P.S.

Mark and I were doing some last-minute Christmas shopping, and of course, I was getting snappy. Finally, Mark had had enough of my commentary, so he said, "Put a sock in it, Mommy!" 

Squeege immediately piped in with, "Yeah, put it in your sock, Mommy!" 

Snappiness over. 

Another anecdote: When we were having Christmas brunch at Berkeley Hall a couple of weekends ago, Santa (aka Ray from the front gate) asked Squeege what he wanted for Christmas. In one breath, without hesistation, Squeege busted out an alphabetical list: "I want cars, choo-choo trains, Tommy Boy, Transformers, and trucks." And after a moment's pause, he added, "And a digger." 

On a final note, if you'd like to see more pictures from our magical Christmas experience, visit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/squeegemom. N-joy!

christmas celebration no. 4

On Christmas evening, we went to Meme's house for dinner. She made an awesome prime rib that we devoured, including Squeege, who became a member of the Clean Plate Club. 

After dinner, Squeege burned some calories by turning on the Singing Bell decoration and dancing to the music. 

All in all, we had a great Christmas. We are sad that we didn't get to see all of our family and friends, but we hope to catch up with everyone in the new year!

christmas celebration no. 3

Christmas at our house was so much fun. Meme stormed in the house at 7:30, waking everyone up. Uncle Jofus made breakfast & then we opened presents. My wonderful hubby, who stayed up until 3am opening presents, got me some really cute clothes, and then he handed me a present, which he said was "just a gag gift." It was an iPhone! YAY! 

Last, but not least, we showed Squeege what Santa had left him. He FLIPPED OUT when he saw his new super-cool choo-choo set. It's so funny how you're more excited about the presents you've gotten for your children than the presents you've received after you have kids. Mark and I couldn't wait to show this to Squeege!

christmas celebration no. 2

Christmas at Gan-Gan & Hank's was a blast. Lots of food & family, and Garrett got passed around all day, and he loved it. He got snuggled all day long! It was so nice to see everyone again.

Can you believe this is Squeege and Garrett's great-grandma?!?!

Garrett snuggling with Great-Grandpa Hank.

Squeege wearing his new Christmas gear and playing with his new remote control dump truck. 

christmas celebration no. 1

The first stop in our Christmas rotation was the Savannah Mall, where Squeege rode on the choo-choo in the Christmas Village several times. Anything to pass the time! Squeege deserved it, though- he endured several hours of last-minute Christmas shopping with his Mom & Meme. 

Later that evening, we went to Grandma Niecy & Choppy's, where they had set up their choo-choo set. Squeege absolutely loved it! We had a yummy dinner & then opened gifts. My favorite gift was the Harley-Davidson "lip stuff" holder that attaches to Squeege's belt loop. How ingenious! Squeege also received a replica Harley-Davidson that was the exact model of a motorcycle Choppy used to own. 

family of facemelters

Squeege received an electric guitar for Christmas from his great-grandparents, and as you can see, it was a big hit with all the boys. They each took turns melting their faces off with their awesome riffs and blinding guitar solos. 

Doo-doo-doo-doo, Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo

If you ever want to make Garrett laugh, swing him back and forth and sing the theme song to "Sanford & Son." Works like a charm.

Squeege Has Issues

Meme and I took Squeege and Garrett to Savannah yesterday for some last-minute Christmas shopping and a few rides on the Savannah Mall choo-choo. Of course, Squeege ran away from me about 6,000 times, to the point that I no longer look at women who have their toddlers on leashes with disdain. 

On our ride home, Squeege was saying something silly, so I jokingly said to him, "You've got issues, bud." He paused for a moment, and then pointed at his feet and said, "I've got my shoes right here." 

My son is hilarious.

sweet treat party

Yesterday afternoon was our Sweet Treat Party, where moms and their kids brought their favorite desserts and we snacked and talked and had a jolly old time together. It was a lot of fun to see a bunch of crazy toddlers running around on a serious sugar high with icing all over their faces and in their hair and in every other imaginable place. I was surprised that I didn't find cookie crumbs in Squeege's diaper later that day. 

Here's little Jack Ussery, adorable in his spectacles, rooting around the toy box after Squeege rudely decided that he didn't want to share his Christmas choo-choo with him. It was so funny to see how quickly Jack's tune changed. He went from screaming at the injustice of not being able to play with the train set to saying, "Oooooh!" in delight when I opened up the toy box. 

But then, the tune changed back to screaming when his Momma, Erin Ussery, started to leave. Nothing's less fun than carrying a hungry baby and a screaming toddler to the car, but she handled it very patiently! 

Here's Tristan Svalina, completely engrossed in the now-emptied toy box. For some reason, while he didn't have any cupcakes, he still managed to cover himself in red and green icing!

Of all the sweet treats at the party, Squeege thought his little brother tasted the best. 

I'm not sure which Hass triplet this is, but she definitely knows how to multitask. She probably learned that from her Momma, who had 4 babies in 3 years, I think! 

Garrett and Charlotte know how to chill. Ever since I've had children, I've always wondered why they don't have portable La-Z-Boys for adults. My Dad would love one for Christmas. 

Mondays Need Jokes

What a nutjob.

Last night, my Mom came over to visit before my girl's night out at Beth Patton's home. We were all having a jolly old time. Squeege was playing around with his Meme's new puppy, an adorable teacup yorkie named Baby, who is no bigger than my hand. 

But then, for a second, the chaos died down. It was eerily quiet. I walked into my bedroom, and this is what I found.

Squeege took out my nail polish bag and gave himself a pedicure. For a toddler, he did a surprisingly good job. There are only a few spots of red nail polish on our white carpet, and they're definitely never coming out. 

But that's not where it ends. We threw him in the bath tub, and Meme jokingly asked Evan if Baby could take a bath with him. While the water was filling up, we went into the living room to check on Garrett. And then it got quiet again. I walked into our bedroom, and I heard an evil laugh coming out of the bathroom. 

All Mom could hear was, "Oh no," as I walked in on Squeege giggling at a struggling puppy in the bathtub with him. Her head was barely above the water, and she was clawing at the side of the tub, desperately trying to get out. Apparently, Squeege had gotten out of the tub, thrown Baby in, and then gotten back in with her. 

And why is it that I'm always late to everything???? Oh yeah, that's right. Because my oldest son is a total nutjob. 

Is Squeege really big...or did we get a Squeege-sized Christmas tree?

We decided we'd like to have a smaller Christmas tree this year. One that Squeege could decorate himself. It didn't exactly work out as planned, because I did the decorating, and Squeege does the un-decorating. But it is super-cute to have a little Christmas tree that is now almost up to its ears in presents!

I would like a toddler for Christmas. A toddler whose new favorite pose is to "croak" with his tongue out, like a dead possum. 

Squeegebob Pacopants

Hola, me llamo Squeege, y yo gozo las caminatas larga en la playa, en las novelas de romance, y en los pasteles. Me pelicula favorita es algo con Meg Ryan, y mi heroe es el greeter en Wal-Mercado. Si usted quiere coladas de pina y para ser agarrado bajo la lluvia, por favor me escribe- tendremos que juntarse algun tiempo y hacer la musica hermosa juntos. 

(for translation, visit www.freetranslation.com) 

Best Gingerbread House Ever

While I was at a cookie exchange with my super-cool lady friends, Squeege was building his dream home- one that is made entirely out of sweets. His architect was his Daddy, and his designer was his Grandma Niecy. They did a pretty fabulous job, huh? This is actually after a few minutes of demolition on the part of the owner- he ate a few Starburst bricks from the siding, and he ripped Santa off the rooftop and devoured him. 

I love two-year-olds!

I know this might look like child abuse because instead of comforting my son while he's crying I'm taking pictures, but immediately after these photos were taken, Squeege stopped crying and wanted to see himself in the photos. I rest my case. 

And we wonder where the money goes....

It looks like I'm stockpiling provisions in case of a nuclear holocaust. Always good to be prepared.

Pre-Christmas Weekend in Charleston

It was such a fun weekend in Charleston! As you can tell, Squeege's godfather (throwing out gang signs in the picture to the left) acts more like his shoe size than his age, and we love it! We spent most of our time downtown, hanging out at Marion Square, walking down King Street, and eating breakfast at the Sweetwater Cafe. 

Squeege's favorite part of our trip was pretending to get shot and "croak" (see example below). As you can tell in the picture, Garrett was none too impressed by any of us. 

 

Squeege and Daddy watched the Christmas Parade together on Sunday. While I liked the marching band the best, Squeege favored the 

"Biker Bruthaz" motorcycle gang, who must have spent two tanks of gas on the parade with all the revving of their engines they were doing. 

Dinner at Uncle Jofus and Erin's

We had such a great time this weekend in Charleston. The boys and I headed up there a night early while Mark stayed down in Bluffton and went out with his old golf buddies. Erin cooked an awesome dinner, which was followed by a pillowfight, in which Squeege actually enjoyed getting hit hard in the face by his rough-and-tumble Uncle Jofus. You see the picture of Erin with Garrett? What is it about babies that makes doggies so protective? Jasper was snuggled up next to him all night, exactly the way Quincey is when Garrett is at Grandma Niecy's. 

The Rottenhead Family

we have found out our grinch names...to find yours out, visit: http://www.yourgeekfriend.com/GrinchName/GrinchName.php

the rottenhead family
crabbygrouch rottenhead - heather
bittertroll rottenhead- squeege
crabbygrinch rottenhead- mark
scroogeyfrown rottenhead- garrett

food comas are the best

Thanksgiving rocked. That's all I can say. Still have warm fuzzies from good friends and family. We all had so much fun, and we all ate WAY too much. The pictures tell the story.












Our brood started out their day with the Macy's Parade, and then Squeege got to go play 9 holes with his Daddy, Ryan, and Big Bobby.









Apparently, a woman's place is in the kitchen. Using a carving knife to rip apart delicious turkey flesh. Moist and delectable. Thank you, Butterball. And Grandma Niecy.









Our good buddy Jack, a bruiser at only 5 months old! So much fun to see him at our Thanksgiving dinner with his awesome parents, Kent and Elizabeth.











As punishment for losing a round of Shut-the-Box against Little Bobby, my husband had to get a manicure from Grandma Niecy. The nice pink shade actually favored him.













This is the expression of a man who thinks he's not good with children. But in reality, he rocked with them. He didn't want us to see him, but he was actually crawling around on the ground with the toddlers by the end of our Thanksgiving Eve-night dinner party!









These are the toddlers, Choochy (Frankie) and the Squeege. Playing the Fishing Game that was commandeered by the adults after the munchkins went to bed. Because it was such a strenuous game, several juice boxes were needed for hydration. And for spilling on the carpet.









This is the expression of a man who just realized there's a poopy diaper and he doesn't want anyone to know that he was the first to smell it because that would mean he would have to change said poopy diaper. Too late. You've been discovered.









Quincey loves his nephew Garrett. He didn't leave his side all night! This dog does NOT like to lay on the couch, but since Garrett was on the couch, he acquiesced. And the two of them were happy as clams, watching football with Choppy, who lay sleeping on the red leather chair beside them.

What a great holiday! Lots of love all around.

Songs for My Babies

Okay, maybe I am a total nerd, but every time I hear these songs it makes me think of my babies and how happy they make me. Shut up- I know I'm a dork.

Max and Miles, the most patient kitties on Earth

When I first took this photo I thought Mark was looking at Garrett with this face. Then I saw that our cat, Miles, was laying beside him. Our poor kitties get no love from the boys in my house. When Mark isn't looking at them with disdain, Squeege is picking them up and trying to treat them like babies by carrying them and grabbing them by the neck to give them smooches. The other night he tried to convince Max that he would love to relax in the baby swing.

Munchkin Buns is All Grown Up

My youngest son is now 2 months old. I am ready for another one. Especially after watching Knocked Up the other night. For some reason, when she is in writhing pain pushing out her baby, it makes me want to do it all over again. I have a problem.