Moving!!!

I have moved my blogs and am now blogging at www.kateskitchengarden.com.  If you were a follower, you can continue to follow me there.  You will have to re-sign up to get e-mail notifications when I post, if you are still interested.  Thanks!

Things I Never Thought I Would Have To Say...

Today's line?

"Sam, take that bacon off your face!"

Why?  Maybe if he were a dog...

My Favorite Word

Elise (age 1/12) looking unhappy.

Brothers trying to entertain little sister.

Joshua:  "Can you say "Josh"?" 

Elise:  "No!"

Joseph:  "Can you say "Joe"?"

Elise:  "No!" 

Joshua:  "Can you say "No"?"

Elise:  "No!"

Brothers nearly fall over in hysterics.  Baby win. 

From Sheer Terror to Apathy in 5, 4, 3, 2...

Last time we were visiting family out of town Josh comes running in from playing outside, absolutely freaked out. 

"Mom!  A tornado's coming!!!"

I briefly glance out the window.  "No, it's just windy - it's just Twin Falls." (In Twin Falls, when it snows you measure the amount stuck to the SIDE of the fencepost...)

Josh, looking puzzled, "So I don't need to worry about my life?"

"No, you're good."

"Oh, okay."  As he runs back out, "Twin Falls is windy!"  Story of my life. 

The Chocolate Fountain of Joy

You know it's a fun thing when the new year starts out with everyone covered in chocolate and dancing.  Baby girl loved it.  Loved it. 

Water, Water Everywhere

Last night I went to bed with a headache early in the evening and my wonderful (seriously the most wonderful man you can imagine) husband put the kids to bed by himself.  Now, although my husband is Wonderman, he does sometime overlook small details.  Like remembering to put a diaper on the 4 year old before bed.  Or pajamas.  Whatever - the children got put safely in bed and that was the real triumph.  Thus the conversation I had with my four year old this morning: 

Sam, calling from the bathroom, "I'm done going potty!" 
Me, stumbling out of bed and making my way down the hallway, "Coming."
I enter the bathroom and notice that Sam is wearing the shirt he wore yesterday as he sits on the toilet.  This strikes me as odd and I wonder if he tried to dress himself before coming in the bathroom.  Then I look on the floor and see pants and underwear that look really dampish.  Things are starting to click.  This is not good.  I gingerly pick up the soiled pants with a finger thumb combination.  Definitely wet.  I look at Sam. 
"Why are your pants wet?" 
Sam, not missing a beat, goes into full blame mode, "Joe dumped water in them."  I look at the pants, the faucet, the floor to see if this assertion can be backed by solid evidence of a water attack.  There are no signs of foul play. 
"What do you mean, Joe dumped water in them?  Why would he do that?"
"He did it last night."  I wrinkle my nose and bring the wet clothes a bit closer.  Nope.  That is definitely a urine smell.  What we have here, ladies and gentlemen, is a lie. 
"No Sam, you must have had an accident." Though he continues to protest his innocence, I take in all the evidence.  No diaper.  Clothes from night before.  Husband put children to bed.  Clearly there will be more to clean.  I start the bathwater and head to the bedroom and start to dismantle the wet sheets, snugglies, blankets, etc.  As I head downstairs to the laundry room I am still thankful for my husband who took care of it all last night.  No joke.  Small price to pay when you feel like crap.  Feel bad for Sam though - sounds like a wet night.

Dinnertime

Our dinner conversation tonight:
Josh:  Pine needles taste kind of minty when you bite them. 
Me:  Don't be eating anything unless you know it is safe to eat.  Are pine trees safe to eat? (Look at husband for assistance then back to Josh)  Why would you want to eat a pine tree? 

(Several moments pass as we eat and visit)

Josh:  It actually tastes pretty good.
Me:  (thinking he is referring to the chicken and veggie stir fry for dinner that he was skeptical about eating)  Aw, Josh that's really nice.  I am glad that you like it.
Josh:  Not the dinner Mom, the pine needles. 
Me:  (deflated)  Oh. 

I really shouldn't be surprised, I guess.  Pass the pine needles please...

Grateful for Innocence...

I was putting the sunscreen on Joe this summer as we prepared to go down to the lake and swim.  Joe, being 5 at the time, was completely unaware of privacy and what that all entails and said to me, as I leaned over to smear some sunscreen on his legs, "Hey!  I can see those bumps real good when you bend over!"  Oh, my.  Sunscreen the boys before I put on my "bumps" revealing swimsuit next time.  Got it.  From the mouths of babes...

So Not Appropriate

So Sam met Lily this weekend.  Lily is his Great Uncle Tom's new puggle (half pug and half poodle) puppy.  Lily licked Sam right on his face.  Not to be outdone, Sam grinned and licked her right back on her face.  Yuck.  Germs?  Pshaw.  Note to child...licking is not an appropriate greeting. 

Ay, Ay, Ay

Me:  "My Ipod is almost dead - I need to take it in and charge it."
Josh:  "You mean your iphone." 
Me:  "No, Dad has an iphone.  I have an ipod and then we have the ipad...but I'm talking about the ipod right now." 
Josh:  "iphone, ipad, ipod, i, i, i, i, i."

Who Knew How Funny Our 19th President Was?

Apparently the name "Rutherford" is rather amusing to little children.  We were studying the Presidents and going through them and my kids just thought everything was funny today.  They were at that crack up stage where you get the giggles and just can't stop laughing.  It was hard because it was starting to get me too and I am, of course, trying to teach a serious lesson on the leaders of our country.  Ah, homeschool...

Happy Birthday Sam!!!

Today was Sam's (aka Heathcliff's) birthday.  Today he was "Heathcliff" all day.  Remember the cartoon about the cat from the 80's?  Netflicks has reintroduced this gem to my boys and it's the new fun show.  He had lots of fun and enjoyed his special day.  One of my favorite moments was when he found the picture that Dad had printed out of Heathcliff so I could sketch it on the cake in frosting and this big surprised look popped into his eyes as he exclaimed, "It's a picture of ME!"  That is committment to a role.  He IS Heathcliff today.  Oh, and another thing to note - yes, his birthday cake was pink for another year.  Pink.  All pink.  Seriously.  Good thing he loved the hot wheels, legos, Thor costume, and remote control trucks he got this year.  And I am soooooo glad that at least Heathcliff is a boy cat.

Joe.

Ever since way back on Mother's Day, if Joe wakes up before me, he tries to make me breakfast in bed.  He attempts to find things that are "nutritious."  This is, of course, limited to what he is allowed to get into without making a mess so I have had some interesting breakfast combinations.  I think that my favorite has been a wrapped cheese slice with some dried cranberries on the side.  Oh, and I think that he also included goldfish crackers on that one.  This morning he brought me a yogurt.  Sometimes I get raisins.  Or dried cherries and blueberries.  Banana.  Whatever "nutritious" items he can find easily in the kitchen.  :)  Such a sweet love.  Such a heart to give.  Always trying to bless others.  Thank you God, for Joe. 

Who Are You Again?

Sam has decided to try on some new identities.  So far his favorites seem to be Star Child (a female character from She-Ra of all things), and Eliot (the dragon in Pete's Dragon).  Although sometimes he is Blue Ninja and once in a while Buzz Lightyear.  When he is Eliot he speaks in dragon "Do, do, do-do, do" just like in the movie.  Dragon is a difficult language to translate.  He is a handful, but oh, so sweet.  What a love!

Common Sense?

I actually had to tell the 3 year old today that it is not acceptable behavior to lick his baby sister's hair.  Shouldn't this be obvious to everyone? 

Colds

Everyone is sick again.  Josh (8) approached me the other morning with the following statement, "Mom, we have a problem...my nose has been drooling all night."  I know baby.  I'm sorry.  Sam (3) keeps telling me that his nose is "soggy."  It is a miracle that I haven't caught it yet.  Oh, and just because it was funny...during the storm we had a couple of days ago Sam informed me that the storm was so bad that maybe a tomato was coming!  It was so difficult not to laugh...bruchetta, marinara, gazpacho, oh my!

Cock-A-Doodle-Doo

Dad came home from Singapore with a knowledge of the children's Chinese birth years.  I am the year of the snake.  Surprised?  Anyway, Joe (age 5) ended up with the year of the rooster...

Joe raises one eyebrow, puzzled.  "So I have the powers of a rooster?"

Dad explains that it doesn't work that way but Joe is not convinced and tries out a tentative, "Cock-a-doodle-doo?" just to see if his newfound "powers" are functioning.  :)

No Damsels in Distress for this Knight

My eight year old and I were recently talking about the Knights in Shining Armor/Damsels in Distress theme of many storybooks.  I was rolling  (on the inside of course.)

Josh:  "I don't want a girl like that.  If I get married, I want a girl who can take care of herself.  She will need to because we are going to live in the jungle, and I don't want to always have to be saving her and stuff."   

Note to future daughter-in-law:  Better be starting those karate and target shooting lessons now. 

Detox

Imagine going from having 4-6 people doting over you and taking care of you, having yummy ice creams, cookies and treats, staying up too late and having no responsibilities whatsoever to having 1 slightly cranky lady monitoring your playtime, boring meals (haven't been shopping yet since our return) and immediate immersion into schoolwork and "gasp" housework.  We are definitely going through grandparent detox. 

Grandparent detox is hard all around.  It's hard for the grandparents.  It's hard for the kids and it is hard for the parents of the kids.  It takes days to return to normal.  LONG days.  Can I have a spring break?  Please? 

Early Introduction to the Feminine Mystique

After a talk with daddy about never talking to women about their weight, Josh mistakenly told me that the lady driving the car next to us was very old.  I proceeded to inform him of his mistake.

"Josh, honey, you should never say a woman is old.  It isn't nice to talk about a woman's age."

A huge sigh, "How many rules are there for women?!"  Oh, babe.  If only you knew.