(Title in Progress)

Whenever I sit to write a new blog post, I like to begin with the title.  The title sets the theme for the post and gives me some focus and direction- it is like a launching pad for the words and pictures that follow, and, usually, if I can't think of a fitting title, the blog feels uninspired and, in most cases, doesn't motivate my thumb to left-click "publish post".  

Yet here I sit, without a title, without direction, attempting to pull something together.  Wish me luck.

So, I caught Max dancing on video yesterday.  As it turns out, he has inherited my dad's moves.  (If you've ever seen my dad dance, you'll recognize the side to side rock.)  Except that I don't think that my dad runs around in circles, though he does exist in a constant state of hyper, so, then again, maybe he does :)   

Fun fact:  Max is now the same age that Lucy was when he was born.  I keep thinking about my Lulu girl, 2 years and 3 months and 2 weeks ago, and how I thought that she was so little until I held Max for the first time and then suddenly my little girl became a big girl, and she has stayed a big girl, continuing to transform before my eyes.  She is so excited to start pre-k at the end of this month.  I am excited for her, though check back with me in a few weeks- I might be a wreck, missing my girl from 9-noon on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

I bought Max a pack of chonies this week (that is our word for underwear), in the hopes of potty training.  He can and does go potty on the toilet, though he goes potty not on the toilet far more frequently, and while he really enjoys wearing "queen" chonies (Lightning McQueen), I can only spot clean the carpet so many times before I give in and grab a diaper.  All in good time, right?  He'll be ready when he's ready, I figure.  I think I'm anxious for his booty to constantly be this cute and diaper-free.

Would you believe that I'm still working on this puzzle?  Would you believe that it has been taking up our entire table for weeks?  Ugh.  But I've come too far to quit now.

One day, while I was working on the puzzle, I made a quick fort for Max and Lucy, hoping that it would entertain them long enough to allow me some "me time" (the puzzle has now become "me time"- good grief!).

Great idea, right?  Well, I thought so, but this is what was happening inside the fort-

There were complaints of Max not sharing the princess cash register and of Lucy being bossy, or something like that.  It probably didn't help that I popped in to take a picture of the disgruntled children rather than solve their problems.  Hey, I made the fort, I felt I'd done my part!  I had a puzzle to work on!  They worked through their issues and moved on, just as they do 1,000 times each day.  Someone told me recently that sibling relationships help teach children to express emotion, work through them, and move on.  I couldn't agree more.

Last weekend was SeaFair in Seattle, and my favorite part of SeaFair is the Blue Angels' air show.  I love the Blue Angels- they knock my socks off.  Whenever I watch them fly, I can't help but hum the theme song of Top Gun and quote lines from the movie, like, "Hey, Goose, you big stud!"

On Devon's day off, we grabbed a picnic lunch and went to a park on Mercer Island to eat and watch the jets.  Max really likes airplanes, so I thought he'd be completely wowed by the show.  Bummer alert-  the park we landed at was heavily wooded with tall trees, so when the Angels did pass over our limited view through the clearing, they were so loud and low that Max was terrified and refused to look up at all.  I knew that the jets would be loud, but I suppose that I expected to see more of their tricks and formations, which kind of make the noise awesome (right??).  With the loud noise and the brief view, Joe said that he felt like we were going to be bombed. 

I was in a funky mood, so I blamed Devon for picking the wrong park and ruining the air show for us all.  At least the park had a great playground, so the kids forgave him.  And he promised me that next year he will properly research and find the best spot to watch the show.

So, my big cleaning-chain reaction that took place, it all started with this-

which folded up and went inside this-

and I moved my dresser and a mirror from one wall to another, and a chair from the living room moved to our bedroom, along with a floor lamp that was tucked away in a closet-

which left the living room with just a love seat and a recliner and a tent...  which I shifted around like this, and in the dining room I moved the buffet table from the back wall to under the window...

I made a bunch of little changes like those- nothing ground breaking or Young House Love-ish, but enough to make me feel better about our digs.

The ottoman that goes with the chair that moved to the bedroom?  I put it here, though I know it doesn't really match-

but gosh darn, it is so nice to kick our feet up on that side of the sofa!  Picture all 5 of us Rantzs cuddled on the chaise.... no wonder my sofa "spot" is getting so deep!

I'm officially out of things to talk about and I still don't have a title for the post.  I'm not feeling too confident about the random mix of topics, but here we go!

Left-click "publish post"!