Cowboy Magnus - 14 months

Daddy's boots sure are tough to fill.

Boy, I shouldn't have eaten all that steak...

High-Ho, Silver! Giddy up!

Caterpillar Craze

We have literally been plagued with these disgusting little creatures! They are everywhere! They nearly stripped every last leaf off my darling little trio of birch trees in the front yard before I could squirt them with death-juice. They are all over everything, and crawling all through the yard, and I don't mean just a couple of them either. Imagine my surprise when, wearing my beloved flip-flops outside, I bent to tend to Magnus (I think he was actually reaching for one of the squirming little creatures right then) and rose back to my feet only to feel this "pop-squish" beneath my bare heel. One had crawled onto my flip-flop when it gapped away from my foot as I squatted down, and it was the last thing he ever did. If you think YOU are grossed out, you should've seen MY face! I couldn't actually see the look that I must have been wearing, but I'm sure even the most stilted viewers would've received some measure of entertainment from it. From that moment on, I have had nothing but bitterness in my heart for these nasty little pests. I am waging war with a Bug-B-Gone squirt gun. Death to the caterpillars, me mates!! Aaarrgh!

Climbing the Tower

You already know that Magnus loves climbing up and down on the couches, etc. Well, here's where he was yesterday. He loves anything that's on the desk (probably because he knows he's not supposed to have any of it!) and he stumbled across this wonderful way to get a closer look. It seems a bit funny to me that a child that thinks walking around the house (compared to crawling) is WAY scary, but climbing up on precarious objects is perfectly fine and normal. I used to climb everything too though, and when I was about Magnus' age my mom found me up in my high chair! She still doesn't know how I got there. But you know me... always ready for food!

Tagged

Hopefully I won't bore you all with these petty details about myself, but two people have "tagged" my blog. I feel that my public needs me and I must comply!

What I was doing 10 years ago:
I distinctly remember laying in the sun a lot. My horses would always "join" me by stopping by to say hello. Such a nice gesture! I was also trying to finish high school (homeschooling) to go off to Bible college for a few months with my cousin Lori. (She was a big girl and heading off to school - I wanted to go too! 16 was a bit young though, and I didn't last more than a semester. Ahh, home sweet home!) For fun on the weekends, my brother and I took his classic Bronco (restored by him and Dad) to car shows, and I rode horses quite a bit with my neighbor Kristi.

5 things on my to-do list today:
1. "Reason" with Magnus that crying isn't the answer.
2. Make chicken pot-pie.
3. Greet Joe (He's been gone for 5 days! Or was it 5 years?) and spend the entire evening visiting him. We have only had very short phone calls, since it's been international "rip-off rates" - he's been in the Turks & Caicos islands all week.
4. Put away the last of the groceries.
5. Feed the animals. (Hee hee... Yes, I do that every day, but I am running out of things to say here... I already cleaned the house, exercised, washed my hair and went to town today! Work with me, here.)

Snacks I enjoy:
Listen... to me, anything that looks like food and isn't still running around can be a snack. Steak would be great to snack on, IMO. But, I rarely have filet mignon hanging around, so I usually grab the fruit chews (I buy them "for Magnus", but he "shares" a LOT of them!) or dark chocolate (I need all those antioxidants!). Chocolate ice cream also tops my list. Calcium is very good for my bones, you know.

Things I'd do if I was a billionaire:
This is a good one for Joe, since he is the "I wish I were a billionaire" in the family. I have no desire to have that much money, so the first thing I'd do is get rid of it! (Probably starting my long and arduous process at the mall.)

Bad habits I have:
Not using up leftovers quick enough, and then Joe goes through the refrigerator saying, "What's this?!" to which I kindly ask him to step away from the refrigerator and I will take care of any unfinished business I have there all by myself. Another one (really, you don't want me to list them all...) is not sending greeting cards out on time, every time.

5 places I have lived:
1. West Virginia (born there - also lived half my childhood there)
2. North Carolina (lived the other half of my childhood in NC, since we "commuted" from there to our cabin in WV every week)
3. Virginia - and here I sit! Joe and I have lived here in the Richmond area for over 6 years now.

Jobs I've held:
1. Sitting with my elderly neighbor.
2. Receptionist at an animal hospital.
3. Working in the file room of a large accounting firm.
4. Currently just passed my one year anniversary of being a full-time mommy.

I'm tagging:
Do I have to do this? Okay, okay... but don't feel obligated guys - I think we've all been tagged before. Renee, Natalie, Adrian, Dan.

Navel Academy

Magnus' fascination for bellybuttons has not diminished at all over the past few weeks. He loves to show his off whenever he thinks it's appropriate! (Yeah, pretty much any time. Unless he's wearing a onesie, which is a great source of frustration for him!) He also never fails to point out other babies' buttons when he sees pictures, like on the diaper boxes. Then he compares it to his own and seems satisfied. He makes SURE we see what he's talking about though, so we can assure him that, yes, that's your bellybutton!

Old Dog, New Collar

I was going to label this picture "Blue Collar Worker", but I've never actually seen Jack DO any work... He is the most couch potato-ish dog I've ever met! All he does is sun-bathe. He's actually not as old as he looks, either. But, you know what they say about UV rays and the aging effects they have on your skin! He looks older than 6 years old, doesn't he? Don't let this be you! Always wear sunscreen.

Longing for Adventure

I think Magnus and I both have had about as much cabin fever as we can handle! The drizzle/rain never let up all weekend until today, but it was still very chilly, cloudy and windy. We did managed to get a short walk in (I did all the walking actually, and pushed him in his stroller as usual) anyway, so we wouldn't end up pulling each other's hair out by the end of another very long day inside! I have more good news and bad news though. The good news is Joe comes home tomorrow! (Yay!!) The bad news is I think Magnus is coming down with the same stomach virus that I've had. (Noooooo!) You may be hearing from me again soon if this gets interesting. Meanwhile, enjoy the picture of my little man looking out the window today.

Mommies aren't supposed to get sick!

Well the good news is not only do we save a bundle on our car insurance, but Joe and Magnus both had flu shots this year. The bad news is that I did NOT. I was feverish/chilling on Thursday and Friday, then I thought I was getting better since my fever broke. I was very relieved, since Joe left Friday afternoon on a trip until Tuesday! My relief was jumping the gun though, as the fun was merely starting. I was up nearly every hour last night trying my best to use up all the toilet paper, and awoke to such a weakened state that I thought I was going to have to call my mom - 4 1/2 hours away - to come take care of Magnus today. But, after a couple mugs of hot tea and some toast I felt that I would manage alone. I know she would've come in a heartbeat though! (Who else would happily enter a contaminated house?) For all you people out there paying all that money for Weight Watchers, I have a much more economical weight loss program to offer you! Stop by the house soon and I'll pass along this great program to you - free of charge! But hurry... this offer won't last long! (Disclaimer: If you live far away from your mother, friends or other trusted and caring child-care options, this may not be the weight loss plan for you.)