Man v Child(s)

Dori's off again with the ladies from the squadron for a 'Pink Flag'--this time to Las Vegas. So that means once again it is a weekend where the normal rules are thrown out in favor of 'man law.'

Now, that being said, Charlotte is in the picture now, so I guess 'man law' doesn't strictly apply like is has in the past. (Original Man Law)

Anyway,, 'man law theory' has moved far beyond its simple roots, and since I'm not a strict constructionist, we'll let 'man law' adapt to these new circumstances. Here's the newly modified canon for when daddy is in charge:

1. Toilet seats remain up.

Sorry Charlotte -- you don't use the potty, you don't get a vote. Actually, I don't think the toilet lid should stay up. Instead, I believe (as every right-thinking human being with a capacity for mildly complex reasoning should) that toilet seats should be left in that last position they were used. This is the simplest and most efficient general rule to apply, resulting in fewer toilet seat touches (and hinge movements) per toilet use. Its not my fault if if some people can't be bothered to remember to look and see if the seat is down before you sit. If that is a recurring problem perhaps w should develop a toilet checklist of some sort. But anyway, in honor of this injustice to good order, discipline, and common sense, the seats shall remain up for the duration of the weekend.




2a. The Dog gets to sleep on the bed.

She's good. She's earned it.




2b. We don't make the bed.


You're just going to sleep in it again the next night!!




3. If God wanted me to wash dishes by hand, he'd have given me rubber gloves.

Dishes go into the dishwasher dirty. If the dishwasher won't clean 'em that way then we get a new dishwasher.




4. The kids get to go where they want.

OK, within reason anyway.




5. Skip the bath.

Its not that we're not dirty, it is just that we don't care.




6. Maximize outside time.


Especially today which is pretty much the nicest day of the year so far.




7. Dad cooks steak.

Just because mom is gone doesn't mean you have to eat out of a can!



Man law is a 100% sustainable system -- at least until Sunday afternoon when we can get some sanity around here again!

Tim

Time to wake up Mom!

Time to wake up Mom!
Originally uploaded by spauldingtj

My bright eyed girl... waiting for me to pick her up so that she can be part of the fun. I don't have a great picture of this, but Ollie climbed into her crib to hang out with her. He's really begun to like the idea of his sister...most of the time.

I like this picture because its a great sample of Charlotte and her tongue. She spends most of the day with her tongue pressed to the inside of her cheek. Its quite adorable.

Memphis

While I feel like the luckiest woman in the world, I may be one of the worst "capture the moment on film to cherish forever" Moms out there. Life is busy and my son acts like smiling for the camera will turn his face to stone, so I'm not very motivated to snap away with the camera. However, I realize that our beloved family and friends might like to see some pictures of my adorable kiddos every now and then. So here you go...a picture of my handsome son holding the class guinea pig Memphis. He came home for the weekend to hang with us. Ms. Heather warned that he can be loud at night, but I think our friendly black dog kept the rodent quiet. It also seems that I am pretty allergic to rodents if I touch them. Good thing the little guy was low maintenance.

Hoover vs. the Baby

Dear Mom,
Despite the fact that I was in an entirely different part of the house, playing nicely with my toys, I felt an urgent need to crawl to you as quickly as possible when I heard the vacuum cleaner roaring around your bedroom. Holding me while vacuuming is good exercise, right?
Love,
Charlotte

On a separate note, Ollie is playing very well by himself with his geotrax. Ahhh...its nice to get some things done around the house.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter everyone! Here's an update from the Spauldings...

Charlotte continues to move. She'll "walk" when I hold her hands and she would like to stand ALL OF THE TIME. Her favorite things are her brother, her dog, and exploring new parts of the house! C continues to bring lots of joy to us with her warm smiles and sweet giggles.

Ollie is still wonderful. He tests both Tim and I constantly to determine his boundaries, but he's a great kid. O really pays attention to his world these days and remembers random facts from the not so recent past. His curiosity is insatiable. We had a great time in the kitchen on Saturday, as O helped Tim and I prepare some lasagna for a small dinner party. Everyone wore an apron and jammed to the music.

This weekend held a few firsts for our fam. Ollie watched Star Wars (no. 4) from beginning to end. He lasted longer than I did! We also played Candyland this afternoon while C napped. I'm not sure if you all remember just how simple that game is, but I'm not sure who had a better time playing. Ollie wiggled with excitement as he moved his piece around the board, and I can't tell you how great it was to watch him. This parenting gig isn't so bad after all : )

Tim continues to stay busy in class. Despite his workload, he has made time to be a great Dad and very helpful husband. I may in fact be the luckiest woman alive : )

Life with two kiddos is great, but busy. I have to say that I really love having two and I seem to be happiest when there is a lot going on. I manage to carve out some gym time to train for the next tri...two weeks to go! This next one is a traditional sprint tri (the last two were reverse tris), with a 500 m swim, 24 k bike, and 5 k run. Just bought a wetsuit since this one is an open water. Don't worry Mom...this one is in a lake, so there are no sharks to worry about : ) The races continue to keep me motivated to workout, even if I don't get all of my planned training hours into the week.

I'd like to say a HUGE thanks to our Texas Grandpa and Col. Ray for driving from Ft. Worth to the desert to bring us the family piano, a hand me down train table, and Ollie's new bed. Grandpa has taken up wood work as a hobby and built Ollie a real bed. O man was very excited to move to a real big boy bed from his toddler bed. Grandpa and Col. Ray also played the roles of stand-in babysitter, master griller, preschool entertainer, and all around HUGE help. We really enjoyed our time with both of them. Thanks!!!!

Hope you are all well! Check out the Flickr link to see the latest and greatest Spaulding pics : )
http://www.flickr.com/photos/spauldingtj/

New life...

poppies wide
Originally uploaded by spauldingtj

...an appropriate theme for the end of Lent. Here's a picture of the new life springing up here in the high desert, just outside of Lancaster.