WHAT TO WEAR, WHAT TO WEAR???

I think that sometimes we all have a little trouble deciding what to wear, even 5-year-olds.  I asked Chase (about 7 or 8 TIMES) to go get dressed this morning.  He came back into my room minutes later sporting the little strut and smug smile that makes me stop whatever I am doing and investigate (immediatly!)  I can always tell when he has been up to something.  

"Mommy,  I couldn't decide what shirt to wear.  Sooooooooo, GUESS WHAT???" 

"What?"

"I decided to wear them ALL!  I am supporting all my favorite Chicago teams! Look!" 

First the Bulls, then the Cubs.

Then the Bears and finally, the Blackhawks.

"Daddy is going to be so proud of me!" 

Don't forget to show off those cool snowboarding socks. 

"Wait, I have one more shirt.  Hold on, Mom!" 

"Nascar is a sport too!"   (Sure, right?)

"Chase, don't you think you might get a little HOT with FIVE shirts on?" 

"Nope.... Okay, fine.  I will take off ONE." (Thank you!)

So,  I hope that you all are a little more decisive about what to wear than Chase is.  Unless you like wearing 4 shirts around all day!   On the bright side, at least he won't be cold.

BOOK WORMS

If you are feeling a little left out over here, it is because I have had my nose stuck in a book for the past few weeks.  Phew!  I got a really good one wrapped up tonight after staying up wayyyyyy too late last night to devour the last *almost* 100 or so pages.  That was until my eyelids stopped operating properly and wouldn't stay open anymore.   DANG IT!  Apparently 11:30pm is my max bedtime.  Bookclub isn't even until tomorrow, so I had plenty of time, but I just COULDN'T. PUT. IT. DOWN.

Do you ever get totally sucked into a book like that?    This one is so good that while it laid around on the coffee table waiting for me to finish "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan"  (another AWESOME read which came highly recommended by my friend, Melissa) my husband actually picked it up, started thumbing through it and got sucked in.  Just like THAT.   He isn't an avid reader.  And, neither am I, really, since half of the time I barely get my one lousy bookclub book read each month.  Lousy in the quantity NEVER the quality.  (I cleared that up just for you, Teri!)  So I admit that I was amused that he got so wrapped up in this book.   I chuckled every time I looked over and caught him sneaking in a few pages while both boys snuggled with him on the couch or even at the dinner table between bites and sometimes amongst total chaos going on around him.   I kept threatening him that since he read the book, he was going to have to go to bookclub in my place.   Lucky for him, I did get it read with time to spare even.  It was his turn to get a good laugh at me as I toted the book everywhere with us for three solid days and he smiled at me and said, "See, now you know!"  And I did know and was glad that he knew just how great it is to get wrapped up in a good book! 

The book:  The Virgin of Small Plains by Nancy Pickard

IF YOU GIVE A KID A COWBOY HAT.....

He will probably start riding your furniture like it is a bucking bronco.
Riding the furniture will remind him that he is hot and he will want to take his shirt off. 
Once his shirt is off, he will keep riding the "bronco" like a true wild cowboy.
Seeing his brother with his shirt off will remind Dylan that he is hot too.
He will want his shirt off too and he will ask you to help him. 
The two little shirtless cowboys ride the "bronco" long after sunset. 
The Mommy and Daddy will put the little TIRED cowboys to bed and tuck the hat away for the night. 
The next morning the little cowboy will spy the cowboy hat tucked on top of the fridge. 
He will ask you to get it down for him.
And chances are if you give a kid a cowboy hat.....
He will want to ride your furniture like a bucking bronco AGAIN!!!!


***This story inspired by a couple of our favorite books, "If You Take a Mouse to the Movies," "If you Give a Cat a Cupcake," and "If you Give a Moose a Muffin." ***

ONE WHOLE HAND

He is walking a little taller today, his smile a little wider and the twinkle in his eye a tad brighter. He is FIVE today! FIIIIIVVVVE!?!?!?!!? I know, I know, it is complete madness ;) and I am still in a bit of denial. My baby, Five. Five? Five. Five! Five? I will stop, but I could keep this up all day. I think Chase was just happy to have hit this milestone at all after weeks of me teasing him that I was going to cancel his party and just make him stay 4 forever. He always laughed at my ribbing him but then eyed me suspiciously, wondering if I could indeed make him stop growing up. If only!!!

A few snippets of his day:

He woke up to some of Mom's corny decorations. I am sure you have seen these Tissue Paper Pom-Poms. If not, go to Martha Stuart's website for the instructions on how to make them. I thought they were super cute and Chase loved them too, ya know, for like batting practice!
We did candles and singing at breakfast. Just to get warmed up. Ummm, take a quick look at that HAIR! What a mess! What a mop!

SUPER-STARS! That we are! Well, mine a tad crooked because Dylan had just yanked off one of the arms.

I am not sure how, but I managed to convince Chase that a quick trip to Great Clips on his Birthday was a grand idea. Oh yeah, I told him that they would certainly give him TWO suckers if he told them that it was his Birthday. Hee hee - hook, line and sinker!

In the afternoon it was even warm enough to spend about an hour playing outside. Spending time outside, in the sunshine was really a treat for Chase on his Birthday. He loves an chance he can get to be outside.

My self-portrait, taken out of boredom while I watched Chase play.

I do love that LOOOONG and LEAN effect!

Once Daddy got home, we decided to get out and try something new. Chase has wanted to check out this place called Monkey Joe's. The boys LOVED it, of course.

Chase's choice for dinner afterward was Fridays! He loved it when the whole restaurant sang him Happy Birthday AND brought him ice cream. He was digging it.

So, that was how we celebrated his 5th Birthday. He is like a big boy now. I just can't get over it. I do this at every single Birthday, I know, but 5 is a BIG one, right? So many exciting things lie ahead for this little guy.... ah, I mean BIG BOY. Happy Birthday Chase, we love you to pieces!

*** On a side note: I took all the photos included in this post with a new point-and-shoot that Dave got, a Canon Powershot S90. I know, can you believe it! Anyway, I was tinkering around with it and thought I would maybe start using it a bit more. It has many disadvantages compared to the SLR I am used to, but the size(!!!) is a huge selling point. And I have to say, for a point-and-shoot, I am IMPRESSED!***

TOTALLY PUMPED UP!

Chase REALLY, REALLY, REALLY wanted to do his Birthday this year at Pump It Up. He is turning FIVE after all, and five-year-old's have big parties and invite their friends and all that good stuff. So, we set it all up. Here is a look at the invites that we made: Unfortunately not everyone figured out to pull the hidden card out for all the details. Dave warned me that it might be confusing. I hate when he is right ;)Once we arrive, the kids line up for the "Safety Video" which I am pretty sure didn't register with any of these wild ones!Let the fun begin!!! We did a glow party, which meant that it was really dark and keeping track of your child(ren) meant trying to find the correct color of glowing necklace that went whizzing by.

Taking pictures was a little difficult and most of them looked a little like this: I had to practically put him in a headlock to get a quick photo with the BIG BIRTHDAY BOY! Dylan and Daddy were enjoying the bouncing and the slides. I offered to take Dylan down the slide (to give Dave a little break) and he threw a big FIT. Daddy is apparently the best slider.

Chase's dismount:

After the kids were totally worn out, sweaty and red-faced, we went into the party room for a little cake and ice-cream.

The kids (parents too) were exhausted by the end, but I think everyone had a great time! This guy sure did:

Tomorrow is officially Chase's birthday. I still have one day of denial!!!

A WEEKS WORTH

I have a whole week of junk to catch up on. I finally cleaned off the camera and found some cute photos to share. I hope you enjoy them too ;)

I call this one - Eye Lash Envy!

Chase decided that we needed to have a Rock Concert, er.... perhaps with a bit of a Mexican flair! Rockers take their shirts off, right? So he did too and then Dylan HAD to also. I was HORRIFIED when I saw the photos. Not of the mess in the background, but of all those ribs sticking out! I **PROMISE** that we feed him...... often. I guess this is what happens when more food ends up in the trash than in the belly. We visited one of my good friends from college, Melissa to meet her new baby girl, Caroline! Isn't she the cutest little thing. I was so excited that she let me take some photos during our visit. Chase and his giant tower that he built. I did help a little with the top part, but for the most part, it is his masterpiece. We had a big party at work on Friday, a late "holiday" luncheon. There were 310 people in attendance and we invited a motivational speaker to join us and address our group. He was GREAT! What a funny guy..... I still find myself chuckling at some of his little bits. For example: if you ask a group of adults if they can paint a picture, only 4 or 5 people will raise their hands. What happens if you ask a group of four-year-olds the same question? A bit ironic, right? Why is that?? Because adults carry around too much fear. He really had an excellent message that focused on lightening up and laughing more. Which was exactly what I needed to hear right now! Check out his site here.

Anyway, back to my original point, we had a TON of balloons left over, so why not bring them all home? The boys loved the giant knot of balloons I walked in the door with. What fun they had!

Here is Chase singing with his class on Saturday during their Winter Wonderland performance. He was adamant about NOT singing, and I told him that he didn't have too. But when it was show time, he got swooped up with all the kids and seemed to forget about NOT wanting to participate. I expected him to come running back over to me, but he chimed right in with his classmates and sang/mumbled "Frosty the Snowman."

Every photo I get of Dylan is of him reaching for the camera. He is quite enamored with my toys. :)

Chase whips up a batch of Daddy's FAMOUS (okay, they aren't famous and they are pretty stinkin' good) pancakes. It has become a Saturday, sometimes a Saturday AND Sunday, tradition lately. They are much better than the frozen version that Mom doles out during the week.

So, there you have it! A week of total randomness. But a good one, none the less. We are amping up for Chase's big 5th BIRTHDAY celebration. Check back in a couple days for all that wildness!