The boys are both going through a phase where they are saying bye bye to everything they can think of. Bye bye truck, bye bye boo boo, bye bye house, bye bye moon, bye bye airplane, bye bye helicopter, etc.....you get the idea. But today's bye bye was one to remember.
We were getting out of the car and Ben noticed bird poop on the rear of the car. He had noticed it once before and I had told him it was bird poop. So today, both boys were saying "bye bye poop". I couldn't help but laugh at that one. They were saying it over and over, as we left the car to go into the store, and then they were saying it again, over and over, as we drove away from the store. Funny boys:).
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Monday, November 26, 2007
November 26, 2007 - Hodge Podge Update
We had a wonderful Thanksgiving, celebrated at my sister's house with her family, my mom, all three of my brothers, several nieces and nephews and spouses and a great niece (pictured)....and of course, my husband and two sons. I lost count of how many people were there but I think it was somewhere around 18 or 20. It was definitely the largest family crowd that our two sons have seen yet and they seem to have handled it well. They had a great time playing with their big cousin Trent (also pictured). I brought lots and lots of toys and books to keep them busy but they spent more time playing with the toys my niece brought for her little girl. All in all, everyone had a great time, we had wonderful food and it was so nice to see the family again.
These three pictures
were taken when I was making Mississippi Mud, the day before Thanksgiving. The chocolate is from the icing and the white stuff is marshmellow creme. The boys now have a new appreciation for baking.Here is one of the fun activities from the Mommy Teach Me book that I did with the boys today.
They really liked it a lot. The trays are plastic and the pitchers are glass. I showed them how to carefully carry the tray and place it on the table. They both did pretty well. I showed them how to be careful with the pitchers and how to pour the rice slowly, trying to hit the middle of the other pitcher. They were suppose to turn the tray around each time, so they are always pouring from left to right, which also helps preparing to read left to right. They poured it back and forth between the pitchers and into the tray and they picked it up with their fingers. I'm not sure that is exactly how it was suppose to go but the book says the number one thing for this activity is teaching them how to concentrate on a task and I think they did that pretty well. They had fun with it regardless.
I went to a dollar store this weekend to buy a lot of the stuff that I need to do many of the activities in the Mommy Teach Me book. I bought some simple sponges and cut one in half to let them pretend to wash their dishes. They loved that and have cleaned their dishes and pots and pans over and over, in addition to the window, the cabinets, trucks, trains, etc.....you name it, they have tried to clean it. Of course, they were using a dry sponge, so nothing is really clean:). But they had fun and I had fun watching them and telling them what a good job they were doing.
The really disappointing news is that we took Ben back to the plastic surgeon today and his scar is not looking good at all. The surgeon took one look at it and said, with a frown, "this is not acceptable". Apparently, his body reacted to the dissolving type stitches very badly, meaning he is allergic to them. The result is that the scar is wider than it should be. It looks as if it pulled apart before it healed. And you can very clearly see the little holes where the stitches were.
This means that we have to redo the surgery. I almost cried when we were driving away and I had a chance to really digest this. We go back to the plastic surgeon in two months to see how the scar is doing and how much scar tissue is there. We'll continue to pray about this over the next couple of months and I know God will get us through it. I just feel really bad for Ben, that he has to go through this all over again. That's what makes me more sad than anything else.
Other than that, things here are great:)! Overall, we are all healthy, happy, having a great time together and still counting our blessings:).
Thursday, November 22, 2007
November 22, 2007 - Being Thankful
I am so very thankful that we are sharing our Thanksgiving with our children this year. They are such a joy to our lives. Yesterday my sister was saying how she had just been thinking about what joy they have brought to our entire family and how thankful she is for them too. Yes, we are very very blessed and I thank our heavenly Father for that.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
November 21, 2007 - Busy Boys
Here are some fun pictures I have taken over the past couple of weeks.Nick was putting together some bread and veggies for a pretend snack. It was most amusing to watch him work. Notice the plate on the left, with the two cars on top of the tomato. Doesn't that look yummy?! Apparently it does to a little boy:)!
One day the boys and I had a fun time coloring and drawing on paper and envelopes, folding the papers and putting them into the envelopes and pretending to mail them.Notice how Ben holds his pencil the right way. I only showed him how to do this once. Nick, on the other hand, gets upset with me if I try to show him how to hold his pencil.
This is a little train set that my brother, SIL and niece gave the boys at a shower, before the boys ever came home. I got it out the other day for the first time but it is really for 3 years old and up....and for good reason. They spent more time taking it apart than anything else so, after a day or two, I put it away again.
This is a great toy and they are still playing with it a lot. Nick has especially enjoyed it, more so than Ben for some reason.
The boys were doing somersaults. Nick would get in position and then pat his bottom, which he could barely reach, and say to Ben "pish, pish", "brother, pish" (translation, push:), and then Ben would push him over. It was really cute.
Yesterday afternoon, the boys and I spent a lot of time outside playing. We had been out for a while when I remembered that my sister gave us some sidewalk chalk. I'm not sure who had more fun with it, them or me:).
I am sure who got more of it on their clothes...them! I had to strip them down before I let them into the house. Good thing it was still warm outside.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
November 20, 2007 - The Cuteness Never Stops!
I have grown weary of hearing Ben scream. He screams anytime things don't go his way. Yesterday he was screaming because Nick was trying to take a toy away from him. So, I taught him how to say "mine":). This is a word that the boys had not starting using yet because they really have not heard it around here much. So I taught him the word and we role-played him having a toy and me trying to take it from him.
At the time, it seemed like a good idea. I want him to learn how to use words, rather than screaming. But, in retrospect, I am thinking that this one will most likely back fire on me. In my vivid imagination, I can already hear him *screaming* "mine!!", even if I am trying to take something from him that he should not have. Oh well, what's a mom to do?
The boys and I have started playing this game when we listen to this one song on their music CD. There is a song with a chorus that says "I'm gonna get you; you'd better run!". It is a very upbeat, fun song and I just couldn't resist chasing them, while singing the song. They absolutely love being chased. They giggle and laugh and they are never ready to stop. When the song is over, I am exhausted and they want to go "again". I think they could do this for hours. It is good exercise.
Yesterday evening, when the dad got home, the boys were sitting in my lap and we were reading a book. We have finally gotten to the point where they will both sit in a lap and let us read the same book to the two of them at the same time. For the longest time, Nick wanted to hold and control his own book and did not want us to read to him. He enjoyed looking at the pictures and talking about them but had little interest or attention span for listening to us read. Now he loves it and will climb into a lap and say "read" to us. I digress. So we were reading a book together and they heard the garage door go up. They both got down and ran to the door and Nick was saying "daddy home, daddy home".
When the dad goes to the bedroom to change his clothes, the boys love to go with him and hide in the clothes, open and close the various doors, play with the digital scales or turn light switches on and off. Ben had been in the library/playroom, when Nick and the dad went to the bedroom. When Ben realized he was missing out on the bedroom play time, he ran in that direction saying "daddy home, daddy home". It was so cute.
Overall, I think the boys are pretty neck and neck, when it comes to their communication skills and vocabulary size. They are both saying more and more 2 word phrases/sentences, although Ben seems more likely to repeat them now, when I say to them "say night night daddy" or something like that. When Ben gets a positive response from me, Nick usually jumps in and tries to say it too.
Yesterday I was singing "Jesus loves me, this I know..." to the boys. Ben started singing it with me and it was **SO** sweet. It almost made me cry. It is just too precious to hear a small child sing. He really did pretty well on the chorus ("Yes, Jesus loves me; yes, Jesus loves me; yes, Jesus loves me; the Bible tells me so.) He could say most of it and he mumbled any words that he missed. He and I were looking at each other while we sang it together and we both had a huge smile on our faces and it was just too adorable. We both laughed together when we finished and then he would say "again?".
We have struggled in the past with the boys wanting to play with the light switches. They have gotten much better about this now and I try to remember to ask one of them to turn the lights on and off for me, since they enjoy it so much. Yesterday evening, we were getting the boys ready for bed and Nick was looking for his Ya Ya. I told him I thought it was in the library/playroom so he ran in there by himself. Normally when he saw that the room was dark, he would stop and come back, look at me and sometimes would say "help". He did not want to go into the dark room by himself. Last night, for the first time, he handled it differently. The light was off in that room and it was already dark. As he went into the room, I heard him say "light" and then the light came on. Next I heard him mumbling, as he was looking for Ya Ya and then I heard "Ya Ya!", when he found it. Next I heard "light" again and he turned out the light and ran back into the living room. It was the first time I have seen either of the boys actually go through this whole process, realizing they need the light and using the light switch as it is meant to be used. I thought for sure he would leave the room with the light still on, so I was quite surprised when he remember to turn it off again. My little boys are growing up:(…:).
They have also gotten to the point that, when the dryer buzzer goes off, they run ahead of me into the laundry room because they enjoy helping to remove the clothes from the dryer and dumping them into a laundry basket. When I tell them I am going to the laundry room to put clothes in the dryer, they also run along with me. When I drop the clothes on the dryer door, they like to push them into the dryer.
They are still having a great time, playing with the large box in which the new furnace came. Yesterday I turned it on its side, so it is more like a cave, and it became a whole new, interesting toy again:). I am in search of some new, good puzzles, as the boys can work all of the puzzles we have now.
We were at Walmart yesterday and they have these Christmas trees set up as you enter the store. The trees were there last week too, so the boys have already seen them a couple of times and I have told them what they are. Yesterday, as we walked by one, Ben pointed to the tree and said "Christmas tree!", as big as you please. I said "yes, that is a Christmas tree; isn't it pretty?".
Lately I have written a lot about what the boys say. When I do this, I am writing what they are trying to say, rather than the actual way they are saying it. Their words frequently do not come out as clearly as I write them but I am not good at writing their words the actual way they say them, if you know what I mean. In other words, they do not speak that clearly and the dad frequently does not understand what they are saying. Since I am with them all the time, I normally know what they are saying. I just didn't want everyone thinking that they are saying all of these words perfectly clear, as an adult would, even though that is the way I write their words here. It's just easier for me to write it that way....I'm all for easy:).
I can't believe that Thanksgiving is only two days away. I can't wait! Happy Thanksgiving!
At the time, it seemed like a good idea. I want him to learn how to use words, rather than screaming. But, in retrospect, I am thinking that this one will most likely back fire on me. In my vivid imagination, I can already hear him *screaming* "mine!!", even if I am trying to take something from him that he should not have. Oh well, what's a mom to do?
The boys and I have started playing this game when we listen to this one song on their music CD. There is a song with a chorus that says "I'm gonna get you; you'd better run!". It is a very upbeat, fun song and I just couldn't resist chasing them, while singing the song. They absolutely love being chased. They giggle and laugh and they are never ready to stop. When the song is over, I am exhausted and they want to go "again". I think they could do this for hours. It is good exercise.
Yesterday evening, when the dad got home, the boys were sitting in my lap and we were reading a book. We have finally gotten to the point where they will both sit in a lap and let us read the same book to the two of them at the same time. For the longest time, Nick wanted to hold and control his own book and did not want us to read to him. He enjoyed looking at the pictures and talking about them but had little interest or attention span for listening to us read. Now he loves it and will climb into a lap and say "read" to us. I digress. So we were reading a book together and they heard the garage door go up. They both got down and ran to the door and Nick was saying "daddy home, daddy home".
When the dad goes to the bedroom to change his clothes, the boys love to go with him and hide in the clothes, open and close the various doors, play with the digital scales or turn light switches on and off. Ben had been in the library/playroom, when Nick and the dad went to the bedroom. When Ben realized he was missing out on the bedroom play time, he ran in that direction saying "daddy home, daddy home". It was so cute.
Overall, I think the boys are pretty neck and neck, when it comes to their communication skills and vocabulary size. They are both saying more and more 2 word phrases/sentences, although Ben seems more likely to repeat them now, when I say to them "say night night daddy" or something like that. When Ben gets a positive response from me, Nick usually jumps in and tries to say it too.
Yesterday I was singing "Jesus loves me, this I know..." to the boys. Ben started singing it with me and it was **SO** sweet. It almost made me cry. It is just too precious to hear a small child sing. He really did pretty well on the chorus ("Yes, Jesus loves me; yes, Jesus loves me; yes, Jesus loves me; the Bible tells me so.) He could say most of it and he mumbled any words that he missed. He and I were looking at each other while we sang it together and we both had a huge smile on our faces and it was just too adorable. We both laughed together when we finished and then he would say "again?".
We have struggled in the past with the boys wanting to play with the light switches. They have gotten much better about this now and I try to remember to ask one of them to turn the lights on and off for me, since they enjoy it so much. Yesterday evening, we were getting the boys ready for bed and Nick was looking for his Ya Ya. I told him I thought it was in the library/playroom so he ran in there by himself. Normally when he saw that the room was dark, he would stop and come back, look at me and sometimes would say "help". He did not want to go into the dark room by himself. Last night, for the first time, he handled it differently. The light was off in that room and it was already dark. As he went into the room, I heard him say "light" and then the light came on. Next I heard him mumbling, as he was looking for Ya Ya and then I heard "Ya Ya!", when he found it. Next I heard "light" again and he turned out the light and ran back into the living room. It was the first time I have seen either of the boys actually go through this whole process, realizing they need the light and using the light switch as it is meant to be used. I thought for sure he would leave the room with the light still on, so I was quite surprised when he remember to turn it off again. My little boys are growing up:(…:).
They have also gotten to the point that, when the dryer buzzer goes off, they run ahead of me into the laundry room because they enjoy helping to remove the clothes from the dryer and dumping them into a laundry basket. When I tell them I am going to the laundry room to put clothes in the dryer, they also run along with me. When I drop the clothes on the dryer door, they like to push them into the dryer.
They are still having a great time, playing with the large box in which the new furnace came. Yesterday I turned it on its side, so it is more like a cave, and it became a whole new, interesting toy again:). I am in search of some new, good puzzles, as the boys can work all of the puzzles we have now.
We were at Walmart yesterday and they have these Christmas trees set up as you enter the store. The trees were there last week too, so the boys have already seen them a couple of times and I have told them what they are. Yesterday, as we walked by one, Ben pointed to the tree and said "Christmas tree!", as big as you please. I said "yes, that is a Christmas tree; isn't it pretty?".
Lately I have written a lot about what the boys say. When I do this, I am writing what they are trying to say, rather than the actual way they are saying it. Their words frequently do not come out as clearly as I write them but I am not good at writing their words the actual way they say them, if you know what I mean. In other words, they do not speak that clearly and the dad frequently does not understand what they are saying. Since I am with them all the time, I normally know what they are saying. I just didn't want everyone thinking that they are saying all of these words perfectly clear, as an adult would, even though that is the way I write their words here. It's just easier for me to write it that way....I'm all for easy:).
I can't believe that Thanksgiving is only two days away. I can't wait! Happy Thanksgiving!
Sunday, November 18, 2007
November 18, 2007 - The M&M Bribe Works Like a Charm
For the first time, I took the boys to church by myself! Yay! I prayed about it a lot and I used a small bag of M&M's as my helper:). I talked to the boys about going to church and playing with the other children and seeing Katy (our babysitter) again, etc. I told them they were going to be big boys and not cry and that they were going to go to their class and I was going to go to my class. I talked it up pretty good, but I still brought the M&M's, which were key to our success.
I showed them the M&M's as we were getting out of our car and told them they could have one when we got inside. I gave them each one when we got to the sign-in desk. (By this time, they have normally started crying/whining and asking to be picked up.) I gave them each another one when we got to the door of their classroom. Then, Nick decided he did not want to go and he took off running in the other direction. But then I said "Nick, don't you want another M&M?" and he came running back:). They both went into the classroom and Ben held up his hands for me to pick him up, as he said "mommy? mommy?". I told him I would be back later and I gave the candy to Katy. I think there was only one other little girl in the class at the time and there are two adults and Katy, taking care of the kids. So, the boys were getting a lot of attention from everyone, which helped. And, of course, the M&M's were key. Neither of them cried at all! It was amazing! They normally cry every week, when we leave them.
I was so relieved that it went so well. As I sat in my class, I said a thank-you prayer. My husband joined me for the worship service and we went together to pick up the boys from their class. Ben had his back to the door, so he didn't see us come in. He was holding up a doll, moving her up and down and around, as he danced with her! It was so funny. I was cracking up. One of the caregivers said that both of the boys had been dancing with the dolls. Very funny. They were both very happy to see their daddy, since they had not seen him this morning.
We will definitely be buying more of those M&M's!
I showed them the M&M's as we were getting out of our car and told them they could have one when we got inside. I gave them each one when we got to the sign-in desk. (By this time, they have normally started crying/whining and asking to be picked up.) I gave them each another one when we got to the door of their classroom. Then, Nick decided he did not want to go and he took off running in the other direction. But then I said "Nick, don't you want another M&M?" and he came running back:). They both went into the classroom and Ben held up his hands for me to pick him up, as he said "mommy? mommy?". I told him I would be back later and I gave the candy to Katy. I think there was only one other little girl in the class at the time and there are two adults and Katy, taking care of the kids. So, the boys were getting a lot of attention from everyone, which helped. And, of course, the M&M's were key. Neither of them cried at all! It was amazing! They normally cry every week, when we leave them.
I was so relieved that it went so well. As I sat in my class, I said a thank-you prayer. My husband joined me for the worship service and we went together to pick up the boys from their class. Ben had his back to the door, so he didn't see us come in. He was holding up a doll, moving her up and down and around, as he danced with her! It was so funny. I was cracking up. One of the caregivers said that both of the boys had been dancing with the dolls. Very funny. They were both very happy to see their daddy, since they had not seen him this morning.
We will definitely be buying more of those M&M's!
November 18, 2007 - The Mimic
I was driving the other day, with the boys in the back in their car seats, and I was trying to get out of a parking lot, taking a left turn onto a major road. I was having a hard time finding an exit where I could cross the median. I ended up at a dead end in the parking lot and said "oh shoot". From the back seat, I hear little Nick saying "mommy?" "oh hoot", or something like that, but clearly trying his best to imitate what I had just said and wondering what it meant.
Isn't it funny that, of all the words you say that they don't imitate, that they somehow know when you have said something that you don't want them to imitate? Or maybe it is just that they are drawn to exclamations, since Nick seems to like to also imitate words like "wow!".
Regardless, it was a very funny, but also eye opening, moment:).
The same day, I was combing the boys' hair, as we were getting ready to go out and run our errands. As I was combing Nick's hair, he said "mommy?" "church?". It took me a minute to understand what he was saying, since it was a bit out of context (for me anyway). Fortunately (?) at this age they repeat everything until you acknowledge, in some way, what they are saying. I am quite surprised at how much he is understanding now, not just new words but really understanding more meaning behind the words.
Yesterday the boys spent a good deal of time outside with their dad. The dad was raking leaves and the boys were having fun, playing with leaves, sticks and rocks. I love watching little boys play outside, especially when there are no toys around and they invent their own play. Even though this was suppose to be some down time for me, I was drawn to the windows to watch them. At one point, Ben was ready to come inside but Nick clearly wanted to stay outside with dad. I think he would be out there all day, every day, if he could.
It's funny though. I watch them with their dad and they seem to be really good about playing while dad reads or works or whatever. With me, they are constantly saying "Mommy? Sit. Sit." They want me to see what they are doing, to play with them, to talk to them, to narrate what they are doing, etc. The dad plays with them and interacts with them too. But I am sure, since I am home with them all day, that I end up doing this more, so I suppose they have come to expect it more from me. I definitely talk to them A LOT and I think they like that too. I enjoy spending time with them and playing with them but, sometimes, when I see them playing so nicely, with the dad sitting nearby reading, I'm a bit jealous of that situation:). I suppose maybe I should make an effort to do that a bit here and there, so they might get used to it with me too sometimes.
In other news, Ben's face is healing very nicely. We put sunscreen on it every morning and wash it off every night, so that hopefully the scar will not be as prominent. Yesterday it looked as if the scab was starting to flake off in places. Little kids heal so fast; it is really amazing.
The dad took the boys shopping with him yesterday and they bought outside Christmas lights for the house and the bushes out front. I am ready to start decorating. I think we should turn on our lights on Thanksgiving day night or the the night after, so we can enjoy them longer:).
The boys are awake now and the dad is at work, so I must run.
Isn't it funny that, of all the words you say that they don't imitate, that they somehow know when you have said something that you don't want them to imitate? Or maybe it is just that they are drawn to exclamations, since Nick seems to like to also imitate words like "wow!".
Regardless, it was a very funny, but also eye opening, moment:).
The same day, I was combing the boys' hair, as we were getting ready to go out and run our errands. As I was combing Nick's hair, he said "mommy?" "church?". It took me a minute to understand what he was saying, since it was a bit out of context (for me anyway). Fortunately (?) at this age they repeat everything until you acknowledge, in some way, what they are saying. I am quite surprised at how much he is understanding now, not just new words but really understanding more meaning behind the words.
Yesterday the boys spent a good deal of time outside with their dad. The dad was raking leaves and the boys were having fun, playing with leaves, sticks and rocks. I love watching little boys play outside, especially when there are no toys around and they invent their own play. Even though this was suppose to be some down time for me, I was drawn to the windows to watch them. At one point, Ben was ready to come inside but Nick clearly wanted to stay outside with dad. I think he would be out there all day, every day, if he could.
It's funny though. I watch them with their dad and they seem to be really good about playing while dad reads or works or whatever. With me, they are constantly saying "Mommy? Sit. Sit." They want me to see what they are doing, to play with them, to talk to them, to narrate what they are doing, etc. The dad plays with them and interacts with them too. But I am sure, since I am home with them all day, that I end up doing this more, so I suppose they have come to expect it more from me. I definitely talk to them A LOT and I think they like that too. I enjoy spending time with them and playing with them but, sometimes, when I see them playing so nicely, with the dad sitting nearby reading, I'm a bit jealous of that situation:). I suppose maybe I should make an effort to do that a bit here and there, so they might get used to it with me too sometimes.
In other news, Ben's face is healing very nicely. We put sunscreen on it every morning and wash it off every night, so that hopefully the scar will not be as prominent. Yesterday it looked as if the scab was starting to flake off in places. Little kids heal so fast; it is really amazing.
The dad took the boys shopping with him yesterday and they bought outside Christmas lights for the house and the bushes out front. I am ready to start decorating. I think we should turn on our lights on Thanksgiving day night or the the night after, so we can enjoy them longer:).
The boys are awake now and the dad is at work, so I must run.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
November 14, 2007 - The Best Job Ever!
Today we went to Sam's to buy a few things and we had lunch there. The boys split a hot dog, had a few potato chips and two sips of an orange soda. This was their first time to ever try any carbonated beverage. When they tried it, they gave me the funniest look and then started coughing. When I offered them a second sip a little later, they both shook their head no. They each finally had a second sip when they were almost done with the meal...if you want to call that a meal:). I sat there and felt guilty about what an unhealthy lunch I was feeding them. Terrible momma!
Here are more fun words / phrases the boys are saying:
-- Nick, standing in the living room this morning and pointing outside: "windy!" (it has been VERY windy here today).
-- Nick, after burping the other day: "scuse you".
-- Ben, handing me the letter H as I was walking by the fridge this morning: "H" (I just introduced 'G', 'H' and 'I' yesterday evening). Nick also handed me the letter 'I' and told me "I". I have been introducing three letters at a time, using the magnetic letters that stick to the fridge.They learn so fast!
-- Both boys, first thing in the morning, running towards the big ottoman in the living room where we change diapers: "first! first!" and then pushing and shoving each other away, trying to be the first to get their diapers changed. If Nick wins, Ben throws a big fit and then Nick usually tries to escape before I can change his diaper anyway, after all that fuss.
-- Nick, pulling Ben's pants and diaper out and peeking into them: "poopy?" and then he looks at me and smiles/laughs. He is such a little mimic these days and quite the entertainer.
-- Both boys, sitting in their booster seats at the kitchen island yesterday at snack time, each patting his own chest: "me? me?" (they are trying to understand pronouns)
-- Both boys, sitting in their booster seats at the kitchen island this morning: "daddy work?, daddy work?" Yep, daddy is at work today:).
I am starting to hear more and more two word phrases. This is one of the most exciting things ever! Am I crazy? I find this so exciting and entertaining. I am always explaining to them different things and showing them things, everywhere we go and I always tell them to say such-and-such. It seems that they just have to say something once and they have it down. Kids are just such amazing learners. And it really gets me when they say something that I have not told them to say before but they just picked it up from listening to me talk, such as "windy". What amazing memories and attention to detail! I am in awe.
This is still just the best job ever!!
Here are more fun words / phrases the boys are saying:
-- Nick, standing in the living room this morning and pointing outside: "windy!" (it has been VERY windy here today).
-- Nick, after burping the other day: "scuse you".
-- Ben, handing me the letter H as I was walking by the fridge this morning: "H" (I just introduced 'G', 'H' and 'I' yesterday evening). Nick also handed me the letter 'I' and told me "I". I have been introducing three letters at a time, using the magnetic letters that stick to the fridge.They learn so fast!
-- Both boys, first thing in the morning, running towards the big ottoman in the living room where we change diapers: "first! first!" and then pushing and shoving each other away, trying to be the first to get their diapers changed. If Nick wins, Ben throws a big fit and then Nick usually tries to escape before I can change his diaper anyway, after all that fuss.
-- Nick, pulling Ben's pants and diaper out and peeking into them: "poopy?" and then he looks at me and smiles/laughs. He is such a little mimic these days and quite the entertainer.
-- Both boys, sitting in their booster seats at the kitchen island yesterday at snack time, each patting his own chest: "me? me?" (they are trying to understand pronouns)
-- Both boys, sitting in their booster seats at the kitchen island this morning: "daddy work?, daddy work?" Yep, daddy is at work today:).
I am starting to hear more and more two word phrases. This is one of the most exciting things ever! Am I crazy? I find this so exciting and entertaining. I am always explaining to them different things and showing them things, everywhere we go and I always tell them to say such-and-such. It seems that they just have to say something once and they have it down. Kids are just such amazing learners. And it really gets me when they say something that I have not told them to say before but they just picked it up from listening to me talk, such as "windy". What amazing memories and attention to detail! I am in awe.
This is still just the best job ever!!
Sunday, November 11, 2007
November 11, 2017 - Tea Parties and Talks
One day recently I showed the boys how to pretend to have a dinner party or "tea party", by showing them how to set their little table with the new dishes they received as a birthday present. I got the bears and Jo Jo out and sat them in the seats at the table. The boys were very entertained by this, thought it was funny, and started to pretend they were pouring stuff and helping the bears eat.
That lasted all of about 2 minutes and then the fun began as they decided it was more fun to SIT ON THEIR GUESTS!!
Sitting on the guests became the fun thing to do.
The situation quickly deteriorated, as Nick threw one of the bears on the table, knocking half of the dishes on the floor.
I discouraged this kind of behavior but, soon after, the lovely "tea party" ended in a dog pile on top of the guests! Maybe this is just the way boys have tea parties....or dog pile parties:).
More funny things said this morning:
Ben said: "brother, pish" (push)
Nick said: "no" (this was a first; normally the pusher rushes right over and pushes, for a little while at least...of course, the pusher is also normally Nick, so maybe he is just getting tired of being the pusher.
Nick, sitting at the island with Ben, eating oatmeal. He spoons up a huge spoonful of oatmeal and says: "biiiiig bite", just as big as you please. Ben follows suit soon after. So I start asking them to show me a small bite and then a big bite. They do both, repeating "big bite" and "small bite", as the case may be.
Nick, sitting next to me on the little red couch in the library/play room, cutting up the cut-able, wooden veggies: "Mommy?" "Yes Nick?" "tomato" "yes, that is a tomato". Ben is in the background saying "tractor, tractor, wagon", while he plays with a tractor and the small wagon it pulls.
Me, sitting next to Ben, reading a book about Jonah and the whale. Ben points to a picture of Jonah, floating down to the depths of a colorful ocean while holding his nose (it is a funny picture) and says "down down down", which is what the book says on that page. They have such a great memory.
While reading books together on the couch, I ask "are you guys hungry?". Both boys look at me and, at the same time, ask "yogurt?".
At some point in the morning, Nick runs over to the fridge and says "milk, milk". I say, "please ask nicely" and he says "pleeeease". I say "can you say "milk please"? He says "milk" "pleeeease".
We were sitting on the couch, reading (singing) the Wheels on the Bus book. Ben was laughing and trying to sing it with me. It was so cute. He would sing the beep, beep , beep and swish, swish, swish, etc. parts with me and then would sing "all day long" with me too. Nick would sing "all day". I was cracking up.
They are definitely putting more and more words together every day. They are still leaving a slight pause between words at times. This is so much fun! I love watching them and helping them learn to talk!
November 11, 2007 - The Annoying Ledge
Here is B, riding his "bike", while carrying around the new favorite spatula. Just before I took the picture, I asked him "what do you have in your hand?", which is why he is holding it up for us to see:).
As we are heading out of the boys bedroom, down the hall way, towards the stairs, there is a place where the boys can throw things, such as Ya Ya and/or Bear, over this half-wall. When this happens, Ya Ya and/or Bear end up either falling all the way down to the first floor below or, if they are thrown over from just the right place, they land on the dust-collector ledge below.
Let's just say,
I am getting tired of retrieving the broom to knock Ya Ya and/or Bear off of the ledge. On the upside, the ledge has never had less dust on it since we have lived here:).
November 11, 2007 - The Date
The babysitter (Katy) was here promptly at 2:00pm and, of course, the boys were still asleep at that time. It worked out well though because I was able to show her around the house and show her where we keep everything, what she could fix for dinner, etc. I also had a chance to talk with her about her perception of home schooling, since she has always been home schooled (she is at the ninth grade level).
The boys woke up and they had a chance to play with her for quite a while before we left around 4:00pm for a 4:25 movie. When the boys saw me putting on my shoes, they starting asking "bye bye?", I explained to them that mommy and daddy were going bye bye for a little while and they were going to stay and play with Katy. We started getting a bit of whining and Nick wanted daddy to hold him and was being clingy.
And then, I had the brilliant idea to let them play in the water at the kitchen sink! We helped get them set up and gave them some fun things to play with in the water, we said our goodbyes and gave kisses and we were out the door without the shedding of one little tear:). Isn't that wonderful?? I'm sure there will be other times when there are tears but it was nice that our first time out while leaving the boys with a babysitter went so smoothly.
Katy said the only time either of them cried while we were gone was when Ben cried because Nick took a toy away from him. Other than that, they had a fun time and were happy little guys the whole time we were gone. We did not dally after the movie, but came straight home. It was around 5:30 when we got back and then I took Katy home.
She is so sweet; we are very blessed to have found her. We are planning to schedule a date evening out about once every two weeks or so. That will be a nice thing to look forward to.
The boys woke up and they had a chance to play with her for quite a while before we left around 4:00pm for a 4:25 movie. When the boys saw me putting on my shoes, they starting asking "bye bye?", I explained to them that mommy and daddy were going bye bye for a little while and they were going to stay and play with Katy. We started getting a bit of whining and Nick wanted daddy to hold him and was being clingy.
And then, I had the brilliant idea to let them play in the water at the kitchen sink! We helped get them set up and gave them some fun things to play with in the water, we said our goodbyes and gave kisses and we were out the door without the shedding of one little tear:). Isn't that wonderful?? I'm sure there will be other times when there are tears but it was nice that our first time out while leaving the boys with a babysitter went so smoothly.
Katy said the only time either of them cried while we were gone was when Ben cried because Nick took a toy away from him. Other than that, they had a fun time and were happy little guys the whole time we were gone. We did not dally after the movie, but came straight home. It was around 5:30 when we got back and then I took Katy home.
She is so sweet; we are very blessed to have found her. We are planning to schedule a date evening out about once every two weeks or so. That will be a nice thing to look forward to.
Saturday, November 10, 2007
November 10, 2007 - Favorite Toys
Ben still has a fever but it is a little lower and, as long as he has his medicine, he plays and seems just fine. I called the babysitter and told her mom about Ben's illness but they are not concerned about it. So we are still planning to go to a movie. I am excited!
I put the boys down for an early nap, since the babysitter (Katy) will be here at 2:00pm. I can put them down for their nap but, unfortunately, I can't make them go to sleep until they are ready:). I went up to see what they were up to, since I could hear them playing, and they were playing with their pants. They had taken them off (hence the duct tape on the diapers; otherwise they would have been off too) and were trying to get them back on so I confiscated them, much to their dismay. I was trying to take away the fun stuff so they would be bored and go to sleep. Luckily they kept their shirts on today, although I have seen Nick take that off too in the past. I think they finally went to sleep about 30 or 45 minutes after I put them down, which means they will definitely still be sleeping when Katy gets here.
Oh well. I will have some time to show her where everything is and she can get acquainted with the house stuff and the cats while the boys are sleeping.
Some dear friends stopped by today to bring the boys a birthday present. It is a set of play dishes and pots and pans. They have had so much fun with them!
Ben is so funny. He tends to have favorite toys and books and I think he feels they are his, although he doesn't know the word "mine" yet. He is now attached to a spatula that came with the toy dishes. He was carrying it around with him all over the house, from the time he found it amongst the dishes until it was time for nap. He was very sad that he had to leave it downstairs when he went up for nap. He was also upset when he had to lay it down on the floor while he ate lunch and he quickly got it again as soon as he finished lunch. He was the same way about the little wooden knife that came with the cut-able fruits and veggies, which is one reason why the dad made a new, second knife (also just so they could both play/cut veggies at the same time). Ben would freak out anytime Nick picked up the knife, even if he had not been playing with it. It's funny because Nick does not do this at all, except with his Ya Ya, and Ben can even play with that at times without it bothering Nick (if Nick is not tired).
I mentioned in an earlier post that they are so much more aware of what's going on these days. I was having my hair highlights done on Thursday evening so the dad was home, fixing dinner for the boys. He said he was looking for the salt, which used to always be on the table but is now either on a shelf or near the stove, due to two little boys who can climb up on the chairs at the table now. Anyway, the dad didn't know that I was leaving the salt near the stove top sometimes and he was looking for it and thinking out loud "where's the salt". He said that Ben starting pointing to it and saying "there it is". Both boys say this phrase because of the peak-a-boo game (peak-a-boo, where's Ben/Nick, there he is) and also just from watching us hunt for something and then saying "there it is". Dad was very surprised that Ben knew where it was, what it was and could tell him!
I know I say this over and over but it is really just absolutely amazing to me how fast they learn.
I put the boys down for an early nap, since the babysitter (Katy) will be here at 2:00pm. I can put them down for their nap but, unfortunately, I can't make them go to sleep until they are ready:). I went up to see what they were up to, since I could hear them playing, and they were playing with their pants. They had taken them off (hence the duct tape on the diapers; otherwise they would have been off too) and were trying to get them back on so I confiscated them, much to their dismay. I was trying to take away the fun stuff so they would be bored and go to sleep. Luckily they kept their shirts on today, although I have seen Nick take that off too in the past. I think they finally went to sleep about 30 or 45 minutes after I put them down, which means they will definitely still be sleeping when Katy gets here.
Oh well. I will have some time to show her where everything is and she can get acquainted with the house stuff and the cats while the boys are sleeping.
Some dear friends stopped by today to bring the boys a birthday present. It is a set of play dishes and pots and pans. They have had so much fun with them!
Ben is so funny. He tends to have favorite toys and books and I think he feels they are his, although he doesn't know the word "mine" yet. He is now attached to a spatula that came with the toy dishes. He was carrying it around with him all over the house, from the time he found it amongst the dishes until it was time for nap. He was very sad that he had to leave it downstairs when he went up for nap. He was also upset when he had to lay it down on the floor while he ate lunch and he quickly got it again as soon as he finished lunch. He was the same way about the little wooden knife that came with the cut-able fruits and veggies, which is one reason why the dad made a new, second knife (also just so they could both play/cut veggies at the same time). Ben would freak out anytime Nick picked up the knife, even if he had not been playing with it. It's funny because Nick does not do this at all, except with his Ya Ya, and Ben can even play with that at times without it bothering Nick (if Nick is not tired).
I mentioned in an earlier post that they are so much more aware of what's going on these days. I was having my hair highlights done on Thursday evening so the dad was home, fixing dinner for the boys. He said he was looking for the salt, which used to always be on the table but is now either on a shelf or near the stove, due to two little boys who can climb up on the chairs at the table now. Anyway, the dad didn't know that I was leaving the salt near the stove top sometimes and he was looking for it and thinking out loud "where's the salt". He said that Ben starting pointing to it and saying "there it is". Both boys say this phrase because of the peak-a-boo game (peak-a-boo, where's Ben/Nick, there he is) and also just from watching us hunt for something and then saying "there it is". Dad was very surprised that Ben knew where it was, what it was and could tell him!
I know I say this over and over but it is really just absolutely amazing to me how fast they learn.
November 10, 2007 - Sick Boy:(
Well, Ben woke up from his nap yesterday with a fever of 102 degrees. Poor little guy just wanted mommy to hold him and nothing else would do, even when daddy got home. Kids are amazing though. After his Advil kicked in, he was playing and acting as if everything was perfectly normal. The boys are not up yet so I'm not sure what today will bring.
We decided to wait and see how he is feeling today before canceling the babysitter. I am hopeful that we will still get to go because, otherwise, it is going to be a very long weekend, with the dad on call at the hospital. What that means is that he has to go to the hospital and do rounds every morning for two weeks. It usually takes about half the day, or until around noon, if all goes well. If it is a weekday, he goes on to his office after that and may see patients or work on his research. If it is the weekend, he gets to come home. Some days he is also on call in the evenings, which means he normally gets a call every time they admit a new patient. Yesterday evening, he was in the middle of one of these calls while I was trying to get dinner on the table and Ben was very upset that I had to put him down for a few minutes. The dad tried to hold him but he quickly decided that only mom would do, probably because dad's attention was focused elsewhere. So I gave up on getting dinner ready and just sat and rocked Ben and the dad picked up where I left off when he got off the phone. I was happy to see that, by the time dinner was served, the medicine had kicked in and Ben was a happy little guy again and ready to join us for dinner.
I woke up during the night a couple of times, wondering how he was getting on, since his medicine wore off around midnight. He never cried out so I think he slept through the night OK.
In other news, we had a very fun play date yesterday with the mom and kids with whom we go to MOPS. We went to a wonderful park and then played at their house for a while, then lunch and home for a nap. Everyone got along very well so it was a very successful first play date at someone elses' house.
I hear the boys (Nick saying "brother, brother", trying to wake up Ben, as usual), so I had better go see what today will bring....and now I hear Ben and he is not crying...that's a good sign, right? Hopefully, hopefully he is feeling better.
We decided to wait and see how he is feeling today before canceling the babysitter. I am hopeful that we will still get to go because, otherwise, it is going to be a very long weekend, with the dad on call at the hospital. What that means is that he has to go to the hospital and do rounds every morning for two weeks. It usually takes about half the day, or until around noon, if all goes well. If it is a weekday, he goes on to his office after that and may see patients or work on his research. If it is the weekend, he gets to come home. Some days he is also on call in the evenings, which means he normally gets a call every time they admit a new patient. Yesterday evening, he was in the middle of one of these calls while I was trying to get dinner on the table and Ben was very upset that I had to put him down for a few minutes. The dad tried to hold him but he quickly decided that only mom would do, probably because dad's attention was focused elsewhere. So I gave up on getting dinner ready and just sat and rocked Ben and the dad picked up where I left off when he got off the phone. I was happy to see that, by the time dinner was served, the medicine had kicked in and Ben was a happy little guy again and ready to join us for dinner.
I woke up during the night a couple of times, wondering how he was getting on, since his medicine wore off around midnight. He never cried out so I think he slept through the night OK.
In other news, we had a very fun play date yesterday with the mom and kids with whom we go to MOPS. We went to a wonderful park and then played at their house for a while, then lunch and home for a nap. Everyone got along very well so it was a very successful first play date at someone elses' house.
I hear the boys (Nick saying "brother, brother", trying to wake up Ben, as usual), so I had better go see what today will bring....and now I hear Ben and he is not crying...that's a good sign, right? Hopefully, hopefully he is feeling better.
Thursday, November 08, 2007
November 8, 2007- "Pish Brother"
The boys are talking so much now and I wanted to jot a few things down so I don't forget them. One of the cute things that I am seeing a lot now is that one of the boys will get on one of the ride-on toys and say to the other "brother, push", which actually sounds more like "pish". It is so cute. The other one will pretty much always run over to push. I always smile when I see/hear this. It is just too cute....priceless.
Another popular thing to say these days is "big truck". Every time we are driving somewhere, they always notice the "big truck" and sometimes "another" one and they point them out to me ("mommy?", "yes Nick/Ben", "big truck", "yes, that is a big truck, isn't it?"). I love that they are always saying "mommy?" to get me to see something or help with something or whatever.
Another favorite word is "help". They will come to me, saying "help, help" and showing me what they need help with. They are also learning many names of veggies, since we have the cut-able veggies now. They know "up" and "down", will request to be picked up or put down, and will point in the right direction when asked.
Another frequent invitation is "sit, sit" and then "read". They are learning a lot more verbs these days. They know walk, run and jump also and love to do all three, but running and jumping are the best. They love trying to use the "handrail" and will try to say that word, although they usually end up just saying "rail".
They love their music and as soon as we get in the car they are saying "music, music". Between songs, they say "music, music" and, "more, more", I hear them singing some of the words. It is so cute to hear them sing.
Ben knows letters A through F very well and picks up letters very quickly. With Nick it's hard to tell what he knows sometimes because he starts playing/joking around. He is quite the kidder. When they are in their cribs, just before or after napping, I will frequently hear Ben laughing at whatever Nick might be doing. I need to sneak a camera in there sometime and tape it.
They have this thing they say when they want to trade something (toy or book) or even to trade places. It sounds like a variation on their pronunciation of "another". One of them will start saying this and will repeat it over and over until the other one either joins in saying it, which means there is agreement on the trade, or the other one starts whining this variation on "another", which means I don't want to give up what I have. The whining of this 'word' can become somewhat annoying and the one wanting to trade does not generally take it as a true "no", but will continue to try to force the trade. 99% of the time it is Ben wanting to trade and Nick not wanting to, when the disagreement on the trade occurs. So I have been trying to teach Nick to "just say no" if he doesn't want to trade. He will say it but I keep having to remind him. Hopefully it will catch on soon and he will do it on his own. I frequently have to tell Ben, "Nick does not want to trade with you right now", which he never wants to hear. The whole transaction is normally very amusing to watch though, except for the whining part when they don't agree.
Today we were at Walmart, shopping for groceries, and I decided, for the first time, to let them ride the little pony in the arcade area. They had never seen anyone else ride it so they had no idea what it was all about. Nick went first, since he is usually the one ready to try new things first. Ben was happy to watch him from the cart and they both had a big smile on their face. I warned Nick when the horse was about to quit moving and that it would be Ben's turn to ride...several times. He was still not very happy when his turn was over. I let them each ride the pony once and then they both rode the Dumbo the Elephant together once and then it was time to leave, which I also gave fair warning about. Ben was fine with this. Nick threw a fit because he did not want to leave. To be fair though, I think he was hungry and tired. He had not eaten very much of his snack before we left home and I think it was getting to him. After we got home and had eaten lunch, he was like a new kid. It's amazing what a little food can do.
We also had to go to Petco to buy some cat food. They love going into this store because we always take time to walk around and look at all of the animals, fish and birds. Today they had some rabbits, a kitten, and some turtles too. We had a nice morning of running errands. They really are such fun to be around and watch and interact with these days. I just love them to death.
Today for lunch I served them some brown beans for the first time, along with some mac and cheese and green beans. They really liked the brown beans a lot. We have switched out our travel snacks too. We used to always put the goldfish crackers in their snack cups, when they needed to have a snack on the go. Now we are using my husband's Kashi cereal and the boys really like it. They also love raisins now and will actually chew them up, rather than just swallowing them whole, as they did the first time they had them. I am always on the look out for healthy foods that they will enjoy.
The bummer is that it gets harder and harder for me to sneak my peanut M&M's and potato chips as they get older:). Now I have to wait to have my chips until they are sleeping or let them have a few, which I do at times also. I still have yet to really find any foods that they don't like. They continue to amaze me with what they will eat and, so far, they will try anything. I know this can't last but I'm loving it for now.
Our duct tape solution for keeping diapers on is working beautifully. We have not had another diaper removal incident since we started this practice. It seems they cannot take off jeans but I still duct tape their diapers at nap time, just in case. It is getting colder here now so they are sleeping in their footie, blanket PJ's now (little kids look so cute in these jammies). The first thing they tried to do when we put them on was to unzip them, which is pretty easy. So now we put a small piece of duct tape over the zipper and it is pretty hard to get off. They have yet to get it off so we don't duct tape their diapers at night anymore, just the zipper on the jammies. I highly recommend this solution:). I am very thankful for duct tape!
Another popular thing to say these days is "big truck". Every time we are driving somewhere, they always notice the "big truck" and sometimes "another" one and they point them out to me ("mommy?", "yes Nick/Ben", "big truck", "yes, that is a big truck, isn't it?"). I love that they are always saying "mommy?" to get me to see something or help with something or whatever.
Another favorite word is "help". They will come to me, saying "help, help" and showing me what they need help with. They are also learning many names of veggies, since we have the cut-able veggies now. They know "up" and "down", will request to be picked up or put down, and will point in the right direction when asked.
Another frequent invitation is "sit, sit" and then "read". They are learning a lot more verbs these days. They know walk, run and jump also and love to do all three, but running and jumping are the best. They love trying to use the "handrail" and will try to say that word, although they usually end up just saying "rail".
They love their music and as soon as we get in the car they are saying "music, music". Between songs, they say "music, music" and, "more, more", I hear them singing some of the words. It is so cute to hear them sing.
Ben knows letters A through F very well and picks up letters very quickly. With Nick it's hard to tell what he knows sometimes because he starts playing/joking around. He is quite the kidder. When they are in their cribs, just before or after napping, I will frequently hear Ben laughing at whatever Nick might be doing. I need to sneak a camera in there sometime and tape it.
They have this thing they say when they want to trade something (toy or book) or even to trade places. It sounds like a variation on their pronunciation of "another". One of them will start saying this and will repeat it over and over until the other one either joins in saying it, which means there is agreement on the trade, or the other one starts whining this variation on "another", which means I don't want to give up what I have. The whining of this 'word' can become somewhat annoying and the one wanting to trade does not generally take it as a true "no", but will continue to try to force the trade. 99% of the time it is Ben wanting to trade and Nick not wanting to, when the disagreement on the trade occurs. So I have been trying to teach Nick to "just say no" if he doesn't want to trade. He will say it but I keep having to remind him. Hopefully it will catch on soon and he will do it on his own. I frequently have to tell Ben, "Nick does not want to trade with you right now", which he never wants to hear. The whole transaction is normally very amusing to watch though, except for the whining part when they don't agree.
Today we were at Walmart, shopping for groceries, and I decided, for the first time, to let them ride the little pony in the arcade area. They had never seen anyone else ride it so they had no idea what it was all about. Nick went first, since he is usually the one ready to try new things first. Ben was happy to watch him from the cart and they both had a big smile on their face. I warned Nick when the horse was about to quit moving and that it would be Ben's turn to ride...several times. He was still not very happy when his turn was over. I let them each ride the pony once and then they both rode the Dumbo the Elephant together once and then it was time to leave, which I also gave fair warning about. Ben was fine with this. Nick threw a fit because he did not want to leave. To be fair though, I think he was hungry and tired. He had not eaten very much of his snack before we left home and I think it was getting to him. After we got home and had eaten lunch, he was like a new kid. It's amazing what a little food can do.
We also had to go to Petco to buy some cat food. They love going into this store because we always take time to walk around and look at all of the animals, fish and birds. Today they had some rabbits, a kitten, and some turtles too. We had a nice morning of running errands. They really are such fun to be around and watch and interact with these days. I just love them to death.
Today for lunch I served them some brown beans for the first time, along with some mac and cheese and green beans. They really liked the brown beans a lot. We have switched out our travel snacks too. We used to always put the goldfish crackers in their snack cups, when they needed to have a snack on the go. Now we are using my husband's Kashi cereal and the boys really like it. They also love raisins now and will actually chew them up, rather than just swallowing them whole, as they did the first time they had them. I am always on the look out for healthy foods that they will enjoy.
The bummer is that it gets harder and harder for me to sneak my peanut M&M's and potato chips as they get older:). Now I have to wait to have my chips until they are sleeping or let them have a few, which I do at times also. I still have yet to really find any foods that they don't like. They continue to amaze me with what they will eat and, so far, they will try anything. I know this can't last but I'm loving it for now.
Our duct tape solution for keeping diapers on is working beautifully. We have not had another diaper removal incident since we started this practice. It seems they cannot take off jeans but I still duct tape their diapers at nap time, just in case. It is getting colder here now so they are sleeping in their footie, blanket PJ's now (little kids look so cute in these jammies). The first thing they tried to do when we put them on was to unzip them, which is pretty easy. So now we put a small piece of duct tape over the zipper and it is pretty hard to get off. They have yet to get it off so we don't duct tape their diapers at night anymore, just the zipper on the jammies. I highly recommend this solution:). I am very thankful for duct tape!
November 8, 2007 - Celebrating Nick's Birthday with Family
We got together with my family to celebrate Nick's birthday.
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
November 6, 2007 - Stay-at-Home Mom Versus Corporate LIfe
I have wanted to be a stay at home mom for a long, long time. As mentioned in earlier posts, my husband and I met and married somewhat later in life, so I had plenty of time to wish, pray and hope for this to happen sometime in my life.
Before we moved to Oklahoma though, I worked and had a career. My degree is in Computer Science, from Syracuse University, which is how I ended up spending many years living in the northeastern U.S., before finally moving to Texas. I graduated from S.U. in 1987 and worked in the computer industry until December of 2005, which is when I quit my last job working for a financial firm in Houston.
When I quit my last job, I was managing around 30 or so people. Our group had the responsibility of developing and hosting web sites for our company. Our company had branches all over the world so the web sites were expected to be up and running 24 x 7 and it was very very visible if a web site went down for some reason. I enjoyed my job. It was fun most of the time, very challenging and also stressful at times.
Anyway, I had a friend who was also a manager of a group at the time. I have not stayed in touch with her but she was a mom to some young children at that time and she knew we were planning to adopt two children. She was quite surprised that I did not want to continue my career but would rather be a stay at home mom. She could have been a stay at home mom if she had so chosen but she loved her job and wanted to pursue her career. She thought I would be bored and would miss the work environment. She also thought my husband would be bored with me. That really surprised me, quite frankly. She said I would not have anything to talk to him about, except the kids.
For some reason, I woke up thinking about this this morning. I had not thought about this in ages so I'm not sure what made me think about it this morning. The thought I had though was that what my husband and I discuss now is really not that much different than what we used to discuss when I had that job. To me, being a manager was more of a people challenge than it was a computer science or technical challenge. The people who worked for me were really smart people and they were more up to date on the latest and greatest web stuff than I was. I relied on them for their expertise in their various areas of knowledge. The fact that I had done development work before and had been a project manager of many projects over the years was important in my role as a technical manager. It helped me (hopefully) to make wise decisions, when I had to make a call, based on what my managers were telling me. But the biggest challenge of my job as a manager was people relations, including maintaining a good relationship with those who worked for me, helping to resolve issues between team members when people did not see eye to eye, listening to concerns and helping to resolve them when possible, listening to career objectives and providing advice when asked, etc.
I woke up this morning thinking about this and my thought was that the conversations with my husband are not all that different than they would have been if I was still in my last job. I still talk to him about lots of people management stuff:). Now it is about how Ben and Nick are getting along, how I am getting along with them, what I am learning as a mom and child of God, what the boys are learning, etc. I find it all very interesting and am normally reading something about either child rearing or home schooling. (Actually, right now I have taken time off reading about children to read War and Peace by Tolstoy and I am really enjoying it:). My husband seems very interested in what I am doing and reading and we talk about it and the boys a lot. I think he is just as interested in hearing about the boys as I am in talking about them. More importantly, I know he feels it is important for me to be here with them and he is thankful that I am committed to it. He is also very happy that I am committed to home schooling them.
My husband and I are partners. He is just as much concerned and interested in our boys' well being as I am and I am thankful for that. He is currently reading Raising a Modern-Day Knight by Robert Lewis, which is an excellent book about what it means to be a man and how fathers can instill that in their sons. (I picked it up yesterday and read a little bit of it, just to see what it was about. It is so good that I am still reading it!) I am very thankful that he is as interested as I am in our boys' lives. I don't think either of us will ever be bored with what we are doing.
I, for one, do not miss the corporate world at all. I never have, even during the year before the boys came home. After working in the corporate world for so many years, being out of it makes me feel like a kid who just graduated from high school or college. It is a very free feeling. For the longest time, I felt like a kid skipping school; like I should be somewhere and I'm not. I have been out of it now for almost two years and still feel this free feeling very strongly. Just the thought that I can decide what I want to do today is such a wonderful feeling. It still amazes me:). Another thing is that I am no longer in a rush all the time. When I had a job outside of the home, I was always in a hurry, probably because I didn't have much free time.
So I am very very thankful that we are able to allow me to stay home and raise our boys full time. I know there are many out there who would love to be able to do this and cannot and there are others who love having a career. For me, there was never a question. I feel called by God to do this, just as I feel called to home school. I am honored to be allowed to do this, I am thankful to have a husband who shares my dreams and goals in life and I am, truly, living my dream (as previously mentioned in an earlier post), thanks be to God:).
Before we moved to Oklahoma though, I worked and had a career. My degree is in Computer Science, from Syracuse University, which is how I ended up spending many years living in the northeastern U.S., before finally moving to Texas. I graduated from S.U. in 1987 and worked in the computer industry until December of 2005, which is when I quit my last job working for a financial firm in Houston.
When I quit my last job, I was managing around 30 or so people. Our group had the responsibility of developing and hosting web sites for our company. Our company had branches all over the world so the web sites were expected to be up and running 24 x 7 and it was very very visible if a web site went down for some reason. I enjoyed my job. It was fun most of the time, very challenging and also stressful at times.
Anyway, I had a friend who was also a manager of a group at the time. I have not stayed in touch with her but she was a mom to some young children at that time and she knew we were planning to adopt two children. She was quite surprised that I did not want to continue my career but would rather be a stay at home mom. She could have been a stay at home mom if she had so chosen but she loved her job and wanted to pursue her career. She thought I would be bored and would miss the work environment. She also thought my husband would be bored with me. That really surprised me, quite frankly. She said I would not have anything to talk to him about, except the kids.
For some reason, I woke up thinking about this this morning. I had not thought about this in ages so I'm not sure what made me think about it this morning. The thought I had though was that what my husband and I discuss now is really not that much different than what we used to discuss when I had that job. To me, being a manager was more of a people challenge than it was a computer science or technical challenge. The people who worked for me were really smart people and they were more up to date on the latest and greatest web stuff than I was. I relied on them for their expertise in their various areas of knowledge. The fact that I had done development work before and had been a project manager of many projects over the years was important in my role as a technical manager. It helped me (hopefully) to make wise decisions, when I had to make a call, based on what my managers were telling me. But the biggest challenge of my job as a manager was people relations, including maintaining a good relationship with those who worked for me, helping to resolve issues between team members when people did not see eye to eye, listening to concerns and helping to resolve them when possible, listening to career objectives and providing advice when asked, etc.
I woke up this morning thinking about this and my thought was that the conversations with my husband are not all that different than they would have been if I was still in my last job. I still talk to him about lots of people management stuff:). Now it is about how Ben and Nick are getting along, how I am getting along with them, what I am learning as a mom and child of God, what the boys are learning, etc. I find it all very interesting and am normally reading something about either child rearing or home schooling. (Actually, right now I have taken time off reading about children to read War and Peace by Tolstoy and I am really enjoying it:). My husband seems very interested in what I am doing and reading and we talk about it and the boys a lot. I think he is just as interested in hearing about the boys as I am in talking about them. More importantly, I know he feels it is important for me to be here with them and he is thankful that I am committed to it. He is also very happy that I am committed to home schooling them.
My husband and I are partners. He is just as much concerned and interested in our boys' well being as I am and I am thankful for that. He is currently reading Raising a Modern-Day Knight by Robert Lewis, which is an excellent book about what it means to be a man and how fathers can instill that in their sons. (I picked it up yesterday and read a little bit of it, just to see what it was about. It is so good that I am still reading it!) I am very thankful that he is as interested as I am in our boys' lives. I don't think either of us will ever be bored with what we are doing.
I, for one, do not miss the corporate world at all. I never have, even during the year before the boys came home. After working in the corporate world for so many years, being out of it makes me feel like a kid who just graduated from high school or college. It is a very free feeling. For the longest time, I felt like a kid skipping school; like I should be somewhere and I'm not. I have been out of it now for almost two years and still feel this free feeling very strongly. Just the thought that I can decide what I want to do today is such a wonderful feeling. It still amazes me:). Another thing is that I am no longer in a rush all the time. When I had a job outside of the home, I was always in a hurry, probably because I didn't have much free time.
So I am very very thankful that we are able to allow me to stay home and raise our boys full time. I know there are many out there who would love to be able to do this and cannot and there are others who love having a career. For me, there was never a question. I feel called by God to do this, just as I feel called to home school. I am honored to be allowed to do this, I am thankful to have a husband who shares my dreams and goals in life and I am, truly, living my dream (as previously mentioned in an earlier post), thanks be to God:).
November 6, 2007 - Birthday Toys Galore
We met at my sister's house on Saturday for an early celebration on Nick's birthday. Last year just before Nick's birthday, we had just left Russia after having met our sons for the first time. I could never have imagined what my life would be like a year later. It really just gets better every day.Here is a picture of the boys, sweeping the floor with their new brooms. My mom got them both a broom for Nick's birthday. Unfortunately, I usually end up having to take them away from them after a short period of time because they want to use them for purposes for which they were not intended. I'm sure you can imagine, broom sword, broom swatter, etc:).
This is a picture of a puzzle that also provides practice of buttoning, zipping, lacing, snapping and also buckling. This was actually suppose to be for three year olds and up. Since both of their birthdays fall so close to Christmas, I have tried to get them some things that they won't outgrow too soon:).
Next is the cut-able fruit and veggies. Ben especially loves loves loves this toy and gets very upset if Nick picks up the knife, even if he was not playing with it to begin with.
So, the dad made a new "knife" out of a paint stirring stick and they are very happy with this solution. Now they can each have a knife.
Nick also received an airport set, which included a really neat little airplane that makes a noise (a quiet noise, thankfully), a helicopter, the airport tower, a little motorcycle with a side car and several little people. It is very cute and they have already figured out how to take part of the airplane apart:).
Here is how this toy normally looks, since they (mostly Ben) cut it apart again, as soon as I can put it together....every time, unless I do it when they are already asleep:).
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