Peanut Butter and Jelly

I haven't written in a while, so here is a little snapshot of the Harrison house.

(This takes place as we're eating lunch.)

Luke:  Mom, can I make a suggestion?

Me:  A suggestion?  Let's hear it.

Luke:  Well, I see the peanut butter and jelly on the counter.  I think you should put the lids on them and put them back in the cabinet and the refrigerator.

Me:  I agree.  I'll do that after we eat.  Good suggestion. 

Luke:  See, sometimes, if I see them on the counter and they don't have the lids, I just take a little lick.  If the lids were on, I would get frustrated that I couldn't open the jar and I wouldn't stick my tongue in it.  If it is open, I just have to take a little taste!

A new jar of peanut butter is open and safely in the cabinet.

Kayaking

Right after Benjamin was born, my mom and I decided to take a Zumba class.  I wanted to lose baby weight and she loves to try out new things, so we thought it would be fun.  On the very first day, we arrived late, forgot our waters, and had absolutely no idea what we were doing.  Even worse, in Zumba, some of the moves had the group turning in different directions so that at one point, we went from being in the back of the class to being in the front where the rest of the class could see our lack of Latin dancing skills.  We were pretty bad at it, but we had a blast (until we got into the habit of skipping class and going to Target to shop for the boys).  We both enjoy (light) exercise and trying out something new.



This should be a picture of my mom and I together, but usually we're taking all the pictures!  Olivia will stand in for me.

This morning, my mom called to see if I wanted to go kayaking down the river at our local park.  It turned out to be a wonderful afternoon that I will remember for a long time.  We managed to not fall into the river (although my poor mom had to sacrifice her clean feet to get our kayaks out of the mud and onto the shore) and we actually looked like we knew what we were doing.  We just drifted down the river watching the ducks, geese and a beautiful heron.  We listened to the sounds of the river and I was amazed at how the park could be loud and quiet all at the same time. 



My favorite part of the whole trip was talking about my Grandpa Huber who passed away suddenly when I was only a few months old.  I learned about his passion for baseball.  Luke will someday be over-the-moon excited to learn that back in the day he tried out for the Washington Senators and made the team.  He had to decline the offer because baseball players didn't earn as much in those days and he wanted to take care of his family.  He was competitive like Luke too.  She told me that he didn't laugh at everything.  People had to earn that laugh, but when they earned it, they felt really good about themselves.  We laughed because she may as well have been describing Benjamin.  I learned more about how much he loved his brothers and sisters and the pride that he had in his family. 




Relaxation.  Exercise.  Time with my mom.  Family history.  Yeah, we absolutely have to do this again.

Dear Luke, Benjamin and Olivia

Dear Luke, Benjamin and Olivia,

This week was potentially life-changing for you and for our family.   Your Daddy is changing jobs.  I know that doesn't sound like much, but it really is.  I really want for you to learn a few things from what is happening, but first let me give you some background.

Daddy had a good job.  He was paid well, got along well with his co-workers, and was good at what he did.  One of our biggest problems, however, was that he was gone.  A lot.  Many days, he left the house before you woke up and was home for only a couple of hours before you went to bed.  He literally spent 10 hours (at least) each week in the car.  Also, as much as he was good at his job, his position was not necessarily his dream or passion.  He decided about two years ago that it was time for a change, but he didn't know what it was.

What did he do?

1.  He (and I) prayed.  Often.  Remember that kids.  It is important. 

2.  He talked to other men who were experiencing the same struggles.  Sometimes, you feel a little better knowing that you are not alone.

3.  He figured out what his passions are.  This actually took a little bit of time. 

4.  He was patient, but always looked for an opportunity.

5.  He talked to experts and asked questions.  Trust me.  This decision was not made in a matter of hours, but rather throughout days, weeks and months of research.

6.  Daddy studied for almost 2 years to pass 4 different tests.  What is really amazing is that he managed to do all of the studying while working a full time job and spending as much time as possible with us.  For the most part, if he was home and you were awake, he didn't study.  He got up early in the morning (even on weekends and on vacations) and stayed up later each night after you went to sleep so that he could study for these tests.  

"We are proud of Daddy" banner after he passed his first test.

7.  He made sure that we were financially prepared.  We've been saving for this transition and we feel that we're ready for it.

8.  He's willing to do whatever it takes to make this work.  Right now, he is planning to work an additional part time job during this transition.  Even with the extra work, he is trying to make his schedule afford our family more time together.

9.  He's remembering why we are making this transition.  We may have some extra challenges at first, but eventually we hope to have more time together as a family.  He'll be able to arrange his schedule so that he can come to your sports and activities and we'll be able to travel together.  Hopefully, we'll be able to help other people in ways that we haven't been able to help before now.

Daddy and I know that you aren't going to understand the magnitude of this change now.  You're 4.5, 2.5 and 8 months.  Someday, however, I hope that you look back and understand what has happened.  I hope that you realize that God's plan may require you to take a step of faith and do something that makes you excited, hopeful and terrified all at the same time.  When that happens, I hope that you look back on this week and know that it is worth it.   Calculate the risk.  Ask people for advice.  Make sure that you are taking care of your responsibilities.   Don't forget that you can't recapture time with your family.  Plan.  Work hard.  Be patient.  Pray.

Our Day

Here is a typical day at the Harrison house from the viewpoints of the kids:

Olivia (7 months)
Wake up
Eat
Roll on the ground and smile
Eat
Sleep
Repeat.






Luke (4.5)
Wake up and ask about the score from yesterday's Tigers game.
Watch highlights.
Play Sports Center
Request to stay in pajamas all day.
Eat.
Play baseball.
Eat a peanut butter and jelly.
Play baseball guys.
Draw a baseball (or ocean) picture.
Eat.
Watch baseball.
Bath
Go to bed.

Ben (2.5)

Wake up and watch Super Why.
Ask for a yogurt.  Follow Mom upstairs while repeating "O-gurt?  O-gurt?  O-gurt?" Eat a strawberry-banana yogurt
Run to his room to supervise picking out his clothess for the day.
The following list can be completed in any order throughout the morning:
      Touch everything in the house.
       Eat graham crackers.
      Walk through Luke's baseball guys and "accidentally" knock them over.
      Jump off the couch at least 30 times.
      Dump out a 100 piece puzzle and change his mind about putting it together.
      Find a way to put the words "poo poo" into an every day song.
      Find a way to get wet.
      Demand to change clothes because they are wet.
      Get a new bruise.
Eat a tortilla and a cheese stick for lunch.
Take a nap.
The following list can be completed in any order throught the afternoon:
      Touch everything in the house (again)
      Ask what is for dinner and repeat it over and over again (ex: "Noodles?  I have noodles? 
           Noodles?  I have noodles?  Noodles?  I have noodles?")
      Rearrange the dishes on the table.
      Get a new bruise (again)
Look at dinner.
Climb all over anyone who is sitting down.
Bath.
Bed.
     
     

What We Did on Our Spring Vacation

Last week, we took our first vacation as a family of five. With the exception of a baby who did not like the rolling hills of the South, everything went very smoothly and we had a wonderful time. I am purposefully listing what we did well so that I don't forget things next time!
1. Car Ride down - Before leaving, I created two baskets of car goodies. I included some familiar favorites as well as a few new items from the dollar section at Target. One of my best items was a $5 Scooby Doo movie that the boys watched at least 5 times. I put one basket between the boys when we left and then switched the baskets halfway through our trip.


2. Rented a house - We have become big fans of renting a house when we go on family trips. We end up with at least 2 rooms, a kitchen and a living room so that we aren't tripping over each other in a hotel room. Once the boys woke up, Aaron (who is an early bird) played with them in the living room while Olivia and I caught up on our sleep.


3. Invited the grandparents- Aaron's parents live 500 miles away, so this trip was great because we got to visit with them and take a vacation at the same time. As a bonus perk, adults actually outnumbered kids!

Olivia chatting with MoMo and Papa on the side porch

4. Met up with the great-grandparents - Aaron's grandparents drove about 6 hours to come visit us. They decided to stay 2 nights at a house on the same property. It was wonderful to have a chance for the boys to spend time with them in a comfortable environment where they could run around and be themselves while making memories with family.

Great Grandma and Great Grandpa looking for rocks for Ben to throw into the catfish pond

5. Grilled every night - Aaron finds grilling to be very relaxing and I find having someone else cook for me to be very relaxing! We ate some amazing meals and stuffed ourselves silly!

6. Day trip - I promised Aaron that I would only book one day trip so that we were not running around like crazy while we were needing to relax. We took a little trip to Mammoth Caves which is only an hour away from the rental house. We walked on the hiking trails (the boys found chipmunks and a huge lizard that they were able to chase) and took a tour of one of the caves.

My only Mammoth Caves picture - Aaron had just returned from yet another trip to the van for something we had forgotten.  Keeping 3 children from falling into the cave crevices trumped picture-taking. 

7. A big Final treat - The boys love to learn about the ocean, so I tried to find an aquarium to visit while we were in Tennessee. Instead of an aquarium, I found something even better - a restaurant called The Aquarium! We went for dessert and were treated to a gigantic aquarium in the middle of the restaurant with all of the boys' favorite sea life. They saw sharks, sting rays, starfish, eels and every tropical fish they could imagine.

8. Threw the schedule completely out the window - I love routine, but during our trip I managed to let it go. Bedtime was later than usual and nap times were flexible. I'm glad we did, because it led to a really great memory of catching fireflies with the boys while Aaron's grandparents watched on the side porch and told memories of doing the same thing while they were kids.

9.  Spend time outside- This was one of the first weeks of summer weather that we've really experienced.  The whole family spent most of our time outside.

10.  Kept the tv off - The boys kept up with the Tigers on the computer and watched highlights, but for the most part, they watched very little tv.

11.  Let the boys do somethings that they aren't often allowed to do at home.

Ben playing with the water coming from the gutters during a rain shower.

12.    Kept some rules the same.

If you don't eat your dinner, you don't eat a Smore.

13.  Enjoyed just being with our kids.

Money Sense

While out to dinner tonight, our waitress gave the boys little buckets of crayons and pizza pictures to color.  As soon as Luke looked in his bucket, he found a little rubber pencil topper in the shape of a walrus.  It was something you might find in one of those little quarter machines outside of grocery stores or the mall.  Needless to say, it was pretty much the coolest toy that he had seen in his entire life.

Here is the conversation that followed:

Luke:  Can I bring this home?

Me: No, that isn't ours.  We'll leave it here for the next kid to play with while he waits for his pizza.

10 minute break to eat breadsticks

Waitress:  Is there anything else I can get for you?

Me: No, we're all set.

Luke (as waitress was walking away):  I'll pay $40 for the walrus.  (Waitress didn't hear.)

Me:  Do you have $40?

Luke: No, but I would pay $50.

Me:  Where are you going to get $50?

Luke looks at Aaron.

Aaron:  Sorry, buddy. 

Luke:  Well, okay.  Does anyone want to play Alligator House?

Aaron:  How do you play?

Luke:  I'll tell you for $40.

Why we eat at home

As a kid, we didn't go out to eat too often.  My dad is an awesome cook and since he was home from work two hours before my mom, he was usually in charge of making dinner.  We ate together as a family almost every night.  I never had to ask what time to be home, because dinner was going to be at 5:30.  If you were late, you were not promised leftovers and could possibly end up with a bowl of cereal (at least, this is what we were told . . . . Dinner in my family was not something to be messed around with or missed!  At 5:30, we needed to be fed!)

Dinner as a family is one of the traditions that has been carried over into our little family.  We eat as soon as Aaron comes in the door from work.  If he is more than 5 minutes late, he knows that we may have made him a plate and started without him.  I try my best to have a decent meal (with a veggie!) each night and we almost always eat together.  We do end up having pizza about once every week or two and fast food occasionally makes it into our house for lunch, but going out is very rare.  When we do go out to eat, we will go to IHOP, Pizza Hut or Red Robin.



Typical summer lunch at our house

Tonight was one of those rare nights.  The kids and I went to Greenfield Village with a group of friends this morning.  It was very sunny and very hot.  We had a great time, but were completely cooked by the end of the excursion.  I had no motivation to make dinner, so we decided to take everyone out for pizza at a quaint,little Italian restaurant.  It is actually a little place that Aaron and I frequented before we had kids. 

The kids did great, however, at one point, Luke (after being reminded for the thirty-fifth time to not talk in an outside voice) asked (in an outside voice), "Where are all the televisions?"

Maybe we need to do this more often . . .

Snips and Snails and Swirlies

I grew up in a pretty quiet home.  My sister and I were always pretty mellow.  Books were for reading.  Dolls were for dressing up and caring for.  Game pieces were used for playing the games according to the rules.  When friends came over, we would go in our rooms to play until dinner time.  The loudest game I remember playing was NOK Hockey or pool. 

How I ended up in a house with two little boys is a complete mystery to me.  Neither Luke nor Benjamin would ever be described as mellow.  Everything around here is loud.  Books are used for reading, but also for stacking on top of each other to reach the light switch (and then falling on their heads).  Action figures fly around the room, jump on every piece of furniture, are tied to a string and then flung across the room at a stack of blocks.  Game pieces are used as ammo.  When friends come over, they run while yelling/laughing at the top of their lungs.  Everything is loud.

My sister and I liked to play dress up.  My boys prefer to run around in their underwear.

This morning, I was feeding Olivia while the boys were playing together.  I was talking to my sister on the phone, so I had closed the door.  All of a sudden, I heard something come from the bathroom that never would've been heard in my house as a child.

"Ben, just stick your head in and I'll flush!"

By the way, this is what happens when you leave your camera on the counter while you put the baby to bed.  Photos courtesy of Benjamin

Routine

When Luke was born, one of my first missions was to establish a routine. From the time that he was about 2 months old, we had a written schedule posted on the refrigerator detailing when he would (most likely) eat, "play" and sleep. I scheduled events completely around his nap and feeding schedule and, for the most part, he kept to the schedule unless he was sick. To this day, he prefers to have a plan with set times for his day. If you ask him, he will tell you that he wakes up at "seven - zero - zero," watches his show, eats breakfast, goes to school or plays at home, eats lunch, watches one more show, takes a nap at 2:00, drinks apple juice, eats dinner, plays, takes a bath, eats snack and goes to bed. He likes knowing what is going to happen and when.

When Benjamin came along, all bets were off. When I would normally be starting to solidify a routine, I was in complete survival mode. He had whooping cough and for at least a month would wake up coughing every 45 minutes. Night and Day. During every coughing spurt, one of us had to rock him to help him calm down, so we were both only half awake from mid-April until the beginning of June.   Once everything settled down, we established our new routine and kept to it as much as possible.

Having three children, however, has changed life in our house.  For the past two weeks, I've been trying to write down our daily routine to hang on the refrigerator.  (I like to do this so that in case I have to rush out and leave the kids with someone new, they'll know what we usually do and when.  Like I said, my kids thrive on routine.)  It hasn't worked a bit.  With an infant and a potty training toddler, one day never looks like the last.  Sometimes we eat lunch at 11:30, other times we eat at 1:00.  Sometimes the boys are dressed by 8:00 and sometimes we all stay in our jammies until 5:30.  Bedtime and my work time are still set in stone, but everything else is up for grabs.

Boys in their jammies after Easter Sunday dinner.

Four years ago, I would've found this to be extremely frustrating.  After all, how was I going to schedule doctor's appointments and play dates if we didn't have a schedule?   Now, however, I find it to be somewhat freeing. 

I'm starting to enjoy the flexibility to our day.  I was so proud of myself for choosing to go at the last minute with the boys and my parents to the zoo on Good Friday.   I didn't schedule anything around Olivia's feedings, but just decided that I'd find a place to feed her when she was ready.  I gave the go-ahead to visit the monkey exhibit even though it was dangerously close to lunchtime (although, my mom saved the day with her bag of Nana snacks!).  And, even though it was already right at the boys' nap time, I agreed to go to lunch at Wendy's.  We had a great day, made some memories, and even though we threw our routine out the window, everyone recovered and (as my friend Michele would say) no one died.

Right before Ben fell off the turtle statue.

Watching the hippo get a bath and lunch.

I even sometimes find myself doing spur of the moment things like walking home from my parents' house (a mile or so) with the boys at 7:30 at night.  Yes, I should have dressed them warmer and started out earlier, but we had a great time at the park and they were completely exhausted when we arrived home!

Young Romeo

I am constantly amazed at how my two boys are so different. Luke enjoys being an active member of any group, while Ben prefers to observe from the sidelines. Ben is persistent in solving problems, while Luke truly prefers everything to work perfectly immediately. Luke loves sweets. Ben cried at his first birthday party because we tried to get him to eat cake.

Most recently, however, I've noticed that both of my boys are big fans of the ladies. Very. Big. Fans. Sigh . . . They have very different approaches in their attempts to get a foot in the front door.

Ben has always been more drawn to older women (must be at least 12). Even as a baby, he would stare down men and give a great big smile to women. He acts very shy and makes them work hard to get that first smile. Once they've shown that they're willing to put in the effort, he rewards them with smiles and cuddles. He sits in their laps to read books and won't let them go to do anything else (as long as they obey his every command).

Luke, on the other hand, likes girls who are slightly closer to his age (between 4-13ish). Yesterday, his friend A came over for an hour while her mom went to an appointment. Luke was excited. . . no ecstatic . . . about her arrival. He watched out the window while nearly jumping out of his skin while he waited for her. She was coming over close to lunchtime, so I decided to distract him with a PB&J. A arrived just as he was sitting down to eat, so I told him that he could play as soon as he finished his lunch. A sat down to talk with my sister and I. She was so sweet and I could tell that she enjoyed chatting and being "one of the girls."

Luke could see that his opportunity to have every ounce of her attention was slowly vanishing. After all, this is the girl that he has proclaimed at least once a week will be his future wife. (He really is very convinced of this). He knew that he had to act quickly.

Q: What is a young Romeo to do??
A: Shove your entire PB&J into your mouth.

A was completely mortified. Luke knew he had to regroup and come up with a better idea.

Q: What is a young Romeo to do??
A: Play that you're a skunk and pretend to spray her.

A thought this was a little funny, yet a little strange. She gave him a courtesy giggle and tried to make the best of her crazy little playmate. Luke could tell that things were not going quite as successfully as he had planned.

Q: What is a young Romeo to do??
A: Give up. At this point, Luke looked at her and said, "A. My sister has dolls. We can play with those if you want."

Looks like we have a while before we have to worry about his first date.

Oh, Ben

Luke is (usually) Mr.Flexibility, but Benjamin is my little boy with a mind of his own. Ben likes to
feel that anything he does was his decision. This generally applies to every part of his day. Every. Single. Part.

Now, many people would label him as stubborn, but since I know that he mainly gets this from me,I prefer to call him independent.

Independence can be a wonderful trait. I am hopeful that it will be what causes him to resist
peer pressure and be his own person. When other people tell him that he isn't big enough, strong enough, smart enough, whatever enough, I pray his little independent spirit will tell them that he is content with the person God designed him to be and that they can just deal with it.

Stubbornness, however, is what I am dealing with now. If someone else suggests it, Ben does not want to do it. You could say, "Ben, come eat your ice cream sundae!" and he would
absolutely refuse. He has to feel that eating that sundae was his choice. Our best method of getting our little two year old to do anything is to make him feel as if he was making a choice. We find two options that are both satisfactory to Aaron and I, then allow Ben to make a decision.

(Now, there are times where he has no choice. He can pick which book to read in the car, but he has no choice about being strapped into his car seat. He can pick which stuffed animals to bring to
bed at night, but he has to stay in bed. We have also been known to use my friend Susie's expression, "You git what you git and you don't pitch a fit! Ben knows “the look” and he can
tell when we’re not messing around.)

Examples:

Problem: It is 40 degrees out and Ben needs to wear a jacket.
Choice: Ben, do you want to wear the blue jacket or the green jacket?

Problem: Ben doesn't want to eat his dinner.
Choice: Ben, do you want to eat your broccoli first or your chicken?

Problem: Ben doesn't want to pick up the blocks.
Choice: Ben, are you going to pick up the red blocks first or the blue blocks first?

I know people who would completely disagree with me on this issue. Some would say, "He just
turned two! He doesn't need choices! He just needs to obey his mom and dad."

I agree and disagree, but probably only as a matter of wording.

Agree: Ben does have to learn to obey his parents, but that is why we offer the choice before he flat out refuses. We've learned a great deal about how Ben operates and already know what is going to cause him to turn into a puddle of Benjamin mush.

Disagree: Everything we do is a choice. Aaron chooses to get up and go to work in the morning to support our family. I choose to make sure that my kids are fed, dressed (well, most of the time) and cared for every day. We choose to use our money to pay our bills so that we can live in
our house. We choose to go to church as a family every Sunday. We choose to obey laws.

As a parent, part of my responsibilities (that I choose to fulfill) is to teach my kids to make good
choices. I'm also teaching them that each choice comes with consequences. They are learning that obeying their parents is a choice, but that if they choose to disobey, they will face consequences. Every. Single. Time.

I think that one of the biggest things I've learned from being a parent is to look at the future goals that we've set for our children (Aaron and I have actually made a list, but that is for a future post) and keep the long term in mind. I can't wait to see what God had in mind when he created this little stubborn, independent, contrary and adorable Ben.

God Answers Even Little Prayers

Luke absolutely loves his preschool class. He loves his teachers. He loves his friends. He loves everything about it. Of course, his favorite part of preschool, though, are the parties. Now, I use the term "parties" loosely, because as my friend Pamela once told me, they are most structured parties she's ever attended. The teachers set up several stations that are manned by parent volunteers and the kids rotate between them doing little activities.

After the last party (Valentines Day), Luke subtly mentioned that it sure would be nice if one of his parents could come to his party. I promised that I would try, but explained that with Ben and Olivia, I have a hard time finding time to even get dressed in the morning, so getting to a party is what his Daddy would call a "stretch-goal." He completely forgot about it (as did I) until last night.

"Mom, are you coming to my party?"

"No, baby. I have to stay here with Ben and Olivia."

"Is Daddy coming to my party?"

"No, he has to work."

"Oh . . . "

He was so sweet about it. I could see the disappointment in his eyes, but he didn't say a word. I felt terrible.

I spent this morning trying to figure out how I could get to this party at the last minute. My parents are awesome at helping out with the boys, but they both had commitments this morning. I have lots of friends who are great about babysitting too, but I couldn't figure out a schedule to make it work, especially since Olivia was going to need to eat 15 minutes before the party started and they all live 15-20 minutes away. Aaron assured me that Luke would have to learn to understand that this is part of having siblings and that Luke wouldn't require counseling (at least for this) later on down the road, so I said a quick prayer asking for some way to get me to the party.

Not even 10 minutes later, my grandma called and asked if she could come over to get a "kid fix." I fed Olivia and we were out the door (Benjamin was very happy to have his Grannie Bop to himself).

Luke wasn't quite sure what to do when we walked into his class. He kissed and hugged both Olivia and me at least 10 times and I could see how proud he was to have us there. On the way home he said, "Mom, thank you, thank you, thank you for coming to my party."

Sometimes it is easy to forget how the little things are the big things to your kids. . . .

A Toast to Simplicity

At least once a day, I daydream about how different life will be in ten years. The kids will be 10, 12 and 14. We will be done with diaper bags, sippy cups and car seats. They'll all be able to brush their own teeth, dress themselves, clean their own faces and make their own lunches. They'll be able to clean up their own messes and do the chores that I dread like folding laundry and cleaning the bathrooms. Everyone will be able to walk and talk and sleep through the night. ahhh . . . . .

I know that I will miss these days, but sometimes in the midst of chaos, ten years down the line seems so much easier!

Every once in a while, I look at the news and realize how wonderfully simple life is. Here is what I am thankful for . . .


I am thankful that "bad words" on television are words like "stupid" or "shut-up" and aren't on any of Luke's favorite shows anyways.

Pineapple slices are still considered a dessert.

A big punishment is losing the 30 minute tv show before naptime.

Topics of the boys' favorite songs are farm animals and trains.

Even though Olivia only wants to cuddle when I want to go to bed, at least she wants to cuddle.

They believe that we know absolutely everything about everything.

The meanest characters Luke can make up for his stories are the "guys that don't listen to their Mommy and Daddy".

Going out to eat with us is considered a big treat and not an embarassment.

My biggest clothing battles with Olivia are trying to keep her socks on her feet.

Trashing the house means spilling the puzzle pieces all over the living room.

Constantly using their phones does not incur any extra charges on our Verizon bill.

Drowning their sorrows can be done with apple juice.

A high-five is plenty of reward for a job well done.

You sniff markers to find out if they smell like strawberries or peaches.

The greatest injustice in their world is not owning a Scooby Doo movie.

The only money requested for a trip to the mall is a penny for the fountain.

"You have stinky feet," is the dirtiest joke they know.

Four and under are still free at lots of places.

We can still spell in front of them and they have no idea what we're talking about.

They still say words like "pasketti", "melmo" (Elmo) and "Go-Gi" (Yogi).

Hide and seek is ridiculously easy because hey always hide in the same spots. Even if they don't, Ben always lets us know where Luke is.

We never have to guess what the boys are thinking because they think out loud.

They have no concept of war, famine, predators, homelessness, terrorism, unemployment, suicide, eating disorders or school shootings.

Here's to the simple things!

Always a Bridesmaid, Never a Bride

We usually don't allow the boys to bring their toys out of the car. They are guaranteed to get lost. There are certain toys that aren't even allowed out of the house unless we are on vacation or the boys are spending the night somewhere. I know that the boys love these toys so very much and we would have tears for days if they got lost. My other reason is a little more selfish. My parents gave me a hope chest for my high school graduation. There are certain toys that I know I'll keep for a long time in the hope chest because they will always remind me of the boys at these sweet ages.

When Luke was a baby, my grandma would come over to watch him while I went to work a few days each week. Whenever she put him down for a nap, she put a Curious George doll and a little stuffed duck in the crib with him. George and Duckie became Luke's best friends and he dragged them around the house all day long. George, however, was always the main guy (and really still is). George and Duckie were around for every nap and bedtime, but now he just cuddles up with George. He came to Luke's first dentist appointment and first day of school. When Luke had surgery on his thumb, the nurses gave George a little hospital bracelet and put him next to Luke when he woke up from anesthesia.

When Ben was about one and a half, Luke gave him Duckie. Ben was thrilled. He already had his good friend Stanley the Turtle and was quickly becoming attached to his little Elmo doll, but getting a toy from his brother made him soooo cool. Duckie, however, is now playing second fiddle. Sometimes I see Ben cuddling with him, but Elmo and Stanley are really his primary loves. He still insists that Duckie is there for bed, but I think he just needs someone to prop up his pillow to his prefered height (which is where I found Duckie this morning).

Will Duckie someday find his home with a new owner?

George, Stanley and Elmo will definetely have a place in my hope chest, but so will Duckie.

There was a reason I had forgotten this . . .

In the past 7.5 years that we've owned our house, our living room has had at least ten different setups. Aaron loves to rearrange the furniture. He loves to find ways to make the room feel bigger, cleaner and more conducive to everyday life. Before he moves the furniture, he always lays out his plan to me in great detail, assuring me that everything will look wonderful and be more functional for my everyday life. Due to that fact that I've never been an auditory learner and my distaste for change (after all, I just got comfortable with the last furniture rearrangement), I pretend to understand what he's trying to describe and then immediately explain why everything should stay just where it is. We discuss and debate for a few days and then I eventually give in. After a couple weeks, I get used to the whole design and wonder how we ever lived without it.

Well, this week I decided to make a change all on my own. I changed my Facebook design to Timeline. Yes, I live on the edge. After poking around a little bit, I decided that I love it for one particular reason. I can see all of my old statuses and relive all those little memories from the past few years. I am loving all of the little snippets of day to day life that I had forgotten, including a little story from the spring of 2010.

Luke was a little over two and Ben was about 2 months. It was a Saturday morning and Aaron had to work, so the boys and I went out to breakfast with my parents, my sister and her husband. We, of course, went to IHOP which is still one of Luke's favorite places on earth. Looking back, I remember that Ben and I had coughs which turned out to be pertussis, but that is a whole other story . . .

After breakfast, my sister and her husband came back to our house to play with Luke. His first order of business was to show them everything that he owned. He brought out all of his toys, gave them a tour of his room, and proudly showed off his new fish, Dorothy, that he had been given at his cousin's birthday party just a week or two earlier.

It was finally nice enough to venture outside, so Luke and my brother-in-law went out to play. My sister and I stayed inside to hang out, chat and cuddle with little Ben. After a few minutes, he fell asleep, so we set him in his crib and started to get ready to go outside.

As we walked through the living room, my sister looked at the top of the piano and said, "Where did the fish go?"

I came over to the piano and looked. No fish. I looked around the bowl, but she was not there. I stepped back to look on the piano bench when I felt something. Under my toes. In my bare feet.

We learned that day that filling up a goldfish bowl with too much water is a very bad idea. Who knew that suicidal fish could learn to jump?

Thirty mintes later, my sister returned with 2 new fish and a bigger bowl.

Save The Drama for Yo Mama

Yesterday, Luke had a friend over from school. This was not just any friend though. We are talking about one of the friends. We hear about this little friend every single time I pick him up from school. I had made the mistake of telling him a few days before that this friend was coming over and he asked me about it constantly. You would think that after four years of being a parent, I would know not to say anything about a play date that far in advance, but it made it sooooo easy to get him to do anything all weekend. (Let's clean up these toys. We want it to look nice when G comes over. Eat up those green beans. You want to have your energy when G is here.) Yes, I am aware that these tactics are not recommended in any parenting books, but it was soooo convenient!

Of course, the night before his play date, Benjamin got a fever. We had our last 3 play dates canceled due to sickness (either ours or theirs) and I just couldn't bear to cancel this one. He had been looking forward to it for four days and he even ate all of his green beans! So, my dad came to our rescue and watched Benjamin for a couple of hours while Luke's friend was here (Ben of course did not mind a bit. One on one time with a grandparent is always a major treat).

Anyways, the Luke and his friend had a wonderful time together. They played cars, made a boat and ran off energy for about an hour and a half. They had a blast together and it was a very special treat for Luke. None of the kids were ready for it to end, but G's mom and I promised that we would try this again soon.

On the way out the door, G's mom mentioned that the kids could watch a little Scooby Doo movie on the car ride home. As they pulled out of the driveway, Luke waved from the window and then turned to me with a look that I know all too well.

This particular look is one that you might see if someone had shot your dog. He stared at the floor with his saddest eyes he could muster. He slouched his shoulders and walked so, so slowly with his head hanging down.

a re-enactment

"What's wrong Luke?"

"I'm having a rough day."

"What? You just had your good friend over. You played and had a wonderful time. You even got to have apple juice and animal crackers. What could be so bad?"

"I don't have a Scooby Doo video."

Seriously??

Nice and Clean

Friday morning, Aaron called to check on the family. He let me know that he was coming home early because he had already fulfilled his 40 hours and needed to avoid overtime. We discussed what we needed to do this weekend and negotiated what to have for dinner.

The kids and I had a pretty busy day. I had a doctor's appointment, so the boys got to spend time with their cousins and run off an amazing amount of energy. My sister-in-law has a wonderful route around the living room where her son and my boys run laps while screaming at the top of their lungs. It is a wonderful game because I don't have to be there to supervise. By the time that I picked them up, they were fully exhausted, hungry and in complete meltdown.

We got home and made it through lunch, had a little time for the boys to unwind while taking out every toy that we own, and then it was NAPTIME!! I ushered the kids to their napping spots and went downstairs to work ( I work part-time from home). I was enjoying the silence when I heard someone walking through the house. I yelled to Luke that he better get back into his bed or else. . . ., but the steps kept coming. Just as I was getting up to put Luke back to bed, Aaron's head peaked from around the corner. I had totally forgotten that he was coming home early.

Let me explain how our evening usually works. After the boys get up and have their "wake-up apple juice" (think coffee, but for preschoolers), they play until about 15 minutes before Aaron gets home. During this time, I'm making dinner and cleaning the kitchen. We have the timer set and when it goes off, everyone straightens up the living room and snack bar/art center so that it appears that we have had a highly productive day of cleaning. After a busy day at work, who wouldn't want to come home to a semi-clean house with dinner on the table? (I'll let you believe that this happens everyday.)

Anyways, on this particular day, the house was pretty messy. Thursday had been a pretty rough day, so I had put off straightening up and Friday was just really busy. I had planned to give the boys and myself an extra 10-15 minutes for our evening clean-up. Really . . . I did . . . When Aaron came downstairs, I could see that the chaos of our house was really overwhelming him. He suggested that I take the whole morning on Saturday to go into work to do some paper work while he and the boys cleaned the house on Saturday morning. Ummmm . . . yes!

When I got home on Saturday afternoon, the house was on the way to being spotless and by Saturday night, the job was finished. It was pretty much glowing.

This is what our living room looked like by 9:15 the next day.

I think the whole 5:30 clean-up plan is making more sense to him now!

By the way, the boys are in charge of helping during the day too. For instance, I asked Ben this morning to take all of the stuffed animals to his room. This is what I found as I went into the boys' room.

I think I need to be more specific next time.

My epiphany

Today has been a pretty typical Sunday morning. Normally, we are at church every Sunday, but we have had to stay home from church so many times this winter because we have been hit by an insane number of cold bugs. I'm not sure that we've really had much of a break this season; Luke is in his first year of preschool and has managed to bring home every cold and stomach virus known to man. He even managed to get adenovirus, a nasty cough, cold, pinkeye, vomiting disease that we had never heard of, yet managed to spread to at least 10 family members who at least pretended to be understanding and laid-back about the whole deal. Really, our family only seems to have strange medical issues (rotovirus, adenovirus, whooping cough, toddler trigger finger . . . ). So in order to not infect the entire preschool department of our church (the kids are in 3 different classes), we stayed home in our pajamas.

Anyways, Olivia was sleeping while Luke and Ben were playing with a box in the living room. Aaron's co-workers had bought a beautiful rocking chair for Olivia and it came in a wonderful, jumbo size box. Perfect! Luke was putting on a play and the box was serving as a boat. He was bringing toys from downstairs and was throwing them into the box while narrating the story. I love his stories because they usually combine at least 3 or 4 different stories or movies into a very confusing adventure. He still narrates the story as he goes, even if he is just playing by himself. Ben was dutifully following his brother's example and adding his own little flair to the production. He was feeling so big and important to be playing with his big brother.

That was when it happened.

Luke came over to me and said, "Mom, I'm going downstairs to get more animals."

Now I know this doesn't sound like anything life changing. It really isn't. But as a mom, I realized that a little chapter of Luke's life is closing. For the past 2 years (since he was able to speak somewhat clearly), he has loved his "am-i-nals." He enjoyed eating "aminal" crackers and playing with stuffed "aminals" and seeing the "aminals" at the zoo. Aaron and I had always exchanged a little smile when he said it because it was just so stinkin cute! We even found ourselves slipping and saying it in conversations with other adults! But now that phase is starting to end and it won't come back. Ever. In about a month, we won't even notice that it is gone.

It was at this point that I decided to start a blog. I read somewhere about being a "keeper of memories." Luke, Ben and Olivia are at ages where they won't remember but little snippets of this period of life. Granted, there are some things I don't want them to remember (example: the way the house has looked much of the time during these first couple months of having Olivia home). My three ridiculous kids say and do some of the wackiest, strangest, drive-me craziest, sweetest things and someday they'll have children who are also an enigma to them. I want to keep records of these moments so that they don't disappear.