Just call me Earle

For those of you who don’t know who Earl is, he is the guy who the Hollands have called on for years to do various tasks around the house. Such tasks include fixing lawn mowers, helping to move large furniture, helping with landscaping and my personal favorite, putting together Avery’s crib. Yes – that’s right – my husband asked him to put together Avery’s crib – a task that I could have done by myself, but he insisted on asking Earle. One may ask what Earle charges for such services? No idea. I’ve never seen a bill, nor has Josh. I have to imagine that his parents receive some sort of a bill, but have never heard anything from them either. The whole thing is really odd. I don’t get it, but who am I to ask? All that I will say is that when we do receive a bill, Josh will promptly make his way to Home Depot to do a few “do it yourself" trainings so that he too can be like Earle someday.

Well, this weekend? I was Earle. Not only was I Earle, but I was Earle with a 1 year old and a 3 year old, which makes it even more impressive in my book. I decided that the lawn needed some work, as it is 80% weeds and 20% grass, so I took it upon myself to research how to fix this problem and to then take both kids to Home Depot to get the necessary fertilizer. While there, I got sand for the sandbox, birdseed for the poor birds who hadn’t been fed in weeks and weed eater for the weeds growing in the middle of the driveway. Then, on the way home, managed to keep both kids awake so that I wouldn’t ruin nap time. For those of you who have traveled with me around this time of day, you know what a trying task this is. I’ll never forget the day that my mom spent 30 minutes in the back tickling, playing with and singing to Avery to keep her up. Try doing that as you drive – it’s a talent that I’ve mastered. So, I got the kids home, fed them lunch and got them down for a nap. Then, proceeded to fertilize the lawn, spray the weeds in the driveway, fill the sandbox and fill the bird feeder. I’ll be honest – I was really impressed with my ability to get everything done and felt much better afterwards.


That was all on Sunday. On Saturday, we had 2 birthday parties to go to. I took Alex to a friend’s 1 year birthday and then Josh took Avery to her friend’s 3 year birthday. Kids had a great time at both. In fact, when I met Avery at her party, I approached her all excited and I got the “mom – I’m busy playing with my friends, don’t bother me” look. It’s starting already.
Mr. Alex is getting VERY close to crawling. He pushes himself forward and is on one knee and one foot – if he kicks that foot back and gets on both knees, it doesn’t last for long. He either kicks his legs back and falls or he goes back to sitting. But, he is much closer than he has been.


He is also getting to be really good at pulling himself up on things and looks for something to do that with any chance he gets.

And, clearly, he is VERY proud of himself...



Avery is doing well other than the nightmares that she seems to be having nightly. I’m not going to lie – it’s getting old. I would say that we have gotten up with her an average of 2 times a night for the last 4 weeks. I’m not sure what to do about it. But, I’m getting to the point where I really need some sleep and I’m thoroughly annoyed that I’m not getting it. Apparently, during this nap, she got out of bed and got tired of waiting for us to come see her, so she chose to take a nap on her stuffed dog right in the middle of the hallway. I will say, that was a first.