Bug is THREE!

It's official: I have two 3-year olds. For the next 51 days at least.

My sweet blue-eyed middle son is now three. When did that happen?! Bug, for his part, was ecstatic about his birthday this year. He ate up the attention, the balloons, the birthday cake, the partying, and, of course, the presents. 

Yay, balloons!

Mobigo!

Space shuttle toy

Teeball toy for back yard

Blowing out his candle

"Mommy, clean my fingers!"

Yummy!

Playing with his presents

Tandem tricycle!

Taking it for a spin out front

Birthday sundae at Red Robin

Happy birthday, sweet Bug! We love you to the moon and back.

Elf on a Shelf

Christmas was always magical for me as a kid. My parents went all out in talking up Santa and his elves. I have written about our own personal Santa, who was so believable and awesome that I literally believed in Santa until I was 10. In fact, if my mom hadn't told me the truth I would probably still believe in him today.

Not only did we have our own Santa though, but we had our own elf. Ohhh yes. His name was Elmo, and, according to my dad, (who claimed he saw him once, OMG!), Elmo had red hair and very red cheeks. We never saw Elmo, ourselves, but every December, it never failed, we would hear this high-pitched, delirious giggle ring through the house, and my mom would tell us we needed to hide because Elmo was at our house, and we weren't allowed to see him. So we would hide, and a few minutes later, my mom would give us the all clear, and then we would go through the house looking for the little presents he would leave for us.

It was never anything big, usually something like a toothbrush or toothpaste, but the fact that Elmo, Santa's Elf brought it for us all the way from the North Pole, made it that much more special.

I like to think that our family was unique in that we had our own elf, but nowadays, any kid can have one: it's called Elf on a Shelf. And it kind of makes me wonder why my own parents didn't invent it themselves. It's a small elf doll, that arrives every December to keep an eye on the kids in the house. Every night he reports back to Santa on whether the kids are being good or bad, and since the elf leaves every night, when he arrives back the next morning, he, of course, needs to be in a new location.

Every family gets to name their elf. Ours is Sprinkles.

He's been in some funny places this month. I'll admit there have been a few mornings where I think Sprinkles got a little lazy and forgot to move to a new location, so he would covertly jump to a new place while the kids ate breakfast.

Our boys are still a little young to fully understand all of this Santa/Elf stuff, but they enjoy looking for Sprinkles each morning, in fact, that's usually the first thing they ask me. "Where's Sprinkles?!" And then they race around the house until they find him.

Here are a few places the boys have awakened to find Sprinkles this month:

On a picture frame

Hanging outside their bedroom door

On the TV

On the coat rack

On a curtain rod

On the Christmas tree

In a stocking

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the chandelier

 The boys have really had a better understanding of Christmastime, and opening presents this season. Sprinkles has played a big part in encouraging them to be interactive in the festivities. It makes me that much more excited for next year, I think they will really be into all the fun and magic that Christmas has to offer.

Now I'm off to drink my weight in egg nog and peppermint white chocolate martinis while it is still socially acceptable for a few more days. Merry Christmas, everyone!

Flashback Friday - Christmases Past

Disclosure: I am stealing this post idea from Stefanie over at The Trigstad Family.

I thought that posting Santa photos from the past few years was such a cute idea, to show how the kids have grown and changed, and to debate over which Santa was the creepiest, obviously. I have to apologize though, I don't have any actual digital copies of the pictures, so these were all either scanned, or are a photo of a photo. Not the best quality, but it works.

2008, Binker's first Christmas, he was exactly 7 months old the day we had this photo taken. Ohh, he was so chubby and cute in his little vest and tie!

2009,  Binker was about 19 months old, and Bug was about 8 months. I love how Binker looks unsure about this whole situation, I remember he kept staring at Santa's beard, and Bug is just eating up the attention.

2010, Binker was 2 and a half, and Bug was about 20 months old. Neither one would smile for the camera, but amazingly they sat still and no one cried!

2011, Binker is 3 and a half, Bug is a little over 2 and a half, and Boo was exactly one month old on picture day. This year was by far the most challenging. Binker and Bug were not at all interested in sitting on Santa's lap, so we kept bribing them with candy. You can see in this picture that Binker is about 2 seconds away from sliding off the chair, but miracle of all miracles, we managed to get a photo of them all looking at the camera! (I gave up on trying for a smiley picture a long time ago).

So there you have it. Photos of our Christmases past. I have to admit that I do feel a little robbed that I don't have any photos of them screaming or crying because they don't want to be near Santa. Isn't that some sort of parent's rite of passage or something?

Zebra needs to die.

     So, if you could kill any character in "Madagascar", who would it be?

     Easy. The zebra.

    Really? I think for me, it would have to be the giraffe.

    Oh, no way. I like the giraffe, he actually has some good lines. Plus, it's
    Ross from "Friends", you can't kill off Ross. It has to be the zebra.

For ages I tried in vain to get my children to sit through a full-length movie. I tried everything - "Cars", "Toy Story", all the favorites; nothing worked. And then one day I came across the "Madagascar" DVD in our house. I didn't even know we owned the movie, and I had never seen it myself. I wanted something to distract Bug for a few minutes, so I put it on. 

 90 minutes later, Bug was still watching the TV as the credits began rolling.

Did this just happen? Did he actually watch a full-length movie?! I couldn't believe it. And, even more shocking, when Binker came home from preschool later that day, I turned it on again and they BOTH watched it. All the way through!

The boys enjoyed the movie so much that they began requesting it on a daily basis, and I was happy to oblige. Sometimes they even wanted to watch it twice in a day. Normally I don't like to have my kids just sit in front of the TV, but between packing our house for the move and having a new baby to attend to, I decided to bend the rules a bit. It was awesome for me to be able to have something I could put on for them that would keep them busy for a good hour and a half. Plus, I had to admit that the movie was pretty cute, even funny in some parts. 

It was probably around the hundredth time they watched it, that I began to get a little bored with the same jokes. And by the thousandth time, I could pretty accurately recite the movie line for line along with the characters.

Now of the course, the children have watched it, oh I don't know, five hundredy jillion times. Husband and I have made every possible sarcastic joke to each other about the plot, lines, and characters. We tried humor at first to keep ourselves sane, however, even that doesn't work now. Which is what led to the conversation we had this morning over which character needs to die first.

Please. I am desperate. I need recommendations for movies that your kids like. Obviously mine are hard to please, as this has been the first and only movie to hold their attention, but I am open to any and all suggestions. 

My sanity is at stake here, people.

October

I love the month of October.

I love the sights, sounds, smells, tastes. It is such a fun, comforting time of year. Sweaters come out, warm drinks fill the days, fireplaces come alight, and pumpkins can be seen around every corner. We've been filling our days with lots of fun autumn activities, since we know that new baby will be here any time. A couple weekends ago we visited the pumpkin patch, which was lots of fun. We picked out pumpkins, rode the train and went on a hay ride. The boys had a blast! These were two of my favorite shots from that day.

This week we had some fun carving our pumpkins! Well, actually, I was the only one who did the carving. I don't think our boys are quite ready to be carving anything just yet, and I considered letting them paint their pumpkins, but in the end decided that was a mess I just wasn't up to cleaning! I carved my pumpkin to look like a witch stirring a cauldron, Jacob's pumpkin is a ghost carved within the word "BOO", that goes around the entire pumpkin, and Ryan's is the classic Jack-o-lantern face. Richard hasn't carved his pumpkin yet, but it is monster of a pumpkin, so it is going to take some serious work. And the teeny pumpkin in the photos is Baby's pumpkin!

 

So that's what we've been up to lately, passing the time with fun fall activities!

You say tomato, they say kenihopter

There are a few reasons I decided to start this blog, the main being to keep myself occupied while Richard was on deployment last year. It also provides a creative outlet for me, because as much as I love being a stay at home mom, I would go just a little crazy if I didn't have a fun way to express myself, and my favorite form just happens to be writing. But another great thing about keeping a blog, is that I get to chronicle milestones my kids hit, or funny things they do, or just keep record of fun memories of them. 

Lately I have been enjoying listening as they try to learn the English language, and giggling at the funny ways in which they pronounce certain words. I don't expect a lot of my friends to really care about this post, so this is mostly for myself to be able to look back in a few years and remember how cute it was when the boys were learning to talk.

First up is Binker. He's usually really good about saying things correctly, but there are a few words that tend to trip him up:

Peep-a-boo = Peek-a-boo - He has actually already outgrown this one (sniffle, sniffle), I always thought it was super adorable though, and didn't want to forget it.

Beegles = Wiggles - Binker is really into The Wiggles, a kid's show/musical group from Australia. But whenever he talks about them, it sounds like he is talking about the dog breed instead!

Lackberry = Blackberry - We picked blackberries from our yard this year, and both the boys LOVED them, but apparently the "b" is silent.

Pasketti = Spaghetti - So I'm pretty sure this one is not unique to Binker, but it is freaking cute nonetheless!

Lellow = Yellow - Binker learned his colors this summer in preschool, and my absolute favorite is how he says "Lellow". I might even ask him 50 times a day to tell me what color yellow things are, just to hear him say it!

Music-seum = Museum - I took the boys to two different children's museums last week, and they had a blast! I'm not really sure why he inserted the word "music" in there, aside from the fact that he absolutely adores music? But he keeps saying "I like music-seum! Let's go music-seum!" 

Now for Bug. He has always been harder to understand than his brother, but that only makes his attempts at talking that much cuter!

Jeetub = Jacob - speaking of his big brother, this is how Bug pronounces his name.

Frower = Brother - As in when Bug will tackle Binker in a hug and say, "I ruv you frower!" Awww!

Kenihopter = Helicopter - Totally stinking cute. That is all.

Bumbrella = Umbrella - My mom bought each of the boys their own little Cars-themed umbrella, and Bug will run around the house with it shouting, "MY bumbrella!"

Stinker = Sticker - I looooove how he says this, and I think I will seriously cry when he stops saying it like that.

These are the only ones I can think of for now. I'm sure as soon as I post this I will instantly remember five more words that they say in a funny or unique way, but at least I have a record of these ones. I really love the ages the boys are at right now, it's so fun being able to communicate with them...you know...as much as one can with two and three year olds, and to watch them try to communicate back. They are little boys for sure, but then they will say something totally adorable that melts my heart and reminds me of the sweet little babies they used to be.

So much to do, so little time.

With all that we have going on in our lives these days, I've been feeling the pressure to get us prepared for what lies ahead - mainly having a baby, and then moving. I have started packing up items we won't need over the next four months, as well as clothing that we won't miss. I am trying to downsize where possible, selling furniture and other large things that just simply can't make the move with us (i.e. our treadmill which has been sitting in our garage, sadly neglected for far too long). On a related note, anyone interested in a treadmill?

In the midst of the downsizing though, I have also been bringing in more furniture to our bedroom: baby furniture. We only have two bedrooms in the house we're renting now. Binker and Bug currently share a room, and while there is actually plenty of space for a crib in it, I just don't feel comfortable having a brand new baby sleep in there with them. I know they wouldn't intentionally hurt him, but I worry about them climbing into the crib to get a closer look, or jumping in the crib while baby is trying to nap. So, even though I've never really been a fan of having my kids sleep in our room, we decided the best decision (and safest one), is to have baby stay with us until we move into our new house, where he will have his own room.

So earlier this week I brought Bug's old crib into our room, and today my mom helped me bring the baby changer in as well. I just spent over an hour putting away size newborn to 6 month clothes in the drawers of the changer, putting blankets and stuffed animals on the crib, and organizing diapers that I have stocked up on under the crib. Man, it feels so good to be so on top of things! (For once in my life, ha). 

The thing is, now that it is all set for baby, I feel like he should be here anytime. In reality though, I've got just under 8 weeks to go in this pregnancy. I think that because Bug was born 5 and a half weeks early, I just feel this fire under me, making me jump to action, afraid that we won't be prepared if this baby comes early too. Having a preemie will do that to you. But, I have no reason to think that I won't go to term this time. Everything is moving along on schedule, I haven't suffered any trauma, or fallen down the stairs (like I did with my last pregnancy), which, we kind of assume led to the early birth. So, for all intents and purposes, I may have just busted my butt this week getting ready for baby, only to have his things sit in our room collecting dust for almost two more months. Sigh.

As they say though, better to be prepared than not, right? And now I don't feel myself freaking out so much, thinking we won't be ready for his arrival. And it also frees me up to focus on doing more packing and move-prep while I can, before I've got three kids to think about. I'd like to hope that after the baby comes, I will still be productive, but I'm a realistic person. After having Bug I lived in my pajamas for literally a month. And it was probably two weeks after he was born, that I got around to taking a shower and washing my hair. Husband was gone, and while my mom helped out, it was just a shock to my system going from one kid to two kids, the older baby being only 10 months old at the time. Yeah, I don't know how I kept my sanity through that either. It's just a blur of staying up all night with Bug, then getting up bright and early with Binker. So, don't judge me for letting showers and appropriate clothing go by the wayside, 'k? Thanks.

One of my cousins told me awhile back that it is easier to go from 2 to 3 kids, than it was from 1 to 2, so I am hoping she is right, and that I will find that I am used to being in a state of constant chaos, so what's one more kid? Also, Husband will be home this time, so hopefully I will be able to get showers in on a daily basis. Or at least weekly.

Goodbye to Summer

It's been quiet on my blog lately, although that has definitely not been the case in our real lives. We have been busy making our way through the house buying process. Applied for a loan, signed purchase and sale agreement, completed the inspection. Busy, busy, busy. Now we are just figuring out exactly when we are going to close, and when we will be moving into the new home, all while trying to prepare for baby #3 who is due in less than two months.

At the same time, the weather lately has been awesome. And it seems even nicer, considering that we really got jipped this summer. Everyone likes to make fun of the Pacific Northwest for being such a rainy, gray climate, but our summers are typically spectacular. Beautiful. Crystal-clear. Mountains shining white in the distance, trees bright green, water a perfect, tranquil blue. And the temps hover around the 70's. Summer in the Puget Sound makes up for the depressing days of winter.

Usually.

This summer though was kind of a let down. Our sunny days were few and far between, and the crazy weather really messed with the crops too. Last year this week, I picked 20 pounds of apples from our apple tree. Right now? I doubt there are even two pounds to be picked, the tree is so sparse. And our plum tree didn't bloom at all. Wouldn't you know this was the first year I tried to grow my own garden, but the crazy weather patterns were no help, and all I ended up with was a handful of green and string beans.

So, since the weather was so fantastic last week, (and I am assuming that it will most likely be our last great week of summer), I tried to keep busy with the kids, taking them places or just playing outside, so that they could enjoy as much of it as possible before the weather turns cold.

On Wednesday, my brother and I took the kids (my two boys, and my niece), to Remlinger Farms, in Carnation. We didn't really know what to expect, but we were pleasantly surprised. It reminded us of a sort of miniature Disneyland, in a way. There were rides for the kids, animals, an empty school bus and fire truck to climb on and in, a train that you could ride around the farm, pony rides, musical entertainment, delicious food - seriously, SO much to do. The kids were in heaven.

Driving the school bus

Train Ride

Water ride

Carousel

Car ride

Thursday was another hot one, so the boys and I played in the back yard, for what may be one of our last times this summer. My kids are pretty easy to please. Hand them a hose to spray water around, and (one of the few) apples from the apple tree and they are happy. The boys just splashed around in the kiddie pool, and water table, and enjoyed being outside, one of their favorite places. Binker always says, "I like outside!" I get a little sad for him when I think of all the months we're going to be stuck inside during winter, but at least he will have school and other activities to keep him busy.

While they played happily in the water, I picked blackberries from our backyard. We don't have neighbors on one side of our house, it's just a large, overgrown blackberry field, and I can't believe that in the three-plus years we have lived here, I've never taken advantage of picking the blackberries - especially since they are my favorite. I picked several cups' worth though, and the boys were thrilled to eat them at lunch. I am thinking about making blackberry cobbler with the ones I have left.

Even though the temperatures were easily in the 80's, and we were all running around in shorts and tank tops, it was easy to see that fall is not far off. The signs of autumn are already starting to creep in.

I had to fight off a number of these spiderwebs to get the blackberries

Leaves changing color

It's always a little bittersweet to leave summer behind, but we have so much to look forward to in the coming months: Binker starting preschool, our newest son being born, moving into our very first home, and Husband beginning a new job with the Navy. Bring it on!

Poopy Birds

Since becoming a mom, I've had to deal with some pretty disgusting situations. These include, but are not limited to: pee, poop, projectile vomit, snotty noses, bloody lips, and really nasty food messes. Usually though, these things are spread out, so that even though it is unpleasant to deal with at the time, it is not too overwhelming.

This week, however, I feel as though I've been caught up in some sort of perfect storm, where nearly every disgusting thing that could happen, has happened. And it's only Tuesday.

Yesterday started out like any typical Monday. After Binker returned home from preschool, and ate lunch, I announced that it was nap time, since I had reached my limit and could barely keep my eyes open.

Even though Binker now sleeps in a big boy bed at night, I usually have him take naps in his tent, since I want to make sure that while I am passed out to the world, he is contained and safe. He tends to fall asleep very quickly in the tent too, versus being in his bed. The other day though, I was gone for a seminar, and Husband was watching the boys. When I got home that evening Husband informed me (all superior-like) that not only did Binker nap in his big boy bed, but that he fell asleep quickly, without much problem at all.

So, obviously, not wanting to look like the weaker parent, I decided that I would let Binker nap on his bed, but I made it so that he could not get out of his room. I figured that even if he didn't fall asleep, so long as he was in his room, there was no way he could accidentally hurt himself. And things were going great until Binker's cries broke the silence of my nap.

I ran to his bedroom and found him crying that his Lion was missing. Everything looked normal at first, until I noticed that the pants Jacob was wearing looked slightly wet. I quickly realized that he must have removed his diaper, and then put his pants back on...and wet them. I sighed in slight frustration. No big deal though, really. I just needed to put a new diaper and pants on him, and discard of the removed diaper.

It didn't take me long to find it.

My gaze moved to the right, and I noticed several odd, brown spots on the floor. I quickly realized that the diaper he had removed had not just been a wet diaper. I was staring at Poop-ageddon. And not only had Binker dumped the diaper contents all over the floor, but it appeared he had stepped in it as well, mashing it all into the carpet.

And you think you're grossed out.

Nap ruined, I got to work on discarding of the mess and sanitizing the affected area. It was exhausting, and, well, just plain gross. By the time I was done, I declared to anyone who would listen that I was totally done with that day, and ready for Tuesday, as I assumed things could only get better.

Tuesday morning started off pretty much the same. Got Binker dressed and ready for school. At 7:40 we headed out front to wait for the school bus. Bug was still sleeping, so I didn't shut the front door all the way, since I didn't want him to hear it click and start crying for me. I closed it just enough that it was shut, but just barely.

On any other day this would have been perfectly fine, except that today there was a crazy amount of wind blowing.

About six minutes later, Binker had been picked up and I ran back toward the house. My heart sunk when I saw that the wind had blown our front door wide open.

A lot of our neighbors have cats, and they like to wander around our yard for some reason. Don't get me wrong, I like cats and all, but I don't want strange cats in my house, near my kids' toys, and as a pregnant woman, I'm not really supposed to be near cats either. So my first thought was, Oh man, I really hope some cat didn't get in our house.

And that's when I saw it. A bird. Hopping around our family room. A dirty, grimy, disease-carrying bird. A FREAKING BIRD!

I wish it had only been a cat in our house.

When the bird saw me, it flew up to the windowsill behind our couch, and kept pecking at the window trying to get out. "No, you stupid bird!!" I kept yelling, "That's a window! Go out the door!"

There I was, broom in hand, shouting like a lunatic, trying to coax the bird off our windowsill to get him out the front door, and hoping he wouldn't touch any other surface in the house on the way out.

No dice.

Finally I got a hold of a juice pitcher, and I managed to get it over the bird, and slid a book underneath it, so that he didn't have an exit. Then, screaming, and jumping back and forth on my feet, I ran it outside and set the little rat-with-wings free.

At that point the real work began though. The bird had pooped all over our windowsill, some of it getting on the back of our couch, and it had also shed a bunch of its disease-infested feathers. Since becoming pregnant I have tried to avoid using a lot of harsh cleaning chemicals, and stuck mainly to soap and water to clean surfaces. But for this? I broke out the good stuff: Clorox Wipes and Lysol spray. I scrubbed and sprayed until there was nothing left. Then Bug and I let all the sanitizing chemicals sit for a good couple of hours while we sought refuge at my mom's house.

I'd be lying though, if I didn't admit that it crossed my mind to simply drag the couch out to the driveway and set it on fire.

So, this has been my week so far, and I hesitate to say that things can only get better from here on out, because I am NOT going to tempt the universe with that loaded statement.

I have to admit that when I used to imagine being a parent, these were not the images that came to mind. I pictured happy, smiling faces, clean children and a clean house, you know, something out of a 1950's sitcom.

I have decided though, that in reality, my life is a lot more like the show Fear Factor.

Only with less monetary prizes and more bird flu.

Fourth and Family

As I mentioned last year, the July 4th holiday holds a special place in my heart; to me, it is about family and celebration and good food and delicious wine, (when not knocked-up). That's why I am so thrilled that Husband is home this year to celebrate with the boys and me. Being the patriotic nerd that I am, I got us all red, white and blue - themed clothes to wear, and it practically feels like Christmas as I await the big day! On the schedule: lots of relaxing, eating, drinking, kayaking, playing with the boys and laughing with the family.

This is also a day to remember what we're really celebrating: our nation's independence. I am not the least bit afraid to call myself a proud American. This is the best freakin' country on the planet, and there is no place else I would ever want to call home.

Even if we do designate a day for people to get completely obliterated on alcohol and play with explosives.

Here's to another memorable Fourth of July. Wishing you all a happy and safe one! Oh, and if you're looking for tips on how to decorate your fingernails in a festive fashion for the Fourth, check out my Beauty Bonanza page!

The boys and their cousin in their Fourth of July outfits

Ready to partay!

Today

Today, life is great.

My sons are running around playing. Their smiles are big and warm, and their laughter is genuine, in the way that only the laughter of children can be. They are healthy, and growing bigger every day. They make me happier than I could ever truly express.

The new baby is kicking more and more often. I felt the first big outside kick two nights ago, and quickly put Husband's hand on my stomach and he felt a kick immediately after. It doesn't matter how many children we have, those kicks never get old. We constantly marvel at the miracle that this, and each baby is.

My husband works so hard for our family, and he has made so many sacrifices for our sake. Tonight he will come home, and we will share our nightly routine of laying on our bed, watching Netflix shows on TV. Right now we are hooked on Glee and Sons of Anarchy. (Oh, but don't tell anyone on my husband's ship that he watches Glee, they're still giving him crap about the time he watched The Notebook with me).

Life is just good right now. It always is, but we have so much to be thankful for at this time, and so much to be happy about.

Growing up, I always wanted a husband who would be my best friend, and I always wanted to be a stay at home mom to my kids. To be able to wake up every day, and live that dream, is so sweet. Sure, there are days that can be messy and sticky and stressful, but I wouldn't want my life any other way. I am blessed beyond measure and so excited for what the future holds for our family.

Happy Father's Day 2011

One of the great things about having a blog is that I get to brag about the people that I love.

Today it is all about my handsome husband, but more importantly, the amazing role he fills as Daddy to our children.

He was a natural from the very beginning.

He adored our first son, Binker.

 And he was just as thrilled when our second son, Bug, arrived.

 He's always been great at being silly with the boys, and playing along with us.

He is always showering the boys with hugs and kisses. He loves freely and generously; a trait I am so thankful for.

 And he is never too busy to lend a helping hand to this tired mama.

 Seeing my husband with our sons makes my heart positively melt.

 It's clear how much they idolize their Daddy.

 They're so lucky to have him. (And so am I).

Happy Father's Day, sweetheart. We love you so much.