who demands firetrucks?

Grady woke up with vinegar coursing through his veins today. Every minute detail of the world set him of into a tumultuous tantrum. I couldn't even get a sip of my java before more tantrums erupted. After an hour of carrying on and whining he decided his sleep attire was not satisfactory. He wanted fire trucks and he wanted them now! We traipsed upstairs to search for the fire truck sweater he wore last year for a Christmas party. All the while I am chanting in the inner sanctums of my brain, "Please still fit...please still fit!" I found the sweater buried in the back of a drawer. With a simple tug and pull the sweater was on and the screaming subsided. "FIRETRUCK PANTS!!!" shrilled the 2 1/2 year old demon seed. Fire truck pants?! Do you own fire truck pants? Then my overly amazing brain remembered that Grady had fire truck pajamas that may do the trick. Thankfully they did. We completed the ensemble with a very small pair of fire truck socks. Ok, they really have cement mixers on them but he was none the wiser. And with this great wardrobe a smile slowly crept across his face and my world was good…at least for the next ten minutes!

the day has finally come

Saturday marked the day that Grady figured out how to climb out of his crib. I figured this day was quickly approaching as his climbing and transversing of furniture and cupboards was increasing in skill and height. I also blame this new found skill on my friend Betsy that was visiting Friday night and said, "I can't believe he doesn't climb out of his crib!", while we were putting Grady down for the night. Curse her!! He heard and decided to take action. So Saturday after I put him to bed and I nestled down on the couch under my favorite blanket, I heard the pitter-patter of marshmallow feet down the stairs. I was then quickly greeted with "Hi Momma!" WHAT? HOW?! So back upstairs we went for a second attempt at bedtime. He climbed out again and then got a quite stern talking to. He stayed in the rest of the night but I was gently prodded awake with his chubby little fingers at the brink of dawn. Sigh…. well I guess that means I don’t have to get out of my warm bed to fetch him anymore! I was able to convince him to snuggle in bed for a bit and prolong the agony of the harsh early morning a wee bit longer. Since then we have decided to allow him to climb in and out of his crib. I am just not ready for the freedom that a “big boy” bed entails. We did establish some guidelines to eliminate any middle of the night excursions. Grady knows he cannot climb out at night and so far he has been too tired to try. With all this new-found freedom he did give me a belated present today, one that I have been asking for for a very long time; both boys slept until 8am. I awoke feeling very refreshed and renewed, ready to take on the day. Or at least until the warriors became restless and started fighting over matchbox cars. Then the evil queen returned to do her bidding once more!

pull up a chair and get ready for the ride

It has been, as I am sure for most, a very chaotic past week. I was going to blog Saturday morning about the woes of my previous week but the death of our stove quickly obliterated that free time. Looking back, there were subtle cues that the appliance’s health was fading; it was taking longer to cook pizzas (our staple dinner), it took forever to warm up and anytime we used the stove, it inevitably set of the smoke alarm. It also did not cook the brownies I brought to my company Christmas party last Friday and when I cut into the middle, the uncooked dough oozed from the sides. Thankfully there were plenty of pomegranate martinis going around and no one noticed. Our stove was only seven years old and I think it died a premature death, maybe even foul play. Growing up we had the same stove. My parents got a new stove after 30 years because they needed to upgrade the kitchen before they put it on the market. Why did ours have to die? And WHY did it have to die right before Christmas?? After a bit of research and some online shopping my husband found the stove he wanted. After a break down at the kitchen table Saturday morning over the fact that I need to physically “see” the stove before we bought it, we were off to the store. Of course, none of the stoves were available for pick-up, except those in the $1500+ range and even then, who could pick up those behemoth things? The earliest we could get our new stove was December28th, a week from that day. BUT, if we paid an up charge we could get our new family member the next day. Interesting and yet very, very shady. It would then cost us an additional charge to pick up the dead stove and of course, there is a delivery fee for the new one. Obviously this salesman, Jim, was out to screw us everyway he could. Nothing like sharing the holiday spirit! I was at the point of “whatever”, paid the extra fees and demanded a Starbucks coffee to sooth my pains. On a good note, our new edition is fitting in nicely and was in full force yesterday for Christmas dinner. Let’s just hope we don’t have to go down this road again anytime soon.

oh to be a buckeye fan

I just got my new poster in. Isn't it divine?? Nineteen days till the big game. I just hope they show up this year. Otherwise I will be in a sorry state at work the next day.

On a completely other note.... I can't help but comment on Britney's little sister Jaime. As if the whole Spear's train wreck is not enough, now her sister has jumped on board. I think their Mom needs a good dose of reality and some parenting classes. Can you believe she said " But Jaime is so conscientious. I am shocked she is pregnant". And this woman is writing a book about parenting two daughters?? HELLO!? I am the first to admit that I am not the world's best parent, but, I think my kiddos are at least on the track to sanity and a somewhat normal life. I just hope they stop to pick me up when I fall off!

who has the time

Someone felt this was appropriate to bring for our cookie exchange at work. They obviously had too much time on their hands. I mean really!? Who could pull this off? Ok, maybe some of you could but I don't have the time, and more importantly, the patience. I think I would end up chucking these once I had to try and strategically place the ears on. The boys thought they were cute and Grady spit it out once he placed it in his mouth. So much for all the time she put into it! That is why I stick to cookies!

wednesday chuckle

I got this today and thought I would share. I think if someone did this to me I may loose my purpose in life and would not be able to go on existing. Ok, not really, but sometimes a little drama perks up the soul.

Last night my sister and I were sitting in the den and I said to her, "I never want to live in a vegetative state, dependent on some machine and fluids from a bottle to keep me alive. That would be no quality of life at all, If that ever happens, just pull the plug."

So she got up, unplugged the computer, and threw out my wine.

She's such a bitch

snow day

There were rumors whispered yesterday at work that there was a very good chance that we would have a snow day. A huge ice storm was making its way towards the Chicagoland area bringing with it sleet, rain, ice and snow. It is a great time of year for a snow day as I have a lot to get done and it would be great to have a day without the boys. I threw up a little prayer to the snow gods before bed and drifted off to sleep.



I awoke to no phone call...bummer. So I quickly showered and got ready for work. As I was brewing my coffee the phone call came, no school! Yeah!! A day all to myself! But just as the thought crept into my head I got a sinking feeling that maybe schools in Wisconsin would be closed as well. I turned on the news and sure enough, both of the boys’ schools were closed. Drat! Both boys were thrilled by the thought of staying home in their jammies all day and quickly broke out in the "No School Dance". Drake even busted out "The Worm" for this momentous occasion. Then came the requests for food.

Drake thought this incident deserved French toast. Cheers erupted when I agreed. “Chocolate milk too?” Sure, why not? We stuffed ourselves on breakfast and then slumped on the couch for a bit of morning funnies. But quickly there after I became the evil queen, as I demanded the boys clean their toy room. I did offer to help but even that was met with many grumbles. We quickly conquered the task and I can put a check mark on my “To Do List”. It has been a fun morning, even with the bickering, but I am quickly counting down to nap time when I can escape from the house for some sanity!

there is nothing like....

...kicking ass and taking names. Guess that is a bit conceited but we have not dominated a game like that in a long time. My friend Krista had a double hat trick (if that is even possible) and we won 9-1. What disgruntles me is the other team's lack of fair play once they fell behind. As I have stated before I don't like to play with whiners and even worse is a whiner that plays dirty. Obviously the girl on the opposite team playing defense was a bit confused as to what sport she was playing when she body checked me into the plexy glass to prevent me from completing my play. I have quite the bruise on my hip to prove it. When she resorted to sucker punching me in the side all bets were off. Yes, I partook in an act that was unbecoming of a lady. I used a few choice words, noted her obvious lack of skill and shoved her off of me. I am not proud and she should be thanking the loving gods above I did not knock her lights out. She then had the nerve to yell at the ref for calling a direct kick when her goalie slide tackled our player out of the box. Hello?!? Again she should be thankful we, as a team, did not revolt on her. But enough venting.... I apologize for my emotional spewing in my blog. I feel much better now :)

oh christmas tree

We finally got around to putting up our tree. I had been majorly procrastinating due to a certain 2 1/2 tear old and his love for that which is not his. We decided, as you can probably see in the photo, to not decorate the bottom of the tree. We also put it up during Grady's nap to optimize our decorating time. It worked well with the exception of Drake's visual spatial difficulties and my OCD tendencies. He likes to clump his ornaments together while I have a neurotic compulsion to rearrange after everyone else puts the ornaments where I don't want them. I tried to keep myself in check, as Drake is now old enough to realize I am moving every ornament he or his father puts on the tree. After a plethora of Christmases John has finally realized it is not even worth his effort to try since I will ultimately rearrange, even when he is not looking. I still struggle when I look at the tree and it is not the way I want it but then I remind myself that this holiday is not about me, Humph! Grady woke up from his nap and squealed with delight when he saw the tree. He then proceeded to kiss all the ornaments that were in reach; I obviously miscalculated how tall he was. When he saw Drake's Bob the Builder ornament he had a coronary, as he could not believe that "Bob" was on HIS tree. Guess it is the little things that delight wee ones. On a side not, I have yet to put up the stockings after last years almost brain trauma when Grady pulled on the stocking and was almost nailed in the head with the heavy cooper holder. Hey, I still have two more weeks!!

rock em, sock em boys

I know I can honestly say that these boys do not lack in imagination. Somehow their two brains combined decided it would be a great idea to place the demolished boxes from the "jump-a-thon" on their heads and run at each other at full speed. When I heard the first rather large crashing sound I came a running! This is what I found at the crime scene: Both boys were flat on their backs with their arms and legs flailing with peals of laughter emanating from inside the boxes. They reminded me of tortoises stuck on their backs, kind of sad looking yet somewhat amusing to just stand there and watch. Thinking they had had their fill I walked back into the kitchen to tackle the mail and ultimately dinner. As soon as I stepped into the kitchen I could here the pattering of running feet and another large crash.
Guess once was not enough! I threw out the proverbial warning that it was all fun and games until someone got hurt, and as you can imagine, it was met with def ears. Ironically they continued this game for quite some time till they decided it would be even MORE fun to chase each other around the house with the boxes on their heads. With the forecast of bloodshed in the future, I quickly ended the box chasing. The boxes then took the form of monster trucks that they would slide across the floor and bash into each other. Sigh….. what has happened to all the nice and quiet activities of days past? Good thing my trusty friend merlot was on hand to lend a shoulder to lean on!!


As a side note: You can't see it but Drake has on his favorite holiday shirt "Jingle Bells... All girls smell" Sniff, sniff. He makes me so proud.

oh.....io!!

I have been trying to refrain but I can't hold out any longer. YEAH!!!! Sorry for all those who are not fans or whose teams were less then thrilling this year (like a certain husband of mine) but I am quite excited. The BCS announced Sunday evening that Ohio State will play LSU for the championship game. I am breathless with anticipation. Ok, that may be a bit overkill, but I am a bit amped and have had three cups of coffee already this morning! I am hoping they show up for the game and they at least make it exciting. Guess I get to bust out my buckeye necklace one last time this season... Go Bucks!! I will now step down from my crazed fan soap box.

at this moment...

Baby Vader is trying to take over the Tierney empire aboard his deathship firetruck. Grady has taken to being called "Baby Vader" and tries to scare us any chance he gets. It is funny to watch as he pushes himself along on the firetruck. "I Baby Vader! I get you Momma! Rooaarr!!" Yes, I am sure you did not know that Baby Vader could growl like a dinosaur. Baby Vader has many talents, none of which are for the greater good (as of yet). Especially since I just had to pry a plastic Fisher Price golf club out of Baby Vader's hand since he was walloping his older brother with it. But I do enjoy the creativity of it all, at least when he is not inflicting the dark side on all those within reach!!

jumpin' jellybeans!!

Well, I have been considering Grocer’s, from Famous For All Kinds of Wickedness, idea of providing something safer for Grady to jump from instead of his cozy coupe. After a quick jaunt to the local Target for some much needed diapers and wipes, Grady decided to make and build his own fun. He carefully aligned the boxes to make a runway of sorts. He then proceeded to jump up and across them like a bunny with the finally of a large jump back to the floor. This lasted for almost an hour, with the older brother quickly joining in on the fun. It always amazes me the creativity of young children and what they will turn into a toy. But all good things soon come to an end. After

discovering the fun of jumping from the boxes, Grady got another grand idea…. stack all the boxes on top of one another, climb them and then jump! He obviously does not have my fear of heights! I had to step in when he tried to go head first down the tower (what was he thinking!?) Sadly, I know what he was thinking; he was trying to do a summersault. After a brief discussion about the importance of safety and the ramifications that brain damage could inflict on the rest of his life, he opted back to jumping from box to box. I suppose I should be happy that at least for that moment of time he was entertained and not screaming or badgering me. But I know that that is right around the corner!

a snowy adventure

The first snow! And what better way to enjoy it then by suiting up and taking a joy ride in your Jeep Wrangler? Of course, the only way to do this is in the highest of fashions. Remember, it is all in the outerwear! This being said, Grady refused to go outside without his ski cap and goggles. He had a great time riding through the fresh snow and skidding down the driveway. We took advantage of Grady being occupied to hang up the wreath and decorated the bushes with lights.
He lasted much longer then I did as the bitter wind was biting and cut to the core, but he continued unphased. Soon his cheeks were two little Macintosh apples and I had to drag him in with the bribe of hot chocolate with mini marshmallows. I am looking forward to the prospect of being snowed in. They are forecasting 7+ inches but they are rarely right. If only I could do my job that poorly…. But that is another post my friends!