Lucky Day

So Phil comes home from work and has dinner with all of us. We all finish, and he hands me a card, that of course makes me cry. Inside is a scratch-off lottery ticket.

Wait. Let me back up first.

He starts the story that he's walking to work from the train downtown. It's rather windy (you know, Windy City and all), and he sees a $5 land on top of his shoe. He looks around to see if anyone is frantically looking for their lost money. Nope.

So he picks it up, and finishes walking to work.

On the lower floor of his building is a convenience-type store. He used to buy scratch-off lottery tickets regularly, but then we just didn't have the budget for it. He figured with this new-found money, he'd purchase one. He normally gets the $3 crossword scratch-off for me--I enjoy a challenge and would rather have the game last longer than a quick rub with a coin. Anyway, he decided on the $5 crossword scratcher.

Work was very busy for him yesterday. He didn't even have a chance to eat until after 1. At that point he decided he wanted to play the ticket instead of giving it to me (which was my first complaint to him!).

And this is what was in the card he gave me:

The winning ticket.

In the fine print, it says that if you match 7 words on each crossword, you win $500. And that's what he did. He crossed off 7 words on each square for a grand total of $1,000! I couldn't believe it! Of course then I teased him and said that I thought he bought it for me. And that since he won all this money, all he bought me was a mushy card. But he knew I was kidding.

He went during lunch today to cash it--you have to go to a certain place since it's over $601. And of course Uncle Sam wants his part of the pie, so after taxes (look, we're stimulating the economy!), we took home $870. And yes, I said we. Now what to spend it on.....

A Portrait

Riley loves to draw. Not a day passes where she doesn't serve us with a portrait, which I think it endearing. Phil tolerates it, but I know he rejoices in clearing off some of the "masterpieces" that find a home on the top of our refrigerator. But I digress.

But you can guarantee that I will be keeping this one for awhile. I love it. And I think she captured me quite well, down to the purse, prominent eyelashes, and pursed lips. I look very happy. What do you think?

Total Opposites

I've always joked that the kids are complete opposites of each other, the most obvious of which is that they're a boy and a girl. But when I was pregnant with Jeremy, I figured he was a boy. Why? Because it was a much different pregnancy with some minor complications. I joked that only boys would give their moms a hard time (we didn't know the gender of either kid before they were born).

After Jeremy was born, he had colic for three months. Part of me wonders if I wasn't induced if he would've been a different child. Regardless, the first few months were rough.

When Riley was an infant, she slept wonderfully. She slept through the night before I went back to work when she was three months old. Jeremy? He took 11 months.

Riley has always been a picky eater. Part of that, I'm sure, is her parents' fault for not making her eat specific foods. When Jeremy came along, we decided that he's eating whatever we're having. And to this day, he's an awesome eater (Case in point, his favorite food on a pizza? Mushrooms like his mama!).

So when it came time to deal with potty training, like any parent I was not looking forward to it. I should have remembered my opposite theory, though, because it was rough going with Riley. Not only did it take a few persistent months, but I also was caring for a newborn.

And just this week, Jeremy has pretty much potty trained himself! He doesn't want to wear a diaper. He wakes up from a 3+ hour nap dry. He's still wet after bed, though, but with Riley it took a few months to get this far. Additionally, he's pooping on the potty, something that his sister refused to do.

I really hope I'm not jinxing anything, but yet again he's proven to me that he and his sister are complete opposites about certain things. And yes, it makes me sad to realize there's yet another part of him that's growing up and being less "babyish". I wonder if that feeling will ever pass. And only someone like me can lament the fact a child might be out of diapers!

Christmas Part 5 of 5

We finished up Christmas with the other set of grandparents heading out to our house a few days after Christmas. We're very grateful for all the family that traveled to see us this year.

Riley opening a present.

Jeremy and grandpa surveying the scene.

The kids together.

The grandparents and the kids.

Christmas Part 4 of 5

Seriously I never meant to get this far behind! Anyway, our second to last Christmas was spent with my parents who came out for the mid-afternoon. After the insane number of gifts and the rapid gift opening, we headed off to lunch. Here are the pics:

The kids helping Nana.

Dad with his precious blanket that Nana repaired.

Riley enjoying a sticker book.

Jeremy, Papa, and the Monkey enjoying a story.

Mama's Boy

Today was a hard/sad day. I signed Jeremy up for preschool this fall. *sigh* He's growing up. Faster than I think Riley did, only because Riley was in daycare for her first 2.5 years. With him, he's been around me from the beginning. And things are harder when it comes to him. I have never denied that he's my baby. He's my mama's boy through and through. And I love it. I love being needed and wanted. In a way that a child needs you.

I know it's not as if he'll be attending kindergarten in the fall like his big sister, but I have a feeling that the day I drop him off at preschool will be harder than taking Riley to the bus stop. Who knows, though. I have about seven months before I really have to *deal* with that.

From the minute he entered the world,
that colicky boy didn't stop crying for three months!
Look at how peaceful he slept, though.

And now, my handsome man. Who wouldn't love this face?

Christmas Part 3 of 5

The day after Christmas, we celebrated our own little Christmas at home. We decided that next year we'll just have the kids open their "Santa" gifts on Christmas morning and then just celebrate our family one with my parents. I think the kids were already on present overload!

Dad opening one of his presents.

Jeremy's turn.

Riley's new art piece for her room.

Jeremy excited for his sticker book.

Riley "helping" Jeremy.

We spent the rest of the day enjoying being home, together. Phil took the day off work and we just celebrated the holiday. What a perfect Christmas.