Marin and I have had a blast this week, getting back into the routine of going to the bounce house. All the big kids are back in school because we are seriously rocking some good weather here in Nashville. That means no rough, crazed lunatics in an indoor play area. Well, almost none. :)

Marin and I were hanging out in the basketball inflatable. It is a really cool basketball "court" if you will and has 2 blow up nets for shooting baskets. Marin likes to hang out in there and just play with the basketballs. They aren't real basketballs. They are soft, rubber playground balls decorated with Sponge Bob, Spider Man, and an assortment of other cool characters. The fact that they aren't regulation basketballs is a very good thing.

Marin was just chilling out, minding his own business, when a 3 or 4 year old little boy takes one of the balls and throws it right in Marin's face. On purpose. Just to see what Marin would do. Marin just stands there looking stunned for a second, wondering what the heck just happened. I knew it didn't really "hurt" Marin so I just stayed put, wanting to see if the kids could work it out. The other mother was mortified and already alternating between apologizing profusely to me while reading her kid his rights.

After taking a moment to collect his wits, Marin starts slowly walking towards the other boy. The kid has already gotten back to his game and has his back turned to Marin. Uh-oh. Marin gets within arms reach and slaps the kid on the back. Just one good whallop to let him know what he did wasn't cool.

I was now among the mortified mother's club. The other mother simply said, "Don't worry about it. He was just defending himself." I guess she's right and I was secretly glad that Marin didn't let him by with it. As my favorite hockey player, Jordin Tootoo, once said: "It's not retaliation! It's part of the game." :)

I like to give Marin a hard time on this blog. When you are the mother of an almost 2 year old, it is nice to have an outlet (like this blog) to vent your frustrations of raising a hellion. :) In all seriousness, Marin is really a good kid. He's just, well....nearly 2! It comes with the territory, or so I've been told.

Finding out that you are capable of making decisions for yourself is very exciting. Finding out that your parents still get final say sucks big time. Children Marin's age are very aware of their surroundings. They notice every minute detail and sometimes obsess over the smallest things.

For example, there is a drawing of a fish on a fast food restaurant sign near our house. Marin knows which direction the "fish" is and asks to see it. If you explain to him that you aren't going that way, he starts to whine. If you do pass by the fish, he is happy to see it but then mad after it is out of sight again. He will say, "Fish! More!" and get upset if you don't distract him with something else.

Another good example is trucks on the interstate. Marin loves seeing them. He also thinks you can order up trucks anytime you want. If one passes by, he immediately starts yelling for "more" trucks. He doesn't understand that just because he wants to see more trucks that they aren't going to magically appear on demand.

On the flip side, Marin is the most loving child. He gives out hugs and kisses at random. He rubs your back if he thinks you don't feel good. If you hurt yourself he says "ouchy" and looks at you with a sad face. He is also very forgiving. If you apologize to him for anything, he always says, "O.k." and gives you a hug and a smile.

Marin is also the most polite child. He says please and thank you (unprompted most of the time). :) The things he thanks us for constantly amaze me. He will thank me for changing his diaper or helping him with his clothes. What 22 month old does that? He wipes his mouth with a napkin when he's finished eating. He will clean off his highchair tray with a paper towel. He comes up behind me when I'm down in the floor cleaning up his messes and pats me on the back. When he comes into a room that you are in, he greets you with a "hi" or a "hello" just to be nice. He's just too sweet for words sometimes.

I guess the moral of the story is to model good behavior for your kids. If you are polite to your spouse, they are watching. If you say please and thank you to others in their presence, they are listening. If you are affectionate with them, they will be affectionate with you. Teach them the skills you want them to have early. There is no reason that a 22 month old can't help clean up after lunch, help pick up their toys, etc. Yes, their "helping" may be more of hindrance sometimes and clean up will take longer, but at least they are learning responsibility.

I know that his 2 year old tantrums are just a phase and that he will eventually grow out of screaming in restaurants and crying over the least little grievance. We will look back on this and laugh someday. In the meantime, his sweet hugs and kisses will have to get us through.

We're off to a pretty good weekend so far. Last night, the 3 of us went out to dinner and it was dare I say pleasant. Marin was really good. He ate well, was polite, and even willingly consumed his broccoli.

Matthew and I tried out our new blades after dinner. We pretty much ruled the ice. It makes a drastic difference in skating ability to have your own set of skates. Don't ask me why, it just does. By ruling the ice, I mean that I didn't fall or hug the boards. Matthew is a good skater already. Both sets need to be broken in a bit more, so back to the rink we go tonight! I'd love to make going skating a regular routine. Now that we have our own skates, hopefully we can make that happen.

Marin just watched mom and dad last night. He wanted on the ice, but it was very crowded and we didn't feel like fooling with it honestly. Maybe he'll get in some ice time tonight. We'll see.

Sorry, no pictures. I asked Matthew if he wanted to take the camera and he said, "I don't want any photographic evidence of how much we suck in our new skates." :)

At least for now, the frigid weather has left us and we are greeted by low 70's temperatures when we go outside. I love an early spring. I just hope that we are done with the snow. Having the windows open and hearing the birds chirping is a lot more fun than having to spend 30 minutes getting bundled up just to go get the mail!

We have already started thinking of Marin's birthday party, even though it is 2 months away. You can always find the cutest decorations and such online. So, I like to order it a little bit at a time so I can pretend that I didn't spend a fortune on disposable party items. :) This year's theme will be apples. Marin loves apples. He likes to talk about them more than eat them though. He will nibble at any variety of apple and will inhale an entire Aurora apple, but Aurora's are hard to come by. He points out anything remotely resembling an apple when we are out and about. We have artificial apples in glass containers on our fireplace mantle and he lets me know that they are still there at least a hundred times a day. He even has to say goodnight to them every night. So, it seemed the perfect party theme. We are hoping to book the local bounce house for his party, but you know I couldn't leave the decorating to them.

Matthew's and my Valentine gifts arrived in the mail yesterday. I was gone shopping with Marin, so I wasn't here when the delivery guy showed up. Matthew couldn't contain himself and opened his present...and mine. :) Maybe we'll post some action shots for you on the blog tonight after we try them out!

I should have known that Valentine's Day 2011 was going to be awesome right from the get-go. No, I don't have a strong dislike for the holiday. I can take it or leave it. But, anyway, let me explain.

The door bell rings. I think that it must be a friend or neighbor. I open the door to a strange dude standing there with a heart shaped box of chocolate. "Happy Valentine's Day!", he says. I return the greeting and stand there looking slightly confused. Then it dawns on me that maybe he's a delivery guy and that he's bringing me a gift from Matthew or another family member. Sweet! I love chocolate. Turns out the chocolate is indeed for me!

All I have to do is agree to let him come in and clean my carpets for a discounted rate. Bummed to find out that this is a sales pitch, I politely decline. He didn't let me keep the chocolates. I was so baffled by the whole incident that I didn't even let him have it for soliciting when we have a no soliciting sign on our front door. The sight of chocolate at 10 in the morning almost made me take him up on his offer.

The afternoon was better. My friend Amanda and I took our sons to the park. It was in the low 60's, though still a bit windy. Both boys were worn out and took good naps after our play date.

Evening rolls around and we decide to go out to dinner. Of course we have Marin in tow, so there is no way we are braving a fancy joint (you know, no Outback or Cracker Barrel). Speaking of Cracker Barrel, Marin was all sorts of pissed when we wouldn't take him there. He calls it "fire place" because well, they have a fire place. He indicated he wanted to go there as soon as we turned onto the road. We said no because it was too crowded. He screamed like he was being tortured for the next half hour.

We ended up at Calypso, a Caribbean themed eatery. We'd never eaten there before but had heard rave reviews. Having spent a lot of time in the Caribbean, I can assure you that there was no Caribbean food at Calypso. We left disappointed in the food as well as Marin's behavior. As he screamed and kicked while I tried to buckle him into his car seat, a 20-ish year old guy walked by the car and sort of chuckled. He looked scared when I offered him a toddler for Valentine's Day. He said he had 2 puppies. I said I'd trade.

After finally getting Marin into bed, Valentine's Day took a drastic turn for the better. Matthew and I locked the door to our room, turned off the TV, and decided to watch some male reviews online. It was very hot and steamy. Turns out, the males offer products for sale to make any Valentine happy. Hopefully, what we bought arrives in a plain box, so the neighbors won't get any ideas. I want to get good before I show off for anyone. Wanna see what I got? Click here if you think you can handle it.

I just wanted to update everyone on our glorious weekend. Mimi got here Friday night and Marin ran right to her and never looked back. Matthew and I basically ran to the car the second she pulled up in the driveway. :) It was like Christmas.

We went ice skating-twice. We slept in late. We went out to lunch. We saw a movie. We looked at camper trailers, RV's, and new cars just for the heck of it. We went shopping. We enjoyed the warm weather, drove with the windows down, and reveled in the sweet silence of it all.

We even got in a bit of family time, too. The four of us went to a Japanese hibachi restaurant. Marin liked the fire this time, which is a new development. He didn't eat anything except 3 strawberry snack bars and everyone's fortune cookie.

We are so thankful for the time we got to spend together. Thanks a million Mimi. You are welcome back anytime. Like next weekend for example. :)

It has been almost 3 months since Matthew and I have been on a date. Yes, people, 3 months. We haven't eaten a meal by ourselves. We haven't seen a movie. We haven't even had 5 minutes of peace sans Marin since November. My birthday was the last time we went out. It has been bad, let me tell ya.

Our datelessness has come from no fault of our own. I have tried like mad to find a babysitter. We even have 3 babysitters, none of which have wanted to watch our kid. Why? Who knows? They all say that he was an angel the last time they watched him. But, then again, each of the 3 have only watched him once. So, that should have been my first clue. No repeats=kid was holy hell while we were away.

The only fearless babysitter we have left is not a babysitter at all. She goes by the name of Mimi and is my freakin hero. She was the one that rescued us back in November so that I could have a nice birthday with my hubby. Bless her heart though, she's been really busy these past few months. So, she hasn't been able to come spend time with Marin. But, tonight's the night. Mimi will be here in exactly 2 hours and 15 minutes. Not that I'm counting or anything.

Marin had mercy on me and took a nap today. It only took 3 tries of putting him down before he finally passed out. When you have an almost 2 year old, you need a nap worse than they do. But, I'm spending the time blogging and catching up on celebrity gossip. Ahhh, the things I used to take for granted. :)

Matthew and I really miss getting to spend time together. We actually LIKE each other, which is odd for a married couple. :) We used to spend a lot of time together, doing things like going out to eat and to the movies. There is no way that either activity is pleasant when you have to drag along a toddler. Trust me, we've tried it.

I'm super jealous of the folks that have regular baby sitters. Or the folks that have friends and family nearby that are just itching to watch their kid for an evening for free! That's the real kick in the pants.

Marin knows Mimi is coming. He's asked for her approximately 1,400 times today. He loves spending time with his Mimi, so it is a win-win for everyone. Only 2 hours and 5 minutes till the clouds part, the angels sing, and two very date-deprived parents finally make bail. :)

I'll finally let you in on the hard truth of the matter about the past week. Matthew was gone on a work trip. For the entire week. While Marin and I were home sick. I don't announce when Marin and I are home alone on the blog in case there are any crazies out there. So, now you know. Matthew got home tonight and I'm not sure who was the most excited to see him back.

Doing it alone was hard, especially while sick. I'm used to dealing with Marin by myself during the day, but then Matthew always steps up big time in the evenings. He is a really hands on dad and does a lot for Marin. They are big buddies. I'm glad to have my partner in crime back home, that's for sure.

As an avid reader, Marin has quite the collection of books. He loves them all and can always tell when I've rotated a book in or out of his bin in the living room. His most favorite thing is getting a brand new book though. So, that's just what we did last night at the grocery store. I happened to run across a bin the size of a kiddie pool with a giant sign hanging on it that said "Now 50% off". Yes, Mimi, I dove in head first. :) I am dying to go back sans Marin and really dig around and see what all I can find. He was thrilled with our $2.49 cent purchase, which was way more than 50% off. Imagine my surprise to find a Priddy book there! The book retails for $16.95! It's a 3 book in 1: My big animal book, My big world book, and My big dinosaur book. I just saw the cover and that it was a Priddy (one of Marin's favorite authors) and stashed it underneath a loaf of bread in the cart before Marin saw it. If he'd have spotted it, I'd have had to read it to him right there in the isle! I'm still excited today because this is a really nice book. It's a BIG board book that is about a foot tall! I just love the fact that Priddy uses real animals for their illustrations and the animals are always standing in front of bold, primary colored backgrounds. They are just really cool books.

Other book stories:

The other night when he and I were picking up his books to go to bed, he picks one up off the floor and hands it to me and says "Zoo Crew" which is the title of the book!

Marin spied How The Grinch Stole Christmas in his holiday book bucket hidden on a bottom shelf and asked me to read it to him today. I didn't think he'd sit through such a long, "big kid" story, but he hung on every word and asked for "more" when I was finished.

He really likes a book that he refers to as "Row, Row" that his Tutu & Grandpa got him on vacation. It's a Row, Row, Row Your Boat sing along book, complete with a button that you push that plays the song. Well, Marin has pushed the button so much that now it only plays the music as far as "Row, Row", so maybe that is why he calls it that. ha.ha. There is a duck "hidden" in each page of the book and Marin always points to it and says "Quack, Quack" when he spots it. On one page, there is a pirate flag and I always point to it and say "Arrrr, Matey" and Marin always says back, "Awww Man". That makes me laugh every time.

Mimi bought him a book called My First Airplane Trip that has peek-thru windows throughout the book. He likes to look through the windows and pretend that he sees jet planes. He loves doing jet sounds and always laughs when I do the same. There is a point in the book where the captain of the plane gives the little boy a pair of wings and the little boy says, "Wow, Thanks!" Marin always says "Thank You!" after that. ha.ha.

We've been reading to Marin since he was born, but really started heavily when he was about 6 weeks old. Even that early on, he would look at the pictures in the books and really study them. Now, he can entertain himself with a good book. When it gets really quiet and you wonder what he's up to, he's usually sitting on the couch with a book in his lap, turning the pages like a big boy. I'm so glad he's a reader. That's one of the things I like to do with him the most. It always makes me smile when he comes running with a book held out towards me and says, "Read!" and I say, "Say, Please" and he says, "Peeees". :)

Since Marin and I have been home sick, we've spent even more time than usual just sitting around reading, playing, and talking with each other. His vocabulary has skyrocketed in the past couple weeks. He also has started "singing" a lot. I can't understand the words to any of his songs, so that is good preparation for when he is a teenager.

Marin's word of the day today is towel. As in paper towel. Of course, it involves a cleaning implement. Those of you that know Marin are not surprised. He said "towel" for the first time this morning at breakfast. He was asking for a wet paper towel to clean off his high chair tray after he finished eating.

He's doing so much better today. He's got just a bit of a cough and his nose is a little runny, but his fever is gone and he seems to feel much better. I'm doing tons better as well. I can actually breathe out of my nose, which is heavenly. And my throat has upgraded to feeling like fine grain sandpaper, instead of coarse.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot to tell everybody about this cool book I found. Actually, it is a series of books called Good Night Our World. I picked up the New York City version for Marin while we were there and he has loved reading it since our return home. I'm thinking of adding to his library from other places he's visited. It's a really cute board book and he loves pointing out the smallest details in it. He can also say the word "taxi" which makes me laugh and is so NYC.

Marin and I went to the grocery store this afternoon to stock up on the essentials: milk, bread, and Totinos Pizza Rolls. It is supposed to snow sometime tomorrow and I knew that the shelves would be bare by this evening. Other shoppers were also planning to hunker down. The woman in line in front of us had chosen 6 bags of potato chips. Just the mere mention of the word "snow" sends people into a frenzy. Naturally, it is one of Marin's current favorite words. He said it repeatedly on our trip through the isles, adding to merriment of it all.

While standing in the check out line, it suddenly hit me that we were out of aluminum foil. I quickly backed out of my parking spot, grabbed a roll off the shelf in the next isle over, and instantly felt relieved. After all, you never know when you'll have good grilling out weather.

Marin finally collapsed from exhaustion at 9 pm last night. He was falling asleep in his high chair at 6 pm and I kept poking him awake every few minutes. :) That's what he gets for not taking a nap! I finally decided it was late enough for him to go to bed at 8, but it takes almost an hour for our bedtime routine. He got a good night's sleep though and woke up in a better mood today.

I'm still feeling like crap, but I guess I'll make it. My throat feels like sandpaper. Not cool.

Marin and I were sitting on the living room rug playing with toys yesterday evening and I started feeling pretty lousy about how I'd been grouchy with him all day. Granted he's not been a joy to live with either for the past few days, but that's getting off the point. :) I decided to have a little talk with him.

Me: Marin, Mommy wants to talk to you for a second.

Marin: Okay

Me: (holding his little hands)

Marin: (looking up at me with his big, ole brown eyes all sad and sappy looking)

Me: Marin, Mommy is sorry that she's been grouchy with you all day. I love you and Mommy is not mad at you. I have an ouchy. (I then point to my nose and throat).

Marin: Ouchy?

Me: Yes, Mommy has an ouchy. Do you understand what Mommy is saying to you?

Marin: Yeah, Yeah! (vigorously shaking his head yes up and down several times).

At this point, Marin's little face lights up like he's had a fantastic idea. He jumps up off the rug, runs around behind me (I'm also sitting on the rug) and get this....

He starts rubbing my back.

Yes, I did cry. You would have too. :)

Thanks to everyone who has been thinking about Marin. He's doing about 90% better today! So much better that he even got to go to gymnastics class this morning. I, on the other hand, am doing 90% worse than yesterday. Please keep the both of us in your thoughts, as it is really challenging (okay, no it SUCKS) taking care of a toddler when you are sick yourself. Marin has also refused to nap all day even though he got up early. Hopefully, this means he will go to bed early tonight!