Brought to you by the Letter K...

Evan learned the letter K last week in school and he had Mark and I in tears with his "watch me make the letter K" stance. NOTE: How Evan's foot KICKS out ~ also, please try to ignore the belly button shot. Enjoy!

Christmas Welcome

Just wanted to share our BEA-U-TI-FUL entryway (if I do say so myself). Can't take any credit for it except for the wreath. Mark is the "outside lights man." :)

Anyway, bought the wreath on my way home from the doctor's last Friday. There were a bunch of them displayed on the front lawn of the florist and I could see from the road that they were pretty inexpensive. I decided to stop because I really wanted a "real greens" wreath this year.

I went inside and told the florist that I wanted one of the wreaths out front and he said I could just pay for it, then go out and pick it up. Great, I thought....

He went on to tell me how people must be running to the cemetaries today because he's had a "run" on cemetary displays, etc. I'm just agreeing with him that it must be because the weather is decent and it's supposed to be miserable over the weekend, never dawning on me WHY he might be talking about this. I did think it was odd, but whatever....I thought maybe he was just trying to be friendly.

SO, I pay for the wreath and go out front to pick the prettiest one. I try to take it off the green metal STAND and find that it's wired to it - it's a graveside wreath. LOVELY!! It suddenly all makes sense that the florist is not, in fact, a weirdo obsessed with cemetaries, but someone who was trying to empathize with me.

I was so embarassed that I just picked up the whole thing and stuck it in my trunk.

Luckily, I was able to unwire the wreath from the stand and it looks pretty nice on our front door.

Movie Night

Evan was invited to his first social activity this past weekend by one of his preschool classmates, Myles. It was a movie night: they were showing "Meet the Robinsons" complete with a concession stand and everything.

I dropped him off and he was a little shy. Myles is a cute kid with an outgoing personality - all the kids in Evan's class love him, and the girls want to marry him :) Well, there were about 7 or 8 other kids there - none we knew, none from school. Evan was the only one who was able to come from school.

I was trying to make sure that Evan would be o.k. when I left and he whispered in my ear, "Mom, you and me are the only ones who aren't brown."

Isn't that just the sweetest thing you've ever heard? I chuckled and agreed with him and told him that it was kind of like him wearing glasses - it makes him special from everyone else. Wouldn't this world be such a better place if we all could look at it through 4 year old eyes?

Giddy-Up

Nathan is hysterical lately. All he wants to do is move, move, move. Whether it's walking behind the walker, cruising around the furniture, or dancing like Stevie Wonder, he's a mover and a shaker. He's still not walking on his own ~ thank goodness! ~ but I'm betting it will be soon. The other morning, we were lying in bed and he was grabbing onto the footboard and moving his head up and down like he was galloping on a horse (hey, maybe he'll be a jockey - he IS only in the 15th %tile for his height) Of course, when I decided to video him, he didn't do it like he had been, but I think you can get the idea. Too cute!

Nathan is 1!

We celebrated Nathan's 1st birthday, which was November 1, with a family party with a twist. It was supposed to be at our house, but Mark was sick with a stomach bug for 5 days (!) and we didn't want to expose anyone to his germs. SO, I took the party to my parent's house minus Mark :( And some people still didn't want to come because they were afraid of the germs the rest of us might be carrying :) WIMPS! :) Just kidding ~ but when Nathan looks back at his 1st birthday party pics, he'll wonder where you all were....

We decided to go with the whole "smiley face" theme since Nathan is our smiley guy. He was so sweet. Was completely unsure of the cake, but after I put some icing in his mouth, he was all over it. He got into opening the gifts, too, which was fun. Will make for a fun Christmas morning at our house.

Halloween

Halloween came and went again this year without too much hoopla. We had our annual pumpkin carving party the weekend before and had great fun with our friends, family, and all the kids. I think all told, there were 19 adults and 16 kids with one on the way. Pretty soon we will be outnumbered ~ scary~

Here's some photos from the event and our trick 0r treating ~ we had a lion, a frog, and a crusader this year.

Slacker

Alright, I admit, I've been a MAJOR slacker on the blog as of late. I don't know if I've been extra busy or life just hasn't seemed that funny around here but that's all about to change. I'm going to make up for the slacking today! Enjoy!

The Abyss

Everyone has one, right?? That one place in the house that things disappear into and never seem to be found again. It might be the dryer, the junk drawer, an entire room (or rooms - I've seen it happen), or, in my case, a hole in the floor. Technically, I guess it's really not a hole in the floor - it's a heating vent without a cover. You know - the old "take the baseboards off to paint the room and replace them later" trick. But it's been almost 2 years now....gotta love it!

With 3 little monkeys, many things have disappeared down into our abyss. I know there's several balls down there and matchbox cars I couldn't reach. Probably lots of other interesting items that Mark will find when he opens the duct from the basement crawl space. The other day, I had noticed that the matchbox car case was empty and I couldn't seem to find more than 1 or 2 cars lying around. Ryan led me to the abyss and said, "Down here, Mom." Notice the MOM, not MOMMY, btw.

Well, I stuck my hand down there and proceeded to pull out 18, yes 18!, cars! No wonder I couldn't find any! Ryan thought this was so funny when I kept reaching down and bringing up another handful. I actually think there's a few more there that I just couldn't reach. I was afraid that my arm was going to get stuck in the vent ~ and that would be a whole other story!

I guess I know where to start looking the next time something goes missing around here...

Saturday Soccer

Evan started playing soccer for the first time this year. He's on the 4 - 5 year old team at our Y. Needless to say, it's been interesting....

The first game, he kept running off the field in tears. The second game, he didn't cry, but he held back from the game even though he was IN the game. The third game, he got to kick the ball a few times, but didn't really go after the ball. When he did kick the ball, he was so excited, he turned to us cheering on the sidelines with this HUGE smile on his face and gave us a thumbs up. Mind you, this was while he was still running and he ran into a fellow teammate! Got that one on video.

Writing this down, it's kind of funny to see the natural progression of his playing. It seems like he's the only one on his team that's never played before. The girls especially are quite aggressive and are typically the ones scoring the goals for his team.

Life on the sidelines is a trip and a half. The games are usually at 10 or 11 am. so that means we're either in the middle of Nathan's naptime or approaching lunch for everyone. Inevitably, someone wants to get out of the stroller, someone's crying, someone's hungry, someone's moody, someone's thirsty.....you get the point. Keeping everyone happy while still trying to cheer Evan on is a tough job that I don't particularly like, but I guess it's worth it to see Evan having fun.

I almost wanted to leave Ryan in the stroller basket predicament that he got himself into just to keep him contained, but I figured the other parents/spectators might think I was horrible.

Here's to Saturday morning soccer games! (How many more weeks are there????)

You know you've lost complete control when...

...your 4 year old cuts your 2 year old's hair and you don't think it looks half bad.

...you decide it's a good idea (trust me, it wasn't) to take all 3 children to a lunch at church on Sunday solo (i.e. without hubby). NUTSO!

...you have to brace yourself every time you cough, sneeze, or laugh. Hey, there's more than one definition of the word control.

...your elastic headband that you've been looking for has suddenly turned up, only to find it's been repurposed into a slingshot. "Mommy, watch how far it goes!"

...you visit the dentist like a good little patient at your regular 6 month check-up only to be told by the dental hygenist to lay off the homemade sweetened iced tea (my only, o.k., not my only, my favorite, vice). She also told me I should join a mom's club - DO I LOOK THAT DESPERATE??? This coming from a woman who also told me that her 3 and 4 year old girls go to school 4 days/week and she's looking to add the 5th day because she can't handle them....um....maybe she needs the mom's club....

...you're arguing with your 2 year old about why he can't have a "Big Boy Cup" anymore. (Mommy's really, really tired of cleaning up spilled milk, juice, propel, water, etc.)

...you're driving in the car, YELLING to the cherubs in the back seats, "STOP YELLING!!!" I know, I know, probably not the most effective way to get them to listen, but hey, I was driving.

...you come downstairs for the second day in a row to find your 4 year old and 2 year old standing on top of the antique sewing machine and jumping onto the couch, stripped of its pillows (they were on the floor - hey, I guess they were trying to be safe). Luckily, the only thing that was broken was a picture frame they threw off the sewing machine prior to using it as a launching pad.

...your 10 month old is already throwing food off his highchair tray and onto the floor.

...your feet are sticking to the kitchen floor. (I can't imagine why...)

One of the mentor moms in my MOPS group said someone once told her that her life wouldn't feel "normal" until her youngest was 3. I hope she's right....

Binky Junky

That's all I have to say about that....

Party in My Tummy

Tonight at dinner, Evan was talking to his plate, saying, "Wanna come?" I didn't realize he was talking to his food until I heard, "O.K., let's go to the party in my tummy!" and then saw him take a big bite. SMILE.

After dinner, Evan was standing at the doorway in the kitchen eating his popsicle. The other two were still strapped into their seats. I was running around trying to clean up when I overheard, "So, fellas, what are we going to do tonight? Sleep?" Not only does Evan say this with a completely straight face, but he's got his legs crossed and he's leaning over to one side, like Mr. Casual. HYSTERICAL.

I don't know if Ryan answered him or not - I know Nathan didn't - but I hope the answer was a resounding YES! Or in Ryan-speak, Eh...

Whew!

Well, the first day of school was a rousing success! Evan got up, ate, got dressed on his own. We drove to school and he wore his "Cars" backpack while we waited outside the classroom door with all the other anxious kids and parents. Evan was really excited and smiley. We took a bunch of pictures, including one in front of his cubby. He didn't want to get a picture with his friend, Hannah from church, so I took one of Hannah and her mom, Tamara. Everything was going smoothly...until I tried to leave. He started crying and of course, even though I tried really hard not to, that made me cry, too. Mrs. Mellinger picked him up and hugged him as I was leaving. It was one of the hardest things for me to walk out the door and leave him.

When I went to pick him up....he was all smiles again. He LOVED it! He played outside, colored a picture, learned some new songs, sat next to his friend, Hannah, from church, had yogurt for a snack - "one girl didn't like her yogurt, mom." Today when I dropped him off, he gave me a hug and kiss, said goodbye and as I was walking out the door, he smiled and blew me a kiss. So I guess that means he likes it :)

Bringing Home the Moon

Tomorrow is a REALLY BIG day for Evan. Tomorrow he begins preschool 3 days/week. I cannot believe my little guy is going to school - I guess it's going to be a really big day for me too! We went last Tuesday to the "sneak-a-peek" to see his classroom and meet his teacher. He got to color a picture of himself while we were there and of course, I had to take a picture...he's so cute, isn't he?

He seems to be pretty excited about tomorrow, but I'm a little nervous about how he'll react to mom leaving. I'm hoping he'll be fine, but sometimes he gets shy in new situations (for about 5 minutes!). When Mark & I went to Open House last week, Evan's teacher, Mrs. Mellinger, shared with the parents all the things that they'll be doing as a class. Evan will be presenting his poster about himself (his 1st homework assignment) and sharing lots of other things in front of his classmates. Just thinking about this made me kind of sad...my little boy is going to be "on his own" in these situations and I won't be there to see him shine. Don't get me wrong...I am SO excited that he's going to be learning new things and having new experiences but it's bittersweet because it means that the separation from mommy & daddy and the blossoming into his own person is already beginning.

Just last week, on the way home from Grandma & Pop-Pop "with no beard & with no pool"(this is truly how he identifies the grandparents) 's house and there was a full moon. I was driving and Evan & Ryan were talking about the moon in the back seat - always amusing to just listen in to their conversations. Evan all of a sudden says to me, "Mom, we're bringing home the moon." I laughed and agreed with him. It brought back so many memories for me - coming home from my grandparents house and watching the moon seemingly follow us all the way from their house to ours. I always thought it was so amazing that the moon would follow US! I love that Evan thinks the same thing - makes me marvel at his innocence and imagination. I hope that my little boy can keep these little boy thoughts for as long as possible, even though he is starting school. We'll let you know how it goes tomorrow!

Oh, it's what you do to me

Well, it's been a while since I've posted - my apologies for that and for what will probably end up as a LONG entry! Our 6+ hour road trip to Massachusetts turned into an 11 hour trip - traffic was just horrible! Thank goodness the kids weren't....

We had a very relaxing time with our friends, Mike & Shelley. They were wonderful hosts, especially considering the fact that we brought along all the accoutrement that come with traveling with 3 kids: snacks, toys, lots of diapers and wipes. After our visit, they might just put off starting their own family for a while! Ryan was an eating machine while we were there. He polished off an assortment of juice boxes, waffles, scrambled eggs, and his favorite, crackers. I don't know where he puts it all. Hopefully that means he's getting ready to grow (one can only hope!) His shirt says it all in the photo below - RASCAL... The kids made some new friends while we were there. Liam and Nathan are only 2 days apart, and Brenden is 2 1/2.

This past Friday, we went to Ocean City, NJ for the day - normally wouldn't do this, but my parents were there for a week and knew we'd have a place to clean up after the beach. On the drive down, we were listening to the radio and one of our favorite songs came on - Hey there, Delilah by Plain White T's. Mark turned it up and then we heard this little voice from the backseat singing the chorus, "Oh, it's what you do to me. Oh, it's what you do to me..." Here, Ryan was singing his little heart out (through his binky, I might add) SO DARN CUTE!

My poor parents had the worst weather of the summer - it rained Sunday through Thursday, but Friday ended up being a decent day - partly sunny and not too hot. The kids all LOVE the beach - the sand and the water. Even Nathan got into it this time - he loved sitting on Pop-Pop's lap in the surf and splashing in the water. Megan & Jim were down with Abby, Chris, and Alex and the kids had a blast playing together. I love when we all get together like this - I'm so thankful that my kids have cousins their age. We played on the beach for a few hours, showered up, had pizza, and then hit the boardwalk. I love that Evan is old enough to ride the rides. He and I went on the tilt-a-whirl and on his first roller coaster - and if you know me, the kiddie coaster is about my speed. He LOVED the roller coaster and wanted to ride again. One the tilt-a-whirl, I got a little nervous because he said, "This is making my stomach feel weird." Ryan got to ride some little rides for the first time this year. He was all business about driving the dune buggy and ringing the bell on the boat. Everyone was zonked out in the car on the ride home, including Mark. It was a great day - thanks, mom & dad, for letting us invade!

Good Job, Mommy

Ryan continues to crack us up on a daily basis. He regularly raises his sippy cup at the kitchen table and says, "CHEERS!" and expects us all to clink his cup with ours. What 2 year old does that???

Earlier this week, as we were sitting and eating our lunches, Ryan took a bite of his sandwich, looked at me, and said, "Good job, Mommy!" I looked at him and asked him why he said that. He returned my look with a smile and said, "Good sam-ich." He made my day!

He also thinks quite highly of himself. Tonight in the car, he was singing every song on the Laurie Berkner CD and at the end of each one, he congratulated himself...."Good job! Awesome!" What a monkey!

Yesterday at breakfast, Ryan kept saying the same thing over and over again. Something like "Pie-pooey." I couldn't for the life of me figure out what he was trying to say. I kept asking him what kind of cereal he wanted and he kept repeating himself. It finally dawned on me that he was telling me he wanted Pirate Booty for breakfast. I guess it doesn't hurt to ask...

This morning, we were all laying in our bed trying to wake up. Ryan was the last one to join us and when he did, he greeted everyone but Evan with a "Hi,______ (fill in the blank)" Evan felt slighted and said, "Ryan, you didn't say hi to me." Ryan, not missing a beat, turned and said, "Hi, me!" :) Mark and I were cracking up over that one. He's a piece of work.

Clouds, Keyboards, & Chicken Nuggets

This past weekend, we spent a lot of time together as a family while driving in the car. Always interesting. Sometimes it's loud, sometimes it's exhausting, sometimes it's frustrating, and sometimes it's even fun. The comments made during this weekend's car trips were priceless.

Evan was a trip.
Laugh #1: We were driving past a factory and Evan said, "Look, a cloud-making factory!" :)

Laugh #2: Evan asked Mark to take the childlock off the window so he could put it down himself - he IS 4, you know....-as soon as he had control, he started putting it up and down and of course, "ME, TOO" a.k.a., Ryan, started to do the same. Mark told Evan to stop and he said, "I'm just teaching Ryan how to use the keyboard." :)

Laugh #3: We were driving past a huge construction site and Mark asked Evan what he thought was being built there. He said, "Chicken nuggets." Mark asked him what he meant. He said, "Chicken nuggets factory." I think McDonalds should change their name.... :)

We're headed to Boston to visit some friends this weekend. I'm sure the 6 + hour roadtrip will net some more gems. I'll let you know....

Peas & Na Nu

Ryan, who just turned 2, has suddenly begun "talking" up a storm. (We were actually worried about him for a while there) He has become SO polite. He always says please "peas" when he asks for something - "Apple juice, peas." And then comes "Na Nu, Mommy" - thank you. How sweet! Now if we could just work on the messy eating thing!! Somehow, he manages to cover the table in his food - he has even thrown his utensils over the 1/2 wall into the family room. Maybe we should sign him up for baseball...

In this pic, I think he had mushed up a donut, mixed it with his applesauce, and then put his messy hands on his head, hence the "up-do." This morning, I made the mistake - AGAIN!- of bending down to pick up cheerios around his chair while he was still strapped in, giving him the glorious opportunity to grab my hair with his sticky honey-covered fingers. LOVELY! "Ryan, PEAS don't pull mommy's hair!"

Evan has turned into such a little helper lately. He loves helping vaccuum, dust, and he'll even jump at the chance to do the windows if he sees the Windex out. This past weekend, he helped Mark wash the trucks and clean the inside, too. It may not be perfect, but who cares!?! Last night, he gave me a huge hand and spoon-fed Nathan his dinner. What a great big brother :) (most of the time)

Nathan is teething - need I say more? My normally easy-going, smiley guy has not been himself. Yesterday, he took a whole 20 minute nap - ALL DAY! This too shall pass...and I'll wonder where the time went.

Gotta remember to always be "NA"-ful for this precious time I have with my boys - and that saying peas and na-nu will usually get you what you want :)

411

411....everyone uses it - to find a phone number, get an address. Just dial it and there's someone on the other end of the line to help you out.

Here's a thought - wouldn't it be nice if there were a 411 moms could call when they need to find something? The phone, the car keys, the lone shoe, the binky, the blankets that our children cannot sleep without, so-and-so's sippy cup full of milk that will soon curdle and start to stink....
I have wasted more time than I'd like to admit looking for things that are lost or things that we THINK are lost.

Friday, I was frantically running around attempting to get myself packed for a well-deserved girls' weekend getaway to the beach while also trying to get the boys' lunch, keep them from killing one another, and write down any pertinent information Mark might need while I was gone. Ryan sweetly brings me a magnetic clip that we use to keep chip & pretzel bags airtight - JUST the clip. So, I ask him where the bag is that the clip was attached to - he tells me (in his 2 year old language) "the pay-oom" (playroom). I run in the playroom, do a quick glance around, and can't find the bag of Pirate Booty I was eating last night (weak PMS moment). After asking Ryan several more times where the bag is and running back and forth between our family room and playroom to see if I can find it, I give up and figure Mark will come across it after I'm gone.

While all this is transpiring, Mark asks me to call the car dealership to see if our car is finished being inspected. "SURE, I don't have ANYTHING else to do," I lovingly answered....

Can't find the number in the phone book, get frustrated at yet another thing I CAN'T FIND and tell Mark I give up. He suggests I call 411 to get the number. Easy as pie. As I'm dialing the dealership, it dawns on me how valuable such a service would be for mothers such as myself who waste lots of time looking for "lost" items. IF ONLY....

Never did find that bag of Pirate Booty - come to find out that Mark finished the bag after I went to bed and left the magnetic clip in the family room....gotta love it!

ME, TOO!

Me, too! Me, too! I must say that when I saw that my younger sister, Megan, started a blog while home with a 3 yr old, 18 mo old, and a 3 wk old, I was impressed! And all I could think was that if she could do it, so could I: hence, the "ME, TOO" title. Kind of funny, since my grandparents have told us they used to call Megan "ME TOO" because that's all she used to say when we were little - she always wanted to do what I was doing. Now, I see the same thing happening with Evan and Ryan....Ryan says, "ME TOO" to WHATEVER Evan says or does. TOO cute, but also potentially dangerous. Not that Ryan doesn't have a knack for getting into scrapes completely on his own (see side bar). :)

With that said, I HAVE been mulling over the idea to start a blog as of late. I think I've been blogging in my head for quite a while now and I always think to myself - hey, I need to write this down - not necessarily because it's a groundbreaking thought or anything - usually because it's funny and I want to remember it happened. So in that spirit, I am officially a "BLOGGER" and I hope I don't bore anyone to death with my ramblings about life as I see it as a mother of 3 and wife of 1.

Thank you, Megan, for giving me the kick in the pants that I needed....
Amy