Another Cute Conversation

I just love posting conversations. Spence is starting to join into our conversations and add his own touch of humor. I should really carry a tape recorder around with me, because I'm sure the conversations are much funnier in person than me trying to remember and type later. Hopefully you get the gist, and think they're half as funny as their mommy does!

Coleman can now buckle himself into his car seat. Can you hear me saying, "Hallelujah!!!" He's going to be in the middle of the back seat when the baby arrives, so it's important that he can accomplish this task on his own. Most of the time Coleman wants to race to see who can get buckled up first. He usually wins because Spence insists on climbing up into the car by himself, then he gets distracted by something behind or beside his seat. If Coleman is lollygaggin' I can motivate him by saying, "Spence is going to beat you!" All this to set up today's conversation, sorry.

Coleman: (after buckling himself up) I'm as fast as a firetruck!
Spence: I fast... firetruck!
Mommy: You're both fast.
Coleman: No. I won. I got buckled first. I'm as fast as a firetruck!
Spence: (after a moment of thinking) I fast...ambulance!
Mommy: Oh, that's fast too!

Ha! This cracked me up. He's getting to be a good thinker. But Coleman was not to be outdone by his little brother...

Coleman: Well, the ambulance guys aren't as fast as the firetruck men.

Oh, the great debates of toddlers and preschoolers!

Weekly Meal Plan

I've seen several bloggers who like to post their weekly menus to give other moms ideas of what to have for dinner. I love seeing what everyone else is having for dinner and getting new recipes and ideas. I decided to try it this week! Most people start their menus on Monday, but that's just not convenient for me. The weekly grocery ads come in the mail Tuesday afternoon. Then I have all day Wednesday to look through them, see what coupons I have, and come up with a meal plan. The boys are in school Thursday, so that's a perfect day for me to go to the grocery stores! For the last few weeks I've been planning my menus from Thursday to Wednesday. We're also doing something new in our house: making the boys eat what we eat! Yes, it was my own fault that I was fixing 3 different dinners (mine and Brian's, Coleman's, and Spence's). I was letting the boys have peanut butter or cereal and causing myself an avoidable headache. I used Coleman's 4th birthday as a starting point for this new experiment. So far, to ease them into this transition, I've been making pretty kid-friendly meals. I do give them about 1 or 2 nights a week when they can have a frozen waffle, bowl of cereal, or peanut butter sandwich. That way I can make something more grown-up and not have a fight on my hands about eating. Coleman has been doing great! It's a major accomplishment to have him eating something as common as a burger or chicken that's not in the form of a nugget from McDonald's! I make him try one bite of the side dish and that's all he has to do. He usually spits it back out, but as long as he tries it I'm happy. Spence on the other hand is not doing so hot. He won't even try a simple thing like chicken cooked in the crock pot. (He will however eat a piece of uncooked linguine he finds on the floor of the pantry. I'm insulted.)

Here is this week's menu:

Thursday - Roast beef sandwiches, oven baked fries, oranges
Friday - Frozen pizza, garlic bread, salad, strawberries
Saturday - Hamburgers, baked potatoes, oranges
Sunday - Super bowl party
Monday - Italian pasta casserole, green beans, garlic bread, fruit
Tuesday - Lemon pepper chicken, broccoli and rice, fruit
Wednesday - Leftovers

I am so thankful to be over my nausea and able to plan meals and eat normal dinners! I hope I can keep this up and that the boys get used to eating more grown-up food!

A Quote from Esther

"When we trust our lives to the unseen but ever-present God, He will write our lives into His story and every last one of them will turn out to be a great read. With a grand ending." Beth Moore

I've been studying Beth Moore's Esther for several weeks now. The above was a quote from week one that caught my attention when I first read it, but I'm just now getting around to sharing it. In the book of Esther, God is never mentioned and we're never told how we might live the Christian life. But that doesn't mean the book of Esther has no meaning or relevance to our lives. There are many times, at least in my life, when I don't see God's hand or sense what He's doing, but He's still there. Just like He's there in Esther. Sometimes I feel like I'm just living day to day, going through mundane motions, not destined to make any difference. But that's not God's plan. If I trust Him, He will write me into His story like I could never imagine. I pray that we'll each trust Him to write us into His story as He sees fit.

Great Conversationalists

I love the ride home after I pick the boys up from school. Most days I'm with them from the time they get out of bed until the time they go to sleep at night. No question about what happened on those days. I can listen as they recall their day to Daddy over dinner and let him know if what they say is true or false. But on school days there are some mysteries. I can't be sure of exactly what they did or what happened to them. On those days I enjoy asking them about the day and their activities. Who knows if I get the truth or not. Well, I guess it's their version of the truth. Spence's account of the day consists of, "Played." He can then answer yes or no to other simple questions. I remember when Coleman could first start carrying on a conversation with me and giving me details. I loved it! He's not stopped talking since! My Mom, who affectionately referred to me as "motormouth" when I was a child, has no sympathy in this department. We of course love our conversations with Mr. Motormouth. Today's was a little comical.

Mommy: Did you learn about planets and stars today?
Coleman: Nobody told me about planets. We just watched a video.
Mommy: You didn't color any pictures or do an art project?
(After digging around in his backpack while sitting at a red light I found a booklet he'd made about stars.)
Mommy: Oh, did you make this star book?
Coleman: Yes!
Spence: Spencey see it!
Coleman: No, you might tear it up.
Spence: No tear it up.
Mommy: Why don't you let Spence see it? He says he won't tear it up.
Coleman: He might change his mind.
Mommy: Well Spence, it seems you've torn one too many things up and Coleman doesn't trust you. Coleman, maybe he can look at it when we get home and you're there to make sure he doesn't tear it.
Coleman: No. I'm going to keep it with me at all times. And if I have to go somewhere I'm going to hide it. Then when I get back I'll race to the cabinet to get it.

He seems pretty protective of this book he made! Oh, by the way, when we got home he threw it down and went to play. I caught Spence trying to rip the star stickers off the cover.

I've decided these boys are too much fun. I'm a little scared of this baby being a girl! I know it sounds crazy, but boys are all I know. It's a good thing this baby's gender is not up to me, because I wouldn't know what to choose! Luckily God knows exactly who belongs in our family. I know I would love a little girl with all my heart. And I really think it would be an awesome experience for Brian. Daddy's little girl. Not that she would have him wrapped around her finger, but just experiencing that father-daughter relationship. But on the other hand, just imagine another little boy added to the mix! Then I still get to be the princess! I think that's why I'm so excited about not finding out the gender until the baby's born - because it doesn't matter! It will be a wonderful blessing either way.

Why, Mommy? Why?

I haven't documented some of the boys' sayings in a while. I like doing this so I can look back one day and remember the kinds of things they said. I'm guessing I might need a reminder of why I thought they were so cute when they're teenagers. Am I right?

• While looking at picture books, sometimes instead of just saying what each picture is, we play an "I spy" game. If we're looking at the zoo page, I'll say something like, "I spy something green with sharp teeth." Then they can guess it's the alligator. Or on the beach page I might say, "I spy something that's cold and you can eat it." They guess the ice cream. Coleman on the other hand will say, "OK, this one's gonna be hard. I spy something really tiny. You can't even see it. That's my only clue!"
• This morning Spence wanted a cookie for breakfast. I said, "We don't eat cookies for breakfast." Spence looked at me with a sad little face, and in a voice that sounded as though I had betrayed him said, "Why, Mommy? Why?"
• At the childcare center at the gym today there was a lady doing face painting. I asked Coleman why he didn't get his face painted. He said, "I was going to get a Yoda face, but I thought you'd laugh at me."
• This one isn't anything the boys said, but something that happened yesterday that I found extremely odd. I was woken up from my Sunday afternoon nap by a boy scout at my door selling fertilizer. Fertilizer, really? Do they know the girl scouts are out there selling cookies? Just in case you're wondering, I declined buying any fertilizer. I am, however, waiting for several boxes of Thin Mints.
  

Have a Laugh On Me

The other day I was doing my Bible study, Beth Moore's Esther, when I was tickled by one of her questions. She asked, "When was the last time humor helped you cope?" Are you kidding? That's one of my top coping mechanisms, coming in a close second behind prayer! You've met my kids (or you've got your own) and know that without a sense of humor, you won't make it through the day. So know that as I write about powdered sugar that is ingrained into my grout, or pooping escapades in the park, I'm usually laughing about it that moment. I'm not one of those that "will laugh about this one day." I try to laugh about it rather quickly.

So tonight I was getting dinner ready, trying to tune out the whining in the background, and anxiously awaiting Brian's arrival home (he's been out of town for a few days). Things weren't quite running smoothly, so I thought, "I should write a poem. A funny poem to help me laugh about this situation instead of scream at someone." I hope you won't mind me sharing it with you.

A Poem for Brian Upon Returning Home

Welcome home my dear, you've been gone for several days.
You'll find the house a mess, with an atmosphere of craze.

Dinner's not quite done, it's just burgers and some fries.
The boys protest this food, with loud and wailing cries.

Your underwear is dirty, the dog still really stinks.
That water on the kitchen floor is leaking from the sink!

Luckily Brian has a good sense of humor too! Especially since he may be playing plumber tonight instead of vegging on the couch.

Don't Believe My Child

Today when I went to pick up Coleman from Mother's Day Out, his teacher asked if I was having twins. I said no, and obviously had a look on my face as if to say, "Do I look like I'm going to have twins?" She told me that Coleman had said I was going to have twins. Oh my word! On the way out to the car we had a little talk.

Mommy: Why did you tell your teacher I was having twins?

Coleman: I told them you were having a boy and a girl.

Mommy: We're only going to have one baby. So it will either be a boy or a girl. We can't have both.

Coleman: I asked God for a girl and a boy and He said (imagine this in Coleman's best God voice), "Okay. I'll make a boy and a girl." And I said make them look like me!

Grandma We Miss You!!!

Grandma, we had so much fun with you during your visit! We can't wait for your next visit when you bring Grandpa with you. This morning when I went in to get Spence out of bed, the first thing he said was, "Grandma home?" So sweet! I know they miss you! And so do we.

Cooking with Grandma

Bedtime stories with Grandma

Spence is just not my baby anymore. He's been talking so much, and today he made two completely complete sentences! He always says things like, "More bowl cereal," "Spencey more juice," , or "Take bubble bath." Today I poured his cereal in the bowl and he said, "I want milk too." Then we were getting ready to go outside and he said, "Mommy put on my shoes." Maybe his sentences were missing one word: please!

Coleman went in for his 4 year check-up on Monday, and he had to get FIVE shots! He really milked that for all it was worth, telling everyone how many shots he had to have. Then Tuesday he started walking slowly and limping, saying his legs were sore where he got the shots. At first I thought he was just putting on a show, but he's been continuously limping ever since! Even he's not that good, so he must be sore. Poor thing.

A few days before Coleman's party, Brian asked what we got him for his birthday. I told him I had bought a Superman DVD and a t-shirt. I had wished we could find Robin to go with all his Batman stuff. Brian clicked a few keys, found one on Amazon, and paid extra for shipping so it would get here for the party. Isn't he a sweet Daddy? After Coleman's party we went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner and let him open Robin. He loves it!

The boys playing with Batman, The Joker, and Robin

And this picture is just too cute not to share. Coleman and Spence each got a pair of binoculars for Coleman's birthday. (Nana and Grandma had the same gift idea!) On this particular morning Spence is watching Daddy leave for work through the binoculars.

See you later Daddy!

Happy Birthday Coleman

Dear Coleman,
How can you possibly be 4 years old today? Wasn't it just yesterday that you were born? That was one of the most exciting days of my life! I was scared and nervous and anxious and happy and I'm sure many more emotions. I could never have imagined how much I would love you and what a joy you would be.

January 12, 2005

One of the things that stands out in my mind about your first year is how easy going you were. We had some feeding problems, so you were a skinny thing for awhile, but then we got those straightened out and you plumped right up!

4 months old

Here is a picture of you at your first birthday party. We celebrated right after Christmas while Nana and Poppa and Grandma and Grandpa were here. You thought birthday cake was pretty cool.

First birthday party

After you turned one you started walking. One day you decided to take some steps, and within a few days you were off and running! Not long after you turned one, we found out you were going to be a big brother. You got your first boo boo while running down the sidewalk in front of our house. Daddy and I both love this picture of you showing off your scratch.

I'm smiling now, but you should have seen me when this happened.

You were a little young to understand what was about to happen when Spence was born, but I'll never forget the night of November 6th. You lifted up my shirt, looked at my tummy, and said, "Brother, come out!" A few hours later Daddy and I were headed to the hospital and Spence was born the next morning! Did I ever say thank you for that? I was really ready for Spence to be here! It took you a while to warm up to Spence, but you were a great big brother from the start!

One of the first pictures of you two together

At your second birthday party

You enjoyed so many things during your second year, and you were just more and more fun.

At the Livestock Show

Enjoying Montana

Doing what you do best: being silly!

Christmas 2007

If it's possible, you get sweeter and sweeter all the time! At 3, you were turning into my big boy. With Spence getting around now, you had a new best friend.

3rd Birthday at the Fire Station

Mother's Day 2008

Your first swimming lessons

And now you are 4. You are such a big helper. You love to help me in the kitchen, you always put your dirty clothes in the hamper, and you help Spence in so many ways. He is very blessed to have a big brother like you. Now we're going to have another baby in our family soon. You say you want a sister, so we'll see if you stick with that! I know you'll be such a big help with the new baby.

At your 4th birthday party

Just so you'll know what you were like at 4:

You love to watch cartoons. Your favorites are Super Why, Clifford, Batman and Scooby Doo, and Superman. Every Sunday night you sit with Daddy and watch the Baby Dog Show (America's Funniest Videos). You love to go to parks. Your favorite meal is McDonald's chicken nuggets. Every time we go, you say, "I want chicken nuggets, fries, chocolate milk, a new toy, and a straw." You like to eat Cinnamon Toast Crunch mixed with Life cereal for breakfast. And your favorite spoon is the frog spoon (it's like a straw spoon that let's you drink the milk from you bowl). You gave up naps a long time ago! Your best friends are Spence, Eric, Wyatt, and Keller. Even though Keller and his family moved before you turned one, you guys act like you've never been apart when we get together. It's amazing! You even talk on the phone to one another every now and then! You love to act silly and be the center of attention some times. You did not like being on the stage for the Christmas program at your school! You can be very serious, and you are a deep thinker. You have really good problem solving skills too. Books can keep you occupied for long periods of time.

You make me laugh and smile every day. Some days you make me want to pull out my hair and go in the bedroom and lock the door! But those days make me appreciate all the fun times even more. Happy birthday to my sweet, precious little boy, who's not really a little boy anymore! I thank God that He is allowing me to be your mother. I love you more than you know!

Love, Mommy

Coleman's Batman Party

It was either a tornado or a herd of 4 year old boys that ripped through our house today! We celebrated Coleman's birthday, and boy was it fun! Coleman's friends Eric, Wyatt, Keller, Will, Bradley, and David came. Along with six mommies, one daddy, two sisters, Nana and Poppa, Grandma, Mommy, Daddy, and Spence. Coleman chose a Batman theme. As the kids arrived, they played until it was time to eat pizza. Then Coleman opened his presents. When all the gifts were opened and played with for a few minutes, we had cake and ice cream. Finally it was time to pass out the party favors, but they were gone! The Joker had left one of his Joker cards informing us that he had stolen their goodies. He left clues to lead the kids on a treasure hunt to find them. The first clue led the boys to the dining room, then the fire place, the piano, the bathroom, and finally Coleman's room. In each place they found another Joker card with a clue. I hope the kids had as much fun as I did! Now I've got to wrap this up so I can start the clean up!

The Batman Cake

Say, "Blue Icing!!!"

Can you believe Grandma came all the way from Montana for my birthday party?!?!

Coleman can hardly wait to open all his gifts



Time for cake!

Yummy!

It was pretty chilly, but the kids decided to go out and play on the fort.

Thanks to all of Coleman's friends for coming to his party. It was a fun day, and I'm sure he'll be talking about it for a long time! Now time for Mommy to say, "I CAN'T BELIEVE MY BABY IS FOUR!!!"

First Belly Shot

Now that I really look pregnant I'll post a picture of myself. I am 16 weeks along. I know it looks as though I'm a bit further along than that. I tend to have that "just shoved a basketball under my shirt" look when I'm pregnant!


Thanks for the inspiration to take this picture Candice! You look great!

No Details, Please

I'm not even going to try to figure out how to put into words the day I had today. Let's just say a certain almost 4 year old, who has taken a liking to going pee pee in the park, took the "park potty break" to a whole nother level today. Mid-pee he's yelling at me about what's happening and I go over to see. Yes, it was bad. I'm not going into detail, but it was a mess. When we, I mean I, finally got it all cleaned up we headed for the car. Not 10 steps from the car, Spence (who now had a dirty diaper which I couldn't change because I had used almost all the wipes) fell in the only mud within a 5 mile radius. I was not as calm and collected as I was during the whole powdered sugar incident. I'm afraid I lost a little of my cool. I guess that's allowable, or at least understandable? I remember thinking, "At least #3 isn't here yet." I might have lost it completely. Anyone else have a similar day?

Remember When You Dislocated My Elbow, Mom?

I'm getting my revenge.

Yours truly,
Spence


Why did I not get around to putting that door knob cover on the pantry door? If only I hadn't put that off, I would not have spent an hour last night cleaning the kitchen floor.

Spence, who has mastered the art of opening doors, was being a little too quiet in the kitchen last night. As I walked into the kitchen, I wasn't sure what I was seeing. It didn't take long to realize that he had found an open bag of powdered sugar. It was originally not almost empty. It's less than half full now.



Coleman was the first to find a broom and start "cleaning." As we swept, powdered sugar filled the air. You could taste it! It was like I was having dessert while I cleaned. Of course I was wearing black pants. You can only imagine. And I've also come up with a new saying. Instead of "sticking to something like white on rice," it's now "sticking to something like powdered sugar on grout." Let me tell you, powdered sugar is not easily removed from tile grout. After mopping, the floor is mostly just a sticky mess. This morning Brian had his shoes on and stood in one spot for a few seconds. When he moved, you could hear his shoes ripping off the floor! Since we're having people over for Coleman's party Saturday, and there could be more incidents, I've decided not to mop again until Friday. Hopefully we can make it.




I didn't even take a picture of all the powdered sugar in the pantry because, well, to be honest, I don't want the inside of my pantry to be seen! The mini shop vac Brian got us for Christmas came in handy last night! It was a lot easier to transport to all the sugary piles I swept up than the big, heavy shop vac.

Gotta love this little guy! "Gimme some sugar!"

Coleman Wants to Be a Blogger

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*****Brian just got home from work and asked, "What's with the silly post today?" To which I replied, "What?" So if you saw this post earlier today and were confused, let me straighten things up. This is what happens when I allow Coleman to play at the computer. He's getting good though, because I was working on a post, and he created a new post, typed the above all by himself, and hit publish. He just forgot to give it a title!*****

Guest Blogger.....

This morning Amanda had an eye doctor appointment*, so an appeal was made for me to take the boys to Mother's Day Out. Whenever we go to church, or in this case MDO, I try to comb Coleman's habitually unruly hair. His concession this morning was I could comb it, but use no water. Everyone was happy.

After I comb it, I always to try to flatter him on how good it looks so he will be more likely to let us “tame the beast” again. He then loves to look in the mirror and repeat my compliment. It was raining this morning and as we were getting out of the truck, Coleman wanted his hood up so that, "the rain won't get my handsome hair all soggy."

I just thought that was funny.
-B-

*Sorry Brent and Dre, we'd like to use you guys, but a plane ride to DIA would defeat the purpose of getting cheep medical care from family.

Thanks to Ike

And our insurance company! Due to storm damage we were able to get new siding, paint, and a new roof. Here are some pictures.

Our house was built in 1979, and it showed! The diagonal siding, a faded brown that was chipping, made all the angles stand out. Some of the siding was a cedar wood that was not in good shape.

Drum roll please...


The new siding is horizontal, so it helps deemphasize the angles. The paint is also a more neutral color that gives the house a little more curb appeal! The new roof also looks great!

Here you also get a good look at Coleman's new window (upstairs), our new master bath window (small one), and the master bed window Brian and my dad put in where the sliding glass door was before. They also put the back door in a while back, so all the windows and doors on the back of the house are new! We should so go on This Old House!

The bushes in front of the garage used to be fuller, but the siding guys had no regard for plant life! One day I was walking up and one of the guys was looking at me smiling while he rammed his ladder over and over into that small dark green bush. I'm guessing they don't have a landscaping business on the side (or maybe they do and they're hoping we call them soon).

Best Buds

Yesterday morning when Spence got up he told me his tummy hurt. I carried him down the stairs then put him down on the tile floor. He immediately puked. After drinking some juice he puked again. Then he was just as happy as could be! We were supposed to go to a play group at a park, and I didn't want Spence puking in my car or exposing other kids to anything. So Coleman and I went and I left Spence home with Brian. After arriving at the park, Coleman wined and moped for 15 minutes before he began playing. He kept saying, "I want to play with Spence." A little later I got a call from Brian. Spence was fine so they had walked over to a neighborhood park. Spence was asking to play with Coleman! Isn't that so sweet? They are truly best buddies. I hope it lasts!

As for Spence's arm, he hasn't had any more problems. He never even acted like it was sore! Now we will never speak of this again, understood?

When They Hand Out Awards for 2009...

...maybe the first day of the year will be long forgotten and Worst Mommy of the Year will not be awarded to me! Oh, Happy New Year everyone! We started out the year with a trip to the 24 Hour Emergency Room. For anyone who knows our two boys, you're probably guessing it was the older, adventurous (ok, wild) child that had to be taken. You would be incorrect. My sweet, younger, more cautious child had the honor of First Pikkula Boy to the ER. And it was all my fault!

We were at the mall tonight and I was trying to get Spence to keep up with us, so I picked him up by his hands and started swinging him from side to side. He immediately started crying, cried all the way home, and held ice on his wrist for 30 minutes as I held him on the couch. He asked for a bubble bath, so we thought if he got in the tub and forgot about his wrist, he was probably OK. He did not forget about it, and continued to keep his arm tucked in close and held his wrist. We figured they would do an X-ray, and I wouldn't be able to go into the room with him since I'm pregnant, so Brian took him to the ER clinic. They returned less than an hour later with a diagnosis of Nursemaid's elbow. You can click the link there, but it's basically a dislocation of the elbow joint. Brian said the doctor had to rotate Spence's arm to pop it back into place, and Spence flinched a little, but didn't even cry. The doctor said it's common for the child to hold his wrist because that helps isolate the elbow so it doesn't move.


If you are contacted by the Worst Mommy of the Year selection committee, tell them that I have learned my lesson and will not be swinging my children or grabbing them by the hands any more. I have 364 more days to prove that I am not the worst mommy in America! I have to go get busy baking cookies and planning fun excursions! Here's to no more ER visits in 2009!