Poor Baby

Saturday night, Ella was a wreck! Jason and I both kept wondering what was going on with her. When her temperature registered 101.7, we realized what was going on! It wasn't too long before she started throwing up. So, we spent most of the weekend sleeping...

...and eating popsicles.

Bo has been fine, and he didn't seem to mind Ella's illness at all because it meant he was able to enjoy a popsicle or two as well!

We seem to be feeling better today, so for that I am grateful!

It was time...

....for a serious haircut. After an hour with Bob the Builder and mom's clippers, Bo is a new man!

Foggy Shushi

Bo and I were on our own for breakfast this morning because daddy was tending to a sick Ella. Bo started breakfast by telling me that he really wanted to be shushi and go to the dentist. Hmmm...I didn't know he'd even heard of sushi, and despite the fact that we've been talking a lot about the dentist, I was surprised that he wanted to go. After a few more mentions of "shushi," I finally put together what he was talking about.

Yesterday, we watched a bit of Veggie Tales. The opening letter was about a boy who was afraid to go to the dentist and asked for advice. The "silly story" was about a boy who was scared of a big octopus, so he wrapped himself up in seaweed as a disguise. The suggestion was that the boy who was afraid of the dentist wrap himself up in seaweed so the dentist wouldn't recognize him. What minds these Veggie Tales creators must have! Apparently, Bo decided that dressing up as shushi sounded pretty good.

Bo is one who does not like to eat quickly [it took 45 minutes for cereal and craisins this morning], so the last few bites of his cereal actually sat in his milk for quite a while. I asked him to finish eating, and he went to eat a final bit of cereal, "Oh, mommy, this is much too foggy." I don't blame him; I really don't like soggy cereal either!

Homeade Fun

I've been wanting to make Ella a tutu for some time now, and I finally did it. The last time I was at the fabric store the tulle was on sale, so I figured I would give it a go. It's not super full or exactly what I wanted, but for $2 it was a good first attempt!

I could not believe how excited she was to put it on. She kept saying "tutu, tutu" and dancing around. It was just too precious!

I knew it was a true hit when she asked to put it back on as soon as we finished getting dressed. Then, we watched a bit of "Sesame Street" and there was an elephant wearing a tutu. She kept making her elephant noises and saying "tutu, pretty." I certainly hope that we are able to do dance lessons with her at some point. Dancing was one of my favorite childhood activities, and it just makes me tear up to think of her in a little ballet costume dancing across the stage. I love it!

Sailing Along

It's amazing what sleeping babies, a turkey sandwhich, and Cadbury Special Dark Mini-Eggs will do for my sanity. I feel so much better!

We did have some great moments this morning, and I love being able to experience vivid imaginary games with my kids. They were helping me clean out my closet and get out some spring clothing since the high is 80 today! Bo decided the blue bin would make a perfect boat. Ella quickly followed suit and a 5 minute boating excursion followed.

Ella was more interested in doing exactly what Bo was doing than in the game itself, but they both had fun.

Here's a little video if you're curious about what it looked like!

Morning Show Top Five

And these are the reasons why my kids are already napping:

5 major Ella breakdowns. This is her new thing...screaming and crying for any reason whatsoever! Sometimes it's a discernable reason, sometimes it's a complete unknown, but rarely is it justified!

4 loads of laundry done and only two to go...yay!

3 poops in under 15 minutes. One of these was from Bo. He was wearing underwear. Really? Really.

2 phone calls. They were definitely well-timed and I think that's why I'm still relatively sane!

1 hungry mama because I didn't have time to eat lunch with the kids!

Heaven

Have I mentioned the Veggie Tales CD? The one that MUST be playing in the car at all times. The one that has caused me to start giving Bo warning when we turn in the neighborhood that it's almost time to turn the car [and thus the music] off.

A simple parenting lesson: don't do anything, say anything, or put anything in the CD player that you're not willing to do, say, or listen to over, and over, and over, and OVER! This is also why we re-enact the story of David and Goliath every night before bed. Bo loves for things to be predictable and habitual! [Don't hear me saying that I'm one of those parents who is afraid to say no. I do not fear telling my child no. I could, however, say no all day, so I try to sprinkle in as many of the yes variety as possible.]

Realistically, should I be upset that my son really LOVES Veggie Tales music? Bob the tomato and Larry the cucumber are not my favorite vocalists, but when they are communicating Biblical truths, I'm inclined to keep the CD rolling.

As a result, we sing Veggie Tales for much of the day. It's like an entity that just keeps growing. The CD remains in the car [there is a definite no!], but the music has made it's way into the house. I'm hearing Bo sing the songs all the time.

"Heaven" is one of his current favorites! Just a warning...this is not a short one!

If you're curious, here's a bit of information about the song and a little sample of the original verson for your listening pleasure. I couldn't find the Bob and Larry version, but you can definitely get the right idea!

One More Anecdote

The other night at dinner Ella was crying for no obvious reason:

Jason: Ella, can you use a word? Can you tell me why you're upset?
Ella: crying, crying, crying...
Jason: Bo, do you know why Ella is upset and crying?
Bo: No dad. I don't know what is going on!
Jason: Welcome to a lifetime of trying to figure it out son...

Age is relative

Today at lunch we were discussing the ages and birthdays.

Bo: Mom, on my next birthday, how about I will be four?
Me: Okay, that sounds good, how old will Ella be on her next birthday?
Bo: Um, I guess she can be four too?
Me: Well, what about me Bo, how old do you think I will be on my next birthday.
Bo: Oh, mom, you will be eleven!

I guess 29 is the new 11!

The Golden Egg

Anyone else remember the golden egg? When we were growing up, we would spend Easter with friends and there was always a massive egg hunt. The true test of your egg hunting skills was determined by your ability to find the golden egg. It was LARGE and always contained the best candy. I never found it! There was the one year that I came so close. Another boy found it about 18 inches away from me. I was so disappointed.

This year, I felt a little like I was hiding a golden egg under my Easter dress. See below!
Note: I apologize for the blurry picture. Auto focus shuts off when the flash is off, and apparently my hands aren't as steady as I would like to think!

Let me just say, I know that my belly is large. That does not seem to keep [many] people from telling me that my belly is large, but seriously, I'm 34 weeks pregnant. There's a baby in there! My stomach is supposed to stick out! The cashier at Target actually told me that I should have another ultrasound just to make sure there's not a second baby hiding in there. And just when I was starting to think that I really didn't look all that huge!

Easter Fun

I ask forgiveness from all three of you who regularly read the blog! I have been a posting deviant of late. We did have about 24 hours of Internet woes, but that is no excuse. I will try to be more dilligent this week. I'm hoping my recent lack of productivity is not a sign of things to come. I fear this baby may make me the ultimate procrastinator.

Here are the kids in their Easter outfits. I'm loving seersucker lately, so I went with that theme. These are post nap pictures, so forgive the red cheeks and messed hair! In addition, it was a brisk 40 degrees this Easter, so the outfits required a bit of modification.

It probably turned out better for Ella that she needed a little sweater. She was pretty confused by the whole concept of a sleeveless dress. Granted, she's been in multiple long sleeved layers for as long as she can remember, but she kept tugging at her bare arms and looking at me in total confusion. All was fine as soon as the sweater went on!

We also did a very minimal Easter basket for the kids this year. They each got a couple of eggs, and I basically only gave them the candy that I felt they could eat at one sitting. They had quite a bit of fun cracking open Easter eggs after our big Easter dinner.

Even getting them to look up for a picture was a near impossibility!

I am always a bit overwhelmed by the Easter season. It truly is the most astounding aspect of the Christian faith that we believe in a Savior who died and then conquered that death. I really can't get my mind around it! The pastor said yesterday [and I'm paraphrasing here] that "Easter is really the core of Christianity. Some argue that it doesn't really matter if Christ's death was literal or figurative, but that just doesn't cut it! The resurrection of the Son of God is either the foundation for all we believe or Christianity is meaningless. Because he is alive, we are able to look at the world, our neighbor, our spouse, our kids, as those offered resurrection, and that lens should truly transform our perspective."

Definitely powerful words and a powerful truth. I also love these words that we sang yesterday:
Crown him King of Kings,
Crown him Lord of Lords,
Wonderful, Counselor, Almighty God!
Emmanuel, God is with us.
And He shall reign, He Shall reign
He shall reign forevermore!

Reading Time

The kids enjoyed a little reading time the other morning while Jason and I lingered over our breakfast coffee. Too fun...

Little Wise Guy

This morning Bo was serenading me as I made breakfast:

The foolish man built his house upon the sand and the house on the sand went splat.
The wise man built his house upon the rock and the house on the rock stood firm.

When he finished, I figured I would utilize the opportunity for a deep spiritual lesson...
Bo, did the foolish man have a house after the storm?
Did the wise man have a house after the storm?
Do you know which you should be; is it better to be wise or be foolish?

Bo's response:
Um, I will be the wise guy.

I guess that counts!

All Dressed Up

I think maybe it's time to buy Ella some dress up clothes. She sure had fun with a dish towel and daddy's shoes this morning!

In other news, it doesn't appear that she's completely warmed up to the stool. This is what I found when I went in the pantry to get lunch ready...

At least she's "going green" and put it in with the plastic bags we recycle instead of the trash!

Fun Under the Bed

The other night I heard a fit of giggles and squeals coming from Bo's room. This is what I discovered when I went in to make sure all was okay.

Apparently hanging out under the crib is the most fun thing ever!

They played under there and "talked" for a solid 20 minutes! It's so fun to see them really starting to enjoy one another. Don't get me wrong, we still have plenty of those moments where they are deadlocked on the same toy and both sceaming "mine," but the relationship is really starting to be evident!

I should probably use the term relationship loosely. At this point, Ella mainly just follows Bo around and does what he does! At meals, when he asks for more, so does she. If a bowl or cup accidentally falls from Bo's place, there goes Ella's! When Bo takes off to another area, Ella is right behind him. It's pretty sweet :)

Football Stepping Stool

Remember this?

Bo had so much fun painting the base, and then I finally put the finishing touches on the top early this week. Bo was pretty excited when he saw it, and he can't stop talking about it. Ella on the other hand, has not enjoyed it quite so much. The first few times she saw it out in the den, she started crying and carried it back to the laundry room. Every time she would look at it she would shake her head and say "no, no, no". It was almost funny except that she was seriously distressed. I'm not sure if it's the colors or my artistic ability, but it's taken a solid week for her to accept its presence. Today, she actually stood on it for the first time. I'm hoping she's finally figured out that it's the same old stool even though it looks a little different!

Little Helpers

I'm glad they still enjoy helping with the laundry!


It's nice not to have to carry the basket, but they do need someone to "steer!"

The boy and the pear

Bo squealed and ran over to me announcing that he had drawn a green pear, and he was so excited. I had to take a picture!

As he was coloring it, he let me know that first daddy would get to try it, then Ella, then he was going to eat what was left. I guess mommy wasn't going to get to have any!

This moment definitely made my day so far. It's been a rough one to say the least, and I think I'm a little bit too emotional [can I blame that on the hormones?] to write about it right now. It just felt good to see Bo laugh and to enjoy a moment!

30 pounds lighter

Unfortunately I still have the baby weight to lose [although thankfully we're not even close to 30 pounds at this point!], but I have recently gotten rid of quite a bit of excess weight...

Exhibit A:

This is the stack of magazines that I have been "saving" for a while now. About half of them are magazines that have articles marked or special stories that I thought I might want to have access to at another point and time. I was saving them so that I would have that oh so useful information at my fingertips when I needed it. The only problem is that it's impossible to remember what is where and what is important. The other half of the magazines were in my "to be read" pile. When I found out I was pregnant, I started saving magazines so that I would have something to do in the hospital. People, this is baby number three, and I've still not learned that those first bleary days of post-partumness are for glorious unproductivity. Even reading a magazine feels stressful in that post-epidural fog, so what was I thinking???

As the stack of magazines grew [faster than my belly], I decided it was time to do something. So, I started reading [and re-reading magazines. And that 30 pound stack of paper [who knew magazines were so heavy?] became something practical and user friendly.

Behold, Exhibit B:

Ahhh...a notebook full of yummy recipes, many of which we have yet to try. Most of them from my extensive Cooking Light collection. NOTE: If you're ever in the market for a cooking magazine, I highly recommend Cooking Light. The recipes are delicious and most often user friendly!
The good stuff notebook includes several sections...fitness: for all those great workouts I may do one day when I'm finished being pregnant; fashion: great makeup and style tips; kids: fun craft ideas for rainy days and some great birthday party ideas; decor: lots of random pictures of rooms I love or furniture pieces that I totally think are cool. I figure this will come in handy when we actually purchase a piece of furniture!
I figure I get my money's worth out of these magazines this way, and I have a binder full of easy reading!

Hmmmm...what else can I clean out or organize?

Fun with Friends

Bo had a friend over this morning, and it was fun, fun, fun! I joked with the other boy's mom that all the kids ran around trying to play with the same toys for the first 45 minutes. Then, they all got tired of "sharing" and retreated to separate corners to play individually. It was almost silent [except for the Veggie Tales CD in the background] as they each played with their own toy for about 20 minutes.


The boys spent a little bit of time "cooking," but it was definitely masculine play. It was funny to watch them make food, scarf it down, fake burp and then discard the dishes on the floor. It just made me laugh to see them add their own boy twist to the activity! I think my greatest challenge in parenting a boy will be fostering the wildness of the male spirit while still teaching order, respect, and self-discipline. I do not want to stifle Bo's boyness, but I also don't want him running around like a maniac. Where is that line??

Ella spent most of the morning just trying to keep up. The boys were very interested in cars for a while, so this was her attempt to stay with them. She toddled around in Bo's Cars slippers, which were much too big, and dangled car keys for all to see.

We also did some coloring together, but I forgot to take pictures while the kids were actually creating! I took these just before lunch, and Bo wasn't too happy about it. Ella burst into tears because she could see her PB&J, but I put her caterpillar and butterfly in front of her so Bo started to get upset as well. It was a fun craft that I've been wanting to do with the kids for a while. We turned an old egg carton into a caterpillar. Then, we read The Very Hungry Caterpillar and wrapped the caterpillars up in toilet paper cocoons. Let me just tell you, the boys got a big kick out of the fact that we used toilet paper. Even at three, they already understand that there is something sacred about all things potty related! Then, we made butterflies and talked about the concept of metamorphasis. I don't think they got it, but we sure had fun with markers!

I love having friends here because the kids always sleep long and hard. They were both down before noon today, and they are still out. I don't think we will ever give up afternoon naps!

6:37 AM

I am jolted awake by Bo's [extremely loud] singing:

Jonah was a prophet, oooh, oooh,
But he really never got it, sad but true!

Oh, those Veggie Tales songs are just too catchy!

I'm hoping he thought daylight savings was actually today instead of tomorrow. By that calculation it should have been 7:37, which is MUCH closer to his normal wake up time!

Gray Day

Today was one of those cold, gray days that just makes you want to snuggle back under that down comforter and sleep, or read, or snuggle, or do anything but get up really. It was definitely not a day that you want to be running around getting kids in and out of the car, so we stayed home!

We've been planning to do some painting for a while now, so today was the day. The February Home Depot project was a football stool in honor of the Superbowl, and we finally got around to painting it! Bo was SO excited, and it actually meant that I had about 45 minutes that he wasn't asking when we were going to get in the van car and go somewhere!

The colors quickly became one, but it's his original masterpiece nonetheless. Actually, I'm going to paint the top to look like a football, but the base will be all his own creative genius!

When he finished the stool, he moved on to the brown craft paper that I put on the table. Dad actually painted a face, and Bo completed the embellishments. He was so proud that he added the eyes [in an appropriate blue shade] and a mouth [appropriately red colored]. He was worried that he "messed it up" when he added the eyebrows underneath the eyes, but we assured him it was still very well done!

I also got a short video of Bo explaining what he was doing. Can you sense the excitement?

Did you catch the word mine in there? I'm realizing that Bo says "mine" quite often these days. It's necessary that Ella know who things belong to at all times. Now Ella has decided to add the word to her vocabulary as well. This morning, the two of them actually spent quite a bit of time screaming "mine" back and forth at each other as they both claimed the same toy time and time again. Whew...not easy to teach the concept of sharing!

Ella got to play with playdoh instead of the paints, and she was surprisingly content. She also managed to play with play-doh for over 30 minutes and never take a bite! This is a new record :)