Snow!

Here's a little tip for all employers out there: If you want your employees to not complain about coming to work on snowy days, try plowing the stinkin' parking lot! Ugh!

That being said, I can't help but get a little tired of hearing people complain constantly when it snows. Like today, we're supposed to get a whopping 2-4 inches, and people are whining like it's a blizzard! Hello! You live in Pennsylvania! It snows here! Guess what...it'll probably snow again before the winter's over, and it'll probably do it all over again next year. I lived in Florida for 18 years. I didn't like the heat and I really didn't like the hurricanes, so guess what I did. I moved. If you don't like the snow/cold, please quit complaining and do something about it. Otherwise, shut up. You're making me cranky. Thank you.

Aw, crap.

There are few sights that make me feel as helpless as this. The Check Engine light in my car came on this morning. I really hate that light. A lot. It not only means that I have to call the mechanic and try to get in there sometime this century, but I'm going to be without a car for at least a day, and with my luck it's a problem that costs a small fortune to repair. Stupid light.
Don't tell Carl I said this, but I think the fact that this stupid light popped up 3 days after he changed my oil himself might be a little more than a coincidence. Shhh. That'll be our little secret.

Footies!

Is there anything in the world more adorable than kids in footie pjs? I think not.

On that note: When exactly does it become socially unaccepted to wear footies? Is 10 years old too old for footies? 13? 29? ...and why is that? I would absolutely LOVE some nice footie jammies! That's it. I'm hitting the internet to find some adult footies for myself...and probably Carl. I don't want to look like a weirdo alone. 

New Year Resolutions

1) To post something on here almost every day. I've recently gotten sucked into another blog, The Pioneer Woman, and I am in absolute awe at the moments she has captured by posting every single day. Sometimes something as small as a picture, but it's absolutely fascinating to flip through and see how every day has been documented. That's my mission.

2) To start running...again. See, I was doing SO well with running. Then Carl and I attended a wedding in October, and I thought it would be a good idea to borrow my sister-in-law's super sexy, sky-high, leopard print heels. Silly me. You would think that after 29 years I would have learned that I am disturbingly clumsy. I lost my balance several times that night. Once while standing completely still. I was talking to a friend (thankfully the only person around to witness this shamefully embarrassing display of my lack of grace) and I just started teetering to the side. Was there a strong gust of wind? Nope. Just God saying, "Hmm...where is that Dee? Ahh...there she is! " *sigh* Anywho, long story short, I lost my balance on the dance floor (because what's the fun of falling in, say, the bathroom without 250 witnesses?), rolled my ankle, and haven't been running since. But, I'm feeling like my foot could take it now, plus I got some really nice Nike running pants for Christmas, so I'm starting again next Monday! Wish me luck.

3) Regardless of how late I was out on Saturday night or how horrendous my children are behaving, I will drag my family to mass EVERY SUNDAY.

Okay, now that I've filled you in on my plans for 2011, I have to relay to you the silliness that is my 3 1/2 year old's sense of humor. This morning while I'm helping him put on his shoes he looks at me and says, "Knock, knock!"
Yay! I love cheesy jokes! And if the grin that was spread across that mischievous face of his was any indication, this was going to be a doosie! "Who's there?"
"Pee-Pee"
Uh-oh. I think I see where this is going..."Pee-Pee Who?"
"Pee-pee BUTT!"  And the kid collapsed on the sofa as if he'd just finished the most hysterical joke of all time.
But it doesn't stop there. In the car on the way to drop him off at my mother-in-laws, I again hear him say, "Knock-knock!"
"Who's there?" I ask.
"Banana."
Whew! Banana? This might actually be a joke. Alright, I'll bite. "Banana who?"
"Banana BUTT! BAHAHahahahahaha!"
*sigh* Welcome to my life.

Yawn!

I have to say, I just do not understand why Daylight Savings time is still practiced. It was GREAT when I was, say, 21, childless, and changing back to "standard time" meant another hour the club/bar was open. Now that I have children...not so much. Ya see, 3 & 2 year olds do not understand the concept of gaining an hour of sleep. And now that I think about it, I don't really get it, either. Does that mean that November 7 was actually 25 hours long? It sure felt like it since I had 2 kids up at 5am on a Sunday! Clearly this whole time change thing was the idea of a childless person who wanted to screw with all the parents in the world. Curse you, daylight savings inventer...curse you.

Alright, ranting aside, it's already mid-November! I should probably post some pictures of the kids from Halloween. Here ya go...yeah, for some reason it put the pictures on the top of the post...and I'm just too lazy to figure it out right now.

AAAAAAAAAAaaaaaakkkkkkkkkk!

*sigh* Sorry. I had to get that out, but I feel better now. Let's just say that the month of October has not been a good one for the members of the Rudegeair household under 3 feet tall. Paige is 1 1/2 going on 13 and Carl's behavior is worse now than when he was 2! Whoever came up with the term "Terrible Twos" forgot to mention that they progress into "Terrible-er Threes!" All I have to say is we'd better get "Fantastic Fours" or I'm selling the boy to the circus.
I think the most frustrating thing (but at the same time a really good thing) is that at school he's wonderful. His teachers are always commenting on what a good listener he is and how kind and patient he is with the other kids. They're saying this and I'm staring at them blankly thinking, "Do they know who my kid is, or do they just say this to all the parents?" But, no. He really is! Apparently there is a new little girl in his class named Katie. Katie gets really upset when she gets dropped off and kind of shies away from playing with the other kids. Carl was telling me about this one day and I told him that maybe he should try and be her friend. So yesterday, when Katie got dropped off and started crying, Carl walked up to her, took her hand, and hung out with her all day. He involved her in all the games they were playing, sat next to her at Lunch Bunch, helped her open her lunch bags (sandwich, crackers, etc.), and proceeded to draw all the kids in Lunch Bunch pictures and hand them out. Color me confused, because as soon as this boy walks through the threshold of our house, he's a totally different kid! Ah, well...I guess I should be happy that he's not a terrible monster at school, right? Right.
Paige is in the beginning of the 2-year-old whiny, temper-tantrum, "Pick me up. Put me down. Pick me up." stage...I am not amused. I've been there, I've done that, I'm not putting up with it again. The poor girl is probably going to have abandonment issues, because whenever she throws herself on the floor in protest of whatever injustice was dealt to her, I just leave the room and don't look back. She then proceeds to follow me through the house continuously flinging herself at my feet. It got so bad one time that I just locked myself in the bathroom until she got bored and walked away! Ah, parenthood...it's so glamorous, isn't it? I've resorted to hiding from my children in the bathroom.
On a brighter note, both kids are really excited about their Halloween costumes! Carl IV, after much debate and going back and forth ("I want to be a gorilla! No, wait...Spiderman! No, Batman!") we have decided on Optimus Prime...with a foam pirate sword...because no ensemble would be complete without a foam pirate sword. Paige is going to be a bumble bee. Her costume is so cute I can't even stand it! I had a tutu made in black and yellow, she's going to have the striped tights, wings, a headband with antennae...I can't wait to see the whole thing put on her! I'll be sure to take oodles of pictures to post.
This past Tuesday Carl IV's school took a trip to a local farm that has a pumpkin patch. I had 5 vacation days left for the year, so I decided to take the whole day off and go with him. So much fun! We started out with a hayride out to the pumpkin patch (which, can I just say, is absolute TORTURE for a mom with allergies whose little boy thinks throwing hay is hilarious?), then the kids ran around the pumpkin patch to pick out a pumpkin each. Okay...if you haven't seen 15 3-year-olds let loose in a pumpkin patch, add it to your Bucket List. ADORABLE! They're running around like it's the day after Thanksgiving sale at Macy's! Carl, of course, headed directly to the muddiest corner of the patch and found the perfect pumpkin...which was immediately discarded because he passed another perfect pumpkin...this happened at least 7 times. Hilarious.
Carl: picks up pumpkin..."Mommy! Wook at dis one! It's so BIG!"
Me: "Wow! That is an impressive pumpkin, dude! Are you sure that's the one you want?"
Carl: "Yep. Dis one's my favowite...I'm going to cut in eyes, and a mouf, and...WAIT! I want dis one instead."
Repeat x 6.

Carl III and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary on October 8th! Can you believe it?! Yeah, me, neither. It is so weird to think that I am old enough to have been married for 6 years! Here's to many more! Love you, babe! xoxo

AUTUMN!!!

Ahhhh! Today is the first official day of fall...or it will be at 11:09pm. You would think autumn in Pennsylvania would mean temperatures in the 60-70 degree range, right? Well, it has been amazing the past couple of weeks, until this week...when it is actually fall...we have highs in the 90s. Mother Nature, get with the program, would you? I cannot STAND being teased with open-window weather only to return to A/C weather again! Ugh!
Okay, now that I have that off my chest, onto family stuff.
Carl IV started nursery school again last week. The school did short days for the first week (he's still going Tuesdays and Thursdays), so yesterday was his first REAL day. This year the school's Lunch Bunch program runs an hour longer, so he'll be going from 9am - 2pm! He's thrilled! Apparently the teachers take turns running Lunch Bunch and his teacher from last year was in charge yesterday. She couldn't get over what a big guy he's turned into! She said he was the only one who set up his whole lunch by himself (opening sandwich bags, juice, etc.), and she said he has the most advanced speaking skills of the kids in his age group (and how! He gets plenty of practice!), and according to her a pretty deep voice for a 3-year-old. He's one of a class of 6 which is fantastic! Lots and lots of individual attention, which he craves now that he's a big brother.
Paige is adjusting to flying solo during the day pretty well. The first day that Debbie dropped Carl off at school she said that Paige started skipping to the door, turned around to see if Carl was there, and totally lost her mind when she realized he wasn't coming with them! But, I think she's started to notice that it's a pretty sweet deal having your grandmother all to yourself 2 days a week! She's started talking a LOT more. I feel so bad a lot of the time because she just rambles on with such infliction in her tone and I'm just staring at her with a smile on my face thinking, "What the heck is she saying?!" She's started to get to the point that she's frustrated when we don't know what she wants, so that's super fun. <---- oozing with sarcasm.
Carl III has been back at Asplundh Tree Experts for a few weeks and things are going beautifully (thank God)! His foreman seems to like him and recognizes that he knows what he's doing, so that is always nice.
I have been sick the past week or so, so I'm trying to get motivated to run again...which is a lot like getting motivated to punch myself in the face. I can't deny it, though. When I'm running regularly I feel better, I sleep better, I'm more energized, all that crap that people tell you about exercising turns out to be true. Who knew?! I have to say, though...I will never go running on a Wednesday morning again. My dog tripped me up about 4 times trying to sniff everyone's trash cans and then to chase the trash truck. I was lucky I made it home without a broken limb!
Carl III's step-sister, Krystal, had a baby boy on Monday night. Carl IV is SUPER excited about having a boy to play with (although he doesn't seem to understand it'll be a while before he can). Congratulations, Krystal, and welcome to the family, Avery!