Good Idea, son

Riding in the car today, the topic of marriage came up. The kids were discussing who they would marry (we had to eliminate relatives from their lists), then the discussion turned to Mommy and Daddy. Evan, thinking hard says, "Dad, I think you should marry mom."

Good idea my son. I think your dad already thought of that though. :)

Surprising discoveries

My children amaze me every day...sometimes for the good, sometimes for the, well, not so good. Some recent surprising things I have realized/been informed of:

Evan is so far, a pretty decent little t-ball player! Being so small and his struggles with language and following directions, we tend to always think that he will be behind others his age. We need to stop assuming that. He has had 2 practices and is really getting a handle on the game and is pretty good at throwing and batting. His catching needs help, but that appears to be pretty common for his age group. At field day today, his teacher even commented on his skills! Go Team!

Aubrey informed me after prayers tonight before closing her eyes that, "Leo Leoni writes books mom. Today is his birthday." Well, color me shocked! I really have no idea if today is his birthday, but I do know that he does indeed write books. She apparently heard this at school today and that little mind of hers held on to it. This girl has a mind like a steel trap. Unless it is in regards to where dirty clothes go...then, she has no grasp of it whatsoever.

They can be independent. Evan sat down with his homework the other night and completed it without me doing anything to help him. I said, go get your homework. He did, finished it and all I had to do was check it over. I know it won't last, but I'll enjoy it while I can! Aubrey can entertain herself in her room for almost an hour with her dollhouse and little character type people/animals. Can I get an "amen"???

I will be doing laundry until the day I die. Why I am just realizing this now, I don't know. It will be with me forever and I am pretty sure that Hell has washers and dryers just waiting for souls like me. I better start working on a more desirable afterlife destination.

Oh the Children!

These little people have so much to say. My ears are tired. A few recent memorable ones:

*After the first super nice weekend of the spring, my mom asked them if they put out the Easter decorations yet. Evan triumphantly announces, "No, but we took the Christmas lights down!" (Don't judge us! We normally do not have the lights on the house that long and they certainly were not still being turned on.) Bunnies have since appeared on bookshelves and picture ledges.

*We have been talking a lot about Jesus dying on the cross and how it was sad and he did it for us, but that the story has a happy ending when he is alive again on Easter. Our dear neighbor passed away and we were gently explaining it to them over dinner. We said that she was very sick and went to live in heaven with God. Evan pipes up with, "So she died? She's dead?" Well, at least he doesn't beat around the bush! We said yes, and it is sad but that she is very happy there and isn't sick anymore. Aubrey then chimes in with, "It's ok Evan. The story isn't over! She will be alive again on Easter!" *sigh* We've got a lot to learn with this parenting thing.

*When I told Aubrey she was not going to get another snack the other day, she informs me that I, and I quote, "broke her heart and ruined her dreams!!!" complete with a folding of the arms and stomping away. Drama much?

*Being told by both kids that I (or daddy) am their best friend . Awwwww. I'm saving it up for when they are teenagers and are convinced I am ruining their lives!

Fire Fighter

This morning, after getting out of the shower, Evan told me that he was pretending to be a fire fighter and he would put water on the fire and put it out. Then he asked where his fire hat was that he got at a church carnival last summer. No big deal. Evan spends most of his days being someone other than himself so I thought nothing of it. Fast forward to a few minutes ago. Aubrey is playing in the sink in the bathroom and Chuck goes in and sees that the jar candle is no longer lit. Then he notices that there is water laying in the jar. He of course asks her about it because most times when something goes awry at this house, she is somehow involved. I am overhearing the conversation from the kitchen and have the light bulb moment. I asked Evan if he put the candle out when he was playing fire fighter. He said, "Yes mom. I did. Fires are bad."

So we had a little chat about not pouring water into candles and you all have to promise not to turn me in to CPS for having a candle burning while I was in the shower. Another parenting lesson learned.

She Craves the Stage

So this year we decided to let Aubrey try out gymnastics instead of doing dance. She loves it. But there is something that just makes me believe this child dreams of the stage. It could be that she wants to spend at least one portion of every day in a leotard. It matters not that it is only 7 degrees outside and there are 8 inches of snow on the ground. Bare legs do not phase her. Another indication is the frequency that we are made to watch her "shows." They undoubtedly involve the wearing of a leotard, the dimming of all the lights in the house, and us sitting quietly as she spins, dances, sings, performs a monologue (sometimes all at once!) or entertains us in some fashion. Lucky for us, she has not yet started charging admission.
I think in the fall, we will go back to dance class. She tries to fit into her old tap shoes and yells out to her "dance!" every time we drive past the school. Her knowing that she will be on the stage at the end of the year could cause her to subject us to more shows, but I think she can handle it. The question is, can we?

Many Thanks!

Do you love the new look going on here? My dear friend Marianne has rescued my blog from it's dull form and spiffed it all up for me with the help of a cool place called Here a Scrap There a Scrap! She's the best-est! Thanks friend!

A Few More Funnies

At the dinner table, Evan was drumming with his silverware and hands while eating. After it got to the point of sounding like an audition for a rock band, I asked him (in my nice voice) to please stop. His response: "Why mom, does it bug ya?" The intonation in his question was hilarious!

When saying our prayers each night, we always ask for God's special blessings for various people or situations. Aubrey was finishing her standard list and tacked on: "And please God, don't let Pinkalicious eat any more pink cupcakes. Amen." (Can you guess what the bedtime story had been that night?)

This Cold is for the Birds!

I am making the official announcement that I am done with temperatures below 30 degrees. Do you hear that Mother Nature? DONE!

My mornings have gone something like this:
Roll out of bed and put a sweatshirt on top of my jammies. Come down stairs check the weather...surprise! It's cold. (Yet, I keep checking each morning?) Go back upstairs and put on jeans and another pair of socks. Throw some food to the children. Put on coat, scarf, gloves, boots and go outside to shovel. Turn on car. Come back in to someone screaming that the dog ate their toast. Dress children for whatever activity they have that day. Brush teeth, attempt to make my now wet and or static-ridden hair look presentable. Put children in coats, hats, scarves, gloves, and boots. Make a note to move to Florida. Take everyone out to the car and spend 10 more minutes getting children stuffed into carseats. Put gloves back on whichever child has taken them off. Drive to appropriate location while one child wails that they are hot and the other wails that they are cold.

Doesn't it sound like fun to you?

A Few Trip Pics

I know all 2 of you are anxiously awaiting pics from the big Disney trip! We had the best time while we were there. The kids were beyond thrilled with everything they saw and did. I cried more than once seeing the pure, innocent joy on their faces. Everyone got along wonderfully, there were no major meltdowns and the kids slept better than they ever had before! We are hooked and plan on going back as soon as we possibly can.

Here are a few of the better pictures we got...

The family at Disney Studios:

The kids in the lobby before the Christmas party:

Aubrey seeing her "after" at her princess makeover:

All of us, the day before we left on the happiest street in the World!