The Key To His Heart....

They say "The way to a man's heart is through his stomach." Today I found the way to a BOYS heart is giving him a Super Grover T-shirt.

My son is OBSESSED with Sesame street. We have little plastic sesame street characters with a house and bus that he plays with EVERY day without fail. He carries around Super Grover and Oscar the Grouch, one in each hand, almost every where we go. We have spares because if they are lost, we are in trouble. He goes to sleep with them in hand and wakes up the same. They are very special to the little guy.

Due to his bleach debacle, his favorite shirt (Elmo) was ruined. I couldn't find a replacement at stores here in Sheboygan so I went on-line to order one. Instead of Elmo, I bought Super Grover and Oscar shirts instead. I've never seen such a happy little lad as when I showed them to him from the mail today. He is DE-lighted. I cannot describe how stinkin' adorable it is that right now he is running around in his shirt with right arm extended, fist clenched and jumping saying, "Super Bober a da repue." (Translation- Super Grover to the Rescue). I did not tell him to say this or teach him to say this, nor did Marc- it's all his love for HIS hero;)

"Super Bober..."

"...a da repue"
(for some reason he didn't clench his fist for this staged picture;)

Finally Friends

Anyone who knows Ava well, knows she developped an intense fear of flies two years ago. She was swarmed (no exaggeration) by hundreds walking to the car from the ice cream stand. It was gross and a little overwhelming to Marc and I; to a two year old it was down right terrifying. We've been working with her ever since to overcome her fear. Apparently, this is one area of our parenting in which we've been successful.

Yesterday, she did NOT want Marc to get the fly in her room. Below is the conversation:

Ava: You don't have to get him, Papa, we're friends.
Me (with a smile): Oh really, what do you say to each other?
Ava (very matter of fact): We don't say anything, Mom, but we sure are friends. I've been watching him fly around.

Sometimes it is little sweet, simple conversations that are the highlight of my day. I almost melted when she said, "we sure are friends." She is talking so grown up now;)

Death Wish?

My son is cute, really cute and full of more mischief than I ever could have imagined!! His antics seems to ebb and flow. I am thankful that we get little breaks here and there, but lately he's been on a rampage;)

Last week, we were in Ava's room playing nicely. I turned my back on him to teach Ava how to make hospital corners with her top sheet on her bed. I finish and see than little man is chewing something. I promptly say, "Phin, what's in your mouth?" To which he just replied, "GOOD!" I reach to try and get whatever it is out and there is nothing left. It is at that point I see the open and spilled bottle of my Mother-in-Laws Zicam (they were visiting and her suitcasewas on the floor). ARGH! I counted the tablets as I put them back in the bottle. 17 tablets. The bottle said it originally contained 25 and they were "rapid melt tabs". There was no false marketing on that one, let me tell you! A quick call to poison control ensured they were nontoxic (which I was pretty sure of as there was no child proof cap and they are basically just zince, but always play it safe around here.)

Not twenty minutes later, I was washing dishes with Phin at my feet playing his tupperware drum. He opened the cabinet underneath me (those child-proof locks don't even slow this one down!). I am careful not to keep anything too dangerous down there, because this is, of course, not the first time he foiled our efforts to keep the cabinet "locked". I just took a couple seconds to finish the plate I was on and when i looked down to close the cabinet, He was spraying himself....with CLOROX! AHHH! Unfortunatley, having guest in your home sometimes means they put things where they don't go;P Luckily, he only ruined his favorite Elmo shirt and managed to avoid his face and eyes. It was too close a call for my comfort on that one!

Finally, he wanted to ensure we didn't thing we could get off that easy and then next day ran out to the grill to say "HI!" to his papa. He reached for the grill faster than Marc could react and this time escaped no danger. He now knows firsthand what "HOT!" really means. He feels quite sorry for his little self and keep showing me his "owie". (Thankfully Marc DID react fast enough so he only got a second degree burn on his ring and pink fingers.)

Here is his pitiful "look at my owie" face:

I Got It!!

Chloe is cute, really cute. There is just one problem, she is not photogenic. It has been nearly impossible to capture her cuteness on camera! I want to remember her at this stage, as she is, and yet when we snap pictures, they don't look like our happy, charming baby girl.

Illustration #1: Completely happy baby becomes deer in the headlights at mere sight of the big black camera.

The other day, I thought I finally was fast enough and squealed with delight. I finally captured a smile. The only problem was, I was SO excited I cut off half her face:P

But TODAY, TODAY was the day. She finally adjusted to the large foreign object in her face and gave me a smile. AND I GOT IT!!

I was so happy I guess she caught on and gave me her all out cheesiest grin.

When one sees this pictures, they don't have to wonder why I am in love with this little one. Just imagine, every time I nurse her she gives me these adorable smiles when she catches my eye. Her name means "verdant, vibrant" and I think she's going to live up to it!

Rainbow Brite

Does anyone remember Rainbow Bright? I remember watching it with my sisters and coveting my neighbors doll;) It was magical and colorful and fun.

I have apparently given birth to Rainbow Bright herself! (How I wish it were still around! I'll have to check the library for old videos.)

I had a hard time laughing when she came out of her room today, skipping no less! I said, through a smile, "Well, aren't we colorful today!" To which she replied, "I woke up feeling like a rainbow this morning." I'm guessing that means she got up on the RIGHT side of the bed;)

"MOMMY!...."

I remember being so anxious for Ava to call me "mommy" for the first time. When she actually said it, I thought my heart would jump through my chest. It was confirmation that she KNEW me, that she "got" the special bond we shared. Hearing "mommy" for the first time from Phin was equally exciting. Before then, you know they like you and you realize that you are the one they look to to be soothed, comforted, etc, but something about hearing them call you their mom is just amazing.


Why is it then, that four short years later, I would give anything NOT to hear "mommy" for just one day. What was once a long awaited word, is now said in my house thousands of times a day. They no longer wait for me to respond before repeating it; in fact sometimes I think they say it when they are trying to fill dead space- "mommy, mommy, mommy". I lay in bed at night and in the stillness their calling still echos in my mind. AH!


I love my kids, I do. I am thankful that they love me and like me to boot, but really do they need to call me for EVERYTHING? Do they need to tell me EVERY thought that goes through their little heads?


I am trying hard to listen despite my annoyance. Someday they won't want to talk to me, I am told, so I am trying hard to set the stage now to let them now I want to listen to them...hope they don't see through what is some days (today, for example) a complete act.

Officially a Mom of Three

I am officially a mom of three. Chloe is already two months and any mom with a couple kids can understand why I haven't updated my blog until now- except of course the supermoms, but remember I affectionately call myself a wannabe...it takes me two months.

Chloe is adorable. Let's start with what is most important- she's sleeping well. (In my world, if one can sleep a bit a night, life is doable.) She is cuddly and cute and eats like a champ. She is pretty laid back on one hand, but let me tell you if she has a desire to eat, she goes from 0 to "LOST MY TEMPER" in 2 seconds flat. I am guessing this temper will continue to manifest itself in various ways throughout her life:) It's kind of cute now...but I can see the novelty wearing off when words start accompanying the crying.

The other kids are doing remarkably well! Phin is still pretty much a baby himself, so he is a little needier than he used to be now that my attention is divided, but he hasn't been aggressive or angry at the baby. He adores her, constantly telling us she's cute and making sure EVERYONE knows the minute she starts to cry. He loves to hug and kiss her...he just hasn't gotten gentleness down quite yet, so he sucks her face (I wish I had a picture of this though it would totally gross them out when they get older!) and lays on top of her to give full body hugs. We definitely cannot leave her unattended on the floor;)

Ava is a big helper- most days:) She's definitely had some adjustment too. She started coming to sleep in our room at night and was doing a bit of sleep walking and complaining of belly aches now and then. With a little more "special time" set aside and bribes, she's staying in her room, has started sleeping better and seems over the belly aches. You may criticize the bribing, but let me tell you when you baby is sleeping and your 4 year old wakes you up...you struggle with anger during the middle of the night! I put a mason jar on the counter and cotton balls in a bag. Every night she stays in her room, she gets to put in three cotton balls; when the jar is full we'll take her to the water park. Thank God, the jar is almost full and mommy is much happier!

I do have to admit that the TV is on a bit more than it used to be. If it weren't, there would be many times that I'd be bouncing baby while having two others hanging on me and while I AM adjusting well, I do have my limits. I tend to get easily annoyed, say when I am nursing the baby and two other little heads are also an inch from my bare boob. There are just a few moments when I need a bit of space...so for this season we are using the TV and certain distracting toys. This too shall pass...and hopefully their brain cells will survive.