Bugs, worms and beetles.... oh my!

The weather is cooling, we're waking up to see frost on the ground and a light snow last week.

Which also means the ladybugs, flies and worms are slowing down a bit.  Making them really easy for little boys to catch.

Once the little boys catch them, they feel the need to rescue them, keep them safe, give them a name, and build them a new home.

Boys and their friends 'rescuing' a poor lost worm from under the swings.

Soon after building the new homes, it seems that most of these little guys get sleepy.  Then comes the big debate between the brothers as to whether the ladybug is asleep or dead.  The conclusion thus far has been that the ladybugs are just really tired.  In the case of the earthworm (who wasn't looking to great even at the beginning of his great adventure), soon became hard and stuck to the leaf (aka 'his new home').  We had to give him a final resting place in the yard.

Boys with their ladybugs (Kiley & Fredrika) in their new "homes".
After I took the photo, Gavin announced "Mom, Fredrika is actually dead."

And the story with the fly.  We had what my mom would call a "drizzly fly" in the house this week.  The kind that just fly around really slow looking like they are just waiting to die.  Gavin discovered the fly sitting on the wall and quickly asked for the fly swatter (with a lot of excitement).   The kid swung at the fly twice, missing both times.... and the fly didn't move.  Yes, he was that near death already.  The pure joy that Gavin showed once he smashed that fly was comical.  He ran around the house for a couple minutes yelling, "I WON!  I WON!  The fly is DEAD!"  He quickly had to find his Daddy and big brother so they could share in his excitement of killing his first housefly.

Stinky.

Marty and I went to a Rockies game last night with his family.  Without our children.  It was awesome and I don't really even care that much at all about baseball.  Marty loves it though, so it is fun to watch him enjoy the game so much.

The evening was beautiful, the first 6 innings of the game went by quickly, I had an adult beverage, good conversation and a funnel cake.  All without children.  It was great.

Marty and me.  Rockies game self portrait.

The only downside is that we got home really late.  After 11p, which is unheard of for us to be awake at that time in this phase of life.  I did not get up for my morning run and instead threw on clean clothes, the same hat and started out the busy day.

Part of that busy day included a chiropractor visit.  I have become a huge fan of the chiropractor recently.... but that is completely separate story.

While I was in his office and he was cracking away at my spine I was thinking.... "Wow, something in here is really stinky."

And I went on with the appointment.... la de da da.....

Went on with the day and all is well.

And a few hours later I realized that the stink in the chiropractor's office was my feet.  AWESOME.

Sorry Mr. Chiropractor.  I'll be sure to shower before coming in next week.

First day of school!!! First day of school!!!!

I woke Elijah up this morning happily singing the little tune of "first day of school, first day of school" from "Finding Nemo".  His response was similar to Marlin's in the movie.... it goes something like "I don't want to go to school...."

We were all ready to go!  Being the ridiculously-on-top-of-it-mom that I am, we finished up school supply shopping less than an hour before the back to school ice cream social last week.  (Although we are still missing the red pencils with erasers - whoops.  Office Depot was sold out - lame).

And just last night we cleaned out his backpack.... which was only half heartedly taken care of on the last day of kindergarten.  It has spent the summer happily relaxing in Elijah's garage locker.  I did make sure there was no food or drink in it before summer storage so it was fun to get to find the end of the year surprises from kindergarten still in his bag.  

We are so on top of things around here.

Mommy, however, was super duper excited about the first day of school!  YAY!  I love the lazy days of summer (which went by really fast), but I also love the routine that school days give us.

Photo taking didn't go so well... this is the best shot of all three of them. 

Only shot with Elijah looking towards the camera.  1st day of 1st grade!

 

Gavin's 1st day of preschool!  Wearing his most favorite spiderman shirt.
And spiderman undies too, but thankfully we can't see them in this shot.

Owen had no idea what was going on, but he wanted to line up and say "cheese" also.  :)

We dropped Elijah off at school and then had nearly about 45 minutes until Gavin needed to be dropped off at preschool.  He had been so excited to go to school, but after we dropped Elijah off his tune changed drastically.  He started saying "me no want to go to school, Mommy" and "me want to stay here with you and Owen.... me will be nice & kind Mommy".  Uhmmm... I may have told Elijah that it is good for him to get a break and go to school because he is not always nice and kind to his brothers.... whoops.  Apparently Gavin picked up on that.  

On the way to take Gavin to school he had all sorts of important questions like "where are the tissues and who will wipe my nose?" and "who is going to help me go potty?".  We found the place to hang his backpack, the tissues in the classroom, and I left as he hesitantly joined the line to wash his hands.  And I just knew he was going to love it.

When I picked him up from class, his teacher (Mrs. Carter) told me something along the lines of "Oh, I am going to love your little boy.  He is so sweet."  And she is so right.  He LOVED his first day of school.

He talked my ear off about singing "The wheels on the bus" and his new friends.  His words were "Mommy, me like my new friends.  Them Nathan & Alex.  Them really cool."  EXTROVERT.  He was giddy for the next hour.  So excited.

Now for the introvert of the family.  After I picked up Elijah, he gave me a few brief details of his day.  Brief.  It was then time to come home for lunch.  As Gavin rambled on about his day Elijah's head was about to explode.  He begged for silence or to just go eat outside by himself because he could not handle all this talking after just being around people all morning.

We compromised and listened to Dr. Seuss on audiobook throughout lunch.  Success.

As Gavin rattled off the names of the other children in his 3 year old preschool class, Elijah noted that he has absolutely no idea of the names of the children he played with at recess.  Just that they were not new kids, he has played with them before, and names are obviously not an important part of first grade.  Such a HUGE difference between an extrovert and an introvert.  It will be interesting to see how that plays out as they grow.... and it was fascinating to see on the first day of school.

They were both exhausted by bedtime.  Yay!  Here's for another big day tomorrow.  

Welcome back routine of school.  Oh how I have missed you.  :)

Just. Can't. Remember.

My BFF, Heather, just gave birth to her second baby last week.  A little girl and she is darling.  I mean, really, look at her. 

Heather's baby girl.... one day old.

Heather also has a 24 month old son, so she asked me how things went for me when I was nursing a new baby and keeping a toddler out of trouble.   (Gavin & Owen are 21-ish months apart.)

Huh.  I have absolutely no idea.  As in, if someone put a gun to my head telling me that I needed to answer the question correctly to save my life, not sure I would be able to do it.  Huh.  No idea.  Part of me says, that must mean it wasn't too bad?!?  And the other part of me says "it must have been horrible and God has allowed me to block out that phase of life."

I think this is God's way of the earth being filled - we simply don't remember how difficult some parts of life are.  At least that is my current theory.

Rolling with that theory, I'm really feeling like I should document a bit of this current phase of life.

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

I know this phase of life goes by quickly (and oh so slowly all at the same time).  Mothers and grandmothers regularly tell me how much they loved the phase of life when then their children were little.  I agree with them.... there are so many things about little ones that I love: snuggles, cute sayings, innocent games, belly laughs that can't be replicated by someone over 35 pounds or so, story times, stroller rides, learning animal names & noises, new words, etc, etc.

And then there is the reality of daily life.  This post is not about venting, it is primarily meant for me to be able to look back and read when I (God willing) have 3 daughter-in-laws and a few grandchildren. When I am looking at their lives and thinking "I don't know why they think things are so hard!  I didn't even have the fancy pants robots that they have now to take care of everything for them.  My kids slept through the night at 2 weeks old, they NEVER acted like this, my house was clean AND I managed to grow my own garden, exercise, take my kids on play dates and educational experiences as well as volunteering in my church and the kid's school."

You see.... that is what I am going to think I remember.  But that is NOT reality.  Here is what the day ACTUALLY looks like.  (And let's start by clarifying that our boys are AWFUL at sleeping, my house is a disaster, etc, etc).

4:30am: O is awake and screaming for reasons unknown to anyone in our home.  E is upset and doesn't want to share a room with him anymore because it is annoying.  Marty and I are just at our wits end not knowing why he won't sleep.  Marty finally just gives up, taking Owen for an early morning walk.  Sweet - at least I get a bit more sleep.

5:45am:  G is awake and wants everyone to know.  He would also like assistance putting on his underpants and clothing.  He communicates this by coming to my side of the bed yelling "Mommy STOP SLEEPING.  Me want new underpants, please."  Glad he adds in that please part.

Owen.  On the table.  Again.

 From then until about 8am comes the early morning chaos.  Owen insists on pulling everything out of the cupboards and off of the counters while I attempt to make breakfast and prepare everyone for the day.  When I turn my back to do things like get myself a refill of coffee (stepping over the kids plates that have now been neatly arranged on the floor), Owen climbs on top of the table trying to steal food from his brothers.  Or opens the door to try and run out into the street, or pulls the laptop off the desk, or tears up/chews on the bills needing to be paid (true stories).  

In the midst of this chaos, Elijah attempts to patiently inform me that he is still hungry and wants more to eat.... while Gavin creates inedible masterpieces with his breakfast.... like mashed peanut butter banana and water all carefully constructed with his hands.... which leads to what we will call "intense disappointment" because his breakfast is inedible and his hands are sticky.

At this point in the day, I usually think.... on my goodness.... it is only 8am and I am pretty sure it feels like 5pm.  Is it time for Marty to get home from work yet?  We need to get out of this house!

There are, of course, plenty of good & sweet moments throughout the day.  This is just a glimpse into the reality of the things that I most likely won't remember.

I actually feel like I will remember some of the specifics:

Owen.  "Helping" me to un-fold the laundry I just folded. 

* kids throwing all the shoes down the stairs
* emptying books of shelves
* jumping off couches
* arguing and putting brothers in headlocks
* eating unidentified objects off the floor
* minor injuries

The part I think is impossible to catch or remember even with documenting it is just how all of those things can be happening AT ONCE.  How can E's favorite toy possibly be broken at the same time that the toddler peed all over the bathroom floor, the one year old is attempting to dive off the kitchen table AND the timer is beeping that I should pull dinner out of the oven?!?!?  And how can it be like that at multiple times throughout any given day?  Just typing the scenario made me tired.

Owen.  He falls asleep at lunch at lot these days.  Shocking, huh?

Gavin doesn't usually nap, but occasionally he will just crash.  Like this day last week in the stroller.

Hopefully I will remember these days.

I would like to be able to remember some of the chaos just so that I can be a blessing to other mom's when they are parenting young children.  To provide them with encouragement, coffee, a nap and possibly some funny stories.

And oh, how I wish I could bottle up a bit of those belly laughs from little boys.  Makes my heart hurt and tears well in my eyes knowing that these chaotic days will be gone before we know it.

Look at how grown up this kiddo is already!  It has gone by so fast!

Seriously.  Look at this sweet happy boy.  How could I ever forget this?

And this is the point where I add a sweet, innocent picture of Owen reminding me of just how sweet and precious he is.  But I can't find any pictures where he isn't either sleeping or getting into trouble.  With that realization I think there may be a theme to the chaos in our world.....

Getting schooled by my six year old

Well, he is almost seven, so it is totally normal that he should be teaching me things, right?

Last week as we were playing outside (and heard thunder) he told me "Mom, did you know that thunder is caused when lightening heats the air around it to 55 hundred degrees?"

Me:  "Uhmmm.... no.  And how do you know that?!?"

E: "I read it."

I had him show me where he read it.  It is actually 55,000 degrees.... but really, if you're six years old, what difference does an extra zero really make?  To me, the fact that he even read this information and then was able to recall it at an appropriate time with generally correct information was pretty fascinating.

--------------------------------------
This second story is a little bit harder to stomach because my six year old was actually CORRECTING me, CORRECTLY, while I was reading to him before bed last night.

We are currently reading "Mary Poppins" which is quite a fun little book.  There is a story in the book about a dancing red cow going to visit the king.  The king has a sceptre.  I read the line about the sceptre and made some comment like "I don't know what in the pants that is?!?"

Elijah responded with "Show me the word, Mommy."

Sure.  I am sure that my child who just finished kindergarten will be able to assist his mommy who graduated college with honors.  Go for it kid.

Elijah: "Oh mommy.  You pronounced that wrong!  The 'c' is silent and it is a sceptre!  I read about it in 'Mummies in the Morning' (a Magic Treehouse book).

Me: "Uhmmm, so, what is a sceptre?"

Elijah: "Oh, it's this stick thing that kings and magicians have.  Sometimes they have jewels on them...."

And he went on explaining a sceptre to me.  He was so ridiculously proud of himself (as he should be) and I was slightly disappointed in myself and my lacking knowledge of sceptres.

When he went upstairs to climb into bed he proudly shared the story with Marty.

Marty says, in my defense, that I probably didn't read a whole lot of books that involved a sceptre in my youth..... whereas little boys will read many.

Schooled by my six year old.

(Also, in my defense, blogger is trying to tell me that I am spelling sceptre incorrectly.... but I double checked Mary Poppins and that is how it spelled there.  So there.)

3 year old funny....

I love the things that 3 year olds say.  And I rarely remember to write them down.  So, here is a quick note from the weekend.

Gavin: "Mommy, Daddy have long legs?"
Me: "Yes Gavin, your Daddy has long legs."
Gavin: "No Mommy, the spider's daddy have long legs?"

Which caused me to laugh out loud.

Further explanation in sharing the story with Marty revealed that earlier in the day he, Gavin & Owen had seen a "Daddy-Long-Legs".   Which Owen promptly attempted to squish and apparently got Gavin thinking about the fact that the spider's daddy has long legs.  :)

Of Mice and Men

Of Mice and Men.  Great book by John Steinbeck that I read in high school.  And although this post has absolutely nothing to do with that book, the title came to mind.  Here is why.....

We bought our house 6+ years ago.  When we did the inspection we found that there was a bit of a mouse problem.  As in, the previous owners had d-Con (mouse poison) positioned throughout the main level and basement of the house.  YUCK.  Before we bought the house we had them remove the d-Con and hire an exterminator.

Thankfully, we did not have any mice problems.  Whew.

Sometime after we moved in we hired someone to clean out the ducts in the house..... the nice man told me that the ducts had a lot of Fruit Loops in them.... possibly placed there by the mice (or maybe small children).....  I, however, have never bought Fruit Loops.  Double gross.

Fast forward to 2012.

We remodeled the main level of the house.  It is great.

Before.

After.

We really like the update.  Apparently, so do the mice. (You can see where this is going, huh....)

One day last fall as it was getting colder, I sat enjoying the afternoon quiet while the boys napped or played quietly.  And a mouse ran across our kitchen floor and behind the trash can.  AUGH!!!!  

I called Marty at work.  He didn't answer.  I called my mom in Iowa (since somehow that might help). She suggested that I move the trash can and kill the mouse with a broom.  What that?!?  Apparently that is what my Grandma would have done.  My Grandma also butchered chickens.... she gave truth to the statement "like a chicken running around with it's head chopped off".  She chopped off chicken's heads and killed mice with a broom.  I am not that cool.  Instead I freaked out and just wouldn't go into the kitchen the rest of the afternoon for fear that the mouse might be hiding behind the trash can.  

We battled the mouse and some of his friends and have felt triumphant.  Somewhere in there I took the kids to PetSmart for a "field trip" and experienced a little bit of PTSD when the kids suggested we get a mouse as a pet.  Uhm, no.

Then last night Marty was on conference call..... sitting at the breakfast bar as I had been months earlier.  A mouse ran across our kitchen floor behind the trash can.  I was safe in the living room as he told me "don't come in here."  I didn't go in there.

He tried to smash the mouse with the trash can (unsuccessfully - gross) and when the mouse ran out from the behind the trash can he grabbed the first thing he saw on the counter.

A butternut squash.

He threw a butternut squash at a mouse.  

He actually hit the mouse and killed it.... with the very thing I was planning to use to make our dinner.  

He was still on the conference call for work through the entire ordeal.  No joke.  

Marty can now say that he killed a small creature with nothing more than a gourd.  How many people can say that?

Now if only we can figure out how the mice have gotten access to our kitchen!?!  AUGH!

Stories.... Of mice and men.

Edited to add:  Marty read this blog post and would like me to clarify.... his clarification point goes something like this "It's not like I threw the squash 6 inches, it was good 5 foot!  That's a big difference and you failed to mention it."  So, now I mentioned it.  He really squashed that mouse.  :)

Independence Day

We celebrated Independence Day yesterday.  More commonly known as "the 4th of July".  However, Marty is passionately against calling it "the 4th".  He says "we don't call Christmas December 25th, so why would we call Independence Day July 4th?!?!"  It is kind of like his thoughts on "the f word".

Throughout the day, Elijah was asking what we had independence from.  Regardless of what Marty or I would say, he always came back to "so, we are celebrating the day that the white people were freed from slavery."  Uhmmm, no Elijah.  The white people were not freed from slavery.  No discussion could convince him otherwise.

We decided to celebrate the evening with the city fireworks.  We got there 2 1/2 hours prior to start time.  We were armed with friends, juice boxes, glow sticks, balls, and plenty of snacks.  All things considered, the kids did amazing waiting for the fireworks.  We got a GREAT viewing spot on the top of a hill right by a fantastic pine tree perfect for climbing.  We sent the kid who already has 3 stitches in his head up into the tree for a couple hours and told him good luck.  He was in heaven.

The only photo we have from the evening.... Elijah up in the tree. 

9:35 finally arrived: scheduled start time.  The symphony orchestra finished up with a wonderful patriotic song.  The crowd cheered.  YAY!  One big red firework was launched and then we waited.  And waited.

It was slightly windy which is what we believed was causing the delay.

So we waited.

Someone around us was smoking pot.  Which is completely legal in Colorado... at least I think so?  I have absolutely no idea.  But the kids loved saying "Mommy, what is the funny smell?"  Hmmm.... let's talk about Independence day.

We waited.

Then the pot smoking kids lit off a bottle rocket.  While smoking pot may be legal, all fireworks in Fort Collins are illegal (including sparklers).  And of course, bottle rockets.  That led the local police to the happy little climbing tree behind us where they addressed the bottle rocket launching.  Not sure if anything happened with the pot smoking?

Well, by then it was well after 10p.  Many people were leaving, Owen was oscillating between trying to sleep and cry, and the nice police officers informed us they had no idea if/when the fireworks would go off.  We decided to join the crowds of people leaving.... by the nearest accessible exit: under the pot smokers in the pine tree.

We made it about 3 blocks and you guessed it - the fireworks started.

We went back to the park and watched the fireworks from the bottom of the hill.... behind a couple trees.  And they were still great.  All the boys LOVED the fireworks.   It was HOURS after their bedtime and they all just stared in amazement.  Owen said "more boom booms".  Gavin commented on the different colors, shapes and sizes.

Elijah said "Yay!  We are celebrating our independence from when the white people were slaves."

Kind of like walking and tripping....

This afternoon I was cleaning off the mail on my desk.   The two little boys and the neighbor girl were all upstairs with me chatting away about something or another.

I heard a loud thud down in the basement followed by screaming.  Now, this might be concerning to some people, but it literally happens multiple times per day in our house.  Literally.  I could tell by the sound of the scream that there was likely an injury sustained, but I have gotten into the habit of telling the boys that if they are able to walk, they need to come upstairs to show me the injury.... I'm not going down there multiple times per day to see that they once again stepped on a matchbox car.  Ain't nobody got time for that.

I turned around from my desk to see our 6 year old with his hands and face covered in blood.

Yep.  Real injury.

Here is the point where I should mention that I tend to pass out when I see too much blood.  And since we have three little boys, seeing too much blood happens on occasion.  I am working to get past this.

We calmly walked into the kitchen and got a wet washcloth to hold on the gaping head wound.  Of course, my first question is "What happened?!?"

Elijah's response was "I was walking and I tripped and hit my head on metal."

"WHAT?"  He elaborated that it was the metal leg on his small desk in the basement.  That didn't make a whole lot of sense to me, but I decided to let the details go.

The neighbor girl went home while Elijah and Marty went off to Urgent Care (I'm pretty worthless there.... especially when it gets to the part where I am supposed to help hold him still so they can do the stitches.  I tried that once..... I had to lay down and have the nurse get me juice and crackers.  Seriously.  No joke.  We have been down this road a couple of times before.  It is better to just send Marty).

Fast forward a couple hours.  Marty reports that Urgent Care went pretty smoothly.  There was a minimal amount of screaming (which is to be expected) and this time Marty didn't even have to hold his head still while they did the stitches.  Three stitches were all that were required.  Not too shabby.

Waiting to get the stitches

Of course there was the obligatory post stitches ice cream visit.

When they got home I decided to review the walking and tripping story with Elijah.  After a bit of hesitation it turned into something like this:

"Well, I stacked up all the cushions from the couch and chair downstairs.  So there were 3 of them.  And it was pretty high.  And then I decided to run and jump on it.  But I hit my head on my desk."

Huh.  Well, there you have it folks.  Kind of like tripping while walking.... but still drastically different.

Maybe 10 minutes after getting home I had to remind him that running and jumping onto the couch is probably also a bad idea.  After every time we go to Urgent Care for an injury or illness (which I do need to point out we have not been there in almost 14 months), I have this fear that we are going to end up there again within hours or days.  It just seems to go like that.

Regardless, I do foresee more Urgent Care trips in our future.

"G-Man"

Gavin is known in our house as "Gav", "G", "G-man", "G-monkey" or "Gav-Man".

He is quickly approaching 3 1/2 which is (generally) a really fun age that I am appreciating a lot more the 2nd time around.  Within the past month or so he has really matured to the place where I am much more confident that he is aware of his surroundings and won't run out into the street - and wanting to watch out so that little brother is also being safe.  Basically he's just growing up a lot.

He is also HILARIOUS.  He currently has the goal of outrunning his shadow.  He tries this regularly.  While I should attempt to explain how it all works, instead I'm just loving this short, innocent little phase.  Because seriously, that's some funny stuff.

He asks questions constantly.  Like "Mommy, what that say?" and points out things like "See that number!".  He also regularly asks "What that thing do?" or "What that thing called?" when he sees an unfamiliar object.  Marty just mentioned his current favorite of "Daddy, what you doin?".  All the time. And just so cute.

One of my most favorite things right now is how he tells stories.  He tells his stories with both words and sound effects/gestures.  The latter is my favorite.  So much my favorite that I'm taking the time to edit and upload a video of it.  You really should watch it.  For real.  It is that cute.  The little video also includes him counting to 10 and his end of the year performance at CBS (he is the one jumping on and off the stage in the front).  :)

Gavin HATES to get caught doing something he isn't supposed to do.  Which is to say that he is really good at attempting to make sure that no one sees him so he won't get punished.  When he does get caught, he has recently resorted to saying "you no want to see me cry" (for going to time out, etc) and "me love you".  Which doesn't make knocking his brother to ground acceptable, but he is just oh so cute.  :)

And even though he has yet to see a Super Hero movie, he is certain that he is a superhero.  He prefers to wear he Super Man, Spiderman or Batman shirt every single day.  He is pretty sure that if he wears that shirt long enough he will actually be able to fly..... he tries flying off the couch on a pretty regular basis.  Thankfully it is only a foot or two off the ground and thus far we have avoided any injuries.

Recent pics of our big kid.....

"O-dogg"

The kids keep getting bigger.  I think it has something to do with the fact that they demand food every couple minutes throughout the day.  And since I would prefer to not hear them scream all day, I often resort to the aforementioned theory of "whatever it takes".  :)

My goal is to do short updates and funny stories about these small people over the next couple days (or weeks... we'll see how this goes).

He generally sucks his thumb.  But on this morning, his big toe seemed to be a better option.

"O-dogg" This is his nickname... Well, mainly just for Marty.  I don't know why, just go with it.  :)  It might have something to do with the fact that the boys have taught him to fetch like a dog.  He will crawl around on his knees panting like a dog and sometimes he will even retrieve the items thrown.  I digress.

*O is a climber.  He is our first climber.  He is fast and is into EVERYTHING.  I have turned around while making coffee to find him standing up in the middle of the kitchen table..... looking like he is ready to just walk off the edge and see what happens.  He has tried walking off the couch... he didn't seem to enjoy it a lot, nor has he done it again.

Follow the progression of photos here....

This was on one of those really snowy days this past month.
We had been inside all day and some fun needed to be had.

He spent a solid 30 minutes in this routine.  No joke.
And no injuries.  Whatever it takes. 

A difficult thing about having big brothers when there is
snow outside.  They would go out to play and he would forget
that he had been out that morning and HATED it.  

So, eventually Mommy gave in, got herself all dressed (again)
and got Owen all dressed (again) and after roughly 35 seconds
he remembered that he HATED the snow.
So, we could go inside again and be warm and happy.  YAY!

*He is in the phase where he waves and says "hi" to everyone.  In the grocery store.  On a walk.  Everywhere.  I think it is pretty cute and I enjoy this little phase.  :)

*Yesterday while I was getting the water temp good for the boys bath, I turn around to find that Owen had acquired a cup, dipped it in the toilet and was drinking the water.  ICK.

*Saturday Owen managed to open the door to the shed that has been added to our backyard while Marty was in the backyard grilling.  Before Marty noticed, Owen had gotten inside and had pulled out a bag of wood screws.  Now, this is kind of funny because when Elijah was about his age we took him to the ER to have an x-ray taken to ensure that indeed he had not swallowed a wood screw.  So, Marty comes in the house in a panic wondering if we should take Owen in to the ER since he puts everything in his mouth.  Long story short: Owen is fine.  We didn't take him in or really even worry about it.  At all.  That stuff about the 3rd child is apparently true.

A couple more photos to close.  :)

He really likes to play in the dirt.  He produces a lot of extra laundry
now that it has gotten warmer.  After nearly every time he goes outside
it requires a complete change of clothing. 

Sweet boy.  :)
(P.S.  Before you ask... his little necklace is an amber teething necklace.
I am not 100% convinced it has solved all our problems, but it also doesn't hurt.... so there you go)

Pure Joy

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds

James 1:2 (NIV)

Seriously, what the pants kind of statement is that.  When I am in those moments of trials, heartache, and pain, I don't see pure joy.  This verse came up a few weeks ago in a study of the book of James. For whatever reason for the following days, I could not get that verse out of my head.....

Fast forward a day or two later and I was driving our tiny little Honda CR-V with the 3 boys in the back.  I am sure they were chatting away and blowing up other vehicles on the road with their imaginary bombs and other explosive devices (that's how we roll in the little CR-V).  

I was lost in my own little world reflecting on the fact that Gavin is almost THREE years old and reflecting back to the intense heartache that we were going through three years ago.  At that time, my heart was heavy and I wanted more than anything in the world to have another child in our family.  We had watched the families of dear friends and close family grow.... while we remained a family of three.  

Then, all of a sudden as I was driving, it hit me.  PURE JOY.  I would go through all that pain again and all that longing again to get to be Gavin's Mommy again.  As I type this, the memories of the pain of pregnancy loss and the inability to conceive go away and I think of the pure joy of Gavin joining our family.  Don't get me wrong.... there are some less joyful moments with any two (almost three) year old around, but words cannot even adequately express how happy and joyful I am that we get to love on Gavin and see him growing up.  I cannot imagine life without him.  That day in the car, I looked back at him with a heartfelt smile of joy.... that was likely returned with an imaginary grenade, but again, that's how we roll.   

There were so many times during that dark phase of life that I begged and pleaded with God for another child.  Begged.  Pleaded.  Fasted.  Cried.  Begged more.  God had a different plan than my original plan.  It reminds me a bit of the small children in our home.  They often ask for something once and when the answer is "no", they just continue to ask louder.... begging and pleading more with each request.  They are insistent that they know what is going to be best for them and what will satisfy their needs, give them pure joy.  If they could only understand that the reason I am telling them "no" is in their best interest; if only they could see the pure joy instead of just the immediate "no".  

I'm not sure I can say that I now completely understand everything about the aforementioned verse in James, but maybe a bit more than a did a few months ago.  Maybe the pure joy isn't immediate when we are facing trials, but maybe I also just need to be a bit more patient. 

Gavin adds an element of fun to our family.... that our genetics likely would not have produced. :)  He is a complete crack up and a bundle of energy.  He makes everything fly off the couches.... cars, toys, himself.  

I can honestly, finally, say that I am thankful for the pain that resulted in pure joy for our family.  

Love you, Gavin.  

Seriously, can he get much cuter.  My heart swells to see his little smile.  :)

Whatever It Takes

While we were living in Bend, OR I read a wonderful book titled "Organized Simplicity" by Tsh Oxenreider.

It is a great book that talks a lot about how to live an organized simple life in a world that is anything but simple.  I LOVE organized and simple.  Yes, sign me up.  I believe it was that book which spoke about developing a family mission statement.  Just like a company that has a mission statement, the goal is that the family mission statement reflects how the family makes its decisions.  It sounded fantastic.... but we never really got there.

However, we do have a family motto.  It has come about in the past year since becoming a family of five.  It is:

Whatever. It. Takes.

And how that plays out in daily life?!?  It's fantastic.  Today has been a "Whatever. It. Takes." day.

So.... Owen developed a fever on Monday that has persisted through the week. Elijah came home from school sick on Tuesday.  Elijah has strep throat.  And through his new rash, it has just been revealed tonight that Owen had roseola.  Awesome.    

Owen was up most of the night last night.  Elijah... well he's just been home when he would normally be at school.  And Gavin.... he has been stuck in the house all week because you can't really go anywhere with sick brothers.  Except for that HOUR we spent in the tiny exam room at the doctor's office.  With only 2 squinkies to entertain 3 boys.  It was (not exactly) AWESOME.

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Marty got up with the boys at 5:00 this morning and he let me sleep until 6:45.  Fantastic.  His first comment to me was "The boys have mostly watched TV for the past two hours".  

Whatever. It. Takes.

Owen hasn't really eaten all week because he isn't feeling well.... but I found some Gerber Toddler Food that looks kind of like Cheetos for babies.  He ate that for breakfast.


Whatever. It. Takes.

Around 8 or so, after some morning coffee for me, Owen was ready for a nap.  I put him down, the big boys watched more TV and I took a shower.  It was awesome.  


Whatever. It. Takes.

By that point, I had just decided this was definitely the motto of the day... the goal was to say "yes" to whatever the boys ask even though it goes against everything that the American Academy of Pediatrics says is okay.  Seven hours of TV - sounds great to me!  You want to eat muffins all day - go for it... they are gluten, grain, dairy, soy, and sugar free (really, they are.... and pretty tasty, but that is for another post).  

In addition to the copious amounts of television watching that has been going on, today has actually been FANTASTIC.  

The boys spent most of the day in their pajamas.

Except Gavin because on a whim I decided to take away Gavin's pants (literally) and insist he try potty training.  The entire day was a huge success.  Partly because I decided to just put the potty chair in the middle of the kitchen.  Totally appropriate, right?

Whatever. It. Takes.

  

Owen decided to use the garbage can as a walker and he has been walking all over the house. Not sure if that is a positive thing or not... but anyway....

I don't have a photo of Owen walking... but he also learned to climb onto the couch by himself today.  And from the couch he has easy access to my desk.  Uhmmm... not so awesome.  

Gavin let out a little cheer each time he asked "watch more TV?" and I responded with "YES!".

And at one point I found Elijah and Owen (not-so-happily from Elijah's standpoint) reading a book together.  It was super cute.

Yeah for our family motto:


Whatever. It. Takes.

Maybe I need to implement it more often.

Remodel Reveal

It has only taken a few months, but here are the before and after pics of the main level remodel.

In other big news, today is Owen's first birthday!  In honor of the big day, he is taking an early nap and the big boys are playing really well together.  A great way to start off the weekend.  :)

KITCHEN/DINING AREA, before:

AFTER: (new floors, added the raised breakfast bar, new lighting, cabinets that go to the ceiling, added the "super susan", moved the dishwasher....)

View looking in the other way, BEFORE:

AFTER: (raised breakfast bar, no more popcorn ceiling!, took out the small wall on the right)

Living Room/Fireplace, Before:

AFTER: (my parents got us a TV for Christmas... the first time we have had a TV on the main level... no more "not white" carpet)

Detail of the tile and the counters in the kitchen:

Hallway, before (got rid of the shoe thing in the hall and the cupboards at the end of the hall)

AFTER: new lighting, flooring, rug, and the new coat hanger shoe thing in the corner.

New wall hanging at the entrance:

New main bathroom.  I don't have a before picture because this was not part of the plan.  It was tiled and getting the floor out without tearing out the walls was not going to happen, so the tile got ripped out and it got drywalled and painted.... and the old sink broke when they took it out, so we ended up with a new one.....

I don't have a before picture from this angle either, but I added this shelf to somewhat hide our thermostat that is right in the middle of the wall.  Who does that?  I'm really happy with the little shelf though.  Just need to get a couple things to use to decorate it.

Long nap is over!  Off to celebrate Owen turning ONE!  :)