First Sleep Over

I had my friend's kids over for my boys first sleep over. They played for a little while, then we laid down in the living room with blankies and pillows to watch Nemo. They had popcorn and Ovaltine during the movie. After that, we put them to bed. Kenny and Logan slept in the upper bunk bed together, Nathan slept on his bed, and Eiley on an inflatable mattress on the floor. It took them till about 10:30 to finally settle down and go to sleep. They made it through the night without any issues. It was an early wake up call however. Everyone was up by 6:30 in the morning. We had breakfast and they have spent the morning playing and having a good time.

Little boys and mischief....

Kenny locked the toy room door from the inside. Unfortunately, it is a key lock and the doorknob screws in from the inside. We ruined our Sam's Club card trying to pry the door open. We tried a fork, a knife, a combination of those with the card, and jimmying the lock. Nothing worked. We were faced with calling a locksmith or kicking in the door. Ken kicked in the door and tore apart of the door jam off the wall.

The good news...Kenny is still alive, though hopefully we scared the daylights out of him and he'll never lock a door again.

I'm Out Numbered!

I made cookies tonight. For the record, I make killer chocolate chip cookies. I spent a few years perfecting the recipe and now I have it down to an art. Anyway, I looked up as soon as I was done mixing the batter and saw three hungry little vultures descending upon me. I gave them each a spoon of dough, but that was not enough. Ken carried Nathan back into the kitchen to beg for another bite, So I dipped two fingers into the batter and gave them each another taste. While my back was turned, Kenny swooped in with a spoon and dug out a big bite of dough. He promptly tore out of the kitchen as soon as I realized what he was doing. I spent the next 10 minutes fighting off cookie bandits. Each took a different approach. Nathan used cuteness and soft tears. Kenny used covert sneakiness. And Ken used brute strength. I was eventually able to make about 3 dozen cookies, but I had to make them small due to lack of dough.

Early Wake Up Call

Yesterday I woke up to the sound of high pitched horrible screaming. It was coming from downstairs. I assumed the boys were up and fighting (a regular occurrence at our house). So I got up and after a trip to the bathroom, headed downstairs. I was a little puzzled though because I could here screaming, but I could not see any children. I followed the sound of the screams and discovered it was coming from outside.

Kenny had taken a handful of puppy chow mix and, not wanting to get in trouble, went outside to eat it in secret. Unfortunately, he forgot to unlock the door. He locked himself between the kitchen door and the backyard door in a little mud-room type thing we have. He was hysterical when I got the door opened. His eyes were bloodshot and his face was tear streaked. I know it's terrible, but after I calmed him down I had to laugh. Maybe he'll think twice before nicking food from the kitchen. Or maybe he'll just find a better place to hide.

FYI- Puppy Chow is Rice Chex Cereal with a chocolate coating and powdered sugar. (Thanks Tara.)

Stealth Baby

When Kenny gets out of bed he bounds down the stairs loudly pronouncing "I'm here!" Nathan operates by stealth. Nathan can be very stubborn about sleeping. At bedtime, if he does not want to go to sleep, he will not go to sleep. He gets out of bed and moves very quietly. Unless you are actively listening for opening doors, you will not know that he is awake. He will sneak into the toy room and play in the dark until he gets sleepy. Then, and only then, will he go back to bed.

Last night I found him asleep on his Daddy's pillow, curled up with his blankie. I'll admit it, I was very close to telling Ken to sleep on the couch so I wouldn't have to move his cute little body.

Overall, the sleep stubbornness only occurs at night. He is good about taking naps. In fact, if you do not put him down for a nap when he thinks he should have a nap, he will put himself down for a nap.

What a cutie!!!

Ohh...the things kids say.

My parents came over for dinner and Kenny said, "Well Papa, I don't usually go to church." My dad is also the bishop, which just makes this statement worse.

In my defense, our family has been very sick this year. I think there must be something in our house that is giving off something nasty because we cannot seem to get healthy. I am so disappointed because I was supposed to go to visit my sister and a friend of mine for a few days and now I'll have to go another time.

Kitchen Makeover

It has been awhile since I posted anything, but in my defense, I have been very busy. I know what you are thinking....what could possibly be more important than blogging?!? Well, I have been giving our kitchen a makeover. New paint, new switches and outlets, new lighting and new decorations. I removed all the old wall paper border and the backing paper by using a solution on dish soap and water with a paint scraper. It only took me about an hour to remove all the paper. I painted all day Friday and we did some shopping for good deals on cheap, but nice looking lighting fixtures. Ken changed the fixtures today and I did some decorations shopping and polished the cabinets. I found some great deals. We both worked on the changing all the outlets and switches to a bright white rather than dingy cream. I am very excited to have this space looking so much better, and It was very inexpensive- which is the best part! We have also been battling another bout of croup and I am getting a sore throat, again. Here are a few before and after shots.

You know...

some days are just like that.

Yogurt Snatcher

(Enter the mind of little Nathan)

Hum....what do I want, what DO I want? Cheese? No. Grapes? Really no! An Apple? That certainly is a possiblilty. Ah Ha! Yogert! I love yogurt. Too bad I can't open it on my own. Perhaps I should take this yogurt and a spoon upstairs and put it on my sleeping Mommy's head. Yeah. That's a good plan.
(Exit Nathan's mind.).

Pictures taken by Kenny at 6:00 in the morning when his mom and dad were asleep because he decided to make no noise in order to achieve a little mischievousness.

Happy Father's Day

For Father's Day we got Ken a tool box. Kenny spilled the beans a few days early so I had to come up with something to make it a bit of a surprise. I painted the boys hands and stamped their hand prints and signed their names on the front of the tool box. It was really cute.
I also made a double chocolate malt cake. I hardly ever make this cake because it is quite labor intensive. It takes several hours to make. But Ken loves malt, so I made it for him.

I am very grateful for my dad. He deeply cares for his family and always sets a great example. He loves his grandchildren and they adore spending time with him.

I also grateful for my husband. He is an amazing father. Even when they were newborns, he was great with them. love watching them play together and hearing the joy in my kids voices.

WARNING: May gross you out

I have had a dark brown mole on my chin for as long as I can remember. It used to bother me A LOT when I was younger, but having children and watching my waistline expand at an unspeakable rate has shifted my focus off my face and onto my belly. However, in the last year, it has grown a bit larger, darker, and it bleeds frequently. I went to a dermatologist on Wednesday, and he removed it. Now I have (as Kenny puts it) "a red ouchy instead of a brown ouchy." Luckily, the red ouchy will heal, but it will leave a scar. There are things I can do to minimize the scar and makeup will cover it up. Until then I have to wear a band aid on my face when I go out in public (attractive!) I have to say that most people would balk at the thought of having a scar on their face, but for me a flat scar that makeup covers is FAR better than a large, bloody, brown mole. So there you go. Having read this I can feel at ease that your day is now complete.

And I Found Myself Alone...

Kenny has been going to Space Camp every afternoon this week for a few hours. Yesterday, after I dropped off Kenny, I took Nathan home and put him down for a nap. I sat down for a minute in the living room and realized...I was alone. No one was crying, no one was hungry, no one was typing or playing with techno gadgets. I am almost never alone. I always have my husband, my kids, or my students with me. I sat in my living room for about 15 minutes, marveling at the beauty of silence. I really felt like I was on a tiny mini-vacation. Then I had to end the vacation to make banana bread, but those 15 minutes were heavenly.

I babysat for a friends yesterday (it was her anniversary). I inflated the pool and sent the kiddos outside. They had a great time. Kenny and Hannah ran for a couple of hours all over the backyard. Which made for a very tired little man at bedtime- a situation that always bodes well for me.And I have a picture of Nathan playing. He is so cute in his bathing suit with his baby bely sticking out. He was so content pouring water on his head. The problem is he is still proportioned like a baby, so his arms can't reach to the top of his head. So he kept pouring the water on his face.
On the way to Space Camp today Kenny was asking me for something, but I had my hands full (Ken was driving) and told him I need a minute. Without missing a beat, Kenny cheerfully replied, "Okay Mama. Here's a minute." Too cute!!

Imagination

Kenny has two names he uses for all his toys. If the toy is a boy, he calls him Othlorth. If it is a girl, he calls her Andrekzelea. Seriously, he just made these names up and uses them all the time.

I think we may have a future Tolkien writer here.

Warped Sense of Propriety

This morning a member of the bishopric came over to talk to me. We were all in various stages of dressed for church. Kenny was still in his pjs. When the door rang, he jumped up and ran upstairs highly concerned that the bishopric would see him in his jammies. About five minutes later I looked over at the stairs and saw Kenny coming down in nothing but his undies.

Apparently Backyardigans undies are less embarrassing to be seen in than long pants/long sleeve jammies.

Here is a cute picture, totally irrelevant to the post above.

Interview With Kenny

What is your favorite color? red
What is your favorite word? pop
What is your favorite movie? Larry Boy and the Fib From Outer Space (Veggie Tales)
What is your favorite animal? Piper (our cocker spaniel)
What food is your favorite? peanut butter sandwiches
What food do you not like? Yuckies. All the yuckies like seed popcorn, not the yellow popcorn
What do you want to be when you grow up? a conductor
What is something you are good at? playing trains and cars
What is something you want to learn? learn all the hard games on Cars game (Xbox)
What is your favorite toy? Woody
Who is your best friend? Hannah
Where is your favorite place to go? dinner place where there are slides (Chick-fil-A)

Stuck on the Moon

Kenny is enrolled in space camp next week. He asked me what that was and I told him he was going to get to go a fun school where the astronauts work. When I told him that he got concerned. His eyes widened and he said, "I don't want to be an astronaut. I don't want to go on a rocket ship and be stuck on the moon." While stifling a giggle I told him he wasn't going to go on a rocket ship, just play games and make crafts. He would not settle down. So I tried another tactic and told him his friend Logan as going and he was just going to have a fun time playing with his friend and doing fun things. He looked at me with his tear filled eyes and asked in a tiny voice, "Will Logan make sure they don't leave me on the moon?" I told him yes. It was simpler than going back to trying to explain he wasn't going to the moon.

Warning: A Little Random

A little random for me, but I saw this quiz thing on my friends blog and because I was avoiding the laundry, I took it. The results made both my cute hubby and I laugh. This fits me and my personality perfectly. This is a very good representation of me and my thoughts on love and marriage. Now you know a little more about me, aren't you lucky!

Your Love Life is Like The Princess Bride

"Since the invention of the kiss, there have only been five kisses that were rated the most passionate, the most pure. This one left them all behind." For you, love is like a fairy tale - albeit a fairly twisted one. You believe romance is all about loyalty, fate, and a good bit of goofy fun. Your love style: Idealistic yet quirky Your Hollywood Ending Will Be: Perfectly romantic

What Movie Is Your Love Life Like?

My Little Go-Geter

This little man does NOT like to be left behind. In fact, he begs to go places. He will go get his shoes and spend 15 minutes trying to get them on. Then he will get your shoes and bring them to you. As soon as you make a move towards the shoes now sitting at your feet he claps and says "Yeah" as he toddle-runs to the door. If you don't take him with you when you leave you have committed the cardinal sin of Nathan World. First, he will sit on the bottom step and stare in utter disbelief at the closed door. Next, he will slowly hang his head while trading his look of utter disbelief for one of utter betrayal. That is when the tears start and he'll call the leaving person's name repeatedly through his heaving sobs. It is a terribly tragic sight. Fortunately, you get just as enthusiastic a reaction if you take him with you. He bobs his upper body up and down (his attempt to jump) and says, "Bye-Bye. See ya later." It really is absolutely adorable.

Ahh...Young Love

Kenny has this little friend he likes to play with. Her name is Hannah. She lives around the block and goes to church with us. A few weeks ago Kenny had a substitute teacher in his Sunday school class. She said Kenny was really good except for a little incident at the beginning of class. Kenny wanted to sit by Hannah, but Hannah wanted to sit next to one of the other girls. Kenny became upset and started to cry. The teacher asked him what was wrong and he said, "I want to sit by Hannah because I am her friend and I'm going to marry her." She told him it was okay to sit by other people and still be friends with Hannah. He said, "No. My mom said everyone has to love me." So the wise teacher explained to him that when you love someone you don't make them do things they don't want to do like sitting next to you. This did the trick and he sat down next to one of the other boys and had a great time in class.

Cute little boy!

Matching Bags

We went to the mall on Saturday and went into Bath and Body Works. One of my students gave me a little bag with some lotions inside on the last day of school. I have been using the bag as my purse/diaper bag. Anyway, at the store he saw a miniature version of my bag. He desperately wanted this bag. I told him he could have it if he was good for the rest of our mall walk. He was an angel! Before we left we went back to the store to get the bag. It cost $1.52. I gave him two dollars and he paid the lady. He got to keep the change and she gave him receipt (or a ticket in four year old world.) As we were leaving the store Kenny told me he wanted the bag because he wanted to be like Mommy, but I am big so I need a big bag and he is little so he needs a little bag. What a sweetie!!
He has had a great time carrying his toy cell phone, change from his bag purchase, the little key to his treasure box, and a green plastic letter G.

And to those who turn their nose up at my son having a bag I say- 1) He's only 4, and 2) If you have any doubt about his boyish-ness, just spend 20 minutes with him.

They Broke Our House

"They broke our house."

These were Kenny's words, echoed by Nathan after coming home and seeing the necessary damage done by the bee exterminator. Good news- he did not have to rip off the siding. Bad news- he did have to knock a few holes in the dining room wall and ceiling.

Apparently, the hive had actually been there for about 3 months. It had stayed cleverly hidden inside our wall and only recently did the bees exterior entrance become noticeable. I was over at a friend's house with the boys for dinner during the extermination process. When Ken joined us he showed me pictures, but I still felt physically ill when I came home and saw our dining room. We were up until midnight scraping honeycomb and honey out of and off the wall.

This morning we woke up to 20-30 bees buzzing in our kitchen. Despite sealing up the original entrance the night before, the bees had found another hole to enter. When they could not find the hive, they flew around trying to find another way out. We got rid of those bees, but it was only a matter of time before about 60 more came inside. We haven't had anymore for several hours, so I think we finally got the big holes sealed up.

Bees are such amazing creatures, it really was a shame to have to kill them. The pieces of the hive I got to see were amazing!

Landscaping

Here's a picture from the sidewalk out front without the large cedar tree.

Our House Is Falling Apart

We got up really early to go outside and plant the last tree and bush in the front yard before it was over a thousand degrees. Ken asked me to go get the water hose. I went over to the side of the house and pulled out a long piece of hose. I was puling it over to Ken and suddenly the spicket ripped out of the wall. The pipe that attaches to the spicket snapped in half inside the brick wall.

It was rather like a cartoon. You know the one where Bugs Bunny dams up a river with rocks and Elmer Fudd pulls one of the rocks out and gets pelted with a hard stream of water. It looked like that. I laughed. I couldn't help myself. Ken had to shut off the water to the whole house. I had a visiting teaching appointment and was covered in dirt. So, we packed up the family and went to my parents house so we could wash out hands and use the toilet.

Anyway, Kevin hadn't left yet, so the two men went back to the house to figure out how to fix it. We had water by about 6:00 that night and we only had to spend about $50, which is much better then the hundreds we would pay a plumber to do the same job.

So, we had a broken water pipe to go with the raccoon in the attic, the bees in the siding, the frozen ice blocks in the air conditioning, and the baby birds in the fascia boards. And that's just the exterior.