Daddy

We miss you! As I write this Camlyn is in the other room looking at pictures of you. "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy, awwww." Caeden is trying to be a little man and is helping me out. He still can not resist asking though, "Mommy when is Monday? What happens Monday? Do we pick Daddy up now?"

Mommy had a rough night too. You know it is not much fun without you. There is no one to fight with about who has to turn off the light. If I "accidentally" forget to turn it off, I still have to get out and do it myself. Listen close now because you are going to hear something that you haven't heard much in the few years that we have been married. You are right. It is cold when you sleep by yourself, there is no one to steal the covers from! Yes, I did check on the little guys and covered Camlyn back up. Know what? I even put extra blankets on them just like you would have if you were here.

Hurry home, Papai!

I have really given up hope of ever understanding my boys. I just try to live in peace with them. But sometimes you do have to wonder. I just walked into Camlyn's room and there he was on the floor with the container of wipes. They were strung out all over the room. He seems to have some kind of infatuation with them. Any chance that he gets he grabs them and sucks on them. I do not think that I have ever claimed that things are normal here, far from it. Think it is something like catnip?

Oh Dear

For starters, Moises is gone. Yes, he checked out of here and is in Arizona, of all the places while we have snow. He will be back on Monday. Just four days right we can do this, is what I was thinking. I am alone with them for most of the day anyway, what is a few more hours?

This afternoon Caeden had about a 30 minute nap. He was wound for sound, crashing and crying, whining and yelling ect. Quite fun. I was really starting to doubt myself. Something happened after supper, he was quite a different kid. Hot dogs and watermelon must tame the inner beast I guess. While I was putting the dishes away he helped feed Camlyn the rest of his watermelon, brought the dish to the sink, pulled the step stool up to the bathroom sink for Camlyn, and instructed him in the fine art of washing your hands. Whew. I really could not believe it. Wish I knew how to bring that kid out of hiding more often! You think it really was the hot dogs and watermelon?

Boy's Play

I have a confession to make, I hate to play with the boys. I will gladly read to them, do artsy things with them, cook with them. Please do not make me play with them. I think they sense this, it is always Daddy they recruit when they want someone to "play" with them. Obviously someone around here enjoys it more than I do.
Zoo! Did you notice the tractor in the "garage"?
House!

The worst of all is playing cars. Have you ever noticed that you get the worst car in the whole box. The ones that the wheels do not turn or the one recently squashed by an avid rocker. Even if you do manage to sneak a good one out of the bunch, it never fails that they will notice. "Oh, I was looking for that one!"
I think that I have it down to a science. You are fine as long as the car keeps moving. It can just be going in circles but it doesn't matter. But for heaven's sake, DO NOT STOP! "Play Mommy!"

Our Newest Obsession

Quite gourmet if I may say so, store brand pancake mix. Add water and you are done. Really they are some of the best pancakes I have ever eaten, big and fluffy. The rest of the family thinks so too. It has got Caeden off of his pb&j kick.
It started Sunday night with pancakes for supper. What did we have for breakfast on Monday, pancakes. Snack on Monday afternoon, pancakes. What did we have for breakfast this morning? Pancakes again, and now the box is empty. Sniff, sniff.

Dog T.V.

Peering into the oven. A future chef or just really hungry?

Mysteries of Motherhood

1. Why are one-month-old snow soggy Cheerios on the floor of the car better than fresh?
2. Why do we wonder when kids get sick?
3. Why do kids think they are hidden if standing behind sheer curtains?
4. Why would kids rather stand up, run around, carry it around, rather than eat the food?
5. Why if they are not eating it do they cry when you try to take it away?
6. Why do kids pull on you and cry when you are trying to accomplish something, but the minute you give up and sit down to play with them they run away?
7. Why is it that they only time kids play nicely is bed time?

Happy Easter

We went to Moises work for an egg hunt. Camlyn just couldn't quite figure the huge bunny out. Is he going to stab him or color him? Caeden wanted nothing to do with him.


Took them awhile to figure out that they were supposed to get the eggs, but it didn't take long before they had a bag full.

Every now and then you have to stop and make sure it is something that you want inside.

Ewwww!

This is the result of a morning spent scrubbing the shower with bleach and a toothbrush, still gross. The rest of the morning was spent at Lowes picking out new bathroom things, yeah. It is not quite a million dollars, but I think the Economic Stimulus Payment should cover it. How are you going to spend yours?

New Shoes

So this is how the boys and I spent the morning, shoe shopping. You always hear that you should buy new shoes every year. I just figured they were trying to sell more shoes. There might be some truth to it though. The old pair of shoes were going on their second year. The morning after a run, I could barely walk my shins and even my heels ached. Maybe it is just old age, I am closer to 30 now than 20!

I took them for a little run tonight. I think they will do.

Soccer, er Futbol

So maybe a bit more explanation is needed on the whole soccer thing. Ronaldinho is like the Beckham of Brazil. If you don't understand that much I can't really help you because I don't understand any more than that. : ) I have always enjoyed watching soccer. After watching some of these videos with my husband and the kids I can start to see why people think it is the greatest sport ever. Some of the things they can do with the ball is amazing. The Brazilian's motto apparently is "Play Beautifully." I can live with that.

So here is what goes on at our house.

The pajama thing again. It must be a Sunday afternoon ;)

Spring Break

This week has been Spring Break, for Caeden, not mommy. He can not quite get this figured out. "I don't have school? Why? What am I going to do!?" Is the week over yet? Not quite, but we do not have Alison anymore after today. Those two are too much like each other and really get each other going. It has been quite an adjustment having three kids again for much of the day.

"Mo pasta, mo pasta"

Sausage

We got another pig, a whole one this time. So Moises is making more sausage.
You can see in the photo that me his pushing the meat down with his hands. For some reason, the grinder did not come with a little tool to help. After watching his daddy looking for something to push it down with, Caeden offered this..."It's OK, you can use it. I don't mind."

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

"Wishing you all things Irish on St. Patrick's Day and always."

My three dollar sign. Up for two days, there is always next year! I love to visit Hobby Lobby the week of a holiday and see what I can come up with.

Ronaldinho

For all you soccer fans out there!

Moises wanted me to let you all know that this is him playing in Brazil. ; ) "You think that I know something, look at that."
His shirt changes colors a couple of times watch close.

Caleb

There is a new baby around that I have not mentioned hide nor hair of. He was born on March 8? Help me here, I stumbled on to this on Facebook. I stole the pictures from there as well, so if anyone objects please let me know! Aunt Kathy, you are supposed to be the proud Aunt that broadcasts this news!

Aren't they a beautiful family!

Little Caleb is back in the hospital now. I have not heard for sure what is wrong, but we are thinking about him and his family.

Wedding Shower

Today there was a wedding shower for Nathan and Stacey. Can you say that if they only got girly stuff? They got lots of nice gifts, with lots of ribbons that were cut. I rue the fact that I did not get a picture of her face when she was told that the number of ribbons that are cut is supposedly the number of children you will have. It was a beautiful shower. Congratulations Nathan and Stacey!

Baby Games

We did have a good night. Although Camlyn is not back to 100%. I will leave out all the yucky details that most everyone does not want to read about. Since there is not much stink going on around here today, well there is but in a different way, I thought I would write about the little games that I play with both of the boys.

Caeden was very giggly as a baby, he still is. When he was really little we started playing a laughing game. I would start, "Ho, Ho." He would reply, "Ha, Ha." "Tee Hee." Back and forth. Just talking. Pretty soon we would both be rolling on the floor laughing for real.

Camlyn is not really what I would call "giggly." I tried the laughing game with him but it didn't fly. The thing that gets him going is for me to copy his facial expressions. Start with the pout, then stinking cute face, repeat. It gets him every time. That was one reason that I knew he didn't feel good the other night. I could not get him to play our game. Even Caeden joined in, but no luck.

Yes, Mommies do have their ways and it is not always intuition. ; )

Wildlife

I do not think that I have written about bats on here yet, we will leave that for another day. This afternoon, I thought I had left the boys quietly sleeping in there rooms, which are located right beside our bedroom. I closed the door so I would not disturb them while I used the computer this afternoon. The last that I had checked Caeden was sleeping but I kept hearing rustling noises. He is getting better at pretending to be asleep but I can usually tell. I told him to settle down and sleep, trough the door a couple times, but it kept continuing. I opened the door and he was sleeping like an angel. The noise, coming from the attic. Hmmm, another bat, mouse?

This afternoon when we were playing outside, I heard chirping and rustling and looked up. There is a bird stuck in our attic! Moises went up when he got home from work, but could not get him out. What will we have next, a squirrel? I shouldn't even say it!

A Good Day

Today we all rediscovered the joys of spring. This is the first day that the boys have really played outside in a long time. We had our first baseball game of the season.

And just look at how thrilled the spectators were!

We found some toys that were buried under the snow all winter. Also we had a try out all the toys. Mow the ice, check.

Basketball in the snow, check.


Using the car as a snow blower, check.

Last but not least, we found a mud puddle!

Pizza for supper and headed to Craig and Lani's for a birthday party for Gavyn. It was a good day up until this point. Uurrp, Camlyn threw up, so we had to cut it short. We forgot the camera too, so hopefully we will get some pictures up soon. It was a good day and hopefully it will be a good night too.

Toddler Speed

Like Lani, I have been battling for patience with the kids. There are some days that you just have to give up and go toddler speed and sometimes they turn out to be the best days. When I was sick, I was going toddler speed because I just couldn't get things done any faster. Somehow it turned out that I got the same amount of things done each day.

The sweet thing about this age is that they love to help. Everything that they are able to do is very serious to them and they are so proud when the have accomplished whatever task they are working on. So lately I have been searching for more ways to let them help. Camlyn loves to help me with the laundry, I take it out of the washer and he puts it in the dryer for me. I have been letting Caeden set the table and clear it. Sometimes I have him help me put the dishes in the dishwasher. The other night Caeden helped Moises vacuum.

Today we found a new task that was fun. Putting the toilet paper away!

Please ignore the piles of clothing in the background, Flylady has not made it this far yet! Usually when I tell him thank you he gives me his stinking cute face, but not with the camera rolling!

Sunday Afternoon

We spent the afternoon with our friends Danny and Becky and their three kids. Soon to be four! This was the first time for our kids to play together without other kids along. Adding other kids does change the mix a little. It was fun to watch Caeden and Ocean. Ocean is a few years older and has started kindergarten this year. He was giving Caeden the low down on all of his classes and riding the bus.

Camlyn and Glade are only a few weeks apart. It is fun to start to watch them be aware of each other and interact. They really were playing together until the camera came out. All kids are the same, wanna see!

Not So Lazy Sunday

For some of us, for others well they just sat on the couch and tried to document the action.


Can't see me right? What are we hiding from? The big bad dog or something. The boys spent the evening chasing each other around and around. They were moving so fast that to get them in the picture I had to take it when they were just entering the next room.

I guess I could have got the action on video, but what's the fun of that when you can get these great action shots!

Try to ignore the pajamas. This is how you will find us most Sunday evenings. So if you were planning on dropping in unexpectedly on a Sunday, beware!

What did you learn at school today?

Can't you just see the wheels turning?

Little Stinker

Have I mentioned that Camlyn is a little stinker? He always has been and is getting stinkier! All morning yesterday he was asking for cookies. Yes, that is one word that he is proficient at using. I was able to stall him for a little while by offering him his chewable vitamin, yum, yum. Actually they do really like them. So he did give up for awhile.

Later on Camlyn comes and climbs up in my lap. Puts his little hands on either side of my face. He bends down and places he soft little cheeks against mine and starts to whisper sweet little nothings in my ear. "Cookies, cookies." Where do they learn all these little tricks?

Camlyn does have a new word, blanket. Although it comes out more like "beashe." I guess I should have broke down and made the boy some cookies. He did have a traumatic day with his "beashe" being in the wash and all.

Our Mail Box

I love old houses. I think they have so much personality that newer houses just seem to be lacking in. It is a good thing because our house was built quite awhile ago. So long ago in fact that it was first sold for about $10.

One of the little bits of personality that I like about our house is the mailbox. It is just a hole in the front wall with a little door on the outside. So our mail comes directly into the house, kind of nice on these snowy, cold days. The boys love to play there too and often leave interesting tidbits for the mailman.

Well, we have not had any mail for the past three days. I was wondering if it had anything to do with this....
I could see how a bright, neon, yellow, plastic gun could be considered threatening. I'm just wondering.....

Show Me the Love

This afternoon when I tucked Caeden in for his nap I told him I loved him, nothing new here. Somehow it hit him differently, "Tell me who loves me Mommy?" We went through the whole list, mommy and daddy and grandmas and grandpas and aunts and uncles. "And Camlyn, Mommy does he love me?" Lucky boys to have so many people loving them. It indeed does take a village to raise a child. Thank you to our village!

Rocking Chairs

There are some days that I think my boys are far from normal. I guess that is pretty much every day, anyway. My boys could spend half the day in a rocking chair. I guess it keeps them out of my hair, but even this is far from quiet.

The first thing Caeden does when he gets up in the morning and up from a nap is run to a rocking chair. His rocking is not just the normal peaceful kind you think of. No, this is house shaking, chair moving, loud thumping rocking. For some reason it also involves tearing off all the cushions to the chairs. Having them on impedes the foothold and thus you can't rock satisfactorily is what I have surmised.

Even though it is far from soothing to anyone else in the house, or the neighborhood. It must still be soothing for Caeden. We were all dressed and ready to go out the door to school the other morning. On the way out Caeden had a complete meltdown. Why, because he had not rocked yet that morning.

Big Helpers

I am glad that the boys like to help. I need to do a better job of slowing down and letting them help me.
The other day they got a real kick out of helping Daddy. He does a good job with the little guys. Playing with them and letting them "help."
"I am working hard today Mommy. We are big fixers."