a day in our life

6:45 am - I wake up and get in the shower.
6:50 am - Kevin brings Andrew in to the bathroom and he peaks around the shower curtain and whines at me.
7:00-8:00am - Fix 3 breakfasts, lunch for Kevin, make coffee, watch Curious George for 10 minutes, fold laundry, put away laundry, do the dishes and sweep the floor...all while Andrew follows me around and whines.  Andrew gets Tylenol. Watch the news with a ton of teasers for the upcoming Charlie Sheen interview, that guy is crazy! 

9:45-10:15am - Music class.
10:30-11:00am - Snack time and a visit from JuJu.  I do the dishes and sweep the floor.
11:35 - I sit down for 5 minutes and page through a magazine.
12:00 - Grace eats lunch.  I do the dishes and sweep the floor.
1:00pm - Grace takes a rest while I iron, pack for our trip, pay bills, check my work email, and talk with our contractor about our new toilet paper holder.  Almost everything in the bathroom is polished chrome, but this is polished nickle...shhhhh, don't tell anyone.

2:45pm - Andrew wakes up and needs to eat.  I do the dishes and sweep the floor. 
3:30pm - We head out to BuyBuyBaby (most obnoxious name for a store, ever).  This was the conversation we had in the car:
Me: "Grace, this Saturday you have a birthday party and you are going to learn to do yoga.  So you will need to wear leggings, not a dress." 
Grace: "I know how to do yoga.  I do my own kind of yoga."
Me: "You will need to listen to the teacher and follow the class." 
Grace: "Mom, will there be yoga at the party?!"
Me: "Yes."
Grace:"Mom, the party is going to be sooooo fun."
4:15pm - We get home and the kids want another snack.  I find Grace laying pretzels on the floor and ask why.  "Baby Andrew likes to pick them up and eat them off the floor."  Where do they pick these things up? 

I do the dishes and sweep the floor.
5:00pm - More packing for our trip and I spend about 20 minutes torturing Andrew by making him try on various sized rompers.  Including this one that was Uncle Mark's:

It is excellent attire for a Princess tea party.

6:00pm - Dinner.  This is what we had....

fruit salad and roasted tomato pasta.  It is a fabulous recipe, and soooo easy.  I will post a recipe later. 

Gracie cuts Andrew's fruit for him....so cute.

Of course Grace would only eat buttered noodles, but she said "Mom, this dinner is excellent!"  I love her.  Kevin does the dishes and sweeps the floor. 

6:30pm - Bathtime for the kids.  No pooping in the tub!  Yes!

7:00pm - Andrew goes to bed.  Kevin and I install a roman shade in our new bathroom.  The drill bit gets stuck and things get a bit tense.   Then we get the shade up, and I spend the next 15 minutes steaming out the wrinkles. 

7:30pm - "Mom, why are your lips red?  It's NOT Valentine's Day." (I just had some carmex on, my lips are so chapped they look like I have red lipstick on.)
7:35pm - Grace throws a fit because I will only read her one book.
7:40pm - Grace is snoring.
7:41pm - This is me. 

This is how I look most of the time.  My darling husband said, "Wow, the flash really washes you out."  At first I thought he was being rude, now I realize that was a compliment.  So I made this picture black and white...much less offensive.

My little helpers

Have I mentioned how much I love this little girl?  Grace is my little helper.  When she sees me pull out the mop and bucket, she grabs a washcloth and starts to wipe down the cabinetry.   

She also has been begging (yes, begging) me to let her clean windows lately.  So I finally let her.  Seriously, I love this child.

Andrew still has some cleaning lessons to learn, but he is showing some interest.  I was sweeping up the crumbs from lunch and there were half a dozen stray goldfish in the pile.  Andrew thought he was helping me by stomping on the goldfish and rubbing a dishtowel in the pile.  He was SOOOO proud of himself.  Plus he had that cute little smirk on his face and glimmer in his eye.  I love him too.

Then this morning, his tray was a little wet from getting washed, so I handed him a towel and asked him to wipe it off.  Well, not understanding, he emphatically threw the towel on the ground.  But after I showed him what I meant, he enthusiastically wiped off his tray.  Then, when he was done with his meal, he pointed to the towel and grunted.  I handed it to him, and he cleaned his tray off again.  Such a smart boy!

Pretty soon I will have my own little trained cleaning crew to keep the house in order....although something tells me this enthusiasm will not last forever....

This week's excitement

Earlier this week, we had Andrew's 18 month check up.  I was expecting a quick in and out appointment.  Unfortunately, his doctor noticed a large mass inside his abdomen and sent us for an x-ray.  Needless to say we were extremely upset and nervous.  I kept thinking how for months we have all been laughing at Andrew and his constipation...red face and yoga moves in the corner....and there might really be something wrong!  Poor guy.

We found out a few hours later that the large mass, was just a large mass of poo. Whew. So now we are serving up some major laxatives in our sippy cups at the Malone house.  This was Monday and I think I am still a little jittery from this experience.  My heart goes out to all those parents who have genuinely sick kids. That must be such a challenge.

I felt so horrible for Little Buddy getting poked and prodded, shots, blood drawn, and then having to head off for an x-ray.  Luckily we didn't have much of a wait, and Andrew made friends with three little girls in the waiting room.  Such a ladies man!

He did not appreciate laying on a table naked while getting a picture of his belly taken.  And he was totally not impressed by the stickers they had on the x-ray machine.  But he was such a good boy, I was so proud of him.

On a side note, he weighs 24lbs, 4oz. and is 32 3/4" long.  That means he has only gained 4 pounds in the past year.

I tried to get a cute picture of Andrew for this post, this is what I ended up with....

Come on Drew! 

Much better.

Bathroom Remodel: Update

When we started this project, I told myself I would really really try to remain on budget.  We really want to gut our kitchen in a few years, so we are saving up for that.  I wasn't quite sure what my budget should be, so I never actually set one.  Therefore, I am totally on track!

That being said, I have been driving myself crazy with comparative shopping, buying and returning, and purchasing almost everything from the local Home Depot or online.  My UPS man is here so often, I feel like I should have him stay for dinner.  There was a little tension when he dropped my pedestal sink on the front walk, but it didn't break, so we are still friends.  Anyways, the end is in sight for the remodel. 

This was the look I was going for when we started (I think it is from the tile shop online gallery)... 

The tile is in!  It will be grouted tomorrow.

The floor tile was my splurge, carrara marble 1" hexagon mosaics. We both LOVE it and, now that it is in, I am so glad we went for exactly what we wanted. Plus, I got the guy at the tile shop to give me a 20% discount, of course.

My contractor on the other hand HATES the tile.  He has spent ALL DAY tiling about 40 sq. feet.  Apparently the tile kept breaking, falling off the mesh backing, yada yada yada, and he is a bit of a perfectionist.   The poor guy was walking up and down the stairs all day.  He was cutting the tile outside to minimize the dusty mess.  Clean and a perfectionist,  he may be my new best friend! 

We originally were only going to do subway tile in the shower, but we decided to carry it all the way around the room and I am so happy we made that change.  By the way, this tile is Home Depot stock tile.  Less than $2/sq foot.  I compared it to the stuff that was a lot more expensive at the tile shop and I could not tell the difference at all.  Score!

Here are some of the remaining decisions we need to make:

Shower Door - Anyone out there ever ordered a shower door?  There are tons of types and they are pricey items.  I want something substantial, not too bulky and not $3,000.  I am tackling that challenge this weekend.    

Accessories - I need to buy all the little accessories...robe hook, towel ring, toilet paper holder.  The catch is I want them all to coordinate, and each have some round and straight lines.  You see my sink is square, but my faucets are round and I want something to pull it all together.  That is a tall order.

In the past week I would say I have spent at least an hour, probably two (okay, probably a lot more than that) trying to find a toilet paper holder and towel ring that I like. 

While searching, I came across this one...look at the price tag.  Seriously.  Who on earth would buy a toilet paper holder $368?????

Anyways, I kept telling myself,  "You will know the right one when you see it."  Like its a wedding dress or something.  Ridiculous. 

Then I found one on Amazon, but I noticed that it was sold by "Jake's Bargain Shed by Classy Jac's & E & J Crafts."  I really don't want anything from a "bargain shed" in my house.  I am frugal, but not that frugal.  Plus, I am sure I would receive it, damaged, in about 2 months, and then there would be weird charges on my card for tickets to a monster truck rally and a subscription to Cat Fancy magazine.  So now my plan is to pay my weekly visit to Home Depot and just pick one.   Wish me luck.

Grace's bed time routine

This should not come as a shock to anyone.

Grace has a very specific bedtime routine. 

1. Watch Curious George in Mom and Dad's room while eating a banana. 
2. Brush teeth. 
3. Read a book. 
4. Cuddle. 
5. Either go to sleep or sing sweetly to herself.

While watching tv tonight she said, "Mommy, the yucky black part (ie. the end) is still on my banana!"  So I told her to throw it in the toilet.  Yes, the toilet.  Otherwise, I find little banana ends in my bed.  

By "it" I meant the black part.  NOT the banana. 

Yet this is what I found in my toilet.

I can now add, "removing fruit from the toilet" to my list of things I love about being a mom. 

Andrew is 18 months!

He is such a sweet, easy-going and handsome little guy! 

 

Remember him last year? 

He is such a big boy now!

He sleeps through the night.

He can feed himself.  He loves to eat cereal bars, pretzels, string cheese, goldfish, eggs, ham, pasta, yogurt and applesauce. He does not like sweets, and he gets mad if you give him a cookie or a cupcake. 

He can say the following words: cheese, dog, please, hot, dada, mama, Grace, Drew, tickle tickle, shoes, yes, uh oh, hi...I am sure there are others that I can't think of right now. 

He loves to feel like a big boy by sitting at the big table, brushing his teeth, sitting on a chair coloring with Gracie, walking out to the car instead of being carried, or putting on Gracie's headbands and tinkerbelle undies (we are working on that). 

He plays with anything he can push around, he plops down on your lap when he wants a book read to him, and he loves things that make noise (especially music, so he can bust out his sweet dance moves). 

He thinks his big sister is really cool, but isn't afraid to take her doll away or give her a little smack.

He is a little naughty and he knows it.  He stands on chairs, climbs on the toilet, tries to walk down the stairs, and throws things....all with a little twinkle in his eye.

He still loves the ladies, his blankie, and a good cuddle. 

Bathroom Remodel: Progress

Not too exciting.  So far the walls are ready to be tiled and painted, the vent fan now vents to the outside (not the attic), the plumbing and electrical has been brought up to code, and the shower pan has been set.

We did have one moment of excitement.  My contractor discovered that the handyman (or whoever installed the previous bathroom) definitely did not know what they were doing.  Apparently they left a nest of live, exposed wiring in insulation in the attic (right above sweet Gracie's room).  Major fire hazard.  Awesome. 

We had another little issue Friday.  The pedestal sink (being installed in our other bathroom) had 2 black scratches on it.  I was so annoyed that I was going to have to haul it back to Home Depot and then have another one shipped in....but no worries.  Bar Keepers Friend to the rescue!  Love that stuff.

Here is a sneak peek at the tile going up next week. We are doing white subways with light grey grout on the wall and shower stall. The floor is carrara marble hexagon mosaic.  I am so excited.  I love tile.


 
On a side note, the night after I posted this, I had a dream that I was changing Andrew's diaper.  I just couldn't get his little bottom clean.  So I pulled out the magic eraser and used that on his booty. What does that say about me?

Put it on your blog

While my sister Amy was living in Asia, I started this blog to keep her up to date on the kids.  You see, I am HORRIBLE at keeping in touch with people.  This is a serious fault of mine. I know.  So I thought a blog would be the best way to let others know what is going on the Malones. 

Now that I have been doing this for a year, I will admit, I like it.  I guess this is a 'hobby' of mine. 

Keep reading this blog and you will learn my other exciting hobbies.  Just kidding.  My hobbies are changing diapers and cleaning. 
Also, I must give credit where credit is due.  For years, whenever I would go off on a rant about something random, Kevin would say, "Put it on your blog."  Instead of what he really wanted to say:

1. "I don't care."
2. "Stop talking during the game."
3. "Huh?  I was not paying attention to you AT ALL."
4. "You are insane."

I did not have a blog at the time, but he thought that if I blogged he would not have to listen to half of my garbage.  The fool.

Anyways, I thought I would let you know a few of my thoughts on this little hobby of mine. 

1. I do not do photo albums, baby books or any other memory keeping activity.  Each child has a box that I throw keepsakes in when I am on top of my game.  That's it.  This blog is to make up for that.  I intend to print this out every year.  Then my kids can look back at the books when they are older and think, "Wow, Mom was always crazy!"

2. My photography is sub-par.  I know. I have this nice camera but I don't know how to use it.  When I have some free time I want to take a class.  Maybe when my kids are in college.

3. Excuse the errors in my spelling and grammar, I am not dumb, but I know those mistakes make me appear like I am.  (Wait that wasn't a run-on sentence, was it???)  To be honest, I don't always have time to spell check or proof-read.  But don't worry, my mistakes do not go unnoticed.  Kevin always points them out.  He can do that because he is my husband, and he puts up with my crap.

4. It's OK if you don't find me funny.  I have a weird sense of humor.  If I seem like I am being rude or insensitive, I am probably just kidding.  You don't get "me".  It's you, not me.  Got it? 

5.  I find myself hilarious.  Those people that love me very much (Kevin and my mom) find me, "mildly amusing."  I'm at peace with that fact.  And I will continue to laugh at jokes like, "If you are an American when you go in the bathroom.  And you are an American when you leave the bathroom.  What are you when you are in the bathroom?"  European!  (Get it? You're - A - Peein')

Okay, stop laughing now.  I know, its a good one.  Yes, you can tell all your friends and pretend you made it up.

6. Finally....let me know you are reading this!  Drop me a note, write on my wall on facebook, give me a call, send me a postcard, send a smoke signal, put a comment on the blog, or sign up to be a follower.  Sometimes I feel like my mom and mother-in-law are the only ones who read this.  Which would be fine, but maybe there are more of you out there.  Anyone?  Anyone there?  Bueller? 

Plus, if I know you are a reader, then I won't accidentally make fun of you.  Or like post a picture of you picking your nose.  Or maybe I will.

Bathroom Remodel: Before

WARNING! This is scary.

Today our bathroom remodel started.  With demolition.  Goodbye ugly weird bathroom!

We are tearing out Kevin's ugly bathroom.  Why you ask?

1. Weird shower head that would randomly leak water.

2. Mold

3. Leaky plastic shower door that is rotting stuff behind the walls.

4. Dysfunctional bathroom vanity.

5. Shoddy wainscotting that looks like crap. 

6. Laminate wood floor. Who wants wood flooring in a bathroom (real or not)?

I believe the owners that completed this little project (about 20 years ago) were going for a "rustic up-north" feel. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the fact that they took an open hallway area and created a functional bathroom space. Second baths are hard to come by in our area, so I definitely know we are lucky. However, this bathroom had to go. Kevin was not on board until I discovered the shower was leaking (YES!). So we have been planning this project for about 6 weeks now and I am so excited to have it underway.

Stay tuned for progress!

cleaning supplies that make me happy

Over the years, I have heard this product mentioned as being great, but never tried it.  Until today.  Oh, happy day!

I picked it up at home depot (my new hangout) this past weekend.  I may not be a barkeeper, but this most certainly is my friend.

I spent a bit of time today (ok lets be honest, about 2 hours) scrubbing my pots and pans.  This was quite a change from my normal TV watching and bonbon eating routine.

 As you can see, my pots hang over my island on this super fancy integrated pot rack/light fixture thingamajig.

Yes, it is natural for you to be asking yourself, "Why on earth does Bridget still have that ridiculous thing hanging over her island?"  Answer:  There is no where else to put the pots.   


Anyways, they are always in plain sight.  Lately, I have noticed how shabby they look.  So I pulled out my new friend.  Once I started cleaning, I could not stop.  Until they were oh so shiny.

I thought I was done, when I remembered that I have a grill pan. 

This was a challenge.  After about 20 minutes (the other pans did not take this long) of scrubbing it looks like this.  Not perfect, but close enough.

And this made me think of the other cleaning products I love.  So besides the Method all purpose cleaner that I already endorsed, here are my other favs.... 

For my wood floors (which I must admit, never seem really, really clean...tips anyone?):

For my stainless steel dishwasher:

(See that nicely polished fingernail?  That is because I just got my quarterly manicure.  How stylish and pulled together am I?)

Plus, I really love the little housewife lady on the front, she looks so cute.

And for anything...grout, paint marks on the wall, weird stuff you come across and pray is your own filth (and not some left over disgustingness from the people who lived in the house before you):

Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day is not a big deal around our house.  I could never get Gracie to finish her valentines we started a few weeks ago, and she will not be at daycare for their Valentines Party.  So I figured that we should try for one heart-themed activity in honor of this holiday. 

 So, as a surprise for Dad, we made pink, heart-shaped rice krispie treats! 


 Grace was so excited to show him what we made. 

And apparently she thought he was going to be very excited as well, because she kept saying "It's going to be the surprise of a lifetime!"  I don't know where she got that from, but it was hilarious.

don't trust toddlers - they lie

Wednesday
While I was making dinner Grace said, "Don't worry Mommy, I will watch Andrew.  He can color with me!"

Keep in mind they were about 2 feet from where I was standing and I still did not notice this was going on....thank goodness for washable markers!

Thursday
"Mommy, can I play with the tupperware?" 
"No, it is too messy."
"Okay, how about I just play with two? That won't be a mess." (Grace is an excellent, errr relentless,  negotiator.)
"Sure, whatever."
....5 minutes later I see this in my living room.

Friday
"Mommy, I will watch Andrew while you go get my shoes."
Ten seconds later I return to see black crayon on the carpet.  I agree, I should have learned my lesson on Wednesday. 

No picture for this one.  My extremely dominant cleaning gene kicked in, and the mark was obliterated to the best of my ability.

Gracie's Funny Dream

Immediately after Gracie woke up this morning, she asked Kevin where he put her red tutu and magic wand.  You know, the red one with the red flower on top? Obviously, Kevin asked me where I put these items.

Because I know the location of everything in our house. 

Where is Andrew's blanket?  In the kitchen cabinet. 
Where is Andrew's other sock?  It fell behind the changing table and is now amidst all the other things he threw when he was getting his diaper changed.
Where is the Cinderella doll's other shoe?  On the dryer.
Where is Grace's sparkly headband?  In my bathroom, behind the toilet. 
Where is my wallet?  Check the pants you wore yesterday.

Again, I could go on, but I will stop.

Small problem.  She does not own a red tutu or magic wand with a red flower.   

We tried to explain that this was probably a dream.  But no, she INSISTED that Daddy wore a red tutu and carried a magic wand when he was walking up the stairs last night.  Good thing is that she confirmed that Dad was wearing pants under the tutu.  Phew.

Regrets and Confessions

I sucked you all in with the juicy title, huh?

This Saturday I went grocery shopping.  And now I regret purchasing this giant box of goldfish crackers. 

You see, my kids LOVE goldfish.  To Andrew these little fish are last year's string cheese, if you know what I mean.  This box does not fit in my weird cabinets.  So it has been on the counter.  See there I go again showing off my counters...see black AND white tiles.  So fancy!

Anyways, every time Little Buddy sees the box he starts demanding goldfish.  He has been employing the following tactics to get what he wants:

1. Pointing
2. Grunting
3. Screaming
4. Hanging on my legs
5. And my personal favorite....whining

As with the string cheese, I typically give in after saying "no" a dozen times.

And then I have happy campers. And lots of goldfish lying around my house, which get stepped on and tracked around the first floor.

In this photo Andrew is thinking "Mom is a chump." and Grace is plotting her next move. 

And now I will be sharing an embarassing secret of mine.  Sometimes when I find a dropped goldfish/cheerio/m&m (score!) (that I know is not like super old and has not been sucked on by someone other than my child), I pick it up and pop it in my mouth. 

EWWWW! 

Gross. I know. 

My logic is that then I don't have to physically take it to the garbage (where I would find a full garbage can that I would have to empty) AND it won't get stepped on and spread about.  I am trying to be efficient.  And those of you know who know me well understand that, if I am anything, I am efficient.  Plus I have full confidence that my floors are pretty clean.  So clean you can eat off of them!

Maybe this will be the start of a little segment we could call "Confessions from a Real Mom," or something equally intriguing.  I am open to suggestions.

Finally, I will leave you with this funny picture of Gracie...taken after I said "Hey Gracie, can I get a picture of just Andrew?"

By the way, on an unrelated subject, does anyone know how to remove crayon from the screen of a flatscreen tv?

We are a little excited up here in Packer Country

This was a very special Super Bowl Sunday, because our beloved Green Bay Packers were in the big game.  Watching them this past month has been a great way to pass this typically mundane month of winter.  So, by all means, Go Pack Go!

This Sunday we stopped at Grandma Jane and Bop's to visit Uncle Bill and he looks great!   Then were were off to JuJu and PopPop's to enjoy the big game with Maggie and Baby William. 

 But before we could go inside and start stuffing our faces, we had to check out the giant snow drifts outside their house.

This picture is a little deceiving, as the snow was actually WAY above Grace's head.  It was probably up to my mom's shoulders.

Anyways, the Super Bowl is all about football right?  But actually isn't it equally about food?  Well, I had fun with the food this year.  Here are some snapshots of what we were snacking on....

Spinach dip with green and yellow peppers.

Green and Gold (not yellow, Grace will correct you if you say yellow) G Cookies.

Sort of nasty looking green and gold tortilla chips and salsa.  The salsa was actually really good.

Andrew thoroughly enjoys being able to help himself to food.  He is overwhelmed with the choices and freedom.  He always goes for the chips.  Smart boy.  I think he is going to be very happy in Mexico.

It was a special treat to get to enjoy the game with the cutest little cheesehead.  Baby William!

Someone was not a fan of William's hat.

Or William having JuJu all to himself. 

Andrew was fine with JuJu showing attention to another little boy, just as long as he was close enough to monitor the situation.  JuJu couldn't be alone with Baby William.

Here he is explaining the deal, "Listen Baby William.  You need to be held all the time, and I totally get that.  You are a baby.  I've been there too.  So you can sit with my JuJu.  But just don't get too comfortable, because she is my Grandma.  Got it?" 

 "And if you follow those rules I think we will be great friends."

When children visit my parents house they are guaranteed an educational experience.  For instance, this week William learned how to use a slot machine.  What will it be next time?  Bartending 101? Billiards for Beginners?

By the way, check out the Vince Lombardi artwork in the background.  It wouldn't be a Wisconsin basement without a picture of Vince and a framed Packer stock certificate.

  Grace loves Baby William.

We headed home at the start of the 3rd quarter.  Here is Andrew giving a touchdown sign right before we headed out.

And since this post would not be complete without a picture of my charming husband....here you go...

A few months ago I threw out his old cheesehead.  It weighed about 5lbs.  And it was moldy.  I like moldy cheese, but not moldy cheeseheads.  Confusing I know.  He told me not to throw it away.  But I did anyways. 

Oh well.  He is happy we won.