One Boy . . . One Girl . . .

God is ALWAYS watching (even in the bathroom)

2009-02-27T10:05:00.000-08:00

Goodness . . . where has the time gone . . . . I could make a long list. I know I said I'd keep up with this blog and I've failed. But honestly, I failed on purpose. I realized that I wasn't really writing this blog for me, and that was the reason. I'll quote my long lost amazing friend, Alana, I felt like my blog was becoming the "Christmas letter" where I bragged about my kids, but never wrote about the "not so good things." I decided I was better off writing my thoughts about my kids in my journal as I have been doing. Funny, when I was in high school my best friend and I kept a journal where we wrote funny thoughts and funny sayings . . . nothing has changed--only now I do it about my children.

BUT---I had to share this story about Rebekah. I knew I needed to share because it's so funny and cute and this was the easiest way to share.

Rebekah (3) had decided that she is old enough to go to the bathroom on her own with the door shut. I said, FINE BY ME!! This was fine until I noticed toilets being stopped up and the toilet paper roll shrinking much faster than normal. Yesterday I discovered why. Rebekah has been using TONS of toilet paper and shoving it in the toilet (and she knew this was wrong). I talked with her about this and asked that she leave the bathroom door open until I can be sure that she is using the "proper" amount of toilet paper.

Fast forward to last night's dinner. Aiden was telling us all about Abe Lincoln (he's been learning about him in school). We were talking about Lincoln being called Honest Abe and what honesty is. This turned into a conversation about lies which turned into a conversation about God and that God always knows what we are thinking, saying and doing. I turned to Rebekah and told her that God even sees her playing with the toilet paper in the bathroom. She didn't comment about this, but Mike and I could tell that the "wheels were churning." She didn't look too pleased.

About an hour later she was getting ready for her bath and announced that she had to go to the bathroom (actually it was a "I HAVE TO GO POO POO"). I heard her going an" d then she ran into her room where I was and showed me a small piece of toilet paper and said, "this is all that I am using Mom." I praised her for following directions and followed her back into the bathroom. She finished going to the bathroom and looked at me and with a big smile said, "Now God doesn't have to watch me while I go to the bathroom anymore."

Lets just say it took all my will not to burst into laughter. Mike and I got some huge giggles about it after the kids went to bed.

Conversation between a boy and his Dad!

2008-11-09T11:18:00.001-08:00

Mike gave Aiden a haircut this morning. Aiden sat like a perfect customer in his underwear while Mike buzzed away. When they were finished Aiden's chest, back and legs were covered in hair so Mike decided to throw Aiden in the shower with him. Mike took off his shirt and Aiden looked up at Mike's chest and said, "Hey, your chest looks like mine. How did you get hair all over you?"

Traditions

2008-10-29T09:10:00.000-07:00

I come from a family rich in holiday traditions . . . eating beef stew on Halloween (my mom was convinced it would keep up warm while Trick or Treating--and we HAD to eat the whole bowl), drinking orange juice and taking our vitamin before getting to see what Santa brought, cutting down our Christmas tree, making cheese crackers at Christmas, cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning, homemade Birthday cakes, coke floats with cherries with my grandmother, collards and kale at Thanksgiving, laughing until we are crying while playing games at Thanksgiving and cuddling up to watch all of the holiday TV specials as a family--especially Charlie Brown. These are just a few of the many traditions started when we were young. My brother has continued these traditions with his family and I have been lucky enough to marry a man who loves these traditions as much as I do. We continue to carry these on and make our own. Last night we continued one long tradition of watching The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown. I had tears in my eyes as I watched Aiden BELLY LAUGHING on the couch at the antics of Snoopy and the gang. Such simple pleasures . . . What are some of your favorite traditions?

Changing times!

2008-10-27T09:28:00.000-07:00

Rebekah and I were reading a Curious George book this morning. There was a picture of a Jukebox in the book. Rebekah said, "what's that, Mommy?" I said, "It's called a jukebox, it's like a big box that plays music." She sat for a second looking at it and said, "Oh, like a giant Ipod."

My how times have changed.

First Camping Trip

2008-10-23T10:39:00.000-07:00

I've been slacking on my blogging lately! And I've got so many wonderful fall shots to share. Our first big fall event was our first camping trip (way too many pictures--and I have to share them all). We went to Big Meadows on the Skyline Drive for the weekend. This is the same place where I camped my my family growing up. It was so neat to take the kids and have them experience the same things I did as a child. The weekend was WONDERFUL! The kids absolutely LOVED camping and were asking when we could go back before we even left. Aiden LOVED hiking and thinks he is a hiker extraordinaire. We wore them out both days, so much that they were asking to go to bed before we were ready to send them. The sky was so clear both nights and we hoped to keep Aiden up so he could see the star filled sky, but he was asleep before it really got dark. I call that a successful day! :-) We couldn't have asked for better weather--although Mike and I did freeze the first night. The kids loved eating scrambled eggs at a picnic table and were really surprised when Mickey and PopPop surprised us Saturday afternoon by showing up. We took them on a little hike and they stayed for chili and "smacos." The funnies moment of the trip was when Aiden told a stranger that he had to go rest in his tent because he was going to hike from Maine to Georgia. We're already planning a spring trip, anyone want to join us?

Fairy House

2008-10-13T17:29:00.000-07:00

Legend has it (according to The Fairy House Series http://www.fairyhouses.com/home.html )that if you build a fairy home and leave it in your garden, you might attract a fairy into your domain. Aiden and Rebekah were given their first Fairy House book this week and were immediately excited about building their own fairy house in the woods. Aiden spent Friday afternoon building his first fairy house in a stump found in the woods behind our home. We've spent the remainder of the weekend looking for items to add to our first fairy home. We picked up berries at the bell tower across from Luray Caverns and leaves and acorns from the Monticello Grounds. Today we gathered more leaves from the apple trees at Carter Mountain. Aiden is excited about his next project, a Fairy Boat for the creek.

Girl Talk

2008-10-01T17:33:00.000-07:00

Rebekah and I were shopping in Target yesterday and were standing next to the bras when we had a little "girl talk."

Rebekah: (picking up a bra from the rack) You wear one of these Mommy.
Me: Yes, I do Rebekah. That's called a bra.
R: Yes, you wear a bra.
M: Yep--I do (mumbling . . . unfortunately I have to).
R: You wear them because you have boobies.
M: Yes, I do (at this point I'm looking around to see who is listening).
R: I don't wear them because I don't have boobies, I have minnies.
M: Oh you do--you have minnies?
R: Yes, and when I'm a mommy I won't have minnies anymore, I'll have boobies just like you.
M: Yes you will.

Rebekah then looked up at me and gave me a great smile and moved on to another department.

Out of the Mouth of Babes . . .

2008-09-26T17:03:00.000-07:00

Kids are so honest . . . too honest for me! Tonight (after a huge slice of pizza) I was laying on the floor while the kids were playing around me. My shirt had come up a little and Aiden came over and patted my tummy and said, "your tummy feels like pizza dough."

Tomorrow I'll be doing an extra stomach workout.

The "Engine of the Potty"

2008-09-26T04:54:00.001-07:00

For a while now, Aiden has had a fascination with the "potty." One night Mike lifted the lid on the back of the toilet and showed him how the "potty" worked. Mike explained that those parts were like the engine that made the toilet work (I'm not sure if Mike used the word toilet or potty). Ever since then Aiden has called it the "engine of the potty." Several times a week he wants to look at it. We even use it as bribery. "Get your jammies on and brush your teeth and you can see the engine of the potty." It works every time. I often wonder, do we have a future plumber on our hands or an engineer.

We were at my mom's house this weekend and Aiden asked Jim to show him the engine of the potty. Jim was sitting in the den at the time watching a football game. He had spent the day working in his yard and then the evening making a bonfire for the grand kids--he was ready for some "down-time." Without a moments hesitation, Jim got up and took Aiden into the bathroom and showed him the "engine." Just like Mike, he patiently explained all of the parts and even let Aiden touch and pull on them. Something as simple as that made Aiden's weekend. He was talking about it Sunday morning . . . how PopPop let him touch the engine of the potty.

Thank you Jim, for loving and teaching my kids like your own.

Camping Run Through . . .

2008-09-21T17:49:00.000-07:00

We're taking the kids on their first camping trip in two weeks. I grew up camping--that's what my family did for vacations . . . we even camped at Disney World in the summer--WOW!! I have wonderful memories of camping as a child and I'm so excited to create those memories with Aiden and Rebekah. We are even taking them to the place in the Shenandoah Mountains where my family always camped. We decided today that we should do a run through with our tent. It's a brand new tent so we figured we should practice setting it up. We don't have a flat area in our yard that's big enough for our tent--so we set it up on a hill. I was impressed how easy it was to set up--but the thing that really got us was how BIG this tent it. We had a 4 person tent that we sold because we were afraid it would be a little to tight for us and our bags. This tent . . . lets just say that we can fit our family and all of the other families who read this blog in with us. Want to come camping?

The kids LOVED it--Aiden wanted to play school inside the tent so we spent the morning doing that. Rebekah was quite disappointed when Mike took it down--she thought she was sleeping in it tonight!

"Pre-Fall" Weekend

2008-09-21T07:34:00.000-07:00

Anyone who knows Mike and I well, knows that Fall is our absolute favorite time of the year. If we had it our way, we'd keep Aiden out of school and Mike wouldn't work from the middle of September until the middle of November. But for now, we have to get our fall fixes on the weekend. Although this weekend is not officially fall, we've had the most gorgeous fall weather imaginable. Throw in some falling leaves and I might have cried! We started our weekend Friday night with our typical pizza night. This Friday, though, we invited our good friends to share in the fun. We ate pizza and sat around Mike's new fire pit (thanks to his wonderful wife--me--who backed into his old fire pit and smashed it into pieces) and roasted marshmallows. The person who invented s'mores is a genius! The kids were so excited to be out late enough to see the star and even laid down in the driveway and sang a few rounds of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

Saturday morning started bright and early with Aiden's first flag football game. We're thinking the late Friday pizza night may have left him a little tired because we literally had to bribe him to get out on the football field. When the team moved, he stayed right in his spot. But he was a champ and went out there--we're proud of him for giving it a shot. Next Saturday we're going to give him the juice box before the game instead of after.

Saturday ended with an evening of awesome memory making. We took a drive to my mom and Jim's house and spent the evening roasting hot dogs, playing cousins and friends and eating even more s'mores. The kids vary in age from 2 to 10--and they play WONDERFULLY together! Aiden and Rebekah LOVE being with Lindsay, Lauren and Tyler (and so do I). Aiden was fascinated with the fire and was excited to help Jim keep it going all night. I was standing with Jim by the fire watching the kids and he said that watching the kids run and play are his best times, even though the kids won't remember these days. I assured him that they will remember these days more than any other toy they have . . . and so will I. We left at bedtime and the kids were asleep within 15 minutes of the drive home. Thanks FAMILY for great memory making!

It's Sunday morning and we still have a beautiful day ahead of us. Next on the agenda--setting up our tent before our upcoming camping trip in the mountains and making caramel apples. The first day of Fall is tomorrow and we've already created amazing memories--my heart is busting at the thought of what's to come!

Football

2008-09-10T10:23:00.000-07:00

GOOOO Jets!

Stuck Inside

2008-09-06T17:29:00.000-07:00

"Daaaad, you need to change the weather." This is how Rebekah greeted Mike this morning when he went in her room to get her up (the "Daaad" thing is new--I swear she sounds like she's 16). Unfortunately we couldn't change the weather, or the fact that Aiden ran a 102 fever all day long. We made the best of a rainy weekend though, with make your own pizza, tents, shaving cream fun, and stories to stuffed animal friends. The sun eventually came out, but Aiden's fever never went down, I guess it's our time for the kindergarten cooties. He got the star treatment though--even pretending that the couch was his hospital bed--which of course, he HAD to eat breakfast in.

Hopefully the sun will still be out tomorrow and Aiden's fever will be gone.

Bedtime Questions

2008-09-04T17:29:00.000-07:00

Rebekah was the type of baby/child that when put to bed, we said goodnight and never heard a peep from her until we got her out of her crib/bed in the morning. As a baby she would actually reach for her crib as we were rocking her, wanting to get into her crib. I honestly can recall maybe 2 nights that she woke up in the middle of the night or got out of her bed (once she started sleeping through the night) and both of those were due to high fevers. We transitioned her from crib to bed at 2 years old without so much as a peep. I know we were lucky! I use the word "were" because that suddenly changed this past spring. The arrival of spring not only brought beautiful daffodils to our neighborhood, but it also brought "THE WOODPECKER." The residents of B Road were blessed this spring with a woodpecker who decided that pecking on our gutters was much more productive than pecking on TREES!! This woodpecker hit every house on my street, early in the mornings. The first time I heard it (at 6am) I flew out of bed thinking that a jackhammer was digging for signs on water on my gutters. That ended Rebekah's 2 1/2 year sleeping pattern. She also flew out of bed and immediately came out of her room crying. I don't blame her, but from that moment on, the beautiful sleeping arrangement changed. After the woodpecker incident came the 8:00 spring and summer thunderstorms (perfect timing Mother Nature). We didn't have to check the weather channel, we knew what time the summer storms would hit. She also began to notice the trash truck that just so happens to come during nap time every Wednesday and so on and so on. We finally got her back into her bed time routine, but she no longer reaches for the bed, gives a kiss and says good night . . . No, we go through a long list of questions. If these are not asked and answered in perfect order, Rebekah does not go to bed. Listed below is the NIGHTLY bedtime conversation that we have after books, bible, prayers, hugs and kisses:

Rebekah: I want my door opened.
Mom and Dad: No, we close our doors at night.
R: I want my door cracked.
M&D: We close our doors at night.
R: I want my bedroom light on.
M&D: Bedroom light goes off at night.
R: Please leave the hall light on.
M&D: OK, we'll leave the hall light on.
R: No woodpeckers?
M&D: No woodpeckers.
R: No rain?
M&D: No rain.
R: No thunder?
M&D: No thunder. (Hopefully, we pray)
R: No birdies?
M&D: No birdies.
R: No trash trucks?
M&D: No trash trucks. We love you. See you in the morning.
R: I love you.

Door Shuts.
Rebekah: I want you to stay upstairs (thanks to her brother for that one).
M&D: OK (as we are walking downstairs).

Sometimes we throw in an extra animal just to get her--"No whales either, Rebekah" To that Rebekah giggles and says, "What?"

Thanks Woody!

Weather Talk

2008-09-04T05:08:00.001-07:00

Below is a conversation that I heard through the bedroom monitor early one morning between Aiden (5) and Rebekah (2):

A: Tornado's are cool.
R: Oh yea!
A: Can you say Tornado?
R: Tomato
A: No! Tornado!
R: TOMATO
A: Say it slow, TOR-NA-DO. TORNADO.
R: TO-NA-DO. TOMATO--I said it!
A: No! TOR-NA-DO. TORNADO!
R: TO-NA-DO. TOMATO. I said it!
Fits of laughter between Aiden and Rebekah!

Fits of giggles coming from me (quietly).

2008-09-03T16:35:00.000-07:00

After 3 weeks in school for Aiden, we decided that a 3 day weekend deserved a day trip. We went to the Virginia Safari Park in Natural Bridge, VA. It's something that we've wanted to do with the kids since we moved down here. One of those drive-through-in-your-car parks where you see and feed all of the animals. We knew the kids would love to see all of the animals up close. Once we got there and saw just how big it was, we opted for the guided wagon tour. It was a little more laid back, informative, and worth the extra funds as the minivan would have eaten three times the cost in gas alone (thanks "Big Oil").

The kids loved seeing the kangaroos, giraffes, as well as all of the various breeds of oxen, deer, and large birds. Rebekah watched from a close distance as they animals approached the wagon. She did get to hold an ostrich egg...which she thought was . I would have posted that picture, but the woman sitting next to Rebekah had a Janet Jackson-esque "wardrobe malfunction". Let's keep this G-rated. Aiden had a wonderful time pelting sleeping animals with feed pellets as the wagon passed, inevitably hoping they would just eat. It was like an Old MacDonald drive-by with hamster food.

Next we fed the remaining food to the piggies and baby goats. Yes, lots of hand sanitizer... Then it was off to the bird cage (no, not South Beach). The zoo workers would give you nectar in a cup to feed these, well, I guess they were like miniature parrots. Of course, we were the first in the cage and these birds were apparently pretty hungry. It was like a backwoods (although colorful) re-make of the Alfred Hitchcock movie. I threw my cup of nectar into the air, Aiden and Rebekah took off running in terror, and Mike was inundated by three rabid (although colorful) birds. All that was missing was the phone booth...

The day was a success and the kids had a lot of fun. Of course, there was the customary stop at Cracker Barrel, Target, and Kohl's in Waynesboro on the way home. Ah, to enjoy such amenities that we took for granted in NoVA. Last but not least, we made a quick stop on an Afton Mountain overlook to enjoy a view that we never got in NoVA. I'll take the mountains over Kohl's anyday.

Rainy Day

2008-08-27T11:08:00.000-07:00

It's a rainy day today---a much needed rainy day!! I love the idea of a rainy day--stuck inside, dry and cozy. The only thing that would make it better is if Aiden were here to ask me to build a tent out of sheets. Guess I'll have to wait for a snow day for that. The thing that makes me sad that he isn't here is that I got a call this morning from the school nurse saying that Aiden had been in her office because his teacher thought he had a fever--no fever--he just told the nurse that he missed his mommy! It took all I had not to hop in the car and bring him home to our cozy house.

Rebekah decided this morning that she was going to take the disks from Aiden's Nerf disk gun and make stepping stones for her little people. There are stepping stones at our Church and the kids love walking on them. I guess Rebekah wanted to share that fun with her little people. To make this cozy, rainy day even better, Mike came home from work early--the kindergarten cooties have set in and he is the first to have a cold. It's not good that he's sick, but it's nice having him in the house. Rebekah cozied up to him after lunch and promptly fell asleep. This rainy day isn't just good for the grass, it's good for the soul.

Birthday Boy!

2008-08-26T10:12:00.001-07:00

Today is Aiden's 5th Birthday!! I was getting a little teary eyed this morning as reminisced with Aiden about his birth 5 years ago, that is until he asked exactly how he got in my tummy and then out. Luckily Rebekah saw a deer from the car window and the subject was quickly changed. Yesterday we told Aiden it was his last day of being 4. We made a huge deal out of it, so when he woke up this morning we measured him because we swore he had grown during the night. He loved it and we even wondered if shoes would fit since he was no longer 4. The most exciting part of the morning was not quite what we expected. Aiden's birthday surprise from us was a new Jets' jersey (reference back to the picture of Aiden in his 3T Jets' Jersey) and a fish tank (something he has been asking for for a long time). We're going tonight so he can pick out his own fish. You would think this would be the best part of the morning . . . nope---Aiden was MOST excited that he would be able to take a whole vitamin instead of half. As I told my friend Cindy that story, we both commented, "Oh, if life was only that simple!" I hope and pray that as Aiden goes from 5 to 6 and on, he continues to see life with those amazing rose colored glasses.

Happy Birthday Handsome Boy!

Fleas, Friday Night Fun and Fluffy Friends

2008-08-23T07:46:00.000-07:00

It's one of those moments as a parent. Your son or daughter says something that you won't soon forget. Aiden was reciting what he learned in school that day. "Mary had a little lamb...it's fleece was white as snow..." Then, with a serious look on his face that still makes me giggle like ten year old, it just comes out mid-thought. "Mom, why does the lamb have fleas?" I had to turn my head and look at the ceiling to avoid having the boy see my quivering, ear-to-ear grin. That's all I will ever think of from now when I hear that song. Do they make a flea collar for lambs? Someone should tell Mary.

Friday nights are family nights here. Pizza, movies, and ice cream. A good way to unwind after a long week. I think more ice cream wound up on their faces than in their mouths. Thank goodness for the hardwood floors on the back porch. The carpet frowns upon those things. Once the sugar kicks in...it usual spirals into an all-out pillow fight (not even the dofg is safe) and a impromptu session of "dog-pile" on mommy. This may get a little more hazardous in about ten years. Unless we find a cheap chiropractor out here, that is.

Bailey has a new friend. When he was younger, he got a stuffed duck for Christmas. He immediately emptied it of the "quack" (batteries and wires all over the house) and all of it's stuffing. It looks like a pillow spontaneously combusted. He carried that awful carcass around for months...eventually losing it in the woods. Proper burial, I guess? We bought him another one and, like clockwork, emptied it of its innards. Now, he carries the torn up hide all over the house. If I find that nasty thing on my pillow, we're going to have another burial.

Green Day

2008-08-20T11:11:00.000-07:00

If I wasn't a parent and I read the title of this blog, I'd immediately think of the band, Green Day. Ahhhh, but I'm the parent of a kindergartner who is "studying" colors in school. Today was Green Day for Aiden. On Saturday, several days before "green day" Aiden asked me when green day was. I was a bit interested in why he wanted to know about this particular color when blue is his favorite. One the other hand, his JETS loving father knew why and sat quietly with a smile on his face. I told Aiden that it was Wednesday and Aiden immediately declared that he would wear his JETS jersey for green day. The problem, the jersey is 2 sizes too small for him. I had actually just cleaned out his drawers a few weeks ago and found the jersey. I knew that this would be an article clothing that I would keep instead of passing it on to his cousin. I should have immediately packed it away so that Aiden would not have been able to go to school today wearing the too small shirt. But away he went, proud to be wearing the jersey of his Dad's favorite football team. As we walked to the bus, we talked about what they might do at school for "green day." He guessed that they might make zucchini muffins since zucchini's are green. I silently doubted that his teacher would make zucchini muffins for 19 kindergartners, so when Rebekah and I got home from the bus stop, we made a batch of zucchini muffins for Aiden to have when he comes home from school.

GOOOOO JETS!!

"Big Mommy"

2008-08-19T11:25:00.000-07:00

It's funny that I start my first post on my first blog talking about the potty . . .it pretty much seals the deal that I'm a Mom. Rebekah has been "potty trained" for about 6 months now. She had been doing great, using the big potty at home and in public restrooms. All was well until we traveled to Myrtle Beach for our week at the beach. On the way we stopped at Chick-fil-A to use the restrooms and get some dinner to go. As Rebekah was using the potty, it flushed automatically. To say she was frightened doesn't do it justice (and I don't blame her). After that traumatic experience, using the public restroom was like putting a cat in water. She screamed so loud in restrooms that I was sure that someone was going to call Child Protective Services. We tried all sorts of ways to get her to use the potty--even looking for restrooms that didn't have automatic flushers. Her wonderful big brother even volunteered to go first so she could see that the toilet wouldn't flush. Over time she starting using the potty while we were out again. We praised her like she had just won a Nobel Peace prize. We told her what a big girl she was . . . the works. Yesterday Rebekah and I were at the grocery store and I had to use the restroom. She came in the stall with me and when I finished, I said "look at what a big girl I am." Rebekah quickly responded, "you aren't a big girl, you're a big mommy."