Also known as the week my iPhone died, came back to life, died again, started working EXCEPT for the camera and then died. I suspect Caroline had something to do with it, but there’s no visible damage and I tried the dry-it-out with rice trick without success. I was going to get a new phone in January anyways, but I’m kind of annoyed I won’t be able to give the toddler the old one (deactivated) as an iPod touch for his apps & junk. I’m MORE annoyed that after more than a year of daily photos I missed half of this week. The good news is my iPhone photos are VASTLY improved thanks to the new phone!

Sunday:

Candy cane sugar cookies for Caroline's party...except I ate them all. Oops.

This game is called "squish the baby".

This game is called grab the baby with your legs. She gets pushed around a lot but she's really tough.

Monday:

Who is this big girl?!

This is considered a really bad traffic jam in my town.

Crafting! So messy!

Mommy's crafting mess is even bigger.

Tuesday:

The baby gate makes it petting the kitty like going to a zoo!

True fact: I'm going to just throw this whole mess in boxes and hide it in the basement for the party.

Sibling loves

Missing: Wednesday, Thursday

Friday:

HOLY CRAP LOOK AT HOW CLEAR THAT PICTURE IS

SERIOUSLY, SO CRISP AND BRIGHT! (Caroline's first year book from Shutterfly)

NEW IPHONE CELEBRATORY SUNSET PICTURE

E is not as excited about the new phone as I am

Saturday:

At the 7th circle of hell aka Walmart for Ball jars and Dr. Seuss

Closeup baby is CLOSE

Practicing my DIY snowglobe project. That animal is actually a baby cow from a Toob.

It turns out that piping melted chocolate into fancy gorgeous snowflakes is a LOT HARDER than the internet makes it look. Shocking, I know.

 I suspect next week’s photos will all be of cookies. I’ve got so much to do before Caroline’s party – luckily cookies can be frozen so I’m not trying to do ALL my baking on Saturday.

Did you take any camera phone photos this week? Link up with one or lots using the linky below and grab the code (so it shows on your blog too!) over at Amy’s . It’s really fun!

We’re having an extremely busy week with more busy days to come…but somehow 90% of my pictures are still “Caroline being cute!” “Evan making a face!” Obviously I need to take more pictures that prove sometimes I actually DO STUFF besides stare at my kids.

Sunday:

Caroline learned to talk just to tell me "Happy Mother's Day!" OK, so she said "Aaaaaaeeeiiiiihhhhh!!" but I knew what she meant.

30 seconds later that lemonade was all over the floor. Oh, two year olds.

The toddler insisted I push them both around Target like that. So much for taking it easy on my special day.

Monday:

Someone found her feet!

He couldn't find the dog, so he tried lying on the cat. Meanwhile, the cat plottd my demise.

I should NOT have let him do this - it is now impossible to get him out of the car without some "driving" first.

Right now, as I write this, Caroline is SCREAMING HER HEAD OFF. So I'm posting extra smiley pictures to remind myself she's usually extra smiley.

Sharing a joke.

Tuesday:

Evan's choice was to eat with his blankie. I support him when he makes good choices. Even if they're weird.

Swinging high!

Kale before it was turned into chips. I think from now on I'll just put it on my sandwiches.

Wednesday:

Mmmmm...bread. I ate at least half the loaf myself and I don't even feel bad about it.

We read Chicken Soup with Rice before nap time.

This is our other EVIL cat, Rabbit. She likes torturing mice and peeing on E's pillow. EVIL.

Onesie embroidered by the lovely @lifeversiontwo and skirt from Uff Da!

Thursday:

I-95 is really boring at 4 am - Just the way we like it.

CHEESE!!!

Cracker Barrel! I had breakfast for dinner, which is the only acceptable choice at Cracker Barrel.

Lilacs in full bloom - does ANYTHING smell better than lilacs?

Friday:

Have I mentioned recently that Eastern Connecticut is a BLACK HOLE of chain food restaurants? So when we come to Ohio we hit up everywhere possible.

FRENCH FRY! So the reason we were at lunch was because E has these internet friends he plays WoW with and he wanted to finally meet up in person. HE IS NO LONGER ALLOWED TO MAKE FUN OF BLOGHER.

Looks like a hat to me.

Part of the conservatory where my SIL is getting married. Outside. Everyone pray for NO RAIN on Sunday!

At the rehearsal dinner, the tables made a big rectangle. We threw Little Evan in with his cousins for some toddler-child death match. It was excellent entertainment.

I usually do pics for Saturday too but the next three days are going to be full of family and severely lacking in naps so I’m giving myself a break and getting this done early. I’ll try to take some pictures for Steppin’ Out this weekend, but if it continues to be EIGHTY DEGREES they’ll just be of me slumped over in the shade with a baby attached to my boob while I drip sweat. Sexy and awesome. Maybe I’ll fish some vintage tissues out of my purse to stick under my arms.

Did you take any camera phone photos this week? Link up with one or lots using the linky below and grab the code (so it shows on your blog too!) over at Amy’s . It’s really fun! )

Today I get to take the dog to the vet, something I’ve been seriously dreading because a) he is impossible to control in the presence of other dogs b) it always costs an arm and a leg and c) he has fleas. Now I HAVE to take him to the vet to get some of the real fancy flea medicine instead of the stuff they sell at the pet store and get a speech from the vet about how if I had been keeping up the regimen monthly the way you’re supposed to he wouldn’t have fleas at all. Thank you, yes, I know. I am sufficiently contrite over my lack of good pet care. Fleas are one of those things you forget the awfulness of when you haven’t had to deal with them in years and years. And then suddenly you notice the cat keeps scratching her neck and within hours you can feel them crawling ALL OVER YOUR BODY ALL THE TIME. BECAUSE THEY ARE.

And then you find a flea on the baby’s head and you are the worst mother in the whole world.

So I’m taking the uncontrollable dog to the vet to spend an arm and a leg and get the speech and buy buckets and buckets of Frontline or whatever it is that actually kills these damn creepy crawlies. The dog and the cat version. Then we’re all going to the aquarium for a few hours while we bug bomb the house, floor by floor. Because if we don’t do something soon the cat won’t be the only one scratching her skin off in an attempt to feel less itchy. EW.

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In less disgusting (but probably incredibly boring) news, we drove up to USA Baby yesterday to actually try out the Uppababy before buying it and…um…I don’t think I want it anymore. The rumble seat is not the magical solution to all our double-stroller issues. The whole reason I NEED a double is for Stroller Strides and/or sightseeing type trips to the zoo or aquarium or city and the rumble seat of the the Uppa only faces in. Not great for, you know, seeing stuff or keeping a toddler entertained during mommy’s workout. I think if I was buying a stroller for our first baby that had the ability to work for a 2nd (or 3rd) baby I would be totally sold but after actually putting my toddler in it and imagining how it would work with an infant I’m less in love. It’s more of a “single stroller that can accommodate more than one kid” stroller than a “works great for 2 under 2” stroller.

Plus, we got to try out the Baby Jogger City Select, one of the strollers from my original list but a brand no one I know seems to have any experience with. It’s…cool. Really cool. It works the way I had imagined the Uppa would – baby/toddler can sit in either seat, face all different directions, works with an infant up to a 45 lb kid – AND it can be a single stroller when you don’t need both seats. E loves it & is MUCH more excited about it than he was the Uppa. I was very impressed, despite not wanting to be impressed. I WANTED to love the Uppa and join the Kool Kids Who Have One Klub. I WANTED a pretty orange stroller. I WANTED to buy a stroller NOW, not spend another week thinking about it.

Also, even buying the Uppa from the (stupid) baby store on sale, it costs more than the Baby Jogger.

So the only thing keeping me from committing to the City Select RIGHT NOW is…it’s not orange. Tell me that’s the worst reason ever for making such a big decision.

Or how about this one: I don’t want to tell the baby store I’m not buying the Uppa they had brought over from the other store. Even though as of Sunday they STILL didn’t even have a rumble seat (hence driving somewhere else to try one). It’s that same feeling of dread I get when a salesperson in a clothing store helps me find stuff and then I have tell them I don’t want it after all. Shopping guilt. As if the inconvenience of helping me some how means I’m obligated to spend my money, even if they weren’t that helpful to being with.

Does that sound crazy or do you know what I’m talking about?

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I asked for advice this weekend on what sort of stuff you love/hate on blogs. If you have a second, can you offer me your suggestions?I’m getting all itchy to redesign stuff (or maybe it’s just the fleas) and don’t want to accidentally ruin a good thing.

And speaking of things you hate on blogs, they reset the Top Baby Blogs, which means I’m going to beg for votes for a few days. I’ve met a TON of other awesome bloggers through that list so staying in the top 20 40 50 100 gives me the chance to meet even more mamas. I appreciate it bunches and bunches!

Most mornings, Baby Evan is awake before I am so after I get him from his room I let him play on the bath mat while I brush my teeth and rub yesterday’s mascara off my face so I can start my day looking less like something the cat dragged in (oh the irony of that expression in relation to my life). Tuesday morning I threw on some yoga pants and socks in preparation for a relaxing day at home before I scooped up my little monster and headed to the bathroom. Two seconds before I set him on the ground I noticed what I thought was some of the pink and gray yarn I had been winding and kicked it a little to clear a spot. As soon as my (thankfully sock-clad) toe touched the yarn, I realized it was not yarn at all but a DECAPITATED MOUSE CORPSE WITH IT’S ENTRAILS PULLED OUT AND SPREAD ALL OVER MY BATH MAT. Apparently, some poor little field mouse thought my house looked like a cozy place the spend these last few rainy days. Unfortunately for that mouse, my cats are excellent hunters.

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I need to interrupt myself right here to tell you a different story, a far more horrifying story in my opinion, to illustrate just how little chance that mouse had of surviving even one night in my house. I think I may have told this story before, although I mostly tell it when I’m drunk since it involves a lot of hand-flapping and shrieking, but I think you’ll get the picture in writing too.

After getting their first taste of blood hunting mice in the adorable but totally uninsulated cottage we rented our first year in Connecticut, Blushes and Rabbit are always on the lookout for opportunities to kill things. During my first month in the new house (E was stationed up in New Hampshire) I woke up one night to a weird chirping sound coming from chimney wall. I figured a bird had gotten stuck somehow and planned to investigate in the morning but totally forgot, the way you forget almost everything that happens in the middle of the night. The next night while I was sleeping, several things happened in quick succession. First I felt the cat jump up on the bed. Then I heard that weird chirping sound again. And THEN I felt disgusting, leathery wings beating against my face as the live bat my cat had somehow managed to catch tried desperately to escape. I had NO IDEA how it got inside, NO IDEA how my cat managed to catch it, and NO IDEA why she put it on my head. All I managed to do at that moment was cower under the covers and whimper, wondering if it was OK to call 911 for a bat attack. Eventually I took the whole comforter off the bed and – peeking out through a tiny hole – punched out a window screen. Then I used a broom to smack the bat until I stunned it enough to scoop it up with the dust pan and threw it out the window.  I slammed the window shut, ran out of the room and spent the rest of the night on the couch, trying to remember if bats traveled in packs or could lay eggs in your brain while you slept. I still have no idea how any of that happened, but I haven’t seen a bat  since so I’m hoping that one warned all his friends about the evil attack cats in residence.

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So I wasn’t really that shocked to find a dead mouse in my bathroom, although I can’t say it was the highlight of my day. I screamed and jumped and hid the baby’s face from the carnage until E picked it up with some tissue and threw it away. Once I got over the ew ew ew ew ewwwwwwww of having touched it with my foot I actually felt a little sorry for the poor mouse, since I know it’s death was neither fast nor painless. Rabbit, the eviler of the two cats, likes to chew off a mouse’s feet first, letting it try to hobble away before she kills it. And by kills it I mean “eats the head and leaves the rest as a little present, usually somewhere I will step on it barefoot”. So yes, I felt bad for the poor tortured mouse.

That is, until I found ANOTHER dead mouse on the bath mat this morning. Those little rodents are trying to invade my house. Get ’em kitties.