Jack chose a Halloween theme for his birthday this year. We threw a costume party with all the fixin's and he said it was his best birthday yet! Having the party two weeks before his actual birthday totally blew his mind, though. In the two weeks between his birthday party and his "Actually" birthday, as he called it, he kept saying things like "Why am I not five yet? I can't wait to have another party on my actually birthday!" and "Wonder what everyone will get me for my actually birthday!"
So on the real day, we took cupcakes to school, went on a field trip to the firehouse (with his class) and let him choose dinner- "chips and salsa place." Sam had been diagnosed with a potential case of flu/swine flu the day before. Sudden temp, red eyes, and a persistent cough sent me running to the doc. BUT, since the kids had gotten the mist H1N1 vaccine 9 days before, the flu test was inconclusive because it could potentially have been registering the vaccine as the actual thing. Who knows. Anyhow, his fever improved that evening, then spiked again around midnight, when he came to our room and crawled in bed. I wasn't about to make him go back to his own room knowing how sick he was, but after dosing him up with Tylenol, he was like an oven pressed against my back, so I thought quick and woke up Ryan to ask him to bring in the toddler bed from the guest room so Sam could sleep beside me but not on top of me. Sam became distressed as I told him it wasn't a good idea for him to sleep with Mommy because he could give me his sick germs, but that he could sleep right beside me, and as Ryan brought the toddler bed in the room Sam said (from his position plopped right in the middle of our bed) "How are you both going to fit in that?"
Totally cracked me up! Stinker thought he got our bed and we were moving! Haha!
Anyhow, back to Jackson's birthday dinner at the local Mexican joint- they did the whole song and sombrero and whipped cream on the face bit, and Jack loved it all!
Then Sam threw up in the parking lot. (and we rejoiced because hey- not in the car, not in the house, not even on his clothes----score!)
Then we went home to have Pumpkin pie (Jack's requested dessert) and popcorn while we watched "The Sword in the Stone" that he received for his birthday. All in all, I think turning 5 was a great experience for him and one that he will hopefully remember!
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Disney 2009
We finally made the 12 hour trek from our house to Orlando last week. My mother in law lives in Orlando, and we've been wanting to get down there, but it just seemed impossible with the small ones to survive a drive that long! However, the kids were as good as gold, and we made it with only two short stops to eat each way! Wow!
On the way down, I showered them with NEW.STUFF like Disney pez dispensers, Search for object books with magnifying glasses, magic ink books, candy, snacks, and the Game boy I had put away for about a month before our trip! On the way back I was far too tired to care, made absolutely NO forages into the back of the van, and they did just as well as on the way down with only endless DVDs for entertainment. I was VERY pleasantly surprised!
We spent the first couple of days of our trip at my MILs house, where the kids swam in her pool, played Wii, played with the dogs, rolled the pool table balls into finger-smashing games they made up as they went along, and spent hours creating new potato-head families out of the kit Grandma bought them from Costco.
On Tuesday, we went to downtown Disney to shop and look around, and bought the boys their "build your own" lightsabers. They were thrilled, and actually Ryan may have been more excited than they were! Olivia chose a princesses toy kit as her souvenir, and in light of their renewed love of potato heads, we filled a box with Disney-inspired potatohead accessories (like a Peter pan hat, Mickey ears, and the piece de Resistance- Ariel hair and mermaid bottom- HILARIOUS!).
Our trip was packed to the brim and we literally ran from park to park with the kids strapped in the strollers. Wednesday morning we checked in to the Grand Floridian hotel and I swear that is the cleanest hotel ON EARTH! The monorails were down, so we took a ferry from our hotel to the Polynesian for our character breakfast with Lilo and Stitch, Mickey, and Pluto.
Entering the Magic Kingdom was truly magical, and the kids were besides themselves with excitement! Olivia's favorites right now are Tinkerbell and Ariel, although since our trip, Cinderbella is making some swift strides! We rode tons of rides and stuck around that night for the parade and fireworks.
Thursday morning we headed back to the Magic Kingdom to finish up, then dashed over to Hollywood Studios for our character lunch with The Little Einsteins and Jojo and Goliath. The rest of that day was pretty laid back, and there wasn't terribly much for our kids to do at that park.
Friday morning we set out for Animal Kingdom, where we checked out the Lion King musical, the safari that was chock full of wildlife, a walking tour of animals, and A Bug's Life.
Another jog to catch transportation to Epcot where we had dinner reservations at the Biergarten German restaurant and hung around for a few rides and the Illuminations fire and fireworks show.
We were EXHAUSTED by the end of the trip, but it was definitely worthwhile and magical for the kiddos. We can't wait to go back!
On the way down, I showered them with NEW.STUFF like Disney pez dispensers, Search for object books with magnifying glasses, magic ink books, candy, snacks, and the Game boy I had put away for about a month before our trip! On the way back I was far too tired to care, made absolutely NO forages into the back of the van, and they did just as well as on the way down with only endless DVDs for entertainment. I was VERY pleasantly surprised!
We spent the first couple of days of our trip at my MILs house, where the kids swam in her pool, played Wii, played with the dogs, rolled the pool table balls into finger-smashing games they made up as they went along, and spent hours creating new potato-head families out of the kit Grandma bought them from Costco.
On Tuesday, we went to downtown Disney to shop and look around, and bought the boys their "build your own" lightsabers. They were thrilled, and actually Ryan may have been more excited than they were! Olivia chose a princesses toy kit as her souvenir, and in light of their renewed love of potato heads, we filled a box with Disney-inspired potatohead accessories (like a Peter pan hat, Mickey ears, and the piece de Resistance- Ariel hair and mermaid bottom- HILARIOUS!).
Our trip was packed to the brim and we literally ran from park to park with the kids strapped in the strollers. Wednesday morning we checked in to the Grand Floridian hotel and I swear that is the cleanest hotel ON EARTH! The monorails were down, so we took a ferry from our hotel to the Polynesian for our character breakfast with Lilo and Stitch, Mickey, and Pluto.
Entering the Magic Kingdom was truly magical, and the kids were besides themselves with excitement! Olivia's favorites right now are Tinkerbell and Ariel, although since our trip, Cinderbella is making some swift strides! We rode tons of rides and stuck around that night for the parade and fireworks.
Thursday morning we headed back to the Magic Kingdom to finish up, then dashed over to Hollywood Studios for our character lunch with The Little Einsteins and Jojo and Goliath. The rest of that day was pretty laid back, and there wasn't terribly much for our kids to do at that park.
Friday morning we set out for Animal Kingdom, where we checked out the Lion King musical, the safari that was chock full of wildlife, a walking tour of animals, and A Bug's Life.
Another jog to catch transportation to Epcot where we had dinner reservations at the Biergarten German restaurant and hung around for a few rides and the Illuminations fire and fireworks show.
We were EXHAUSTED by the end of the trip, but it was definitely worthwhile and magical for the kiddos. We can't wait to go back!
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Just kiddin' ya
The other day Jackson came to me looking for his "blue guy gameboy game."
"You mean Sonic?"
"Yeah, that one. Where is it?"
"Well, I'm not sure so you'll have to look for it."
A few minutes later he came back and said "Mooooooo-ooooom, Olivia put it in the air conditioner in the playroom (The dreaded vent hole)." I went to investigate and after questioning Olivia, who nodded her head vehemently in confession, I reached my hand into the abyss to find....crayons, paper bits, lots of random crap...no game.
So Sam jumped in on the action and with his finger to his chin in an obvious sign of thinking and remembering said "Oh, RIIIIIGHT. I saw Olivia with it in her hand and she dropped it in THIS vent," pointing to the one in the foyer. I questioned Olivia who once again, confessed with an emphatic nod. I reached in to that vent and found more debris...no game.
Sam to the rescue again! "OH, RIIIIIIIIGHT. Cause she had it in her hand when she went back THAT way and put it under the ottoman."
Grinning to the side as he watched Jack scramble to the ottoman and frantically search underneath it and come up empty handed, I was suspicious.
"Sam," I asked, "do you REALLY know where it is?"
He grinned sheepishly as he said "Nah, I don't. I'm just kiddin you guys!"
Jack of course went into orbit, reaching new octaves with his cries of injustice and frustration. I went back to the laundry, chuckling to myself at how my three year old was "punking" us all out, until I heard bins in the playroom being emptied.
"Come on Olivia, it's in the BOTTOM!" I heard Jack yell as the two of them worked together to dump out a box of blocks.
"SAM! It's not in here EITHER," Jack yelled.
"OH, RIIIIIGHT because then I saw her...."
He successfully had those two following his every move. His OLDER brother was duped, and the younger sister he was pinning it on was also believing she had done what he had said. YIKES!
I found the game...in my purse...a week later!
"You mean Sonic?"
"Yeah, that one. Where is it?"
"Well, I'm not sure so you'll have to look for it."
A few minutes later he came back and said "Mooooooo-ooooom, Olivia put it in the air conditioner in the playroom (The dreaded vent hole)." I went to investigate and after questioning Olivia, who nodded her head vehemently in confession, I reached my hand into the abyss to find....crayons, paper bits, lots of random crap...no game.
So Sam jumped in on the action and with his finger to his chin in an obvious sign of thinking and remembering said "Oh, RIIIIIGHT. I saw Olivia with it in her hand and she dropped it in THIS vent," pointing to the one in the foyer. I questioned Olivia who once again, confessed with an emphatic nod. I reached in to that vent and found more debris...no game.
Sam to the rescue again! "OH, RIIIIIIIIGHT. Cause she had it in her hand when she went back THAT way and put it under the ottoman."
Grinning to the side as he watched Jack scramble to the ottoman and frantically search underneath it and come up empty handed, I was suspicious.
"Sam," I asked, "do you REALLY know where it is?"
He grinned sheepishly as he said "Nah, I don't. I'm just kiddin you guys!"
Jack of course went into orbit, reaching new octaves with his cries of injustice and frustration. I went back to the laundry, chuckling to myself at how my three year old was "punking" us all out, until I heard bins in the playroom being emptied.
"Come on Olivia, it's in the BOTTOM!" I heard Jack yell as the two of them worked together to dump out a box of blocks.
"SAM! It's not in here EITHER," Jack yelled.
"OH, RIIIIIGHT because then I saw her...."
He successfully had those two following his every move. His OLDER brother was duped, and the younger sister he was pinning it on was also believing she had done what he had said. YIKES!
I found the game...in my purse...a week later!
Funnyisms from the boys
Sam, while staring at me as I sat on the couch over the weekend...
"Oh, so when your belly gets bigger, your boobies get bigger too, huh?!"
I swear that kid is gonna be a "boob man" and by the way, thanks for noticing! KIDS!
Our nightly ritual lately has been a family round or two of uno, then a coupla stories, then tucked in and each choose a song for mom to sing (Almost ALWAYS "Somewhere Over the Rainbow") and then off to sleep. But each night as I leave the room Jackson says "Mom, will you check on us?" and his favored response is for me to say "I always do." Any variation results in some kind of comment on his part and a general unsettling until I say "I always do."
Tonight as I left the room we proceeded with our new ritual, and when I responded correctly Jackson smiled and said, "That's my girl!" Cutie!
Perhaps this one is TMI, but it's for posterity (no pun intended!) so whatever. The other day as i was peeing, with Sam looking on as usual, he said, "You have to wipe your heinie after you pee, right Mom?" I gave an absentminded "mmmhmmm." Then he said, despite our MANY discussions about this, "Yeah, because you pee out of your heinie."
"No."
"Oh, yeah right, you pee out of your 'gina....(then chuckling and shaking his head a little) 'Gina sure is a funny word for penis."
Apparently I'm NOT.GETTING.THROUGH.
"Oh, so when your belly gets bigger, your boobies get bigger too, huh?!"
I swear that kid is gonna be a "boob man" and by the way, thanks for noticing! KIDS!
Our nightly ritual lately has been a family round or two of uno, then a coupla stories, then tucked in and each choose a song for mom to sing (Almost ALWAYS "Somewhere Over the Rainbow") and then off to sleep. But each night as I leave the room Jackson says "Mom, will you check on us?" and his favored response is for me to say "I always do." Any variation results in some kind of comment on his part and a general unsettling until I say "I always do."
Tonight as I left the room we proceeded with our new ritual, and when I responded correctly Jackson smiled and said, "That's my girl!" Cutie!
Perhaps this one is TMI, but it's for posterity (no pun intended!) so whatever. The other day as i was peeing, with Sam looking on as usual, he said, "You have to wipe your heinie after you pee, right Mom?" I gave an absentminded "mmmhmmm." Then he said, despite our MANY discussions about this, "Yeah, because you pee out of your heinie."
"No."
"Oh, yeah right, you pee out of your 'gina....(then chuckling and shaking his head a little) 'Gina sure is a funny word for penis."
Apparently I'm NOT.GETTING.THROUGH.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Jackson declared this weekend that he had an "ear election."
*****************************************************************************
Yesterday, as I played video games with the boys, I whispered, "You know what? I love you?"
Jack said, "That's not a secret!"
So I looked at Sam and said "Did you know that I love you?"
He said, "Yep!"
"Hey! How does everybody already KNOW that?" I declared indignantly.
And Jack replied "Because you tell us all the time!"
******************************************************************************
The boys earned their white belts in karate on Saturday, and will receive them at graduation on Thursday. They got progress reports from it, which they tried diligently to decipher by themselves. It took some reassurance that they did a great job! I can't wait to see them in their little belts!
*******************************************************************************
I had my house professionally cleaned last Tuesday for the first time ever. Bliss. My entire house has never been clean at one time before. It was fabulous. And now it is not clean again. Not even for a week. Sigh.
*******************************************************************************
Ryan threw a surprise 30th birthday party for me last weekend, complete with boat rides and out of town friends. It was great. BUT there were nine kids at my house with one 17 year old babysitter. See the professional cleaning above!
*******************************************************************************
School starts 3 weeks from today! HURRAY for fall!
*****************************************************************************
Yesterday, as I played video games with the boys, I whispered, "You know what? I love you?"
Jack said, "That's not a secret!"
So I looked at Sam and said "Did you know that I love you?"
He said, "Yep!"
"Hey! How does everybody already KNOW that?" I declared indignantly.
And Jack replied "Because you tell us all the time!"
******************************************************************************
The boys earned their white belts in karate on Saturday, and will receive them at graduation on Thursday. They got progress reports from it, which they tried diligently to decipher by themselves. It took some reassurance that they did a great job! I can't wait to see them in their little belts!
*******************************************************************************
I had my house professionally cleaned last Tuesday for the first time ever. Bliss. My entire house has never been clean at one time before. It was fabulous. And now it is not clean again. Not even for a week. Sigh.
*******************************************************************************
Ryan threw a surprise 30th birthday party for me last weekend, complete with boat rides and out of town friends. It was great. BUT there were nine kids at my house with one 17 year old babysitter. See the professional cleaning above!
*******************************************************************************
School starts 3 weeks from today! HURRAY for fall!
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Piggy bank
The boys have been finding coins around, and they LOVE to put them in their piggy bank (which is actually a football, and a gift from their Aunt Leah!). Yesterday morning, when Jack was the only one with me, I found a dime on the desk and handed it to Jack. "What is it, Mom?" "It's a dime, so it's 10 cents!"
"Wow, we have alot of money now, and if we keep saving, we could buy anything we want, right Mom? But I would share my money with you, and that way Daddy wouldn't have to share HIS money with you, and we could all stay home together."
Awwww, so sweet!
"Wow, we have alot of money now, and if we keep saving, we could buy anything we want, right Mom? But I would share my money with you, and that way Daddy wouldn't have to share HIS money with you, and we could all stay home together."
Awwww, so sweet!
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
The new baby...
Jackson, upon arriving at the beach, excitedly told my sisters, "Aunt Jen and Aunt Shell, my mommy has a baby in her tummy."
"Yes, we know. Do you want a boy baby or a girl baby?" they asked.
He thought a moment and said "I hope it's a girl. But if it's not a girl, I hope it's a boy."
Yep, we're definitely hoping for a boy or a girl! ;-)
"Yes, we know. Do you want a boy baby or a girl baby?" they asked.
He thought a moment and said "I hope it's a girl. But if it's not a girl, I hope it's a boy."
Yep, we're definitely hoping for a boy or a girl! ;-)
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