This one's for my Toyota Sienna peeps!

Tuesday!

This morning I went in to Hayden's bedroom. He usually calls Justin or I in the morning when he wakes up. Even though he is quite capable of crawling out of bed, he likes us to come get him.

Well, this morning it was "Mommy!" So I headed in to him. The first thing he says to me is, "Will you change me?"

He had a poopy diaper! I asked him as I was changing him when he was going to be done using diapers. He replied, "Tuesday."

I smiled and laughed a little. Then he says, "What?" He waits a second then adds, "Monday?"

I told him Monday would be better for me!

Happy Saturday everyone!!

Jodi

Hayden's "Quiet Time"

Greetings all!

Well, our little Hayden is transitioning out of his afternoon nap time. It is always challenging for Mom to lose those fabulously quiet moments of the afternoon. Like all the boys, I still put him to bed every afternoon for "quiet time." Elias used to lay in bed as a toddler for two hours and look at books. Hayden does love books but he has also found his "quiet time" to be a good opportunity for exploration.

Last week's Quiet time breakdown:

Monday: This was his big debut! Because he usually announces, "I'm awake!" when he is finished with QT, I make sure to get upstairs and get him on the potty right away. Nothing seemed amiss at first glance, but when I went into the bathroom off his bedroom I noticed the toilet brush sticking out of the toilet. There was a sopping wet diaper in the trash and little pieces of wet toilet paper all over the floor. Bless his heart, he had tried to clean up the watery mess with toilet paper. Well, I began the clean up of that bathroom and then I went to put the toilet brush away in the main bathroom. Floating in that toilet was my measuring tape ... I washed it and went to put it back in my desk drawer and found that he had raided my desk as well. All over the floor were miniscule pieces of paper he had cut up with my very sharp craft scissors. He had also opened a package of glue sticks and glued every toy in sight together. Whew! No toilets overflowed and he still had all his fingers!

Tuesday: You think I would have been more alert considering what Monday's QT had been like, but alas ... He comes down the stairs announcing that he is "Awake!" Elias and Asher come running into the kitchen to tell me that Hayden had gotten into a black permanent marker ... What? Wait, this is sticky. What's that smell? Is that perfume? I think this is mascara ... Yep! He had given himself war paint and tried to "comb" his hair with the mascara brush! I took him up to the bathroom to assess the damage. He had, in fact, used my nice Lancome mascara as face paint, and toilet paint and tub paint. The smell of perfume was overwhelming! And then I noticed the nail polish bottles on the ground ... They were all capped. Hmmm? Then as I was finishing up the scan I noticed the nail polish damage. Sure enough there were some glittery streaks on his blue potty chair that were not there before.

By the next day I had learned my lesson! Now, I make sure he has some books and some quiet toys at hand. I also make sure I am on alert for the sound of his door opening. 

Love to you all!

Jodi

BOYS, BOYS, BOYS!

Today we had two extra little guys over for the afternoon. Elias' cub scout leader's wife just gave birth to her 5th kiddo last week and I thought it might be helpful to take their two big boys for a play date. It was pure noise and activity! Boys are just LOUD. Everything about them is loud. They flop loudly on furniture, they slam doors, they yell through the house for one another. I was wondering this afternoon how different my life would be if there were a few females thrown into the mix ... just wondering.

~Jodi

Life with boys:

Pretend or Lies ...

I know that Justin and I are not the only ones who "pretend" along with our kids. We have been known to make up some pretty fantastic stories to wow our kiddos. Sometimes they are more practical tales to allure them  into better behavior or to produce a desired response.

Here are a few tidbits from tonight's conversation in the van on the way to the gym:

"Guys what if Mom makes Chinese food for dinner tonight?" -me

"Yeah!!"

"Mom will you make the noodles I like?" -Asher

"You mean the Lo Mein noodles?" -me

"Yeah! And will you put polar bear meat in them like they do at the Chinese restaurant?"

... me stalling...

"Asher, Chinese food doesn't have polar bear meat in it!" -Elias

"Yes, it does, Daddy said so." -Asher

"Asher, there aren't any polar bears in China. They have no way of getting polar bear meat." -Elias

"Mom is that true?" -Asher

... me stalling some more ...

"Mom, tell him the truth. Dad just told him the Lo Mein had polar bear meat in it so he would eat it, right? It was really just chicken." -Elias

After a few minutes back and forth between Asher and Elias, Asher finally says, "Mom, just tell me ... Elias says its chicken. Daddy says its polar bear meat. I am so confused. I don't know who is telling the truth."

This is when I have to tell the truth that Daddy said it was polar bear meat because he thought it would be fun to pretend that it was! I also remind Elias that we pretend many things that aren't true because it is fun and does he really want to be the guy that goes around ruining everyone's pretend fun. He'll have to think about that one because sometimes it is fun to be "that guy."

~Jodi

What a Year!

For those of you who check every now and then, hoping there will be something new on the blog---SURPRISE! I actually am taking a few minutes to write ... Have you been wondering why in the world it has taken me over a year to update our family blog ... This has been a particularly challenging year!

Since I last wrote, we have lost a baby, our home, a job, our little nephew and we have moved. I have had major surgery, Asher has developed chronic hives and other medical ailments have reared their ugly heads in our family. We are living with my in-laws in Kansas City and have a house we can't sell in TN. So things seem pretty bleak, huh?

The bright side of things is that we now live closer to family ;-)! My husband has a job he loves. We are part of an active and growing church, St. Mary of Egypt. Our boys are growing up strong and smart and happy! I have also gained a new sister-in-law, Kaori, and have another one joining the family this June, Kelly! And we have two nieces on the way!

I know it has been ages since I wrote and I really am not going to talk about the past! I want to make a real effort to keep our family blog updated with our happenings, with pictures of our boys, with stories about how we are striving to thrive, not just survive!

Blessings!

~Jodi

He's a growing boy!

Our little Hayden is in that curiosity stage. You know the one, where a kid will try any food you put before them, where they will try and repeat any word or action he sees, where he will climb to the heights without any regard for the impending depths. 

Nowadays Hayden keeps me constantly on my toes. I have few moments throughout the day where I don't have to be on alert for what he might be climbing, where he might be hiding, what he might be eating, what buttons he might be pushing. Whew! He also loves to get on top of the table and see if there are any leftovers after his big brothers have finished their snacks. Sometimes it is just a lonely cereal box, but then sometimes he gets lucky and Asher has abandoned a plate of French fries and ketchup for dipping. Yummy!

So enjoy this little sampling of our baby boy chowing down. Man he is cute and we can't seem to get enough of him!

The Parachute Tribe ...

Sometimes I wish I could crawl inside of Asher John's head. He comes up with the most interesting and strange ideas sometimes. 

Elias and Asher were talking about Native American tribes. Justin asked Elias if he could name a tribe and he replied, "Cherokee." I told him that the Lakotas lived near Nanny and Poppy. Some time passed and then Asher asked me, "Mom, is there a tribe called the Parachute tribe?" I had to ask him to repeat his question because I wasn't sure I heard him right. Nope, he said exactly what I thought he said, parachute tribe. "I don't think there is a tribe called the parachutes," I informed him. He just smiled and kept on daydreaming.

Asher is one of those kiddos that can make you feel so full of love and happiness one minute and then in the next moment he can send you into orbit with his tenacity. And those dimples, man!

If anyone hears about a lost tribe called the Parachute, please let us know!

Jodi