Three Boys and A Girl

Cinnamon Rolls...yum

2009-11-15T07:10:00.000-08:00

This morning, John made mini-cinnamon rolls for breakfast and gave each of the boys 2 to eat. He had taken to work on some things while the boys were eating and the next thing he knew, he walked into the kitchen to find the stool next to the counter and the cinnamon roll plate empty. The boys had eaten their two and then the remaining six. As I type, Joshy is going to the bathroom singing "What's gonna work...teamwork" as loud as humanly possible while Ben repeats "eeeevvvaa" over and over while driving a car up and down the side of the door jam. This was preceded by them running circles on my bed, singing the monkey song bookended by their questions of "What are you doing?, What are you doing?, What are you doing?". Good thing for us our children aren't affected by sugar...

Sadee Schilling Studio

2009-11-10T11:05:00.000-08:00

My dear friend Sarah has created some artwork that I am so proud of and want to share with you. During all the time I had spent with her in college, I never knew there was an artist buried inside the girl that ran for fun and studied English by choice.

http://sadeeschillingstudio.etsy.com/

The hand and the imaging center

2009-11-09T10:06:00.000-08:00

I have been having some hand pain over the course of the past couple months. The dull burning sensation is manageable but if you compress the hand, as in a handshake, the pain is acute. I have been terrified of handshakes since a bank representative shook my hand and I, in the classiest way imaginable, yelled out loud in pain. Yelling at someone for shaking your hand always does make for a good first impression. After another month of navigating my way around meetings cunningly avoiding handshakes, I decided it was time to visit the doctor. I went to the clinic at my work which is handily a block from my building but, while staffed with qualified doctors, is not outfitted with radiology. So, I was sent to an Imaging Center where I was told to just walk in. As I entered and handed my form to the receptionist, I was told that they were short handed and therefore not doing x-rays. Okay, so let's back up. You are an Imaging Center. A center whose only purpose is to image. And you are so shorthanded, you don't have a single person to perform an x-ray. Right. She asks if it would be alright if I come back the next day. I pause and then decide to pass on my general annoyance and sarcasm dolled to those who ask questions that are not really questions. Would it be alright? No. So, what now? So, I leave. Two days later I am able to slip out early from work and drive back over to the center where, upon entering, I am told "Ewwwww...we don't do x-rays after 4:00". Okay, I was here two days ago and was sent away because apparently the receptionist was the only one who had made it to work that day and I specifically remember no mention of the 4:00pm deadline. She decides to call back and see if they can make an exception. Good idea. Fortunately they can. Good for both her and me, as she wants to live and I don't look good in orange. After being escorted to the room, my hand is placed on a cartridge next to a piece of tape with a big "R". She contorts my hand into all sorts of positions. You know, the kind you generally avoid with an injured hand. When finished, she tells me it will take her two days to develop the film. Now, I know we are circling around, but I would again like to point out that you are an Imaging Center. This is what you do. You are paid for nothing but taking images. Please tell me why you would not have any investment put into the equipment you are using. The hospital in Norfolk took the x-rays of Joshy and they appeared on the computer screen. You won't have them for two days because you have to first build the darkroom and then develop them. In Norfolk, it took 5 minutes. Here is took 30 because we had to make it to and from 1980. From now on, I will pass on your Imaging Center in lieu of finding my own radiation source and shooting it at my unprotected self, as you did, seeing no reason to cover any part of me as clearly the radiation hits nothing other than the spot where the light shines...which is why you have to make a point to take the previously used cartridge out of the room and you stand behind a protective barrier. Better safe than sorry.

Pumpkin Patch

2009-11-06T16:48:00.000-08:00

For the second year, we visited a pumpkin farm south of the city to select our pumpkins. Of course, I use pumpkin farm liberally. I am pretty sure they are shipped in pumpkins scattered amongst some vines. Still, they have corn mazes, hay mazes, goats to feed, horse swings made of tires and tube slides propped up on hay bales. You know, the safe way all slides should be propped up.

Looking at pictures from last year, it is amazing how much the boys have grown and how much worse the weather. Last year this time, it was a perfect day. This year, walking through the patch meant choosing the from the two dry paths and not those with ankle deep mud. Last year Ben could only sit where we sat him. This year, he was climbing up hay bales to slide down slides.

2008

Now

Jessi and Nana came along with us and as the last hoorah before leaving, Jess agreed to take Joshy through the corn maze. We had walked through it earlier and it seemed like just a big circle so, 15 minutes later, I was mostly just annoyed that they were still playing while we waited, hungry, feeling the water drops at increasing intervals. Finally, I sent John in to get them because patient and starving are concepts that I cannot reconcile easily. Soon, they were filing out of the maze, Jess and Joshy cheering that they were saved. Apparently, the maze is more of a maze than I realized and they had been legitimately lost. As Jess tells it, they were turning left and then right and then back where they started, running into others who asked if they had seen the exit to which they replied, "No. Have you?". Finally, as they, too, felt the raindrops Jessi turned to Joshy, gripping him by the arms, saying "Jessi is going to get us out of here", all the while certain she was hearing animals rustling around in the corn stalks. It was then that John turned the corner, as she tells it, to her and Joshy cheering at the sight of him. Seems like, for the first time ever, my instantaneous anger when hungry actually made something better.

And when I see him...I'm going to punch him...

2009-11-04T05:41:00.000-08:00

Joshy and Ben love when my dad is in town. All they can think about is getting to rough house around with him. Probably because he gets down on their level and is happy to roll around in the dirt if the battle demands it. Every time I tell Joshy that Papa is coming, he jumps up and down and Ben points him out in every picture he sees him in. He also points Ross out as Papa but we are working on that.

(I love that they are already versed in the concept of "kick 'em while they're down"....)

These two little boys love their Papa.

Happy Halloween

2009-11-03T05:07:00.000-08:00

This year Joshy fully understood the concept of Halloween and requested in September that he be Wolverine. He has been talking about it since and how Jess would be the Hulk and they would fight.

The night of, everyone came over to our house and dad and mom handed out candy while we ran the neighborhood in search of treats. Across the street from us there is a little boy Joshy's age named Chris, who he has become fast friends with. Well, we happened to set off the same time he did and the rest of the night, we were at the mercy of Chris and where he felt like going because Joshy's only concern was "going where Chris goes". We didn't mind. It was just so wonderful to see him enjoying himself so much.

Ben was getting into the spirit too. He would say "Happy Halloween" before the treat, "Thank you" after wards and then complete it with a "you're welcome". He loves to repeat people, so if someone said "so cute", out would come "so cute" in a sing song voice. He loves hats, so I had put on his striped beanie with his costume and he did, in fact, look like Super Waldo. Not intended, but entirely adorable.

Tina dressed up in her yearly inflatable costume and even Lexie had a costume to wear. Who is Lexie? She is the dog I don't clearly remember saying could come over but apparently was overruled by some conversation she and John allegedly had. Being outside, in the perfect weather, surrounded by families and kids...I am just continually so thankful for the neighborhood I get to live in. It is like when I was young, walking around the neighborhood with my pillowcase because those little pumpkins couldn't cover near enough territory. Or John, walking through his neighborhood, smashing pumpkins and terrorizing anything he could get his hands on. Yep...he was that kid.

It's a race!

2009-11-01T04:31:00.000-08:00

Or...at least a run with the word "fun" in front of it that came with matching t-shirts. Tina, Jess and I drove up to Tulsa this morning for the Tulsa Run. It was Tina's first run and I was so proud of her. We ran and then walked according to the timer in my hand and when in run mode, had the added fun of trying to zoom in and around the other walkers who clearly didn't understand the "stand to the left, walk to the right" concept promoted on people movers world wide. We had left that morning at 6:30 to get there on time and while not quite able to find our exit, we finally found our way to a parking lot with other numbered people wandering out of it. That said, it was a bit further from the start line than I had realized. Strangely enough, they did not seem to want to jog to the start line to ensure we weren't late. I believe the exact words, as I was shuffling along, was "and B is out...".

Jess, was...well, Jess. She is the one standing in the crowd at the start and performing over exaggerated stretches and waving to the people on high risers and cheering as we ran across the finish line. She makes me smile. The best of all was just getting to spend the morning with both my sisters. It is not often that we get to spend time just the three of us, driving down the turnpike, jamming to "1985".

Robin Hood, Prince of Really Cool 4 Year Olds

2009-10-20T14:23:00.000-07:00

This morning, the boys went out to my mom's house to practice their compound bow. Joshy has his own bow and Uncle Ross was ever the patient teacher. They shot at a fake deer made of who knows what. I haven't been close enough to inspect. Still, I much rather the "fake" than the real. Not because of any animal right sensibilities (definitely pro hamburger and bacon) but the idea of having to turn a carcass into deer steaks. Even the image of peeling back the skin or whatever it is you do to get the meat out. Only if there was no other way to get food, including the option to feast on dead party member's bottoms.

There is just something about a man with a weapon in his hand. Look at my John Nathan. Protecting us from Medieval Savages. Any closer era and the gun powder/atomic weapons win.

Welcome to Fall

2009-10-18T11:08:00.000-07:00

It is hard to believe that it is jacket weather already...

Boom Boom Pow

2009-10-17T10:30:00.000-07:00

Jess has signed up for a hip hop dance class on a whim and in the midst of practicing for her Dec 13th recital, has pulled the boys into her hip hop madness. Notice Ben who, since he first understood the concept of dance, dances not with his legs, but only with his arms.

My Beloved Baby Boy

2009-09-29T19:10:00.000-07:00

Tonight I was working on cleaning the kitchen and had finally resorted to barring the boys from coming in because telling Ben to put the knife back in the dishwasher and Joshy that I wouldn't answer him if he was whining, ended up proving counterproductive to my kitchen cleaning progress. We set up our leather ottoman in the doorway as a blockade. A blockade that doesn't block much of anything but serves as the line by which punishment comes if crossed. No sooner than I had turned back around to the sink do I catch Ben crawling up onto the ottoman in the corner of my eye. As I turn around and say "Ben" in my warning tone, he falls flat on his stomach and starts to fake snore. I turn back around and he proceeds to hang one leg towards the kitchen. As soon as my head turns in his direction, the leg comes back up and the fake snoring begins again. It is adorable but aggravating and entirely ornery. Every time I start the dishwasher, he comes along and changes the settings or turns it off. I think that the cycle is finished and open it up to a washer full of suds. He pretends to be sleeping and as soon as you close your eyes, he blows the air through his lips at your face to get the puttering sound along with flying spit. Or he will poke you in the eye while saying "eye" because he has learned that the excitement of him saying the right word somehow makes the eye gouging okay. His vocabulary is exploding but mostly with phrases like "no..no...bite" and "no more". That and his colors. The other day he even started to count along with Jessi when playing hide and go seek. Best of all, though, is his "sorry". He will say it in this sing song tone and gently rub your cheek. It is almost worth being hit. He knows "Bumblebee" and "Spiderman" which he sings to the Ironman theme song. Joshy could sing you the tune and correct you when you inevitably get it wrong. When the music is loud and he begins to dance, instead of moving his legs, he just moves his arms up and down like he is doing the...well that dance from the sixties where they are moving their arms up and down. All I can think of is Mash Potato but I am pretty sure that's not it. My baby is a ball of wonderful craziness embodied in the boy with his leg hanging into the kitchen pretending to sleep. I wish I had a picture that captured his precocious smile and ornery glare but somehow the times when it shows up are not the times I am thinking "take a picture" but more a "you better not put that marble in your mouth"...

Soul Glo

2009-09-28T19:18:00.000-07:00

As I was blessed with course hair, I often use Biosilk on the ends of my hair to try and keep from getting "Monica Hair" after taking two steps outside on humid days. Joshy happened to be in the bathroom with me when I was putting it in my hair a few mornings ago and of course, asked what I was doing. After explaining, I took my almost dry hands and rubbed them through his hair so that he could be just like me. Instead of putting the biosilk up in the cabinet, I left it on the back of the toilet while I stepped out of the bathroom to grab something. Soon I had Joshy trotting after me. He was proud to show me that he had used the biosilk himself and now had 1/2 of my bottle of serum applied to his hair. It looked like Soul Glo hair from Coming to America. You could mini-toboggan down the sides and have enough left over grease on your treads to make it across a field of sand paper and tackiest of glues. He felt so fly that I couldn't break his spirits and just told him how great he looked as I talked about using only a little and ringing the oil from his hair. Never has there been greasy hair so adorable and well meant.

State Fair Part Deux

2009-09-27T18:51:00.000-07:00

I had the opportunity to go to the state fair twice this year, the second time with some girls from work. One of them brought their daughter who was adorable and it is always fun to have a kid present because it is easier to explain away my excitement at seeing a Llama or Zebra when a kid is right there being excited too.

We stopped by the car barn to see all the cars but I was disappointed that they didn't have the Cube on display. That was the one I was most interested to see. Still, I got to see LeAnn spill funnel cake powder all down her front and that was something. What created the humor was my comment to her as we were leaving work about how she was wearing such nice clothes in comparison to me and my slumming it and how she was going to end up getting stuff on it. She of course said "What am I going to get on it?" with ridicule in her tone. So what do we call her covered in white (and some Indian Taco mind you)? Maybe case and point...

We played some games as well before the night was through. LeAnn played the horse race and I gave my best at the water squirting race (came in second - barely) but it was Kyra who who ended up scoring the loot for the evening.

The only thing that can make the State Fair better is the State Fair times 2. And let me just note that it took some impressive squatting and leaning for me to take this picture. Just saying. Don't want to keep props from being given where props are due.

State Fair

2009-09-25T11:00:00.000-07:00

There is one reason that I look forward to the fair. That reason? The food. There is no food like fair food and no other time in the year that you find it acceptable to eat a turkey leg, Indian taco, roasted corn, cheese on a stick, root beer jug, saltwater taffy, chocolate covered cheesecake, frozen yogurt and corn dogs all in one day. Every year it's the same. Go for the food, stay for the attractions.Rumble is the mascot for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Rumble the bison. Yes, it does make that much sense. Joshy, complete with B and his ecowater crown (again, ecowater and crown - the connection is clear), got a chance to take a picture with the man sweating to death in a bison costume in 100 degree heat. Joshy was pretty excited and we got a poster of Rumble to hang in his room.

Like I said...go for the food, stay for the fun.

Ben loved his spiderman that we bought for the boys. It was almost as tall as he was but he carried that thing around the Agcropolis, sometimes even making it walk along next to him. Him and spiderman moo'd at the cows, baaaa'd at the sheep, tried to crawl into the trashcan. He is quickly learning the phrase "no..no...dirty...gross...".
Last stop of the day was the carnival rides and games. By games I mean "how much do I have to pay you so that my son wins the ball?". $10 and two balls later we were on to the kiddy rides.
It was a good day as most all State Fair days are. The boys enjoyed themselves, I got to eat my weight in Indian taco, we all laughed and my parents had an excuse to be "stylin'" in their matching straw hats...

You can't ask for anything more.

School Pictures

2009-09-16T17:34:00.000-07:00

Look at my babies' pictures. I can just picture them telling Joshy to lean his head and every time I look at it, it just makes me laugh. I love my boys. They are both so handsome. I plan on sending some wallets out to family, so if you fall in the bucket, you should have one in the next couple of weeks.

Labor Day

2009-09-08T17:17:00.000-07:00

For Labor Day we all spent the evening at Jess and Ross's apartment. They grilled out hamburgers and we let them while devouring Jessica's guacamole. It was like a Disney movie where all the animals are ravenously eyeing each other as they surround the last drops in the disappearing watering hole. Personally I had made the wise decision of eating those ready made chicken salad lunches where they give you a can of salad and like five crackers. At the time I wasn't hungry but by the time we made it to the guacamole, I literally could think of nothing but getting as much food into me as quickly as possible. Thinking that my jitters were from not enough sugar, I slyly grabbed a cupcake that Jess had made for dessert and took off for the bathroom. So, there I sat on the toilet, tearing my cupcake into pieces for the two little boys who had followed the blur of chocolate into the bathroom with me. It's like they have a radar. Or, you know, the sense to notice an adult running through the room with baked goods...

After dinner and my second cupcake, we all headed out to the tennis courts to just goof around. Papa was tossing tennis balls for Joshy to hit with the racket. Ben was dragging the second racket, as tall as he was, around the court with balls in hand. John and I were discovering that we are woefully bad at the game of HORSE. I think I was a HOR by the third set of shots. Jessica was pulling shots out of nowhere. Although, she has an unfair advantage in strength. She is just unnaturally strong. When she later went to return the tennis ball, what looked like a gentle swing rocketed the ball up and out of the court and into the parking lot a good 20 feet away. Her first whack at a golf ball was a 125 yard drive down the fairway. Entirely aggravating in a "I am so proud of you" sort of way.

As we were wrapping up the evening, Jess called us all to do group pictures and being in the extraordinarily good mood we all were, we all said "sure" when she thought it would be fun to take a picture of us while we simultaneously lept into the air. I say lept because it sounds more graceful and as though it involves less of those verbal assists your brain is convinced will get you just that much higher. Yes, they look amazingly synchronized and yes, Jess and Tina took ten minutes deciding on whether we bend down or jump on three. Still, I have got to say. Papa got some impressive air.

Shaken, not stirred

2009-09-02T17:32:00.000-07:00

I have a tendency to bounce my knee up and down when sitting in a chair. I don't really realize I am doing it most of the time but every once and awhile, someone will take note of it and bring it to my attention. My leg just gets a mind of its own whenever the weight shifts to the ball of my foot. It has been that way my whole life, so it was not a shock that I do it, more of a shock of the frequency it must be done for Joshy to turn in my lap this evening and ask me to "shake him". At first I look at him having no clue what he is asking me to do, visions of shaken child syndrome and DHS in my head. He then explains that he wants me to bounce my leg up and down and shake him. So, there we sat, through a 30 minute episode of Dora, him bouncing up and down with my knee. Apparently my children have grown up so used to my bouncing leg that they actually request it. Still, letting my leg bounce for 30 minutes was far less exhausting than dancing with Ben to In the Jungle for two. Here is the video I pull on YouTube for us to dance to. Turn it up loud and sing along...

Hippo and dog -singing Song - Funny bloopers R us

Stupid medicine

2009-09-01T12:53:00.000-07:00

I was sick on Friday and here is what I don't get. If you are sick, you are generally weaker than one who is say...well. Let's say somewhere between child strength and normal adult strength. So, what is the deal with making sick people find superhuman strength to get into those medicine packets??? Child proof is important, yes, but if I am having to bite and poke and finally resort to fingernail cutters, I think that we have rocketed past the mark of safety. I can only figure that I am being punished for buying generic. We sell it for less but you have to use a chainsaw to take it. The worst part is that I don't even feel any better. Of course the construction workers out back, whose stapler guns sound like someone popping giant size popcorn, who only stop for lunch when the next door neighbor comes home from work to practice his drums are probably not helping either. What adult has drums in his living room? Thank goodness I married a nerd. All he has is computers and those come with headphones.

Swag

2009-08-31T12:47:00.000-07:00

I got these in a goody bag from an event I attended. No, the event wasn't WWF or in the slightest way related. It was this, a John Cena dvd, a camo hat and fake dog tags. I was frustrated he stumbled onto it because I had planned on wearing it to work the next day. The headband really complemented my purple blouse...

My baby, the artist...

2009-08-28T12:31:00.001-07:00

Benjamin has become quite the artist around our house...literally. With Joshua, we never really had trouble with him drawing on the wall. In his life, he has given it a go perhaps 3 times total and then only a single line. Benjamin...well, Benjamin has a stubborn streak a mile long and it takes far more than three reprimands to correct a problem. In fact, I have yet to learn the magic number because I have yet to find it. He knows right where time out is and will toddle himself over upon request and from there, you can hear him singing "beby booga...seeeeee" throughout the house. The one phrase that boy can say crystal clear is "stop it". Well...the experts say to stray from the word no... So, our house is now decorated by the boy who can stare me in the eye, blue crayon in hand and slowly bend down to mark the stair in one fluid stroke. Does he dare? Yes, he dares. (a little Berenstein Bears for all you who have read my boys the Spooky Old Tree) One with a light, one with a rope and one with the shivers...

Silly Boy

2009-08-27T13:31:00.000-07:00

My mom, sisters, brother-in-law and the boys decided to take a walk after dinner around the block. It is a good size block and when it is hot outside, even one lap can take it out of you. By the time that they got back, I could see the red faces as they walked in. Jess, stepped into the cool air with a "Whew...I need a drink". Joshy echoed, with matching rhythm. "Whew...I need a cookie".

Weekend Family Time

2009-08-26T13:15:00.000-07:00

My dad was home this past weekend and we all went over to hang out and have dinner.

I did spend some time, myself, laying in the hammock. It was not without trepidation though. A few years ago, John, Tina and I all tried to lay in it at the same time and let's just say that when they list weight limits, well, they are actually serious. It was doing okay until the dog jumped on and that was the butterfly on the breaking limb that sends the cartoon character over the edge. My dad was able to bend the frame back and all is well but I think that going forward, unless your partner is under the age of 10, there won't be any couple skates where the hammock is concerned.

A Night Out

2009-08-25T12:44:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday, John and I attended a MS charity event in the evening and Jessi, appreciatively, came and watched the boys. (I am so thankful that my mom and sister are willing to help out so often with the boys. Without them, we would have to make actual adult friends as there is no way I am letting a 16 year-old watch them. I don't know why these parent's let me watch there kids when I was 14. Clearly they did not love their children.) This time around she brought a big blanket for a front yard picnic.

I had told her that there were some bomp pops in the freezer that they could snack on, but I think that Ben is still figuring out that whole proper technique for eating a popsicle thing. At one point, Joshy got a hold of the camera and became photographer for awhile.

Isn't it great when you capture that postcard worthy moment with people acting naturally and entirely not posed...

Thanks, Jessi, for watching the boys.

Preschool

2009-08-24T12:21:00.000-07:00

Friday was Joshy's first day of preschool. I can hardly believe that he is 4 1/2 and as he walked out the door carrying his "clear" backpack (apparently they are on the hunt for any 4-year-olds trying to sneak in web-slinging action figures) he looked so grown up.

He has been so excited to make the transition and has always adjusted well to change. He makes friends so easily, just like his aunt Jessi. Even though it is the same building, preschool just feels different. Older. Official. Now instead of just showing up each afternoon to pick up children, we have volunteer hours to satisfy. We have book clubs to order from. We have birthday party invitations passed out to the entire class even though Joshy has known this boy all of one day. I showed him the picture on the invitation and said, do you know this boy? His answer? Yeah. I think he is the boy who was mean to me. Can I go to his party??? He carried that invitation around for most of the night. It was his "mail". He gets so excited any time he gets real mail. The funny part is that he understood that there was licking involved to seal and envelope, but instead of the envelope flap, he kept licking the actual card and then patting the envelope closed. I am so proud of him. Proud of the little man he is becoming. Proud of his kind heart and generous laugh. Proud of his insatiable curiosity and his inherited goofiness. Enjoy preschool bubba. I have no doubt you'll do well.

Slip and Slide pictures, as promised.

2009-08-21T17:52:00.000-07:00