Whatever Works!

I spent part of the morning reading books to Simon while he sat on the potty. (poop window) Every time he got up, I stopped reading. I thought for sure it would work. He sat there for a good half hour and we read half the books on his bookshelf.

I eventually had to go get a shower, so left him sitting there with a book and told Tom to keep an ear out.

I guess eventually he got down. But then the next thing I heard was Tom excitedly congratulating him. Apparently, he had pulled his own pants down, ran back to the potty himself, and sat down. He called Tom in to "hold his hands" and Tom reminded him that basketball players poop on the potty and that he could be like a basketball player. I guess that was what sold him because lo and behold (chorus of angels), he did it.

Hopefully this is going to be a trend. LOL!

From the Backseat...

We were all driving around in the van yesterday with the 90's station cranked up. (Tom sometimes needs a break from Kids Place Live. LOL!) The song was Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Give it Away Give it Away Give it Away Now". The kids were jamming in the backseat, which, in itself is hilarious to see.

Then Simon piped up: "Hey, I'm dancing with my face!!!" And we looked back to see him nodding his up up and down, head banging style.

That kid just keeps us laughing!

August Pool Fun...

Some of my favorite pics from the pool this afternoon. I love how happy they all are (most of the time) when we are there. Can't beat summer fun! :D

Waiting...

Simon's in the midst of his poop window for today. I am determined to desensitize him to doing it in the potty today, so we're trying the tv distraction method. God Bless Noggin.




Sidenote: I think the songs I have come up with in the last few days: "I Like to Poop it, Poop it" and "The Poopy in the Potty Goes Splish Splash Splish" are genius. I may need to make my own kids potty training cd. ;)

Bullets...

* Fourth baby bird hatched! :D Yay! Mama and Papa bird spent the entire day yesterday flying back and forth with worms. I was doing some reading about robins and apparently, the parents will make up to 400 trips a DAY to feed the babies. And I thought feeding MY kids was a lot of work!

* Simon has taken to describing everything as "very very" whatever... the Jello last night was "Very very orange!" and "Very very sticky!" His hands afterward were "very very dirty!" LOL! It's amusing.

* No mice caught yet, but evidence they have enjoyed the peanut butter bounty they found on the glue trap behind our couch. GRRR!! Tom put the PB too close the edge. Tonight, I'm thinking a trap w PB in the middle, surrounded by empty traps on all sides. I am VERY glad I do not have a baby that requires middle of the night feeding. I would be afraid I'd toss the baby in the air when the mouse inevitably made its appearance in front of me at 2a.m. (shudder)

* Simon treated everyone at the pool yesterday to his frantic poop dance. It went on for a good half hour, if not longer. Any tips on getting him to do this on the potty would be greatly appreciated. I have tried the trick that worked with Ben (the little potty seat on the floor was all it took) and had no luck. I have also tried running him to the potty mid poop to force it to happen in the potty and hopefully get him over the fear... no luck there either. I have held him on the potty when I knew it was imminent, hoping nature would take over, but that only makes him upset. I *do* know that he's not going to get over it until it happens ON the potty a handful of times... it's just getting that to happen at all that seems to be tricky. For the record, I have also tried bribery, but this child, unlike my other one, doesn't really respond to bribery. Truly, I am more than happy to let him be halfway pt'ed and poop in a diaper as long as he needs it, but he won't even do that anymore. HELP! HELP! HELP!

* Not much new to report in Ben-land. He spends most of his days building Legos when we are home. To amuse myself, since he never likes the Lego creations I make, I sit in his room and sort Legos by color. This is actually rather enjoyable. ;) He informed me two days ago that he is very tired of people talking to him about kindergarten. His friend Ryan, a kindergarten verteran, was a big help the other day when he told Ben that his favorite part of Kindergarten was recess and gym. After that conversation, I think Ben FINALLY believes us that he won't have to sit still and write with a pencil all day, which is his biggest fear right now. He's definitely reached a point of being resigned to the inevitable.

* It's ridiculous that people on Ebay want $85 for a Star Wars Lego guy. (Jango Fett) It figures it's the only one Ben really really really wants right now. ... I was hoping to score an early Christmas gift for him, but the prices are just nuts. I was thinking maybe $10? LOL. Stupid price gougers. And stupid Lego for releasing the ONLY set with that character and then not making it anymore after it only being out a month.

Update on the Menagerie...

The robin's eggs hatched yesterday! Well, three of them did, anyway. The fourth one was laid a good two days after the other three, so it's still sitting tight. The babies are adorable... all pink and bald. They keep trying to hold their heads up and open their beaks. ;) So fun. I emptied the pool on the patio since it was sitting just under the nest. Didn't want to be responsible for any drownings when they learn how to fly or if one of them falls out of the nest. Oy.

The ants in the house are GONE. The ants on the patio are greatly diminished. I keep putting the Terro out down there and fewer and fewer ants show up every day! Woohoo!

The bunnies are missing. I hope they are just hiding from the heat.

The wasps are still rebuilding. Tenacious little buggers. I really need to get a new can of spray.

The mice are back. (sigh) Getting more traps today. EW. I really do not mind mice when they are outdoors or in a cage. But creeping around amongst my foodstuffs... gag. Like the ants, they have crossed the line and now they will pay. I'm thinking I might call Terminix to come out here and figure out where they are coming in so we can end this once and for all.

Simon is 27 Months Old!

Dear Simon,

Today you are 27 months old. Not quite ready to be called 2-1/2, so 27 months it is.

This month you jump and gallop and run and kick and swing the bat and hit the ball and throw and catch and ride bikes and swim and are there any verbs I haven't used? You are just nonstop!

This has also been the month of odd fears. What's really fun is that your fears are almost entirely different than the ones Ben had at your age, so I can't use ANY of what I learned with him to help combat them. In no particular order you are now afraid of:
* your bath
* public restrooms, particularly REALLY echoey ones and ones that don't have the light on when we first go in
* Strange places... no real criteria here as far as what constitutes "strange". Every part of the library except for the kids section you have deemed to be strange though, and worthy of blood curdling screams. Awesome.
* Feathers, like from our craft box. Uhh....
* pooping (see below)

Things you just plain don't like, but aren't necessarily afraid of:
* wet or dirty hands
* wet face
* wet hair
* the bottom buckle of your carseat ("It tickles me!!! Want it OFF!!" it's nice when you shriek this ALL the way home from somewhere)

You have also, just since last week, decided that you don't always like your big brother. You often don't want him sitting near you, touching your stuff or going the same places as you. You had a fit last weekend when we said we were going to Nanee and Pap's and you realized Ben was coming to. All the way out the door you cried, "No! Don't want Ben to come with us!" For real. WHAT has gotten into you this month? Is Ben pinching you when I'm not looking or is this just the start of the competitive sibling thing?

Otherwise, you are still our sweet, gentle little Simon. Always ready with hugs and kisses and giggles, even for Ben some of the time. As I type this, the two of you are dressed in superhero outfits. You are running around the upstairs shouting, "I am Superbaby! And Ben is Superjango!"

In typical Simon two going on five fashion, you decided about a week ago that diapers were for babies. Until now, you have dabbled in the whole potty thing and I kept you in a diaper most of the time to preserve my sanity. But last week, there was an all out revolt against the diapers.

Initially, I put you in underwear with a Pullup over it, but after two days, it was obvious you didn't need the extra layer. So yeah, you pretty much potty trained yourself. I credit Ben for this. Big brothers are very useful! There's only one catch... the poop.

You are deathly afraid of pooping in the potty, but it's generally only once a day and manageable. You go into an absolute frenzy when you have to do poop. If you weren't so upset about it, it'd be hysterically funny. For a couple days you asked for a diaper to do it and that worked well... but now you just run back and forth near a potty, stopping to sit every two minutes, but then getting off and declaring you are finished, followed by more running back and forth and grabbing your backside all the while yelling, "I have to POOP!" and eventually pooping in the underwear and getting VERY upset about it. I hope this part clicks before preschool starts, only because I don't know how I'll manage your poop window with the school schedule! I can't imagine going through the poop frenzy routine at school. Oy.

You sleep well, you eat well. You are still napping and for that, I am grateful!

You're such a fun little dude and we can't wait to see what the next few months bring. I think you are just going to love school! :D

Love,
Mommy

Erin vs. Nature

The ants, with whom I had been attempting to peacefully coexist (since no amount of Raid seemed to keep them away for long), crossed the line yesterday when they invaded my pantry. It was a good excuse to clean the pantry from top to bottom, but still, no more peaceful coexistence. After garnering a good amount of ant advice from my Facebook friends, I went out to Home Depot this morning and procured some Terro bait. I was told it would attract the ants in HUGE numbers at first, as they came to drink its wonderful sugary goodness. Then it lets them live long enough to take the Borax it's laced with back to all of their family and friends and most importantly, The Queen. Dun dun DUN!

I took it out to the patio, which has been TEAMING with ants lately. I followed the directions and put it on the little orange squares. I quickly found the ants bypassed the orange squares for whatever had dripped OFF the squares. Then I went to town. The ants, they came from MILES, forming a near solid black line to get to the stuff. I went nuts and even got a little creative as I baited the perimeter of the patio.


I put some on Fratboy's patio too, since there were at least a hundred thousand of them over there.


While I was out there, I also inspected some of our other "pets". Here's the robin's nest. Currently it has four lovely blue eggs in it. The really cool thing is that if you go up on the deck and look through the crack above this nest, you look RIGHT in! So cool. I can't wait for the babies to hatch. The momma has been vigalently sitting on them. :)


Here's a little friend who hopped out from behind a plant to see what had the ants all riled up. He turned himself the exact same shade as the patio.


And here's some nature I DON'T like... ew.


And our wonderful wasp friends. We knocked their nest down last night and they were bakc to work rebuilding this morning. GRRR...


We also have a family of bunnies living out front in our garden. Squeee... no pictures of them though because I haven't seen them for a few days. I hope they are okay! :)

Here's what happens when you use Terro INSIDE. Gag. Hurl. I think it's safe to say we've figured out where they were coming in. Gah. They weren't kiddin' when they said I'd see a TON of ants when first put it down.

FRIDAY! :D

Oh thank GOODNESS! Friday!

It's not the kids, it's the sinus headache that I haven't been able to shake since yesterday morning. I've popped Motrin faithfully every six hours and still, nothin. I might need to pick up some of the good stuff at Walgreens today... good ol' Advil Cold and Sinus. Good for a sinus headache or a do-it-yourself meth lab, at least that's what they tell me when I have to fork over my driver's license to purchase it. Whatever. I need some. Head HURTS. Oweee....

The kiddos were actually fantastic yesterday. They must have instinctively known I needed the help. It also helped that Ben got to spend some one-on-one time with grandmom in the afternoon. We were all going over there for dinner to celebrate Aunt Debbie's bday so Ben headed over early while Simon napped. Simon was not pleased with this arrangement and let me know the entire drive home. As soon as we got home though, he headed straight up to bed, showing that he HAD actually understood my explanation of "after you take a good nap, then we'll go back to grandmom's!" that I had repeated at least 100 times on the six-minute drive. And then, a quiet two hours was mine, all mine!

Tom gets home today from an overnight business trip he was on. I doubt he'll be home until his usual time, but I'm just glad he'll be sleeping next to me tonight and not Ben. Ben is really hard to sleep next to and I have the bruises to prove it. But he SO looks forward to falling asleep in my bed on the nights Tom is home late or away. And since Tom wasn't coming home at all last night, I just let him stay there all night. He says he loves our bed because it is the most comfortable. :) Interesting to note that Simon has NEVER wanted to sleep in our bed and we've given him plenty of opportunity on different occasions, like when he's sick. He just can't fall asleep there and needs to be in his own space. Just goes to show you how every kid is wired differently.

So yeah, Friday. Not sure yet how we'll fill this day, kinda depends on the direction this headache takes. If my head continues to pound, there's a good chance this day might involve a lot of Noggin and the Disney Channel.

You'd Think I'd Learn to Check the Weather...

Had pool plans this morning. Such a lovely way to kill a good three hours and guarantee a nice, long nap for Little Dude and a nice, long stretch of unwinding quiet time for the Big Dude. Woke up to rain. Despite all the weather predicting resources available to me, I somehow didn't see this coming. Ah well.

I actually might take Ben to look at Halloween costumes this morning. He's pretty set on what he wants to be already, so I thought we'd go scope out prices at Party City to see if they beat what I've found on the internet. (yes, they already have their entire Halloween section set up) So that'll kill a little time. After that, all bets are off and I think we may be resorting to a combination of movies, Legos, playdough and moonsand until naptime. At least we have later afternoon/evening plans for dinner to look forward to at my parents house and the Amazing Aunt Debbie will be there too! Woohoo! :)

In the meantime, Ben is still sleeping and I'm enjoying some quiet time with Simon, Blues Clues and my cup of coffee... he's watching it as intently as I watch Lost. It's kind of amusing... ;)

Blah.

We're just having a blah kinda day over here. We set out this morning with hopes of a wonderfully exciting day... starting out with a trip to the library and then to the park and/or the pool.

Well, of course it started out with Ben complaining that he did not want to go to the library because he knew storytime wasn't going to be a Star Wars book. Then I eventually got him in the car with promises of a park visit afterward. Simon was still mostly cheery about the whole venture.

We arrived at the library and parked next to our neighbors, said hi and all the boys excitedly ran inside. We headed for the storytime room and Simon promptly FAHREAKED out on me. I tried to take him in anyway and it just got worse. My neighbor said Ben could stay with them and I could take Simon back over to the kids' section, but Ben was already kinda sour on storytime anyway.

THIS part actually turned out to be a good decision because we found out later it was some incredibly horrible boring story about the Amish. ?!

I took the boys around the corner to the kids' section and Ben wanted to go in the playroom. Simon was already on guard and decided the playroom was also evil. Screamed his head off some more. Ben went in an played alone for awhile and Simon played with the toys in the kids' section. When Ben emerged, we wandered around looking at books for awhile until the two of them decided to have a "who can make the loudest and most annoying mouth noises" contest and we just had to leave. Oh, but then Ben needed to use the bathroom and Simon wouldn't go near it... by which I mean, would NOT EVEN STAND OUSTIDE while we let Ben go in alone. Screamed some more. So we really, REALLY had to leave at that point. Oh wait, there's more. Simon was wearing underwear "like Ben!!!" because that's how he rolls lately and, as stated previously, he refuses to enter public restrooms... he also freaks if he pees in his underwear and we had been out of the house for a full hour or so at this point. So yeah, catch-22... we really REALLY REALLY needed to leave.

It was still at least 15 minutes before our friends were due to come out of storytime, so I told Ben we'd go to Target instead. He decided halfway there he'd rather go to the pool. OH, and he had to pee. We ended up just going home, where those who had to pee did so and I made everyone lunch. Then we hit the store and Target.

All is now well with the world.. the little one is napping and Ben is dressed as a storm trooper. But SHEESH. Some days, it's just not worth it to try and leave the house!!!

HOT.

Our a/c picked TODAY to die. Generally it throws its little fit on the first hot day of the year... but this year, it held out a good 2-1/2 months before quitting on us. It is SO ridiculously hot in my house right now I can't even describe it. How on earth did/do people live without air conditioning in this region?

And for some reason, opening the windows and turning off the lukewarm air that was blowing through our vents only made it HOTTER in here. Poor little Simon is going to wake up from his nap in a pool of sweat...

Ben and I are just sitting here on the couch trying to move as little as possible. I'm kind of jealous that he can run around with no shirt on...

Weekend...

Ahhh... Monday again.

It was a relaxing weekend with no commitments, which is always nice. Aside from a mild stomach bug it appears that Simon and I have picked up, it was the perfect weekend.

I've been making friends with my sewing machine and managed to make Ben a little pair of boxer shorts (so cute!) and have material to make several more pair. I just wish I had more time to play! Weekends are the only time I can get any uninterrupted stretches to work on things. Such is life, these days.

Ben starts school in 28 days! Can you believe that?! He's starting to mention some things he's anxious about... he brings them up randomly and gets really worked up really fast (to the point of tears) over them. It seems he's mostly afraid of being bored and made to sit still. He also is really against being forced to learn to write with a pencil. LOL. I'm sure it will all work itself out, but I think we're in for a couple really long months as he makes the adjustment and realizes what is expected of him.

Also, I learned from a been-there-done-that mom in the neighborhood that the teacher we THOUGHT was a given for him to have, actually isn't. That for kindergarten, a committee actually places the kids according to strengths seen on the little assessment they did at registration. I'm trying to relax and not stress out about it... I know whoever he gets will be the best teacher for him. It would be nice to get the teacher who lives on our street though. The waiting is killing me.

It's hot. Dreadfully hot. And the pool is not open today... so no idea how we are going to fill our time. The house is a wreck from the weekend, so I'll probably start there. Then I'm thinking it's going to be a sprinkler in the yard kinda day. And, with that, I'm off to make the bed and get the day started. :)

Someone Please Tell Me...

... where my 35-pound 5-year-old just put two entire peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, a handful of goldfish, a cup of juice and a plum and a half!?

A Hummer in the Summer (And a few other things)

Tom was trying to teach Simon to catch the ball. I got about 100 pictures that look something like this. ;)


Although if I took the picture early enough, before the ball actually started sailing at his head... they looked more like this.


And here's evidence that this one actually IS a lefty... ironically, Tom's nickname for Ben is "Lefty" (and he is clearly a righty) and is already pretty much stuck. Simon's nickname is Shortround. (like from Indiana Jones... and because for awhile there, he was both short and round)


Neighbors John and Clayton (a.k.a. "Ruber", don't ask) riding in the Hummer that our other neighbor got from a friend who is moving out of state! How cool is this thing? Also, a photography question for those of you who have my camera... HOW do I select more than one focus point? See how the little boy on the left is out of focus? That happens to me ALL the time and it bugs me to no end. Sometimes it gets it right by accident... but more often than not, I end up with one kid in focus and the other not.


Focus worked a little better here... but I don't know why!


And then Lucy and Trey went out for dinner and a movie in the Hummer...

On a date, you should always laugh at ALL the boy's jokes. ;)

He's so dreamy...


The Hummer was also used as a ship... Here, Ben and Trey are defending it. Ben is using a baseball tee as his rifle. Ah, boys and guns. You can't prevent it. But you CAN call them "shooters" and "blasters" instead. ;)


Guarding... the older kid is the one I've written about before... they are all actually playing really well together this summer. I feel so sad for this little boy. And we just found out yesterday that he is moving to an apartment, so he won't be around here much longer. :(


ETA: I think I found my answer to the focus point question. It's not the easy fix I was looking for... sounds like you CAN only select one, but both subjects will be in focus IF you have other settings, like DOF right... argh. My preference for that super low f# is what's messing me up...

And for His Next Trick...

Simon has been trying to master hopping on one foot lately. He saw Ben do it and of course, he had to try it.

Here's the problem. He really only just recently mastered jumping with TWO feet.

Here's the other problem. He can't even really STAND on one foot all that well yet, much less jump.

But he tries. OH how hard he tries. He holds onto chairs and tables, picks one foot up and tries so hard. "I hopping on one foot!!! Like Ben!!!" he yells, until someone acknowledges that yes, he is indeed hopping on one foot... LIKE BEN!

When he gets especially frustrated, he backs up into me so I'll hold him up under his arms and hop him around the room. His request goes something like -- "Me hold you, please? So I can hop on one foot?" Irresistible. Yet, NOT SO GREAT for the back, lemme tell ya. But he enjoys it and giggles so hard at himself that he can't even catch his breath. So it's worth the two ibuprofen I have to pop later... ahh, the things we do for our kids. ;)

I Don't Even Know What Day it Is...

(checking calendar) Okay, Wednesday. Got it.

Gah. I drank coffee WAY too late in the day yesterday. My afternoon cup was sitting on the counter while I was making dinner and not thinking about what I was doing (at 6p.m.!!!) I downed the remainder of it. I am one of those people who can't drink caffeine late in the day (anytime after about 5), or it will seriously disturb my sleep. And disturb my sleep it did. Took me HOURS to fall asleep and then I kept waking up. Every hour. On the hour. Until 5a.m. when I just gave up and started my day.

Of course, somewhat ironically, I started the day with a giant cup of coffee. (little hair o' the dog, so to speak) and am about to start on my second cup. This might be a long Wednesday. There will be at least one showing of an episode of Star Wars when Simon naps so that maybe I can recoup some of the lost sleep.

Errands to run before then though... (yawn) This oughtta be fun.

The Dudes....

The boys have been playing SO nicely together lately! They are really at wonderful ages for this...

Yesterday, they wandered into my bedroom where I had the castle Ben got for Christmas packed up in a box. The plan was to take it over to Grandmom's and set it up there for awhile. But they BOTH asked me to put it together and teamed up to remove all the pieces from the box. So I obliged. They set about dividing up the box of knights and horses.

I couldn't believe it when they sat there and played quietly with it for a solid hour. Such imagination too... there were Lego guys involved and a whole storyline (that I couldn't really follow). Simon, of course, was just kind of along for the ride with Ben's storyline, but he definitely played along. He also kept bringing me the "corn" (HA! He meant the Unicorn... LOL!) so I could put the knight on it to ride it. Just made me laugh.

I took advantage of the quiet time to straighten the upstairs and even read for awhile... so nice!

The downside to all this is that I now have a giant castle set up in my bedroom. LOL.

In many ways, having Ben gone all day every day (in only a month!!!) is actually going to make things more challenging around here. When Ben is here, they play together all day and, though I do sometimes join in, I don't really NEED to. I can't imagine how lost Simon is going to be without Ben here for entertainment during the week! There will be a definite adjustment period there... hrm...

Monday's Bullets...

* Gymnastics this morning. Considering letting the boys skip it since I have a hundred errands to run. In no particular order:

- Joannes for a new needle for my sewing machine, the other one broke in half last night midstitch. ARRRRGH!

- Home Depot for a dimmer for Ben's bedroom light because he insists on sleeping with the light on ALL NIGHT now and it's driving me bonkers because he also hates sleeping with the door shut. Me? I like it so pitch black I can't see my hand in front of my face and the stream of bright light from his room keeps waking me up.

- Walgreens for the kids' allergy meds... Simon is sporting the most horrible sounding cough right now and I know it's the
"August" allergy surge I was warned about because he's otherwise not sick... I just figured I didn't need to be on guard for it until you know, August. I guess the long dry spell we had there messed with something outdoors...

- Grocery store for dinner supplies... I've been SO bad about grocery shopping lately. I've been going every other day instead of all at once. I know this is bad, but I've just gotten into a bad habit lately. Must remedy this soon.

- Library -- books are due today.

- Goodwill to drop off a bag of clothes

So yeah, gymnastics or not? I'm kind of thinking not...

That's my boring Monday, how's yours looking? :)

Zoom Lens Review...

****Begin photography geek speak... feel free to skip right the pics if it doesn't interest you... LOL! But I know there are a couple readers who dig this, so this is for them****

Okay, so I've taken the new lens for two decent test drives now and I can now say that I definitely LOVE it. After I read a bunch of new reviews that kinda trashed it, I got worried that I'd made a bad choice.

I had a really great chance to test it out yesterday at my friend's baby shower. I started out using my 50mm lens and sitting right in front of her, but I couldn't sit on a chair, lest I block other peoples' view and so I was sitting on the ground and shooting up, which was making for some pretty unflattering pictures, so I decided to retreat to my seat at the table about 15 feet away and just snap what I could from there. It was hard to tell the results until I uploaded the pics, but I have to say that I am pretty pleased with the quality! I kept the aperture as low as I could (between 4.5 and 5.5... it alternated because I didn't have it set on AV) and the background is still pretty well blurred.

(I was having a little trouble with the white balance because the sun kept going in and out of the clouds, so try to ignore that part)

****End photography geek speak*****




The proofreader in me is very annoyed by this onesie, btw...


Playing with the zoom... not bad for 15 feet away!




Obviously, I was on the wrong side of the room for this photo op... sigh...


I think this might have actually been with my portrait lens... just messing around... kinda pretty though!


So, anyway, for what I use it for, this lens is perfect. I highly recommend it. A bunch of the reviews complained about the focus being too slow, but I haven't found that to be an issue. Others complained all their pictures were blurry, but, as you can see, that doesn't appear to be an issue either.

Maybe I'm Just Weird...

Some might be more than a little surprised to hear me, of all people say this!

You know that video that is circulating of the wedding ceremony where the couple and their wedding party danced down the aisle to "Forever"?

This one:

I have to say (and I was totally blindsided by my own reaction), that I found it a little offensive!

If you know me, you KNOW I don't take myself too seriously and I'm all for cake smashing/funny/crazy/unique stuff at weddings. I actually wish I'd come up with something funny to do like some of those record-scratch first dances that are also circulating.

But that? Really?! Why get married in a church if you wanted to do that? Why not a reception hall or some other venue?

Maybe I'm being totally overly traditional... but I just think there should be a certain reverence when you are in a church ... and especially during a wedding ceremony in a church and that just flies in the face of that! I'm sure they are a great couple and fun people... but I just think a church wasn't the place to do something like that.

I showed it to Tom with no comment and he actually said the same thing... so I know I'm not the only one!

Go ahead, let me have it!

Friday...

I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the rainy day yesterday... well, most of it. There was some whining and fighting in there that I didn't enjoy so much, but that could really be any day. We watched some Disney channel, went to Target, got laughed at by our cashier because we were just there the day before, played Legos and playdough, perused Ebay for cool Lego star Wars guys (you wouldn't believe how much people want for those silly little things) and went on a Jedi puddle stomping adventure with light sabers when the rain stopped. No sign of Tinkerbell and Peter Pan yesterday.

I ran into one of the non-vacationing neighbors who lives on a different street out doing something similar with her kids, so we chatted for a little while. Mostly about how quiet the week has been. I can't complain though... I love our neighbors and I love that the kids play outside together almost every day, but the short break from doing it every single day every time one of my kids spots his friends outside was kind of nice. We just wandered and looked at things and picked up sticks and rocks and crabapples and these horribly sticky walnut looking things growing on a tree down the street. Don't get me wrong. SO ready for them all to be back. But it was a nice change of pace for the week.

Today? Probably more of the same. If the rain keeps up, I have a little work to do on my niece's birthday gift, which I'm pretty excited about. :) Ben is helping me and he's excited too... although he keeps trying to steal my supplies and keep them for his own. I'll show you what it is when it's finished... but for now, it's a secret. :)

Simon has a wet cough, but is otherwise fine. Dunno what that's about. Trying to decide if I need to start pumping him full of asthma medication, which he's really not going to enjoy.

And yeah, that's Friday. There may be a few pics and video later if I get around to uploading... I took some funny stuff of the boys playing yesterday. Crazy kids. They make me laugh when they are not making me crazy!

Photo Dump

Simon vs. Nutella (my SIL has officially ruined Nutella for me with her book "Eat This, Not That", so this may be our last jar... cry!!!! :P If you are also a Nutella fan, do NOT, I repeat, do NOT look in that book!)


And here are a few pics from when I was experimenting with the zoom lens outside last night...




Ben was using the Force or something in this picture...












Those pics were all taken from pretty good distances, so I'm pleased with the zoom! I still need to practice focusing at long distances, but all in all, I'd say I really like this lens!

And lastly, check this out... during our walk, this little girl in fairy wings appeared across the street with a little boy carrying a sword. They were playing Peter Pan. Seriously, it was THE cutest thing I think I have ever seen.They were SO lost in what they were doing. I wish I could have gotten up close and gotten some pictures of them against the trees, but yeah, that probably would have made me the weird girl with the camera taking pics of other peoples' children. Instead, I stood far FAR FAR away and took pics paparazzi style. You know, because that makes me less creepy. ;)

Toys That Have Withstood the Test of Time... and My OCD....

Yesterday, as I am apt to do, I spent some time reorganizing the kids toys, putting a few in the attic, making sure things had all their pieces, putting some in the charity pile. I got to thinking about the toys that have survived this ritual of mine.

1) Playdough -- this is a mainstay around here. In fact, just yesterday, the boys spent probably an hour sitting at the kitchen table playing. Ben asked for his Toy Story green soldiers and he positioned them in the dough for awhile and then they both spent a good amount of time experimenting with pushing different things into it. Beads, forks, spoons, paper clips. Simon also ingested a little.

2) All the blocks -- you never seem to know around here when the mood will strike to build something. So there is a box of wooden unit blocks, some Lincoln Logs, Bristle Blocks and of course, the Legos, none of which have ever been banished to the attic. I DID move the bigger Legos up there yesterday since they haven't been getting any play lately in favor of the small ones.

3) Balls -- As annoying as I find it, our overflowing basket of balls of all shapes and sizes will probably NEVER go anywhere. I've even tried to pare it down and with no success. They play with EVERYTHING in that basket.

4) Kitchen Set and all the things that go with it -- At least once a day, if not more, one of my kids will make a stop by the kitchen and pretend to whip something up. Yesterday, Simon was microwaving and Ben had a grocery cart out and was shopping.

5) Train Table -- Another thing I find incredibly annoying because it takes up SO MUCH ROOM. (it's one that sits right on the floor and doesn't have legs) I figured out we can store the boxes of trains and match box cars underneath though when they aren't in use, which is nice. It gets used not just as a train/car space, but also a drawing table, a block building table and a launching point for Star Wars ships.

6) Box of play tools -- again, you never know when the mood will strike around here to build something. I'm not sure where they get the inspiration since their daddy never picks up a hammer. (no offense meant, it's just not his thing...)

7) Light sabers/Star Wars figures -- I tried putting these away once, they were requested a day later. I've given up on these ever getting out of my life. I've settled for them being put in the storage closet under the basement stairs during non-peak-Star Wars phase times.

8) Trains and Match Box Cars -- yeah, these aren't going anywhere anytime soon

9) Parachute/Box of Rice/Moonsand -- oft requested rainy day fun

10) Costumes -- although I have taken to rotating the lesser worn ones up to the attic... but we always have a couple capes handy, some swords, lots of hats, glasses, gloves, etc.

11) The Toy Story soldiers -- you'd be surprised at how much action these guys have seen in four years!!!

12) Puzzles

Looking over that, I REALLY wish this list were shorter. I guess as they get older, it *will* get shorter... but for now, I don't see that happening.

And here are some toys that get rotated back into the attic a LOT, but when they come out, they are always a big hit.

1) Little People
2) Big trucks
3) Fisher Price Exercycle thing
4) Instruments


And honestly? I think that's it. I could probably give away everything else they own (I'm not counting books and lovies, obviously) and they wouldn't care. And yet, my attic? FULL. Once the weather cools off a little, that's my project, so start paring down the attic stuff. I went through the baby toys a few months ago and managed to purge some things. After two consecutive babies aren't into something, I think it's safe to say any subsequent babies/cousins aren't going to like it either. I got rid of most of the Leapfrog Toys, most of the Peekablocks and some other random stuff that just never got played with. I look forward to the day I can start purging the boxes upon boxes of baby clothes and accessories too! Whoever has a baby, especially a boy, in the next couple years is going to hit the jackpot.

For those who think I'm totally obsessive, seriously, you need to come to my house. It's TINY. Our attic space is TINY. I have to keep all the STUFF in check or my kids would never be allowed to get any birthday or Christmas gifts! LOL! It's one of the reasons I don't want to move anytime soon though. I don't need more space to fill up with MORE STUFF. Gah!

So, I'm finished rambling... and now I'm curious. What are the consistent winners around your house in the toy department?

It's Only a Matter of Time...

Simon has started fighting his nap... BIGtime.

He has only skipped it completely a handful of times and that's usually on days we're out too long and he falls asleep in the car for 20 minutes en route from somewhere. But I know the inevitable is coming. I MIGHT be able to eek a few more months out of him, if that.

It takes MAJOR coaxing to get him to lay down now. I was hoping for at least a couple months of Ben being off at school and Simon napping... two hours of total peace and quiet in my house. That's looking like less and less of a possibility. (sigh)

I think Ben stopped regularly napping altogether around 29 months. Sometimes, up until he was about 3-1/2 he'd crash and fall asleep on the sofa late in the day and wake up all cranky and mean. I dread that period with Simon. The "I Need a Nap but Don't Know it Until it Sneaks up on Me" phase. Not to mention, when Ben was potty training, it seemed he'd always crash on the sofa after having a HUGE drink and then he would ALWAYS pee on the couch. I wised up and would surround him with towels, but still... another headache.

Okay, finished whining now. I will enjoy the naps while they last I suppose...

Random

In an effort to post on a more regular basis this week, I bring you THIS post in bullet points, rather than wait until an entire post has written itself in my head.

* Yesterday, I pulled down the bin of infrequently worn costumes I had put up in the attic months ago. CHRISTMAS IN JULY!! Ben rediscovered his storm trooper outfit and marched around in that for a good two hours. Simon found a pair of Batman gauntlets that make noise when you make a punching motion. He wore those and a black cape and kept running back and forth to check himself out in the mirror. The only problem with this activity is that Simon can't get himself in and out of most of the costumes yet and his gloves kept falling off, at which point, he's shriek and come running back for me to put them back on... finger by finger by finger. I truly TRULY understand now why the teachers at the preschool insist the kids wear mittens in the winter, not gloves. I mean, I got it before, but after doing that 145 times yesterday, I REALLY get it now.

* My new camera lens came yesterday! It is HUGE... I can see that it's really going to come in handy for outdoor pics though because of how it zooms. i should be able to take really good quality pics of the kids playing without having to be right in their faces.

* My entire street of neighbors is on vacation at the same time. It's eerily quiet around here...

* I've been reading the books "Raising Cain" and "It's a Boy" (both by the same author) If you are the mom of a boy, PLEASE go get these books and read them a.s.a.p. They are amazingly insightful! Who knew there were so many ways to mess up a boy? I thought boys were supposed to be easier than girls?!

* Speaking of boys, my friend Janelle just found out she is having her FOURTH boy in November. I am in both shock and awe. Not to mention, I can't wait to hear what name they pick... they pick great names!

* Terry O'Quinn a.k.a. Lost's John Locke, apparently lives in Northern Baltimore County! Two of my FB friends posted statuses yesterday about seeing him at the Wegman's!! A neighbor reported that he is thinking of joining the country club they belong to! I don't know about you, but if I saw John Locke walking toward me in the produce section, I might just pee my pants. Not from being starstruck or anything, but because his character on that show is just so CREEPY. It'd be weird to see him out and about...

And with that, I'm off... Little Dude is up. (yawn) i was hoping to get one more cup of coffee in me before facing the day, but such is life!

Thoughts...

I have to confess something... I wasn't one of those little girls who always dreamed about getting married and being a mommy. I wasn't into baby dolls and I never had any interest in babysitting. If I had to say I was into anything as a kid it was the following:

- being a writer -- I started countless neighborhood/classroom newspapers and can also remember as early as eight or nine years old, asking my parents to make up businesses for which I could write ads. I even have a drawing from first grade in which I wrote at the bottom that I wanted to be a poet when I grew up.

- starting some kind of business -- I was always wanting to pretend I was running a grocery store/library/bank or trying to organize the neighborhood kids to sell things at the end of our street. Looking back, I think my favorite part was writing and creating all the signs... see above.

- Creating things with my hands. I loved to get my hands dirty... to build and create, though I was never very good at it, mostly due to a lack of planning and my incredible impatience.

- Exploring and going on adventures. I used to pack my backpack and set out on my bike, determined to find things that were new and interesting. Really, I was just going down the street to a nearby field or behind some bushes. I found an indian arrowhead once while digging in a neighbor's backyard and subsequently went through a whole period of wanting to be an archaeologist.

-- just learning everything I could about things like astronomy, archaeology and medicine. (I guess I shouldn't wonder where Ben gets his single-minded obsessiveness from... but really, I was nowhere near as focused as he is) I used to spend hours outside with my telescope and an astronomy book just looking at the stars. My room, at one point, was plastered with 1969 newspapers about the moon landing. For awhile there, I also always had some kind of science experiment brewing in the laundry room, which my mother was amazingly tolerant of.

I wasn't bad at gymnastics and thought for awhile I might be a gymnast... I also went through a brief phase where I thought I could act, sing and play softball and soccer, none of which I was much of a standout in. (but being a firstborn and only child for ten years, I was constantly told I was awesome at everything and I believed it)

Nowhere in there did I ever dream about my future husband or family. I don't know that I could even see myself married... I guess I kind of just figured one day it would just happen (which is kinda how it went). And same for kids... even when Tom and I were dating and we were talking about children, though I enthusiastically said I wanted a couple at some point, I was really only counting on that desire EVENTUALLY kicking in. In reality? The idea of pregnancy and labor scared me half to death and being a mom? I dunno, I never really had given it a whole lot of thought, believe it or not. I LIKED kids enough I guess, I suppose on some level I wanted some of my own... but I'd never really pictured them in my mind or imagined what it would be like to be a mom.

Flash forward eight years and one short-term advertising career later.

Turns out I'm WAY better at being a mom than I was at having any professional career I could have dreamed up for myself. God has a funny way of knowing what you should do with your life, I guess.

I watched my children play in a nearby creek a couple evenings ago with two of their friends... wading in the water, throwing rocks to see who could make the biggest splash, turning rocks over to see what they could find... it reminded me so much of some of the happiest, carefree times of my own childhood and I just couldn't help thinking how much I love that I get to do it all over again as a mom.

We build things together and kick the soccer ball around the yard. And, despite my whining about his obsessions, I have a blast when Ben passes through one that is something I loved as a kid. Which reminds me, I hope he gets back to the astronomy phase eventually because I can't WAIT to get him a telescope and take him out in the backyard to show him the rings on Saturn!

I feel like everything I experienced, learned and enjoyed as a child, was all to prepare me for my ultimate "job". If you had asked me when I was ten what I'd be doing when I was 32, I probably would have told you I'd be an astronomer or a pediatrician. Lofty goals, for sure... especially for a kid who was just getting by in math class.

But, now, in a way, I am both of those things. An astronomer when I am showing my kids the moon and stars from our backyard, a pediatrician when I kiss their boo-boos... I am also a builder (with Legos and bristle blocks), a painter (with washable paints, of course) and a writer, a soccer player, a singer (of Veggie Tales and all the songs on Kids Place Live), an archaeologist (digging in the sandbox) and a hundred other occupations.

As a mom, I am everything I always wanted be and so many things I never thought I'd be! It's not always the greatest job ever, but I often joke that even on the most trying days, I can play with Playdough, and that's pretty awesome. I don't know if I could ever have been a stand out in my non-mom career. And honestly, I don't care or give it any thought. I guess that's how I know I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing with my life... and that's a good feeling.

Best Blog Ever...

I stumbled upon this wonderfully bitter and sarcastic blog called, "Best Parent Ever" I have been sitting here laughing for the last half hour reading reading the not-so-subtle mocking of ridiculous, over-the-top parenting topics/trends. Seriously, it's hysterical. Go visit! One of my favorites so far has been about The Shopping Cart Cover I will admit to owning one when I first had Ben... but honestly, it hasn't seen the light of day since he was six months old. ;) Guess I am not the Best Parent Ever. HA!

A Sweet First...

From the hallway a little while ago, I heard the following:

"I give Ben a kiss! Mwah! I love you, Ben!"

Killing time @ lakeshore... I heart this store!

Prego Lego!

Ben has sort of a strange obsession with pregnancy, babies and birth. It's been on and off since I was pregnant with Simon and has made a recent resurgence. I think he's starting to get curious about babies and where they come from and whatnot and I have a feeling there will be some questions to be answered when I get pregnanct again eventually... at any rate, he was playing quietly in the corner a bit ago and he wondered outloud what Lego piece he could use to make a hospital bed. A few minutes later, I went over to the table where he was working and found this:



He played out the whole scene and replaced the belly with another Lego guy laid on top of the mommy. It's not what it sounds like (thankfully)... as the other Lego guy was the new baby just born.

ROFL!