Scary Snow

Lance isn't afraid of many things. He's a pretty tough & fearless little boy, but the few things that he is afraid of are kind of silly. For instance, what is so terrible & frightening about bubble bath? Or that ever terrifying green stuff on the ground called grass (I think he's finally conquered that one)? And then there is...snow. It's white, it's fluffy, it's soft (unless frozen), and yet it is some of the scariest stuff there is. Just ask Lance.

After the first snow, we couldn't even get him to walk down the sidewalk in an inch of snow. He kept holding his hands up to us to be carried. When we insisted that he walk, he went back inside the house & got his trike. Clever little guy. He rode it down the sidewalk, through the horrifying snow, to the van. His feet never touched snow. The next day he did the same thing. We've been wondering how we'll ever get him outside to play this winter. He loves to get bundled up, and he even wears his snow boots around the house all day long. But he refuses to touch that darn snow--he definitely won't be making snow angels any time soon.

I guess I'll keep bundling him up & taking him outside (without the trike), and maybe one day he'll actually have fun. Until then, he'll just have to enjoy his winter attire...indoors?

He played inside for quite a while, refusing to take off his coat, hat, or boots.

We did finally get him to play outside (on the cleared sidewalks).

Those are some mighty cold cheeks--proof that he was actually outside. :)

Another one? How lucky that we get not one, but two Daily Doses in one day! This is David talking about his sister, Julie, who has lived in Virginia for over 3 years now. I do feel a little better now. Apparently I'm not the only one he doesn't listen to.

David (sounding incredulous): Rachel, did you know Julie lives in Virginia?

Rachel: Yes, i knew that. She has lived there for quite a while. Why?

David: I thought she lived in Alabama.

Look How Big

My baby is getting too big too fast. He's 4 months old, & I have no idea where the last 4 months went! He is still the happiest & smiliest little thing, and I just can't squeeze him enough. It's a good thing he likes to be squeezed because he gets it all day long--from Mom & big brother. He still doesn't do much more than sit & slobber, but he does have a knack for making us all happy.

This is our little moose. :)

Here's your DAILY DOSE of DAVID. Luke got his first spanking at 4 months. At least that's what David says. We all know what that means--it's probably not true, but David does aim to entertain. I had left Luke with David who was sitting on the bed eating dinner & playing video games (he told me not to tell anyone he plays video games, so shhhhh, don't tell). According to David, Luke looked directly at him, rolled off the pillow he had been propped up with, smiled at Daddy, & intentionally stuck his foot right in the plate of food. So David spanked him. Hmmmm...I'm preeeetty sure Luke did no such thing. He he. For those of you that are worried that this might be true, rest assured that David would never do this. He's a big softy when it comes to his boys. He's also full of crap. :)

M is for....

Top Ten Wednesday - Letter M

Game time!!!! I thought that this might be fun to play. All you have to do is make a list of ten of your favorite things. But there is a little catch. Everything on the list has to start with a specific letter of the Alphabet. That letter is randomly assigned by the blogger who you are playing with!

I was assigned the letter M by Alicia at Two B's and Me.

Marriage - It certainly has it's ups and downs, but I still love being married to my crazy man.

Motherhood - I love every part of being Mommy. It is what I wanted more than anything, & I believe it is the most important job a woman can have.

Making Memories - I love every memory from family outings, kiddie milestones, family get-togethers, friends, holidays, and silly every day things.

Money - Of course it is a necessity, but it's also fun to spend shopping!

Music - I love music & singing along with music & watching my son dance to any music that is playing.

Mint M&M's - One of those wonderfully delicious candies that I eat as much as I can before the holidays are over & I can't find them anymore.

Milk - I love, love, love milk. I have to have it with every meal & every dessert.

Mail - Who doesn't like to get mail?

Math - I know, I'm weird. But I really love Math. In high school I could have been happy doing math all day long. I'm a math dummy now (since I have no need for algebra, trig, & calculus on a daily basis), but I'm pretty sure I still love it.

Merry Christmas - I love so many things about this time of year, & I just want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas!

Let me know if you want to play, & I'll assign you a letter.

Things to Smile About

We've all had 'em--crazy days that feel as if you don't stop but still get nothing accomplished. Then Daddy comes home, & you shout HOORAY because reinforcements have arrived. And then....you want to choke Daddy & send him back to work because he only adds to the chaos. In fact, what were you thinking? That daddy was going to make things a little better? help wrangle the toddler & bounce the attention demanding baby? But really all he has done is torture the kids so they fuss (because he thinks its hilarious), knocked a hole in the wall while wrestling with the toddler, melted plastic to the ceramic stove top & to a cookie sheet, & spilled a large cup of pepsi on the carpet. Yet, in spite of it all there are so many things to be grateful for & to laugh at, & so many reasons why we love the little people we call our babies & the tornado we call Daddy. Here are a few examples of the things that make me smile.

Today while I was sweeping the kitchen floor, some toddler (I won't name names) repeatedly ran through the pile of dirt & crumbs & junk. After he tracked the pile all over the floor several times, I finally gave him the frustrated mother tone & told him to get out of the kitchen. His reaction was to scowl, point his little finger at me, & say, "You a pankin'?" Interpretation: you want a spankin'? I wonder where he could have possibly picked that up?

Here's a picture of the same little stinker trying to escape. He couldn't find his shoes, but that didn't stop him. He decided Mom's shoes would work fine.

Of course what sleeping baby doesn't make us smile? After a long & hectic day of chasing the toddler & feeling as if you have a baby constantly stuck to you (which in fact you do), you put the little ones in their beds. Then after you're sure they're asleep, you tiptoe into their room to check on them & watch them sleeping peacefully (and then you realize that one of them is only pretending to be asleep). You're reminded of how precious & perfect & innocent they are, and you are so filled with love that you wonder how you can possibly contain it?

Last but certainly not least is Daddy. Even though he may drive you absolutely bonkers, he does make life more interesting, & he certainly makes you laugh. Especially when he is heading out the door & tells you he's going to the gym. You ask him what he's doing with the toddler's sippy cup. He says he's taking it to the gym. Huh? You wonder if you've heard him right & ask why he's taking it to the gym. He says he needed a cup with a lid for his gatorade. So that's A Daily Dose of David (our very own Daddy). And yes, he did take a purple sippy cup full of gatorade to the gym--that's my macho man!

The Jokester Strikes Again

I don't know why anything even takes me by surprise anymore. You'd think I would hardly bat an eye at David's daily pestering, pranks, & jokes. But silly me, I just keep falling right into his traps. It's just so dang hard when he "swears" he's serious or gives no indication at all that he's joking only to inform me later that he was just joking (and by later, I mean days or weeks later).

Tonight the big jerk about gave me a heart attack.

David & I both went upstairs to get Lance ready for bed, & we left Luke in his car seat on the couch. (Yes I know, not the smartest thing to do, but we did it, & now I'm confessing for the sake of a story.) Luke started fussing, so I went back downstairs to get him. I walked behind the couch into the kitchen for a quick second (not looking at the fussing baby), but when I came back, I saw the car seat tipped over on the couch with no baby in it. Talk about a moment of panic. I couldn't see Luke, so I ran around the couch knowing he must have fallen onto the floor--only to find this.....

Does it seem a bit strange that he would have fallen right onto a cushy blanket (which was draped over a boppy pillow)? Of course this prank reeked of David, and I breathed a big sigh of relief. So I took Luke upstairs where David was already waiting for me to tell him about Luke falling out of the car seat & off the couch & trying not to laugh. I didn't say a word. And David pretended he was laughing over something else--no doubt cracking himself up. It wasn't until much later that I confessed my initial feeling of horror when I saw the overturned car seat & no baby. And we both had a good laugh.

Upstaged

I make really good forts. Lance & I love our forts--with flashlights (he has a flashlight fetish). We use the couch, the dining room chairs, any nearby piece of furniture, & every blanket in the house to make the biggest fort possible. The goal is to make the fort take up every bit of space in the living room (so the only way to get through the living room is to crawl through the fort). My mom taught us how to make forts. It's like an ancient art passed down from generation to generation. All of you mothers know what I'm talking about. :) I love that I can do this with Lance & that he is so excited with our forts. And then David has to go and outdo me with this....
Hmmmmm, that is a bit simpler. Now that Daddy's fort has replaced mine as the best--Lance really did love this--Mommy will have to stick to kissing owies better. I do that way better than Daddy anyway.

And now a Daily Dose of David. David recently informed me that Christmas was his favorite holiday. I laughed because as far as I know, Scrooge doesn't like any holiday. I reminded him that he doesn't like to give gifts (that means spending money), he doesn't like Christmas trees or Christmas lights, & he hates snow. He responded with, "I love Christmas music, & I love receiving gifts." And to prove his point he began singing Jingle Bells. Way to have the Christmas spirit, David. I should have known.

"Emmo"

Lately Elmo (or as Lance says, Emmo) has been hauled around, thrown around, beaten, & loved all day long every day. Lance has had this Elmo (thank you, Grandma Holm) for almost 2 years, & I don't know how he has withstood the abuse. He is loved very much, but he is also thrown off of everything. I hear little crashes all over the house from morning to night. Upon inspection I find it was just Elmo--again. Today I found him in the high chair, in the power wheel, on the tricycle, & in the baby swing. He also sits at the table for dinner & on the couch to watch TV. But I don't like it when he messes with the computer. It's a good thing he gets many, many hugs & kisses from his buddy, or I don't think he'd hang around for long. :)

And just because he cracks me up, here's a Daily Dose of David.

"Is dinner ready, Homebody?"

"The boys need diaper changes. That's your job, Caretaker."

"That's not my job. You're the housemaker.

When taxes were done this year, David found out that my occupation was "homemaker." For some reason he hadn't heard this before?! Anyway, he found it hilarious & continues to call me by my occupational title--at least that's what he thinks. He is horrible, horrible, horrible at remembering names. This is no exception. Housebreaker & homeworker are two more of my titles, as given by my hubby.