Meanwhile, Back at the Franch

Who needs a painted pony when you can paint your own?

Since everyone keeps telling me how much they like the ‘Jeff and Meg’s Romantic Franch Date’ stories, here is another one for you. Not really a romantic date, but a Jeff and Meg shenanigan. As I have mentioned about 27 times already, you have to make up things to do since there is not much in the way of cultural entertainment. Besides, cultural entertainment is highly overrated. In an attempt to entertain ourselves one day, we rounded up a can of spray paint and Jeff’s previously mentioned gun-obsessed uncle’s cat and made ourselves a skunk. Yes, you heard that right. We captured their black cat and painted a white strip clear down its back and tail. Oh, boy, was that a kick in the pants. You should try it sometime. Along the same vein, Jeff and one of the guys from the farm captured a prairie dog and spray painted it Hunter Orange. Being contentious of the animal’s rights, they practiced the ‘Catch and Release’ principle. I will say that the orange spray paint made it so much easier to sight in against the green wheat fields.

While I am on the subject of painting animals, I just recalled a time when we lived in California. We caught some kind of turtle and took care of it for a day or two. Our parents weren't to keen on us taking in a stinky reptile so we had to release it back into the wild. Not wanting the turtle to forget it's short but sweet time with us Cheyney kids, we emblazoned it's shell with the moniker we so thoughtfully dubbed it with: PeeWee. Somewhere in the world, there is a turtle wandering around with the name 'PeeWee' scrawled on it's back with a Sharpie marker. We should have left our address on there too and started some kind of 'track the turtle' project. That would have been fun.

My brain is fried and so is the internet...

This whole house ordeal has caused me to perpetually feel as though my brain is going to explode. The good thing is that the sellers have agreed to give us what they originally offered us, so we don't have that hanging over our heads. Now, we have the renter thing hanging over our heads. We placed an ad in the paper again this week and have gotten only two calls. Our real estate agent also, finally, posted it for us on his website. Apparently, according to some people who are educated in the market, the rental market is very slow right now. At this point, while I like the house and would love to live there, I just want things to be over! Fortunately, we do not have the pressure of needing housing. If this does not work out, it is not the end of the world. Jeff is excited about the possibility of being a slum lord. Ha! Ha! I prefer to call it our 'investment property.' Anyhow, that is the quick update. (I keep meaning to call you, Gma and Gpa, to give you the update...)

All the drama has apparently had an affect on the internet as well. It is on the fritz, at least for the last few days. I guess that's what happens when you are pirating the free waves of internet that are floating through the air. How's that for a technical description, Jeffrey? Since the internet has been working on and off, I have realized how nice it is to be able to hop on anytime I want and Google whatever my little heart desires. Oh, well. I have plenty to keep me busy anyway. Adios!

The Ethics of Sharing “Unnies”

So, I’ll just jump right in here. Someone from Freecycle gave us a ton of really nice hand-me-down clothes for James. The bag also contained little boys’ underwear. I have no problem with hand-me-downs, but underwear?! This is not the first time I have come across this, so it must be pretty normal. I just think its weird. I mean, seriously, would you buy used underwear for yourself? Uh, NO. That’s just sick and wrong. So why, oh why, is it ethical to allow your children to wear some other kid’s ‘unnies?’ Since Jeff has been pestering me for weeks now to put a poll on the blog, I feel that the time has come to use one. So, without further ado, would you or would you not allow your child or hypothetical child to wear some other kid’s skivvies? Please, please...this is all-important and may change your life forever, so vote now. (The poll is over to your right, folks. Just click away!)

And now that you have your undies in a bunch from all this deep contemplation, here are a few pictures of the kiddies:

Notes from the Nut House

Its been another eventful weekend here at what seems to be fast becoming the Nut House. Saturday we had three sets of people scheduled to see the house. Going into the weekend, we were both feeling considerably skeptical that the house thing was going to work out. We prepared the house 'in case' anyone showed up, and then sat down to wait. There was only one person I thought might show up. He didn't show. The next guy actually showed up. They are very interested in the house and are actually 'going to drop off the application this week.' While there is nothing that raises a red flag with them, neither one of us are particularly sure of them so we'll see what happens. The third guy didn't show. It was no big shock, since he didn't even wait on the phone long enough to get our address. He just set up the appointment, said 'see you Saturday' and hung up. We're dealing with QUALITY here, people...QUALITY! After that all played out, we packed it up and headed over to Mom's for her birthday shin-dig. I made dinner and Rachel made the cakes. That's dedication, since she had to brave the stench, uh, scent of carob while making Mom's cake. Mom ruined my child for life by feeding him Carob cake. He is now seeing a therapist three times a week. Its going to be a long road, but we will prevail! Later that evening, we had a call from another potential renter. They wanted to see the house and so we told them to come on Sunday. We figured with our luck, they wouldn't show. We were having the gang over for dinner and figured if they did show, we'd just walk them around. Well, let me tell you. They did show...did they ever. Two parents, and two incredibly bratty kids. The kids proceeded to pull every single toy and book off the shelf and onto the floor. Apparently, Mom's mama bear instincts set in and she swooped in to prevent further anarchy. Good thing I wasn't around, because word has it that the kid called James a name or two, and was stealing toys. I am not one of those super-freak parents, but don't be coming into my house and pushing my kid around. I think it took everything Auntie Rach and Un-tee Ball had in them to not pummel the pint-sized Nazi child. The dad didn't even look upstairs. He ended up taking his shrieking daughter out and telling his wife to get the application. The kid didn't want to leave and she, obviously, didn't really want to make him. She kept telling him that he could come back again soon. Uh, no, you can't, I wanted to scream. When she finally coerced him to get his shoes on he loaded up his arms with toys. She tried to encourage him to put the toys back, but mostly just stood there like she wanted us to just let him take the stuff. Jeff had to be the one to get the toys back from the kid. It was all too strange. When they left, we all scratched our heads while the dust settled. At least now the fam has seen what we go through every Saturday, letting complete strangers traipse through our house. Ah, fun times. Fun times. Fortunately, after everyone left we enjoyed a quiet afternoon filled with naps and reading.

This morning, I had quite the encounter with a disgruntled sign-holder-guy. I was going to pick up some clothes from a Freecycler and saw a guy ahead holding the 'SLOW' sign. They were doing some work off to the side of the road and Mr. Grumpy Pants was in charge of holding the SLOW/STOP sign. As I approached, he started to flip the sign to STOP. I slowed down to stop and he flipped the sign back around to SLOW. So, I accelerated. By this, I mean I was going maybe 20 MPH. In my experience here, when you go too slow, they wave at you to hurry up. Not this guy. He FREAKED OUT! He started shouting and waving the sign at me. He flipped the sign back to STOP for a second and I wasn't sure if he changed his mind and wanted me to stop and have a little chat with him. He quickly flipped the sign back to SLOW and continued waving the sign at me. Geez. I am not making this up. This guy was not a happy camper. I slowed down even more, but he waved at me till I was past him. Seriously! What is the speed limit when going through one of these zones? I thought he was going to hit the truck with his sign. As a side note, when I drove past him, I noticed that he was pretty old and had a big fat cigar sticking out of his mouth. I thought about stopping at the WaWa and getting him a cup of coffee or something.

Since this is becoming what might be the longest, most rambling blog post ever, I will sign off. If you are still reading this and haven't fallen asleep, give yourself a big pat on the back!

What happened to my baby?

I went to put James in his crib yesterday for his nap and he said ever so confidently, 'Big boy bed, Mommy.' He went into the big room, climbed into the big bed, and pulled the blankets up under his chin. I thought about crying. What happened to my little baby boy? Now he is telling me he wants to sleep in his big boy bed. And that he did. He took his whole nap there and didn't have a problem. Last night, he told me 'Big boy bed, ni-night, Mommy.' I tucked him in and there he slept, all night long. Its exciting to see him feeling so independent but sad at the same time. Its just going so fast! Today for his nap he started in the 'big boy bed' but ended up in his crib, so we'll see what happens. This morning, we woke up to this:



James got all bundled up and we went outside and played a little bit. Then we went to Grammy and Grandpa's and played some more. He had a lot of fun 'sooping' the snow up with his 'shopel' and just walking around in it. I even made a snow angel. James was not impressed. Kids these days...

Birthday Shout-Out

(Imagine cute picture of Grammy
and James here; I can't seem to load
up a picture this morning)

Happy Birthday, Mom/Grammy! We love you!

Pee Fish Mommy

These are not good words to hear out of the mouth of a two year old. This apparently means that he has peed on the fish rug. He yells down the stairs, 'Up-airs, mommy!' When I come upstairs to help him, he proudly points to the fish bath mat and says 'pee, fish, mommy.' Why, oh why, is it so exciting to pee on the fish rug? I guess its worth it to see the surprised look on your mommy's eyes. Thanks, James! You sure surprised me alright.

My Daily Dose of Drama

The saga of the house continues. Things are getting complicated with negotiations, all because of a comment made by a neighbor (of the new house). Whatever their intent, their comment has now caused the seller to believe that we think we are getting a steal on the house and wondering why we are trying to negotiate some repairs. The seller is trying to get us to take less than they originally noted due to this situation. The whole thing is just ridiculous and too complicated to blog about. Hopefully we will know soon what the outcome of the negotiations will be. As excited as I am about the possibility of the new house, the stress of the rental situation and now this is really more than I feel like I can deal with. Why do things have to get so stinkin' complicated???

On a side note, check out Rachel's blog. She started a new series called Confessions of a PK and its a good one! You can see incriminating pictures of us Cheyney kids in various 80's and 90's church fashions. Click here: Rach and Phil's blog

Ou-side Mama?

Yesterday was warm enough that we finally, much to James' excitement, went 'ou-side' for a walk. James was sporting his snow boots and my Mike the Headless 'ti-chen' (chicken) shirt, when came nearly to his ankles. He has opened up a whole new avenue of fashion by insisting on wearing our clothes. This could be bad, or very funny. Anyway, we went out walking and in addition to James sporting a huge shirt and snow boots, he carried his bucket with assorted accessories since you never know what you will need when out for a walk. (As another side note, I think I just created a really long run-on sentence!) James carried his bucket all by himself nearly the whole way, till his little legs started to get tired. He said 'Hand, mama.' He wanted to hold my hand! He was still trying to carry the bucket by himself but I could tell he was getting tired, so I took it for him. He got his monkey sunglasses out of it and put them on. We must have been a sight. I was carrying Katie, my coat, and James' bucket, holding the hand of a little boy wearing a giant t-shirt and wearing monkey sunglasses. We jumped in all the puddles along the way, and James figured out that he could make a pretty big splash. I am glad we had a day of warmth so that James could get some good old fashioned fresh air. He, and I, really needed it!

Back to the Randomness

Its Monday, and now I'm back from outer space. Here is a random update on the life and times of us.

1. Out of three appointments on Saturday, two actually showed up to see the house! It was a miracle. They even showed up early. Both sets of people said they were interested. The first couple, a girlfriend/boyfriend duo, said they would bring back the application the same day. They didn't. Me thinks that his credit was a little worse than he let on. He gave us his business card for his company, 'Da Sneaka Sp0t.' Would you think it a little strange if your own name is not on your business card, especially if you are the owner?

The second lady seemed very promising and said she would fax her application over today. Keep praying peoples! We need a renter!!

2. Katie is now officially 'rolling over,' beyond the fluke roll-over here and there. I knew she was so close, and last night I laid her on the floor and kept James at bay long enough for her to get in some good practice. Of course, when she rolls over she is like a little turtle flailing around.

3. James is just chattering up a storm. He is starting say 'wuv you, tee' or 'wuv you, daddy.' Its so sweet and melts your heart. A habit that is not so endearing is his shrieking. He likes to let out a high-pitched shriek when he's bored, excited, or wants attention.

4. Katie got to wear a dress yesterday that I wore when I was a baby. See how cute she looked:

5. Jeff is currently committing the first 36 elements from the periodic table to memory. Sounds fun, huh?

6. I almost forgot! James pooped in the actual potty on Saturday! I can't tell you how exciting this event was for our family. I realize blogging about poop is a little, hmm, strange, but this is a MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENT that we have long been waiting for. Yipeee! Hooray!!!!!

James thinks Katie is his personal pillow.

Is it just me or does Jeff look like he's 17 feet tall?

'Dasses!'

Katie with the bunny that our sweet neighbor lady made for her.

Yes. We went to the store like this.

Aren't these glasses just right up my ally? Now if only I could find my trucker hat!

James' Favorite Food: 'Pan-teets'

If James had to be trapped on a deserted island and only bring one food with him, I'm pretty sure he would pick these. He asks me almost every morning for 'pan-teets.' His latest favorite is Shredded Apple. And Grandpa Cheyney, every time I eat them I think of you, because when I used to eat pancakes at your house you used to tell me, "If you keep eating like that you're going to get fat." he he he

5 Grain Pancake Mix

2 C. all-purpose flour

2 C. whole wheat flour

1 C. cornmeal

1 C. quick oats

1/2 C. wheat bran or 100% bran flakes

6 TBS. sugar

2 TBS. baking powder

4 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. salt (or less)

1 tsp. nutmeg

cinnamon if desired

Layer or mix and store in airtight container. For one batch of pancakes, whisk together ¾ C. buttermilk or milk (more or less depending on the consistency you like), 1 egg and 1 tsp. vegetable oil (optional: I never add it). Stir in ¾ C. to 1 C. of mix just until combined. Makes six 4” pancakes per batch. To mix things up a bit, throw in any of the following:

a shredded apple

a mashed banana and cinnamon chips

shredded zucchini

1/3 cup or more of canned pumpkin or mashed butternut squash

a big handful of blueberries

a big handful of raspberries

some chocolate chips

Happy V-Day, Y'all!

So, this being Valentine's Day, I will get all sentimental and recall for you the first Valentine's Day of our married existence. We had been married for only a month and a half. Jeff had carefully selected a gift for me and wrapped in painstakingly in what is known as the-bag-that-it-came-in. I was excited to see what my new husband had picked out for me. Surely it was something fabulous! I unwrapped the bag and peered inside. It was a tool of some sort. Ah, nothing says I love you like power tools. For your wife. I pulled out the box and read the front: Dremel. I have to say I wasn't too thrilled. I thought he bought it for me because he wanted it for himself. And how romantic is that?! I asked him what it was and the poor guy started to explain to me what this magical tool did, and why he thought I could use it. Turns out he got it for me to use in my art classes. Once I realized what the thing was and why he got it for me, it turned out to be something fabulous after all! I have used that thing so much for various and sundry projects. So thanks, Jeff, for the year of the DREMEL. I don't think I'll ever forget it!

Party Like It's 1999: A Tale from the Franch

The year was 1999. The end of the world was nigh. All the computers in the world were going to crash and we were surely going to starve to death, unless we stocked up on generators and mass quantities of Spam. There was a great debate raging as to whether or not anything was going to happen when the clocks rolled over into the year 2000. Jeff and I were on the ‘nothing’s going to happen’ side of the fence. We weren’t worried at all, yet many people we knew feared the worst. Being the fine upstanding young people that we were, we saw a great opportunity for a prank! We decided to make the most of the situation and planned to prank both Linda (the owner of the farm), and Jeff’s Aunt and Uncle. If you recall, one theory in the whole Y2K scare was that the entire US would blackout when the clocks struck midnight on the East coast. The idea was that all the power plants would shut down and mass chaos would ensue across the country. This was the theory that Linda was concerned with. At about 9:55 pm Colorado time, we were good-naturedly teasing her and she told us we’d be feeling pretty silly when it actually happened. She went off to the bathroom to use it before the power went out. While she was there, we drew the blinds on the east side of the house. (This was the only side where neighboring lights could be seen) Then, Richard slipped out into the garage and flipped the breaker. We all screamed in mock alarm. We heard Linda yelling from down the hall, “I told you so! I told you! Now someone come bring me a flashlight.” We were cracking up. Our first prank went fabulously! For the next prank, we got Linda involved. We recruited her to drive the get-away car. We all piled in and off we went. Now Jeff’s Uncle lived pretty much as far outside of town as you could get. There wasn’t exactly any traffic going by, especially at midnight. To avoid detection, we turned our headlights off about a mile before his road. When we got about a quarter mile from the house, we pulled off the side of the road. Jeff and Richard stealthily ran up the ditch toward the house. It might be helpful to interject here that Jeff’s Uncle’s house is well-stocked with guns. In fact, they kept at least one in each room. There was some concern that Jeff and Richard might be taken for intruders or varmints, but Jeff assured me that they’d be careful. As we waited in the car, we could hear the screaming cheers of people who had had a few too many drinks. This made me even more nervous: Jeff’s Aunt and Uncle, a little tipsy with a houseful of guns and my boyfriend is sneaking around outside their house. About the time that we anticipated the lights to go out, the door burst open and a bunch of cheering partiers came out the door. I cringed. Their cover was blown. Fortunately there were no gunshots. The people quickly went back inside and we realized that they must not have caught Jeff and Richard. After a few short minutes, the lights went off. The cheering stopped. A minute later we heard Jeff and Richard, huffing and puffing as they ran up the dirt road. They hopped in the car and off we went. We asked them what happened. They explained that just as they were opening the panel to flip the breaker, Richard saw the doorknob turning out of the corner of his eye. They quickly jumped over the fence and laid down in the ditch. As soon as everyone went back inside, they went back and flipped the breaker. The next week, Jeff’s Aunt told me that some punk kid had flipped their circuit breaker. They thought it was just some high school kid. I don’t remember whether or not we ever told them what really happened.

Hand-Me-Down

Here I am, wearing a little gown made by my Grandma Kate Heppner.

Here is Katie, wearing the same gown. Crazy, huh?

"Mama, holt Kee-Pie, pees? Mama, pitcher, pees!"

Translation: Mama, I want to hold Katie please. Mama, take a picture please!

Frostbite Among Us

For Jeff, yesterday was spent repairing the damage caused by the notorious Undercover Agent Incident. He had loads of fun. First, due to the extreme chilliness (yes, Erin, you can gloat...it finally got cold here) Jeff pounded out the body panel INSIDE. It was a nice, soothing noise to lull James to sleep for his nap. Good thing kids are pretty adaptable. After much highly technical shaping of the body panel with a hammer, the panel was as good as new. Well, sort of. At least you can open the door now.

One Jeff achieved the attractive 'hammered finish,' it was time to apply the panel to the car. This is where the fun got started. It was a balmy 25 degrees or so, with very gusty wind. So gusty in fact, that despite Jeff anchoring the doormat down with a big ol' brick, the rug flew away. Jeff worked for 3 1/2 hours in the cold, pausing occasionally to shout at various uncooperative bolts. He worked very hard to get the thing put back together, enduring even when I would have given up and decided to ride a camel to work. (Last time I checked you don't have to change the oil on one of them) After 3 1/2 long hours, he finally finished and came inside to thaw out. He was INSISTENT that he had frostbite. He also mentioned that he was DYING. He said he saw the light, the pearly gates and Jesus and Saint Peter. Me, being the sympathetic wife that I am, reminded him that people survive much colder conditions and that I did not think he had frostbite. He was sure he did, and even thought he might have to go the ER to get some digits amputated. Through highly scientific evaluation I determined that maybe he had the lesser frost nip. Regardless of the actual condition of Jeff's appendages, I nearly died of hypothermia last night. Seems that Jeff, suffering from his frostbitten condition, needed to steal all the blankets in order to stay warm. I was left clutching the one solitary blanket that he didn't manage to steal. It was touch-and-go, but I survived the night. I do think I may have a case of frostbite, though.

WANTED: Normal People

Is there any such thing?! Today, out of 11 people scheduled to look at the house only five showed up. Out of the five that actually showed up, only one came on time. One set of people was the most mis-matched bunch 'o people ever. There was a lady, her male 'friend,' a teenage girl and what appeared to be the girl's boyfriend. At first, I thought that the lady was just saying the guy was her friend when he was really her boyfriend. But she told him and the girl that they would have to duke it out over who got the big upstairs bedroom. The young boyfriend plopped himself down on the bench as soon as he came in and told Jeff he wouldn't be living here. The whole thing was strange. Another lady who came has four grown kids, a few assorted step children, a fiance and a partridge in a pear tree. She told me her credit was bad but that her cousin's uncle's brother's friend's dog, or someone like that would cosign for her. So, out of the people that actually showed only two or three look promising. The jury is still out with the PBU girls. Hopefully they'll let us know soon. I'd love it if they wanted to move in. I just want this whole rental thing to be settled! I don't like dealing with psycho wannabe renters who 'think' they can cover the rent or want to move in with their sixteen llamas. Argh, matey!

Here's a virtual tour, Ma!

The house, as you can see, is very dated, but in great shape. With new flooring and a coat of paint, it will be quite nice!

Where are you winter?

It is February and I am wearing my sandals! Where is the snow??

As if our lives weren't complicated enough.....

Jeff called me last night on his way to school. He said he had been in a car accident. What!!?? I asked him if he was OK. Fortunately, he was fine. Unfortunately, the accident was his fault. He was changing lanes and didn't see the van in his blind spot. I guess that's why they call these things accidents. They do happen every now and then. Why now? Who knows. BUT, as if that weren't enough, the person he hit was an undercover FBI agent. Said agent would not even give her license to the cops. She was not able to divulge any information that might blow her cover or connect her with the vehicle she was driving. Even the cops didn't know how to handle the situation. It should be interesting, and lead to lots of phone calls that Jeff doesn't really have time for. What can you do? Leave it to Jeff, right Rach? Only he would find himself in a situation like this. I can't make this stuff up!

As far as finding renters goes, we are hopeful that a group of girls from PBU will work out. They seem very interested. We sure hope so, because we have psychos calling left and right. Some lady called last night at 9:50 pm and woke me up. I was not too happy. She said, so innocently, 'Did I wake you up? I didn't realize it was too late to call.' Geez, lady, last time I checked, unless you are 19 years old, its not acceptable to call people that late, especially if you don't know them!!! ARGH!!!!!!! We also had a guy call and try to convince me to get our house inspected for Section 8 so he could live here. Uh, NO! He first told me they paid $1400, then said well, maybe they pay $1200, and then later said that they only paid $800. What part of NO don't you understand!? Another guy wanted to move in with his girlfriend and her three Shitzus. No pets, thank you very much. Especially not hairy little rodent dogs on crack. (Can you tell I hate Shitzus?)

Why, what is that lovely orange scent?

Never NEVER ever EVER leave a curious little boy alone for even a second. If you do, he will squeeze his little arm through the 'James-proof' doors on the bathroom vanity and grab the Goo-Gone. He will then proceed to spray it all over the vanity, the toilet, himself, the floor, and whatever else that gets in the way. It is one way to make sure your bathroom is smelling citrus-fresh and clean, although it is not recommended!

To Quote Grandma: Hold On To Your False Teeth!

Is everyone sitting down? This news is big: Jeff and I watched the Super Bowl last night. Well, about 2/3 of it. We actually watched a sporting event. Through highly scientific methods we chose to cheer for the Patriots. Jeff made ice cream sundaes and we all sat and watched the game. He even made James a little sundae, and he came in holding it like he owned the world! Let's just say that he loved it, and that James plus sugar equals CRAZY! I don't know if it was the excitement and novelty of watching football and eating ice cream or the actual sugar. Anyway, I say we watched the game. Mainly, we watched the commercials. We weren't terribly impressed. We watched the half time show and complained when Tom Petty started out with a dumb song. Fortunately, he turned things around with the next song. Are we dorks or what? With all this football watching, I was transported back to the fifth grade when our class wrote letters to players of the Denver Broncos. About 92% of the class wrote to John Elway. I wanted to write to him too, but Nate convinced/coerced me to write to Vance Johnson. He gave me a long list of reasons why this particular player was so cool, and why I just had to write to him. Well, Vance Johnson disappointed me big time. I was the only kid in Mr. Harris' fifth grade class who didn't get a letter back. Thanks, Vance. You may have been cool, but at least John Elway wrote letters back.

Update

So.....I'll just cut to the chase for those of you who haven't heard: we bought a house. It sounds so weird still. While we are excited, there is a lot to do and it won't really sink in till things fall into place. We have to find renters (easier said than done), repair our current home, pack up all our junk, arrange financing, inspections, etc., and do a few upgrades to the new house. All in two months! Today we had three people scheduled to look at the house. Two of those people didn't show. Argh! We really are hoping to find good tenants who will a) pay their rent and b) not trash our house. Is that so hard? So, we will see. Its going to be a crazy two months!!!

"For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful, I know that full well."
Psalm 139:13-14

I Can't Make This Stuff Up

This is what James was wearing by the end of the day yesterday:

He has been picking out his own clothes, and adding layers or swapping out accessories throughout the day depending his mood. He began with a matching set of jammies, which he chose for himself. Somewhere along the way, he went over to jeans and back to jammies. Then, he took off the jammie shirt and stuck with his thermal undershirt. After a while, he added a flannel shirt. He threw on his froggy boots, and added the crowning touch: a tie! The tie is actually just the fabric part of a broken clip-on tie that I thought I might be able to fix. Since the clip/knot are gone, he just tucked the tie into his shirt. Clever little guy. When it was time for bed, I coerced him into his footie pajamas. However, he wanted to wear his moose shirt and comfy pants over his jammies. This is what James looks like as marshmallow man:

He tried to complete the look with his cowboy boots but couldn't fit them over his footies. Here he is, whispering all his fashion advice into Katie's ear: