There is a Reason...

Why three year old kids should not get markers unattended!

her leg

the bookshelf

the wall

the wall again

This afternoon Dylan asked from her doorway if quiet time was over. I told her it was and she could come lay with me in bed for a few minutes. As she was laying next to me, I noticed some black marker on her leg. I asked where it came from and she told me her book. I knew exactly what she was talking about.

I had ordered her a write and wipe book so she could practice writing her letters. I keep the book high out of reach for fear that she will use the marker on other surfaces. Apparently, my fear was very valid.

I asked where she got it and she said her Grandma D gave it to her. I called Grandma D, only to find out that Dylan had said she was allowed to have the book. Sneaky girl.

Needless to say, we'll be spending a good chunk of time trying to "erase" the dry erase marker from the walls and bookshelves.

Anyone have any suggestions?

Paparazzi part 2

(Todd here with a quick update)

We let Dylan loose with the camera again. I think she picked right up from where she left off last time.

Happy Easter

This is going to be a fast post, because, honestly, I don't have a lot to say. I spent Easter weekend in bed. And didn't leave it. Truth be known, I'm still in bed. Or at least on the couch since Todd went back to work today.

Todd took the kids to my family's annual Easter Picnic and Egg Hunt on Saturday, and Isaac was the big winner with an expensive Golden Egg! Five dollars worth of "monies" to go in his piggy bank. And Todd took the kids to his brother's house for brunch on Sunday and another egg hunt.




I wasn't a part of any of it.

The Easter Bunny did visit the kids, but only left their baskets in their rooms. Nowhere real exciting or creative. Although, Dylan came running in Sunday morning to tell us she got treats from the Easter Bunny. So that's good. I didn't even get to be part of picking out the Easter outfits. Not really. And to top it off, the kids didn't even get to wear their Easter clothes to church on Sunday, because we didn't make it to church. So sad. Hopefully next week but it just won't be the same.



So, based on the all the pictures Todd took in order to keep me informed, it looks like the kids had a great time. And, their outfits really were cute. I cried when I had to say goodbye to them Easter morning as they drove off to Scottsdale without me. Last year it was a laceration to my eye on Easter Sunday, this year, I was bedridden. What's up with me and Easter?

This is What Happens...

when mom's sick, Dylan's at school and Dad has the day off from work:


Isaac gets to eat donuts and drink chocolate milk. Lucky boy.


I really should mention my aversion to donuts. And aversion is putting it lightly. I absolutely hate them. Not even a warm, fresh Krispy Kreme donut.

When I was young my dad used to take us girls out early on Saturday mornings to Winchell's Donuts. He was a secret shopper for their stores. I'm not exaggerating when I say that we would sometimes visit 10-15 different stores. Each time we needed to buy something. Whether it was a muffin, or a dozen donuts or a cup of coffee or any sort of combination thereof, we bought something at each location. There were plenty of times when we would offer the hot coffee to someone we found living on the streets, and usually hand off a dozen donuts too. But it never failed, each Saturday we came home with multiple dozens of donuts. And we ate them all week long.

We did this at least once a month, and sometimes more often, but donuts seemed to be a constant in our oven (because they stayed fresher, longer, in the oven). Of course, when you eat all donuts all the time, they begin to lose their luster. And for me, there is no turning back. Even the smell of donuts makes me a little ill.

In high school, we'd have early morning seminary at the church before our regular high school classes began and it was customary on Friday mornings for our teachers to bring in donuts. I would make all the kids sit outside of the car and eat their donuts before they were allowed in to get a ride to school. I just couldn't handle the smell of them. Gross.

Now, I shouldn't say I feel this way about all donuts. That would be untrue. There is one exception. And only one. On occasion I have a hankering for the small 6-count packages of Hostess donuts that are sold in the gas stations. Only the powdered sugar, and only on occasion. But those are good.

Because of this aversion, donuts don't ever come into my house. Well, rarely come into my house. I feel about donuts the way Todd feels about eggs. I don't want to smell them. You can eat them in the house, just make sure I'm nowhere around. So, my kids don't get donuts. Not usually. Isaac had his first donut on Dylan's first day of school. He and I went grocery shopping after I dropped Dylan off and to keep him happy, I gave him his first donut. He was two and he thought he had died and gone to heaven.

Apparently Todd is trying to make up for it because now, even our kids know where the local Dunkin Donuts is and they call for donuts each time we drive by. I just gently remind them that it's dad's treat, not mine. There's nothing like some quality time with a dad in a donut shop. I've got my memories, and they'll have theirs.

My Father's Granddaughter

When I was young I was a morning person. And a night owl. Now, I'm only a night owl. Growing up I used to stay up late watching the movie of the week with my mom, and I'd get up early the next morning to spend a quiet morning with my dad.

I remember always trying to creep down the stairs early each morning hoping to sneak up on my dad. Unfortunately, my ankles would crack and pop (and they still do) so he always knew I was coming. No matter how quiet I was, my ankles always gave me away.

I loved these quiet mornings with my dad. It was just him and I. And it never failed, at 5am, there was only one thing on the television. Old westerns. Each morning I would watch an old western with my dad. I grew to enjoy How the West Was Won, Rio Bravo, Red River, High Noon and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

This was my time with my dad. And I loved it. I still enjoy sitting down and watching old westerns, but enjoy it more if my dad happens to be in front of the t.v. with me.

Fast forward to this morning.

As I was getting out of the shower, Isaac was playing in our closet and Dylan was in front of the t.v. I could tell that she wasn't watching Diego like she had been when I got into the shower. I asked her if she accidentally changed the channel and she responded "no mommy, I'm watching the horsies. They're so cute."

To a three year old, everything is "so cute."

I had no idea what it was she was watching, just something about horses. And then I heard it.

That unmistakable voice that I used to hear so often. That voice I would hear while watching so many westerns with my dad. The voice that still reminds me of those mornings.

John Wayne.

Dylan had turned the channel and come across the old John Wayne movie "The Undefeated" and was watching the horses and the cowboys and listening to John Wayne. She sat glued to the television watching the horses and didn't move a muscle.

Until commercial. Once that commercial break came, she was off and running, with her attention drawn elsewhere. But for those few minutes, I was brought back to when I was young and watching these same movies with my dad. I even sat down and finished to movie while the kids played.

I wonder if my dad felt the same way about those early mornings with me, as I did with him.

I sure hope so. And I hope Dylan and I, and Isaac too can create some of these same happy memories.

My wife is a chatty drunk...

Tonight was a funny but educational night. Tonight I got a glimpse of what my wife would be like drunk. Let me say it up front...thank goodness I don't have to experience this often. I've been married to her for a little over 5 years and to my knowledge she's never had a sip of alcohol in her life. Never in her life, I should clarify, until she met me.

Shortly after we started dating she had a horrible running nose and sinus one day so I gave her some NyQuil. Not the generic Fry's Foodstore brand but the real 100% brand that includes up to 10% alcohol. After her first sip I think she was out cold and sleeping by the time the cup hit the bathroom counter.

Fast forward until today. I spoke to her around two this afternoon and learned that she had been in bed all day with a sore throat and headache. I told her to stay in bed and I would take care of the kids after I got home until they went to bed. Nicole got up briefly while the kids went to bed but she got back into bed a short time later and continued to rest. At this point I think she had probably been in bed about 80% of the day.

So around 9:30 Nicole takes her first shot of NyQuil of the day. Unfortunately it kind of backfired because she had already been asleep for nearly 20 hours today so she really wasn't tired. She laid in bed with her eyes closed while I tried to work on a laptop next to her but the whole time wouldn't shut up. "Boy it looked windy today." "I love our kids." "What do you want to do for Easter." The questions and statements just kept coming in no real logical manner. The conversation would go from I think we should move to Flordia to the kids left chalk out in the backyard.

I called her a chatty drunk and she started to giggle. And giggle. And giggle. You don't have any idea how thankful I am that she doesn't drink.

Say a Little Prayer

Last night at dinner it was Isaac's turn to say the prayer. He needs some help with his prayers so he usually just repeats after me. He's starting to get it, so there are times when I just need to give him a little reminder word and he remembers what to say next.

As we were closing the prayer, he got stuck with the words. I quietly said "in" to him to get him going again. He repeated the worn "in" and followed it up with "o, p, q, r, s" before I caught on to what was happening. Instead of continuing with "in the name..." he continued with the letters of the alphabet.

Obviously, we've been working long and hard on the alphabet with Isaac and when I said "in" it sounded enough like "n" that he thought he was supposed to finish the alphabet. It was all I could do not to start laughing in the middle of the prayer. We got back on track though and he finished the prayer. Todd and I looked at each other, shook our heads and just laughed.

Man I love this kid.

Mom, I'm So Embarrassed For You

This is what Dylan tells me. Often.

She's embarrassed for me. What she really means is, "mom, you're embarrassing me" or "mom, I'm so embarrassed."

Just what I want to hear from my three year old.

Add to that, it's always about clothes. Always. She's embarrassed about the clothes I bring home for her to wear. Cute clothes too! Really cute clothes.

I wrote awhile back about Dylan and her sundress habit. I think at the time she had something like 20 dresses. And she'd only wear dresses. Apparently, she still has this yen for all things sundress-y, but she wants to pick them out.

For her birthday my mom bought her the cutest dress from Janie and Jack. Unfortunately, I can't find a picture of the dress to show you just how cute it is. But it's adorable. The first time I tried to get Dylan to wear it to church, "she was so embarrassed for me." But, she wore it, and she was cute in it. She's even worn it twice since then.

Most recently, I showed her the Easter dress my mom and I picked out for her.

This one here:


It's so cute and the picture just doesn't do it justice. As I was showing it to Dylan and having her try it on, she informed me once again that, "she was so embarrassed for me" and she wouldn't wear it on Sunday to church or to Easter Brunch.

I then showed her the cute bows to wear in her hair and how well she would match with Isaac's cute outfit. Which, by the way she said "it's soooo cute."

Anyone care to guess what happened when she showed Isaac his outfit? This outfit here:

Dylan showed this sweet outfit to Isaac, the outfit that perfectly coordinated with Dylan's adorable white eyelet dress and green bows for her hair, and she asked Isaac if he liked it.

To top off my morning, he swats at the clothes and yells "no!"

Of course.

So, I called my sister, and off we went to Kohl's. I figure I'm bound to find something there that Dylan will like (because she will choose from two or three dresses that I approve of) and we'll get something for Isaac too.

Many of you might wonder why I just don't force Dylan to wear the original outfit. I figure there are a couple of reasons. First, it's just not worth it. I've learned to pick my battles with her, and clothes is not a battle I'm ready to fight yet. I figure I have years and years of clothing arguments, I refuse to start them now. Second, it's really not a big deal to make the change. If she can pick it out, then she'll wear it. If Kohl's didn't have anything, then it might be different, but they did, so she is happy. Third, I ended up spending about $15 less then I did on the original outfits plus a white sweater for Dylan, and I still hadn't found pants for Isaac yet. I figure that was worth it right there.

So here are the outfits our kids will NOW be wearing on Easter Sunday. Chosen by Dylan.





So if you come across my kids on Easter Sunday, make sure to tell Dylan just how much you love her dress and Isaac's outfit. I think she did a pretty good job too. And at least she can no longer say she's embarrassed for me.

Amazing

(Todd here with a quick one)

I am simply amazed at what my kids can do when left alone for a few minutes. Magic marker the wall, put stickers all over the toilet, no not bad things...amazed at the good things.

My three year old wakes up around 7:30 each morning and comes to the bedroom door. If we are still in bed she just turns and heads off to the kitchen. A few minutes later she comes back and says she needs help with breakfast. Following her back to the kitchen I see she has gotten out two place mats, two bibs, two granola bars, two juice cups from the fridge, a box of cereal from the pantry, a banana also from the fridge (split in two I might add with half on each plate). What do you need help with? Two things she quickly replies. First she can't get the cereal bowls down from the upper kitchen cabinets. Second she can't get her brother out of his crib and to the kitchen to eat while mommy and daddy sleep.

My two year old knows his freaking alphabet. Seriously. He doesn't pronounce everything perfectly but he has a chart on his wall that he goes over each night before bed. Thinking he just memorized the whole thing in order I jumped around pointing to the different letters and asking what each was. He got 6 out of 7 right and I think he called an "M" an "N" or something close like that. He also counts to 10. He can't put together a 3 or 4 word sentence but he can say his A B C's.

Shanen - I am working on it but reason 4,724 - because she is a great teacher.