"I Am Not A Smart Man, But I Know What Love Is."

Did you read that title with an accent? Do you know where that quote came from?

Okay, my intelligence seriously escaped me today.

I took Lucy and Max to Fred Meyer to buy school supplies for Joseph, because SCHOOL STARTS ON WEDNESDAY!!!!!!!!!!! and Lucy, of course, was asking for everything she saw. It went something like this, "Can I have that toothpaste? Can I have that book? Can I have that gum? Can I have those scissors?" It went on and on. We had an incident last week- I'll refer to it as The Princess Dress Tantrum of '09- that may keep me from taking Lucy to 1) Target, and 2) a toy aisle, ever again, so I knew to avoid putting anything in her sight that she would really want, but we did stumble across a book of Disney Princess paper dolls.

I loved paper dolls when I was little. I kept them in a big box, and I would play with them for hours. I would carefully punch out all of the dolls, outfits and accessories, trying hard not to tear off any limbs or any of the tiny tabs that hold the clothes onto the bodies. I suppose that I envisioned Lucy having the same affection for paper dolls that I once did... but mostly I envisioned her having something to keep her busy for the rest of the afternoon so that I could give my to-do list some attention.

Wow. What was I thinking? How could I have been so wrong?

When I looked at the pretty pink book covered in fancy princesses, and read "6 Paper Dolls and Over 150 Accessories!", how did I not calculate that I would be the person to punch out 6 paper dolls and over 150 accessories?

It was a long afternoon of paper dolls, and I somehow managed to get a break by convincing Lucy that she needed her fingernails and toenails painted (that was my break!!!), but when Devon got home from work there were still many pages of gowns to be punched out, and he kindly finished the task for me (after laughing at me for a while).

Oh, and not only is Lucy not capable of removing the dolls and dresses from the book, but she is also not quite able to put the dresses on the dolls. I am considering using a glue stick or some double-sided tape to dress these princesses.

Not one of my best ideas :)

Summer, Summer, Summer, Will You Never End??

Devon recently reminded me that I get a bit, um, CRAZY at the end of the summer. It is becoming an annual thing, I guess. Could it be the combination of the warm weather minus an air conditioner? Could it be the softball tournaments that steal my husband for a whole weekend? Could it be the self-inflicted pressure to make Joe's birthday (August 24th) the best one ever? Could it simply be the extra long days, making bedtime feel further away than Christmas??

Whatever it is, my craziness has arrived. I can't really blog when I feel crazy, because then my blog would be complainy, and us blogging mommies don't complain, RIGHT??

So without complaining about the fact that my back and neck hurt from holding Max and nursing while multi-tasking, and without complaining that it took me an hour and a half to get Lucy to sleep this afternoon, and without complaining that I am trying to enjoy my quiet time while Max and Lucy nap but Joseph keeps telling me, in detail, about every toy weapon that he is playing with... Here are some various pictures of our various activities.

This is totally random. Lucy has a large doll named Sweet Pea, and it is bigger than Max, so Joe thought it would be funny to take a picture of the two babies together :) Joe asks me everyday if I've blogged about Max and his "girlfriend" yet, and now I can say yes!!

Joseph turned 11 last Monday, and we celebrated by taking him and his two best buds to Aunt Merry's house for a day of fun. They swam, played football, shot Merry's guns, ate burgers... Joe had a great birthday :) Perhaps the best birthday yet!

I cannot believe that Joe is 11 already! He was only 5 when I met him, and he was such a peanut! Last night Devon and I took the kids to the park, and I had a moment when I looked at Joe and all of the sudden he looked huge to me! It was as if he'd grown 12 inches at that very moment-- very strange!

The rest of us had fun at Merry's too.

For all of you Toddlers & Tiaras fans out there, could Lucy totally rock a swimsuit competition??

At one point during the day, Devon asked me if I was having a good time. I genuinely answered yes, and then he laughed and insisted on taking a picture because I literally had a child hanging from each arm! Lucy takes a while to warm up to Merry's pit bulls, and Max is sort of a permanent fixture, thus the hanging children.

Merry has a friend staying with her, and she is training him and feeding him for the upcoming Mr. Olympia competition. His name is Toney, and he is the biggest person I've ever met, so I thought it would be fun to get a pic of the biggest dude with my little dude.

I am guessing that Max is thinking, "This man is not soft and cuddly! What is under his shirt? It feels like nothing that I am used to!"

Just for fun, I thought I'd post a picture of just what exactly is under his shirt :)

Wow!

Lucy was super excited to ride Merry's horses. We were all curious about the fact that Lucy is scared of the dogs but not the huge horses... though I am not scared of a horse yet I am scared of a mouse! Hmmm... interesting.

Max and Merry

Joe requested that I make an ice cream cake, and blowing out the candles was really the only thing that could get him out of the pool at the end of the day :)

In other news, Lucy is now completely in a princess phase. We watch The Little Mermaid at least once a day, and she says, "Mom, I am Ariel." She wears princess panties (oh, the potty training is complete!), and she would just about do anything for a princess dress! So, last Saturday, I went on Craigslist and searched "princess dress" and I found a garage sale just a few miles away that advertised PRINCESS DRESSES! I threw clothes on over my pajamas and got into the car as fast as I could!! Joe and I returned home with 4 dress, a tutu, and numerous accessories that a princess would be lost without :)

Max is now 4 months old!!

He weighs 17 pounds and is 27 inches long.

I didn't really realize how big he is until we visited our new friend Emmett (born to our friends Kellen and MaryBeth).

Emmett was born on Monday, and currently weighs 8 lbs 13 oz., Max's exact birth weight! It is fun to see their sizes compared and know that just 4 months ago Max was that small!

Ah, my happy boy!

Okay, I am feeling a little less crazy and complainy now that I've finished this blog.

But seriously, Summer, hasta la vista!! Get outta here!

Max is...

... yummy.

... rolling over like a champ.

... holding onto things like rattles and binkies.

... pooping every hour (seriously- it has been a very long day!).

... still not growing eyebrows!

... drooling like that huge dog in the movie "Beethoven."

... missing his Tutu & Coco.

... a mama's boy :)

... a bit unsure about his new Baby Einstein "Activity Center."

... fussy, and I can't wait for Devon to get home from work and give me a break!

... totally worth the stretch marks.

Devon, Will You Accept This Rose?

Yesterday was our anniversary. Four years ago... I married Devon (and Joe)! Last night Devon chanted "4 MORE YEARS!" (you know, like what you would chant when a politician is running for re-election. I married a nerd!).



So, four years and three kids. It has been 4 FULL years, for sure! I think that the next 4 should slow down a bit-- is that possible?



To celebrate, Devon took the day off of work and stayed home with the kids while I went to Stroller Strides minus a stroller. It was still a tough workout, but much easier since I didn't have to push 70+ pounds and I didn't have to answer Lucy's 1,000 questions while trying my best to catch my breath so that I don't pass out!



Later in the day, Grandma came over to hang out with Joe, Lu and Max so my groom and I could catch a matinee and get some dinner. We went to see Funny People, and though I liked the movie, I don't necessarily recommend it unless you like penis jokes. A lot. If you like penis jokes a lot, then go see this movie. Also, if you like the F word a lot, then you will enjoy this movie. Also, if you like Seth Rogan and Jonah Hill (which we do), then you will like this movie. Otherwise, go see The Time Traveler's Wife which comes out on Friday (and looks like a total chick-flick, so LADIES, anyone want to see this movie with me??).



Before the movie, we treated ourselves to Starbucks, and lo and behold, The Bachelor Jason Mesnick was there! As you know from my previous blog, I do LOVE a celebrity sighting! I think that Devon was excited too. He quickly thought of what he should say to Jason, but I quickly forbade (forbid? forbode?) him from saying anything! His ideas were, "Man, I support 'ya, buddy," or "I was a single dad once, too!" Thumbs up, high five... Anyway, once we got to the theater, I updated my Facebook status announcing our celeb sighting, and Q (Andrea's husband) responded with, "Did he order something and then reject it?" Funny!

We had a nice dinner at The Cheesecake Factory, I gave Devon his annual review as a husband (he had a great year!), and then we made it back home to Max-aroo before my boobs exploded :) We fell asleep with Lucy between us-- not romantic, but pretty perfect nonetheless. Devon and I feel pretty lucky to have found each other without having to be on a reality tv show... twice.

Happy Anniversary Devon!

4 MORE YEARS! 4 MORE YEARS!

Also, Happy Anniversary to my parents- 31 years!

Celebrity Sightings!

If you know me pretty well, then you know that I love a celebrity sighting! The only thing better than the "Stars, They Are Just Like Us" page of an US Weekly magazine is actually seeing a celeb in the flesh, out and about-- what a rush!

Well, it has been confirmed that Lucy takes after her mommy. She talked for weeks about going to California and meeting her favorite celebs. She asked strangers, "Do you know who I am going to meet?" She asked me everyday, "When are we going to GO THERE?" And when the day finally arrived, she woke up and danced down the hall, singing, "I AM GOING TO MEET DORA & SPONGEBOB TODAY!"

We had a GREAT time at Great America. Devon, Joe and I got to go on many roller coasters with Molly and Aaron while my parents patiently waited with Lucy and Max. Lucy got to go on many rides too, and we all took turns riding with her, which was fun because she was so excited. She skipped through the theme park all day long! RANTZS LOVE RIDES :)

Max was an angel, as always, sleeping in his stroller and nursing in the shade on park benches.

My dad did a 3-point shoot-out contest and won a basketball for Joseph, and we got to see a "Celebration" parade with all of our favorite Nickelodeon characters dancing and singing.

Fun, fun fun!

Hello 30!!

Last Saturday I turned 30 years old.

I'll be honest-- I completely expected myself to have a major emotional breakdown over the fact that I am OLD. I am so old that I don't really speak in the morning until after I drink my coffee. I am so old that I watch the local news. I am so old that my clothes are bought for comfort rather than style. You get the picture-- I am old. Anyway, isn't that what is supposed to happen on all milestone birthdays after 21-- a breakdown? Something involving tears, doubts about one's life decisions, and a self-esteem plummet?

I was not sure about what would trigger the breakdown, but I wanted to be prepared. So, I purchased our flights to California for our summer vacation, and I planned to be there for the BIG DAY, anticipating that I would need my mom for a breakdown of such magnitude.

Well, it never happened. No tears. No doubts. Self-esteem has maintained. Hmmm.

I actually had a pretty mellow day, and I feel pretty good about my life!

Those who have bravely gone before me into this new decade have confidently promised that the 30's are great and are even better than the 20's, and though I only have 6 days of experience so far from which I can give an opinion, I love the 30's.

There was so much to do during my 20's-- finish college, start a career (and end a career!), fall in love, get married & start a family (which all happened on the exact same day since Dev & Joe were a 2-for-1 deal! Call me an over-achiever!), buy a house, have some babies...

Now that my To-Do list is all checked off, should I start a new list for my new decade? What kind of things are on my 30's To-Do list??

While I am thinking of some new goals, here are some pics from my little birthday party :)

It's me!

Lisa & L.B. (Lover Boy, of course)




Some of the dudes, Devon, Adam & Tanner

Some of the ladies, me, Avery, Jill & Molly



Let the karaoke begin! Lucy & Ellee

My dad & Doug spoke earlier in the day to coordinate their outfits :)



Adam & Jillian

Schmoop! Schmoop! Aaron & Miss Molly

Molly & Brady



Devon & Max

Kennedy, Joe, Ellee & Avery

My dad sang me a beautiful song called "Turnin' 30"

"... and her world is very different from her crazy bachelorette years,

but if she had the chance to go back she'd rather stay right here.

Turnin' 30, she's turnin' 30.

...But she's still got her energy and she colors most her hair,

and she's not too old to rock and roll and she's not really scared of turnin' 30,

She's turnin' 30"

Me & Adam

Adam got choked up during my dad's song, but don't tell him that I told you :)

Lisa & I were looking for the perfect duet for karaoke. We settled on "Celebration" and most of the kids joined us

Ahhhhh Yeahhhhh!

Lisa's solo rendition of "Proud to be an American"

American Idol????

Growing Pains

I have tons of vacation pics and stories to share, but first I have to post a quick blog to announce that Max has moved out of our bedroom and into his crib in the bedroom that he shares with Lucy. I am a little bit sad :(

While on vacation, Max slept in a big pack-and-play, and he slept through the night, so when we got home last night and prepared to put him to bed, it felt silly to put him into the tiny bassinet (see photo!) beside our bed. He doesn't need me in the middle of the night like he once did!

I remember when we graduated Lucy from the bassinet to the crib. I cried as I walked away from her (the six footsteps between her room and my own), and then I turned on the baby monitor so that I could hear every breath, cough, or fuss.

I didn't cry last night, and I didn't use the baby monitor, and I found my cooing boy with a big smile on his face this morning.

Perhaps Lucy's sleep issues (she rarely naps, she doesn't fall asleep on her own, she climbs into our bed in the middle of the night, etc.) are due to the fact that I was so reluctant to SET HER DOWN and WALK AWAY when she was an infant! Perhaps I am learning from my mistakes, and Max will grow to have great sleeping skills. Perhaps I am growing up a bit!