Trotter’s Cafe has something called an Aztec. A mocha with cayenne and cinnamon. Hurrah! Yesterday I went there with Katy and Emily, and they even had Gerbera Daisies on the table.

Then we went to Choo Choo Bob’s!!!!!

Afterwards, I had to sneak into Izzy’s and grab a scoop of Coffee Break on Peace Coffee.

Joe explored the Big Apple (oh god, is it totally lame to use that term? probably. oh well!)

Ryan’s hair is blowing back from all of the thanks and love we’re sending his way for playing host.

Apparently they walked 20 miles on Joe’s first day there alone, so he saw a lot.

Cousins unite! Hi, Dave.

With Ms. Katie! at Grand Central

I’m glad Joe didn’t drive.

The one problem with New York? It’s ______________

And really, there’s no replacement for that.

I don’t have any pics from my weekend in Iowa, since Joe had the camera, but here are some good ones I got yesterday of the Little Man rediscovering his house.

He has been SO tired since we got back. Still catching up on sleep from being sick this weekend (just a cold, but it really messed with his sleep), having all of his molars break through at once, and playing his cute little butt off with Grandpa and Grandma.

I’m having to do a lot of re-programming, since he got into some bad habits while getting spoiled. But after all, that’s what going to your grandparents’ house is for.

One thing I never seemed to get checked off that imaginary list was: GET A FUNKY HAIRCUT.

I’ve wanted to buzz my head several times and recently have been dying for an undercut/side buzz type do. I’ve never bucked up the courage, though.

But after chatting with my cousin, Hannah, who’s currently going to the Aveda Institute, we both professed our love for the side buzz, and when she told me I could get it done the next morning at her work/school…well, that just solidified it.

It was a really advanced style for someone who’s an “alpha,” but with a team of advisers to guide her way, she ROCKED it! I’m so impressed. She worked for three hours straight, had to check with instructors every time she finished a section, which I’m sure was stressful.

The result: a VERY happy Carlye

It’s a very sculptural cut, so to get the full effect, you have to see it from different sides. (sorry the pics are a bit grainy–Joe has the camera in NYC, so we’re working with phone shots here)

Right Side:

Left Side!!!!!!!!!!!:

Front Side:

I’m lovin’ it.

Then we stopped by Cupcake and Sharrett’s to grab bonus surprises for Joe. We, of course, had to stay at Cupcake awhile. I needed a double espresso, and Charlie needed to watch the workers playing with fun-colored batter and frosting.

The ultimate goal of the morning outing was to keep Charlie awake and alert. He’s needed ONE GOOD nap a day this week, but it just doesn’t happen that way. He’s so used to a morning nap that he gets sleepy before it’s time for him to really zonk out. We end up fighting through two short, crappy naps. I did such a good job keeping him up that he passed out in the stroller! Not even the big comfy one, the crappy umbrella stroller that I use when we’re going to be taking the bus (more portable). He slept right through me carrying him (stroller and all) up the stairs to our third floor apartment, and taking off his boots, mitties, coat, etc. He was down for the count.

Which was perfect, because I then got some good, long, quality conversation time with Grandma Betty who treated me to a speckwich from the St Paul Cheese Shop. She also brought cookies and crackers, which are deeeelicious. Charlie enjoyed reading the labels.

He was excited to see that most of the ingredients are organic.

I got two out-of-the-blue compliments on my teeth yesterday. It’s a wonderful feeling to get multiple compliments about something that you haven’t changed about yourself! So now I’m feeling all proud. I think I’ll be smiling a bit wider for awhile.

BTW: Joe and I are both skipping town this weekend. Des Moines, here I come! Leaving tomorrow morning, bright and early. And everyone send good travel thoughts Joe’s way as he heads to NYC.

We figured out what was up with Little Man last week, so problem solved on the unhappiness front. I’d made the switch to  just milk, instead of the half-formula/half-milk we’d been doing. Apparently there’s something in formula that he’s not getting enough of elsewhere in his diet. Because since we switched back, Charlie is his old happy self again. Must remember to ask pediatrician about that.

It’s so good to have him giggle while tickling my toes again.

Today has been a combo of playing with a milk carton…

…and making music with mixing bowls. Here is your moment of zen [at the 2 minute mark, you can see Charlie showing off his new skill]

A lady there tried to take our picture, but Charlie wouldn’t even smile for a camera. Only the audience of this blog will understand how much that says about his mood yesterday.

But today has been so much better, and it’s only 2 pm!

[Thanks to Colleen for the beautiful tulips!]

One of our morning rituals is brushing our teeth together. Charlie tends to wander the house while he does it.

Sometimes he does a little dance

The plan today was heading to a specific store to get a specific something for a specific someone for a specific day next week. We were going to transfer bus lines at Cleveland & Marshall, and had about a 10 minute wait until the bus was going to come. Unfortunately, I thought a good way to pass the time would be to show him the window of Choo Choo Bob’s Train Store. Charlie loved it, but that was the problem. Leaving to head back to the bus stop was NOT an option. And to be honest, I had not worn the right shoes for how cold it was. We waited at the bus stop for long enough for him to chill out [I didn't want him to think we were going in to the store just because he had a crying fit], and then we headed back across the street to the glowing warmth of the train store.

He loved it! The front window display alone would’ve entertained him for hours.

But there was a whole playroom in the back with four train tables for kids. It was packed with happy kids, which I thought might’ve scared Charlie, but he did just fine playing with the others.

Sigh…I guess bad days are good for making the day after seem so much nicer by comparison.

I thought I accidentally put the nipple of his bottle down the garbage disposal yesterday, which significantly shortened the ”gradual” period of transition from bottle to sippy cup. He’s been incredibly resistant to the cup, but for whatever reason, in my hour of need, he picked it up like a pro!

Turns out I didn’t dispose of anything, so we have a bottle if necessary, but I’m choosing to pretend I didn’t find it. It was beyond time for him to move on.

This morning, Charlie was crouched in the corner, and it looked so cute!

Turns out he was playing with the cup of coffee I’d forgotten about. Oooops!

Thanks goodness for carpet cleaner.

In other BIG, HAPPY NEWS: Joe got a full-time job with benefits to replace his internship! YAY JOE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The lake frozen over

Shenanigans!!!!

Emily is not getting involved.

Katy makes it out alive!

Joe relaxed after the toboggan ride I took him on.

Reciprocation

stargazing

Charlie LOVED playing outdoors the first day, but Sunday he didn’t last quite as long. He looked darling, though.

It was a great, relaxing weekend, and I love getting to play games multiple times a day! I had to actually turn down a few sessions, though, because I got hooked on the book, Hunger Games. It basically has everything I love in a fiction novel, and even kept making me cry.

Yesterday, I went MAD on the kitchen (which I’ve been doing periodically because of a mice issue in our building), this time I tackled the areas behind the refrigerator and the stove. One of the “joys” of rental living? In between tenants, the property managers take care of a visual surface cleaning. That’s about it. These appliances have not been cleaned in, I’m guessing, 6 years? Maybe more, depending on the cleanliness of previous tenants. Real bad. I worked for three hours scrubbing. I actually hurt my back in the process.  My kitchen has never been so spotless, but…I. AM. IN. PAIN.

Playing Scene It with Joe, Jake and Christina took my mind off it last night, but today has been absolute HELL.

He rediscovered it this morning.

ooooooooh!

So we decided to get FANCY

Everyone has their own way of styling and accessorizing, and it’s good to know that Charlie’s style is as colorful and non-matchy as mine.

Pensive model shot:

Have a good weekend, everybody! We are heading up to the cabin with the Novaks for the weekend, so I won’t be reporting back until next week.

Until then, here’s a little smirk to keep you going.

Katy Perry is not normally my thing (unless we’re talking step aerobics, mind you), but this just fits too well in describing yesterday. I felt a little bit like Charlie was a baby baby again.

We would go from this

To this, with seemingly no provocation, though in this case, he’s obviously pissed that his bottle is empty. But since when is that cause for bawling? Apparently yesterday.

He’s just a sensitive little dude.

And that blankie, man…that’s the it thing right now. Luckily we have two of the same kind, and a third over at the Novaks’. I remember it was always traumatic when I would get to Grandma’s house and realize I’d forgotten Bankie!

I swore to myself I’d never post pictures of him sitting on the potty (arbitrary modesty lines that we all draw for ourselves), but seriously, this moment was just too wonderful.

On Sunday, I emailed my professor to ask what the readings were for this week’s class. I hadn’t gotten all my paperwork in at that point, so I wasn’t on the class email list yet. Turns out, I had 300 pages of reading to do by Wednesday…and the book still hadn’t been returned to the library yet! EEEK!

Luckily, the next day, Charlie and I bussed it to the Roseville library, where they had a copy on hand [and the COOLEST kids area. Charlie was in heaven. They even had a child-size potty, which he went on like a pro]. But that still didn’t solve the problem of the amount of dense historical reading of events I never even knew occurred.

But I did it!!!! And I took copious amounts of notes, and was fully prepared for class. Go me.

Speaking of the library. For the first time, the books I checked out for Charlie were all of his own choosing, which was very fun. One of them even happened to be a potty book, though I think he wanted it because it was the same artist as Yummy Yucky, so it looked familiar. AND because it had a kitty in it.

Another one was a my-first-words type book, but in French. It had good trucks in it

What a schnookums.