It's Just Skid Marks...

So we've been working on potty training with Luke and it's actually been going really well....He grasped going pee really fast. Poop has been another issue and quite the struggle. I think he is finally getting it though, which is such a relief because I'm getting really sick of scraping underwear. I thought I might share some of the highlights of this journey with you:

We first taught him to go by peeing outside...one of the great joys of having a boy! However this can backfire on you, because the world becomes a toilet.....

-on one of our many trips to the vet, after unbuckling Luke, while trying to get both Ben and our dog out of the car I look up and see Luke yanking his pants down in front of the only tree directly in front of the vet office. If we hadn't been such great,loyal, probably paying their mortgage payment (by bringing our dog in at least once a week)customers over the past 7 months they probably would have said something.

-pulling his pants down at the park and peeing directly in front of a little girl. We were tending to Ben and didn't see Luke do this (they are fast!), the mom came up to us & told us, she said it didn't bother her at all, however her little girl has been learning about "privacy" and seeing Luke's underwear bothered her.

-An obsession with urinals. I love this when Todd is with us, because I, simply, cannot go into the men's room ;)

Poop...on the other hand has also provided some great stories...

-Poop is like mold..somehow it gets everywhere. Unless you are my Obsessively clean friend 'C', that is. I think I've cleaned up every surface and body part and then I look down and it's under my fingernails.

-When Luke tells me he needs to poop, I asked him if it's already in his underwear or not. His typical response, "No mom, it's just in my booty crack." Nice visual I'm sure. Occasionally he will just pull his pants down and say, "it's just skid mark shoneys mom!" (our term for skid marks...derived from my brother who says eating at Shoney's makes you have to go really bad).

Well I'll stop for now, I just wanted to share a little of the journey we have been on as we have ventured in to the world of potty training. God definitely knew what he was doing when he planned the timing of the stages children go through. If parents had to potty train a new born, I think the world's population would be a lot lower.

The Days of our Lives

Ben fell asleep in the car the other day and I was able to get him in to his room without waking him up. I almost put him in his bed when I glanced at the chair in his room. It crossed my mind that I had so much more time with Luke as a baby. So, instead of putting him down I wrapped a warm blanket around him and just rocked him for a little bit. He is getting so big. So fast time is going by. They are going to be in elementary school and then teenagers before I know it. As much as the 'day-to-day' stuff can be crazy....it's the little stuff that life is made of. These boys are so precious. Children are so incredibly honest with no hidden agendas. When I put on some new pj pants the other night I love that Luke said, "Mom, those pants are ugly!." It was just his own little opinion, it's great! Anyway, I 'm getting off on a tangent. Back to sleeping Ben. I just wanted to take in his sweet little sleeping face and etch it into my memory forever. I realize that I simply have to put aside housework and other stuff so I can just hold on to these boys. Before long they will be driving a car to get away from me! So...the sweet moment with Ben continued. It was wonderful. Then Todd walked in, looked at us (reminding you that 14 month old Ben is wrapped in a blanket), and said, "Are you breast feeding Ben ?" I stopped breast feeding Ben at 7 months....it's not like if you get the urge you just start doing it again! So much for the touching moment with sweet Ben. Thanks Todd.

My Sleeping Boys...

Luke @ 1 month... Ben @ 1 month....

I Love Super Glue

The things I have fixed in a month with Super Glue:

1. Two Frames

2. Luke's Basketball Net

3. Part of Luke's Matchbox City

4. A plate

5. A magnet

6. One of the wooden stars on Luke's wall

A Hair-Raising Event

Question: How many parents does it take to wash a child's hair? Answer: I'm not sure.

(!st Pic: What Ben normally looks like... 2nd Pic: After last night's bath)

So I can't say that Ben's hair never sticks up, however it has never taken on characteristics of someone with crimped-but-brushed-out hair before last night. Seriously...look close, you can see areas where it looks like we tried to brush out curly hair. Not so: Ben's hair is straight as a board!

Last Night: I started the boys' baths. I wet Ben's hair, and lathered it up with shampoo. Then, Todd comes in to take over so I could go get their pj's ready. After a few minutes Todd brings Ben in to me wrapped in a towel. I put his diaper on and then glance up at his hair, which is completely dry and totally frizzy. Todd, who is dressing Luke by this point looks and says, "What happened to Ben's hair?" We just stared at Ben. Who is this child with kinky/brushed out/almost dreadlocked hair? We were totally dumbfounded. As we got the boys dressed we could not stop laughing. Ben looked like a walking Q-tip. Fast Forward to this morning. Sleeping on this crazy hair did nothing to improve it. I took him to school like this. I walked up to a couple of friends and they started laughing. Then all of the teachers who were in the room mobbed around us. I'm not exaggerating. In fact one teacher held up her phone to take a picture of poor Ben and his crazy hair.

Mystery Solved: Everyone was asking what happened. I had no answers for them. Had Ben's hair morphed in to some thing new? Anyway I called Todd on the way home & told him what happened at school. He said, "Do you think Ben's hair is ruined forever?" I said, "No I think we'll just really scrub it tonight and see what happens." Todd: "Did you not wash it last night?" Me: "Yes, I lathered it up right before you took over bath duty...did you rinse it? " Todd: "No."

So let's do the math. Shampooed Hair + No rinsing + Towel dried = Giant Afro

My Conclusion: Two parents should not be in charge of bath time.

So Long BDH

So I realized something. Unless another child comes along, which is not likely, this is it. I was playing with Luke and Ben tonight and realized this is as close as I am ever going to get to fulfilling my dreams of playing with a Barbie Dream House again....

(an aerial view of Luke's Matchbox City)

My sister and I would play for hours everyday with the Dream House. We would change our barbies' clothing and re-arrange furniture as if it was impossible to leave them looking the same for too long. Maybe that's why I still change my outfit a thousand times before I go out and also why I can never leave one room looking the same for very long? Anyway, back to the Matchbox City. It's fun and Luke loves it, which is really all that matters. However, why, whenever we are playing with it does he insist on putting my car in jail? Also, there just aren't that many ways to set it up really well. So far, Luke doesn't have me driving a mini-van, so I suppose that's a plus. Overall the city is cute, but it's definitely no Barbie Dream House.

A simple task ?

All I was trying to do was empty the dishwasher. Under normal circumstances this would take a few minutes. However, with a giant dog that is always searching for scraps and a one year old that insists upon climbing in to the dishwasher, this task turns in to something near impossible. After repeated attempts at pushing Abe (our other dog, Maddie is currently staying at the vet for a few days...another story) back to his dog bed and Ben trying to yank spoons out while climbing in...I'd had it! I made a barricade of sorts out of Ben's high chair and two bar stools so the entrance was blocked. This was working!! Ben went in to hysterics and Abe just stood there dumbfounded. Awesome. Although my victory did not last for long. There is another way in to the kitchen....which Luke figured out. I knew this would happen, so I was emptying the dishwasher at lightning speed. So, as quickly as the barricade went up, Luke took it apart, thus allowing the 3-ring circus back in. Thanks Luke.

my barricade

PS. An added picture bonus....

For future reference: Do not complain

about my cooking Ben.

Vet Visit

So Luke, Ben, and I were at the vet again yesterday for our poor dog Maddie. She's been battling Blastomycosis since sept of 2009 along with some other junk because it has messed with her immune system. I think we are getting close to having Todd's paychecks on direct deposit to the vet office. Anyway at least every week or two we having been making trips there. I have scheduled these appointments on the two days the boys go to Mother's Day Out so I can have peaceful vet visits. Well....since we have had some real snowy weather, school has been cancelled for almost the last two weeks, so I end up bringing what feels like the entire family tree with me. You are just asking for something crazy to happen when you have a mom, a 3 year old, a 1 year old, and a sweet, but sick dog who just wants peace and quiet. Oh yeah....and all of these visits, everyone is stuffed in to the Accord....are you beginning to see why the car is trashed all of the time?

We made it to the room and the boys and I were waiting for them to bring Maddie back to us after they did some x-rays. It was actually taking awhile and I really had to use the bathroom. Ben was strapped down in the infant seat, so he wasn't going anywhere, it's just Luke I was concerned about. The bathroom door is directly beside the door to the room we were in (this is a tiny vet office). Since I was about to pee on myself I promised Luke a sucker when I returned if he would stay there and keep an eye on Ben (probably not a good idea...). I left the door to the room open, so I could somewhat hear if anything happened. I closed the bathroom door and proceeded to go. As I was sitting down I hear Luke yelling, "Mom, remember to wash your hands!" I yelled back, "Thanks Luke!" Not five seconds later he yelled, "I don't hear any water running....!" Seriously, was he listening at the door?? I'm sure we sounded nice and redneck yelling back and forth also. This vet is in old house, so that bathroom in question had a bathtub/shower in it as well. I don't think there has been a vet trip yet where he hasn't asked me if I want to take a shower before we leave! I hope this concern for cleanliness is a lasting thing....