I was in the bathroom with Nick today and was telling him what a big boy he was for going to the potty and pulling up his pants by himself. He said "When I get bigger, I wear your underwear." I explained to him that boys and girls wear different kinds of underwear and that he would wear underwear like daddy when he got bigger.
Why is it that so many of the funny things they say are said in the bathroom?
One of their funny things to say now is "that's very terrible"...although it comes out like "that's berry terrble", or something like that. It is very cute and always brings a smile to my face. They come up with the funniest things these days.
I have been researching homeschooling curriculum again. I enjoy reading about the different programs. I think I already said this once before:). Today I got the boys the first book in the Getting Ready to Explode the Code (or something like that) series. Nick woke up from nap first and immediately wanted to do some of it. I am going to control how much of it they do at a time so they will always finish when they are still wanting to do more. I want to keep it very positive.
I also found a very cute book with black and white pictures of little kids (drawn) doing motions to memorize scripture verses. I am going to start doing this with the boys so we can memorize some scriptures together. I think they will really enjoy it.
Yesterday I found the Leap Frog Letter Factory DVD, which I had been meaning to pick up for a while as I had heard it is great for learning phonics. They wanted to watch it for their 30 minutes of TV time both yesterday and today. When they finished today, I started asking them what the various letters "say" (A says ahh) and, between the two of them, they knew every letter in the alphabet, although I didn't do Q. They need more reinforcement and we will continue to play the 'word game' (what letter does the word _____ start with). They really like to play that. We'll just keep playing games and having fun for now. They are not quite ready to start blending yet.
Hmmm, I was going to write something else about the boys but now I can't remember what it was:). I hate when that happens.
So, all of our snow is gone and we actually had to use our air conditioner in the house this afternoon, believe it or not. It was sunny and warm here today and our house does not have any windows that open on the first floor.
Isn't that funny? Yesterday morning we had so much snow they cancelled church. By the end of the day, it was almost all gone and it continued to melt all night, since the low was in the 40's. Today was in the 60's but very windy. We had a nice long weekend, since the dad was off work today, since we were planning to be in K.C. this weekend. Saturday the weather was so bad that we had to stay home and we stayed home part of Sunday too. It was actually very nice because we had some very nice family time together. It is not often that we all spend an entire day here together, just hanging out, playing, reading, eating, sleeping together. It was nice. Tomorrow we join the world again and everything goes back to normal:).
Time to get the boys ready for bed. We are going to try to put them down early so we can watch a movie we rented. I say try because it seems that no matter what time we put them to bed, they don't fall asleep until around 9:00, give or take 10 minutes. Nick almost always falls asleep 10 to 30 minutes before Ben but Ben does not fall asleep until around 9:00ish. We'll see if we gain any time by putting them down early.
Hope you had a nice weekend.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Saturday, March 28, 2009
March 28, 2009
So, we did not end up going to Kansas City after all. Instead, we are having a snow storm. Yeah!! Actually, I could have done without it but the boys are really enjoying it and it is our first real snow this year and the first time the boys (or actually the dad:) got to build a snow man. The picture above was taken well before the snow was finished. We must have 6 inches at least by now.
(Yep, that's a cowboy hat on our snow man. I couldn't find anything else:).When it first started it was half rain and half snow. I went outside and tried to cover up all of my azaleas with tarps and I put trash bags over the crape myrtles. The azaleas already have buds all over them and one or two have already bloomed. They are ready to bloom any day now. The crape myrtles are already starting to get some small leaves or buds that are getting ready to be leaves. I hope I saved them but we'll see. It is suppose to get down in the 20's tonight and then tomorrow it will be in the mid to high 50's. The rest of the week, it will be even warmer. So the snow will not be around for long. After it had snowed for a while, I went out again and knocked the snow off of our two pretty Japanese Maple trees. This is the smaller one in the picture below.
The husband had to do it again later or they definitely would have lost branches to the weight of the snow. It s a very wet, heavy snow and everything was very wet to begin with. Since these trees already have their leaves, they become weighed down very quickly. They are so beautiful right now. I hope they will make it OK. I was able to cover all of the azaleas except two so we will see how well the ones that are covered do compared to those that are not.I am feeling a bit better today but I seem to still feel much worse in the evenings. Hopefully this evening will be better. I definitely slept better last night. The good news is that, so far, nobody else has caught it.
Here are some additional pics:
The dad, reading to Ben, while wearing 'the beard' although not quite right. The book is about the beard and how it jumps around from person to person. It is quite funny.
Ben reading a book to Nick. It is cute to hear him 'read'. He remembers much of the book and he has fun talking through it.
The dad playing Candyland with the boys.
The dad was in his office this morning reading a book when he was joined by the boys and their book:).
I think this was last weekend. The boys were painting these little cars they got for Christmas in their stockings.
Here are some other things we did recently when we were 'doing school'.The boys glued the lower part of the faces/beaks on the animals here.
And on these, they glued on the nose, mouth, eyes, etc.
Once again, I have started reviewing home school materials, trying to decide what to do and when to do it. I enjoy looking at all of the packages and tools out there. There are so many and they look like so much fun. It is hard to choose between them though. It actually works out well that we did not go to KC this weekend because we are now planning to go in April and it just so happens it is the same time as their home school convention:). So I will get to go to that again this year, which will be fun.
It is almost 2:00pm and it is still snowing. It started around 8:00 or 8:30 this morning. The flakes are smaller now though so I think it is starting to let up a bit. It is really a beautiful winter wonderland but I am thankful that tomorrow it will all disappear very quickly. Hope you are having a good weekend.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
March 26, 2009
I have a bad cold and don't feel much like doing anything.....although mom's don't get sick days so the bed is made, the kid's are dressed and fed and the laundry is underway.
My mom, sister and niece came for a visit on Tuesday and spent the night with us. The boys had a great time playing with my sister. She loves to play with them and keeps them very busy. They left yesterday around 2:00ish. It was good timing as they kept the boys busy while I was able to take it easy a bit and nurse my cold.
We are suppose to be going to Kansas City soon. I hope I am over this cold by then.
The boys are climbing on their jungle gym more and more these days. They are really starting to enjoy it now. Right now they are sitting in a chair together looking at books. They have been busy playing with their cars, trucks and parking garage this morning. I can definitely tell they are starting to stick with something longer and longer these days. They are talking up a storm and say so many funny, cute things that I can no longer keep up with them.
We are still on the no pull ups unless they are napping or at night time thing and it is going very well. I'm so glad that I finally did this. Nick has asked to wear a pull up several times and has shown some resistance at times but he is really doing very well with potty training and has had very few accidents. He went three days in a row without any accidents but I think he may have had one accident on the 4th day, in the afternoon. It was a day with no nap so that probably didn't help because he gets very tired. Ben puzzles me because I have seen him go many days in a row without an accident in the past but he has been having more than I expected. They are both at a point where they are dry when they wake up from nap but I still use the pull ups just in case. They are more often than not wet in the mornings still.
Not much other news. This cold is making me very tired as I am not sleeping well at night. I hope to see big improvements by tomorrow.
My mom, sister and niece came for a visit on Tuesday and spent the night with us. The boys had a great time playing with my sister. She loves to play with them and keeps them very busy. They left yesterday around 2:00ish. It was good timing as they kept the boys busy while I was able to take it easy a bit and nurse my cold.
We are suppose to be going to Kansas City soon. I hope I am over this cold by then.
The boys are climbing on their jungle gym more and more these days. They are really starting to enjoy it now. Right now they are sitting in a chair together looking at books. They have been busy playing with their cars, trucks and parking garage this morning. I can definitely tell they are starting to stick with something longer and longer these days. They are talking up a storm and say so many funny, cute things that I can no longer keep up with them.
We are still on the no pull ups unless they are napping or at night time thing and it is going very well. I'm so glad that I finally did this. Nick has asked to wear a pull up several times and has shown some resistance at times but he is really doing very well with potty training and has had very few accidents. He went three days in a row without any accidents but I think he may have had one accident on the 4th day, in the afternoon. It was a day with no nap so that probably didn't help because he gets very tired. Ben puzzles me because I have seen him go many days in a row without an accident in the past but he has been having more than I expected. They are both at a point where they are dry when they wake up from nap but I still use the pull ups just in case. They are more often than not wet in the mornings still.
Not much other news. This cold is making me very tired as I am not sleeping well at night. I hope to see big improvements by tomorrow.
Monday, March 23, 2009
March 23, 2009
Spring is here and so the rains are beginning. So far today it has just been very windy and cloudy but we are suppose to get quite a bit of rain this afternoon, tomorrow morning and then again later in the week.
We had a great weekend. I had some time to go by myself and run some errands. The boys got to spend a lot of time with daddy, which they were really craving. The dad got to work out and do the things that he likes to do on the weekends. The boys spent some time with mommy and we did a bunch of painting and cutting and pasting. They had these little wooden cars they had received in their stockings and they were ready to be painted but we had never done that so I let them paint their cars. They had a lot of fun with it. (More pics coming:). And we all went to church and out to eat on Sunday. So all is back to normal in our world, at least until the dad has to do hospital duty again in May.
It was such a warm, pretty day here yesterday afternoon that the dad decided to go for a bicycle ride. As soon as the boys heard where he was going, they both wanted to go too. He had taken them once before and rented one of those little kid-hauling trailers that goes behind the bike. He is such a great dad. He helped them get ready real quick, put some sun screen on them and off they all went. I enjoyed my quiet time while they were gone:).
When they came back, both boys came running in to my room to see me. They were both quite happy and said they had had fun, when I asked them. A bit later the dad came into the room with a not-so-happy face and said "The next time I say I'm going to take them with me, please talk me out of that idea." After taking the time to load up his bike and go over to the rental shop, rent the trailer and get it all hooked up, they only rode for about 5 minutes before both of them were saying they wanted to go home. The thing that really bothered him was that he really wanted to get some exercise and did not get to after all. Oh well, they will enjoy it a lot more once they have their own bikes to ride. We are hoping to find them each a bike either at a garage sale or on Craig's list sometime this spring.
This morning after breakfast, I read to the boys for a while and then we played a couple of games. They love to play "Mother may I":). They have been very interested in letters lately and in guessing with what letter a word starts so I decided to go over letter sounds with them. We had not done this in quite a long time so I was not sure how they would do. I have these flash cards that came with this Phonics program I purchased at the home school conference in Kansas City last year. So I got them out and we went through them all and they did really well. I was impressed with how well they did and how many sounds they can make very well now. They still have trouble pronouncing a few, like the letter f for instance, but I think they know the sound they just don't have all of the muscles in their tongue yet. Overall they did very well.
Yesterday we decided to forgo naps after church. We went to a huge nursery instead to buy a replacement for a bush in our yard that died. When we got home, we spent the rest of the afternoon outdoors playing and doing yard work. It was very warm out but also very windy. It is incredibly windy here this time of year. I don't remember that from my childhood. When we put the boys to bed last night, they were WIRED. It was the dad's turn and he had a bit of a time getting them to settle down.
Today at lunch the boys did a great job cleaning up after themselves. I was still eating, since I started later. They both cleared their plates, dumped uneaten bits in the trash and loaded their plates and forks in the dishwasher. They have been clearing their dishes for a while but today was the first day I had them dump the debris in the trash and put their dishes in the dishwasher. They are learning to be very good helpers.
I bought a book at my favorite used bookstore this weekend. It is by Larry Burkett and it is about raising financially responsible children. I can't remember the exact name yet but it looks like it is going to be a very good book. He lays out a really great plan for teaching your kids about money....what God says about money, making good family rules about money and lots of other things. And, you can start as early as three years old so I bought it at the perfect time. I am sure I will also learn a lot from this process:).
Today we are doing nap again. I have noticed in the past that when the boys missed their nap, they were sometimes extra tired the next day. So I am thinking maybe I should ease into giving up naps by doing every other day. Not sure but I have a dr. appt. this afternoon and wanted them to be in a good mood for it. So they are taking a nap today but not sure what I will do tomorrow.
I have such mixed feelings about the nap thing. On the one hand, I am thinking this is the perfect time because I want them to be able to spend lots of time playing outside this summer. On the other hand, I really enjoy the break:). What mom doesn't, right? I need to figure out a plan for teaching them how to have a quiet time without it seeming like some sort of punishment. I'm thinking that if we gave up naps but had a one hour quiet time, that would still give me a break. I'm just not sure how to have them do that. They can't do it in their room because they share a room, it is upstairs away from everything and it only has some stuff animals and books in it and nothing else. If I put them in here by themselves, they will go wild, running and jumping around. So I need to keep them downstairs, separated and where I can see them and I need to give them things to do. That is about as far as I have gotten so far.
We had a great weekend. I had some time to go by myself and run some errands. The boys got to spend a lot of time with daddy, which they were really craving. The dad got to work out and do the things that he likes to do on the weekends. The boys spent some time with mommy and we did a bunch of painting and cutting and pasting. They had these little wooden cars they had received in their stockings and they were ready to be painted but we had never done that so I let them paint their cars. They had a lot of fun with it. (More pics coming:). And we all went to church and out to eat on Sunday. So all is back to normal in our world, at least until the dad has to do hospital duty again in May.
It was such a warm, pretty day here yesterday afternoon that the dad decided to go for a bicycle ride. As soon as the boys heard where he was going, they both wanted to go too. He had taken them once before and rented one of those little kid-hauling trailers that goes behind the bike. He is such a great dad. He helped them get ready real quick, put some sun screen on them and off they all went. I enjoyed my quiet time while they were gone:).
When they came back, both boys came running in to my room to see me. They were both quite happy and said they had had fun, when I asked them. A bit later the dad came into the room with a not-so-happy face and said "The next time I say I'm going to take them with me, please talk me out of that idea." After taking the time to load up his bike and go over to the rental shop, rent the trailer and get it all hooked up, they only rode for about 5 minutes before both of them were saying they wanted to go home. The thing that really bothered him was that he really wanted to get some exercise and did not get to after all. Oh well, they will enjoy it a lot more once they have their own bikes to ride. We are hoping to find them each a bike either at a garage sale or on Craig's list sometime this spring.
This morning after breakfast, I read to the boys for a while and then we played a couple of games. They love to play "Mother may I":). They have been very interested in letters lately and in guessing with what letter a word starts so I decided to go over letter sounds with them. We had not done this in quite a long time so I was not sure how they would do. I have these flash cards that came with this Phonics program I purchased at the home school conference in Kansas City last year. So I got them out and we went through them all and they did really well. I was impressed with how well they did and how many sounds they can make very well now. They still have trouble pronouncing a few, like the letter f for instance, but I think they know the sound they just don't have all of the muscles in their tongue yet. Overall they did very well.
Yesterday we decided to forgo naps after church. We went to a huge nursery instead to buy a replacement for a bush in our yard that died. When we got home, we spent the rest of the afternoon outdoors playing and doing yard work. It was very warm out but also very windy. It is incredibly windy here this time of year. I don't remember that from my childhood. When we put the boys to bed last night, they were WIRED. It was the dad's turn and he had a bit of a time getting them to settle down.
Today at lunch the boys did a great job cleaning up after themselves. I was still eating, since I started later. They both cleared their plates, dumped uneaten bits in the trash and loaded their plates and forks in the dishwasher. They have been clearing their dishes for a while but today was the first day I had them dump the debris in the trash and put their dishes in the dishwasher. They are learning to be very good helpers.
I bought a book at my favorite used bookstore this weekend. It is by Larry Burkett and it is about raising financially responsible children. I can't remember the exact name yet but it looks like it is going to be a very good book. He lays out a really great plan for teaching your kids about money....what God says about money, making good family rules about money and lots of other things. And, you can start as early as three years old so I bought it at the perfect time. I am sure I will also learn a lot from this process:).
Today we are doing nap again. I have noticed in the past that when the boys missed their nap, they were sometimes extra tired the next day. So I am thinking maybe I should ease into giving up naps by doing every other day. Not sure but I have a dr. appt. this afternoon and wanted them to be in a good mood for it. So they are taking a nap today but not sure what I will do tomorrow.
I have such mixed feelings about the nap thing. On the one hand, I am thinking this is the perfect time because I want them to be able to spend lots of time playing outside this summer. On the other hand, I really enjoy the break:). What mom doesn't, right? I need to figure out a plan for teaching them how to have a quiet time without it seeming like some sort of punishment. I'm thinking that if we gave up naps but had a one hour quiet time, that would still give me a break. I'm just not sure how to have them do that. They can't do it in their room because they share a room, it is upstairs away from everything and it only has some stuff animals and books in it and nothing else. If I put them in here by themselves, they will go wild, running and jumping around. So I need to keep them downstairs, separated and where I can see them and I need to give them things to do. That is about as far as I have gotten so far.
Friday, March 20, 2009
March 20, 2009
This is a picture I took last Friday when our friends were here for a play date. Something big was driving by and the boys were excited to watch.
Resident tricycle mechanics.
Resident cookie makers and eaters.
We had play date today at our friend's house. We all had a fun time and all of the boys got along well. The boys were still wearing their big boy pants full time (except for sleep time) and Nick went all day today without one accident for the first time ever. Ben had two accidents which really surprised me. Yesterday both boys had one accident each. We will keep this up and hopefully within the next couple of weeks we will see most accidents disappearing. The good thing is that all accidents are pee accidents. The boys are responsible for removing their soiled clothing and putting it in the laundry room. I help them clean up a bit and then they get dressed. They are pretty good at it. Our struggle is still with wanting to take the time away from playing to go potty. One day at a time:).
The dad was home at a very reasonable hour and both the mom and the dad were very happy that the weekend is now here. The boys will be very happy about it tomorrow morning when they wake up to find the dad at home. We are looking forward to having a normal weekend. I really don't know how families do it when one parent has to travel a lot.
Resident tricycle mechanics.
Resident cookie makers and eaters.
We had play date today at our friend's house. We all had a fun time and all of the boys got along well. The boys were still wearing their big boy pants full time (except for sleep time) and Nick went all day today without one accident for the first time ever. Ben had two accidents which really surprised me. Yesterday both boys had one accident each. We will keep this up and hopefully within the next couple of weeks we will see most accidents disappearing. The good thing is that all accidents are pee accidents. The boys are responsible for removing their soiled clothing and putting it in the laundry room. I help them clean up a bit and then they get dressed. They are pretty good at it. Our struggle is still with wanting to take the time away from playing to go potty. One day at a time:).
The dad was home at a very reasonable hour and both the mom and the dad were very happy that the weekend is now here. The boys will be very happy about it tomorrow morning when they wake up to find the dad at home. We are looking forward to having a normal weekend. I really don't know how families do it when one parent has to travel a lot.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
March 19, 2008
We are having a gloomy, chilly day here today but we were ready for it. Much to everyone's delight, we made cookies. Yum! The boys enjoyed helping and I did very well with their help most of the time but after a while, I was ready to finish up on my own:). We all enjoyed nice hot cookies, straight from the oven though.
They (doctors) say that sugar does not affect the way children behave but I beg to differ. Nick most especially is sometimes very impacted by sweets. I was a little late in getting the boys to nap and they are really having a hard time getting to sleep. Nick has not been able to calm himself or be still since he had his cookies.
Potty training is going very well. Yesterday Nick had only one accident all day and Ben had none. Today Nick has not had any and Ben has had one. Ben is a bit of a difficult one to read sometimes. I know all kids have accidents but this little boy seems to have great control and then, when he does have an accident, he sometimes tells me with a big grin on his face, as if he is happy about it...which leads me to believe it really was not an accident after all. There have been times when he had an accident and was upset about it and I knew, without a doubt, that it was indeed an accident.
The boys have both really missed their daddy over the past two weeks of him having to work so many hours. This morning when Nick came downstairs, he look at me with sleepy eyes and said "where's daddy?". I told him that daddy was at work and he immediately started crying and said he didn't want daddy to be at work anymore. I am thankful that tomorrow is Friday and then we will have a normal weekend where they will get to spend lots of time with daddy.
We had another first yesterday: Our first GRASS STAINS! Nick came in with grass stains on his jeans after playing in the yard. I saw them when I was helping him get ready for bed and I just smiled a big smile. There is just something all American about a little boy getting grass stains on the knees of his jeans.
I am working on taking more pics and will post some soon:).
Between yesterday and today, I have been asked three times if the boys have started school or are getting ready to or something along those lines. I guess their little back packs make people think they are going to school or something because that's when it started. I find it interesting that pretty much all kids go to preschool these days. I didn't even go to Kindergarten and I think I came out OK:). As for the boys, I think they are pretty much on target for their ages. I think their main focus right now should be playing and pretending. We have educational toys for them too so they learn about letters, numbers, shapes and stuff like that while playing. They can almost count to 20, although they still seem to miss 15 and sometimes maybe 16 too. They can count items up to at least 14. They know the alphabet and have really become interested in what letter words begin with. Ben usually instigates this game but they both enjoy sounding out the first letter of a word and trying to figure out what letter it starts with. Ben is very good at it already. They know the basic shapes and colors. We have not worked on our "school work" in a while though. We have done more cutting and pasting lately than anything else and just lots of reading books.
We'll keep doing what we are doing and, at some point, we will start being a bit more formal about it but not yet. Not sure when we will start that but definitely not yet. It will either be in the fall or maybe the next fall. Age-wise, we don't have to start anything formal for a while yet though so we will enjoy our freedom while it lasts. I especially enjoy the days when we have nothing planned and we can just do whatever we feel like doing, like today:).
They (doctors) say that sugar does not affect the way children behave but I beg to differ. Nick most especially is sometimes very impacted by sweets. I was a little late in getting the boys to nap and they are really having a hard time getting to sleep. Nick has not been able to calm himself or be still since he had his cookies.
Potty training is going very well. Yesterday Nick had only one accident all day and Ben had none. Today Nick has not had any and Ben has had one. Ben is a bit of a difficult one to read sometimes. I know all kids have accidents but this little boy seems to have great control and then, when he does have an accident, he sometimes tells me with a big grin on his face, as if he is happy about it...which leads me to believe it really was not an accident after all. There have been times when he had an accident and was upset about it and I knew, without a doubt, that it was indeed an accident.
The boys have both really missed their daddy over the past two weeks of him having to work so many hours. This morning when Nick came downstairs, he look at me with sleepy eyes and said "where's daddy?". I told him that daddy was at work and he immediately started crying and said he didn't want daddy to be at work anymore. I am thankful that tomorrow is Friday and then we will have a normal weekend where they will get to spend lots of time with daddy.
We had another first yesterday: Our first GRASS STAINS! Nick came in with grass stains on his jeans after playing in the yard. I saw them when I was helping him get ready for bed and I just smiled a big smile. There is just something all American about a little boy getting grass stains on the knees of his jeans.
I am working on taking more pics and will post some soon:).
Between yesterday and today, I have been asked three times if the boys have started school or are getting ready to or something along those lines. I guess their little back packs make people think they are going to school or something because that's when it started. I find it interesting that pretty much all kids go to preschool these days. I didn't even go to Kindergarten and I think I came out OK:). As for the boys, I think they are pretty much on target for their ages. I think their main focus right now should be playing and pretending. We have educational toys for them too so they learn about letters, numbers, shapes and stuff like that while playing. They can almost count to 20, although they still seem to miss 15 and sometimes maybe 16 too. They can count items up to at least 14. They know the alphabet and have really become interested in what letter words begin with. Ben usually instigates this game but they both enjoy sounding out the first letter of a word and trying to figure out what letter it starts with. Ben is very good at it already. They know the basic shapes and colors. We have not worked on our "school work" in a while though. We have done more cutting and pasting lately than anything else and just lots of reading books.
We'll keep doing what we are doing and, at some point, we will start being a bit more formal about it but not yet. Not sure when we will start that but definitely not yet. It will either be in the fall or maybe the next fall. Age-wise, we don't have to start anything formal for a while yet though so we will enjoy our freedom while it lasts. I especially enjoy the days when we have nothing planned and we can just do whatever we feel like doing, like today:).
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
March 18, 2009 Part 2
I'm sitting outside, enjoying the beautiful weather we are having. The boys are playing in their sandbox. This is the first time they have really stayed in there and played nicely together for a long period of time this spring, but then again, this is the first time I have sat out here with them, which they like.
Nick informed me he is making cookies (in the sandbox). He has cookies on his mind because we were going to make them before lunch but discovered we did not have one of the ingredients. He was disappointed but we will make them later.
A little time has gone by and I have made a trip into the house to retrieve requested measuring cups and spoons for the sandbox cooks. A little later, they are both loudly singing Happy Birthday. I'm sure they have prepared a beautiful birthday cake for some blessed person.
And now, Ben has poured a large bucket of sand over Nick's head and is having to spend a short stint in time out. He is insisting "I going to be nice now" and I am sure he will, once he can be quiet and "nice" long enough to get out of time out.
Nick is still cooking...or something.
They are so funny and they are such good kids.
Nick informed me he is making cookies (in the sandbox). He has cookies on his mind because we were going to make them before lunch but discovered we did not have one of the ingredients. He was disappointed but we will make them later.
A little time has gone by and I have made a trip into the house to retrieve requested measuring cups and spoons for the sandbox cooks. A little later, they are both loudly singing Happy Birthday. I'm sure they have prepared a beautiful birthday cake for some blessed person.
And now, Ben has poured a large bucket of sand over Nick's head and is having to spend a short stint in time out. He is insisting "I going to be nice now" and I am sure he will, once he can be quiet and "nice" long enough to get out of time out.
Nick is still cooking...or something.
They are so funny and they are such good kids.
March 18,2009
It is so beautiful here now. The trees are flowering and the flowers are flowering and everything is blooming all over the place. I really love spring. It seems to give me so much energy.
This morning I had to go in for a fasting blood draw. I hate having my blood drawn but today was surprisingly easy. I have very small veins and, when they finally find one they think they can use, it often moves away as they are trying to stick it. So it is normally not a very pleasant experience. Today the lady got it on the very first try. She put some kind of heated pad on my arm first and then she used one of the very tiny needles. Seems it was the perfect combination.
When we got home, we ate lunch and then we all went outside and played on the driveway. The boys rode their various riding toys and I rode one of the scooters. I was quite comfortable in shorts and a T-shirt. The boys had on T-shirts and jeans but Ben had on a zip-up sweat shirt over his T-shirt. He is having an issue with the short sleeves. He finally got so hot that I talked him into taking it off but only because I did it very quickly and distracted him right away. He is so funny about it and he is totally not into wearing shorts because he doesn't want his knees to "stick out".
Now it is nap time. I am having second thoughts about naps because I want the boys to have more time to play outside. But then I really don't want to change anything else while we are trying to finalize the potty training, so I will readdress this later.
The potty training is going well. Ben has not had any accidents. I knew he wouldn't if he didn't want to. He has great control but when he sees Nick getting away with wearing a pull up and not having to stop playing to run to the bathroom then he wants to do that too. Nick had several accidents the first two days, although I would say he probably had fewer yesterday than the day before and even less today. So far he has only had one accident today, which is great, although I had them both go before we left the house and then again before we left the clinic to come back home. He should have gone again before going outside to play and I didn't think about it and he is not as inclined to think of it himself like Ben is.
There have been several times that Nick asked for his pull up back, cried for it and even through a fit. He is not very into this having to stop playing to make time to go potty. Hopefully he will have a change of heart soon.
In retrospect, I think a lot of our trouble has been due to the fact that Ben was more ready to be trained and Nick was not quite there so training them together has made the situation more difficult but there really was no good way to train them separately. Regardless, I'm sure we will get there eventually.
We hit another milestone yesterday, albeit very belatedly. I finally found small back packs for the boys and transferred stuff from the big diaper bag to their small bags. They are so excited to get to carry their own back packs. It is cute. It is also nice for me not to have to carry the big one. It was mostly used for snacks, water and various small items that could entertain a small child during times of waiting and the two pull ups, some wipes and sometimes a change of clothes. Now they each have a change of pants, some wipes in a small baggy and their small entertainment items, plus snacks and water sometimes. I think this is going to work out very nicely.
In other news, we are heading to Kansas City soon to visit our friends there and I am sooo excited and ready to get away. We all need it and we have not seen them for a while so it will be a very refreshing time for us. I'm not sure what to do about our cats though, as my friend who used to care for them has moved away. We won't be gone very long so I may just leave out lots of everything for them and they will likely be fine.
I know I need to take more pics of the boys and post them and I will make an effort. It is more challenging and less fun than it used to be when they were little. Back then they would get used to me holding the camera. They would eventually not notice me as I took their pics and I could get some really good candid shots. Now days, as soon as they see or hear me with the camera, they immediately quit what they are doing and they make fake faces and then they want to see their pics right away on the back of the camera. Makes it very hard to get good shots. I see them doing the cutest things and I think I would love to have a picture of that but it is almost impossible to get candid shots anymore. I'll have to work on it.
Their napping now so I will go get a few things done. Have a happy day:).
This morning I had to go in for a fasting blood draw. I hate having my blood drawn but today was surprisingly easy. I have very small veins and, when they finally find one they think they can use, it often moves away as they are trying to stick it. So it is normally not a very pleasant experience. Today the lady got it on the very first try. She put some kind of heated pad on my arm first and then she used one of the very tiny needles. Seems it was the perfect combination.
When we got home, we ate lunch and then we all went outside and played on the driveway. The boys rode their various riding toys and I rode one of the scooters. I was quite comfortable in shorts and a T-shirt. The boys had on T-shirts and jeans but Ben had on a zip-up sweat shirt over his T-shirt. He is having an issue with the short sleeves. He finally got so hot that I talked him into taking it off but only because I did it very quickly and distracted him right away. He is so funny about it and he is totally not into wearing shorts because he doesn't want his knees to "stick out".
Now it is nap time. I am having second thoughts about naps because I want the boys to have more time to play outside. But then I really don't want to change anything else while we are trying to finalize the potty training, so I will readdress this later.
The potty training is going well. Ben has not had any accidents. I knew he wouldn't if he didn't want to. He has great control but when he sees Nick getting away with wearing a pull up and not having to stop playing to run to the bathroom then he wants to do that too. Nick had several accidents the first two days, although I would say he probably had fewer yesterday than the day before and even less today. So far he has only had one accident today, which is great, although I had them both go before we left the house and then again before we left the clinic to come back home. He should have gone again before going outside to play and I didn't think about it and he is not as inclined to think of it himself like Ben is.
There have been several times that Nick asked for his pull up back, cried for it and even through a fit. He is not very into this having to stop playing to make time to go potty. Hopefully he will have a change of heart soon.
In retrospect, I think a lot of our trouble has been due to the fact that Ben was more ready to be trained and Nick was not quite there so training them together has made the situation more difficult but there really was no good way to train them separately. Regardless, I'm sure we will get there eventually.
We hit another milestone yesterday, albeit very belatedly. I finally found small back packs for the boys and transferred stuff from the big diaper bag to their small bags. They are so excited to get to carry their own back packs. It is cute. It is also nice for me not to have to carry the big one. It was mostly used for snacks, water and various small items that could entertain a small child during times of waiting and the two pull ups, some wipes and sometimes a change of clothes. Now they each have a change of pants, some wipes in a small baggy and their small entertainment items, plus snacks and water sometimes. I think this is going to work out very nicely.
In other news, we are heading to Kansas City soon to visit our friends there and I am sooo excited and ready to get away. We all need it and we have not seen them for a while so it will be a very refreshing time for us. I'm not sure what to do about our cats though, as my friend who used to care for them has moved away. We won't be gone very long so I may just leave out lots of everything for them and they will likely be fine.
I know I need to take more pics of the boys and post them and I will make an effort. It is more challenging and less fun than it used to be when they were little. Back then they would get used to me holding the camera. They would eventually not notice me as I took their pics and I could get some really good candid shots. Now days, as soon as they see or hear me with the camera, they immediately quit what they are doing and they make fake faces and then they want to see their pics right away on the back of the camera. Makes it very hard to get good shots. I see them doing the cutest things and I think I would love to have a picture of that but it is almost impossible to get candid shots anymore. I'll have to work on it.
Their napping now so I will go get a few things done. Have a happy day:).
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
March 17, 2009
I have finally decided to finalize (she wrote with a grin) our potty training efforts. I must confess that the reason the boys are not fully trained already is because I have not wanted to clean up accidents. Starting yesterday, we went to big boy pants only, even when going somewhere outside of the house. So far, so good. I just have to do more laundry for a few days and hopefully that will be the end of it.
But I'm not sure about night times. I had read to go ahead and put them in big boy pants at night too and just limit their drink intake before bedtime. Our problem with that is that we eat dinner late and there is not enough time between dinner and bedtime to really take care of that. So, I'm not sure how to handle this, other than just staying in pull ups at night for a while longer.
I have had so many funny-boy-things come up during this short time of not blogging and so many thoughts about things I wanted to blog about. Isn't that the way it always is? As soon as you stop, you think of tons of things to say. The only funny-boy-thing I can think of right now was that the boys and I were all in the bathroom the other day, taking care of business. Ben was standing next to me and I can't remember now what he was doing. He might have just finished pulling his pants up. He tooted and then he looked up at me and smiled and said "I making music!". That was certainly not what I expected to hear and I cracked up laughing.
But I'm not sure about night times. I had read to go ahead and put them in big boy pants at night too and just limit their drink intake before bedtime. Our problem with that is that we eat dinner late and there is not enough time between dinner and bedtime to really take care of that. So, I'm not sure how to handle this, other than just staying in pull ups at night for a while longer.
I have had so many funny-boy-things come up during this short time of not blogging and so many thoughts about things I wanted to blog about. Isn't that the way it always is? As soon as you stop, you think of tons of things to say. The only funny-boy-thing I can think of right now was that the boys and I were all in the bathroom the other day, taking care of business. Ben was standing next to me and I can't remember now what he was doing. He might have just finished pulling his pants up. He tooted and then he looked up at me and smiled and said "I making music!". That was certainly not what I expected to hear and I cracked up laughing.
Saturday, March 07, 2009
March 7, 2009 Part 2
Here are some pictures I have been meaning to post for a while.
Nick wanted me to take his picture with that little piece of white play dough in front of him. Isn't that special?
These next two are my play dough creations:). Notice that we long ago gave up trying to keep colors separate. If they stay separate, that's great. If not, that's great and quite interesting too:).
This is Ben's creation:
Nick and Ben were playing 'car' one morning. I tried to sneak up on them to take a cute picture but they caught me. It is almost impossible to do that these days.
Ben and Nick 'reading' to each other. They have so many stories memorized that they do a pretty good job of pretending to read. They each have a version of Peter Rabbit and they are comparing them.
A boy and his cat. Nick is becoming pretty good friends with Dancer and both boys are spending less time bothering the cats these days. Nick did push Dancer a bit too far last night and Dancer gave him a little bite on the arm. He didn't break the skin but he let Nick know that he meant business. Nick was a bit shocked because Dancer puts up with a lot so Nick was not expecting him to react that way. I think Nick learned a good lesson though and he will think twice before mistreating Dancer in the future. That being said, most of the time they are very good buddies, Dancer seeks Nick out and purrs very loudly when Nick gives him attention.
I forgot to mention that I am really starting to see just how much Ben does not like change. We broke out the shorts and T-shirts this week and Ben has not been very excited about wearing a T-shirt. He wanted his long sleeves and told me several times that he did not like the short sleeves. The problem with that is that he is very hot natured so I knew he would be too hot once he started playing, especially if he was outside. We found a good compromise. He starts off by wearing a light weight hoodie jacket and then takes it off when he starts getting hot. He has also not been real excited about switching to sandals but I know he will like them once he starts wearing them again. He cracks me up sometimes though with his resistance to change. My sister and her son also are not big fans of change so he is in good company in our family.
Nick wanted me to take his picture with that little piece of white play dough in front of him. Isn't that special?
These next two are my play dough creations:). Notice that we long ago gave up trying to keep colors separate. If they stay separate, that's great. If not, that's great and quite interesting too:).
This is Ben's creation:
Nick and Ben were playing 'car' one morning. I tried to sneak up on them to take a cute picture but they caught me. It is almost impossible to do that these days.
Ben and Nick 'reading' to each other. They have so many stories memorized that they do a pretty good job of pretending to read. They each have a version of Peter Rabbit and they are comparing them.
A boy and his cat. Nick is becoming pretty good friends with Dancer and both boys are spending less time bothering the cats these days. Nick did push Dancer a bit too far last night and Dancer gave him a little bite on the arm. He didn't break the skin but he let Nick know that he meant business. Nick was a bit shocked because Dancer puts up with a lot so Nick was not expecting him to react that way. I think Nick learned a good lesson though and he will think twice before mistreating Dancer in the future. That being said, most of the time they are very good buddies, Dancer seeks Nick out and purrs very loudly when Nick gives him attention.
I forgot to mention that I am really starting to see just how much Ben does not like change. We broke out the shorts and T-shirts this week and Ben has not been very excited about wearing a T-shirt. He wanted his long sleeves and told me several times that he did not like the short sleeves. The problem with that is that he is very hot natured so I knew he would be too hot once he started playing, especially if he was outside. We found a good compromise. He starts off by wearing a light weight hoodie jacket and then takes it off when he starts getting hot. He has also not been real excited about switching to sandals but I know he will like them once he starts wearing them again. He cracks me up sometimes though with his resistance to change. My sister and her son also are not big fans of change so he is in good company in our family.
March 7, 2009
Well, we have been very busy around here lately. The weather has been beautiful and we have been spending a lot of our time outside. On Thursday, a friend of mine had a doctor's appointment so she dropped her two little boys off here for a play date. We spent most of our time outside, first playing in the side yard, playing in the sandbox, kicking balls, and climbing on the jungle gym, and then around back on the driveway, driving cars, trucks, trikes and scooters. Everyone played hard and then we came inside for lunch, just after my friend returned. The boys all had a fun time together. My friend's youngest son is around 19 or 20 months old I think. He is so little compared to the other three (her other son is a couple of months older than Ben) but he thinks he is the same age as the other three and he wants to do everything they do. It is so cute. He is quite a little cutie.
Yesterday the boys and I headed off to the park, first thing in the morning, and we spent all morning there. We met another mom with her baby daughter and two sons who were close in age to Ben and Nick and we all hung out together for the morning. The boys had a very fun time playing together. We went to one play area that is actually for kids who are a bit older, I think from 5 to 9 or something like that. I had taken the boys there last fall and it was too big for them. This time, they just took off and could do everything. One of the boys whom we befriended was almost five years old so he was the leader and Ben and Nick followed him on the big play structure. I was really amazed at how much they could do now compared to just last spring. It is just incredible how quickly they change and grow.
The boys have been playing out on the driveway in the late afternoons, while I am preparing dinner. I can watch them from the kitchen windows, so it works out well (there is no fence in that area). They love to pretend they are going to the post office, Home Depot, the grocery store or any number of places we go to on a regular basis. They also like to get the big brooms out of the garage and sweep the driveway or try to get leaves out from under the big piney bushes. I get a kick out of watching them play. They are at such a cute age.
Interestingly, the boys have not been arguing about things quite as much these last few days. Maybe because we have been busier and have been getting out of the house more and spending more time outside. After praying about it, I reverted back to a tool I had used once before, which was just making the instigator come over and sit near me for a short time. That really has seemed to nip it in the bud quickly, it keeps me from getting frustrated or aggravated and allows me to stay on an even keel while dealing with less than desirable behavior, which is definitely where I want to be:).
The dad is back on hospital duty for two weeks so he had to do rounds this morning. The boys and I were up and early today. We got dressed quickly and went to the McDonald's that has the fun play area. It was a last minute thought but one that had us all full of energy and excited about our day. Unfortunately, the play area does not open until 9:00 and I didn't know that:(. We decided to eat there anyway and just as we were finishing up our breakfast, I noticed that people were going into the play area, even though it was only around 8:35 or so. I asked one of the workers and they said the guy cleaning up must have left the door unlocked but we could go on in and play. So the boys did get to play after all.
We went shopping for some little boy sandals after that. First we went to Target, then to Kohl's (they had two pairs of boys sandals and about 15 for girls), then to Shoe Carnival, then Famous Footwear, and then to another place that I can't remember the name of right now......and we didn't end up buying anything! Can you believe it? They were either the wrong size, they didn't have hardly anything to choose from or they were just so ugly I didn't think I could stand to look at them all summer:). I'm not sure where we'll look next, although I did find out that Famous Footwear is having a buy one get one half off sale a week from tomorrow so we will likely go back then. The boys were incredibly good during this shopping spree.
Both boys are now napping so I am going to sign off for now and go get a few things done around here. Happy Saturday!
Yesterday the boys and I headed off to the park, first thing in the morning, and we spent all morning there. We met another mom with her baby daughter and two sons who were close in age to Ben and Nick and we all hung out together for the morning. The boys had a very fun time playing together. We went to one play area that is actually for kids who are a bit older, I think from 5 to 9 or something like that. I had taken the boys there last fall and it was too big for them. This time, they just took off and could do everything. One of the boys whom we befriended was almost five years old so he was the leader and Ben and Nick followed him on the big play structure. I was really amazed at how much they could do now compared to just last spring. It is just incredible how quickly they change and grow.
The boys have been playing out on the driveway in the late afternoons, while I am preparing dinner. I can watch them from the kitchen windows, so it works out well (there is no fence in that area). They love to pretend they are going to the post office, Home Depot, the grocery store or any number of places we go to on a regular basis. They also like to get the big brooms out of the garage and sweep the driveway or try to get leaves out from under the big piney bushes. I get a kick out of watching them play. They are at such a cute age.
Interestingly, the boys have not been arguing about things quite as much these last few days. Maybe because we have been busier and have been getting out of the house more and spending more time outside. After praying about it, I reverted back to a tool I had used once before, which was just making the instigator come over and sit near me for a short time. That really has seemed to nip it in the bud quickly, it keeps me from getting frustrated or aggravated and allows me to stay on an even keel while dealing with less than desirable behavior, which is definitely where I want to be:).
The dad is back on hospital duty for two weeks so he had to do rounds this morning. The boys and I were up and early today. We got dressed quickly and went to the McDonald's that has the fun play area. It was a last minute thought but one that had us all full of energy and excited about our day. Unfortunately, the play area does not open until 9:00 and I didn't know that:(. We decided to eat there anyway and just as we were finishing up our breakfast, I noticed that people were going into the play area, even though it was only around 8:35 or so. I asked one of the workers and they said the guy cleaning up must have left the door unlocked but we could go on in and play. So the boys did get to play after all.
We went shopping for some little boy sandals after that. First we went to Target, then to Kohl's (they had two pairs of boys sandals and about 15 for girls), then to Shoe Carnival, then Famous Footwear, and then to another place that I can't remember the name of right now......and we didn't end up buying anything! Can you believe it? They were either the wrong size, they didn't have hardly anything to choose from or they were just so ugly I didn't think I could stand to look at them all summer:). I'm not sure where we'll look next, although I did find out that Famous Footwear is having a buy one get one half off sale a week from tomorrow so we will likely go back then. The boys were incredibly good during this shopping spree.
Both boys are now napping so I am going to sign off for now and go get a few things done around here. Happy Saturday!
Wednesday, March 04, 2009
March 4, 2009
If they don't change the forecast (that's a big IF), then we will be having some beautiful weather for the next week. Today was around 65 degrees and windy. The boys and I enjoyed some outside time. Unfortunately, the mornings are still pretty chilly so they are not getting as much time outside as they would like. They really love being outside these days and are always asking to go out, however Nick does not tolerate cold very well at all.
Yesterday morning it was cold and I was feeling a bit restless, like we really needed to get out and go do something. So we went to Bike, Balls, You at a community center at one of our local parks. We were basically in a basket ball court / gym. They had tons of balls of all different sizes and lots of other fun things for kids to play with / on. Lots of people showed up and most people brought tricycles or bikes with training wheels or some other type of ride-on toy. The boys each took their tricycles but it is pretty much a free for all, where everyone rides everyone else's ride-on-toy. The boys had a blast and they want to go back again sometime. It costs fifty cents per child. Gotta love that.
As we were on our way home, we passed a McDonald's with a really great play area. The boys had never played there. I didn't know it was a great play area. I just knew they had one and I was not quite ready to head home, as it was only 11:00am so we stopped at McDonald's (aka "the yucky place" :) and the boys had more play time. The play structure was very tall and had two nice slides coming off of it. I was not sure the boys would climb that high and they were a bit hesitant at first but it didn't take very long before they were both climbing all over the place and sliding down from the top. After they played for 30 minutes or so, we had a bite to eat, they played for another 15 or 20 minutes and then we headed home.
I payed dearly for all of this play time. It was too much for Nick. He started melting down over something, I think after we got home, and there was no coming back from it until he finally fell asleep at nap time. It was one miserable experience and I won't be over-doing it like that again any time soon. I have learned my lesson.
When he gets overly tired, there is just no pleasing him. For example, he was in his bed and still crying. I was giving Ben a hug and kiss before nap and Nick was saying (while crying) that he did not want a hug and kiss. He said it over and over and was pretty forceful about it so I said OK and I sat in my chair. Then his crying / fit escalated and he was asking for a hug and a kiss.
I have been through this with him before and it is absolutely a no win situation. If I get up to give him a hug and kiss, he will immediately change back to "NO!" "I no want a hug and kiss!" and then when I sit back down, he starts crying for a hug and kiss again. So this time, I just stayed in my chair and ignored him for a while. At some point, I had to get up for something for him (can't remember what it was) and I went to give him a hug and kiss and he started in on the "NO!" business so I gave him one anyway because I knew he would cry for one again after I sat down. After I sat down, he started in on "I want to hold you" (meaning he wants me to hold him) and, yes, if I got up to hold him he would say "NO!"....
So that is an example of how he gets when he is overly tired and that is why he is still taking a nap. Before we made it up to the room, he was doing the same thing about using the potty. He didn't want to sit on the potty. So I said fine and started to help him put on his pull up. Then he wanted to sit on the potty (and didn't want me to help him with his pull up)....and back and forth it goes and he is crying the whole time. This happens about everything. When he gets like this, there is really no way to please him. The only thing I can do is to get him into his bed as quickly as possible and then I have to ignore him until he stops and finally goes to sleep.
What I was going to write about today though was that these two little guys are fighting about EVERYTHING right now. It is getting to the point that it is driving me batty at times. They pick fights with each other all the time and I'm not sure how to stop it. Here are some examples:
- Ben is on the tower (that thing we have in the kitchen so they can be up at the counter; kind of like standing in a chair but safer) and Nick asks Ben if he can get up too. (Note that Nick knows that he can get up and does not have to ask permission from Ben and he also knows that, since he asked, Ben will most definitely say no.) Ben says no and tries to keep Nick from getting up. Big fight breaks out (mommy! He won't let me....), along with each pushing the other too, possibly.
- Nick is in the bathroom and Ben needs to go to. We are ALWAYS in the bathroom together, all three of us, so this is a perfectly normal situation. But on this occasion, Ben says "can I come in too Nick?". Now, make no mistake about it, Ben knows he does not have to ask and he knows very well that Nick will say no, which is of course exactly what happens and Ben starts whining "mommy! He won't let me....).
- The three of us were in the garage today and Ben pointed at the attic door and asked me if that is the attic. I said it was and he said that he would like to go in the attic when he gets bigger. Nick says he wants to go when he gets bigger too. Then Nick says he will also need to take a flashlight so Ben says that he will need a flashlight too. (this may have been a question; can't remember) Nick says no to Ben about the flashlight and another argument breaks out.
And then of course there is the normal fighting over toys that I have that you want and that you have that I want and those that are blue and all that.
Is this enough to make someone nuts?? I have had several people tell me that it is just their age. I need to pray about this but, in the meantime, if you have experienced this and have some thoughts to share, I am open to hearing them. I know my problem is that I need to spend more time praying and less time watching / reading news.
Yesterday morning it was cold and I was feeling a bit restless, like we really needed to get out and go do something. So we went to Bike, Balls, You at a community center at one of our local parks. We were basically in a basket ball court / gym. They had tons of balls of all different sizes and lots of other fun things for kids to play with / on. Lots of people showed up and most people brought tricycles or bikes with training wheels or some other type of ride-on toy. The boys each took their tricycles but it is pretty much a free for all, where everyone rides everyone else's ride-on-toy. The boys had a blast and they want to go back again sometime. It costs fifty cents per child. Gotta love that.
As we were on our way home, we passed a McDonald's with a really great play area. The boys had never played there. I didn't know it was a great play area. I just knew they had one and I was not quite ready to head home, as it was only 11:00am so we stopped at McDonald's (aka "the yucky place" :) and the boys had more play time. The play structure was very tall and had two nice slides coming off of it. I was not sure the boys would climb that high and they were a bit hesitant at first but it didn't take very long before they were both climbing all over the place and sliding down from the top. After they played for 30 minutes or so, we had a bite to eat, they played for another 15 or 20 minutes and then we headed home.
I payed dearly for all of this play time. It was too much for Nick. He started melting down over something, I think after we got home, and there was no coming back from it until he finally fell asleep at nap time. It was one miserable experience and I won't be over-doing it like that again any time soon. I have learned my lesson.
When he gets overly tired, there is just no pleasing him. For example, he was in his bed and still crying. I was giving Ben a hug and kiss before nap and Nick was saying (while crying) that he did not want a hug and kiss. He said it over and over and was pretty forceful about it so I said OK and I sat in my chair. Then his crying / fit escalated and he was asking for a hug and a kiss.
I have been through this with him before and it is absolutely a no win situation. If I get up to give him a hug and kiss, he will immediately change back to "NO!" "I no want a hug and kiss!" and then when I sit back down, he starts crying for a hug and kiss again. So this time, I just stayed in my chair and ignored him for a while. At some point, I had to get up for something for him (can't remember what it was) and I went to give him a hug and kiss and he started in on the "NO!" business so I gave him one anyway because I knew he would cry for one again after I sat down. After I sat down, he started in on "I want to hold you" (meaning he wants me to hold him) and, yes, if I got up to hold him he would say "NO!"....
So that is an example of how he gets when he is overly tired and that is why he is still taking a nap. Before we made it up to the room, he was doing the same thing about using the potty. He didn't want to sit on the potty. So I said fine and started to help him put on his pull up. Then he wanted to sit on the potty (and didn't want me to help him with his pull up)....and back and forth it goes and he is crying the whole time. This happens about everything. When he gets like this, there is really no way to please him. The only thing I can do is to get him into his bed as quickly as possible and then I have to ignore him until he stops and finally goes to sleep.
What I was going to write about today though was that these two little guys are fighting about EVERYTHING right now. It is getting to the point that it is driving me batty at times. They pick fights with each other all the time and I'm not sure how to stop it. Here are some examples:
- Ben is on the tower (that thing we have in the kitchen so they can be up at the counter; kind of like standing in a chair but safer) and Nick asks Ben if he can get up too. (Note that Nick knows that he can get up and does not have to ask permission from Ben and he also knows that, since he asked, Ben will most definitely say no.) Ben says no and tries to keep Nick from getting up. Big fight breaks out (mommy! He won't let me....), along with each pushing the other too, possibly.
- Nick is in the bathroom and Ben needs to go to. We are ALWAYS in the bathroom together, all three of us, so this is a perfectly normal situation. But on this occasion, Ben says "can I come in too Nick?". Now, make no mistake about it, Ben knows he does not have to ask and he knows very well that Nick will say no, which is of course exactly what happens and Ben starts whining "mommy! He won't let me....).
- The three of us were in the garage today and Ben pointed at the attic door and asked me if that is the attic. I said it was and he said that he would like to go in the attic when he gets bigger. Nick says he wants to go when he gets bigger too. Then Nick says he will also need to take a flashlight so Ben says that he will need a flashlight too. (this may have been a question; can't remember) Nick says no to Ben about the flashlight and another argument breaks out.
And then of course there is the normal fighting over toys that I have that you want and that you have that I want and those that are blue and all that.
Is this enough to make someone nuts?? I have had several people tell me that it is just their age. I need to pray about this but, in the meantime, if you have experienced this and have some thoughts to share, I am open to hearing them. I know my problem is that I need to spend more time praying and less time watching / reading news.
Sunday, March 01, 2009
March 1, 2009
I am in the bedroom, taking a short break before putting the boys to bed. The boys are in the living room playing together. They seem to have been having a bit of a disagreement about something. I heard Nick say to Ben "I bery angry at you". I was not sure I heard correctly but then, it came again, "I bery angry at you." No response either time from Ben and nothing happened afterward so maybe Nick was pretending that "his guy" was angry at someone else in their pretend world.
I love the "bery" word. Too cute. The other day, Nick said "it bery bery cold outside" or something like that. It always brings a smile to my face.
We have been talking about first names, middle names and last names around here recently. The other day Ben held up a match box vehicle and asked me "mommy, what is it's name?". I could only see the bottom of the vehicle so I said it was a car and then backtracked and said I was not sure because I could not see the top of it. He showed it to me and I told him it was a truck and he said "no, what is it's middle name?" He was actually trying to figure out what kind of truck it was, meaning what it's function was.
I have a couple of other funny things that were said recently but can't remember them right now. I hate when I do that. Hopefully I will remember them eventually. Must start writing them down again. They are saying some very funny things these days.
Just finished reading The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands by Dr. Laura Schlessinger. Excellent book. I highly recommend it and I am so glad I read it. Reminded me of what a wonderful man I am married to and what a wonderful life I have with him and my two sons. God has blessed me so much.
Time for bedtime routine. Must go for now.
I love the "bery" word. Too cute. The other day, Nick said "it bery bery cold outside" or something like that. It always brings a smile to my face.
We have been talking about first names, middle names and last names around here recently. The other day Ben held up a match box vehicle and asked me "mommy, what is it's name?". I could only see the bottom of the vehicle so I said it was a car and then backtracked and said I was not sure because I could not see the top of it. He showed it to me and I told him it was a truck and he said "no, what is it's middle name?" He was actually trying to figure out what kind of truck it was, meaning what it's function was.
I have a couple of other funny things that were said recently but can't remember them right now. I hate when I do that. Hopefully I will remember them eventually. Must start writing them down again. They are saying some very funny things these days.
Just finished reading The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands by Dr. Laura Schlessinger. Excellent book. I highly recommend it and I am so glad I read it. Reminded me of what a wonderful man I am married to and what a wonderful life I have with him and my two sons. God has blessed me so much.
Time for bedtime routine. Must go for now.
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