Being a Mom Means...

...not being grossed out by ridiculously large amounts of poop.

...thinking that eating what's been left behind in the highchair isn't gross either. I have not yet stooped to the level of eating leftovers out of the exceedingly gross bib pocket. When I've reached that point all hope has been lost.

...refereeing the boys. Item in question? An empty water bottle.

...that the highlight of the week just might be the fact that Saturday Night Live is not a repeat. Bonus that Will Ferrell is hosting!

...that I would love to know how many miles I put on around this house just chasing after the boys. I think the mileage will go up exponentially once they are walking.

...that my arms look awesome. No workout required. Oh wait, hauling around Parker and Quinn (at the same time) IS a workout. Let's put it this way: it's the arm workout you can't avoid!

...cleaning up the floor around the high chairs at LEAST three times a day. I think I'll tell Jason to buy some stock in the Clorox Wipes Company.

...that the Resolve spray is now used to clean spit-up off of the steps.

...learning to carry on a conversation in the midst of two children whose ever expanding lung volume means an ever expanding noise level in this house.

...an unforeseeable end to worrying about the boys in one way, shape or form. I hear this doesn't end until they're about 30, if then.


Parker and Quinn with their buddy Graycen at the March of Dimes Walk.

All bundled up and ready to get walking!

Miss Gracyen-- what a cutie!!

Ah, yes. Parker my child who will grow up to be some sort of electrician or engineer who listens to Baroque chamber music! :) This kid LOVES, LOVES, LOVES anything with a cord. He also loves music. We were at Johna's graduation this past weekend, and when the band started playing Pomp and Circumstance he thought it was the best thing ever. He pretty much thought all of the music the band played was pretty great.

Did I mention before how he also loves the cord that hangs down from the garage door? Everytime he sees it he gets SO excited and has to 'examine' it before we can go inside. He even makes a point to crane his neck around the side of his car seat so that he can see it travelling along the track as the garage door opens. The things that these kids find entertaining is a constant source of amusement!

Quinn with the 'Flock of Seagulls' hairdo. This, obviously, was BEFORE his haircut. I wasn't kidding when I said he was overdue. I think the height of his hair is just about equal to the length of his face! ;)

Mid-haircut...look at how long that hair on the top of his head is!

I can't believe this was already his third haircut. He looks like a hairy old guy with all of that hair on his shoulders and chest. :)

Parker and Maria at Johna's graduation. Love, love, love those hats. Quinn's was still a bit too big, so it didn't last long.

Quinn after his graduation nap. The boys were SO good during the whole thing. I think they just had so much too look at that it kept them entertained. We would have liked to been able to make it to Joel's as well, but I figured two ceremonies in one day was asking a but much of the boys! As it was we didn't even eat lunch until close to 3 that day. That would explain why Quinn threw a fit at the restaurant and ended up bonking himself in the head on the table. Luckily we had an hour drive after lunch for the boys to nap....which leads me to my next story.

The first night we were in town for Johna's graduation we had a DISGUSTING room at the hotel. Boo to you, Clarion Inn. We were supposed to have a non-smoking room. We did not. After much discussion with the 'manager' (notice the quotes) we ended up getting a discount on the room. We had to have a suite since we were obviously travelling with the boys, and since they go to bed between 7:30 and 8. Otherwise, I guess Jason and I are just supposed to stare at the walls in silence while the boys sleep. Sounds fun, does it not?

Anyway, we have this smoking room (cue the mommy guilt for having her children in this ashtray of a room), which was supposed to have been 'aired out' prior to our arrival. Really? Please explain to me how you are going to 'air out' the disgusting 1980's era drapes that probably haven't been cleaned since their inception. And the carpet? Unless it belongs to Aladdin and has some sort of magical properties, I'm not sure how you plan to 'air it out'. So, Saturday night we ended up getting a room in Carmel, which made more sense anyway since Johna and Joel's grad party was going to be there. This meant we didn't have to drive the hour down to the party, and then the three hours home all in one day.

Parker and Daddy

Sisters!

Miss Domesticity- Johna at her graduation party.

The graduates posing with their gifts from Jason, the boys and I

Lastly, I realize I haven't posted the boys weights in a LONG time. We had a pediatrician appointment last Wednesday, so here is the update:

Parker is now 20lbs 6ozs and is officially able to ride 'forward facing' in his car seat! Mean mommy is going to keep him rear facing for a while longer. Quinn has a ways to go before he can also be forward facing, and they like to lean forward and see each other, so I'm going to keep them the same direction for a bit. Parker doesn't seem to mind yet. Quinn remains my peanut at 16lbs 15ozs. Oh what the hell, let's just cut him some slack and say that he's 17!

Length-wise Parker is (supposedly) 28.5 inches and Quinn is 28.75. I find this hard to believe as Quinn's pants are always WAY longer on him than Parker's. Length seems to be one of the areas where there is a lot of room for error when the nurses are measuring them.

In other news, Quinn will be evaluated by First Steps on May 29th to see if he needs a bit of help in the gross motor skills area.

We hope everyone is having a great week! Jason and I are off to our first Cubs game of the season tomorrow! Last year we didn't make it to any games with the boys being so little, so we're excited!