Times I went to Stroller Strides: FIVE.
Times I chased 2 toddlers around the Aquarium: THREE.
Number of cupcakes I ate: ZERO
Number of pounds lost: ALSO ZERO. In fact, I was up .8 pounds.

I’m only a little depressed now but on Thursday night I was REALLY depressed. I’m pretty sure it was due to the gourmet grilled chicken, sauteed apple and sharp cheddar grilled cheese sandwich I had for lunch (worth it) and next week I’ll see a loss. If I can make it through tonight’s playoff game without stress eating my weight in ice cream. Go Pats!

Sunday:

We found Nemo!

Find a happy place find a happy place FIND A HAPPY PLACE

SNL and blogging during nap time

Someone is a little TOO interested in Daddy's beer.

Monday:

Teddy bear picnic after Stroller Strides

Despite how this looks, it was in fact happy playing

I remember this stage. Dislike.

Tuesday:

One day they will drive REAL CARS and I will die dead of anxiety

I stole this quesadilla maker from a charity yard sale. (It's not really as bad as that makes it sound.)

New favorite: How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night?

Wednesday:

4:30 am toddler wake-up (WHY?????) means more Finding Nemo

This one is titled "Self Portrait - OH LOOK A FRONT FACING CAMERA!!!!!"

There was more than one lobster present at the birth of Christ? (No, but apparently there was a walrus)

The amount of resentment I feel towards my cat for her easy life is kind of ridiculous

At least I know she won't starve to death while I'm gone

Thursday:

I put a dollar in the mall carousel and blew Caroline's MIND

We feel the same way about cheese

OH HAI THERE BELUGA

Friday:

Evan woke up at 4:30 am AGAIN. Aparently he had urgent car-organizing to do.

They have a serious love-hate relationship. It's driving me and B's mom NUTS.

I also remember this stage. At least it's funny.

New toddler app called "Word Wagon" is fun, not at all obnoxious AND educational.

Saturday:

More aquarium, Jelly Man.

Evan has been looking at this toy at Target for MONTHS - today he bought it with his Christmas money, because it was on clearance, down to $18 from $60.

Caroline in a nutshell: sob sob sob sob OH LOOK A CAMERA SMILEEEEE sob sob sob

Right now the kitchen is clean, the laundry is going and I get to stay up as late as I want knowing tomorrow is my day to sleep in. It’s shaping up to be a pretty good weekend – after a REALLY long week – and I’m enjoying the crap out of it. I hope you’re having a good one too!

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!

I had too much on my plate this week to do a good job with my photos. This is why I don’t ever join those 365 projects – if the best I can do some days is a blurry photo of what I had for breakfast there is no way I can handle much more. We spent 2 days stuck at home with a broken car and one day stuck at home because of naps – I swear at least one person in the house was sleeping all day on Saturday – but hopefully next week we’ll do more fun things. Evan has been totally obsessed with The Fishy Movie, so maybe we’ll go to the aquarium and find some Nemos.

Sunday:

She rips off the bib so she just eats naked now.

I'm kissing her, she's kissing the baby in the phone

Lego basketball

Monday:

Laying on the floor at Stroller Strides, avoiding doing more plank

Sriracha makes even organic vegan miso ramen delicious

She's reading that book by osmosis

Tuesday:

Goal setting at Stroller Strides - now I have real life friends to hold me accountable!

She's a social media expert already

Someone got out of bed and into trouble

Wednesday:

Send help

Grocery shopping. I bought way too much healthy stuff.

Cowls are so hot right now. Check out my new toddler neck warmer.

Thursday:

You would think a blind person picked out her clothes, but no, I did.

What, you think the angel gets to just sit on her ass all year after Christmas?

She's extremely fast when she's half naked.

Friday:

Diet yet delicious - egg beaters, carn balance tortilla, sriracha, blueberries, coffee with skim milk and sugar free vanilla syrup

Nap time project

Evan asked please so nicely - and it was on clearance

Saturday:

Donut shaped donut machine. Delicious.

Whatcha doin' Mama?

Geeze, does that kid EVER wear normal clothes?!

Air-poppeded popcorn sprinkled with parmesan. Perfect.

 The rest of the weekend will be spent doing dishes and laundry, since somehow I didn’t manage to do enough of those things during the week and I’m practically buried in them. HOW do two small people get so many things so dirty? Hopefully next week all the people and all the cars will be healthy and we take our mess somewhere I don’t have to clean it all up.

Yesterday I found an old iPod in a drawer and gave it to the baby, hoping it would keep her from trying to snatch my iPhone out of my hand every time she saw it. Caroline wasn’t fooled in the slightest – she knows a useless lump of electronics when she seems one – but Little Evan had enough imagination to see it as his very own iPhone and spent the rest of the afternoon walking around with it pressed to his ear saying “Hello? Oh hi! Uh huh, uh huh, uh huh, oh ahh-some! Ok bye!”

He thinks tons of things are “ahh-some” (awesome) these days. Trucks. Trains. Dinosaurs. Stroller Strides. Sitting on the couch.  Apples. Bread. Blueberries. Celery. Yep, my picky little eater was actually BEGGING me for more of my celery and spinach hummus snack yesterday afternoon. I have no idea what is causing this new and improved diet but I am definitely on board.

Honestly, he’s being pretty ahh-some himself these days. When he does something wrong I can give him A Look and he apologizes without argument. He plays nicely with his sister (MOST of the time). He doesn’t run away from me in stores so he can walk if he doesn’t feel like riding in the cart. He understand how bribery works, so getting him to do stuff he doesn’t want to do is as easy as promising a lollipop. He even lets me put eye drops in his eyes and squirt saline up his nose without a fight (poor baby has been battling a cold). I have very little to complain about – besides his sudden ability to escape his room and wander around waking up the baby and smearing lipstick on his face – and I’m totally in love with 33 months.

Favorite things include Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, pirates, making forts, playgrounds, the mall, Target, animals, apples, dancing, basketball, milk, cuddling, Finding Nemo, Toy Story, play dinosaurs, DanActive yogurt shake things, his sister, Daddy, Mommy, trains, his friends, talking my ear off, and The Price is Right.

Dislikes include getting his hair cut, booboos, being told to go back to bed when he wants to wander around, being woken up when he wants to sleep, and being forced to watch mommy’s boring shows.

His ankles are always showing because all his pants are too short

He calls his headphones "mikeyphones"

Crazy new big boy haircut

Bribes

Unedited

SCORE!

Basketball scholarship?

32 Month Milestones (from BabyCenter, as usual)

Mastered Skills (most kids can do)
• Names one color – He knows white and orange and purple consistently, but he has trouble with red and blue and green getting mixed up. I’m going to ask the doctor if there’s any way to test for color blindness at his 3 year check-up, but honestly I just think he forgets.
• Names one friend – Names a zillion friends…although they all seem to be girls.
• Carries on a simple conversation – Yes, punctuated by the words “Oh, ahh-some!”

Emerging Skills (half of kids can do)
• Alternates feet going up and down stairs – Yes, although doing it DOWN the stairs still makes me nervous
• Uses prepositions (e.g., on, in, over) – Yes, although he’s been doing that for a long time so I’m not sure I’m interpreting this correctly. He says stuff like “Baby on the chair?” or “Evan sit in stroller?”
• Speaks clearly most of the time (75 percent can be understood) – I can understand him 90% of the time. Other moms can understand him 75% of the time. Strangers can understand him about 40% of the time.
• Stacks eight blocks – SHOVE YOUR STUPID BLOCKS UP YOUR BUTT, BABYCENTER.

Advanced Skills (a few kids can do)
• Is toilet trained during the day – Yes! In fact he’s been doing so well I’ve gotten lazy and he’s had a couple accidents because I didn’t respond with urgency. But those are totally MY fault, he’s really really good at holding it.
• Wiggles thumb – I…have no idea? I’ll ask him to do it later and get back to you.
• Expresses a wide range of emotions – He is a virtual glass box of emotions.
• Draws a stick figure – Whoa, really? No, we’re still on squiggles but he’s started identifying them as people or things

Maybe some day far in the future my pictures from New Years Eve will involve high heels and parties and sparkly dresses and champagne drunk from something fancier than a plastic cup. But yesterday we celebrated the end of 2011 by getting Little Evan a haircut, taking a trip to Target for 75% off wrapping paper and opening the champagne at 9 pm in case I fell asleep. I’ve always sort of hated New Years – it’s built up to be SO GLAMOROUS and SO SPECIAL and a HUGE TURNING POINT in your life, when really it’s just like any other night. Even when I was younger and DID go out for New Years I never felt like I was having as much fun as I was supposed to be having. And not even once did Billy Crystal declare he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me.

So instead of building it up and being let down, this year I just enjoyed having these two goofballs to hang out with all day and a husband to kiss at midnight any time I want to.

Twinsie trouble faces

You think they might be related?

Pushy

Whatchu lookin' at, fool?

Negotiating

She suspects she got the short end of the stick

Minding his own business

These aren’t the best SOS pictures I’ve ever taken, but there is no way to pose for photos at Target without feeling like a total idiot and we didn’t do anything else. But I DID put on real clothes after a full week of PJ pants and there is no way I’m letting that go undocumented.

Dance party!

On Evan:
Shirt – Old Navy
Jeans – Children’s Place

On Caroline:
Dress & leggings – Crazy 8 (dude, don’t even think about looking at their website unless you’re prepared to spend mucho bucks on adorableness)

On Suzanne:
Tank – ModCloth (bought on sale last week, now gone)
Sweater – Target
Jeggings – Nordstrom Rack (I’m not even ashamed, they’re SO comfortable)
Boots – Old Navy
Necklace – Lisa Leonard
Bracelet – Spiffing Jewelry (it says “I curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal” and rocks my socks)