Stomach Bug Fun

I thought I'd start on a positive note - we had a great weekend with Gigi and Grandad! Mason loved getting to swim at the hotel AND spend the night there one night. Carter loved bringing books to Gigi and Grandad for them to read to him. He's such a little book worm!

Now - back to reality. Both boys had some sort of stomach thing today and lost their breakfast, lunch, snacks, etc. several times throughout the day. I could go into graphic detail, but let's just say that the hall bathroom is NOW the cleanest bathroom on the planet - now that I've scrubbed every inch on my hands and knees (including the door, wall, cabinets, bathtub, magazine basket - tossed the magazines). That bathroom needed a good, old-fashioned scrub down anyway. Tomorrow is another day - hopefully a healthier, cleaner one.

Thoughts of the Day

Have you ever tried to explain Memorial Day to a preschooler? Mason wanted to know why the mail didn't come today (he's big on getting mail these days), and it turned into a 'Socratic Thinking' style series of why's that lead to the ultimate conclusion: Mom doesn't know why we celebrate Memorial Day. I started out trying to explain things like soldiers dying in wars for our country, and remembering loved ones who have died. But those things were WAY above his head, so I ended up talking about the sales at the mall and Kohl's - he understood that.

Carter's nicknames (besides CarterBear):

Baby Destructo (with a particular fondness of tearing up big brother's traintrack masterpieces)

The Rearranger (placing kitchen items in the bathroom and vice versa)

Laundry Boy (who can turn a neat stack of laundry into a scattered mess in seconds)

Trashcan Man (never without a snack as long as food is near the top of the trash)

Adventures in Babysitting

Places you can go with 4 small children (under 5 years old)

• The park (just don't forget the stroller)
• Library preschool story time (again - the stroller)
• McDonald's with a playland
• Stores with car/truck carts that kids can "drive"
• The zoo (with a double stroller)

Places you should never go with 4 small children

• The bank
• Kinko's
• Other business oriented extablishments (people in suits are impatient with kids)
• Anywhere without a stroller, cart, something to strap in the baby

Highlight of yesterday's bank visit: Carter locking himself in the vault

Highlight of today's Kinko's visit: Mason licking a package of peanuts - good thing I like peanuts

Notice it's MY kids doing these things - not my 2 daycare kids. I'm teaching a parenting class at church next fall - maybe I should read the book myself first!

Great Day - Except for the Snake

I can NEVER go in my backyard again. There was a huge cottonmouth snake on our back porch - thank you Lord for sending the loudest, squawking birds to bring it to my attention! I immediately ran outside and killed it with a butcher knife - just kidding - I called animal control.

Mason has a crush, and it's so cute. He LOVES Alexis, a little girl in his class at school and at church. He gets embarrassed when he talks about her - I've never seen him act like that. It's sweet, but I feel kind of sorry for him because I don't think she likes him as much as he likes her. I didn't expect to have to deal with this at age four! We'll have to work on his 'cool' skills - like not grabbing the poor girl in a bear hug and smacking her with a big kiss on the forehead.

Big Weekend #2

If last weekend's graduation was busy, this weekend's wedding was crazy busy. It was fun to see even more family than we saw last weekend. Mason was a terrific ring bearer - we're thinking of hiring him out to other people's weddings. Kitty's dress was GORGEOUS - she looked perfect, of course. The girls' dresses were stunning - the guys looked great in their suits. It went off without a hitch. Carter was off schedule and a little cranky, but he loved all the attention (most of the time - see picture :-).

Almost Tan

Favorite Mason quote of the day: "Could you show me a picture of God on the computer?" His little 4 year old mind is boggled by where God is, what He looks like and the idea of how God can be in his heart - I guess my mind is a little boggled by that if I think about it too hard. At least I finally convinced him that God isn't in his tummy.

I got a "mystic tan" (spray on fake tan) last night, and I look a little strange today. I really should have listened to the directions better. It was VERY scary - like being in a carwash outside the car - loud, cold, spraying stuff in my face. I do like having a tan face and arms, though - that's new for me. Hopefully no one will notice the blotches on my neck at Kitty's wedding tomorrow :-)

Nice Day

I don't know why anyone would have any other favorite season than spring. It's not too hot, not too cold - it's just right - like the porridge in the Three Bears story. Today was gorgeous! We went to the park, played in the backyard, had a great time remembering that there is life outside of our house. We get so cooped up in the winter - spring is freeing!

Mason is cracking me up these days with the things he says that are so grown up, but not quite in the right context. Tonight he was telling a story and threw in "in the meantime" just out of the blue. I can't remember the other things he's said - that's why I wanted to blog so I could remember these things, but I obviously need to write them down first.

A Few of My Favorite Things

• Mason's insightful 4-year-old observations (especially about God)
  
• Seeing Mason learn and grow a little more every day (not fond of the smartie pants remarks he's developed lately, but that's for another list)


• Carter's chubby little baby feet


• Watching Carter's eyes close when I rock him at night


• The Carter and Tinkerbell picture - classic!


• Writing my novel - the characters are becoming like friends


• Planning my next novel - it's going to be really good!!


• Catching up with old friends via websites that help me waste lots of time (myspace, blog sites, etc.)


• Planning fun summer activities - swimming day, free movie day, craft day, park day, vacations, etc.


• The view outside my back door in the spring - trees look so much better with leaves!

New Beginnings

I knew it would happen sooner or later, but I can't believe it actually happened this weekend. Jas graduated from OU - yeah!! It doesn't seem like 12 years since we met at OBU - I never dreamed we would be attending a graduation ceremony at age 33 with 2 kids. Poor Jas worked his tail off the past few years to try and finish his classes while working full time and spending time with us. It hasn't been easy, but Saturday's ceremony made it all worth it!

In addition to a great grad ceremony, we had a fabulous family time in Norman. Mason and Carter couldn't get enough of Mimi, Grandpa, Betsy, Kitty & Derek, Jessica & Scooter. Carter and Aunt Jessica had some bonding time at home while the rest of us went baby-free to the ceremony. We all had fun talking about the newest Trent baby that will be born in a few months - Scooter and Jessica decided to give Mason and Carter their very first little cousin. A girl in the family would be super fun, but a boy would fit right in!!