Sunday, October 31, 2010

Pandas Forever


This is the last panda post, I swear!  I've swamped the blog with cute panda pictures and only took a couple tonight when we rolled to a few neighbors' homes for trick or treating.  Here's where we stopped to put their "paws" back on because it was getting cold. 
Trick or Treat!  They only say, "Tee!"
 Pumpkin carving was our Saturday evening activity and N loved it!  He was all about playing with lid, the guts, and the little pieces that Daddy cut out of the eyes. M was more interested in playing with the camera:
M's first photo: Daddy.
 We tried to show him how fun it was to scoop out the guts (yeah, right) but this is as close as he'd get.  In fact, after this photo, he spent the rest of our pumpkin-carving time playing with his cars.  He wanted nothing to do with the scooping, carving or candle-lighting.  In fact, when we turned out the lights to show them how the jack-o-lantern glows, he said, "Bye, bye!"  Get outta here, you dumb pumpkin!
Let's put that lid on and be done with it.
Hurcules loved it and tried carrying it around!

 Mr. Muscles, on the other hand, thought pumpkin-carving was a riot!  He stuck his hands in there and pulled out pumpkin guts, he handed Daddy newspapers and carried around the pumpkin "eyes."  We tried to get both boys in a picture with the finished product, but M was not interested and N...here's his attempt at lifting it onto his shoulders to become the headless horseman.

It's time to hang up the panda suits, though.  I know the day is coming where they'll want to dress as...some of those creatures who came to my door after dark this evening.  But there was one middle-school aged boy who wore a giant penguin costume.  He looked a little like my N.

Maybe they'll be pandas forever. 





Friday, October 29, 2010

Daddy's Back!

And just in the nick of time!  Last weekend, he was teaching them horsey back rides.  N really got it when Daddy taught him to hold around the neck while Daddy crawled around the living room, the boys holding on for dear life.

Because N's been trying to "ride" his brother all week.

What I thought was N "hugging" his brother (and encouraged it), was not.  This became apparent as the week progressed.

Every time N went to hug him, it was from behind.  He's wrap his arms around his brother's neck. 

But M hated it and walked away, complaining.

N wasn't going to take no for an answer.

So he took him down. 

He'd sneak attack him: come at him from behind, wrap his arms around his brother's neck, pull him to the ground, and hopefully, M would land facedown.  When that happened, N would crawl up onto his back and try to "ride."

In reality, this is very funny.  Well, N thinks it's funny and I did.

But poor little M looks at me like I've betrayed him, so I've intervened.  Not that it helps much, but, ya know.

Hubs is going to playing a LOT of horsey back this weekend.   

This is not a hug.  It's a horsey back "ride-" well, an attempt at getting one, anyhow!

Thursday, October 28, 2010

More Free Stuff

Every few weeks, pocket your dollars post a slew of freebies.  For those of you who are interested, here's today's newest link:
http://www.pocketyourdollars.com/2010/10/free-samples-toothpaste-coffee-chips-lotion-more/

So far I've requested coffee, toothpaste, and a bunch of Dove samples.

I've been getting the freebies that I shared with you a few weeks ago.  The one-load Wisk sample arrived in time to be included in Uncle A's care package.

He lives in a dorm, you know.  Pee-yew!

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Dear Daddy,

Dear Daddy,
Guess where we ate last night?  It has chips and cheese quesadillas and refried beans and servers who keep picking up your sippy cups and fire engine toys when you throw them on the ground and I dipped a chip in salsa and it was good but mommy took it away because I tried to scoop it up with my hands and OH YEAH we got to color too but mommy wouldn't let us eat the crayons even though I kind of like doing it so I was mad and just broke them but she didn't seem to care she just fed me cheese quesadillas and they were really yummy and then I played with my fire engine toy and threw it on the ground and this really nice server who kept calling me hombre picked it up every time and it was really fun till mommy took the toy away and gave me a fruit leather but I didn't really want that I just wanted to get down so she let me get out and sit with her friend Miss K who put me down on the ground and HOORAY! I'M FREE!
Pass the salsa, please!

 Dear Daddy,
I was a panda today.  I sat really still to get my picture taken with A and the other kids.  Because mommy gave me a choo-choo to hold.  I said "choo choo" and she smiled so I said it again and she smiled again.  It was a lot of fun.  My favorite part was pretending to be a bird and eating little pieces of cheese sandwiches out of O&W's grandma's hands.  She was a chef.    She gave me a lot of cheese.  I really like it.  Mommy says maybe I'll be a mouse next year.  There were two cozy coupe cars there and I played with them but I shared, too. 

Choo-choo-choo-choo-choo-choo!
Little animals at the muliples' halloween party today!
Love, Your Boys

Facebook Vacation

I'm taking a vacation from Facebook.  It sucks up way too much of my time and mental energy.

I realized this when I saw that a "friend" checked into a certain restaurant for lunch and then a different restaurant for dinner. I thought, what a hungry hippo.  Wait, that's rude!  Why am I thinking that?  Why do I care what that person eats? 

Then I saw that a certain person "said" something to someone else and I thought, why did that person say that?  Why do I care?  It's between them, not me!

Long ago, I "hid" farmland and gangster wars and bejeweled and other games because I truly, truly DON'T care what your scores are.

Then I started "hiding" some people altogether because I couldn't stand to read the ridiculousness of their posts, such as, "Ugh, it's Monday," and "Hooray, it's Friday," among other inane thoughts.

Worst of all, I didn't call someone that I should have - the person had been on my mind, but I looked up the person's status and decided that I already knew what was going on.  

Then yesterday I was involved in a conversation about setting boundaries on your kids' computer time.  My guys are too little, so I just listened.  I thought about the discussion throughout the day, then when I read about the aforementioned person's restaurant choices, I realized I need to set some boundaries on myself. 

So, I'm taking a Facebook vacation.  I'm not sure when I'll be back.

I'll keep blogging, you just won't see the updates on facebook - I know some of my readers rely on it for updates, but I hope you'll understand and come back via other means: your favorites list or your blog readers lists.

Oh, and please don't think I'm talking about you or dissing you for liking facebook.  I like it.  A lot.  But I think I like it a little too much and need to spend my time a little more wisely.  That's all.  
 
 

 

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Fly Babies


We fly so often that I sometimes forget that it's not "normal" to take your twins on an airplane - on a regular basis, anyway.  I'll be talking to a friend in general who asks, "What are you doing this weekend?" and I'll say, "We're going to Michigan to visit the grandparents."  If the person is a new friend - or unaware of our flight benefits - the person says,

"You're driving?!"  The drive from our home to our parents' homes is about 14 hours.

"No, we're flying," I say.

"You're FLYING!?" the new, or forgetful, friend repeats in disbelief. 

This is where it gets a little awkward.  I, of course, think we're perfectly normal to do this.  What sane person would drive 14 hours if they could fly 1.5?  But I also don't want to launch into detailed description of our flight benefits, so I try to say something general like, "Yeah, we can do it because of Hubs' work,"

Then, of course, the person says, "Oh, he's a pilot?!"  Because wouldn't that be something?

"No, he's not," I say and try to ask the person what SHE'S doing this weekend because I'm starting to feel like some sort of weirdo!

Daddy and N share a snack on the plane
Mommy and M sat right behind them

However, when we fly, I think of you, my readers, who ask me sometimes, "How do you do it?"  So when I remember (and my hair looks good) I snap a few shots to show you.  On our last trip to MI, we got seats behind each other.  M and I were together in the back row behind Daddy and N.  This arrangement is not my favorite, because we have to carry the carseats to the back of the plane, carry the boys and purses and backpacks, trying not to hit anyone all the way (if we aren't the first to board).

I like it best when we're in the bulkhead, the first row behind first class.  The plane we fly to MI is small enough that there is no first class and we get 1A-1D sometimes.  That's the best because it's the easiest to install the carseats.  And the guys get to wave and say, "Hi!" to everyone as they board.  And I get to talk to the flight attendants who are very helpful with spillage problems and tell me stories about how her daughters are only 11 months apart, so it's like she had twins.  (I disagree, but that's a different blog for a different day.)
The guys watch our luggage being loaded onto the plane
















Mommy and N walk the jetbridge together

I wish I could take a picture of us going through the security checkpoint at MSP.  We are quite a scene, unloading two carseats, a backpack and its liquid contents (you can fly with full sippy cups - you just have to declare them and they'll screen them, but check to make sure they put the lid on right or you'll have aforementioned spillage), a purse, our shoes, the boys' shoes (mental note-wear pj's home), and the two umbrella strollers - that takes up the ENTIRE belt.  As we each were picking up a baby to go through the magnetometer, a man said to us, "That was really something to see!  I have one two-and-a-half-year old. That was impressive!"  We laughed and thanked him- we had no idea we were being watched so closely!

These are our fly babies.  I guess our fly toddlers.  I can't deny it anymore, especially when I see that last pic.  He looks like such a big boy, walking the jetbridge with his backpack! 

We're just a normal family that flies.

Monday, October 25, 2010

First Halloween Party


I haven't had this much Halloween fun since 1987, when I had to make my own costume.  I made a blue-construction-paper "sticker," dressed in yellow from head to toe and went as a chiquita banana!  Oh, boy, would you have a laugh if my scanner worked and I could show you THAT pic! 

Our "official" Halloween pic
Seriously, though, dressing the fellas up in their panda costumes is just a HOOT!  We did it again on Saturday when we attended the MVMOM Halloween Party.  The best part is seeing what other parents dress their twins as.  I think "monkeys" was the most popular costume there.  Bees, princesses, ladybugs, superheroes, dogs, lions, cowgirls, Mickey and Minnie (so cute!) - they were all there!
Mr. J, G the dog, A the Lion, Papa bear and our panda cubs

M was on a mission to eat as much Chex Mix as possible
Getting ready to roll in!

Coloring Frankenstein for a special person.  Watch your mailbox!

Eat this Chex Mix, Daddy!  It's delicious!

What a silly little bear!


Me and N with M and one of her pink leopards

These events are just a riot for the kids - okay, mine just wanted to eat Chex Mix because there were m&m's in it - but we MVMOM's get to meet each other's kids and hubbies, too.  Above, you met my dear friend E's hub, J.  I'm sure you recognized her little animals.  I'm including the pic below not because it's a great shot of me or the boys but because one of our members is married to SuperDad. He's taking a pic of his SuperFamily, who is following behind the Panda family in the Parade.  Yes, I said Parade.   
We've got another costume party this week with some mulitples friends and of course, the big day!  What in the world I'll do with the candy, I don't know, but I'm looking forward to trick-or-treating with the boys in our neighborhood next Sunday.  We've got to squeeze all the cuteness out these panda suits before we hang them up next Monday!

Friday, October 22, 2010

Made with Love...and Terror

The boys and I are making a care package for Uncle A, who is away at college for the first time this fall.  We haven't done much coloring, but I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to try again.  I taped the paper on the floor and gave them each a crayon. 
These don't taste so good, Mommy.
I had to help them and they kind of  got it, but I won't post the finished product so the pictures are a surprise for Uncle A.  See how N is sticking his tongue out?  That's because he bit the tip off of a purple crayon and chewed it up!  I gave him some milk and I'll watch for the end results.  (Pun intended.  I found a piece of toy yesterday.  Yeah. Nice.)

I put on Sesame Street so they could learn about octagons this morning while I baked Uncle A some cookies.  I hope that one day they can help me in the kitchen baking cookies, but it just doesn't work that way quite yet!  Well, I had all the ingredients out on the counter, then took out the electric hand mixer, plugged it in...and stopped.  Matthew was hanging on to my legs, sobbing!  And not the kind of sob like he just slammed his finger in the drawer (which I suspected at first)- the kind in which he's trembling and frightened.  What in the world? 

He buried his head in my shoulder as I inadvertently brought him nearer to the dreaded object, attempting to console him by letting him pour the sugar into the bowl.  He cried harder and clung to me tighter!  What's going on? 

Uh, oh...the hand mixer.

He's terrified of it.

So I stopped the baking and took him back to Sesame Street and tried to calm him down.  It took several minutes until he was composed enough to look at me with sad, wet eyes, pat the side of his head, (sign language) and beg, "Nigh, nigh?"

He wanted to go to bed!  So I took him upstairs, N following because he refused to be left out, and he immediately curled up with his lovie and binky and closed his eyes.

Poor fella!  I haven't used the hand mixer with him in the room for a long time: okay, I don't do much baking, and didn't even think of it.  Even if I had, I would have assumed that he'd be okay with it because he finally acclimated to the coffee grinder.  Remember - I never even turned it on!

So Uncle A, enjoy your cookies, because they were made with much love...and terror.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Counting My Blessings

The boys and I were driving this afternoon on a sunshiny country road, pointing out tractors, cows, and horses on our way to family in our congregation.  Three boys lost both parents in just a week's time last month and are living with their grandfather.  We were taking a meal to them - chili and cornbread, one of my favorite comfort foods.  

Since I know my boys are inputting more than they're outputting, I'm trying harder these days to explain things to them.  So I told them we were taking a meal to bless a family whose mommy and daddy died.  Even though I don't know this family, the words were still hard to say and I choked up.  That was the whole conversation.  It lasted just a few seconds.  M said "Neigh" once when we saw a horse and N laughed.  I wonder how I'll explain these types of things in a year or two when they are in the "why?" stage.  I want to be truthful, especially when I'm showing them how to care for others. 

So I'm counting my blessings tonight.  The thought of three boys, ages 18, 12, and 9, growing up without parents brings tears to my eyes.  And if I think about it too much...*sigh*...I think I'll go eat some chili.

2 med. Onions, coarsely chopped
1-1.5 lbs. ground beef, browned and drained
2 garlic cloves, minced
¾ c. finely diced green peppers
2 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes
30-32 oz beans (kidney and/or pinto)
8 oz can tomato sauce
1 tsp. ground cumin
½ tsp. pepper
1 tsp. seasoned salt
1 Tbs. or more chili powder
1 tsp. dried basil

Combine all ingredients in slow cooker.  Cover, cook on low 8-12 hours or high 5-6 hours.  I serve it with cornbread muffins and shredded cheese.

 

Playing in the Leaves

Daddy rakes, we wreck.  Got it!


Yesterday I showed you the professional shot of the boys' first romp in the leaves.  We also have an unprofessional amateur photographer, Aunt L, who took these adorable shots on Sunday, when we were playing in the leaves in MI.  N really "got" it this time, running into the piles his Daddy was raking and scattering them everywhere!  He was having a grand old time, as you can see!

Hey, this is fun!


I love this!

Whee!  I love making a mess!

Mama calls this "ham and cheese"
P.S. For those of you who were worried about me frightening the children with the vacuum, I have good news: the food-throwing activities are abating.  My new tactic is to end the meal and make them clean up their mess when they throw food (thanks for the tip, sis!).  It keeps my blood pressure (somewhat) level! 

Bonus Pic: Uncle A gave the boys their first piggy back rides!

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

bcfotos shoot

My twin mom friend of bcfotos (you can see more of her work on "bcfotos" Facebook page) shot our family pictures last Friday.  I cannot BELIEVE how incredible they turned out!  And I've only seen these 5 "sneak peek" photos! 

We shot these at Ritter Farm Park.  It's a HUGE park used mainly, we think, for horseback riding, hiking, and archery.  The landscape there is phenomenal!  We have very little foliage in our neighborhood, so it was the first time the boys played in the leaves - they loved it, especially N!  M, who can be quite serious when it comes to photos, was in a fantastic mood and hammed it up with his brother.  And if you look close, you can see N has a HUGE rip-curl on top of his head!





I'm so excited to see the rest - my photographer is such a tease! By the way, her identical twin girls were born just 24 hours after my fellas!  They were the girls we met at the zoo recently girl friends blog post.

Monday, October 18, 2010

Panda-Monium

Hubs and I don't make much of Halloween.  The most we've done is carve a pumpkin and once we handed out candy to the maybe 8 kids who showed up.  In recent years, we've gone out to eat! 

But last year, I stumbled across matching panda costumes on clearance after Halloween.  So I bought them.  And when we visited the grandparents in MI this weekend, we had Halloween!

The fellas totally did NOT get the concept, aside from eating treats most of the weekend.  However, the suits were so DARN CUTE!  Here are a few snapshots of our Panda-Monium this weekend:

The guys were not interested in taking a photo with Mommy




Panda N needs a snack with Papa before moving on to house #2



Panda M is not sure of this trick or treating stuff.



At the fourth and last house, Panda M is getting the hang of this!



Playing with Great Grandpa's radio was the best part!






Panda N grabs his candy and runs! 



Mommy and Daddy and two little panda bears

Thursday, October 14, 2010

How I Survived One of THOSE Days

1. I sent the very last check for my school loans.  Hallelujah, Praise the Lord, and Thank You, Jesus!  What a relief that's over.  Especially since that money really should go straight to a savings account for our children's  college education.  

2. I was at my wit's end with the fellas.  I don't want to bore you with the details, but it was 3:00 and I knew I had to get out of here the boys and I were going to survive this day.  So I loaded them up, not sure where I was going except to the gas station because Vanna was on E-E-E and in desperate need of a wash.  I knew that would give me enough time to think of something.  Something that would help me and the boys out of the crazies we were in this afternoon.  I called up a fellow stay-at-home mom who's the sweetest woman in the world (seriously! she's always asking how she can help me) and I knew today was the day she'd been waiting for: HELP!  Of course, she said, come on over!  The boys and I drove through McDonald's and I tried to make it a teaching moment: we're going over to Miss B's house to bless her and her daughter with a meal.  Which is true and far more positive than: we're going to Miss B's house to distract all three of us from each other because I'm going crazy today!  The five of us had some fine dining with cheeseburgers and chicken nuggets and a whole room full of "new" toys and a friend.  It was so refreshing and wonderful to know that God has put some wonderful women in my life who are true and loving even on my ugly days. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.  The boys are in bed and I lived to tell because of you.

A Few More Words

M talks a lot more than I realized!  I missed a lot of his words yesterday, including the most obvious:

"Hi!" with a wave to EVERYONE we see
"Bye!" with a wave, but usually AFTER we have departed
"Uh oh," usually said when food is being THROWN on the floor
"No-no," always said when he or his brother (or us, I suppose!) are doing something we're not supposed to be doing, throwing food on the floor, pushing on the screen door, standing in the bathtub...
"Zi?" said pointing an object, asking "What's this?"
"Buh Bo" for bubbles.  He'll repeat it until he wears you down to blow them, then walks away indifferently from you when you do.  Like he just wants them being blown in the background!
"Cah cuh" with a short "a" sound, this word means cracker or cookie, we're not sure because he uses it interchangeably.  I suppose it could also mean "snack!"
"Nay Nay," his name for his brother
"Diggle-diggle"  we think this came from our games of "tickle tickle," but he doesn't use it in that context.  In fact, it seems to be a general term for "I'm pretty happy doing whatever it is I'm doing right now,"
Pushing is better than riding by far
"Caaaah" think of our neighbor from Boston saying "car," and you've got it!  Seemingly there are 3 cars right now: a picture of one in a picture book and our two cozy coupe toys.  We've been playing a lot of "cars" this week since it's so nice out.

Look at that curl N has on his head!
I'll just keep adding to this list when I think of "Mo?" words.  Perhaps giggly little N will start talking "mo", too.

"Ba," used by both of the guys, is an over-generalized word for "ball."  Anything round is a ball, so it's pretty funny when we are at the grocery store and every apple and tomato is "ba! Ba! Ba!"  It's also one of M's mystery words.  One night on a walk, he was desperately signing "milk" and saying "Ba? Ba? Ba?" Maybe he wanted a bottle?  but he hasn't had one in several months!  

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Blabbermouths and Yesterday's Pics

RRRRR!  Cement Truck!
(in a baby British accent) Ouch!  Charlie!  He bit me!  And it really hurts!


I know that this is NOT the way the biting incident went down in the nursery yesterday, but if you've never seen the Charlie Bit Me You Tube Video, I promise you'll laugh today!  And N's wound is already healing - I doubt we'll be able to see it by Friday.  You can see the mark above his left eye.  And hopefully N and Biter will be at peace because we'll be seeing him every Tuesday.  My sister reminded me of that after she read the blog last night and told me that my niece was bitten by a Biter at her daycare for months!  Aaah! 

Hubs and I were talking this morning about the funny stuff the guys are "saying," so I thought I'd share what's coming from the blabbermouths:


Both guys LOVE pointing to the airplanes that fly overhead (we're in the "path" for the runway at MSP) and go, "ooh, ooh!" and I tell them, that plane is landing at the airport where Daddy works.  They both do an over-exaggerated "all done" sign when they're finished eating and I swear I heard one of them say "all done," the other day.
N says:
"Mo?" and makes the "more" sign
and "Eeee?" making the "eat" sign
he taps his head to make the "night night" sign and makes a fist for the "milk" sign  
"nnnnnnn" with a point to his nose is, of course, nose
"whuuu, whuuu" (really low!) is "woof, woof" for doggy
of course "Ma Ma," and "Da Da" for us
N folds his hands when we say grace at meals and our bedtime prayers

M is a real chatterbox!
"Mo?" and "Eeee?" (really high!) are two of his favorite words and signs as well. 
He mastered Ma Ma and Da Da as well
He also makes the milk sign and adds
"nye nye" to the  night night sign 
"nnnn" for nose as well as
"whuu whuu" for doggy
But he's expanding his vocabulary.  He says "choo choo" for every train-like thing he sees!
Truck seems to be "RRRRR" or "Whoa!" Either way, he's quite impressed.
M says "Ayen" when we say "Amen" after grace and bedtime prayers!

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

One Last Blast of Summer!

(This blog format looks kinda weird and I know it, but I'm going to leave it so I can take the boys outside while it's still nice. It snowed here on Oct. 12 last year!)

I hope that you are enjoying this week's return to summer like we are! The boys seem to have grown a bit since I put away their summer clothes, so I was able to fish out the outfits that were big on them. It was like getting new clothes!

We chose to spend every minute outdoors this weekend! We took the jogging stroller to Ritter Farm Park and went off-roading. It's a large park where people hike and ride their horses on grassy trails and it was just beautiful with the leaves turning. The boys seemed to enjoy the ride as long as we kept the animal crackers flowing! I wish we'd have taken photos, but, alas, I forgot. We didn't see any horses, either - just a gardener snake and some bugs. When we stopped at the grocery store on the way home, I remembered to snap this cute pic of the guys driving their double grocery cart, though!














On Saturday night, we had our friend B and his 5 year old son over for dinner and a bonfire. It was also the boys' first bonfire - for 20 or so minutes! Because we don't trust them for a split second, and also because they were freshly bathed, they enjoyed the fire from the confines of their pack and play, which they didn't seem to mind so long as we fed them graham crackers. Hm, I'm beginning to see a pattern here...

Here's Hubs and M grilling dinner.

B and E took a self-portrait at the campfire! Then E turned the camera on me!

Okay, not my best angle, but I'll give him a break because he's 5, after all.

We always enjoy warm weekends together as a family and spending time with friends makes them extra special! It looks like we're in for some more good weather this week, too. Hooray! After I wrap this up, the boys and I are going to take a long walk in the afternoon sunshine. I only wish that Minnesota weather were like this year round!

Snips, Snails, and Puppy Dog Tails

That's what little boys are made of.

Yesterday I was marveling at how my babies really are boys.  They are fascinated by every truck that goes by, and make "woah," "oooh," and "rrrrrrr" sounds when they see them drive by or play with their truck toys.  How do they know how to do that? 

Since I've been reading "Bringing Up Boys" by Dr. James Dobson, I've been a little more thoughtful about being a mother to boys lately, too.  So when we were loading up to leave and the cement truck was in our neighbor's driveway, instead of ignoring it, I took it as an opportunity to let the boys watch men work.  We sat on the steps and watched the cement being poured.

Then on our walk yesterday, a little toadish looking frog was hopping across the path.  Rather than ignore it, I stopped and picked it up to show them.  M got a hold of it and put it to his lips!  Not to be outdone, N did the same!  I told them that God made frogs, too - we'd been talking (I'd been talking) about how God made the trees and how they change in the fall.  I was about to tell them we don't eat God's creation, but stopped - because we do!  So I just said frogs aren't for eating.  I wasn't going to mention that frog's legs are a delicacy in some places.

The frog and the cement truck are things that I wouldn't have stopped to look at even a couple weeks ago.  But the fellas aren't babies anymore and they let me know all day every day that they are boys.

Today was another example.

N got bit.

Yep, in the church nursery.  By another boy.  I should have known it was going to happen someday, but I've yet to see either of my sons try to bite each other or anyone else.  (Except for the one time N chomped down on Daddy's special parts....and then when he was nursing....so perhaps there are tendencies, but....anyhow...)

Fortunately, he was the bitEE, not the bitER, and the other mom and I were able to exchange apologies and forgiveness.  N is just 16 months old, so does he even understand what happened?  I explained to him that what the boy did was not nice, but that when someone does something wrong to us, Jesus teaches us we need to forgive them.  Then I took him with me into Mom's Group and fed him a banana and juice.  All was forgiven, it seems, after that...and some Peekaboo Barn game on my phone.

(I've tried 3 times to upload pics for this entry, but for some reason, I can't get it.  I hate technical difficulites because I am NOT a technical person.  If it doesn't do what it's supposed to do, then I don't know how to fix it.)  I wanted to show you the bite because I want to know - will this go away by Friday, when we are getting family photos taken?!  The skin is not broken, so I hope it will fade away and not bruise.  Or that my photographer can edit it out. 

It seems as though I've turned some kind of corner as of late, from being a new mom to little babies, to being a mom to BOYS.  I like the cement truck and frogs, but the biting?  I hope I handled it with enough grace that I'm not sent that test again!

Thursday, October 7, 2010

"If you throw food one more time..."

I've been working all morning on uploading a video, but alas, I give up again.  I really don't know how to do it!  Now that Hubs has an i4 (is that what you call it?), I thought it would be easier to upload, convert files, whatever you call it when you try to put a video on your blog, but apparently I need a video blog lesson. *Sigh*  Either way, by the time I get it figured out, the video will be so old that the cute thing they're doing (climbing down the stairs on their bellies and giggling all the way) will be old hat. That was two weeks ago, and truth be told, it already is.  Now they're trying to walk down the stairs feet first!


So I'm settling for the two pics I took yesterday, which are cute funny food pics, and a confession in the middle.


Here we are yesterday mowing down on chicken nuggets and mac and cheese at E's house.  This is only half the story!  There was another set of two-year-old boys and an 18 month old boy there, too!  Amazingly, lunch was quiet while all 7 boys ate.  I must say I'm proud of my boys for NOT throwing food on E's floor.  They've learned their lesson.  

This is where I have to confess: I'd had it.  Really, really, had it with the grinning, snickering, "I'm gonna throw this food on the floor" game they (M) were playing.  "If you throw food one more time, I'm going to have to vacuum.  That's what happens when the floor gets messy," I said, removing the vacuum from the closet.  M did it again, N following, because they are like lemurs.  So I vacuumed. 

Not the vacuum!


And it worked.  Since yesterday morning, only a pea and one Kix have hit the floor.  They're so happy with our new arrangement (throw food and Mom vacuums), they've discovered a new and different way to be messy.  Okay, let's be honest, M has discovered a new and different way to be messy.  N was clean (he's serious about food most of the time: put it where it belongs!).  But this is what M did with a small handful of Lucky Charms and vanilla pudding that I was feeding him (not himself!)
See the blue and yellow marshmallow smear?  They're magically delicious!