Not Me Monday

I did not have a severe case of the dropsies one day and dropped almost everything I touched.

I did not miscalculate the time dinner would take to assemble and bake, resulting in us having to order take out the night before I had to be weighed at the doctor's office.

I did not briefly consider how much a nice room at a hotel downtown would cost and if it would be worth that much to get away from the kids for a night.

Fort W.

Since the weather has been cold and every one has been feeling yucky here lately, Duane and I built forts with the kids yesterday.

Daddy made the first fort out of the pillows from the couch

The boys pretended it was a doghouse for awhile, but only one of them could get in it at a time

I got out a card table and some blankets to created the second fort. And what goes on in a boys fort?

Well, it's a good place for Ryan to sneak off to after stealing Daddy's soda.

Wesley is actually on the couch behind the fort, but he called it the fort's "kitchen"

Off to the Races

Yesterday was the Pine Wood Derby for Sho and Kei's scout troop, so the W. family went to show support (and for some free entertainment.)

We stopped for breakfast at Timmy Ho's first.

The Ryan way to eat a donut

As you can see, Ryan doesn't look quite up to par here, his cold got the best of him later in the weekend.

 The derby was held at Sho and Kei's school and we had a lot of fun there.

some of the competition



Sho's car is the red one.



Ryan was VERY interested in the races. The track looked like a bigger version of his toy track at home.

Sho and his trophy. Don't his new glasses look great!?

 Between races, Wesley and Kei took off with my camera. Here are some of the shots they returned with. I erased all the ones of the decorations on the wall.

This is actually a pretty good shot of Wesley

This is not

I have know idea what Kei is doing here

Not a bad shot of Mommy, taken by WEsley.

Kei listening to instructions for his race

Making sure his car was handled properly

Kei with his trophy

What a fun morning we had! We completed the day with a playdate for Wesley and dinner out with Uncle Kirk and Aunt Sus. If Ryan's cold hadn't been so bad the day would have been about perfect.

Threats from a Two Year Old

In case you haven't picked up on this, Ryan is the ornery one in our family. The other day he grabbed a little wooden hammer, sneaked up behind his brother, grinned and sang, "I gonna hit you." Luckily, Mommy snatched the hammer before Ryan could follow through on that threat.

But don't worry, Ryan has other threats up his sleeve (so to speak). 

A couple of days ago I sat down on the couch just as Ryan was extracting a particularly large, green booger from his nose. He gave me a devilish grin, extended his finger and said, "I gonna wipe on you!"

EWWWWW!!!

Pet Parade

Wesley's class is busy making "All About Me" books this month. Not only does this give them a chance to practice writing, but the teachers planning on sharing each child's book with their parents on conference day next month.

Wesley had a few pages to catch up on since he was out sick a couple of days last week. Today he worked on the "pet" page. He told me he drew a picture that had Sadie, Gus, Sanders (our cats) and a dog in it.

"A dog?" I asked. "Why did you draw a dog? We don't have a dog."

Wesley sighed, "But Mom. I really want a dog for a pet!"

Before we could get in too much of a conversation about why we don't have a dog and probably won't for quite a while, Ryan piped up with, "I want bug pet!"

"You want a bug for a pet?" I asked him.

"Yes! Big bug!" he said merrily.

"Fine. You can have bug for a pet. What color do you want?"

"Yellow!" he answered. OK, to be honest, he said "wellow" but I knew what he meant.

So as soon as he catches a yellow bug he can have it for a pet. Hey, I never said I'd buy him one!

Bathroom Rorschach Test

Between Wesley's current bathroom issue and potty training Ryan, the bathroom is a pretty popular room in our house.

Wesley feels it is his brotherly duty to teach Ryan how big boys go potty, so every time Wesley goes, Ryan tags along. Wesley sees this as the perfect time to share life's big lessons with Ryan - such as "Never pee on your hands or your feet." Good advice.

The other morning Ryan told me he wanted to sit on the potty, so I took him into the bathroom and got him situated. He did make a .... small liquid deposit, but hey, he went and that's all that counts. Ryan hopped up off the potty and turned around to look inside it.

"Look!" he exclaimed as he pointed into the potty. "I peed a giraffe! Long neck, small head. I peed a giraffe!"

Now, I've heard of reading tea leaves but not ......oh, never mind.

Too Hot to Handle

As some of you may know, Ryan had a little run in with a candle on Christmas Eve. Actually it was a run in with some candle wax. A little bit of wax dripped onto his hand during the candlelight singing of Silent Night. Duane quickly removed it and no physical damage was done. I say no physical damage, because Ryan has developed a very healthy fear of fire since then.

Yesterday's post talked about the family birthday dinner at Aunt Paula and Uncle Stacey's the other night. Paula had the tables set so beautifully and lit candles on each table. Ryan took his seat, saw the candles and immediately started getting nervous.

"Candle hot. It's hot. I got wax on my hand." And he wouldn't stop.

A friend of the family tried blowing the candle out, but that didn't do a lot to reassure Ryan. We actually had to remove the candle from the table before he'd stop obsessing about it.

On the bright side, at least we know he won't be playing with open flames any time soon.

Celebrate Good Times

We celebrated Grandma and Grandpa P.'s birthdays on Sunday night with a family dinner at Aunt Paula and Uncle Stacey's. Ryan was super excited to get there. I'm pretty sure he said, "We go Uncle Stacey's house" for the entire drive.

Ryan can barely see over the pool table, but that doesn't slow him down.

Don't trust him for a second!

Keep your eye on the ball, son.

Grandpa and Ryan share a snuggle.

Wesley played all the glasses in front of him as an instrument (using a spoon, of course)

Uncle Kirk and Wesley

As an extra treat (at least for me and Duane) the boys got to spend the night with Grandma and Grandpa. They had a great time! Or, at least I thought they did until Grandpa sent me this picture.

Now before anyone freaks out, I do not lock my kids in a dog kennel. No one in my family locks my kids in a dog kennel. Grandma and Grandpa were dog-sitting and Wesley saw the empty kennel as the perfect opportunity to play pet store. In this picture he is either being a bird in a cage or a puppy looking for a home.

The guys must have had a good time because as soon as Wesley got in the van to go home he said, "Can we have a sleep over again tomorrow night?"

Not Me Monday

There is no way I snapped at Wesley, "I almost liked it better when you were sick," after listening to he and Ryan bicker for almost half an hour.

I do not find it really funny that Ryan yells, "Wesley Kenneth" when he's mad at his big brother. Ryan's middle name is Kenneth - Wesley's is Paul. I don't find it even funnier when he says "Daddy Kenneth" or "Mommy Kenneth" when he's mad at us.

I did not do a little happy dance when I found some Starbucks ice cream hiding in the back of the freezer. I certainly didn't do said happy dance while eating my second decadent coconut bar of the night. And I know I didn't scrape the freezer burned part of the top of the ice cream and dig right in.

I do not automatically blame Wesley when they are playing in the other room and Ryan starts crying, even though I know that Ryan probably started it.

There IS an Outside

The W. family headed out today. This may not seem like a big deal, but I have not been outside of house since noon on Wednesday and the boys haven't been out since Tuesday. Between pink eye, fevers, colds, Wesley's potty habit and bad backs it has just seemed safer for the rest of the world if we stayed in.

So what did we do on our grand trip out? Well, the boys were long overdue for haircuts so we headed to Cookie Cutters. It was a madhouse! Thank goodness we had appointments! I think it was a bit overwhelming for Wesley, but they did pretty well. And they look fabulous now.

From the haircuts, we headed to the toy store to spend the gift cards the boys got for Christmas. No big surprise in what the guys chose - animals for Wesley and cars for Ryan. Wesley wanted something that cost a bit more than his gift card would cover, so Duane allowed him to pay part of the difference out of his allowance - a good spending lesson. And I got a cooking magazine (yes, from the toy store) that has a recipe for Lemon Glazed Banana Ginger Scones. I can't wait to try them!

We had a couple of items of clothes from Christmas to exchange as well, so we headed to the mall. That probably wasn't the best idea we had since I think the entire city decided to beat the cold by hitting the stores. But we got our exchanges made and the boys got to play in the play area for a little bit.

We're spending the evening eating junk food as a treat, watching t.v. and playing with new toys. Not a bad way to re-enter the land of the living.

Wishing for the Sound of Silence

I admit that I have told Ryan (on more than one occasion) that "If you had been born first, you'd be an only child!"  His terrible twos really are terrible and all I can think is "Wesley was worse at three than at two."

Aside from the normal fits that two-year-olds throw, Ryan is guaranteed to throw a fit first thing in the morning and when he goes to bed at night. The morning fit can be about almost anything - getting dressed, his chocolate milk either being in the "wrong" cup or I didn't let him screw the lid on, his shoes, pretty much you name it. It's draining on the best of days and enough to drive me up a wall on the other days.

Ryan also throws a fit at bedtime almost every night. The bedtime fit is generally because he wants someone to stay in his room with him until he falls asleep. Daddy does the bedtime routine and sometimes he'll stay in Ryan's room, but other times it's a big ol' scream fest.

I know these fits make me and Duane crazy, but I had no idea how much they bothered Wesley until today.  After Ryan had his morning fit, Wesley said, "UGH! Not again! Will he stop whining when he grows up?" Um...Kettle, meet Pot.  Then Wesley put his imagination to use and came up with three possible "plans" to keep Ryan from whining at night.

1) Find a magic spray that causes him to fall asleep immediately.

2) Buy a dog that can sleep on Ryan's bed with him so he won't be by himself at night.

3) Buy a new toy that stays in Ryan's room and he can only play with at bedtime.

Interesting and creative solutions, except I think it would be illegal for parents to use such a spray, we are NOT getting a dog anytime soon no matter how often Wesley asks, and a trip to the toy store (while fun) probably wouldn't work. Guess 3/4 of the W. household will just have buy some earplugs.

Still A Daddy's Girl

Today is my dad's birthday - and since he reads this blog regularly, I'm not going to tell you how old he is! But I do want to take a minute and say how lucky I am to have the dad I have. See, my mom is one of my very best friends, but I am very much a daddy's girl.

My dad is the person I got my (slightly warped) sense of humor from. The one who shares my love of bad puns and completely un-sappy Hallmark cards. The one who I can always count on for a bad joke to make me smile.

My dad has a terrific sense of style. I'm 37 years old and when I am going to my dad's, I still hope to hear him say that I look nice. If I need a second opinion on an outfit I'm considering buying, his opinion more than counts.

My dad is to blame for my complete love of show tunes and musicals. I remember asking my dad to hook up the reel to reel player in the living room so I could listen to (and dance around to) the Annie soundtrack. I remember standing in the freezing cold with him outside the Ohio Theater to get tickets for Cats the first time it came to town.  I think that's part of what made it so special when he and I took Wesley to see Cats a couple of months ago.

I have my dad to thank for my "champagne taste on a beer budget."  I have been to many a wonderful restaurant with my dad. I had my first cocktail with him, learned about "restaurant manners" and developed a taste for duck and lamb.

Lest you get the wrong idea about my dad, this is still the guy that took his family on a four week cross country tour of the USA in a Volkswagon camper when I was eight. This is the man who taught me how to fish (although I still hate baiting the hook) and hid rocks in our trick or treat bags on Halloween.

My dad has always been (and still is) one of my biggest fans. I know I have his support in whatever I do - whether he really agrees with me or not (um....can we say my first marriage?) He gives me advise when I ask for it, comfort when I need it and unconditional love.

I could not ask for a better dad and believe with all my heart that Wesley and Ryan are incredibly lucky to have him in their lives. I love to watch him with the boys. Sometimes I feel like my heart with explode with joy when I see them together.

Happy Birthday Dad! Thank you for being wonderful you and shaping me into the woman I am today. I love you so very much and am so proud to still be your little girl.

Changing Careers

Wesley's dream of becoming a zookeeper or veterinarian or a construction worker may have to take a back seat to his new dream career. Wesley has announced that he wants to be chef. What has caused this radical change in future employment?  Well, we did watch Food Network Challenge and see them make Dora the Explorer cakes and Beauty and the Beast cakes. He was quite interested in that.

However, I think the bigger influence has been our willingness to let Wesley try his hand at "cooking" some of his own food. Wesley is now an expert chocolate milk maker. He gets the milk and chocolate syrup out of the fridge and the spoon out of the drawer. He pours it all on his own and adds (way too much) syrup. He even taste tests it with the spoon before taking a real sip.  Of course, the downside of this is that I found him standing on the kitchen counter the other night in order to reach his cup.  GULP.

Wesley's other specialty is a jelly sandwich. I know, he's a culinary daredevil - Duff (from Ace of Cakes) better watch out! But there really is something sweet about the pride Wesley feels when he's able to make something "all by himself."

*sniff sniff* My little boy is growing up.

Not Me Monday

I did not actually have a nightmare about the cakes I ordered for a party at work. Talk about stressing for no reason.

I have not been succumbing to the power of suggestion and been practically examining my eyes with a magnifying glass since Wesley came down with pink eye.

I did not get Ryan to start saying "I have fib on my hand" when he is making up a boo-boo just to get a band aid.

Apologies

Sorry the posts died down after my rant on Friday. It's not that I've gone off the deep end or ran away from home. The simple explanation is that it's my weekend to work, so there isn't much to blog about.

Of course, I could tell you how awesome my hubby is. He got up early this morning and went to get donuts from a donut place I've wanted to try. Oh! And he agreed to babysit our kids and my friends kids one night so we could have a girls night, but he had to take that back. Not because he changed his mind, but because of what he got me for Valentine's Day.  Yes, I know it's not Valentine's Day yet, but he had to spoil the surprise because he got me concert tickets and I was trying to make plans for that night. Oops!

Other than that, it's been a pretty quiet weekend. We've kept the boys quarantined because of Ryan's nasty cough and Wesley's pink eye (although it's looking MUCH better). 

Stay well everyone!

In a Handbasket

You know that saying "going to 'heck' in a handbasket?"  Well, that's where I feel like I'm headed today.

My plan for today was to take Wesley to preschool, then Ryan and I would go to the grocery store and Target while Wesley was in school. I'd pick Wesley up and we'd go to Panera, then home where I would make Nutella scones.  Sounds like a great plan, right? Well, there were a couple of small issues.

Wesley woke up with what looks an awful lot like pink eye - pink, itchy, gunk filled eye - so no preschool. I called the school and called the doctor's office so they could phone in a prescription and decided to go ahead and make my scones. Except for the whole pink eye thing, the first part of the day was OK. But then I decided to take the boys to the store, Panera for lunch (Wesley has been begging for their macaroni and cheese) and to Target to pick up the prescription. I called Target before we left, but the prescription had not been phoned in yet. No problem, we would go to the store and have lunch and try again. Great theory, but lousy in practice.

See, Wesley currently has "frequent daytime urination syndrome," which is not horribly uncommon in kids. He doesn't have a bladder infection or anything, but the poor kid has to go to the bathroom all the time. It can last a week or more and will go away on it's own  - or so the doctor told us on Wednesday. I kind of conveniently forgot about this when we left to do errands. We got to the store and made it through half our list (with a long detour past the lobster tank) before Wesley had to go. Fine. We went to the bathroom, made another detour past the lobster tank, and finished our list.

 We got buckled in the car and drove a couple blocks to Panera where we got in a long line at the counter. Halfway through the line Wesley announced that he had to go to the bathroom again. So we got out of line, went to the bathroom, got back in line, ordered and found a place to sit. At which point, Wesley had to go to the bathroom again. I could see the bathrooms from the table, so I let him go into the women's room by himself while I kept a close eye. When he came back I picked up our food, but Wesley's wasn't ready yet. That's OK, he had to go to the bathroom again. This time when he returned his food was ready.  We had a semi-enjoyable lunch with Wesley only taking one more potty break. I called Target to see if the prescription was ready, but they hadn't received the phone call from the doctor yet. Sigh. I figured I'd just have to make another trip out when Duane got home and Wesley would have to wait all day for his eye drops.

Things deteriorated further as we left the restaurant and Ryan decided in the middle of the parking lot that he wasn't going to walk anymore. So I had to juggle the screaming toddler, the diaper bag, two open juice boxes, the car keys and hold Wesley's hand. We made it to the car, got buckled in and Wesley announced he had to go to the bathroom again. I told him he had to wait until we got home  - a couple of miles tops.

We made it home with no accidents and Ryan calmed down. When we got in the house, I dumped all our our stuff and the groceries in the kitchen and checked the messages on the machine. Hey, it was the doctor's office saying the prescription had been phoned in. Perfect timing, right?

And then I realised something was missing - Wesley's bear.  I asked Wesley where his bear was and a look of terror crossed his face, "I left him at Panera! We have to go get him!" There was no way I was loading whiny Ryan back in the car and try to find a parking place at the restaurant at the height of lunch hour while trying to fit in several bathroom breaks for Wesley. Instead I called the restaurant, told them where we had been sitting and asked if they could please look for the bear. After sitting on hold for a few minutes, the woman on the other end informed me that could not find the bear and she would call me if anyone turned it in.

Wesley's eyes teared up when I told him that they couldn't find his bear at the restaurant. I briefly (VERY briefly) considered going back to look for ourselves, but seeing Wesley go into the bathroom again ended that consideration. And then I remembered all the trips he made to the bathroom at the restaurant. I called back, and sure enough, Bear was hanging out in the ladies room.  The staff agreed to hold him at the counter and Duane agreed to pick Bear up on his way home from work.

Unfortunately the joy of once again finding Bear was shortlived  because at about that time, the boys started shoving each other and Wesley burst into tears because Ryan (who was still wearing his shoes) stomped on Wesley's barefooted toes. And then a juice box squirted all over the floor and then the boys started arguing over what to watch on tv.

Could someone please at least throw a pillow and a blanket in the handbasket for me? If I'm taking a little trip I might as well be comfortable.

Everybody Needs a Hobby

Ryan has two new hobbies that drive his parents up a wall - which I suppose is what toddler hobbies are supposed to do.

Ryan's first new hobby is to go into the bathroom and get a band-aid. And another. And another. And another. The other night I followed a trail of band-aids and band-aid wrappers from the living room, through the dining room, through the kitchen and into the bathroom. At that point I gathered every box of band-aids that we have (6 - plain, Toy Story, Cars, fairies, crime scene and tattoo) and stashed them on the top of the medicine cabinet where Ryan can't reach them even if he stands on the toilet. Hopefully that will at least slow him down.

Of course, any money we may save on band-aids now that they are hidden, we will probably spend on toilet paper. Ryan's other new hobby is to stand next to the toilet and flush pieces of toilet paper - one square at a time. He can usually get 2 or 3 down before we register that the toilet is flushing or Wesley rats him out.

This kid seriously needs some new hobbies.

Time is Ticking

Duane and I try to keep an eye on how much computer time the boys each get during the day. We keep a kitchen timer next to the computer and set it for about 20 minutes when they get on the computer. When the timer dings, computer time is over and there are very few complaints.

Yesterday I sat down at the computer and started messing around. Ryan came over, picked up the timer and set it for 15 minutes.

"When timer dings, it my turn," he told me.

Well, fair is fair I guess.

Special K

Wesley's pre-K class has letter day once a week. Each child is supposed to bring in something that starts with that week's letter and they get to do a little show and tell in front of the class.  Wesley loves letter day - especially if he can take something that no one else brings.  Last week the letter was "J." Several kids brought in jars or jelly, but my kid had stuffed jellyfish Beanie Baby. "It was the only one!" he said excitedly that night.

Last night we were preparing for letter K day today. I suggested taking a key, or a koala.

"Does Kirk start with a K?" Wesley asked.

"Yep," I said. "It has two "k"s in it. K-I-R-K"

"Then I want to take a picture of Uncle Kirk. I'll be no one else has a Kirk!"

I have to agree with Wesley. His uncle is one of a kind and certainly worth bragging about during show and tell.

Getting Big

Ryan has turned into a potty training machine over the last few days. He's gone from having practically no interest in it at all to going several times a day. He even tells us when he has to go sometimes. On the way home tonight Ryan asked if Wesley also "went pee on potty."  I told him that yes, Wesley always goes on the potty because Wesley is a big boy.

"I big boy too," Ryan said proudly. "I taller!"

He's right you know, the other day I could have sworn he grew while I was at work!

Bring on the Snow

I am dreading the snow they are forecasting for our area - but then again, I dread any snow. Looks like the boys are ready though.

Then again, if I could hang out in footie jammies and a knit hat instead of having to drive anywhere in the snow, I might enjoy it too.

Not Me Monday

I did not come home and change into jeans, only to change into sweatpants an hour later. That would have just been silly.

I did not yell and cheer so loudly during the OSU bowl game that I scared the cats and my youngest son. And I certainly didn't do it more than once.

There is no way I misread an internet ad that said, "You may qualify for a grant!" as "You may qualify for a giant!" And even if I did, I know I didn't spend a few moments after I caught my mistake thinking how cool a giant of my own might be and how I might qualify for one.  And yes, I am a children's librarian.

Cup of Joe

So maybe I shouldn't admit this to the world, but my two-year-old really enjoys coffee. He very often asks, "That your coffee? I sip it?"  I will frequently let him have the last couple of sips in the cup and since I drink it with milk and sugar, I figure he isn't actually getting all that much coffee.

Grandpa P. has the same problem with Ryan mooching his coffee. The other day Ryan actually took Grandpa's coffee cup hostage and refused to let it go for the better part of the day.   Maybe Santa should have bought Ryan a travel cup for Christmas.

One of My Favorite Sights

Terms of Endearment

I am not sure if I've told you this before, but we use lots of tearms of endearment in our family. I have been Punky (short for Pumpkin) my entire life. I'm 37 years old, and my dad and mom STILL call me that sometimes - and I still love it.

I call Duane "Big Man" a lot of the time. Sanders, our nearly fourteen year old cat, is "Old Man". Gus, another one of our cats,  is "Round Man" or "Round Boy," which I think is pretty self explanitory. I've been known to call the boys Stinkerpot, or Dude-a-rama (Wesley).

We use dork and goof or goofball a lot in our house too - although we've had to tell Wesley not to call people outside the family those names because they might not know he means it in a nice way.

The other day Duane walked the boys and I out to the car as we were getting ready to leave for the day.  Duane did something that the boys found amusing. Wesley said, "Dad, you're a big goofball - and I LOVE it!" I have to admit, Duane's ability to be a big goofball is one of his many qualities that I adore. I'm glad our kids like it too.

Got a Job to Do

The time has come to start getting Ryan thinking about potty training. He has successfully gone on the potty a couple of mornings in a row now, but it realistically it's just because put him there first thing when he wakes up and bribe him with fruit snacks.

I'm not sure how the potty bribe for Ryan became a pack of fruit snacks. Wesley got an M&M. One M&M. Hmmmmm.....maybe that's why it took him so long to potty train.

Anyhow, Ryan loves the idea of getting fruit snacks for going on the potty. The problem is, he thinks that if he has gone once, it means unlimited fruit snacks for the day.

Tonight Ryan wanted fruit snacks, so Duane told him to go pee on the potty.  Ryan kept insisting he needed fruit snacks and Duane kept insisting that Ryan go on the potty if he wanted fruit snacks. After a few minutes of that, Ryan walked off, went into the bathroom and flushed the toilet - presumably to fool us into thinking he had gone potty.  Yeah, right kid. Like Mommy and Daddy are going to fall for that! But was a pretty clever idea for a two-year-old.

What Does That Spell?

We gave each of the boys a candy buckeye during the bowl game tonight. Wesley kind of nibbled on his, but Ryan put the whole thing in his mouth. He looked like chipmunk with measles.

"Wow," Duane said. "Can you say CPR?"

Wesley looked up from the toys he was playing with and said, "Does that spell choke?"

Close enough, babe. Close enough.

Little Chatterbox

I love to listen to Ryan talk. I know, I know, I often say how I wish Wesley would STOP talking for a few minutes, and it doesn't really make sense for me to want to hear Ryan. What makes listening to him so special?

 Ryan actually talks like a toddler. I feel like Wesley went immediately from not talking to speaking in full sentences. I know that isn't true, but Wesley's vocabulary has always been so good. I love to hear Ryan say, "I sit on you?" when he wants to sit on your lap. Or "I looking animals," when you ask what he's doing. 

 Ryan sings to himself when he thinks no one is around. It's so cute! Sometimes he'll sing an actual song and sometimes it's just nonsense, but I love to listen to him.

Of course, there are some times that I don't enjoy listening to Ryan - like when he does his morning wake up call. Ryan wakes up (or kind of wakes up) nearly every morning between 3-6.  Most mornings he'll call out for his daddy, although when I was on vacation he did call out for me a few times.

 In the wee hours of this morning, we heard Ryan start calling, "Daddy! Dad! Dad!"  Duane called out "Go to sleep, Ryan!" 

All was quiet for about 30 seconds, then Ryan started calling, "Mommy!" 

"What, Ryan?" I answered groggily.

"Come here second," he called.

"No. Go to sleep." I responded.

How did Ryan handle that? With a loud "HUMPH!" that could even be heard in our room! Not his cutest talking moment.

Not Me Monday

I did not have to restrain myself from taking all my Christmas decorations down on the 26th because I want my house back and a place to put the new toys.

I know I did not try every bribe in my arsenal to talk Wesley out of going swimming at the community center on the last day of my vacation. And we certainly didn't end up going swimming anyhow.

I did not play dumb and say, "Now I wonder how that got in there?" when Wesley discovered one of his bazillion sticker pictures in the trash can. And I know I didn't encourage him to put it in my purse so I could take it to work, only to throw it out there.

I did not bribe Ryan out of morning screaming fit by offering him eggnog poundcake for breakfast. Even if I did, I know I didn't justify it by saying it wasn't any different than giving him a donut.

I didn't start stressing about Kindergarten registration and where we will send Wesley to school almost the second the clock struck midnight on New Years.

Happy Blogiversary to Me

Today marks FIVE YEARS of me blogging. FIVE YEARS! How did that even happen???

The W. family then......

.....and now!

Thanks for reading and sharing our stories. Here's to another year!

Big Questions

Wesley is a pretty happy and fun loving kid. He loves to play pretend and tell jokes and laugh. But every now and then Wesley surprises us with deep thoughts and big questions that are rattling around in his head.

The other day Wesley asked Grandma H. when Bentley was coming back. Bentley was a cat she had that died a couple of years ago. I'm shocked that Wesley even remembers him. Grandma told Wesley that Bentley isn't coming back because he was very old and very sick and died. She assured him that Bentley is in Cat Heaven and he isn't sick anymore and he's happy living with God and Jesus.

"Do kids die?" he asked Grandma. She told him that yes, sometimes kids do die, but usually only if they have been very sick or they are in a very bad accident. Then they go to Heaven to be with God and Jesus and they are aren't sick or hurt anymore.

"Do people come back from Heaven?" was the next question. Grandma answered that when are dead and go to Heaven, they don't come back, but they are happy.

"Do we ever get to see them again?" he asked.  Grandma assured him that yes, you will see them again, but not until you die and go to Heaven too.

Grandma handled those questions so incredibly well. I have no idea what prompted them all, but Wesley seemed more than content with her answers.

Then a day or so ago Wesley came up to me in the kitchen and said, "Mom, some boys and girls don't have mommies."  I told him he was right.  "And some boys and girls don't have daddies."  Again, I told him that was true.  He threw his arms around my waist and gave me a big squeeze and said "But I'm happy because I have both!"  Awww.... me too, buddy. Me too.

A Brand New Year

Happy New Year everyone!  We had a great send off to 2010 yesterday.  I mean, darn near perfect. 

It started with Ryan actually going pee-pee on the potty! That was a pretty major accomplishment because he hates the very idea of the potty. Duane rewarded him with a package of fruit snacks (or root nacks as Ryan calls them) and everyone made a very big deal about it - even Wesley.  Could we finally be turning a corner? Could 2011 be the year we give up diapers in the W. house? Just the thought makes me absolutely giddy!

We headed down to World of Bounce for the Friday open bounce time. It was a mad house! I have never seen the place so crowded. Duane and I didn't even get to bounce because we there were so many kids. But, Sho, Kei and Colin were there, so the guys all had a great time. Wesley and Ryan ran around and played until they were red faced and sweaty and I got some face time with Aunt Cathy and Kate, so it all worked out.

After the boys were good and worn out (and we couldn't stand the crowd anymore) we decided to head out to lunch. Wesley has had a real thing for Panera's macaroni and cheese lately and declined an offer to eat at a buffet restaurant to head to Panera instead. It was a wise choice because both he and Ryan ate ALL their mac and cheese at lunch. OK, Ryan had like one bite left, but it was still pretty impressive. Especially when one considers that Ryan ate the whole bowl one single noodle at a time.

Since the boys had been champion eaters and it was sunny and warm out (in the 50's!) we decided to walk down to Jeni's for a little ice cream treat. What turned out to be the biggest treat was the St. Bernard that came to the store with his owner and her three young kids. That is one brave woman! The dog was super nice and Wesley and Ryan got to pet it and hug it. I'm sure that didn't do anything to curb Wesley's desire for a big dog when we move - which I'm praying will happen in 2011.

The rest of the afternoon was spent preparing for a small New Year's Eve gathering (me) or shopping for a new tv for our bedroom (Duane). The boys "helped" Duane put together a new stand for the tv. He was so patient with them. He had them counting out screws and other pieces, carrying parts from here to there and even turning the screwdriver. It made a big impression on Wesley who announced that he wants to be a construction worker when he grows up.

We rang in the 2011 by playing dominoes and eating a ton of snack stuff with Kirk and Susan and Ray and Krystal. We let the boys stay up as late as they could.

Ryan made it until about 11:12

Wesley hung in until about 11:20-ish.

Really, it was one of the best New Year's Eve's I've had.  Of course, both kids were up by 8:00 this morning. I got up with them so Duane could sleep in. Since he did all the clean up last night, it seemed only fair.  Here's to a wonderful 2011!