Christmas

I just realized that I never posted anything about Christmas. I think that everyone in our family had a good Christmas and got most of what they wanted.

On the Saturday before Christmas, Bruce and I hosted his parents and two siblings (with spouses and children) for their family Christmas. The boys got International Harvestor (a tractor) t-shirts from Grandpa & Grandma and then some farm machinery that they can pull behind their tractors. Santa made a surprise appearence also. None of my boys were scared to sit on his lap. Santa gave the boys each a book and asked them what they wanted. Nathan's list: a DS, a DSi, a Wii, a bike, and a tall ladder. When Santa asked why he wanted a ladder he told him it was so that he can climb things. Duh! Darren's list was basically a repeat of everything that Nathan asked for; including the ladder. Justin wasn't to sure of Santa when he sat on his lap. He kept looking at his beard/face and then looking at Bruce and I. He wasn't sure what to think.

The next day, on Sunday, we had my Dad's siblings extended Christmas. The kids didn't get any gifts there, but Santa also put in an appearence. When they sat on Santa's lap, they did each get a gift from Santa.

We were at my parents on Christmas Eve. Mom had decided years ago that she wanted to treat all her grandkids fairly, and she didn't know how many she would have with five kids, that she would just give a small gift at Christmas and birthdays and then put money in their savings account. Nathan and Darren got Loramie shrits and Justin got a pair of pj's. They each got some gifts from their godparents also. They had a lot of fun playing with their new toys and playing with their cousins.

On Christmas morning, the boys opened gifts from Santa at our house. They got some clothes (boring I know), tractors and acessories, semi's with a trailer, and bikes. Although Justin actually got a 6 volt battery operated four-wheeler. Nathan got a Loramie coat and Darren and Justin got some type of Leap Frog learning games. The family got a new computer and Bruce and I got a deep fryer. (Guess who wanted that?)

Later on Christmas Day, some friends/neighbors from down the street had a party and we went down to their house with the kids for a while. Once they got tired, I stayed home with the kids and Bruce went back to the party.

Overall, it was a good Christmas and it was very enjoyable seeing everyone.

Infamous movie line

"I hate your stinkin guts." That was the phrase that came out of Darren's mouth directed to me. Immediately I get angry. I said,"You don't say that to your Mom. Go stand in the corner and the next time you say it, you will get in big trouble." He looks at me with a hurt and upset look and walks over to the corner. Nathan saved the day for Darren. He told me that was a phrase they say in the movie "Little Rascals." I apologized to Darren and told him that he could get out of the corner.

The movie "Little Rascals" plays quite a bit on the Family channel and the boys have to watch it every time it is on. Darren walks around the house quite a bit uttering, "I hate your stinkin guts." and thinks it is funny. I think Darren found a new favorite movie!

Co-conspiritor

On Christmas Ever we were at my parents house opening gifts with the family. We were done opening gifts and we were just sitting around visiting when Darren and Jenna (my niece who is the same age as Darren) got out my Mom's doll babies and clothes. They played with them for a while, much to Bruce's chagrin, before they moved onto something else. As Darren was walking thru the living room Dad called Darren over to him. He said, "Grab your housewife and pick up the dolls and clothes please." Darren immediately went and got Jenna and began picking up the toys. How funny was it that Darren knew who Dad/Grandpa was talking about right away?

Spoon

The other day, Justin was playing around with a spoon while I was in the kitchen with him. All of a sudden he started crying. I look over and determine that he got the scooped part of the spoon stuck between the gap in his two front teeth.

I "rescue" him by removing the spoon while laughing with concern. I was too shocked to think about grabbing my camera and getting a picture, but I assure you it was pretty funny!

Feeling better

A week ago, Justin came down with a cold and for the last week, you could tell that he was just not himself. He wasn't the usual happy-go-lucky kid that he usually is. By last Friday though his real personality was starting to emerge. Over the weekend, he was back to normal. His scrunched-up nose smile that melts my heart everytime I see it. How he has to give everyone in the house a hug and kiss before he goes to bed every night. Can I keep him at this age?

Good or bad influence?

Bruce's Dad had asked if we would go to Versailles on Sunday morning to visit with Santa and eat breakfast that the K of C was putting on. When I got Justin up Sunday morning I could tell that he had a fever so I told Bruce to just take the two older boys and I would stay home with Justin. I try to give Justin breakfast, but he takes two nibbles out of his cereal bar and decides that he had enough. So I grab his sippy cup, his blankie and go sit in the living room with him. I could tell that he did not feel well because he did not get off my lap for the entire two, two and a half hours he sat there. However....

Later that morning as soon as his brothers walked in the door, it was like a new kid came off my lap. He got off my lap laughing and he started running around like nothing was wrong. Apparently he just needed to recharge his batteries.

Mr. Social

I am not sure if I posted what we learned at Nathan's parent teacher conference in October, but the teacher said that Nathan is very social. He likes to visit instead of doing his work, so she has to warn him several times. We have talked to him about it and I think that he has gotten better at listening and not getting so many warnings.

It was neat to watch him interact with the other kids last night at the Christmas concert that the school put on. He was sitting in front of the 1st graders and he happened to be sitting in front of my friends' child. They have played together before, but Nathan was passing out high-fives and just talking to everyone within his area. Apparently he doesn't know a stranger!

Amazon in the making?

We had Bruce's Mom's Mom's (his maternal grandma) Thanksgiving party on Friday evening. Bruce's niece and nephew were at the party. His nephew is almost exactly one year older than Nathan and his niece is two years older than Nathan. Nathan stood next to his cousin and was at least two inches taller than him! Then he stood next to his female cousin, and he was the same height as her. When Bruce's aunts, uncles and cousins remarked on the height difference, my sister-in-law said that Nathan gets his height and build from my side of the family. No arguing that fact!

Problem resolved?

I am afraid to type this as I don't want to jinx myself, but it has been several weeks/months since we had anybody sleep on our bedroom floor. There have been nights when we are so tired that we let them fall asleep on the couch while we just go to bed, but I am satisfied with that improvement. I hope that I did not just jinx myself....keep your fingers crossed.

Big eater

My Mom picked Nathan up Monday night so that he could spend the night and help Grandpa on the farm on Tuesday. My Dad asked if Nathan could come over and help since Bill has been laid up. Mom then asked if Bruce could come over Tuesday night and help slice the bacon that we processed over the weekend. I stopped at the farm on my way home from work and help wrap some of the bacon packages. As we are wrapping, Justin is starting to get grumpy and I know it is because he is hungry. I am trying to think of what to make for dinner when I realized that I could take some fresh, just sliced bacon and make that with some eggs. I grab Justin and head home since we are almost done so that I can start dinner.

I fry the bacon, make some scrambled eggs for the boys and start to make dippy/bubble/over easy eggs for Bruce and myself. Bruce gets home with the other two boys and they immediately dig in. In a few years I am afraid of how big my food bill is going to be. Nathan, for a fact, ate more than me last night. He had several strips of bacon, a large helping of scrambled eggs, three pieces of toast and two dippy eggs. I was astonished when I put the eggs away and realized that I went thru 18 eggs and 3/4 of a loaf of bread. Darren had to try a dippy egg since Nathan had one, but he was not fond of it.

Barfly

My son Nathan can now be considered a barfly. On Saturday night we had my cousins co-ed, family, Ohio State themed baby shower. (obviously it was just an excuse to throw a party) As the evening goes on, the crowd thins out. That left seats available at their bar. Nathan pulled up a seat and was sitting there talking to everyone and listening to the conversation. After a while I see him pull two bar stools together (there are no backs to these stools). He lays down, but he is to tall/long for the bar stools so he pulls up a third one. The next thing I know, he is sleeping.

I, of course take a picture of him. We all laugh about it and point out that there is an empty couch just a few feet away. Instead I gather up the kids and get everything ready and we head out the door shortly after that. I guess he just didn't want to miss anything that was going on at the bar!

Fever

Bruce picked the kids up Friday night and went straight to my parents. I was a little late getting there as I had to pick up my aunt Karen from her group home and then bring her to Grandma's. Then I had to make my food for Mom's, so it was probably 6:45 or so until I got to Mom's. I took one look at Justin and said that he doesn't feel good. You could tell by his eyes. Not sure how to describe it; they were just puffy I guess. Bruce tells me to pick him up and see if he feels warm. I feel his forehead and he definitely has a fever. I give him some Motrin and just hold him as that is all he wants.

After about a half hour you can tell that the medicine has kicked in because he is getting off my lap and playing again. The cycle continues into Saturday. I give him a does of medicine about 3:00 in the afternoon. You can tell that he just doesn't feel the best, and when we go to a party later that evening (more on that next) he just sits on aunt Patty's lap. After about a half hour-hour later, I can almost see the fever breaking. It should almost be time for his next dose of medicine and he is talking more. He is fidgeting more. He is looking around and acting curious as to what is going on.

I had assumed that this was all due to teeth and on Sunday we were both on the couch and I was tickling him so that he would laugh and I could see inside his mouth. He did have four teeth that had just broke the surface. He is without a doubt back to being himself.

Weekend recap

Over the weekend we were at my parents on Friday night and Saturday morning/afternoon processing several pigs. That means that the boys got to bed late Friday night. As we were walking into the house Friday night, Nathan starts crying. It took me a while to understand what he was saying, but he was upset because he had to poop. He took care of business and then wanted to hang out for a while.

Then Saturday morning Nathan had to poop, so he was up early then. Then he played out at the farm all Saturday morning and helped Grandpa do the feeding on Saturday afternoon. Needless to say that all the boys were pretty tired. They had a lot of fun though!

Ready to go

Last night Bruce had to go over to my parents to help my Dad, and I had a jewelry party to attend, so Mom watched the boys while Bruce helped out. Bruce wasn't done helping when Mom had to leave to go setup the hall for a banquet so all the boys went with her.

Apparently they were basically done setting up and the kid that Nathan was running around playing with just left. He walked up to Grandma and said, "My friend left Grandma, I am ready to go now." You can never say that he doesn't know his own mind!

I wanna go....

I just remembered this cute story. I had made plans early in the week to leave Bruce home with the kids while I returned several things to Sears on the Kidvantage program and then go grocery shopping since Mother Hubbard's Cupboards were bare. While sometime during the week, Bruce's boyfriends (the neighbors across the street) asked him to go to an auction on Saturday with them. I told Bruce that he could go, but he had to find someone to watch the boys. He said that he would call aunt Patty as she always loves to watch the boys. Of course he forgets to make the arrangements so I have to do it. She said that she would love to have them for the afternoon and they didn't have any plans that evening so maybe we could come over later that evening and just visit for a while.

I take my time shopping and just enjoying the luxury of not chasing kids down the aisle at the grocery. I get home and put the groceries away and kind of enjoy doing it without any of the kids to "help." Anyway, Bruce and I go over to Patty and Tony's about 6:30 and I can instantly that the two youngest are tired. They had a late night the night before with the campfire and they are almost always up when the sun comes up in the morning. They played outside all afternoon at Patty's and had no naps. Not long after we get there, Darren puts his coat on and starts telling us that he is ready to go. We keep telling him, "in a little bit." He eventually lays down on the linoleum in the kitchen and starts demanding that we go home now. I eventually notice that he is quiet and look over and see that he fell asleep on the floor. We grab a blanket and cover him up. Then someone feels bad, so they put a pillow under his head. Are we bad parents that we let him sleep on the linoleum floor? I think that we redeemed ourselves with the fact that at least he was staying warm!

Do it again!!

Last Friday night, since it was very nice evening, we caved into the boys demand for a campfire. Apparently we didn't have enough people between us and the neighbors, so Nathan called Grandpa Ken & Grandma Deb to come over. My parents were sitting around the fire and I was sitting there also talking to them while Bruce stood to the side talking to the neighbors.

I looked over at Dad and said, "Dad. From where I am sitting, it looks like your feet are smoking." Dad pulls his feet back and we continue talking. A little bit later he picks them up and discovers that leaves and grass are now stuck to the soles of his shoes. They had apparently melted. Dad shows the boys and they were very impressed. They asked him to "Do it again!" (I have to admit that I thought it was pretty neat too) Dad was upset as they are his favorite pair of shoes and he has had them for like ten years. I told him to tell me who the manufacturer is, what size and a design style if they have it and our family would get him a new pair for Christmas since I am always struggling with their gifts.

Smiley faces

I have been hooked on a new type of apple called honey crisp. These apples are huge! They are the size of a softball or better. The boys like to snack on apples, and the other day the three of us decided to split and apple. I decided that I wanted peanut butter with my apple so I got the peanut butter out. Both the boys were intrigued. Nathan asked if we had marshmallows. I told him that we do not so he got out the raisins instead. I spread peanut butter over the side of the apple and Nathan and Darren would put raisins in the peanut butter. Then they would put the quarter slice in their mouth and make a "smiley face" with rotten teeth.

Rejection

Nathan absolutely worships my Dad, Grandpa Ken. When Grandpa asks him to do something, Nathan never hesitates to do as Grandpa asks. When he is misbehaving, we threaten to call Grandpa and tell him how bad he had been as he is so afraid of disappointing him. Yesterday (Sunday) my Dad calls to ask Nathan if he wants to come out to the farm to help Grandpa walk a steer. Nathan was not in the house so I told Dad that I would go out and get him and Nathan would call him back. Nathan calls Grandpa back and when Grandpa asked if he wanted to help, Nathan said no. I was absolutely floored. I asked Nathan if he was sure, and he said that he was sure as he wanted to play with his friends.

Nathan handed me the phone when he was done and so I talked to Dad briefly. Dad said he understood as he was growing up and wanted to have a social life, but I could tell that he was a little upset. When I spoke with Mom briefly this morning, she said that Dad's feeling were hurt a little bit.

15 month checkup

I completely forgot to post the results of Justin's 15 month checkup that we had nine days ago or so on the 25th. She never gave me what percentile he was in, but did say that it is pretty consistent with the past history. He was 31 3/4" tall and 23 pounds and 8 oz.

The other day I was sitting in my bedroom watching TV while Darren was in the bathtub. Justin was whining and wanted up on the bed, so I put him on the bed with me. I was flipping thru the channels when I stopped on America's Funniest Videos. They were doing an animal segment and Justin said "doggie" as plain as day. I was pretty impressed. He only says a few words that you can hear plainly, but he sure can jabber!

The other day Justin was just jabbering on and on and I would make comments like, "Really?" "I don't think so" "You don't say" Well, the neighbor girl was over and watching the two of us converse. She looked at me and asked if I understood what he was saying. I told her no, but he was trying so hard to have a conversation with me that I felt that I had to humor him.

It's frozen

We used to have a computer at home, but when Nathan was little it just stopped working one day. Since I am on a computer all day at work, I was in no hurry to purchase another one. Bruce and I have decided that since Nathan is now in school that maybe Santa will bring one for the entire family this Christmas.

I believe it was two Christmas's ago that Santa got Nathan a V-Tech laptop computer. Last night he was trying to turn it on and it wouldn't turn on. He looks at me and said, "My computer is frozen up." What? Where did he learn that? I told him that I doubt the computer is frozen, that maybe the batteries are dead. He removes the battery cover and discovers that someone had taken the batteries out and put one back in the wrong way. The "frozen" computer problem was quickly resolved.

Excitment on the farm

In the previous post I mentioned that we arrived on the farm to some excitement. The story begins that Bruce and I were at the local grocery store when he gets a call from my sister (who was already at the farm) saying that my brother has broken his leg. We hurry out to the farm and were told that they believe that it is a compound fracture. (A compound fracture is when the bone breaks and pokes thru the skin) I refuse to go out and see Bill where he happens to be laying waiting on the ambulance. Only once the ambulance arrives and is there for a few minutes do I go see Bill. Luckily they have his leg covered so that I don't have to see any gore.

The ambulance leaves with him and Mom follows in her vehicle. They go to Sidney hospital where they take x-rays and confirm that it is a compound fracture. They page the orthopedic doctor of Mom's choice and they devise a game plan. Since this doctor has his base out of Grandview hospital, Mom makes the decision to head there. Luckily they did. When the interns and/or residents took him to surgery to flush the wound they decided to go ahead and insert the rod. Apparently the first rod they had was to short so the surgeon sent them back to the basement to get the longest rod they have...and the only long rod.

When I seen him on Sunday and Monday he was pretty grumpy because of the pain, but when I seen him last night, he was in a much better mood. That could be because he was trying to sucker his nieces & nephews out of some candy though! There is no cast on his leg and they told him to start putting weight on it right away. Then Bill decided to show me the surgery incision and it was pretty ugly. The doctor was not worried about scarring as there was no "finesse" involved with closing his wound up. Because Bill was up and about more yesterday, there was also a lot of swelling. Yuck! I am glad that isn't me.

Sharing germs

Last Friday we went out to my parents house to butcher a steer. We got out to the farm about 4:30 to some initial excitement (read about that in a future post) and began to process the steer. My boys were running around and playing with their cousins like the wild children they are. About 8:00 that evening Darren comes up in the garage to me and tells me that his belly hurts. He no longer finishes saying that when he begins to vomit. I quickly usher him outside so he can finish. I tell him that he needs to lay down on the couch and relax. Nathan says that his belly hurts. I lay them both down with "puke pans" and tell them that if they have to throw-up again, to make sure they do it in the pans. Some time later Darren gets up to find me and proceeds to throw-up in the kitchen. I clean that up and then I go back outside to help. Then I am told to come back in the house because Nathan is now throwing up. By this time I asked Bruce if he can just take me home because I would rather deal with sick kids on my turf.

I apologized to everyone before we left for spreading the germs, but the boys seemed fine. Otherwise I never would have taken them out to the farm and exposed everyone. I have been told that my aunt got it, my cousin, my sister Carla and two of her kids, her husband. Luckily Bruce, Justin and I never got it.

Rat Tail

Darren's hair seems to grow to a point on the base of his head/neck making him look like we purposely cut his hair so that he would have a rat tail. Yesterday morning while I was getting ready for work he came into the bathroom so he could use the toilet. When he was finished I told him to stand there for one minute. I got the scissors out of the cabinet and cut the rat tail off. He now looks like a boy again.

Meatloaf mania!

I have been in the mood for meatloaf, so I decided to make some meatloaf for dinner last night. The older two boys spent the day at Grandma's, so when I went out to pick them up, I put a package of hamburger in the microwave to defrost. When I got home, I took the meat out of the microwave and dumped it in a tub. After looking at that amount of meat, I decided that this package must have been a small package and got another package of hamburger out.

You may be asking why didn't I know it was a small package; the label/sticker should tell me the weight. This is hamburger that we have processed at my parents house, and when we package it, we just approximate what a two pound package should be. That means that we have some smaller packs and some larger packs.

Since meatloaf is a leftover that I will actually eat, I decided to make a large meatloaf. I am guessing that I mixed up about 3 1/2 pounds of hamburger. When I placed it in the pan, it was easily twelve inches long, four inches wide and approximately three inches tall. My three boys ate like I have been starving them. Even Justin, who really only eats processed meats (hotdog, bologna, pepperoni) ate several helpings of meatloaf. All the boys asked for seconds and thirds of various items. Darren had two helpings of meatloaf and probably two-thirds of a can of green beans. Nathan had at least three helpings of meat loaf, a helping of green beans, and a rather large baked potato. Justin just kept shoveling in the meatloaf. By the time all the boys (Bruce included) had seconds, I bet there was only a four inch length of meatloaf left. Then Bruce packed his lunch, I packed a lunch for the youngest two and it was gone. So much for me packing a lunch to take to work!

Controlled chaos

On Saturday we had family pictures taken. As in my kids, my parents, my siblings and their kids. There were 10 adults and 8 children age six and under. To be exact, (1) six year old, (3) three year olds, (3) one year olds and (1) four-month old. Talk about a daunting task! We all knew going in that as long as the kids were looking at the camera, we were doing better than we could hope. Todd took several pictures and I believe he got at least one where all the kids were looking at the camera. Hopefully none of the adults were blinking, or scratching their nose or making funny faces.

Between us five kids, we take turn being in charge of getting our parents their Christmas gifts. This year was my sisters Carla's turn and she had decided to give our parents a family picture. We had talked about waiting on family pictures, but with the extended family growing like it has, we figured that now was about the best time.

Mom in handcuffs

As I was getting Darren out of his car seat this morning, he seen my watch and asked if I was arrested. I was momentarily confused until I realized that he was looking at my watch. My watch is not the normal "link" watch; instead it is more of a band style in silver. I said that I was arrested and I asked him if he wanted to be arrested also. He said that he wanted to be arrested with me. Is that sweet, or is it disturbing that the thought of being in handcuffs doesn't bother him?

Parent teacher conference

Last night we had our first parent teacher conference for Nathan, and Bruce came with me. His teacher said that he is doing very well academically but he needs to work on a few things. She said, "Nathan is very, very, very social" with emphasis on the last very. She also said that he likes to push everything to the limits and then she gave us an example. She said that that very day in class, she said, "Nathan, this is your third and final warning. The next time you will get your name on the board." She said that he was very well behaved after that. She also said that he doesn't like to be told what to do. She gave us another example. She said that the other day they had to work on their numbers. Nathan told his teacher that he did not want to work on it. She told him that it was not a choice, the he had to do the work or he could go sit out in the hallway by himself. Obviously he choose to do the work. To be honest, there was nothing surprising in what she told us.

She also showed us a paper that he did on the first day of school. A lot of his numbers were backwards. I asked if this was normal. She said it is, and not to worry about it until he is in second grade. I said that I questioned it because I know my brother had a learning disability, although it wasn't dyslexia. Bruce mentioned that he had reading problems as a child and she asked if he was dyslexic. He couldn't remember, but she told us to keep an eye on him.

Happy days

Yesterday after Nathan and Darren went outside, Justin sat on the floor and had a little temper tantrum when I wouldn't let him go out with his big brothers. I picked him up and put him on my bed while I changed out of my work clothes. He immediately cheered up and was running around on my bed and playing peek-a-boo with the covers. After I was done changing clothes, I tried to lift him off the bed so that I could go into the kitchen and start dinner. Justin wanted nothing to do with that, so I left him on the bed. (My bedroom is right off the kitchen so I can see my bed pretty easily) I would go into my bedroom every once in a while and tickle him or act like I was chasing him across the bed. I know that he played on that bed for a least a half hour. What cheap and easy entertainment!

Really?!?!

Most of you know that I have a very sarcastic nature. Last night I realized that I become extremely sarcastic when tired.

About 2:45 am I hear Justin crying. I let him cry for a while, but he doesn't give any indication of stopping so I get out of bed. I make a stop in the kitchen to get a sippy cup of milk for Justin. I get Justin out of his crib and go to my chair to sit down and calm him down. As soon as I sit down he gets more upset and tries to throw himself off my lap. Giving it another try, I gather him up and offer him his milk. This only upsets him more. Thinking that he may be hungry because he didn't each much for dinner, I take him in the kitchen and dim the bar light. As I am standing up and holding him, he starts calming down. The instant I put him in his high chair, the theatrics start again. I am pulling food out of the cabinets for his approval, and he does not approve of anything. Then Bruce chimes in from the bedroom, "Try sitting down and rocking him." Duh! Like I never thought of that. I reply back in my typical sarcastic style, "Really? Why didn't I think of that? This is the first time I ever got up in the middle of the night with a kid!"

Anyway, I just put Justin to bed and go to bed myself. He cries for a minute or two, and then settles down and apparently fell asleep. As I am dozing off myself, I think that I must become extremely sarcastic/irritable when tired. In my defense though, if the peanut gallery would have gotten up with Justin, I wouldn't have been as grumpy. NOTE: If the peanut gallery would have gotten up with Justin, the peanut gallery would have gotten me up also when he couldn't figure out how to make Justin stop crying. Sometimes I wonder how he functions everyday without me telling him to tie his shoes!

Who does he take after?

I claim that Nathan looks like me, acts like me and seems to have most of my traits. I have finally found a trait that can be traced back to his dad though.

Nathan approached me Friday after school and said that he had something to tell me. "Mom. I got my name on the board at school today...on accident though!" I had to chuckle because it was on accident versus on purpose? Anyway, I ask him what he did to get his name on the board. He said that he was talking while the teacher was talking so that is why he got his name on the board.

We also got his progress report and he is doing satisfactory in everything. The teacher comments are, and I quote verbatim:
"Nathan is off to a good start in kindergarten. He is kind, polite, and gets along with others. Nathan participates in class and is very social. He does need to continue working on his handwriting and listening/paying attention during class time. Keep up the good work, Nathan!"

Does most of that statement not sound like his father? Very social, needs to keep working on his handwriting, needs to work on listening and paying attention. I am sure that he gets being polite and gets along with others from me though!

Kid-free weekend....almost

My brother Bill is in Texas. Dad is taking beans off. Dad needs someone to haul the beans to the elevator once the wagon is full. Bruce only had to work a half day on Friday since they are slow. Dad asked if Bruce could haul the wagons since Bill is not home to help out. Bruce says yes because he enjoys working with Dad. Mom decided to pick up the kids from daycare on Friday to surprise them and she figures that Dad should be done taking off beans about the same time.

I get to my parents house about 5:40 from work and the boys are there and waiting on Grandpa to come back with the combine. When he finally shows up, the oldest two go running out of the house in hopes of getting a ride. Mom and I follow a little slower behind with Justin. When Bruce gets back to the farm pulling the bean header, they have to go back to the "Sidney Farm" to pick up the wagons. Of course the boys want to ride along to do that. Neither one is in a car seat, but they would be royally upset if I said that one of them had to stay home, so I let it slide. When they get back, Dad is driving the truck and pulling three empty wagons while Bruce follows behind in his vehicle. Then we all walk out so that Dad can feed and check on the cattle. The whole time Nathan and Darren are peppering Dad with questions. Dad asked the boys if they want to help take off beans tomorrow (Saturday) morning assuming it is not raining. Of course they say yes, and they ask if they can spend the night. The grandparents think this is a great idea, so while they are eating dinner I go home and get some clean clothes for the older two boys. They do not keep Justin overnight because he is a lot to handle (refer to the poo incident) and the other two know what they are allowed to do on the farm. Then they called Saturday afternoon and ask if they can spend another night. I talk to Mom and she said it was okay, but that they were going to church that night, so I had to run some more clothes out to them.

On Sunday they didn't want to leave again, so I left the boys at Mom's and ran to Sears to buy some jeans for Nathan and Darren. Finally after much whining and tears, I get the boys to leave about 48 hours after they first arrived.

I think Justin was lonely over the weekend because he was kind of grumpy. Either that or he is getting ready for a growth spurt as he ate like a pig and slept a lot. It was kind of nice to have a relatively quiet house though.

Itch

Tuesday evening while I was cooking dinner, I look over and see Nathan scratching his genitals on the outside of his shorts. I told him to quit scratching as that wasn't polite to scratch that area. I also told him that when he took a shower tonight, to make sure he washed that area with lots of soap. He looks at me with exaggerated patience and goes,
"All boys itch there Mom."
Me: "How do you know that all boys itch there?"
Nathan: "I just do."

Apparently it is just a fact of life and I just have to accept it!

Just don't let them play with knives....

I believe that at least the two older boys have gotten the clumsy gene from me. Although I feel that Bruce is partially to blame for Nathan's recent "accident."

Last Saturday night as we are getting ready to go out for the evening, Nathan is in the shower in the front bathroom. I was in my bathroom and I can hear Nathan crying. (Our bathrooms share a common wall) I tell Bruce to go check on him. Next thing I hear is Bruce doing a lot of yelling. He comes into our bathroom where I am getting ready and shows me the faucet from the tub. Yes, the faucet! Apparently Nathan claims that he was standing on the ledge of the bathtub trying to adjust the shower head since it is an adjustable shower head. (That is the parts that is Bruce's fault since he didn't just get a standard shower head with no adjustment.) He claims that he slipped, stepped on the faucet and then fell when it came out of the wall. Bruce and I don't really believe that story, but it is over and done with, so what are we going to do?

Then, only about ten minutes later, I went downstairs to the deep freeze to see if I had a frozen pizza that I could make for the boys since Bruce and I were going out to eat. Darren decides to come down with me. I happen to glance over at Darren when he has about three stairs left to navigate. I am not sure if he tried to jump, or if he tripped, but I see him fly through the air and land face first on the concrete floor. He immediately gets a bloody nose. I sit him on the step and push his head back while grabbing a towel from the dirty laundry pile. He is crying pretty hard, but I tell him that he has to calm down as that is only making his nose bleed worse. I then carry him upstairs fireman style. He has pretty much stopped crying, but I make him recline on the couch.

About ten minutes after that, the babysitter arrives. I am telling her why Nathan says his arm hurts and how Darren might get another bloody nose later. I finish giving her instructions for the night and tell her that the boys must get clumsy when tired. She thought it odd that there were two major accidents within minutes of each other too.

Sleepless in Ohio

I admit it. I am spoiled by the fact that my kids all slept thru the night at a couple weeks old and rarely get up in the middle of the night. Darren was developing the habit of waking up in the middle of the night, but as soon as we took him out of the crib, I don't think we have had a problem with him since. I digress.

Last night we put the boys to bed and went to bed our self. As many of you know, I like my sleep. Therefore it pretty typical in our house to for Bruce and I to be in bed by 9:30-10:00. At about 10:00, I had just drifted of to sleep and I hear Bruce asking me if I hear "that?" I wake up and hear Justin crying. I wait ten minutes or so to see if he soothes himself back to sleep. When he doesn't fall back asleep, I get up with him. I take him out to my chair and hold him for about five minutes. I put him back to bed and go to bed myself. At about 1:00 I repeat the routine, but this time I give him a sippy cup of milk to drink on my lap while I calm him down. After some time, I put him back to bed. I just lay down when he starts crying again. I gave him ten minutes to settle himself, and he did stop crying at about minute nine.

I am not sure if he is having nightmares or what. He has been sleeping and eating a lot lately so maybe he is going thru a growth spurt and he is getting "growing pains." He woke up about 4:30 am on Friday night, but fell back to sleep after a few minutes. Not sure what is going on.

Table dancer?

Justin and I were in the living room yesterday evening and the older two boys were across the street with Bruce at the neighbors house. I walk out of the room for a moment. Instead of following me (which all three boys love to do so that means that I never have any privacy), Justin stays in the living room. I walk back into the living room about a minute later. I walk in to see Justin standing on the end table. He crawled right up on the couch and stepped onto the table. I have no idea what he was going to do, but it looks like I interrupted his mission of "Break Mom's Lamp." Little stink-pot.

Who let the dogs out?

Most everyone knows the song/rap, "Who Let the Dogs Out?" Over the weekend the boys were watching TV and that song was on a commercial for something. The next thing I know, I hear Darren say, "Who let the dogs out? Arf. Arf. Arf." His Arf's were high-pitched, so he sounded like a puppy and not the deep voice that says, "Who? Who? Who?" It was too funny!

First day of school experiences

When Bruce picked Nathan up at daycare after his first day of kindergarten, he was so excited. Bruce called me on my cell phone on my way home from work and I could hear Nathan in the background just bursting with stories that he wanted to tell me. When I get home from work he has all kind of stories to tell me. I asked what he did that day that was fun and I think they all involved recess, lunch and snack time! Although I think it would have been hard to top riding the school bus.

When his grandma's from either side called to ask how school went, he didn't have too much to say because he was watching TV and couldn't be bothered to talk.

Aftermath: When it was time to get up and start getting ready for school this morning, I was trying to encourage him to speed it up a little bit by asking if he was excited to go to school today. "No, I don't want to go to school today." What? It is only his second day of school! Loramie does all day, every other day kindergarten so today was his SECOND day. He goes every Wednesday and Friday. Then every other Monday so that means next week he will go three days next week.

Not a football fan

Bruce has been talking about going to the season opener high school football game for a few weeks now. We are playing Minster and it is one of our biggest school rivals (Russia being the other big school rival). Bruce was so excited when Loramie finally got football about six-eight years ago, and dreams of the day our boys will play football. Maybe because Bruce grew up with football and I didn't, I would prefer that our boys not play football.

Anyway, I think Bruce envisions taking the boys to football games and having this great bonding experience. The other night I asked Nathan if he wanted to go to the football game with Dad this Friday. (Darren is too little to go) Nathan said that he did not. When I asked why, here is how he explained it. "Football is boring. You have to sit there and watch it and you can't run around." Well put Nathan.

Blankie baby?

Bruce's aunt has given all of our kids blankets with their name & a character embroidered on them when they were babies. Justin is a yellow fleece like blanket with a satin sash sewn around the edges. It isn't very big; only about as tall as him and maybe three foot wide. He will grab that blanket and snuggle up with it every time we put him to bed - regardless of the temperature.

I fold the blanket and then hang it over the edge of the crib when he is not in the crib and lately he has been grabbing it and walking around the house with it. Then I will find it in all the wrong places. Luckily if the blanket is not in the crib, he does not seem to notice.

Can you say embarrasement?

I just remembered a funny story from last nights open house. While we were standing in line to talk with Nathan's teacher, we reminded him that he knew her from both the county and state fair. As our turn arrives, she kneels down to talk to him on a face-to-face basis. She then asks him if he has any questions. Nathan said yes.

"My Dad says that you like to drink beer." Instantly Bruce is red-faced and is adamantly denying he said anything. Apparently Nathan is remembering when they were at the state fair with us last year and we all had a few cocktails around the pool. Oops.

There was a set of parents in front of us and behind that that my sister Susan graduated with and they were both laughing. Bruce knows both of them because the one used to cut his hair and the other used to bar tend once in a while at Al's so they thought our embarrasment was funny.

First morning of school

This morning was Nathan's first morning of school. I know that he was super excited and was really looking forward to riding the school bus. (The school provides a few courtesy stops around town for the town & daycare kids)

Nathan must have heard me in the basement this morning starting a load of laundry so he comes down about half way and tells me that it is time to start getting ready for school. This is at 6:30 in the morning! I tell him that he should go back to bed and rest for while as it isn't time to start getting ready yet. He asks if he can go watch cartoons so I tell him that it is okay. I finish getting ready and about 7:00, I go into the living room and tell him that it is time to finally start getting ready. Nathan is getting himself dressed while I am getting his brothers dressed. I did not rush the boys this morning as I was planning on sticking around daycare until I seen him get on the bus. I take two pictures of him outside to memorialize the start of school. We get to daycare a little later than normal and Nathan and his brothers eat breakfast. I am talking to the two daycare teachers about life in general, and all of a sudden we see the bus pull up. I rush out the door chasing Nathan so that I can get a picture of him getting on the school bus. He was so anxious to get on the bus that he forgot to look back at me so that I could get a picture. Luckily the bus driver (who is my parents friend) told Nathan to turn around so that I could get a picture.

I think that Nathan wasn't scared about starting school because he knew the teacher from the county and state fair. He also knows the bus driver because of my parents and the bus driver was also at the State Fair with us last year. He even recognizes the room aide because their daughter played basketball with my sister Stacey and Nathan would see her at basketball games. She also walks around town a lot and always says hello.

I know that I have been using the word bittersweet a lot, but that is the only to describe what I am feeling lately. I remember when I sent all my kids to daycare for the first time after maternity leave and I went back to work. Everyone asked me if it was hard for me, and did I cry? I replied that I had no problems and no emotional moments. That never bothered me. Even with Justin, knowing that he was my last one, it never phased me for a moment bringing him to daycare for the first time. Seeing my first born get on the school bus this morning? I had a hard time swallowing because of the lump in my throat.

Family pictures

This past Saturday we had out family picture taken for the church directory. Overall it went pretty well. After our family picture the lady started changing the sitting arrangement so that she could take pictures of the kids. Once we realized what she was doing, we told her that we do not want any pictures of the boys taken. She kept trying to pressure us and we finally told her that we weren't planning on buying any, so why waste her time? She said not to tell the people that reviewed the pictures with us that she gave in so easy as she could get in trouble. We told her that we would tell them that we refused and that it wasn't her fault in any way. The boys were antsy and just wanted to run, so it didn't take us long to review the pictures either. We will be getting our complimentary 8"x10" in the mail in a few weeks.

Future in the army

Yesterday morning Nathan was playing in his room and he had pulled the blinds up so that he could see what was going on outside. He was pretending to be a cowboy so he had his cowboy hat on, his gun belt, a toy pistol in the holster and a toy rifle in his hands. I happened to be in his room when a couple of army semi's went past the house. He said he was going to go outside and put his rifle over his shoulder (like the veterans carry them in parades) to show them that he was in the army too. I told them that the appropriate thing to do would be to salute them and I showed him how that was done. Then the conversation went like this:

Nathan: I am going to be in the army when I grow up.
Me: Oh yeah?
Nathan: Yeah. I am going to shoot a cannon.
Me: Oh yeah? Shoot a cannon huh? (Trying not to chuckle because how often do they shoot a cannon now days?)
Nathan: And fight bad men.
Me: Well, you fight with your brothers now, so why do you need to join the army to fight?
Nathan: That is practice for when I work for the army.

I hope that this is just a passing child-hood fancy. I greatly appreciate everything the past, present and future military personnel do and sacrafice, but that doesn't mean I want my son to join the army. I guess that makes me a hypocrite, but it just scares me to think of him in the military.

Mini-me

I have posted before that I think Justin is a mini-me of Nathan. Well, this past weekend Bruce and I were invited to a pool party and since it was going to be a very long day for a sitter, we asked my Mom to watch the boys overnight. At some point they must have been looking at photo albums and Nathan kept looking at pictures of him and saying that it was Justin!

Sweet gesture?

As I am getting ready for work this morning, Darren comes into my room about 6:20 am. I asked him if he had to go to the bathroom and he said no and laid down on the floor. He didn't say anything else, so I continued getting ready. Then about 6:40 Nathan comes into my bedroom and he did use the bathroom. When he stayed in the bathroom with me, I asked him what he was doing up already. He claimed that he wasn't tired anymore and that Justin is awake also. With that statement he runs out of my room and goes back into his bedroom. A minute later Nathan is back in the bathroom with me and I hear Justin crying. I told Nathan that Justin is crying because he is lonely. It was also mean to go into his bedroom and then go back out when Justin was stuck in the crib. So Nathan told me that he was going to go keep Justin company.

When I walked into the boys bedroom with Darren to help them get dressed for the morning, Nathan was laying in the crib with Justin and Justin had his head on Nathan's chest. I was touched that Nathan was keeping Justin company, but a little dismayed to see that he meant it literally!

Electric birds

On our Mom & Nathan day, as we were sitting at the exit ramp waiting for the light to change, Nathan seen a bunch of birds sitting on several electric lines. He looks at me and asked, "Are birds electric?" I guess seeing the birds rest on the electric lines draws a logical conclusion that they are resting there to re-charge their batteries. Too funny.

Blood test results

Awhile back I had posted that Justin had to go in for more blood work so that they can check his iron level. The morning of the Nathan & Mom day, I took Justin to the lab at the hospital to have his blood drawn. They did a really good job and got him on the first stick. I took Justin back to daycare and then pick Nathan up so that we can spend the rest of the day together.

As I am on interstate coming back from Piqua, my cell phone rings. It was the doctors office with the lab results already. They said that his iron was 10.9 and it should be at least 11. Since it was so close, they suggested that he not take an iron supplement at this time and just eat more iron-rich food. Then we will re-test around his 15-month check-up. I agreed that was a good plan on action. The only problem is that Justin is not a meat eater, so no iron there. He does love to eat bread by itself, so I may buy some iron rich bread and hope that does the trick.

Full of poop

Justin was full of poop yesterday...literally. The boys, including Justin, went to the farm yesterday to spend the day instead of going to daycare. Since Justin requires a little more supervision, sometimes Mom prefers if I send him to daycare so she can do things outside - like mow the grass. I told Mom when I dropped the boys off yesterday that you need to make sure you keep a careful eye on Justin as he gets into everything. At some point when Mom was doing dishes yesterday, my Dad walked back into the toyroom before going back outside and told Mom that all three boys were playing farm together.

Fast forward a little bit and Justin comes walking into the kitchen. Mom looks at him and seen that he had dirt all over him, so she asked him what he got into. (Of course she isn't expecting an answer) Upon getting closer, she discovers that he stinks. After an inspection, she discovers that he has poop all over him! Gross! She looked at his diaper first thinking that maybe he over-filled it, but that wasn't the problem. Apparently one of the other boys went to the bathroom, took care of business and either forgot to flush or didn't hold the handle down long enough and it didn't flush all the way. Regardless, Mom said that he had it all over him, his clothes, the toilet, the shower and the bathroom in general. When telling me that story later, she remarked that she caught him playing in the toilet once (a gross habit of his) and tried to keep the bathroom doors shut since that time. I wanted to say, "I told you so" but I figured that she learned her lesson about making sure you keep a close eye on him.

Full-time walker

I have been waiting to post this to make sure that I wasn't going to jinx myself, but Justin has been walking all the time now for about two weeks. He is so funny to watch because he is so bow-legged. I know all kids are because of their diapers, but he seems worse than my other two did. Then he grins at you with his bow-legs and buck teeth and I just think that he is the cutest thing ever. He even "runs" to catch up with his brothers.

Between his haircut and the walking, he definitely looks like a little man!

First haricut

Justin had his first haircut Monday night. There isn't much hair there, but just shaping it up made him look so much older. I also thought that the haircut made him look more like Darren too. Not sure if it is because his hair is as light as Darren's, or if it is because it is not nearly as think as Nathan's, but there is something there that reminds me of Darren.

Nathan & Mom day

I had a few vacation days that I used last week and on one of those days, I had a Nathan & Mom day. Nathan went with me and the other two boys had to go to daycare. We started the day off by going to the Health Department so he could get the necessary shots he needed to go to kindergarten. Then we went to the Piqua Mall to pick out a few school clothes and additional pair of shoes. As we were walking thru the mall, there was a booth that takes pictures and Nathan asked if we could have our pictures taken. Since it was a bonding day, I said yes even though I really didn't want to have my picture taken. We do that and then get back on interstate to head to Sidney. I ask Nathan where he wants to eat, and I brace myself to hear McDonald's. He surprises me and chooses "Taco Bells." We have a nice lunch and then head to Wal-Mart for his school supplies. I was a bittersweet moment to help him pick out school supplies. After we do that, we head to the grocery side so that we can get some beverages and snacks to take with us when we go to Columbus for the weekend.

When we get home, he rushes outside looking for Leslie since she is home for the summer, and therefore ending our Mom & Nathan day. She wasn't home so he came back and helped me put groceries away. Later that evening when Bruce got home, Bruce was upset because Nathan wouldn't hardly even talk to him. Then he wouldn't give Bruce a hug so Bruce decided that there would be no more Nathan & Mom days.

Some more tests

When Justin has his one year check-up, the nurse pricked his toe to draw blood to test his lead level and iron level. I got a call from the nurse on Friday saying that his lead level came back fine, but his iron level was a little low. The level was 8.9 and normal is between 11 & 15. They asked me if he has been eating, if he was a little pale or if I have noticed any changes. I said that he seemed normal to me, but he did have that cold while we were there. They want me to take Justin to the hospital, to the lab, to draw more blood to do more test. If his iron is low again, they will put him on an iron supplement for three months and then test again. At least that is my understanding. Hopefully there is nothing seriously wrong.

Experienced showmen

Monday night of the fair was the open show for hogs. Nathan had the privilege of showing two pigs and Darren got to show one. I knew that Nathan would be an old pro at it, but I was a little nervous about Darren. It was only last summer that he wasn't quite so afraid of pigs. He is kind of skittish around big animals and still will not get too close to a calf (baby steer).

I did not see it happen, but somehow Darren fell down and looked like he was about to be trampled by several hogs. He was on the other end of the ring so I was pretty nervous that he would get up crying. The ring men and judge came over to help him up and he just kept on showing his pig like this kind of thing happened everyday. The spectators at that end of the ring even clapped for him when he got up like you would do for an athlete after they were injured on the field. When he was done showing that pig, he stated that he wanted to show another one. No one placed, but for the boys, showing pigs is all the enjoyment they need. For my Dad seeing the grand kids show pigs is an enjoyment, but I think he likes the satisfaction of having them place.

Then last evening Nathan competed in Pee-Wee showmanship. He was pretty decent at showing pigs when we walked them at the farm, so I thought that he would do pretty decent at showmanship. I reminded him before he went into the ring that the pig was supposed to stay between the judge and himself. He forgot so he kept walking in front of the pig, blocking the pig which is a big no-no in showmanship. The kids aren't judged on the shape/condition of the pig, but how well you control him. After the judge picked two winners in the class he called all the other kids to the middle and talked to them for a moment. Then as they walked out, they were handed a trophy. You should have seen Nathan's eyes light up! He was showing it to everyone he knew and even complete strangers. He was so excited to get the trophy. On the way home last night I told him that he had to write a thank you note to the Pork Producers because they were the ones that donated the trophy. That put a damper on his spirits, but he acted like it was well worth it. He even asked me if the other kids had to write thank you notes too.

A funny...

As we were going past the Copeland/Emerson plant last night on the way to the fair, I pointed out the place to Nathan and told him that is where his aunt Stacey is working over the summer. Nathan looked at the guard shack and asked in a incredulous voice, "She has to pay to go to work?"

I guess when he sees that type of guard shack it is at the entrance of a zoo or something and that is where we pay for parking so it is a logical conclusion in his mind that she would have to pay to get inside the gates.

Monday randomness

Justin has gotten a new tooth on bottom that he likes to use by biting. He bit me on the leg yesterday. He is also walking about 75% of the time. He is so close, but he knows that he can get somewhere faster by crawling than he can walking. He will have been the oldest of my kids to walk since Darren walked right at 10 months and Nathan started walking a few days before his first birthday.

Both the older two boys, and especially Darren, have been peeing the bed a lot lately. It has gotten so bad that I try to force Darren to wear a pull-up every night. Since it has been so warm, I took their blanket off the bed also. The boys are all over in their bed and the blanket gets wet or peed on more times that I care to wash it. I decided the last time it happened that I was done washing it at least once a week and that the weather was to warm for the blanket anyways. They still have the sheet and their comforter; which are always all kicked off after a few hours anyways.

Nathan and Darren were outside playing with Leslie yesterday and they found a stray cat/kitten. We told them to leave it alone because we didn't know if it was hurt, had a disease and we didn't want it to keep hanging around the house. Apparently this cat/kitten kept following the kids around so of course they started to play with it. It is probably a few months old as it is not full grown and it is all black. They named the cat "Blackie" and wanted to give it a bowl of warm milk and some bread. I said no on the milk and consented to give them the heel on our loaf of bread because it gets thrown away. I now think that we have made a friend because as soon as Bruce opened the garage this morning she/he came running in. When I left later with the boys, Nathan had to catch him/her and hold her while I put the garage door down. I may not be able to resist if the boys ask if they can keep it as he/she is pretty cute & friendly. I just remind myself that I don't want a house pet and hopefully I can resist.

Nathan and Darren are also going to show pigs in the open show at the fair tonight, so I will have to tell everyone how they did. Nathan has been showing pigs for a few years, so I am not worried about him. Darren is another story though.

Corn on the cob

Last night we had our first sweet corn of the season. I ran a cob under cold water for a while so that it cooled down for Justin. When I laid it on his plate he gave me a look like, "What am I supposed to do with this?" As we started eating our ears, he timidly picked it up and started gnawing on the ends. Towards the end of dinner he was an old pro. He was actually holding the ear of corn horizontally and gnawing off the middle of the ear. I think he thought it was great fun!

One-year checkup

J.T. had his one-year checkup today. Everything was normal, and the doctor was not concerned with anything. He did give me a list of things he should be doing and asked me if he was doing everything on the list. One of the tasks was "can stack blocks at least three high." I told him that I think he can do that, but he never gets the chance to. If his brothers are around, he doesn't get much "quiet" time. Either that or they will knock it down before he has a chance to accomplish it.

My peanut weighed in at 22lbs 3oz which put him in the 40th percentile for weight and he measured 30 1/4" long. That put him in the 70th percentile in length. Justin must be a combination of Nathan, who was always off the top of the charts, and of Darren who was usually the middle of the chart. He is growing up so fast!

The big 0-1

My little baby turned 1 on Friday. It is hard to believe that a whole year has gone by. What happened to little boy who I could lay on my bed while I folded laundry and not have to worry about him rolling off. Now when I sit him on my bed, he thinks it is a game. He will crawl from one corner to another and laugh when I chase him to make sure that he doesn't crawly right off the bed. What happened to the boy who could sit in his bouncer for a long stretch of time (20-30 minutes) so that I could hang clothes on the line outside. Now he can't sit still for longer than 20-30 seconds.

It has been an amazing year of discovery, sadness and relief. I love how he exhibits his personality even though it also gets on my nerves at other times. Sometimes I look at Justin and realize that I will not have any more babies, that makes me sad. When someone announces their pregnancy, I have a second of jealousy knowing that I will not be pregnant again. Then the relief comes in two seconds after the sadness because I realize that I do not have to do the middle of the night feedings, mess with the bottles and haul a diaper bag the size of a suitcase in case I need something. I can typically go to Wal-Mart now without a diaper bag; good for me!

The Enforcer

Yesterday at daycare Nathan got caught jumping off the table, so he was forced to write lines as a punishment. He absolutely refused to do it at daycare, so we had to enforce the punishment at home. In typical Bruce fashion, he leaves shortly after I get home so that he can go to the neighbors house so that they can work on Bruce's little trailer. He has had this trailer for about four months, but he decided that tonight it had to be fixed.

I sit Nathan down at the bar, but he is not producing any results. Darren is eating dinner next to him and he keeps picking on Nathan so that is compounding the problem. I make Nathan move to the kitchen table. After about a half hour of a lot of crying and yelling (from both of us), he only has half a sentence wrote of the five that he was supposed to do. I first threaten him with no snacks after daycare or before bed and no desserts. That didn't motivate him so I threaten him with no TV (meaning his shows) for a week. Still no action. I tell him that I am going to call Grandpa Ken. He let out a wail that the neighbors had to hear as he hates to disappoint Grandpa Ken. I finally get feed up and call Grandpa Ken. He is wailing so loud that I can barely hear what is being said on the other end of the phone. Grandpa Ken isn't in the house, so he talks to Grandma Deb. After all that, he still is not writing his lines. I send him to bed while I call Bruce and tell Bruce that I have spent the past hour sitting with Nathan trying to get him to write his lines and I am done as I have had enough. The other two boys need a bath yet, dishes need done and I feel emotionally drained after all that.

Bruce comes home and I let him hoover over Nathan while I give the boys a bath. By the time they were out of the tub 15 minutes later, Nathan was sitting down and writing his lines. Not sure what was said, or promised, but at least he was writing. Bruce decides that he is going to go back over to the neighbors as he only has one line left to write. When Nathan is done, I glance at it but do not sit down to actually read it. Later that evening when Bruce comes home he asks to see the paper. It turns out that Nathan forgot a letter to one of the words and then he completely omitted a word. Bruce gets Nathan to get in there to write another sentence since he messed up, and the whole crying and yelling process starts over again. I tell Bruce to keep his voice down as Justin is in bed and if he wakes him up, Bruce will have to deal with him.

After ten minutes or so, Bruce gives up and says that it is good enough. Nathan is so damn stubborn! I hope this isn't a foreshadowing of all the problems we are going to have with him when he gets into school!

It was like that....

I have a jewelry armoire given to me many, many years ago for a Christmas gift that I still use today. For some reason the boys are fascinated by it. They will open the drawers, try to twist off the knobs, open the sides where my necklaces hang, and just make a nuisance of themselves. Sunday while I was getting ready, Darren keep opening and slamming the sides where my necklaces hang. I finally tell him to get out of my room and go play somewhere else. This is how the conversation goes:

Darren: "I see a necklace on the floor."
Me: "Pick it up and give it to me." I wait while he picks it up. I look at it. "Darren. What did you do?" I show him my necklaces all knotted together.
Darren: "It was like that."

There are two gold, delicate chain necklaces with pendants knotted together into about a 1/2" ball. I forgot that when I took them off I tied them into a big knot. Yeah right!

Get the butter out...

Saturday morning Bruce and I were still in bed when we heard Justin start crying. I rolled over and looked at the clock and realized that it was 7:45 am. I was disappointed that he was up so early since the boys all slept in until at least 9:00 last weekend. Then I started to get a little mad because I figured that one of the other boys ran into the bedroom, woke Justin up and played with him or in the room until their attention span was done then ran out. As we are rolling out of bed, we hear Justin let out another impatient cry. I am mumbling and thinking that he can start to exhibit a little patience.

As I walk into his room, I realize that he somehow managed to wedge his knee in between the slats and it is stuck. I gently try pushing it back thru, but he has it wedged in there pretty good. I call for Bruce and he comes into the room. He pulls on the slats almost to the point of breaking and I manage to push his knee out. Not sure how he managed to get it wedged in there so tight, but he did.

Sunday morning rolls around, and again Justin wakes us up about 8:00. (As you are starting to tell, I am NOT a morning person) I walk into his bedroom and Justin has his leg stuck AGAIN. Luckily it was not wedged in as tight so I was able to pull it out myself.

Boing! Boing!

Remember the inflatable clowns that stand about four foot high and is weighted in the bottom so you could punch them and they would bounce back up? Darren was an inflatable clown Sunday morning.

He managed to shove his skinny little legs in between the two couch cushions up to his knees. He would fall forward on his face while saying "bounce" and then he would get up into a standing position and then fall backwards saying "bounce." The harder Bruce and I laughed, the faster he would go. Bruce and I both said that he was acting like the punching bag clowns. He is definitely our little trouble-maker.

Punishment

Because the boys fight Bruce and myself about going to bed every night, the last few nights we have punished them by telling them they weren't allowed to go outside to play. The older two boys were even invited to spend the day on the farm on Thursday, but they didn't get to do that because they fought bedtime and were talking back. There is always so much going on, and they are afraid that they are going to miss something, but they refuse to go to sleep. Then I have to deal with them in the morning not wanting to get out of bed when it is time for daycare.

We even had two neighbor kids ask to play with our kids, but we told them that the boys were not allowed out of the house since they can't listen. It hardly phased the boys. Instead, they turned my living & dinning room into a farm and now I have farm toys everywhere. Brilliant plan huh?

First kisses

This morning after the boys were ready for daycare, I was holding Justin while the other two boys put their shoes on. I would give him a kiss on the check and kind of nuzzle his neck. When I would stop he would turn his face so that he was looking straight at me and then lean in and press his open mouth against mine. When he was done, he would turn his head to the side again to see what his brothers were doing. I would start kissing his check again and nuzzle his neck. He would again turn his head and give me an open mouth kiss.

It was so precious, but so funny. I was laughing while he was "kissing" me and I think the laughter caused him to continue kissing me for an extended amount of time.

Where in the world is Nathan?

This post reminds me of a game and maybe a show that was popular 15-20 years that my sister used to play all the time. It was called, "Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego?" (I think that was her last name) This is the newest, most updated version of that game.

We were at the neighbor's house on Saturday night so the kids could play, the adults could visit and we could all watch the town fireworks. Before I knew it, it was 1 am. I took the younger two boys home and put Justin to bed. Darren went to bed, but when I was getting ready for bed he comes running into my room and asks to sleep beside my bed. Since it was late and I was tired, I said that was fine. Fast forward to Sunday morning about 8:00 am. I hear Darren jump up real quick and run around my side of the bed towards to door. He sees Nathan laying on the floor next to Bruce (for the same reasons I mentioned earlier) and does an about face and lays back down on my side of the bed where he falls back asleep for a few more hours.

The same thing was repeated Monday morning with a slight twist. About 7:30 Darren comes running into our room because he couldn't find Nathan. Nathan apparently came into our bedroom sometime during the night, but once Darren seen Nathan, he laid down beside my bed and falls asleep for a few more hours.

Apparently Nathan's presence reassures Darren. It also looks like Darren is afraid that he is going to miss something, so if he wakes up and doesn't see Nathan, he has to go looking for him in case something really fun is going on.

Closer everyday...

Justin is "this close" to walking. Several times over the long Holiday weekend he would walk anywhere from 2 feet to about 6 feet before falling. I think before his birthday in ten days that he will be walking.

Yeah! Sniff, sniff! Hooray! Boo-hoo! Not sure how I feel about my baby taking those precious steps into toddler-hood.

First time...

This past week I did something for the first time that I never intentionally did for any of my other kids. I put Justin in the car and drove around so that he could fall asleep. I am guilty of driving home from somewhere (usually Mom & Dad's house) and continuing to drive around until the kids are asleep if I see that they are sleepy.

I drove him around that night because I put him in bed and he cried for a few minutes and then he must have fallen asleep because I did not hear anything else from him. About a half hour later the boys followed me outside so I could dead-head my flowers and the neighbor drove past in his vintage Trans Am. The boys are yelling, "Cool car!" "Burn the tires off!" and things like that. Which woke Justin up because our windows were open since the weather was picture-perfect. He then cried for a half hour in his crib. So I get him out and he continues to cry. I give him Tylenol and gas medicine as this is not like him. I just get him to stop crying after ten minutes when Bruce walks in. It starts all over again. After listening to him crying for five minutes, I told Bruce to give me his car keys as I was taking Justin for a drive. He, nor any of my other kids, every cried for a hour straight. It gave me new appreciation for my sister Susan and my colic niece.

The only thing I can figure out is that his belly hurt as he had several loose bowel movements over several days and that is not like him. I also suffered from gasterlogical issues for a few days, so I wondered if both of us had a virus of some type. I could feel my intestines cramping and it did hurt.

Loves music

Nathan and Darren share a bed that has a bookcase style headboard. When Nathan was about a year old, Bruce was convinced that Nathan needed a radio for Christmas. So Nathan gets a radio for Christmas. That radio currently rests on the top of the bookcase headboard. The other morning after getting Justin ready for daycare, I put him on the bed and let him crawl around. He immediately goes to the headboard, stands up and turns the radio on. He knew exactly what button to push. He then "dances" a little bit and turns up the volume. I know that it was just luck that he grabbed the volume dial and not the tuning dial, but I was impressed that he knew what actions he had to take to turn the music on and then to turn it up!

A real life baby

On Sunday of this past weekend, the two neighbor girls were over and they were playing house with my three boys. (This seems to a common theme when they come over) Nathan was the Dad, Leslie was the Mom, Nikki was the daughter, Darren was the puppy and Justin was of course the baby.

I was folding clothes while they were playing and so I would walk into their bedroom periodically to put clothes away or they would venture out into the room I was in. Justin kept giving me suffering looks like, "Please help me. I just want to be left alone."

Another step towards independence...

This past weekend Bruce and I received a letter from the school telling us how excited they are to have Nathan enrolled in school this upcoming year (just wait until they get to know him:) ). The letter stated that Loramie has all day, every other day kindergarten and Nathan would be going to school every Wednesday and Friday and alternating Monday's. It is a good thing they enclosed a schedule because with all the Holiday's (i.e. President's Day, MLK Day, Christmas) there are a few months that he only has a Monday class once that month.

Anyway, they had also sent a list of who is in his class. I recognized a few of the names from the pre-K classes that Nathan took this past spring. I was reminding Nathan of some of the kids so he could be familiar with some of his classmates. He gave me a (almost) condescending look and said in an annoyed, bored voice, "I know Mom."

He has a small class this year as there is currently 57 kids enrolled for the upcoming school year. I did not count, but there seem to be more boys than girls also.

Summer nights...

No, not the Rascal Flatts song. It is light until almost 10 o'clock in the evenings now. While I love the fact that it is light out so long, the boys aren't as happy. When I tell them that it is bedtime, they tell me that the sun is still out and so they fight bedtime. By the way, they always fight bedtime, but it is so much worse in the summer. I have to remind them that the sun is also out when they wake up in the morning, so that means the sun is just out longer in the summer. I tell them that because the weather is so nice and kids are out of school, God decided to keep the sun out longer. Then I reminded them that in the winter the sun is about gone by the time Mom gets home from work and it is dark when they wake up in the morning. I told them God did that because no one wants to look at snow. That seemed to appease them for the time being.

Standing tall

Justin has been pulling himself to a standing position when he has something to pull himself up on for quite a while now. For the first time on Sunday, I seen Justin pull himself into a standing position without pulling himself up on anything. In the middle of the floor he just stood up. Last night, (Monday) he pulled himself up in the kitchen and looked around with the expression of, "Okay, what do I need to do now?" He took a tentative step and heard his brothers laugh or squeal in the other room and plopped down on his butt. He immediately starting speed crawling to get into the living room to see what he is missing. He is getting close!

By the way, Bruce said that Justin has been doing that for while. I said that I never seen him do it before Sunday, but I also missed the first time he rolled over so it is entirely possible that he has indeed done it before.

Biting

I have a feeling that Justin is going to be a biter. He bit me twice on Saturday and I have two bruises (one on each shoulder) to prove it. He can really clamp down. He was over-tired when he bit me, so I hope that is why he bit me and not because he thinks it is fun!

Haircuts for everyone!

The barber that Bruce and the boys go to recently raised their rates from $9 to $10 per haircut. I know that it is a fair price and he needs to make a living, but it seems like a lot of money considering that Nathan needs to get a haircut at least every four weeks or so. He has thick hair just like Bruce and I. Together, Bruce and I decided to invest $25 in a pair of clippers and try to cut the boys hair ourselves.

Over the weekend, Bruce shaved his own hair and I only helped to make sure it was even, trim around his ears better and shape up his neck. Darren and Nathan got it on Saturday. Darren was harder because he has such fine hair, but overall I say they look pretty nice. We are still going to take them to the barber shop before any big occasions, but their summer haircuts are looking pretty good. Their hair is shorter than it ever has been. Justin needs a haircut, but fortunately for him we aren't going to subject him to the clippers yet!

Crops

This past Saturday we were going to Wal-Mart to get groceries and let Nathan pick out a toy with half the money that his godfather had given him for his birthday. As we were driving to Sidney, Nathan asked if we were going to drive past the Sidney Farm. Bruce said no that it was kind of out of the way. Then Nathan asked if we could drive past it on the way home. I asked why. He said that he wants to look at the crops. I asked him if he wanted to look at the crops so that he can tell Grandpa how they are doing, and he said yes. We have a crop expert on our hands.

New niece

My sister Carla had a baby girl two days ago. Her name is Lydia, she weighed 8lbs 6oz and was 21" long. The boys are all excited to see their new cousin "even if she is a girl." The boys were excited to have a new cousin and not as excited to have another girl cousin.

Skeeter and skeeter bites

It doesn't matter how hot or humid it is out, my boys want to play outside. This past Saturday it wasn't really hot, but it was extremely muggy. I don't know if that is the conditions that mosquito's like, but they were out in full force. Darren is evidence of that as he has skeeter bites everywhere.

Bad influence

My boys are bad influences on kids everywhere! We went over to Mom & Dad's yesterday for our monthly Sunday dinner. My sister Susan's boy is two weeks younger than my youngest. Justin and Jude were sitting on the floor and Justin crawls over to the stairs. Justin can crawl up those stairs faster than you can get up and grab him and he will be halfway up. By the end of the night, Jude was starting to crawl up the stairs. He wasn't as quick, but my kid was the bad influence (again) that showed him how easy it was.

Nathan's milestones

Nathan had a big weekend for milestones. He graduated from pre-school and he lost another tooth over the weekend.

Grandpa Mark & Grandma Joan attended the graduation (Grandma Deb forgot) and watched Nathan and another girl receive their diplomas in their cap & gowns. He is now ready for kindergarten this fall.

Nathan has been getting his permanent teeth in, and I think that is why his baby teeth have been falling out. The permanent teeth are literally pushing out the baby teeth.

New baby

Last night while we were sitting at the bat eating, Nathan said, "When we get a new baby next year, it can sit there (pointing to a bar stool)." Bruce and I both said right away that there will be no new baby next year. Nathan asked why. We told him that we were happy with the three kids that we have now, so we don't need to have another baby. He just couldn't understand why we were done having kids.

On that same vein, Nathan has been a really good big brother lately. Very responsible. Last night immediately after dinner he kept asking Bruce if they were ready to go over to the neighbor's. I told Nathan that if he is in a hurry to go over to the neighbors that he can help us clear the table. He immediately brought the plates to the counter and put the ketchup back in the fridge. The he took the washcloth and wiped the bar off. Granted he probably wiped the crumbs on the floor, but he is trying!

My little exhibitionist

The other day at daycare Darren was pulling his pants down and showing everyone his butt. I know that he did not get that from me as I am not, nor have I ever, been an exhibitionist. Bruce decided that his punishment should be that he is not allowed to go outside and play after daycare. Of course Bruce and Nathan go outside and so Darren's punishment becomes my punishment.

While I am making dinner, he keeps opening the garage door and trying to sneak out every minute or two. Finally after about the 20th prison escape attempt, I tell him just to go. Bruce comes in shortly after that and demands to know why I let him out. I tell him that Darren's punishment is too hard on me while I am making dinner, and since he gave Darren that particular punishment, that he needs to be the one to enforce it.

Sticky situation

The other day we got McDonald's Happy Meals and the two older boys got the apple dippers instead of French Fries. As Darren was taking his food out of the box, he must have dropped the caramel dip on the floor. I briefly looked but didn't see it, so I just assumed they forgot to put it in his meal.

Well, Justin found it a few days later. I was in the kitchen making dinner and I realized that he was pretty quiet on the other side of the bar, so I went over to check on him. Somehow he punctured the packet and he had a mess with a capital M. He has caramel all over his face as he was trying to eat it, it is in his hair, on his legs, on his clothes, a few spots on the wall and on the bar stool. I had to fight him to get the packet away from him as he was really enjoying the caramel. Straight into the tub he went!

Pictures

This past Saturday we took the boys to a photographer to get their pictures taken. He took pictures of the boys individually, together and then took some family pictures. He only charged us $45 and then he gave us the CD's so that we could pick the pictures we want and the amount that we want. That is the best deal ever!

Nathan did a good job even though he was giving fake smiles about half the time. Justin did really well also. I would hold him, count to three and quickly set him down so that Todd could start snapping. Justin would obviously start crawling and Todd just followed him. Darren didn't do as well. He didn't want to smile, but there is one proof that is really cute where he is covering his eyes with a smile. Not one that I would choose to display, but it will be a nice keepsake. Justin was getting tired and cranky by the time we did the boys together, so I am hoping that I can get one decent picture of them together. Same thing with the family pictures.

My only complaint is that I now have so many pictures to go thru to pick which ones I like. He gave me (3) CD's full of pictures.

BB Gun

Bruce decided that Nathan needed a BB for his birthday even though I didn't necessarily think that he was ready for one. Last Saturday we took it out to my parents house so that Nathan could shoot it. Of course Dad, Bill and Bruce are giving him all kinds of advice/instructions on how to shoot. He could only hit a can when my Dad helped him line it up. Inspiration struck after that and Dad got a chair up and propped it up so that Nathan had something to steady himself on. After that, he hit the can at least every other time.

Because there is a deer carved on the gun, he told Bill that he is going deer hunting with him this fall because this was "a hunting gun."

Justin shenanigans

Justin is officially off of baby food and eating only table food. If anyone wants to try the baby food diet, I have a few jars to start you off!

I have finally gotten Justin to drink out of a sippy cup. For some reason he was the hardest kid to adjust to a sippy cup. He now only gets a bottle w/formula in the morning and in the evening. I am trying to wean him off the bottle and formula, so we will see how that goes.

Last weekend when I was putting the boys tubs of clothes away, I brought down some of the toys you walk behind so Justin gets some us out of them before I get rid of them. Right away Justin was walking behind them like an old pro. He may actually be walking by his first birthday if he keeps this up. I have mixed feelings on that....

For the past several months, we have had to keep the toilet lid down because I have caught Justin playing in the toilet several times. Gross! I keep my toilet fairly clean, but ick! Last night when he crawled into the bathroom, I made sure the lid was down. I walk back into my bedroom to finish folding clothes and I hear a "thunk." Not to be outsmarted, Justin has lifted the lid and is getting ready to splash around in the toilet. Seriously? I don't think my other two figured out how to lift the lid at that early of an age. What a stink-pot! (pun intended)

Vehicle troubles

Bruce had given me AAA as a gift last year for Christmas, and it certainly paid for itself last night. I had met Mom at the doctors office at lunch yesterday and came back to work when I was finished. I went in to work and everything proceeded like normal. I went to get in my van after work last night and my van wouldn't start. I call the local number on my AAA card and they send someone out to give me a jump. (I was the only one left at the shop at this point otherwise I just would have asked one of the guys to give me a jump) While I am waiting on him, I pop the hood. The red terminal (I always forget which color is negative and which one is positive) was completely corroded and the terminal had broke. The tow truck guy gets there and proceeds to give me a jump. He fills out the necessary paperwork and has me sign. I go jump in my van and the van had stalled. The tow truck driver says that he will have to tow me. I get a tow back home and then Bruce and I go out to Mom's to pick up the boys since she had them because of Nathan's doctor's appointment.

We get to the farm and ask if we can borrow one of their vehicles. Mom let's me borrow her new car, and the boys think it is the best thing in the world because it has a moon roof. They make me open that for the drive home and insist on opening the back windows because they have the controls at their fingertips and they don't have that control in my mini-van. As we were driving home, I hear Nathan laughing like a crazy man in the back. He then tells Darren to look at my hair. A small lock of my hair was standing straight up and out of the moon roof. The boys thought that was hilarious. I would pull it down, and it would fly up and out again. I am glad that I could keep them entertained for the trip home!

6 year checkup

I had to meet Mom at the doctors yesterday so that Nathan could have his 6 year checkup. Since my kids are healthy for the most part (knock on wood), so after they reach about the age of 3 I don't really see the need to take them for their well-child checkup, but do so because daycare requires it. They get their immunizations from the Health Department and not the doctor's office, so the visit is more of a formality than anything.

Yesterday Nathan weighed 62 lbs and he is 4'2" tall. He is off the charts for height and weight, but the nurse stated that he is proportional, so there are no worries. I would not call Nathan fat, but I would call him solid. Everything else looked okay, and they reminded me that I still have to get him his immunizations before he goes to school. I will get the shots done at the Health Department at the same time I get Justin's next round of immunizations done.

12 plus hours of sleep

Yesterday afternoon the boys came in to get a snack, and I could tell that Darren was getting tired. Since it was about 4 o'clock in the afternoon, I didn't want him to take a nap that late in the day anymore. I asked the boys if they wanted to play with their squirt guns. Of course they both say yes and are raring to go again. Nathan asked me if they could squirt each other. I told them that since it is so nice out that they were allowed to squirt each other, but that Nathan had to stop if Darren told him to. They both would come in for periodic refills, and Nathan is barely damp while there was not a dry spot on Darren.

They come in for dinner around 6:00 and I ask them what they want for dinner. Nathan wants cereal and Darren wants pizza rolls. (Bruce went to a graduation party that we were both invited to but I stayed home with the boys because all Justin would want to do was crawl and I would have no fun chasing after him) After the second pizza roll, I can tell that Darren is getting tired. I go and get his pajamas. He is on his third pizza roll and I am afraid that he is going to fall off the chair, he is that tired. Luckily since he was so wet, it washed off most of the dirt he accumulated that day. I put his pajamas on and put him to bed at 6:15 with the fear that he would be up and ready to party at midnight. He slept through the night and he didn't really want to get out of bed this morning at 6:45. I wish bedtime was always this easy!

The big 0-6!

My little baby is six today! I see so many of my traits in him - stubborn, always right, can hold a grudge, likes his sleep and I am sure that he has some of my good traits too! If I didn't have the pictures to prove it, I wouldn't remember Bruce's parents and brother coming to visit that night. I do remember him having a cone head and me crying because he had a cone head. Luckily the next morning it was round again although it was still a big head.

Still crawling...

When Justin started sitting up and crawling basically in the same week at about six months of age, I was convinced that he would have been walking by now. He is getting closer, but I don't see him walking anytime in the next month or. He will stand by himself without holding onto anything momentarily, but that rarely last longer than ten seconds. He will also walk along the furniture, but he hasn't quite got the balance thing figured out. We also have not been "practicing" with him as we did with Nathan. I would rather he be several months older before he can walk. He gets around too well the way it is.

Applesauce continued

If you have not read the post I made yesterday about applesauce, read that before reading this please.

Last night all three boys finished the 3lb jar of applesauce. I guess that it better than eating chips. That is also why I always try to keep lots of fruit, yogurt and other healthy foods in the house. When they are on their eating binges, the amount of food they pack away will shock you.

Let's play House

Over the weekend I was pulling the winter clothes out of the boys closet/dresser and putting in their summer clothes. The neighbor girl was over and as I am putting clothes into the tubs in the dinning room, I hear them in the bedroom talking about playing house. Nathan even made the bed, so their house would be neat. I am walking in and out and chuckling to myself about some of the things they are talking about. Nathan said he is the Dad, Leslie is the Mom, Darren is the puppy and Justin is the baby. As I am out in the dinning room, I hear Nathan say, "You lay on that side of the bed and I will lay on this side." Sure enough when I walk back into their room, the covers are all rumpled.

Should I be worried that Nathan is trying to get girls into bed already?

Applesauce

Every July, I go over to Mom's to help make home-made applesauce. We recently ran out and so I bought one of the big jars at Wal-Mart the other day. Last night after dinner the boys were still hungry so when I got out the applesauce to feed some to Justin, the older two boys asked for some also. I opened a brand-new 3lb jar and I know that all three boys ate over half of it last night. I finally told them they had enough as I was afraid that they would get a bellyache and have some...um...digestive problems.

Clap your hands

Lately while Justin is in his high chair eating a meal or having a snack he will start clapping. Because he can't talk, I have a conversation with him about what I believe him to be clapping about.

Me: "Thank you Justin. Mom is glad that someone appreciates her cooking."
Justin: Big goofy grin and more clapping
Me: "Stop. You are embarrassing me. I only made Ramen noodles for lunch/warmed up a hot dog."
Justin: Another grin and more clapping.
Me: "Thank you Justin and I love you too."
Justin: More grins, laughing and clapping. He may raise his hands in touchdown style if he really appreciates my culinary talents (at least in my mind).

I can be silly too.

Cringe-inducing comments

Kids really do need to have a filter put on their mouths. Darren has said some embarrassing stuff, but he can get away with it for some reason. Nathan, on the other hand, can not get away with it and mortifies his parents in the process.

A few months ago he made a girl cry at daycare. He asked her why she was so fat. This little girl was so upset that she started crying, and Nathan didn't understand what he did wrong. Of course that evening we have the conversation with him that you don't talk about how small or how big someone is. How you don't stare at someone because they are missing a leg. Or how if you have questions about someone you ask Mom and Dad quietly when no one is around. We also told him that he had to apologize to her the next time he seen her since she only comes in for preschool.

Then the other day Bruce took the boys driving around the lake while waiting for me to get home from work. They decided to stop at one of the daycare teachers house, and she lives in a trailer out at the lake. The teachers husband was outside, so they stopped to talk to him. Nathan has seen house trailers before, but apparently he thought he was quite observant with his comment. He told him, "A semi-trailer is bigger than your house." Bruce said that he was waiting for the floor to open up and swallow him. He was that embarrassed and he doesn't embarrass easily.

Food woes

I have to admit that Justin seems to take after me with the texture of food. I have been trying to get him to eat strictly table food, but he hasn't been doing the best with it. I recently started buying stage 3 baby food which has little chunks of noodles, chicken or whatever in it. I never bought state 3 for my other two boys because they were on table food solely at this point. Justin will take about two spoonfuls and then start gagging. I give him another spoonful, and he will gag some more. If I lay some macaroni & cheese on his try, he will eat that with no problems. The only thing I can figure out is that he does not like the texture of his baby food. I like salad, but I cannot stand lettuce on my sandwiches or tacos. Justin apparently inherited that trait from me.

Wedding Bells?

On Thursday when Bruce picked the boys up at daycare, one of the little girls ran up to Bruce and told him, "I kissed Nathan today and we are going to get married." When Bruce tells me this, we all pick on Nathan. Nathan is insisting that he will never get married.

The next day at daycare, the same little girl runs up to Bruce and says that her and Nathan aren't getting married anymore. When Bruce asked her why not she said, "He farts."

Apparently Nathan found the perfect girl-repellent!

Plush it

Darren has been obsessed with flushing the toilet lately, so he flushes just to flush. When we are in the bathroom taking care of...um...business, he will volunteer to flush it. Except I think he is saying "Plush it." I have asked him repeatedly what he is saying and he just gets frustrated that I don't understand what he is saying. Is he perhaps combining the words push & flush? Pretty ingenious if you ask me!