Spring Cleaning and the Introduction of Buzz Lightyear

Do you ever look at something in your house and swear that tomorrow you will get it organized? Maybe it's your closet or your junk drawer or your desk? For the past month or so, I have been continuously saying that I am going to reorganize our kitchen cabinet that holds all of our rubbermaid storage containers and sports bottles and travel mugs and et cetera, et cetera. Well, kids have the darndest ability to boost your motivation. Tonight, Harper and Collier managed to put a sense of urgency on this goal - and I happened to get off easy since Matt agreed to clean up the mess.

For those of you with kids, you know that they are really good at a few things - making gigantic messes, changing your priorities in a flash, testing your patience, making gigantic messes, and taking ordinary items and having way more fun than the $50 toy that you bought them yesterday at Target - did I mention making gigantic messes??... You can either get really upset and give yourself a migraine or you can surrender and run get your camera and join in on the fun. Luckily, Matt and I agree on one thing - let's join in on the fun! As you can see from the pics from below, the kids managed to accomplish all of the things above.

In addition to the mess, Harper took the opportunity to display his esoteric imagination once again as the video so aptly shows. Who knew that a plastic pitcher could make a perfect space helmet and turn you from ordinary 2 1/2 year old boy to Buzz Lightyear in the middle of our kitchen floor. The one thing I worry about most is the level of fun Matt had throwing things at Harper's helmet on the other side of the camera - it was all in fun and I'm sure Matt was just trying to create a more accurate portrayal of outerspace by throwing flying asteroids and other "space" junk that only Buzz Lightyear would encounter. Either way, it was sure fun to watch.

Valentine's Day

Oh how this romantic holiday has changed. Just a quick picture to show you the craziness of the day - we couldn't even manage to get an "organized" photo of them together. But, it sums up the feeling of the day......Can you feel the love???

The Life of Riley

Prior to babies Willow and Riley truly had the life that any dog would envy. They wore Coach collars, went to doggy daycare on a regular basis, ate gourmet treats, had frequent baths that included yummy smelling shampoos and even had fancy doggy sweaters. But, with each passing day after the birth of Harper and Collier their lives have moved closer to that of street dogs than the fancy lap dogs they originally aspired to be.

I remember my mom always saying that Willow had the "Life of Riley" -a phrase made popular by a show with the same name in the 1950s which according to wikipedia suggests "an ideal life of prosperity and contentment, possibly living on someone else's money, time or work." (Now you all know how Riley got his name). These days, you can almost see the dogs daydreaming of those long forgotten days rather than the one they are being forced to live.

Willow, the alpha dog, who has been pushed down on the food chain, is constantly miffed by the kid's presence. In her own way, she rolls her eyes at their very existence. She shares a love/hate relationship with them - the love part deriving from any bit of food that she can snatch from their hands or that falls to the floor and the hate part being almost everything else. Harper and Willow fight like a true brother and sister. They growl at each other, fight over toys and cringe at each other's existence. In rare moments they are able to show a small amount of love for each other but those times are few and far between. This weekend they were having one of their "feuds" when Harper came running to me and said "Mommy I really don't like Willow" - I simply said "Honey that's okay, I think the feeling is mutual."

This experience has been so troubling for Riley that he is experiencing an identity crisis - he truly thinks he is a CAT! I swear the dog does not act like a dog. He can launch from floor to the top of any piece of furniture in once quick leap, he stretches with an arched back and outstretched toenails, he claws at your legs like you are a scratching pole, he paces in the narrow window sills looking for mice or other critters on the other side of the window and he yawns with an outstretched tongue that mimics his feline counterparts. We are just waiting for him to start hissing :). Just so you know that I'm not exaggerating, I am including a picture of him in the kitchen window.



With all their weirdness, the dogs are still loved the same even if they don't get the same level of royal treatment. But, I am happy to report that this weekend the dogs did come close to "old times" when they ended up with the best spot in the house to sleep. After a night of playing musical beds with the kids, the dogs woke up early Sunday morning to having the entire KING size bed all to themselves and they were stretched out as if they knew this was a special moment. For a split second I'm sure they were hoping (or dreaming) Matt and I were the only one's in the house and those loud, two legged short creatures were a foggy hallucination. It was almost "the life of Riley" once again..... but only until the kids woke up.