and now i'm back, from outer space

Tap, tap, is this thing on? 

I can't believe I haven't written a blog post since 2021. But, I thought I'd pick up where I left off and share a follow up on our bathroom! When I last wrote about it on November 6, 2021, here's what it looked like. 

At the time, Joey was newly two years old and we were expecting a new baby that January. 

Fast forward to today. Here is a photo of the bathroom this morning. And there's the baby, who is now two years old himself. 

Listen, I don't know whether to laugh or cry about this. A few times I have considered just putting up some drywall and turning it into a closet, but then I remind myself that I don't actually want to share a bathroom with three boys for the rest of time. 

Since we moved in, we've renovated the entire house. This is the last room. So I know, that in the wise words of Gloria Gaynor, I will survive. 

Although perhaps these words of Gloria's are more appropriate for the situation:

It took all the strength I had not to fall apart

Kept trying hard to mend the pieces of my broken heart

And I spent oh-so many nights just feeling sorry for myself

So while the bathroom situation hasn't changed since I last wrote, our family has! Joey was 2 and now he's 4. In my last post I wrote, "Sometimes I have to blink several times and make sure it's really a tiny two year old in dinosaur pants standing in front of me, and not a middle aged boss man," and aside from the fact that he's outgrown his dinosaur pants, that exact same sentiment is true to this day. 

In fact, just last night, I was sound asleep when I sensed a presence in my room. I opened my eyes to see Joey standing about three inches from my face, just silently staring at me. I blinked a few times and then said, "Joey? Are you okay?" 

He said very matter-of-factly: "Hi Mommy. I need to see you in my room."

Okay, boss. 

I shuffled behind him to his room where he told me that he'd come down with a stuffy nose in the middle of the night. He proceeded to explain some sort of complicated situation that involved him walking back and forth to his dresser to get tissues, although he had moved his trashcan next to his bed for easy tissue disposal.  But, he was wondering if I had any ideas of where he could put his tissue box so he didn't have to walk across his room every time he needed one, because that was simply unsustainable. 

There I had been, snoozing away in the next room, and he was up and about setting up a little infirmary for himself. 

Joey doesn't have a bedside table, so I suggested he put a few tissues under his pillow and he loved that idea. I tucked a few under the pillow, gave him a kiss, and went back to bed. 

A little while ago, I was putting him down for his nap (yes he's 4.5 and still takes a nap PRAISE THE LORD) and I noticed his pillow was a little bit lopsided. When I straightened it out I saw that he'd really taken my tissue idea and run with it. 

So anyway, Joey's great. He loves fishing, trucks, and trains. He started pre-school this year. He's taking a four week karate class which is hilarious and he's starting T-ball in the spring. He chooses chores over playing, and he loves rules -- following rules, making rules, enforcing rules.

And then we have Christopher! He turned two in January. For the first year of his life, I actually felt like I was cheating or missing something because he was the world's best baby. He barely cried, he went with the flow, the sweetness just oozed out of him. He also spit up 475 times a day for the first 9 months of his life. All the clothes I wore during those nine months were completely ruined and my rugs and couches will never truly be the same. But still, absolute easiest baby ever. 

And then he turned about 15 months old and we realized we have a bit of a drama queen on our hands. He has a temper and a short fuse, and can fake cry with the best of them. But he's also absolutely as sweet as can be and FUNNY. He loves to get a laugh, even if it means he has to yell "I love poopy butts" in the library, or worse - church- to make Joey giggle. And when he's being mischievous, or trying to get out of trouble, those big blue eyes are a get out of jail free card with. Matt always says when it comes to Christopher, I'm like Larry Krasner, the Philadelphia district attorney who is, let's just say, light on punishment. I can't help it. He's the cutest, sweetest boy. He loves animals, soft things, any and all food, and music, and we think he's just the greatest. 

So anyway, that's the update. I have really missed writing this blog, and I've also missed how I viewed the world when I was writing regularly. I was always on the lookout for the funny aspects of mundane, everyday situations, or trying think of ways I could creatively tell a story. So I'm going to get back to it this year. And lucky for me, I live with three people who make me laugh multiple times a day. 

Here's a little teaser for the next post. 

We got an ant farm.