Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Happiness is...

Happiness is a porch swing and a 7 month old.

Happiness is listening to Bennett show Caden all around the house like he has never been here before.

Happiness is listening to Miles say "I DID IT!"

Happiness is cuddling with Harrison in the middle of the night and singing him back to sleep.

Happiness is looking up to see that your 2 year old has dropped trou and is happily peeing in the front yard for everyone to see.

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Christmas is coming

I took the boys to one of the coolest toy stores in Des Moines yesterday. It is called Angie's Kid Zone and it is in Valley Junction. I took them in there because I wanted to get a sense of what Bennett may want for his birthday. The store has a ton of Melissa and Doug wooden toys and some great recycled plastic trucks and a whole bunch of other types of toys you wouldn't find at Toy's R Us. I love it! Anyway, Bennett went right to the kitchen play area and stayed there until I drug him away to look at some other things. I showed him some play food and a doll house and a toy truck and he was off. I think he touched 90% of the items in the store and said "I want this for my Christmas. I want this for my Christmas. OH! Look at this! I want this for my Christmas!." It was adorable and totally unhelpful. I left with very few ideas, but a good chuckle. Topping it all off was the annoyed older brother who kept saying "It's your BIRTHDAY! Not Christmas. Geesh!"

Thursday, March 25, 2010

A Thief

There is pretty much an order to the way I love children. I mean, let's be honest. I love my kids the best! :) After that come my favorite 4 and 3 years olds, James and Kaitlyn, then come my favorite foster kids, Miles, Annabelle, and Caden. I can't imagine that Miles knows he is not on the top of the list, but regardless, he is trying to change the order of things. Claudia has 2 weeks off for Spring Break because she teaches at a year round school that has longer breaks through-out the year. Well, you think she would have stolen those kids from me for 2 years! Miles is totally new! He has learned more words in 2 weeks than I can even comprehend! And he is very deliberate in the way that he uses his words. He takes his time and makes sure that he gets out a whole sentence. It is totally cute! My favorite has to be "I miss Mommy/I miss Daddy." He says this in the sweetest, cutest little sad voice I have ever heard! And what makes it cuter is that it is totally age inappropriate. Almost all 2 and 3 year olds say "I want Mommy/I want Daddy." Miss isn't a word that they use. He is like a little thief with my heart! Waaaay cute! He has also started to use the potty. It isn't something that we are working hard on, but while changing his diaper he tells me, in detail, how he should have done it in the potty and gotten an M&M. This morning I was changing a poopy diaper and he said "Ah, man! No M&M!" I almost fell over! His logic astounds me!!!

My kids better step it up or Miles is going to beat them to the top of the love chain!!! :) Well, maybe not, but he is pretty darn adorable!

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Healthy Habits

I was in the boy's room yesterday and Harrison walks in with the scale. "I want to see how big I am, Mom!" Well thris started the beginning of everyone wanting to see how big they are. Here are our tally's;
Harrison: age 5 years 4 months - 38 lbs
Caden: age 2 years 9 months - 29.5 lbs
Miles: age 2 years 2 months - 29 lbs
Bennett: age 2 years 11 months - 26 lbs

As you can see, my little man is just that, little! Anyway, Harrison proceeded to tell me that he was going to the fridge. He wanted an apple. He was going to get bigger and stronger. So off he went... and then... he came back. With one or two bites of the apple he jumped back on the scale. Still 38 lbs. "MOM! Why aren't I any bigger?!?!" Ummmm... I explained that you didn't get mearsurably bigger just by eating one thing. You needed to eat the food, digest the food and then your body would get bigger over time. This seemed acceptable. But, the damage of the conversation was done and soon I had three 2 year olds with apple pieces jumping on and off the scale asking "How much now?" over and over again! Oh the joys...

Fast forward 2 hours and I am making Harrison's lunch for school. "Mom, only put healthy thinkgs in my lunch. I want to get bigger and stronger and I am only going to get that way by eating healthy foods." He gets these ideas from that cult they call preschool. I am thinking of pulling him out.

So I pack his lunch and there is a healthy sandwich, a healthy banana, healthy carrot sticks and a mildly healthy rice krispie treat. When he gets home from school he gives me a lecture on healthy food that included "Mom. It is called a rice krispie treat. Treat! Treats are not healthy, Mom. I am only eating healthy foods! Please take that out of my lunch box." Sure enough everything was eaten out of his lunch exect for the rice krispie treat.

Tomorrow he is getting rice cakes, celery and water. We will see how long this health kick lasts!

What would you do with a Klondike Bar?

"What do you want to do with Annabelle?" - Harrison

"Pet her." - Bennett

"She's not a dog or a cat. Geesh! What do you want to do with Annabelle?" - Harrison

"Pet her." - Bennett

"Bennett! She is not a dog or a cat!" - Harrison

"Give her a toy?" (he holds out a truck) - Bennett

"That toy has wheels that could fall off and choke her so she can't play with that. Do you understand? We need to be careful." - Harrison

"Oh." - Bennett

It is good to know that they both listen. Sometimes...

WHAT?!?!

I am checking my email on the computer in the office and Bennett comes in and says "I want you to pick me up." and then he starts trying to get on my lap. At almost this exact same time Annabelle starts to make some noice. I say "No. I can't. I need to go put her to sleep." Bennett turns around, throws down his hands and exclaims, "WHAT?! Ah, dang it." and calmly walks away. Precious, isn't he? :)

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

T-Pain

So last night we are sitting around watching the Cyclones (LOSERS) play Missouri and a commercial that ran in the Super Bowl came on. It is the one where the girl brings home a couple of things from the store, one of which is a six-pack of Bud Light. The guy, in his excitement, starts singing like T-Pain. T-Pain is the rapper that uses the microphone that makes his voice sound like a synthesizer. Anyway, Harrison thought this commercial was hilarious. The end of the commercial is T-Pain singing "Please pass the gucamole." Harrison starting singing this line in his best T-Pain impression and then he asked to see the commercial again. So we watched the commercial again. After is was over we were all kind of giggling and out of nowhere Bennett says "I want to watch it ag-a-a-in." It was hysterical and sounded JUST like a synthesizer. So like any good parents who think that everything their children do is the funniest thing they have ever seen we watched the commercial ag-a-a-in!

Monday, March 1, 2010

Why?

My friend Lynsdey and her girlfriend Andrea bought a house this month and I took the boys over to see their new house. We were getting ready to leave and I asked Harrison and Bennett to go pick a toy to bring. "Why?" they asked in unison. This is one of the times I wish children could be seen and not heard. Just do as your told! Instead, we had the following conversation.



Me: "Because. Lyndsey doesn't have any toys?"

Boys: "Why?" Is this the worst word in the English language?

Me: "Because they do not have any children?"

Boys: "Why?"


Me: "They just don't."

Boys: "Why?"

Me: "JUST GET IN THE CAR!"

Harrison: "We have a van." At this point I had my reaccuring day dream. Me with my hands around his neck.

We get loaded in the van and the conversation begins again.

Harrison: "Mom, I just don't understand why they don't have kids."

Me: "Honey, not everyone has kids?"

Harrison: "But, why?" I don't know what to say. There are a million reasons I am thinking about and none of them are on the top of my "Things I want to discuss with Harrison when he is 5" list.

Me: "Honey, Marc and Emily don't have kids. Sometimes people just haven't had kids yet. Dan and Maegan don't have kids." Well, this was the wrong thing to say. Bennett has an obsession with Meggan and Johnny (my friend and her son that pick Harrison up for school). So when I said Maegan, he thought Meggan. The conversation turned...

Bennett: "Meggan has kids."

Me: "Yes, Bennett, Meggan and Ryan have Johnny. But Dan and Maegen don't have kids."

Bennett: "Johnny has kids." I have NO idea where this came from.

Harrison: "Johnny doesn't have kids!"

Bennett: "Why?" Ugggggggg.

Harrison: "I don't know. Mom?"

Me: "Johnny is too young to have kids." I WANT THEM TO STOP TALKING NOW!!!!!!

Harrison: "Am I too young to have kids."

Me: "Yes."

Harrison: "Are you sure? When can I have kids?" OMG!

Me: "When you are as old as me."

Harrison: "So... like in 60 years or something?" I am day dreaming again...

Me: "Something like that. Who wants to watch Curious George?"

Bennett: "ME! ME!"

Thank goodness for a van with a dvd player. Until...

Harrison: "Mom, I just don't understand. I mean, they are two mommmies. Why don't they have kids?"

I love Harrison. He is going to make a wonderful human being. I LOVE how I have never told him that boys love girls or girls love girls or boys love boys or girls love boys he just knows that people love people and that is all we need. Love. I finally said that daddy and I didn't have kids until he was born and that everybody has kids when they are ready and able. I really really wanted to say that not everyone had kids for this reason or that, but I was too exhausted to continue. Another day...