Bike Riding 101...

Mark is learning to ride his bike without training wheels. Thankfully, Tim is home for these lessons. And thankfully Mark apparently does not take after his mother. This was about 20 minutes into lesson #1...

Happy Birthday to Eric Carle!

It's belated now, but we celebrated one of our favorite author's birthday a few weeks ago. The boys love Eric Carle and Luke's current favorite book is The Very Busy Spider. We read it at least once a day. So, we made spider webs with glue and spiders with oreos to celebrate.

Luke's spider (with a little help from Mom)

Mark's spiders. He's very literal these days and wanted his spiders to have a nose, a mouth and eyebrows to go with their eyes!

Nothing Says Love Like...

a heart cookie with the word "love" on it?

Nope. Cookies with sharks and snakes. At least that's what Mark Garrett thinks. I promised him that he could help me make cookies for Valentine's Day to give his teachers. What did he want to put on them? Hearts? Flowers? Nah. We went for the oh-so-manly sharks and snakes.

I did however make a few cookies that were more my style and we actually packaged these for Mark's teachers. But he was happy making his own cookies to eat. And we had a good time making them together. I've been teaching myself to decorate sugar cookies for a while now and have learned so much from the Bake at 350 blog . I think I'm getting better and better.

My lettering still needs some work, but some of these turned out great. (Tim's favorite was the "Hot Stuff" cookie - probably because I told him it was inspired by him!)

For Valentine's Day I wanted to make everyone a special breakfast before church. It's one of my favorite memories growing up that my mom did for us and I wanted to do something that the boys would enjoy. Heart shaped pancakes were out because of Luke's food allergies and so were the heart eggs I made last year. So I opted for pink cream of wheat. It was simple for a busy Sunday morning and the boys loved it. We also had "silly" orange juice (orange juice with a little ginger ale,) and everyone had a little something special at their place mats.

A book, a new car AND jellybeans! What a morning!

Sharks and Elephants, Oh My!

Today was mostly spent recovering from all of us being sick this week - laundry, dishes, more laundry. A stomach bug took Luke down first on Wednesday so he was home from school all day with me. Bedtime rolled around that night to find Mark getting sick. I knew I was next but by the end of Thursday I smugly thought, "Wow. I can't believe I didn't get sick." Not so fast. Friday morning it hit me with a vengeance and I thought I was going to die. Thankfully it was a school day and I could lay in bed and moan most of it, but it shot our plans to go to the Trunk or Treat Carnival at the church down the street. I called everyone I could think of to see if anyone could take Mark, but no one was available. I felt horrible because he has literally been talking about this carnival since we went last Halloween. So, today I wanted to do something fun for him.

I thought I'd make a special lunch of "worms and dirty rocks." When I told him that's what we were having for lunch I thought he was going to cry. I had to quickly explain that it wasn't really worms and rocks, but just beans and hot dogs. So much for that plan.

Then a friend called to invite us to a small party at her house to culminate with trick-or-treating. We headed over there and it was fun, but it was so hot here today that the kids were just miserable. After an hour or so we had a sand-throwing incident, followed by a time-out/fit-throwing incident, immediately followed by an accident in our pants incident. (And all of those were the 4 year old.) Needless to say, we didn't stick around for trick-or-treating.

Mark being a mummy at the party - before the incidents!

I told Mark that if he obeyed when we got home that we'd take a bath and go to a few houses on our street. He did indeed start obeying so we dressed up one more time and trick-or-treated just on our street.

Mark wanted to dress up like a shark this year after seeing the costume in the Pottery Barn Kids catalog and getting a Hot Wheels "Shark Park" racetrack from Uncle Eric and Lauren for his birthday. He also would say he wanted to be a shark so that he could "chase Luke around." (Sweet brotherly love!) But he changed his mind to a "nice" shark and since I'm too cheap to pay PB prices (and they were sold out before they went on sale) I had to make one with a hoodie and some felt. I think it turned out pretty cute! Luke, as usual, was what Mark was 2 years ago. Although, I couldn't have picked a cuter costume since he already walks with a little waddle in his step.

Now, if you'll excuse me I have some Reese's Peanut Butter Cups to eat while my children sleep. I consider it good mothering. No child needs that much candy - it'll rot their teeth out!

In Damaged Children News...

We've lost our first tooth around here. I'm pretty sure teeth don't start actually falling out until 5 or 6 years old. I think this one was knocked lose somehow. I even remember looking at Mark this morning and thinking, "Has that front tooth always been crooked?!" Apparently, it hasn't. And now it is somewhere in Mark's digestive track. He was quite traumatized when he lost and subsequently swallowed it at school during lunch. But Miss Jennifer said that hearing about money from the toothfairy and forthcoming "big boy" teeth made him feel much better. Too bad he's probably going to have to wait 2 years or so for that tooth.

Man, am I glad the boys' Christmas pictures are schedule for NEXT week...

Trouble Sleeping?

I went in Mark's room to check on him tonight before I went to bed and found this...

After I took the picture he woke up slightly so we went to the bathroom and when I was tucking him back in he picks up his hat and whispers, "This is my magical sleeping." He puts it back on his head and promptly falls back asleep.

So, if you are having trouble sleeping you might consider getting yourself one of these...

What we eat when Tim is gone

Yes. That IS a box with 10 sleeves of Oreo cookies. Because who doesn't need 135 Oreos. I wish I could tell you that this will last us a good while, but at 3 cookies a piece per day...

Brothers and Friends

Having two boys two years apart can be exhausting. Sometimes I wonder, "What were we thinking!?" They are so noisy and messy and dirty and rough. (And we won't even mention the laundry!) It's enough to drive any mother crazy some days. But lately I've noticed that they are really enjoying each other too. I catch them playing together all the time. There's still plenty of train-snatching and tower-crashing accompanied by tears around here, it just seems to be mixed up with quite a few hugs and lessons on how to make car sounds. It makes those endless piles of stained t-shirts and referee calls seem a little easier when I hear them laughing together. And I look forward to watching them become friends as well as brothers over the years, especially since I'm now convinced they might not kill each other in the process.

First Day of School...

It's a bit early in August, but I'm thinking the first day of school can never come too early for a mother. (At least a mother of young children. I'm sure all the mothers of college freshmen would disagree with me!) Mark has been attending a wonderful school her for the last 10 months. And today was Luke's first day. I wasn't sure I'd know what to do with myself for 5 whole hours alone, but you know? I managed just fine! And the boys loved it, of course. Here are the pictures I took this morning on our way out the door.

And if you aren't doing anything on Mondays, Wednesday or Fridays, call me! We'll do lunch!

Almost 4 years

3 years and 9 and a half months to be exact. Before we had a "stuck in the nose" incident at our house. Frankly, I'm kind of surprised it took this long with these two knuckleheads. The boys were down for their naps when Mark comes running out of his room screaming and crying. It took me a minute to figure out what he was saying. "It's stuck! It's stuck!" Immediately, I realize that he's put something up his nose and I turn around to keep him from seeing me laugh. (Because it's okay to laugh at your children while they are crying. But it's NOT okay to let them see you laugh at them while they are crying.) I finally get him to stop screaming and decipher that he's put a portion of a foam submarine hull up there. I look but can't see it. So I decide to go in with my finger and sure enough, there it is. It takes me a few minutes but I fish it out with my fingernail. (Pretty sure that one earned me a manicure!) And then there are more tears because I tell him that we are going to throw it away and that I won't be giving it back to him.

I guess it's just one of those day around here that submarines "suck". Ha, ha!

Getting Back to Life...

I can hardly believe we've been back home for a whole week now. Life is crazy getting back into our routine. I'm gearing up for doing a lot more business with Southern Living at HOME this fall and we are recovering from traveling, unpacking, getting ready for Luke to start school and working on all kinds of other exciting events. I'll post more about all of it in the near future, but it's been a whirlwind - and frankly still is.

Today was a particularly difficult day as I had a million and one things to "get done" this morning and an also particularly stubborn and defiant 3 year old. Not a good mix. By afternoon I was toast. So I set up the pool and decided we'd play outside. We have no shade in our yard, but I didn't even care that it felt like 100+ degrees. The boys were happy and not fighting. And that made mom happy. Here are a few shots that I took of them in the sandbox. (Because it ALWAYS makes good sense to play in the sandbox following time in the pool!)

He's getting so big, but apparently not quite big enough!

(His toes are off the ground in case you can't see.)

A Little Help with my Workouts...

I've been doing the 30 Day Shred for 12 days now.  It's horrible.  After 24 minutes I'm completely soaked and exhausted, but I have to say I'm already seeing a difference and am wearing pants I haven't worn in years.  So, I guess it's good.  But I still say ugly things about Jillian Michaels every afternoon while I'm doing the video.  I often have lots of "help" while I'm working out.  I figured I'd save you all from pictures of me doing the workout and just show you a few of Mark Garrett.

Future Debater...

Mark Garrett has taken to arguing of late.  About everything.  For some reason, I thought the "Mom Doesn't Know Anything" years wouldn't start until he was at least 10.  Nope.  He's 3 and mom knows nothing.  Here are a few disagreements we've had lately.  I'll let you decide who is correct.

Round 1 (at the Rec Center):

"Let's drop Luke off at the babysitting so we can go swimming."

"Yeah, let's drop Luke off at the baby city."

"No, Mark.  It's called babysitting."

"No, Mom.  It's the baby city!"

Round 2 (at the seafood restaurant):

"Mark, how do you like that melba toast?"

"I like it, but it's Melvin toast."

"No.  It's melba toast, buddy."

"I think it's Melvin toast."

Round 3 (at breakfast discussing Mickey Mouse Clubhouse):

"...and then Mickey saw the woodpicker and it was so loud!"

"Really?  It was loud?  I think he saw a woodpecker."

"Mommy, you are so silly!  He saw a woodpicker."

"No, a bird that pecks his beak on wood is called a woodpecker."

"No, a bird that pecks his beak on wood is called a woodpicker."  

I give up.  It just doesn't seem to be worth the energy to argue with him.  Feel free to try yourself, but I'm guessing you'll give up too.

Dancing

I've written about our love of the Imagination Movers before.  It's still a big hit around here.  And I still don't find it too annoying, so needless to say, that's the show of choice most of the time when I let the boys watch t.v.  This is a little video of them dancing to one of the songs.  It's probably only entertaining to those who already love my kids.  So if you don't know us in "real" life, please don't feel obligated to watch.  If you do know us, well, it's pretty cute.  Luke has just started dancing and I'm pretty sure he has more rhythm than Mark does!

Toy Story

Mark wanted to go swimming yesterday.  (It didn't end up happening because we waited on Tim and the pool was then closed, but I digress.)  I told him to go put on his Buzz Lightyear "swimming pool pants."  (Yes, he calls them swimming pool pants for some weird reason - I don't even pretend to understand that kid!)  We started talking about Toy Story and I asked him what Buzz Lightyear says.  He proudly yelled, "To Infinity... And I Yawned!"  When I explained it was "To Infinity and Beyond," he was not buying it.  He just laughed and told me I was silly.  

Not a "Sunday"...

Mark had a really good day at school today and both his teachers commended his behavior.  I've been trying to use positive reinforcement for good behavior instead of so much correcting for negative behavior, so I told him we could go to Sonic on our way home.  As we got close to Sonic I asked him if he wanted a Jr. Sundae.  He replied, "No, Mommy.  I would like a Monday."  

Disney World Day 3

We decided to spend our second day at Disney at the Magic Kingdom again.  Our Disney guru had advised us that we'd probably want to do this and he was right.  It takes so long to stand in line to meet the characters that you almost need a second day to ride all the rides, especially with little ones who can't stay until 10 pm.  (And let's face it.  I was too tired to stay for the fireworks anyway.)  

Tori and James came with us on Saturday so we were 4 on 2 in kid coverage.  Mostly we played zone, which worked out nicely for all of us.  We arrived at the park about 9:30 or so and decided to hit the ground running.  The park was very light on crowds so we rode The Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, Aladdin's Magic Carpet and the Jungle Cruise all in about an hour or so.  Plus, we walked The Swiss Family Robinson House  all before lunch at 11.  (Which totally made me want to watch the movie again.  Who wouldn't want to live in a tree house like that?!)

Starting off the day with a well placed, "Get off your brother!"  Even the magic of Disney can't cure every thing!

Getting my workout carrying a 30 lb wiggly boy up and down stairs

The boys loved the Jungle Cruise

Mark loved it so much that he lost track of whose leg was his own...  Sorry Mr. Whoever-You-Are!

After lunch we headed over to Tomorrow Land for a while.  We got Fast Passes for The Buzz Lightyear ride and got bonus ones for The Carousel of Progress.  It wasn't something we would have ridden ordinarily, but it was getting hot and the idea of sitting for a little while in an air-conditioned building was appealing.  Strangely, Mark is still talking about this ride.  He mentioned it today while we were driving.  I wouldn't have thought it would have made such an impression, but hey at least he wasn't still talking about the parking lot tram.

Luke also liked the darkened, air-conditioned Carousel of Progress...

We went back and rode the Buzz Lightyear ride and Tim smoked us all on it.  It's a shooting contest with laser guns.  I don't really remember the premise except that you "shoot" the Z's while controlling your car.  I was slightly handicapped by holding Luke, but managed to score 33,000 points.  Tim scored 330,000.  Yeah, that's why he earned expert in his last marksmanship exam I guess.  

We should have stopped for a picture earlier in the day, but considering it was late afternoon, this one is pretty good of all of us.

Mark decided it was time for treats so we all got ice cream as a pick-me-up.  

We all rode the carousel ride together and the kids enjoyed it as always.

Even Tori and James rode with us!

There are no words... well, not nice ones anyway!

So appropriate!  The funny thing is that Mark's the one who noticed these and wanted to get in them.

Tim is still trying to teach Mark the finer points of shoulder riding, including, but not limited to:  not putting his fingers on Tim's sunglasses, not choking Tim around the neck, not leaning back and not rubbing Tim's hair and/or pulling it.  

Apparently frowning helps you to concentrate harder on a map...

We decided to take a bit of a break and ride the train for a while.  It was getting close to the afternoon parade time and we hadn't staked out a spot and didn't really want to watch it in the sun, so we figured a loop or two in the train would be perfect.  

The rest of the day is a bit of a blur to be honest.  I know we rode a few more rides in there, but we were all exhausted.  We grabbed some dinner and decided to ride one more ride.  We'd picked up Fast Passes for Space Mountain and Tori offered to watch the kids while Tim, James and I rode it.  It only took us 20 minutes or so, but apparently Mark decided he would test Tori's parenting skills.  He told her he needed to potty urgently.  They made their way to the bathroom where Mark promptly sat on the toilet.  Yeah.  Not cool, Mark.  Not cool.  They all survived, but Tori was shaking her head when we returned.  At this point it was definitely time to head back to Tori and James's place.  The kids were asleep before we hit the interstate.  They have slept late every morning this week too.  I guess having that much fun really takes it out of you!  

And me, well I'm kinda hooked on Disney now.  It's just amazing watching your kids there - such a gift.  It makes me want to go back again and again.  A friend of ours likened it to the response that God desires from us when we are in His presence.  How convicting!