Random Fluff

Things I've been up to, in no particular order:

1. Watching Natalie eat her weight in blueberries. Daily. And now kiwi, too.

2. Watching Wyatt pretend cook. His specialty? Soup with marshmallows and ketchup that is made with alphabet pasta. Makes total sense, right?

3. Watching Natalie walk - totally on her own terms, though. She's capable of up to five steps at a time, but rarely chooses to show off that much. More often she takes one or two steps and then lurches into a speedy crawl, laughing at herself and beaming with pride.

4. Celebrating Natalie's birthday a little more. She likes cake and, true to form, shared a large portion with Millie. Luckily the dog seemed to have no adverse reaction to yellow cake with vanilla buttercream.

5. Baking cakes from scratch. It's my newest adventure and I'm sure plenty of you are rolling your eyes right now (two camps, I'd guess: the OMG-that's-a-waste-of-time camp and the OMG-how-else-would-you-make-cakes camp - which are you in?). Despite loving the chocolate cake the first time, I didn't like it this time (maybe it was the whipped chocolate buttercream and chocolate ganache on round one that really made it heavenly?). This one was topped with a tasty new vanilla buttercream frosting (it's a keeper!) but the cake fell short. However, I felt redeemed upon taking the first bite of almond cake with chocolate cream cheese frosting and raspberry filling. Yum. Dad was here and loves all sweets equally, so therefore professed his appreciation for both kinds. Mom is a realist and agreed the chocolate cake was nothing special. Jeff is kind and loving and therefore says everything I bake is good, but I think he's lying. Either way, now my head is spinning with what's next.

6. Blog-stalking some design-savvy folks out there. And then dreaming up new spins on my same old stuff while simultaneously wondering how people have stumbled into blogging stardom. There are people earning money hand over fist by doing this and I find it alternately annoying and fascinating.

7. Hunting down the perfect slipcover fabric because I think I'm getting some made for our couches. Nevermind that our furniture is younger than Wyatt; it was a compromise from my original vision and now my husband sees my point. Therefore, slipcovers. I think.

8. Wondering if investing that money in new washer/dryer/clothes/decorative objects/travel/throw pillows/plants/artwork/bedroom furniture/etc. would make more sense in the long run. Notice there's no mention of just saving that money, which is probably what will end up happening.

9. Listening. There's just so much talking in my house these days. If Natalie isn't hollering for Wyatt, Millie, Daddy, the outside, more food or to be held she's making background noise and Wyatt, well, he's just always talking. I think that even if I didn't lift a finger during the day, I would be worn out by bedtime.

10. Dodging. Wyatt is my resident one-man circus. If he's not bouncing through the kitchen on his hopper ball, he's shooting hoops in the living room. If he's not shooting hoops in the living room, he's playing football in the family room. If it's not football in the family room, he's changing the oil on his cozy coupe in the dining room. Throw in some bouts of airplanes crashing all around and you get the idea. I actually sneak away to fold laundry in the relative safety of my bedroom, but have to take kamikaze Natalie up there with me where she proceeds to pull all my shoes out of the closet, all the dog toys out of the basket and anything out of cabinets or drawers that she can get her hands on.

11. Accepting that this is my life. I will, undoubtedly, go through another phase of wondering what more is out there for me, but for right now I'm amazingly content in my current situation. You have no idea how big a deal this is.

12. Contemplating our next vehicle. And wondering if we'll really end up with a minivan. Darn things just make so much sense! We won't be making any decisions on that for quite a while, so don't get all excited. It's fun to think about it, just not fun to have a car payment again.

13. Loving spring. My daffodils and hyacinths are in full bloom, the trees around here look amazing, the air smells good, the birds are happy, we've had windows open, new planters are in place and man. I love spring.

14. Figuring out birthday gifts. First it was Natalie, but between now and May 1, my nephew, grandmother, mom, husband, mother-in-law and dad have birthdays, too. You'd think I'd be more prepared since they happen every year but no. I am not. So, if you are one of the people on that list, please leave your requests in the comments section and help a girl out. Thanks.

15. Thinking about an amazing dinner we had last Saturday and wondering when we can go again. It was that good.

16. Wondering why one of the moms at carpool pick-up was wearing a fully sequined tank top in the middle of the day.

17. Loving Wyatt's heart-on-his-sleeve-ness. He's learning (some days are better than others) how to channel his emotions and he's just so tenderhearted. He was so sad to see Grandpa and Grandma go yesterday, but is already so excited for their next visit. He randomly gives Natalie hugs and kisses (usually nicely - not always) and has started requesting "just two minutes" of snuggling before nap and bedtime. I  usually give in because I love hearing what's on his mind in those (relatively) quiet moments.

18. Being proud of Natalie for cutting two molars with minimal fuss. The third one is bulging and I'd be a grump if that were going on in my mouth. But not her. She's just her happy little self.

19. Regretting typing that last sentence last night, before I went to bed. Guess who was miserable last night? Yep, sweet Natalie. Still can't blame her and I could kick myself for not being able to find the motrin in the dark. Tylenol just isn't the same.