Dear Little TykesTyke Bike Maker,

This is Forrest Fulton's mom, who is very much amazed at just how well your blue, red, and yellow piece of plastic holds up. Did you have ANY idea your bike could travel over 50 miles on dirt roads, through toddler knee deep puddles, up and over hills, even small mountains! Did you have any idea that the small plastic 3 inch wheels could withstand rocks, toddler tantrums, and, of course, the previously mentioned 50+ miles all pushed by this little tyke who is not even two yet?

We had no idea, as I've always seen the toddler play equipment that can litter a poor parent's yard, often going unnoticed by the toddler for months, even years, and then ends up in the dump. But this fine piece of plastic machinery is being USED. Not just used but if it had its own odometer, I think we would be amazed at the miles it will have traveled over its lifetime. We are quite happy that he prefers to push the piece of plastic rather than ride it, as that would probably entail that we push him the miles he likes to travel. This boy will push your lovely toddler transportation device till his little legs just about give out..., (if that's possible...)

My only worry is that Forrest is going to outrun the lifespan of this tyke bike, (which happens to be a hand me down from another active super boy, so who REALLY knows how many miles this trusty steed has on it!) and his baby brother won't get to run the wheels off of it as Forrest happily does now.

Oh well, Forrest's second choice is his plastic Fisher Price lawn mower, but that will have to be another letter.

Sincerely,

The Fulton Parents who will always be grateful for the lifespan of your tyke bike.

Mouse attack

We've had a bit of a mice problem here on our sweet home. Lately they have taken over our little greenhouse wreaking havoc on our baby starts. Our newly sprouting broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, cabbage, etc was thoroughly plundered by these seemingly meek creatures. It was maddening. You would think they have enough vegetation to eat besides our babies! And that isn't all the damage they have done, more like just the tip of the iceberg. Alex has a handful of stories with mice getting into his truck and causing all sorts of damage, and though I have not had any damage to report yet, I've been known to get a mouse or two in my car.
When this happens, we set up our little zapper trap, stuff it with dog food, crackers, etc, and ZZZAAAPPP the little pests are electrocuted. Works fine when you have a tiny passerby in your car. But for the multitudes that can gain access to the greenhouse, this isn't enough unless you buy stock in D cell batteries.
So, my wonderful husband just finished making our greenhouse bomb proof, (well, hopefully at least mouse proof.) With loads of crush rock, some wire net flooring, and lots of grunt work we hopefully now have a nice peaceful greenhouse for the babies of our garden.
Time will tell......;-)

3rd trimester here we come...

27 weeks is upon us and our little baby boy #2 is 2+ lbs! As I move into the last third of this pregnancy and feel the familiar heavy belly starting to weigh me down thoughts of how having two little ones start to get to me. In good and bad ways of course. Both Alex and I are going through a bit of an anxiety time wondering how the heck we're going to manage one rambunctious toddler, one newborn, and two fulltime jobs.  I know these thoughts are plentiful among parents worldwide, and I know somehow it will work out, but geeze, the complexity of daycare, when, how much, and the all familiar breastfeeding and pumping woes I know will soon be upon us.
I am conquering the anxiety by planning ALREADY for this summer. Calls to my mom, (who as a hard working teacher has this summer off...woohoo!) and my sisters have already yielded the much needed help that will be necessary to transition this fairly smoothly running family of three to that crazy number of 4! It certainly does help knowing how much work one is and what works for one and what doesn't, but then other parents warn that two kids is not only twice the work, but FOUR times the work and my thoughts go haywire again.
Despite all this crazy pseudo planning, this pregnancy is breezing by quite nicely. The next few weeks will bring my wonderful glucose tolerance test, (which is always good for a somewhat sickly sugar high!) and my baby appointments moving to every two weeks. Also planning on how the heck baby #2 is going to get out in this world is being discussed. Names are being bounced around, but no big announcements here yet.
My little wee boy is treating me well, as I'm still able to jog a few times a week and stay active in the garden and on walks with Forrest, (yes, despite the looks of that picture above!!!) Work is trying, as I do a lot of procedures on veins which leaves me crawling around on the floor or leaning heavily over somebody. Patients must think I'm nuts to be in the different unusual positions I have to be in with my evergrowing belly, but, again, so far so good! This little guy is a mover, and seems already to be taking up ALL his space quite nicely. Now comes the miracle of how in the heck 5 more lbs of him is going to fit in ME....
one stretch mark at a time...;-)

Forrest the blooming Picasso, (in 15 minute spurts....)

This warm Sunday was screaming for some more outdoor time, so after our lunch, and before the crazy nap time crankies hit we tried to fulfill the creative juices and create some Valentine's Day treats.
Forrest loves to paint...for about 15 minutes, and then his mind wanders, or he hears his Daddy's saw, or the scotch tape holding up the beautiful works of art just becomes more interesting.
Still, it's a fun way to burn up a portion of a sunny day and gives his mama some time too to express herself with good old washable crayola paint, (hopefully with practice she'll progress beyond hearts and fishies!)

My fiesty nearly two year old....

One minute laughing crazily giving his daddy kisses on his nose, the next minute hitting his mama and throwing a fit for who knows what, (lack of blueberries, wanting to throw food, wanting the steak knife he knows he can't have, etc.)
Tis the life of this little dude!

It's been the challenging terrible two's here in this household, and yes, we haven't even hit that two year old milestone yet. I know it's common, very normal, and just about every parent goes through some form of it, but woweeee, it can be tough!
How can this little being be so cute and cuddly one minute, helping mom throw trash away and saying his adorable "HIIII" one minute and the next turn into demon toddler that can't seem to communicate for the life of him, likes to throw his milk on his momma, AND follow it up with slamming his dad with his toy dino.
Hmmmmmm.
We do timeout. We do straight out NO. We do explanations, long winded and short winded on why things are dangerous. We do distractions. And we also try not to set too many limits so he doesn't get straight up fed up with NO, (not that NO has much of an impact anymore....hmmmm.)
So, just a phase?
This too shall pass???
Or, are we missing the boat somewhere. I don't think so, at least not a major boat, but sometimes I wonder.

And then I see this little smile and some mysterious drug seems to make me forget his crazy ways and say YES, you can be a mother of two, you CAN!
One sticky mess at a time....