Better to Laugh Than Cry

Our morning started out nice. Maximus and I slept and Jesse took off super early to get 9 holes of golf in. After Maximus woke up, we sat in bed watching cartoons. We got up and I started sorting laundry and Maximus came into the bedroom with the used coffee grounds in the filter that were in the kitchen garbage. Wonderful. When I said, "what the..." he took off running and shaking the grounds EVERYWHERE! That started the cleaning.

I started by vacuuming the kitchen floor and when I was almost done, I caught him ripping up the freaking carpet! He found a string or something and pulled on it until the carpet started coming up! Once I finished vacuuming, I used my very last Swiffer refill pad thing and wet cleaned the floor. Maximus kept coming into the kitchen and I kept telling him "no". Finally, in full defiant mode, he bursts into kitchen and attempts to cross the wet floor and slips so hard that he crashes his head into the kitchen door window. Yeah, I realize I should have waited until he was asleep to clean the floor and it's my fault.

I vacuumed the rest of the house and then I fed him. He ate a banana and then I fed cold cereal to him myself to avoid any messes. I set the bowl down (not on his highchair tray, but on the kitchen table) so I could refill my coffee and he reached over and knocked it off. Instead of crying, I laughed at the milk mess on my clean floor. I laughed even harder when I remembered that I had no Swiffer refills. I realize what a whiny, ungrateful bitch I sound like, but since I don't keep a journal, I'll look back at this post and laugh. JACKIE JUST THREW UP ON THE CARPET as I am typing this post. It's bad to start drinking at 1pm, isn't it?

Chores

Maximus is 19 months old and he has chores. Actually, he just loves to help me with my chores. I was talking to my mom a few weeks ago and she mentioned how little kids enjoy responsibilities and especially helping mom or dad. Here is his list of duties:

1. Unload the dishwasher. I don't even have to bend over because he hands me the dish, I put it away and once the dishwasher is empty, he closes it up.

2. Put trash in it's place. He will find a teeny-tiny feather from our down comforter, run into the kitchen, lift the lid and throw it away. I went grocery shopping today and after I unloaded the bags, I told him, "pick up all the bags and throw them away, please" AND HE DID!

3. Put all dads shoes back in his closet. He does it in like, 10 seconds!

4. Help mom make the bed. He does this by throwing all the pillows back on the bed after I make it.

5. LAUNDRY. Yes! When I'm stiff like I am today and can't bend over, this is a lifesaver! I opened the washing machine, and took each piece of clothing out and dropped it on the floor. (I'm proud to admit that my floors are so clean, you can eat off them) Maximus picked them up and not only threw them into the dryer, but he made sure nothing was hanging out at all! He hung halfway out of the dryer because he was making sure everything was loaded properly. I handed him a dryer sheet, he threw it in and I said, "close it up guys" and he shut the door. I just hit "on" and we'll see how he does with sorting.

He's so cute and he claps and laughs after he does something to help me. I just love him. He's so important to us.

Shark School

Maximus started "Shark School" (swimming lessons) yesterday and HE LOVED IT! I wanted to get pictures so badly, but there was no way I could. I was in the water with him the entire time and my hands were full. Out of the 5 kids in his class, he was the only one who laughed the whole time. The other kids were scared, but not my shark. (While I'm totally bragging, I should mention that he was the youngest and tallest in the group) He learned how to blow bubbles in the water, move his arms in a paddle motion, float assisted on his back, kick (his favorite one) and then we free played. 40 minutes of containing a baby shark in his natural habitat is EXHAUSTING. My legs are completely bruised from squatting in the shallow water and falling off my bike Tuesday night.

I got a call today about an opening in the "Float for Life" program. They had no openings until November and we'll be moving back to Utah around then, so I was bummed. But there was a cancellation, so Maximus got in! It's a program that's designed to teach kids as young as 18 months how to float on their back. It's 15 minutes twice a week with a private instructor. I enrolled him because it could only help and seeing how crazy bold Maximus is, I won't be able to trust him near water EVER. I talked to the instructor today and she told me that 9 out of 10 children (even as young as 18 months) will be able to turn over and float on their back if they ever get into deep water. I'm a skeptic, but after hearing other mothers talk about the class, I'm in. Plus it gets Maximus into the water and socializes him. Why not? It can't hurt.

So, my shark goes to Shark School three times a week! Even after one day, I asked him if he was excited to go to Shark School and he ran and got his shark swimming trunks.

The Line Up

He's so organized! One morning while I was doing my hair, he played with stuff he found in our bathroom drawers. Our bathroom is tons more fun than his, I guess. Notice how he matched my earrings, he lined up the nail polish, grouped the two long things together (file and Sharpie) and then look at my headbands on the left side! I think he put my watch near them because they were similar shape? He's quite interesting and I see how much he likes to learn. Next thing I know, my baby will be in school. (Don't look at how disgusting my bathroom floor is, ug! I almost didn't post these!)
Check out the frog I found Friday night on our porch! Jesse thinks I'm a dork because I'm easily impressed with things like this. I don't care...seriously, how often do you see a cute frog on your porch?!

Organization

I don't know why Maximus loves playing with dad's shoes. Maybe because they're the size of water skis (15!). All day he plays with Jesse's shoes...ALL DAY. He's good at lining stuff up, too.

Awesome Family Night

Jesse and I recently got bicycles. Man, we are like kids riding those things around and we even ride into the dark night! We got pretty nice ones from Felt...actually they aren't pretty nice, they are SICK! We got Maximus a "Copilot" so he can join us for our daily rides. Pulling him behind my bike up hills is quite the workout and I love it! I'm so out of shape, but each day I get better on the bike.

Jesse gets home at 6:30 instead of 8:15 now, so last night I made a picnic dinner and we went riding! We took a path that goes through the entire city of Lincoln and we stopped at a park to eat and play. I made smoked salmon BLT sandwiches (minus the T) on whole wheat and flax bread with a smoky paprika aioli, corn on the cob, bought some smoked eel sushi and we had Skinny Dip beer to drink. Maximus ate peanut butter on whole wheat flax, corn and a banana with V8 to drink.
While we ate, Maximus got up from the table with his banana and walked to a bench. Jesse and I looked at each other with amazement because it was such a grown up kid thing to do. It almost made me cry.
Little girls at the playground always adopt Maximus. They are so sweet to him.He's actually able to hold on to the rings for about a second. He's a bad ass.
We stayed for an hour and took a long detour home. Here's Handsomer with his V8. It was such a great time! I can't wait to do it again tonight!

Where's Dodo?

I was talking to my mother this morning and mentioned something about Maximus hiding his dodos. I told her I'd probably have to buy more at the store today. A few minutes later, I walked into the kitchen and saw this:
He shoved FIVE dodos into the plane Jesse's mom just got him! I'm glad I was on the phone with my mom when I saw this because we both laughed hysterically! When Maximus sees me laughing, he starts laughing. It was a good one.

The fires in California are all over the news. Luckily, my parents live in an area that isn't affected by the fire itself, but my mom told me that she dusted ash off her car today like it was SNOW. She and my dad are like me in the fact that they have to get out and walk or do something active a couple times a day. She told me that when she goes outside, the ash and smoke make it look so foggy that only a few homes nearby are visible, there's an eerie orange glow, it feels like an inferno and she gets a headache and heavy chest after just a few minutes. Wow. My family and friends back home are in my thoughts.

Check It

My new favorite site:
thisiswhyyourefat.com