Broccoli

For lunch we had Mac N' Cheese and hot dogs with banana and broccoli.  When I asked how many the boys wanted, (thinking they would say none) Alex said "one with dip on it", Noah said "I'll take four", and Carter chimes in with "I will have 2...and a half."

So exact! :)

First day of Preschool!

Today was the first day of Preschool.  Alex was very excited and so was Carter even though he wasn't going to school.  Carter was not happy when he was the only one without a backpack, so I got a little Toystory backpack to pretend with (he was thrilled).
Alex, Lily (a 4 year old I watch), Carter and I all walked the four blocks to Preschool.  It took about fifteen minutes, it was a leisurely walk.  When we got to the school the kids were even more excited.  After I took a few pictures and walked them to their classroom, Carter and I started our walk home.

There were no tears, just excited smiles.

Knock knock

This afternoon I was in the kitchen and all I could here were knock knock jokes and laughter coming from the living room.  The three boys Alex, Carter and Noah (a three year old I babysit) were sitting on the couch taking turns saying "Knock, Knock.....Who's there?......Alex.........Alex who?.........Alex pitcapan (a made up word)." After one of them says the joke they all start laughing hysterically. They took turns inserting each others name in the joke.  It sounded like they were having a great time, and they had fun with this game for quite a while.

It is really nice to hear the boys entertaining themselves and making each other laugh, it is a refreshing feeling.  What is better than children laughing?

M&Ms and Flying

Carter was watching me make trail mix today, when I was mixing all the ingredients together Carter asked "do M&Ms come from our garden."  I had to laugh, then I said "no they are made by people, the food in our garden grow from seeds."

Alex came up to me moments later and said "I had a dream last night that I could fly, and I flew over to Grandma Sylvie and Grandpa Judd's."  "I would really like to be a butterfly and fly around."  Then Carter, not to be left out said "I had a dream that I was Buzz Lightyear (from Toy Story) and I walked over to Woody's house."

They are so imaginative. :)

I am going to be a Super Hero

Today Alex told me that he is going to be a super hero.  He came up to me and said "I am going to be the Green Lantern and Superman when I grow up", and I told him that was great.  Then he went on to tell me "I am going to have the ring just like the Green Lantern too."
Each day he would like to be a different super hero.

What does..........mean?

Alex has been asking us lately the meaning of certain words.  When we say something to him he will take one of the words out of our sentence and ask us what that word means.  It is very difficult to define a word on the spot, and I am not talking about one word each day it is more like one word from each sentence.
Today Alex asked what "pretty much" means.  It took me a minute but I came up with "it is another way of saying its close."  I hope I am explaining all of the questions well enough; that's a lot of pressure.  

"I found a popeye"

The boys had a dentist appointment the other day; they did a great job of holding still and keeping their mouths open so the dentist could look at their teeth.  The dentist said that Carters teeth were starting to move forward because he uses a pacifier (we call it a popeye), so I was told to take it away.
That is easy for him to say when we are the ones that have to listen to him cry at bedtime.  It has been a battle at times and other times he goes right to sleep, but nap time has been more difficult.  Yesterday he was down for nap and my husband heard a lot of rustling around coming from Carters room so he went to check on him.  When he opened the door the first thing Carter said was "I found a popeye."  Then Kyle looked over and saw a huge pile of Kleenex on the ground.  The box was way up on his dresser at the back; I had put his popeye in there as a quick hiding place.  He must have pulled out his dresser drawers and climbed up to get it, but the funny part is he never saw me put it in there.
Kyle came down stairs and showed me the huge pile of Kleenex and said "did you hide a popeye in his Kleenex box?"  When I told him "yes" he said "don't hide them in his room, he can smell them."
So today I spent my morning refolding the Kleenex in a pile and putting them back in the box (I couldn't waste a whole box of Kleenex), and I found a better hiding spot for the popeyes.

Grown-up thoughts

Kids grow up too fast.  It seems like my boys were just learning to walk and now they are having complex thoughts and ideas about their future.  The other day when we were out for a walk Alex says "when I am older I am going to have a house and kids and I am going to take my grand-kids for night walks." Night walks are what Alex calls it when he goes for a walk after dark and looks for bugs.  Then after a few minutes he says "but grandpa can still take me for night walks for now."

How many times

My boys at times have a hard time listening.  I have gotten tired of saying the same thing over and over again so when they decide not to listen the first time, they get a time out or they get to spend some time in their rooms.  Each time they don't listen I ask them, "how many times should I have to tell you?"  Their response is usually "once."
Well, today Carter decided to stand on the toy box to get a book from the bookshelf.  When I saw him standing there trying to decide on the right book, I said "Carter get down, we don't stand on the toy box."  He was told three more times (each time I got more stern with my voice, which obviously didn't help) before I went over and took him down off the toy box.  Then I said "how many times do I have to tell you to get down."  Without missing a beat he says "three."  I was laughing on the inside when I told him that I should only have to tell him once.

All Quiet

It is another beautiful day (77 degrees with a breeze).  We have all the windows open and I am enjoying the fresh air.  All the boys are in asleep for nap time and I am enjoying a quiet moment to myself (this rarely happens).
Life it good!
To all you moms out there I think you know the value of a little quiet time.  No one calling for "mommy", no one saying "he hit me" or "can I have a snack". Just quiet.
A small break helps keep my sanity and makes it even easier to enjoy the boys when they wake up.

Rocks

Today was a beautiful day so I spent most of it outside with the boys.  While they did chalk and played in the front yard I started to work in my flower beds.  After awhile the boys wanted to play in the back yard on the swings; they were being good so I let them.  I checked on them every once in awhile and I could hear them chasing each other and laughing.  Then they got very quiet and I heard bang, bang, bang. I ran over to where the noise came from and there they were throwing rocks at the house; a foot from the garage window.  They were both scolded and sent to their rooms.
What possessed boys to throw rocks at a house?  I was so furious and frustrated that I had trusted them to be a little independent and they disappointed me.
Please tell me they will grow out of the stage of destroying.

Water

We are trying to get Carter to go to bed with just a bit of water, but since he is use to having milk he is not liking the change.  Tonight for bed I offered him water and he said "no", so I said "good night".  A little later he calls down for me.  I check on him and of course he wants milk so I tell him that I don't have any milk (with me).  His response is "you do have some, in the fridge" (what a smarty pants). I told him I would ask daddy.
Kyle went up with some milk and his dose of Tylenol (recommended by the doctor for evening).  Kyle said he felt sorry for him because he had a rough day of shots.
It's water for you tomorrow Carter! :)

Five Shots!

Today I took Carter in for a wellness check and shots, because somehow we got behind with giving immunizations.  Having 32 shots is crazy, and most of them are before preschool.
We were in the waiting room for a long time, because as usual they were running behind.  It doesn't seem to matter what doctor's office, they are always behind.  After we got into the room and Carter got his vitals taken he was ready to go home.  I was able to get him to play hide Woody (from Toy Story) and that kept him entertained until the doctor came in.  She did the wellness exam then the nurses came in with the needles.  I was told to lean over him and hold his arms in case he struggled; that is the hardest thing a mom has to do.  When he got his first shots (one in each leg at the same time) he looked at me with sad eyes and cried "that hurts mommy".  I felt like the worst mom in the world, and my face was the only face he could see the entire time.  The only thing I could say was "it's almost over", and after it was over I told him he was such a big boy.  Just before we left they gave him a sticker, then we walked to Grandma Sylvie's office (in the hospital) and she gave him a treat.

After 5 shots:

I have a feeling he is going to take a very long nap today.

"I don't want to go all the time"

I am working on potty training my 2 year old Carter and it has been a challenge.  Although this week he has really gotten the hang of it.  We have been doing a sticker chart and treats when he goes on the potty.  He loves getting a treat and Alex loves it when he goes, because to keep things fair he gets a treat too.  When they are having their treat Alex always says "I am so proud of you Carter" (proud that he went so he can enjoy a treat too....smart boy).
I have also been trying to get Carter to go a lot so he doesn't have to go potty every few minutes.  I have been saying "go til you are empty", and then we he tells me he is empty I say that he needs to do that every time and to use the potty every time.  So the times when he doesn't want to try he looks at me and says "I just did pee and poop on the potty, I don't want to go all the time".  He gets that stubbornness from Kyle :)
We have gotten him big boy underwear and it has been awesome!  He loves his Mickey Mouse underwear, it makes him feel so big.

Chalk Art

The past few days have been very beautiful, so we have been outside coloring up the driveway.  The boys love to draw pictures and write with chalk, and Carter likes to draw what he knows or what he thinks he knows.   He started off the other day with green chalk and informed me that he was drawing a beanstalk (from the old Mickey and the Beanstalk).  I walked away for a bit, and when I came back I asked him if that was his beanstalk.  He answers with "No, I'm drawing Batman".

Clearly it's Batman:        

"Why are the fish floating like that?"

Yesterday morning my son Alex (4years old) woke up to find the fish in the dining room were dead and floating at the top of the tank.  He didn't know they were dead, but he knew there was something wrong.  He asked me "why are the fish floating like that", so I told him that daddy replaced too much of the fish water with tap water (which has too much chlorine). I assured him that we would get more to replace them.  He seemed okay with that, but a little while later he was moping around. When I asked him what was wrong he said "I don't want them to be dead". He was on the verge of tears; I reassured him that we would get more that day.
About fifteen minutes later Carter (2 years old) woke up and was eating breakfast with Alex in the dining room.  His first comment was "the fish are looking good" and the second after he said that Alex looks over at carter with disgust and says "Carter, they're dead".
I just about died laughing.
The fish have all been replaced and I hope they all have the same names as the other fish.

Butterfly release

About two weeks ago Kyle found a caterpillar on a bush on the side of our house, so he brought it inside with some pieces of the bush.  He explained to the boys about how the caterpillar would make a chrysalis around its self and then in about a week it would come out and be a butterfly.
Today was the day for releasing, so daddy took Alex outside so he could let the butterfly go.  The look on Alex's face when he got to let him go was so precious; he was so thrilled to be a part of the release of a living thing.

 Its the simple joys that make kids light up!

Sell our house.....what??

We are house sitting for some friends while they are away on vacation.  My husband Kyle and Alex went over yesterday to check on things and feed their cat.  While Kyle was watering plants and checking the cat Alex was playing on their swing set which has a rope to swing on.  When Alex was playing with the rope he was yelling over to Kyle saying "watch this daddy, this is going to be awesome."  After he swung the rope around he said "no, that wasn't awesome". Then he threw it again saying "nope, that one wasn't awesome either."  Finally by the third or fourth throw (which looked the exact same) he said "That was it, that was the one, that was awesome!"
Then on the way home he looked at Kyle and said "Daddy we need to sell our house so we can have one with a rope."  To which Kyle said "we can put a rope on our swing set."  "Nope, we need one with a rope already on it" Alex said.
Kyle then told him that houses cost a lot of money and he asked Alex if he had a lot of money to buy a house. Alex then tells daddy that Grandma has a lot of money in her kitchen. When Kyle asks how much money she has he tells him "its a whole lot, like five quarters."
They have such a different outlook on life and money than the adults do.  It is refreshing.

Where does the dreaming go?

We have had a lot of talk about dreams and aspirations at our house lately.  This morning my four year old Alex said "I had a dream I was superman".  To which I said "could you fly"?  "Of course, I was superman" was his response.  He went on in great detail about how he could shoot lasers and where he flew. The entire time I was listening I kept thinking, "my dreams are never that vivid".
Later in the day we were just going into church when Alex says "you know what I'm gonna have when I am older, a house and kids".  He said it with such confidence, and there wasn't a doubt in his mind that he couldn't do it.  I love hearing those random comments, because it makes me feel confident about the future instead of approaching opportunities with hesitation.

A 4 year old's creative mind.

Yesterday we were sitting at the kitchen table for dinner and my son asks my husband and I out of the blue.  "How would you like to have elbows for eyelids".  What do you say to that? All I could come up with was "I wouldn't, that would hurt".  Then he asks later on if I would like Chuck E Cheese for a house. I laughed and said "I don't think I would want a  house like that", and without missing a beat he says "oh I would".
Kids are the funniest comedians.

Never alone time and always needed

This blog is my first and not surprising because of how little free time I have. I am a mother of two awesome boys ages two and four.  They are a lot of fun, but they are also a pain at times.
This is a venting blog, because I am at the end of my short rope of patience today.
Right now it is "nap time". There isn't usually any real napping going on. I can hear them getting out of bed, talking to themselves and every once in awhile I hear "can I come down now" (after 5 min I don't think so). Now my 4 year old just has to have a "rest time" for about an hour and he knows he can read and play quietly, but if I hear him jumping around or yelling his time is longer. There have been times he has stayed up there for 3 hours only because I want to get my point across that I am the boss (I hope it is working). My two year old is hit and miss with nap time.  We are working on potty training too, so it is a nightmare.  He has figured out that all he has to do to get me to come running is say "I have to go potty".  Lets just say I can't wait until the diapers are a thing of the past.
Even the worst day I have with the boys is worth it when they come up to me unexpectedly and say "mommy I love you" and give me a hug. I Love It!
Any similar experiences or stories? I would love to compare notes.