Saving Charlie Brown

We are in Smyrna for the week staying with my parents. I'm working in a kindergarten class and the boys are hanging out with Gaggi.  Squish got hold of a splatter screen that Gaggi uses when she fried okra and played with it for quite some time. It looks like a big magnifying glass. He waled around looking through it and saying "Bery imperious" we think he was either going for "very interesting" or "very mysterious" but with that one you never can tell.

Bear is still trying to settle into life at Gaggi and Pops. Squish would quickly sell me down river to be with my mom, but Bear is loyal. He never strays. And he and Gaggi daily work out the issues that come with my little attached man.

I took Bear to the store to get a few things and when I got back I heard Gaggi yelling "hi-yah, hi-yah!" and Squish yelling at her "Come on! The giants have Charlie Brown. We have to save him!" Evidently he pulled her away from paying bills and made her go on his rescue mission. She was dubbed "Fiona" and made his side-kick. When Pop got home he wasn't greeted with a "hello there, how was your day" no, no...he got "Come on Pop! We need your help! They have Charlie Brown!" Pop was quick to suit up, as a long time fiercely loyal peanuts fan. Such an imagination my little one has. I think he gets it from his daddy.

Friday Night Leftovers

The house showed this week...yay. The realtor said the wife really liked it, seems to me that when looking at houses, she's the vote you hope for.

The top is catching up, Bear cut two new teeth this week. One on Wednesday and one on Friday.

We went to visit the family I used to Nanny for...boy do I miss that job. I was there so often that when I go back it makes me feel homesick. Squish played so great with their youngest son that it really made me sad not to be there anymore. They used nets to catch butterflies and make me eat them.

Baseball season starts on Monday....boo.

I love Friday nights because I can stay up late knowing that my wonderful hubby will get up for "man time" with the boys....thus letting me sleep in until around 9:30. It's glorious

Squish is finally starting to be nicer to his brother, he invites him into his imaginary world occasionally and is starting to beat him less when he's there:)

If Bear keeps teasing me on this walking thing I'm going to lose my mind. He'll look at me, smile, sway, then drop down and crawl at rocket speed.

After Squish stayed up Thursday nite until 12:45, he then didn't take a Friday nap. He did pretty well, though. He usually gets pretty monster-y without enough sleep.  I think Wibef kept him pretty happy while she was here.

Well.......fingers crossed on the house selling. It would mean a scramble to find somewhere to live until we hear back about the house we put an offer on. But I'd rather make that scramble than the one where we scramble to pay the mortgage on two houses!

Been gone so long....

Wow! I've gotten so behind I don't know where to start.

Both boys loved the aquarium on Monday. Squish got to touch the sharks, starfish and rays. I was very proud of him, he was a little timid about it at first but then he really got into it. Bear really loved it too, he went into a trance in front of the huge tanks. There was hardly anyone there so we got to get really close to all the exhibits, so up close and personal with penguins!

I worked Tuesday and Wednesday so the boys spent the day with Gaggi. Not much to report here, since I wasn't with them. It's been a long while since I worked so it was pretty tough being away from them. But it's nice to see that the Bear is doing better when I'm not around, he even napped for 2 hours on Wednesday!

Our house showed tonight for the first time (here's hoping we have beginners luck!) So I spend the day cleaning. Squish started back to school, time to really get back into the routine that has been missing since before Christmas. Bear and I played and cleaned and then went to get Squish. He pitched a fit about getting into his carseat, he wants to ride upfront. I'd love to see what would happen to me if I got caught letting my 2 year old do that!

We had a sitter come over so I could get a good couple of hours in cleaning. It was a new girl, but she was great. I kept hearing Squish say "I love you, I love you" She played Swords with him and when she came into the living room so we could pay her he came running after her with his sword yelling "Get back in my room!" We took him for a happy meal (gasp!) while the couple came to see the house. While he was eating he looked at me and said "you're pretty Mommy, and I will say hubba. Hubba hubba hubba!" It warms my hear when my 2 year old gives me cat calls:)

I gave him a cookie when we got home, ,he said "I am not a mouse. If you give a mouse a cookie...he will probably maybe want some milk."

Noah learned to sign more and eat and shake his head "no" while at Gaggi's house. She teaches my boys so much. I'm thinking about spending their college funds on designer jeans and just sending them to live with her for 4 years after high school....

Church E Cheese

We are between churches right now. We left our church and have decided against searching for a new one until after the move. This is mostly because we don't want to put the boys in a parade of nursery rooms where they don't know anyone. Squish would probably be fine with this. Bear...not so much. So we decided to follow the lead of some good friends and spend the morning at Chuck E Cheese (or as Squish calls it "Suck E Cees")  Now before you call me out as the heathen that I am, you should know this. Chuck E Cheese on Sunday morning is GLORIOUS! There was only one other kid there. We had the run of the place and we made good use of it.

We rode the horse (about a million times!)

We hung out with Barney

We cheated at ski ball (don't judge me)

All in all, we had a great time. I think we'll keep going to Church E Cheese til we move.



Happy bed

I've been trying for ages to get my little Bear to be happy while awake in his crib. Until yesterday, we had no success. What we had was crying if he woke up even for a minute during his nap and NEVER waking up happy. Squish used to play in his bed for 20-30 mins after his nap. He didn't want to get out! This is not the case with my little man. I have tried making the room brighter, I've tried making the room darker. He has "special friends" that I have worked to help him form bonds with...no dice. So today, after his nap, he played in his bed for 15 solid minutes. What was the golden ticket, you ask.....

I stuck his brother in there.

It totally worked.

Friday Nite Leftovers

Whenever Squish hurts a friend I always make him go to the friend and repeat after me as I say "Sorry friend...I should not hit/push/take toys...from you"
Lou tells me it's silly and that forcing him to say it doesn't make him mean it.
I endure.
Today he pushed Wibef, when I took his hand and led him to her he said (UNPROMPTED) "Sorry Wibef...I should not push you"
I swelled with pride (and bragged to Lou)

Bear took at TWO HOUR NAP!!

Bear has 3 words. Mama, Dada, and Bye bye.
He said them in that order.
I swelled with pride (and bragged to Lou)

I love my friend Jen. I had to go to LLL meetings while I was getting certified as a lactation educator. She is the best thing that came of them (her and getting certified!)
Squish loves Jens daughter Wibef.
Wibef loves my son Bear.
There could be trouble down the road.

The other day I showed Squish that I can do a cartwheel.
He keeps asking me to "do a fartwheel"

Well....I suppose that's all I have for my first attempt at friday nite leftovers. Per Jen's instructions I will mosey on over to Danifred's blog and add myself to the list

We're having a ball!

Play date at our house today. Squish had some pent up energy as a result of a lazy/sickish day yesterday, and we were informed that Wibef had doughnuts for breakfast and would have lots of extra energy as well.  I thought this a good time to raid the "present stash" that I keep in the attic and bring out this HUGE inflatable toy story ball, it's kind of like those plastic balls that hamsters run around the house in.







It was a hit........

 It even brought peace between the brothers.......

And then things got a little frisky.....

A good time was had by all. I think we'll keep it out for a few days.

Playdate day!!

Today was playdate day. I love playdate day. Isaac really enjoys his playdate friends, they are all very sweet to Noah even though he is younger, and I really like the other moms. I'm actually pretty lucky when it comes to playdates. I've heard some pretty bad stories and my only complaint is that I live a little far away, but I live a little far from everything. That can effect our naptime, but the gals drive to me pretty often so it works out well.

We went to a new house today and all the way there Squish and I practiced saying "Thank you for inviting me to your house." He managed to get out "Thank you for biting my house" I think they got the point though.

Both boys took a pretty good nap today, which is always nice.

As I was changing a dirty diaper on Bear, Squish looked in the closet and found a surfboard that Pop made for him. It was for his 1st birthday party, which had a beach party theme. I asked Pop to make a very simple plywood surfboard. I imagined a flat piece of wood with a little stripe down the middle.  Boy was wrong. What I got was something so nice that it will never thrown away (I think it's Pops way of getting back at me for making him stuff that was too cute to be thrown away) It has a picture of Isaac drawn on it. It's curved up at both ends...the thing might just be sea worthy if it wasn't too pretty to put in the water. He was pretty excited to see it and asked if he could play with it. This was a tough decision for me, I didn't want him to break it. But he had a blast surfing, we called Pop to tell him that it was being put to good use.

Bear was wide awake when I put him to bed tonight. He's getting much better at this, I kind of miss holding his little limp body while he sleeps. But I sure do love all the extra rest and free time I'm getting. And I know it really is good for him to establish good sleep habits. I'm ready for them to be established enough that he can come to family sleep over night...although I'm not sure how we'll make that work with 4. Already Squish takes up all the room when he snuggles in our king size bed!

A little bit nakey

Back to the daily grind today. I've been on the phone with Realtors and lending companies and everybody else all day long. Sure hope we get this house after all the work I'm putting into it!

Even though I tried to talk Lou into quitting his job, going on welfare and staying home with us all the time...he went back to work. We missed him but it was also nice getting back to a routine.

Squish happily fell back into pre-school. He's going two days a week and seems to like it a lot. He must have had a pretty runny nose today...he imitates whatever has happened to him and when he got in the car he got a napkin out of the glove box, wiped my face and said "you have snot mommy"

It was pretty fun hanging around the house with Bear today while Squish was a school. He took a 30 min. nap which is the first break I've had in awhile. Sometimes I think I'd trade a million pints of Ben and Jerrys for an established nap time.

He usually fusses til he falls asleep, today he just gave up, bent over and sacked out.

It was a super tough decision for me about fixing him. I was worried if I left him that way he'd loose all blood flow to his toes, but I was also worried that if I moved him he would wake up, thus putting a stop to my much needed break. In the end I decided that his needs are more important than mine (Again) and unfolded him. He stayed asleep for about 30 more minutes...win, win.

Squish has been excited lately about being "a little bit nakey"  On the way to church Sunday he told us that "One day I will have a girl....and I will be a little bit nakey" I have NOOO idea where he got that from but fellas....lock up your daughters. Tonight he ran from Lou (who was trying to accost him with pajamas) screaming "I want to be a little bit nakey, I want to be a little bit nakey!" Wonder where we can get a little toddler trench coat.
He is also really becoming interested in God and Jesus. I'm more excited about this than the nakey thing. He prays every night and asks Jesus to come into his room and spend the night with him. At least that's what I tell him to pray for, whatever it is that comes out is incomprehensible. He is usually pretty articulate (as far as two year olds go) but when he prays I can't make out anything. I'm choosing to believe that he is just very spiritually advanced and is praying in tongues.

Monday, Monday (typed on Tuesday, Tuesday)

Tomorrow life as we know it resumes. All the ice is gone and Lou goes back to work. I've gotten so used to having him around!

The boys played pretty great today. Squish is starting to acknowledge the existence of Bear. Often times that recognition comes in the form of a beating, but sometimes it's sweet. Today Squish ran around with a bucket on his head, and Bear tried to eat it (as he does with everything.)

Squish has made Lou read him David and Goliath so many times now that he can recite the book back to us. We tested this theory tonight by having him call Gaggi and Pop to read them a bedtime story.

Bear is cutting tooth number five, it just popped through his little lower gum today. The top half better get on the ball...this makes the count 4 and 2.

In honor of our wonderful time making smores this weekend I'm adding a picture of Squish and me sharing one...yummy!

The weekend update

-Saturday morning we went to Gaggi and Pops house. The whole family was psyched to get out!
- Squish watched Dalmatians on the way, he kept saying that the dogs had good spots, but his little 2 year old speech patterns could only get out "Those dogs have good pot" guess we need to be careful who he hangs out with:)
-Squish and his Pop went out to play in the snow, they found "Tiger tracks" (it was probably a cat!) and they tracked the tiger through three yards til they found it. They have such great adventures.
-Saturday night Gaggi and Pop loaded up the fireplace do Squish could roast marshmallows and have his first smores. He loves them. Kept telling Pop, "don't touch that because it's fire"
-He ate one smore, two roasted marshmallows and one "raw" one before he was finally sick of them...I was surprised it happened that fast.
-He gave Pop "pankings" saturday night, I told him we never spank without a reason. He told me Pop hit Gaggi....I should mention that my father (the baptist minister) would NEVER in a million years raise his hand to a woman, especially Gaggi, who he worships almost as much as Squish does:)
-The Bear was around for all of this, not saying much and playing in everything he shouldn't. I forgot how hard the almost walking stage is!
-Went to church on Sunday, boys played in the nursery and had a pleasant time.
-Squish is getting increasingly harder to deal with at bedtime, wants us to stay in his room with him. I'm having a tough time with it because I don't want him to be afraid, I also don't want to move into his room. Hope it clears up before Levi is gone for baseball season.

Fear not my child

Squish has decided that he's scared in his room tonight. He keeps calling Lou and me in to "protect him." I tried giving him "super puppy" (the super hero dog that has worked wonders before) then I gave him my favorite pillow AND my blanket (that doubles as a shield and turns you invisible...obviously) and then it came to me.... Jesus.

So we talked about how Jesus would always be there to protect him and that he could talk to Jesus and ask Him to stay in his room all night. So we prayed...."Squish, say what mommy says" I tell him

M- Dear Jesus
S- Dear Jesus
M- Please come into my room
S- AND PROTECT ME!
M- (while trying not to giggle) and stay with me all night long
S- and stay all night
and they all said AMEN  :)

as I was leaving I told him that Jesus was in his room and he could talk to him if he wanted. While shutting the door I heard him say "I love you Jesus"

May you come to know His name well my son and call upon it often

Another day in snowy paradise

Day number 7 of being snowed in. Still a little stircrazy but I think I will miss it when it's over. It's been especially nice having Lou around, would have gone crazy for sure without him!

Squish and I took to the porch today during Bears morning nap (which lasted a whole hour, thank you very much!) We did bubble foam, a super cool trick that I learned about on another blog. Cut the bottom off of a powerade bottle and attached and old washcloth-Made a bubble solution with water and dishsoap and let the fun begin. Bubble foam went everywhere when we blew in the top of the bottle...Squish sounded like he was playing a kazoo:) 

Squish got to look out the window today and wave to the paramedic that came to the house when he had his seizure a few months back. She was very sweet and waived back :)

After 10 months of wishing he would, Bear finally took a papi today (wish he would have done that during the colic months.)

Then he decided that conformity is not for him.

Another day in the looney bin

So we put up these baby gates in the livingroom to keep Bear away from the TV area and out of the kitchen. Other than that the boys have the run of our very large living/dining room. As a testament to the true insanity that our house has become Squish broke out the toy pliers and started using them on the babygate like a criminal would use bolt cutters on a chain link fence. So it's not just me...everybody wants out!



Broke out of the house for a bit today and went to Walmart. Got a super cool toy truck and track set for the boys. They have tons of stuff from Christmas but I thought it might shake things up around here to have something new, plus it was a super deal. Probably a $50 toy on sale for $10. Squish loved it, even broke out the phrase "wowee kadowee" which I've never heard before.  No idea where he picked that up.

Bear used his walker to take 2 laps around the livingroom today. I think he'll be walking soon. I wonder if that will improve his relationship with his big brother.

Squish is really putting his own spin on the concept of sharing. His version is to yell "share!" at whoever has the toy he wants and then promptly yanks the toy out of their hand.

And one final nite cap...just went to tuck Squish in (for like the 5th time tonight!) and he stuck his finger in the air and said "Look Mommy! I got something out of my nose."  Ahhh the joys of motherhood.

STIR CRAZY!!!!!

Ok this snow has got to go. We've been stuck in the house for 5 days now, which seemed like a dream at first but the honeymoon is freakin over! Squish is crying over everything and Bear has decided to deal with the stale house air by turning himself into an acrobatic daredevil. He has scratches under one of his two (yes two!) black eyes and a knot on his forehead. He and the hardwoods have become fast friends. Lou and I had a good bout over who got to be the lucky devil to go to the grocery store. He won...some mess about being the man and providing for the family. Whatever he got 20 minutes in the wide open world and I'm jealous:)

As Lou and I were working out this morning (a nice surprise that has come from our time of indenture) Squish patted my stomach while I did crunches on the big ball. He said "Mommy you have a big fat belly." He seemed to mean it as a compliment but I'll be dieting just the same.

He also brought me a snack from his play kitchen today...pickles and ice cream. Hope he doesn't know something I don't.

I made PB&H (honey) for lunch today with applesauce and chips. Squish said "peanut butter, applesauce AND chips? That would be crazy." Not sure where he picked that one up.

Well, that was our day...day number 5. And no getting out tomorrow, roads are still iced. What an adventure!

Here's hoping

I just blacked out the bottom half of Bears windows with aluminum foil...a redneck solution, I know. I'm hoping it may make my little party animal sleep better. He's finally doing well at night (after 8 months getting there!) but naps are a horror story. I'm lucky to get 30-45 mins out of him in the morning and in the afternoon  I have to hold him while he nurses through the entire nap. I know I will miss these days when they are gone, but I'm getting ready for the missing part!

Snow Day!!

They warned us....and the grocery store shelves were barren. There is no milk, no bread left in the region.....IT HAS SNOWED IN THE SOUTH!! Rednecks have gassed up their pick up trucks and the whole state smells of chilli. But the best part is that I get to be hunkered down in my house with my favorite boys (all 5 of them)  Last night the flakes began around 9pm and by 10:00 everything was white.  Lou thought this an appropriate time to go wake up Squish, I heard some commotion in his room and walked in to find them both hanging out the window.  Thought I'd never get the little man back to bed, ended up having to cut out paper snowflakes and hang them from his ceiling so it was "snowing in his room too."  We went outside to play twice, the coming in part never went well. It was an interesting snow day, though, because on top of the snow was a thick layer of ice. It made snow play difficult, but it made cookie sheet sledding AWESOME! Lou stood ready like the catcher in the rye while squish barrelled down the hill in our front yard grinning from ear to ear.
Bear just cut his fourth tooth, it's on the bottom...making the arrangement 2 up and 3 down. It looks super funny, does not tickle when he chomps down though!
Squish is more sassy by the minute. Tonight he tried to get Lou to play swords with him but Lou was intent on unloading the diswasher first (be jealous ladies...this happens all the time.)  He finally had to throw in the towel when Squish started yelling "fight me like a man, fight me like a man!" You can't say no when your 2 year old questions your manhood.
I brought the Bear in to say goodnight (we are still trying to get Squish to acknowledge his existance.)  He kissed him on the forehead and said "night night....I'll be playing....all night long!"  Never too soon to try to make the little brother jealous I guess.

My very first time

So this is my very first blog post...EVER. Nobody will ever read it I'm sure. I'm starting this as a way to keep up with my days. I hope it will become more than that, but for now it's a way for me to remember all the funny things that my two year old says, or when (exactly) my little Bear get's a new tooth, or takes his first steps. It's a way for me to finish each day giving it the rememberance it deserves, and soon I hope it will be a way for my family to know what has happened in our little corner of the world. And maybe one day I'll have "bloggy" friends who want to know what happened as well.