: I know.

Lawyer: And I am probably going to have to work all day Saturday too.

Me: I know.

Lawyer: 'sigh' I love you. I miss you guys.

(turn on speaker phone)

Kids: WE LOVE YOU DAD!!!!! (blowing kisses) Dad did you get all those kisses from me?"

Lawyer: (chuckle). Thanks buddy. I love you.

....

.....

We're flyin' solo this afternoon.

Off to get movies and snacks for "staying up all night long" end of the school year party.

Love,

J.

I know I am lucky

Guys, thank you for your concerned calls, emails, stopping me in the hall at school.

I am alright.

I am more than alright.

I know that I have a great life.

I know that Chris has a great job during a tough economy when many are jobless.

He gets paid enough that we do extra things like save and attack the beast that is student loans.

We still get to see him.

He isn't traveling.

He's alive and healthy.

I know how incredibly blessed we are.

But

Knowing all that doesn't make it suck any less.

The Truth (part 2)

Okay, part 2

why am I blogging this now?

I read a lot of Nie the last few days.

Especially her sister's blog who wrote while Nie was in a coma. (I went back in the archives to the day the accident happened and read forward from there).

I realized it's okay to be honest.

I don't have to only blog about happy life.

It's okay that I am mad as heck and I don't care who knows it.

Because I am.

I am mad at the world for separating us.

I am mad at the ridiculous, inhumane expectations to work 20 out of 24 hours.

Yes, maybe I am naive and irresponsible and want to run away and live off of love and wishes. But that's why we got married so young, right? No amount of time is ever enough together.

Okay, enough with the pity party.

We have a really, really good life. A great life. A perfect life when we are all together.

In fact, it's kind of an off day when my boys don't say at least once, "THIS IS THE BEST DAY EVER!" or for short simply, "BEST DAY EVER!"

We try to protect the kids as much as possible from the reality of Chris's grueling schedule (although obvi they are aware). We meet for lunch. We make Sunday FUNDAY (as reverently and appropriately as possible, obviously). During the week, the boys and I will take dinner up for Chris to the office. And we always do pizza and movie night Fridays (even if he has to go back to work after). We Skype. We talk speaker phone throughout the day. We paint pictures for dad to take to work. We try to steal time away every day or two for just our family.

Last week before the miserably cold, rainy weather returned we snuck in a lunch break beach day.

It was a "BEST DAY EVER" for sure.

It made me remember all the reasons I love Milwaukee so much.

Like how the lake sounds just like the ocean, so I pretend that it is.

And because I am pretty sure frozen custard is the state food.

Or how we can live in a suburb that feels like a small town, but is only minutes from downtown which makes it possible to meet Chris for spontaneous outings when he can take a quick break.

And that downtown is filled with so many fun things for us to do on lunch breaks: the beach, Discovery World, the Milwaukee Public Museum, the library, the children's museum...

But since we make time for family. There isn't a lot left for us.

Me and the Mr.

Besties.

BFFs

Hence the reason for the pity party. But Nie has inspired me. She does a great job of making a big deal out of the little things: May Day, Back to School, every holiday, etc. Tomorrow is Nate's last day of school. Yes, he only attended two days a week (for 2 hours a day). But it is still cause for celebration so I am signing off because I have a party to plan!

Love,

J.

The Truth

... is out.

I am a wreck.

I don't want to live without Chris.

I don't want to blog.

I don't want to have people come visit.

I don't want to go do anything fun.

I don't want to have friends over.

All things that remind me, "he's not here!!!" and " I wish he was here!"

I am so tired of living without him.

It hurts.

A lot.

Physically.

It makes me tired.

It makes me anxious.

It makes me sad.

It makes me cry.

I have been dragging my feel for the last six months that he has become MIA refusing to "go on" without him. I am like a spoiled little brat whose parents are dragging her out of the house and I am going limp so they have to carry my full weight. I am grabbing on door jams and anything I can get my hands on to stop the progression.

I don't want to go on.

But I have to.

I have these beautiful, amazing, wonderful little boys to make life magical for.

I can give them better than this.

But even as I type this I cringe at the thought of "moving on" without him. I feel like I am "mourning" him and if I stop, he will feel less important to me (I know that's not true, he tells me every day all he wants is for me and the boys to be happy). Nonetheless, I still feel that way. I feel like I am betraying him by moving on. Or, more so, accepting that this is life.

....

...

..

I have two little string beans to get out of the tub and in to jammies. I will finish this post after books and bed and family prayer (via phone with Dad at work).

May Photo Update

My kids don't like to pose for pictures.

I know, right?

First kids ever.

(I jest).

Because of this,

I don't like to take photos.

And....

I usually forget to.

But Chris's mom sent the cutest Sunday clothes for the boys.

Clearly snapping a few digital photos and emailing them to the giver is our modern day "Thank You" card....

or my modern day Thank You card....

or just posting it on my blog instead....

(I am so lame).

THANK YOU TRUDY!

(Just pretend everyone takes their pictures out back by their grill.)

She also mailed Indian Jones hats and bags.

(You have no idea what this means to my boys.)

...

.....

Naturally, this caused a need to explore.

(Andy had a hat and bag too, but I was carrying them)

Yay for May!

Today

True or False?

1.When Nate's friend tried to persuade Andy to stay in his room while said friend and Nate went down to the basement to play (so they could play alone), I overheard Nate say, "Declan, Andy is my braaaaw- thur. That means we are best buddies" and then put his arm around Andy's shoulder and said, "Come on Andy, you can come to the basement with us".

2. I found a suspicious puddle on the stairs that I am pretty sure is pee.

3. While squatting on the kitchen table Andy exclaimed, "there's pee-pee on the table, Mom". Sure enough, there was.

4. Nate asked me to sing the Star Wars theme and then , after I "passed", the Indiana Jones theme. He started to sing along with me with a huge smile on his face. So glad I had brothers so I know this stuff.

5.. Tonight as we were baking dinner and cookies for Chris (which we were then going to take up to him) Nate asked, "Sooo..... does Dad live at work now?" Though I choked on my words and my heart stopped, I calmly smoothed things over by replying, " No, he comes home every night and goes right in to your room. Tucks you in. And kisses you and Andy. The he stands there for a minute and just watches you guys because he missed you so much all day.

All true.

(and don't tell Chris about the dad living at work thing. It would break his heart)

Sick Day

Nate got sick on Easter and passed it to Andy by the end of last week who was just diagnosed yesterday with double ear infection and strep throat.

Needless to say, we have been lounging the last week.

Pajamas.

Jammies.

Popsicles.

Every night when I tuck them in and read them stories (and I have been sleeping in there because Nate was throwing up in the night and Andy has been crying most of the night) they say to me,

"Your the best mom ever!"

"No! You're the best mom ever EVER!"

and so on and so on.

It makes me feel good.

But I am not sure how we are going to get back to reality when all is said and done...