Busted Up...

Doors, that is.
We now have 2 busted doors as a result of LG's fancy finger-work.  Or maybe it's a result of the stupidity of a couple adults.  Either way...2 busted doors.
He started practicing his dexterity about 5 months ago...

...Right about the time I stepped out of the front door to wheel in the trash can.
During a late season snow storm.
Without my keys.
Or my cell phone.
In my husband's sweatpants.
I made sure to leave our front door open, but lock the glass door so that LG could watch me, but not accidentally push the door open.  Smart, right?  Meh.
The idea was to get back in through the garage door pictured above.  Unfortunately, he locked that door.  After pausing for a moment to consider my options (I had none) I ran over to my neighbor's and borrowed her phone to call Gumshoe.  He quickly arrived home and jimmied the door open, but not before I got frantic listening to LG cry (he had closed the big door so we weren't able to see each other anymore) and tried with all my might to pull the locked glass door open.  Leaving us with this...

That door handle is supposed to be parallel to the ground...not perpendicular.  You do silly things as a first-time mom when you hear your child screaming even though you know they're safe.  You might even think you have super-human strength or that your front doors become magic and will open on command. 

Fast forward to yesterday afternoon when Gumshoe looked after LG while I ran an errand.  Gumshoe ran out to the garage for a second to get a screwdriver and LG struck again!  Slam.  Lock.  UGH!  This time, it was the garage door that had to be kicked in...

 

Seriously mom and dad...when are you gonna get smart?

He's been practicing his "you guys are so lame" look.  He's getting good at it. 

Case of the Mondays

I have a case of the Mondays.
I usually come down with it around Sunday afternoon.
But you know what makes a case of the Mondays much better?
A good pair of dino jammies, a tall glass of milk, a stuffed lion and a Tonka.

Much better!

Man in a Uniform

It's Embrace the Camera time and I can't resist snapping pictures of my guys.  Especially when one of my guys is wearing his uniform!

Love these guys!

Linking up with Embrace the Camera

Make Time Stop

Please.
Can we just bottle up 22 months and keep it forever?
Whenever people say "it goes by so fast," it always seems really cliche, but it hit me today how quickly LG is growing up...and it's so bittersweet.  He's 22 months today-almost 2!  Sigh.
I'm really trying to savor these moments because I'm realizing that they truly are gone in a blink.
Such a sweet age. 

The growing independence and choices...sweatshirt and shorts in 100 degree weather, anyone?

Those eyes...

That smile...

 An age where even the defiant protests are cute...

Don't grow up, LG.  If you promise to stop growing, I promise to stop torturing you with my picture-taking!     

For. Ever.

That's how long our house projects are taking.  And as a result, that's how long it's been since I've done any consistent blogging.  And let's be honest, my last blog entry was kind of a phone-in (random picture disguised as a precious moment).  It was a nice afternoon...snacks and coloring alfresco...but that was the one picture I took where LG wasn't shoving the cashews in his mouth and then gagging them out because there were too many to chew.  And the reality of the "moment" was that I was being subjected to surround-sound gagging because Dogshoe was out in the yard yacking up the grass that she was eating.  Really.  It was lovely!

Anywhoo...as I was saying earlier, our house projects are consuming all of our spare time.  Literally!  When LG is napping, I am sanding or painting.  When LG is in his highchair eating, I am sanding or painting.  When LG goes to bed at night, Gumshoe and I are sanding or painting or caulking or taping or puttying or jerry-rigging or whatever!  But the finished product will be worth it.  I just have to keep telling myself that.  Over and over and over and over...

We should be complete with our laundry-room/entryway update by the end of the week and I'll post some before and after pics when we're done.  Here's a sneaker-peeker for now:

Just a little corner of our new laundry room.  This room is directly off our entry and we don't have a coat closet, so our laundry room has to serve as our coat closet, shoe storage, mud room, doggy dining room and laundry room (of course).  That said...I have to utilize every square inch.  It's amazing how happy a few little hooks have made me!  No more keys thrown on the table or bags thrown on the ground :)

The doggy has gotten a new food/water setup.  More ergonomically correct for her.  Just kidding.  My main concern was figuring out a scenario where I didn't kick her water around everywhere.

Breathing new life in our entryway table.  It's an old cherry-stained table I got from Target for my first apartment 7 or 8 years ago.  It's completely wobbly and totally scratched up.  Gumshoe shored it up with a few screws here and a few screws there and we're painting it a glossy black.

New hardware for entryway table.  Gumshoe isn't a fan, but I think they're kitschy and love 'em!

New mirror to go above table.  Love me some HomeGoods!  Unless Gumshoe decides to get his policing on!

New centerpiece for table.  I made this the other day with some items I purchased at Wal-Mart.  I was in a hurry, LG was about to spontaneously combust, and I had to pick these items out very quickly.  The more I look at it, all I can think is "bad clown wig...bad clown wig...bad clown wig..."  I think I need my mom's help with this one!

 
A cool gray on the walls and white woodwork.  Love it!  But I will NEVER be painting wood trim again.  :)

There you have it...Just a little peek at what we've been up to and more to come! 

This Moment

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week.
Go to SoulMama for more "moments" 

Happy Birthday Gumshoe!

Today we are celebrating Mr. Gumshoe's 31st birthday!

Birth-week, actually.  For some reason, Gumshoe thinks that birthdays (his birthdays) are week-long affairs.  In fact, because he will be so swamped at work today, he would like to have a special morning set aside this weekend where he can sleep in and eat a special birthday breakfast.  Totally reasonable request, except that we already celebrated with his parents last weekend, we're going out to eat tonight, he is getting a new scope for his gun, and I'm bringing in a special treat for him at work tomorrow.  Never mind all that...he needs a special morning this weekend, too!

But you know what?  Why not?!?  Because, Mr. Gumshoe...you are special and we love you dearly.  In honor of your 31st, please enjoy these 31 unfortunate facial expressions that I have managed to catch on camera over the years:

Happy Birthday Gumshoe!

An Oldie but a Goodie

My dad got me this toy dog from Germany a long time ago...

And by a long time ago, I mean when it was East Germany and West Germany.  This dog lived in West Germany...

Anywhoo, it's been collecting dust in my parent's basement for years until recently.  You know how when you run over to your parents house to say "hi" and you end up leaving with a random shoebox or Rubbermaid container full of old toys, old school assignments,  junk mail addressed to you that your college STILL sends to their house, etc?  Well, this was kinda like that, except much better.  Because, even though he's missing his tail and his ear falls off...LG loves this little dog...

Aww...these remind me of when it was still cool out...and when my baby boy still had his curls.