Nicholas' First Day of Kindergarten

*Sniff, sniff* Nicholas started kindergarten about 2 weeks ago. I was so nervous about his first day, his beginning of the school year, how it would be for the two of us to be at the same school...you name it, I was worried about it! What I wanted the most for Nicholas this school year was to make friends and have fun. I wanted him to feel comfortable enough to interact in the classroom and play with the other kids. I was somewhat worried (big surprise) that he would get "lost in the crowd" being so quiet and only having 8 other kids in his preschool class last year. So, the first day of school arrived. He was SO excited! Everything was ready...his clothes, his hair, his backpack. We took a few pictures, which he was also excited for (he HATES getting his picture taken!). Then it was off to wait for the bus. This part made me the most nervous because I was so afraid he wouldn't get on or would be super scared once everyone was looking at him. Nope. No reason to be worried at all. He took off running to the bus and never looked back. I was so happy for him and proud to see him so comfortable and excited. Once he was on the bus, of course, I cried my eyes out! Not too bad though, because Maggie was still with me. I held it together long enough to get her to the sitter right after I put him on the bus. (I had to go to school right away to be there all day instead of the half day I usually do.) Once I dropped Maggie off I cried harder. Really let it go. School is right around the corner from our house so I didn't have much time to get myself together before I faced my new first graders. I pulled myself together and went in the school. This was yet another moment of worry. I wanted to make sure that I was not in sight when Nicholas walked by. I was SURE he would see me and want me to walk him to his classroom or stay with me. I waited awhile before I waited in the hall for my own class. As I was turned around talking to someone I felt a smack on my backside. I turned around and there is Nicholas just walking down the hall like he had done it a million times, headed to his classroom. He looked at me, smiled and waved, then kept on going. At that moment, I realized just how much Nicholas had grown up. I felt so incredibly proud of him for being so confident and sure of himself. Of course, this made me cry some more! In fact, as I type this I can feel the tears welling up in my eyes. The start to his kindergarten year couldn't have started any better. He absolutely LOVES school and rushes out to the bus stop every morning and even asks if he is going to school on Saturdays! He is so totally himself in school! When I see him he is smiling and happy. Mrs. Haffner even used the word "leader" the other day when describing him. I know I've used this word a million times already but I felt so proud! My little boy is growing up!!!!!

What Stinks?

Tonight Mark was playing 'picnic' with Maggie. She has been obsessed lately with building tents in the living room! Every single day this week we have built a tent and she'll go in there and pretend like she's cooking, feeding babies, and all kinds of pretend stuff. So Mark and Maggie are sitting on the floor while I am finishing up dinner. Mark says, "I'm gonna let a stinker." (Yes, we are not shy about talking about toots in our family.) Maggie says, "Go ahead and let your stinker. I have to let one too!" What 3 year old says stuff like this?? I guess at least she warned him. :)

World Cup Soccer

This summer was the World Cup. It took place in South Africa. Nicholas has never been a fan of soccer. This is funny to Mark and I because he loves all sports but not soccer. We even asked him several times if he would like us to sign him up for soccer. "Nope," he would say, "that is TOO HARD!" So we had pretty much given up. Then the World Cup happened. He was TOTALLY into it! When he woke up in the morning he wanted to turn on the World Cup. He was always completely on top of who was playing who and what game was on when. It was amazing to me how much a six year old could be into one sport. His favorite team was South Africa...or as Nicholas would say it, "South Efrica." I loved hearing him say that! (I also love hearing him call a boy from his old class 'Roverto' instead of 'Roberto.') Anyway, after watching soccer daily for...well, however long the World Cup lasts...Nicholas was finally convinced to try soccer. We will see how it goes. His first practice is in a week!

Peanut Butter, Anyone?

The other day Maggie and I went strawberry picking in Goshen. Maggie wanted it to just be the "girls" so the boys stayed home. We had a great time together. We searched and searched for just the right strawberries and picked a bunch of them. As we were headed back to the car Maggie asked me why I had so many strawberries. I said, "I am going to make strawberry jam with them." I could tell she was in deep thought so I said, "Oh you know Maggie....it's the stuff we put on with peanut butter for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches." She thought some more and said, "When do we get to go peanut picking to make peanut butter?" :)

Realization

Mark and I are planning a big garage sale. We have furniture, baby things, toys, all kinds of stuff to sell. It is going to be a rather large garage sale. So we have been going through old tubs of things from the other house that we just never unpacked. We also went through most of the toys in the basement and made a keep pile and a sell pile. Finally, tonight was the night that I began going through the many tubs of baby/kid clothes that I have had...forever. As I find myself excited about the possibility of earning a lot of money from this sale, I suddenly was faced with a harsh realization. My kids are NOT babies anymore. It's funny because I still think of them as babies, I really do. You know how people tell you to enjoy your kids because they grow up too fast? Well, I never thought that applied to me because my kids are still little. Boy, was I wrong! As I am sifting through the first box I am faced with Nicholas' things. Since I gave all of his itty bitty baby clothes to Katie, I was dealing with 12 months and up. I found a onesie I had saved from when he was born that said, "Dr. Morgan really delivers!" (Dr. Morgan didn't even deliver Nicholas! It was Dr. Graber!) Ialso came across an array of truck t-shirts and little shorts. As I pull out each item of clothing, my mind takes me way back to the time when he wore that outfit. Vivid memories of him throwing ball or playing in the backyard or helping Daddy in the yard came flooding back to me. I found the Christmas sweater he wore for Christmas when he was decorating the tree with me one afternoon. It hit me all at once how fast time had gone by. Then I begin to go through Maggie's clothes. This time I do have her itty bitty baby things. As I look at these tiny pieces of clothing I am filled with memories of when she was an infant. The many outfits she wore in the hospital when it was just the two of us with no visitors. I also recalled the moment I was shopping for some of those outfits. I remember the excitement I felt at finding these adorable little girl outfits and thinking about how cute they would be on her. Going through Maggie's clothes was a bit of a different emotion than going through Nicholas' things. On one hand, here are Nicholas' clothes- my first child, my only boy, the one I have seen grow so much over the past six years. Then on the other hand, there are Maggie's clothes- my baby, my teeny tiny little girl, the one that is supposed to stay little forever because she is the little sister. I was shocked at how much emotion I felt going through these clothes. All I could think was "They are clothes- what is the big deal???" But each outfit I looked at brought back just one more memory of time that had already passed. It made me realize that although they are still little, they have grown so much in such a short amount of time. It makes me want to slow down and appreciate all the little things a little more.

Safe!

Nicholas had a T-Ball game this afternoon. He LOVES it! In the last few games there have been a few kids who slide into home plate as they come in. We haven't so much as talked about sliding but the kids think it is really cool. Nicholas watches everyone intently at every ball game so it is really hard to know what he is thinking about any of it. I know he enjoys it, but as far as anything else he is thinking it is really hard to tell. He can be a mystery when it comes to his thoughts. Anyway, at this particular game we were all in the dugout cheering on our teammates as they were batting. Nicholas had his turn, hit the ball and got on first. Yay! We continued to watch the other batters as the runners made their way around the bases. Pretty soon it was Nicholas' turn to run home. He ran so hard and so fast, and then just before he touched home plate with his shoe he came to a dead stop, fell down on his knees and touched home plate with his foot. It was the funniest thing in the world! I wanted to just laugh hysterically but he looked up at me with this giant, proud smile on his face seeking my approval. I just yelled, "Good job buddy!! Way to go! Good slide!" He was SO proud as he walked into the dugout and showed me the dirt on his pants. (The dirt that was gone the minute he brushed it away.) It was the sweetest moment. I loved to see him so proud of something he had done. I could tell he felt like such an awesome baseball player.

Strawberry Picking

Today Maggie and I had a girls day. We went strawberry picking. She was so excited and said that "no stinky boys were allowed to go...only girls" (except she says geeeehhls). I wasn't sure what to expect. We went last year and it was a little bit of a headache. Both kids running back and forth, eating strawberries, throwing strawberries, TONS of people, etc. Despite the experience last year I decided it was totally worth it and we would try a different place. What a great thing because we were the ONLY ones there! It was this little strawberry patch in Goshen. I think the season was about over since we were the only ones there but we still found some great strawberries. After we got our box and Maggie's very own little basket, we headed out to the patch. It was so adorable to see how excited she was. She held my hand and we walked out together, Maggie talking the whole way about which way we should go. As we walked the rows looking for strawberries, she would pick one and come running over to me saying, "Oh Mommy! Isn't this a good one???" Sometimes they were good and sometimes they were almost completely white. It didn't matter to me though because she was so excited to find them, how could I tell her it wasn't a good one? As I picked strawberries, I just listened to Maggie talking and saying things like "This one is a little mushy" or "This one is the BIGGEST one yet!" When she found one that wasn't quite good enough she would chuck it across the field. Every once in awhile I would look back and there she was eating a bright red strawberry with juice all over her face. I loved every second of it. It was one of those moments that I realized how special these moments are and how lucky I am to be able to share these moments with my kids. I also realized how important it is to spend time alone with just one child at a time. I was able to just enjoy her little antics and discoveries. She not only had fun picking strawberries but she also had fun chasing butterflies, picking flowers and of course, throwing strawberries! I am so glad we decided to go and I know now that it will be a tradition every year!

Nicholas' Language

Nicholas. As I sit here and think about my six year old boy there are so many things I always want to remember. One particular thing is his voice and the funny things he says on a daily basis. Since I can remember, Nicholas has ALWAYS had a unique "twang" to his voice. I'm not even sure I'd call it a "twang" but maybe a "language." Mark has always had his own language as well. I call it Weldyisms. When Nicholas was very young and really getting into his passion for trucks and vehicles he would say, "Biiiiiiig Riiiiiiiiggg!" It wasn't a yell, but instead a very throaty almost caw like sound. There was also somewhat of a "twang" to his voice when he said this. Little by little, the cute "biiiiiig riiiiiiig" transformed into other forms of Weldyisms. When referring to his Thomas the Train characters, for Harvey he would say, "Harrrrrrr-vey!" For Mavis he would say, "Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-vis!" A friend of mine once said he was pretty sure Nicholas would be a sports announcer someday.

Now when he has a conversation with someone he might say, "That is BAD news, right?" Often times he will put a "right" on the end of a question. At a t-ball game: "I'm doin good, right?" At home, "I'm strong, right?" He also adds a "for real?" to many conversations. For example, "Hey Nicholas we are going to swing outside." Nicholas: "For real?" Or "I like dogs." "For real?" He so badly wants to be just like his dad and sometimes the things he says are straight out of Mark's mouth. When he can't believe something that has just happened he says, "Gee-pa-pa!" This is a made up expression of Mark's that Nicholas has picked up quickly. Instead of "gee-pa-pa" he may say, "gee-zip!" This can be used interchangably with gee-pa-pa.

One of the things I loved so much about Mark when we first met was that he was so funny. EVERYTHING he said made me laugh. I am so happy that Nicholas is destined to have this same trait as well.

Pinkalicious

Maggie's all time favorite book (at this point in her life) is Pinkaliciuos. It is about a little girl who LOVES the color pink and eventually turns pink from eating too many pink cupcakes. Then a sequel to Pinkalicious came out and it was called Purplicious. In this book, all the girls tell Pinkalicious that pink is no longer cool, but black is in. Apparently we have read this book quite a bit because the other day used a quote from the book in reference to a pink popsicle. Maggie wanted a popsicle after lunch so we went out to the fridge to pick out a color. When I opened the freezer I said, "Ooh, look honey, there is a PINK one!" She said, "No mommy. Pink is passe. Passe is French for over." Seriously. She is THREE YEARS OLD. I just wasn't quite sure what to say next. So I gave her a blue popsicle.

Gearin' Up for the Big Game

Nicholas is in his second year of T-Ball this summer. It has been so great for him this year. He is so much more confident and aggressive. It is a lot of fun to watch him out on the field. Aside from the fact that T-Ball is so much fun to watch, it is especially fun to watch him. After each game he says, "Who won???" We always say, "We won again buddy!!!" Even though we don't keep score.

The other day we were all getting ready for the game. I had just gotten out of the shower and was drying my hair. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Nicholas on the bed making this painful face. I watched him for a minute and it really looked like he was in pain, like he was about to cry or something. I said, "Buddy, are you okay? What are you doing?" He looked at me with the most serious face and said, "Ah...I'm stretchin mom." He proceeded to show me how he was stretching. First he put his arm behind his head and stretched it out, then he put his legs out straight in front of him and stretched them out. It took everything in my power, I mean EVERYTHING, not to just bust out laughing. He was so serious. I couldn't just laugh at him. I was proud at how well I held it in. I simply said, "Oh, good idea. That's really important before a game." I waited about a minute before I ran into the living room and laughed about it to Mark.

A Good Fit

Maggie is a great fit thrower. She gets so upset so quickly (she most likely gets this from me) and reacts one of two ways: a loud scream paired with a hit, OR a really great comeback that is sure to severely hurt the other person's feelings (the other person being Mark or me). This particular day of fit throwing occurred at my sister Colleen's house. We were trying to leave her house and Maggie was enthralled with SOMETHING. I still do not quite remember what it was, but it was something of great importance to her. I gave her a few minutes to do "her thing" then gave her a one minute warning..."Maggie, in one more minute it will be time to go." After the one minute was up and it was time to go, I was faced with a pleading, "Just ONE more minute mommy, just ONE more." Finally, I just picked her up and headed toward the van. Oh, she didn't like that. She got so mad and out of pure anger she yelled, "I'm not going to cut down any more trees with you Mommy!!" How does one respond to this? Do I get angry and say, "Margaret Kathleen, do not say such mean things!" Or do I laugh out loud and say, "Oh no...that is really disappointing." I chose to laugh. I couldn't help it. Who comes up with things like that? I guess I'm the one who suffers though, because now I won't have anyone to help me cut down the Christmas tree this year.

More Questions About His Body

Ok so my son is curious about his bodylately. He wants to know what "things" are. Ugh...the other night after his bath he was sitting on the step wrapped in a towel. When I looked up at him he was twisting his nipple. ?? I said, "Hey buddy, what are you doin?" He said, "These are my BOOBS!" I said, "No, those are your PECKS. Boys have PECKS." He pointed to my chest and said, "Those are your BOOBS!" I said, "No those are my BREASTS." He giggled that amazingly hilarious little giggle and said, "You've got the biggest BREATH of all!!!" :) I did not correct him! :)

Naughty Little Girl

After last night's events with our precious Maggie Poo, I have decided that I WILL take her doctor's advice and read "1,2,3 Magic" for parents with strong willed children.


Nicholas and Maggie were playing a game while Mark and I put laundry away last night. I told them that they had a few more minutes and we were going to put the game away so we could get ready for bed. When the time came, Maggie threw the mother of all temper tantrums. She began to swing at me so I took her into her room for time out. As I was carrying her she pulled my hair, pinched me, and hit and kicked me. Seriously child! She is three!!! So I put her on her bed and told her to stay there until I came back for her. She yelled, "I'm not stayin here, I'm getting down!" That was when Mark stepped in. He threatened to give her a thump (a little flick on the hand) and she still wasn't cooperating. At this point I took Nicholas into his room because he was crying. He does NOT like it when she gets in trouble. I calmed him down and we both listened to what Maggie and Mark were saying. She was yelling and crying so I couldn't hear all of what Mark was saying but I did hear the word "thump." Maggie screamed, "I LIKE IT!!! THAT DOESN'T HURT, I LIKE IT!!! SEE, I'M LAUGHING DADDY, I LIKE IT!!" Oh....my....gosh. I would have been laughing hysterically!!! But I knew it just fueled Mark's fire. He was very unhappy, to say the least. :) Soon, Mark came into Nicholas' room fuming. He said, "She needs to stay in time out." So we left her be and let her calm down a little bit. I went in next and I talked to her about how some mommies and daddies would spank their kids if they were acting like that. I explained that spanking was when daddy (notice I said daddy!) would pull your pants down a little and smack your bottom. I also said, "It will hurt." She started to cry a little bit and then quickly changed it to, "I'm not crying, I"m laughing!! I'm laughing...haha ha ha ha...I'm laughing!" Seriously, where did this child come from??? Needless to say, I am going to pull that "1,2,3 Magic" book out tomorrow and read it!!!

Growing Up

I know this story is going to be super duper corny, but I just have to write it down. Tonight the kids were getting ready for bed and brushing their teeth. As they were brushing their teeth I realized that one of Nicholas' friends just found out that she had a loose tooth. I looked at Nicholas and said, "Hey buddy let's look and see if you have some wiggly teeth." When I looked in his mouth I saw an adult tooth coming in on the bottom behind one of his baby teeth! As dumb as I know this is going to sound, I almost cried. At the moment that I saw that adult tooth I realized that my little boy is growing up! He's turning into a real kid! All these memories seemed to just flash before my eyes...how excited we were when we saw that first little tooth pop through, the sleepless nights that followed as more teeth popped through, and all those itty bitty baby toothed smiles that we see every day. Pretty soon he won't have those itty bitty baby toothed smiles anymore. They'll be....big ugly adult toothed smiles. Ya know how when kids get their adult teeth in, they haven't quite "grown into" their mouth yet? They have that awkward, big tooth look for a few years. That's what he's gonna look like. I guess the idea of a big toothed kid scares me a little. Right now he's getting big teeth, but pretty soon his face will grow into that mouth and that sweet, soft little baby face will disappear. It will be replaced by a young man face and soon after a man's face. This tiny little event of a loose tooth (not even a loose tooth actually, just a new tooth growing in...it's not even loose yet!) turned into much more of a sentimental moment for me. I wasn't expecting the loss of a first tooth to bring up so many realizations about my little boy growing up! It's a tooth for crying out loud! I guess this moment is just a snapshot of the kinds of changes that will be affecting his life soon. I am just realizing what a big boy he is becoming and how sweet he is. Jeese, what am I going to be like on the first day of KINDERGARTEN???

A Special Moment

The original thought behind this blog was to keep track of FUNNY things my kids do. In thinking about things that happen on a daily basis, I have decided that it would be nice to include sweet moments as well...the kind that I will read someday and say, "Awwww, I remember that! I loved it!" So here is a special moment that I don't want to forget. It's not anything particularly exciting or even out of the ordinary, just something I want to keep in my memory...

This morning I awoke to see that the clock said 5:50. Ugh, I thought...Monday. I have 5 more minutes to sleep. Suddenly, I saw our bedroom door open and in walks little Maggie rubbing her eyes and with crazy hair. Mark lifted her up onto the bed between us and she immediately snuggled right in next to me. Man, her breath stunk TERRIBLE, but I didn't care. I just snuggled back with her, set the alarm for 10 more minutes and enjoyed our time together "snuggling" as she would say before my day began. I know times like this will end soon...I mean, I suppose when she's 16 I will be glad she's not crawling in bed with us...but I want to remember those everyday little things that someday will no longer be.

Discoveries

So last night I was getting ready to get Nicholas in the bath tub. He was in our room yelling for me, so I went in to see what he was doing. There he sat....naked....squating on the floor. I told him that he needed to get up because that was gross. He looked at me as he was squeezing his "privacy" and he said, "What's in there?" I said, "What?" He grabbed his testicles (I HATE that word) and said, "In here,what is that in there?" I held back a laugh and tried to choose my words carefully. I wasn't sure whether to tell him the real word or come up with some other word to describe "them." I couldn't say, "Those are your balls...or that's your sack." So I went with the proper word. I said, "Those are your testicles." He got a huge smile on his face and said, "TESTICLES?!" He giggled his funny little giggle and said, "Poke right through your TESTICLES!" I'm not sure what this meant, nor did he. I'm pretty sure he just wanted to say the word again. I couldn't hold back my laugh which made him giggle more. I just went on talking about something else and he seemed to forget about it. I just know that one of these days he is going to say that word at the most inopportune time!

More Questions About God

We were at the dinner table tonight talking and Mark said, "Oh, Nicholas asked me today which was farther, China or Heaven?" We laughed about this and I joked, "I don't know...it's close." Mark said, "Heaven isn't a place that you go to. It's a place where you go when you aren't living anymore." (He was avoiding the words, 'dead.') Nicholas looked puzzled so I said, "Well, look at those flowers on the table. See how they aren't alive anymore? They are still there but they aren't alive. When they aren't alive..." he finished, "they go to Heaven?" I said, "Yeah, sort of!" I know this was a really terrible way to explain what Heaven is but it was the only thing I could think of that MIGHT make some sense to him. He thought for a minute and said, "Remember though, Heaven is by Milwaukee!" All Mark and I could do at that point was laugh. :)

Environmentally Aware

Tonight we were putting the kids to bed. We had just finished reading a story UNDER Nicholas' new loft bed. This is a novelty since we just got it yesterday and they are LOVING it! Anyway, we read the books and Maggie and I were heading out to read more books in her room. As we started to walk out of the room, I turned on Nicholas' night light. Maggie said, "No! Mommy, don't turn it on!" I thought maybe she just wanted to do it and I said, "No Maggie, Nicholas will want this on when the lights go out." She said, "No mommy, remember? Daddy is goin green!" Ha ha ha! Mark has been talking about turning the lights off more and how he is "going green." It's kind of a joke so it was really funny to hear her say that!

Sympathy Cry

Tonight the kids were exploring and playing on Nicholas' new loft bed that has a desk and shelves underneath. I must say, it is pretty darn cool and I'm an adult! The kids thought it was just awesome! Anyway, they were playing away in his room while I was cooking dinner. All of the sudden I heard Nicholas' start crying (the I'm hurt cry). Maggie came out of the room and I heard the door slam shut. She stood in the living room sobbing and I could hear Nicholas in the room crying. All I could think was, "What happened to him that is so terrible that she is crying?" I was sure he was bleeding or something. When I got into the room I found Nicholas standing next to one of the drawers in his desk. He was holding his fingers and looking at the drawer, still crying. I gathered that his fingers got smashed by the look on his face. After examining his fingers and concluding that he was absolutely fine, I turned my attention to Maggie, who was still sobbing. In fact, she was crying so hard that she was doing that "hiccup cry" where you can't quite catch your breath. I kept asking her if she was okay and she just continued to cry. So there we are, the three of us, and both of the kids are BAWLING. It took some time to get them calmed down but I finally got out of them that Maggie accidentally smashed Nicholas' fingers in the drawer. She felt so bad that it sent her into hysterical cries. I felt so bad for both of them, but it was very sweet to see how much they cared about each other. When they were both tear free, Nicholas said, "See, I'm fine." :)

The Kissing Hand & Other Funnies

The other day Mark and I were going to a Cubs game with some friends. Our plan was to leave around 9:30 in the morning so I was planning to take Nicholas to pre-school before we left. I was really excited about it because I never get to take him since I work. So we were in the pre-school line waiting to drop off when Nicholas started recognizig people in the pre-school line. Pete and Macie Swinehart pulled up. Usually Pete's wife, Kelly, takes Nicholas to school so he and Macie know each other pretty well. When he saw them pull up he said, "OH! Macie got a really, really, really pretty, pretty haircut!" He said it in "his voice." :) Then he looked at Pete and said, "He got bald hair." :) I love how honest he is! Funny thing is that Macie didn't have a haircut at all. After Nicholas got out of the car, I said to Maggie, "Oh no! I didn't get to give Nicholas a smootch!" She thought about that for a minute and said, "I have an idea! Why don't you give me the kissing hand and then I'll give it to Nicholas when he gets home!" I melted. How in the world did she come up with this idea??? How did she turn out so incredibly sweet? So I gave her a kissing hand on each hand when we got home. Of course, she immediately wiped both of them off. That is my Maggie. I told her that no matter where she wiped them they wouldn't wipe off. She just grinned. I didn't get to see her give the kissing hand to him but Colleen told me she did when they got to her house. I love how much she loves her big brother!

Terrifying Incident....But Super Funny

Recently we went to Florida for spring break. This was our first big trip as a family and it turned out to be such a wonderful vacation. We will now do it every year. Anyway, our daily routine while there was to get up, eat breakfast, pack our cooler of food for lunch, head to the beach, go home to swim, eat dinner and go to bed. One day while at the beach the kids were getting hungry. I passed out peanut butter jelly sandwiches to Nicholas and Maggie who were both ready to eat. Maggie had her sandwich and was standing on the beach blanket. She took a bite of her sandwich and did a little dance around the blanket with her sandwich in the air. I was watching her and smiling, knowing that she was loving being at the beach. As I am watching her carefree dance, suddenly a sea gull comes out of nowhere and swoops down taking a huge bite out of Maggie's sandwich. For a split second, neither of us reacted. I wasn't sure whether to laugh or not and I'm pretty sure Maggie felt the same way at that very moment. That soon changed. Her WHOLE BODY was trembling and she just shrieked. I held her tightly as she cried....and cried....and cried. People were staring, not sure whether or not to laugh like I felt just a few moments earlier. I felt so bad for her, she was just terrified. After she calmed down and was finally able to be out of my arms, another seagull flew by. Oh dear, she screamed again, "Birdie, birdie!!!" In retrospect, the whole thing was HILARIOUS! Of course, I never would have laughed while she was freaking out but it was really really funny. I wish I would have had a video camera.

It's Been Awhile

So I haven't written any stories in awhile. I need to get back to a regular routine of telling stories. It's hard to remember to do this daily or even weekly. We get to dealing with everyday things like t-ball, school, yard and house work...it all gets lost in the shuffle. But then something will happen and I'll think, "I want to remember this." So here I am once again, trying to remember so many things that have happened since I last wrote. We'll start with the funniest ones I can remember and see where that goes...

Bathtime Funnies

I was giving Maggie a bath tonight in our jetted garden tub. It is a little high up and I always have a hard time reaching over the side to wash her. So I was completely leaning up against the edge and my "chest" was squished up against the tub. Maggie looked at me and said, "I see your boobs. Are those your boobs mommy?" I held my laughter and said, "Those are my breasts." I said this with the hopes that the word "breasts" would deter her from saying it again. I thought the word "breasts" wasn't nearly as fun as "boobs." Well, I was wrong, it did not deter her. Instead she looked at me and said, "Mommy I see your breasts." I just leaned over and laughed and laughed. What a girl!

I love my sister

The other day I was on the phone with my friend Amy. She was telling me about something that was going on at school that I thought was of high importance. We were deep in conversation and I can hear Nicholas saying, "Mom, mom..." Now this happens frequently when I'm on the phone so I told him 'just a second' and went on with my conversation. He persisted with his "mom's" and I continued talking. Then I hear him say, "Mom I think Maggie locked herself in the bedroom!" I decided I should stop talking and figure this one out. So I hung up with my friend and went over to our bedroom door. I asked Nicholas, "What happened?" He said, "Maggie locked herself in the bedroom." Our doors are designed so that if you lock the door from the inside the only way to get in is a little hole in the middle of the handle that you can stick this little tool into and it is "supposed" to help you unlock it. After he said Maggie was in the room, I thought, "Wait a sec, Maggie can just onlock it. What's the problem?" So I yelled through the door to Maggie. I said, "Maggie, come unlock the door." She said, "I can't!" I said, "Why can't you unlock the door?" She said, "I'm in the cage!" (Wrigley's dog cage.) I said, "Why did you go in there?" She said, "Nicholas told me to." At this point I just looked at Nicholas. He had a smirk on his face and said, "It was an accident." Yeah, right! I was beginning to see the whole picture now. I told him calmly to go to his room. Maggie is crying and saying she wants out. I am trying not to laugh because the whole situation is just funny. I try getting her to think about other things, like singing songs or nursery rhymes to me. I could NOT get in the room. I had no idea what we were going to do. I finally said, "Maggie, try to unlock the cage from the inside." Eventually she said, "I got it Mom!" She excitedly came over and unlocked the bedroom door. Meanwhile, Nicholas is still in his room waiting for me to talk to him. The little stink pot kept telling me that it was an accident, but by the look on his face I could tell it was NOT an accident.

What's That Letter Sound?

Last night we were working with Nicholas on letter sounds. He pulled up a card that had the letter B on it with a picture of a ball. He said, "B...b...watermelon." I said, "No, honey, B..bbbbb...what starts with b?" He thought for a minute and said, "BEER!" Oops.

Mark just said, "No buddy, it's ball."

At least he had the right first sound!

Valentine's Day

Today is Valentine's Day. I wanted to do something a little different and fun for the kids, so we made heart shaped pizzas. The kids could put anything they wanted on their pizzas. I let them choose from the ever popular and plain cheese, pepperoni, black olives, mushrooms, pineapple and ham. Much to my surprise they both picked black olives and pineapple! What a combination! Ha ha! When the pizzas were done, they each ended up eating one piece. Nice. At least they enjoyed it while it lasted.

After dinner, Maggie was determined to put on a "magic show." She saw an episode of Caillou where he did a magic show and she really wanted to make me disappear. She decided that we needed a hat, a magic wand and a cape. So we found an army style hat of mine, a straw from her princess cup and her John Deere pink fleece blanket from her bedroom. We were set.

While we begin our magic show, Nicholas and Daddy are watching the Daytona 500. Mark is frustrated with his racer, Kevin Harvick, and saying things like, "Oh come on! You need to get it movin' Harvick!" Nicholas is very seriously just as frustrated saying, "Oh, that makes me so mad! Harvick! Come on!" They are enthralled.

To begin our magic show, I am the magician and Maggie is the audience. First, I make a marker disappear. I waved it around in the air and then put it behind my back and stuck it in the top of my pants. Mark mumbles, "Kids, you better not use that marker for awhile." Nice honey. The next thing is to make a pencil disappear, which I do much the same way. This time I think I put it in my back pocket. Maggie is wanting more "magic" and I'm just not sure what to do. Ah! The coin behind the ear trick! I can do that one! All I had was a nickel and I told Maggie I needed a volunteer, someone to help. She said, "You aren't going to make me disappear are you?" I assured her I wouldn't make her disappear and she agreed to be my helper. :) I "magically" pulled the nickel from behind her ear and she was amazed. She immediately wanted to try it. So I'm sitting there as Maggie is trying to pull the nickel from my ear...but first she is trying to put it in my ear. I mean to tell you she is trying her hardest to SHOVE this nickel into my ear canal. I reminded her that it comes from BEHIND my ear. She tries a few times then gives up and wants to be the magician. We went back and forth for quite awhile taking turns being the magician. We made mommy disappear (under the John Deere blanket), Wrigley disappeared, and even Daddy and Nicholas disappeared. All of this going on while Mark and Nicholas are discussing the going on's of the Nascar race. Nicholas standing with his hands on his hips, shaking his head and sauntering back and forth saying, "Aw Harvick, come on!" What 5 year old does this??

For Valentine's Day I don't need a huge bouquet of flowers or a giant heart filled with chocolate. All I really wanted was to spend the day with my family just being us. Making heart pizzas and doing magic shows was the perfect end to a perfect day!

Oh How They Think!

Just the other day Mark and I were getting ready to go out to dinner with some friends. My niece, Erin, was at our house ready to babysit. I was telling her about the place we were going to eat. I had never been there and didn't know exactly where it was. As I was throwing something away in the pantry, I told her, "It's supposed to be a really good Mexican place with cheap tacos. It's a hole in the wall, I think." Pretty soon Nicholas came RUNNING into the kitchen yelling, "Where? Where is it? I want to see it! Where is it mom?" I looked at him and said, "What in the world?? What do you want to see??" He says to me, "You said there was a hole in the wall." :)

The kids love to play in the basement. They both got bikes for Christmas and since they can't ride them outside yet, they spend some time downstairs riding their bikes or playing other outdoor things. The other day we were downstairs playing basketball. The rule was, you had to shoot it 3 times, then dribble it to the other side of the basement, come back and shoot again and then it was the next person's turn. So we have Nicholas first who makes all 3 of his first shots. Then he goes to dribble. He runs as fast as he can (in a confined area) holding the ball the whole time with this excited, determined look on his face. His chin sticking out, too...he has this thing were he sticks his chin out when he's concentrating real hard. (I discovered yesterday as I was shoveling the driveway, that I do the same thing- ha ha!) All I could do was laugh. Maggie and I were supposed to be "blocking" him. As he's running, holding the ball, and giggling hysterically he runs back to the basket and makes the shot. He's so proud of himself. Now it's Maggie's turn. She takes her 3 shots which go straight up in the air and back onto her head. She thinks this is HILARIOUS. She misses all 3 but we both cheer for her anyway. So here she goes dribbling. Maggie is determined to dribble this ball. Remember she is all of 3 feet tall so she doesn't have much room for a "dribble." But, she tries bouncing the ball a little bit anyway. Nicholas comes running over trying to block her as we did to him. He gets it a little more, so he's jumping around and waving his arms wildly. Maggie gets upset and says, "Nickel (that's what she calls him sometimes), stop it! I'm trying to learn!" Of course, what can you say to that? So Nicholas backed off and proceeded to "let her learn." We had so much fun running around the basement laughing at each other and trying to "block" each other. Who knows? Maybe we have future NBA and WNBA basketball stars in the making!

Quethtionths and Thecretths

Lately Maggie has been really into asking questions and telling secrets. But, of course, she can't really say her s's so it's "quethtionths and thecretths." The questions are a major stall tactic. At bedtime she tells me, "Mommy I have some quethtionths." So I tell her, "Okay Maggie, just one more question." "No, Mommy, 8 more quethtionths." She comes up with all kinds of stuff..."Is it dark outside? Will Iris be here tomorrow? Do I have a booga (remember the New Jersey accent too) in my nose?" All of these "quethtionths" come last minute. It amazes me how she can come up with this stuff so quickly.

The other night she came waltzing into our room at 4 am. She was WIDE awake. I put her in bed with me and she snuggled right in, wide eyed. I told her it wasn't morning yet and she needed to try to go back to sleep. It was quiet for a moment, then she whispers..."Mommy, I have quethtionths." In my half consious state I said, "What Maggie?" She whispers, "How many people are going to be at your birthday party tomorrow?"

"I don't know, Maggie. Go back to sleep." There is silence for a minute or two. Then I hear, "Mommy?" "Yes, Maggie?" "Is it your birthday yet?" "Yes Maggie, it's my birthday now. It's time to sleep sweetie." Before I knew it, we were both asleep again. At the moment I remember thinking, "Oh Lord, she has questions at 4 am. All I want to do is sleep! It's my birthday for crying out loud!" But once I was fully awake and I think back to the moment, it makes me smile to think of my little girl "athking quethtionths" at 4 am. :)

The Giggle of Nicholas

This giggle of his is priceless. I can tickle him right in his armpit and he laughs SO hard. The laugh comes from somewhere deep down in his belly and doesn't stop. It's the kind of laugh that will make any person laugh just hearing it. Yesterday we got into a tickle match and I just kept tickling him because I wanted to hear that funny little laugh. I wonder if he'll always have this deep bellied laugh? I guess when he's 40 I'm gonna have to jab my finger into his armpit to see if it's still there.

It's Cold Outside

The other day the kids and I came home from the grocery store and Mark was in the driveway shoveling. It was absolutely FREEZING outside but the kids wanted to help Daddy anyway. So I unloaded the groceries and then went out to see what everyone was doing. Both kids looked SO cold, so I said, "Guys, it's time to go inside." As we were taking our coats off once we were inside, Maggie said, "Mommy my mouth is moving all by itself." Hee hee, she was shivering! :) I love it when she says stuff like that!

Chicken Anyone?

So...Nicholas just went to the bathroom and came running out saying, "Mom, you HAVE to go in there. The WHOLE ROOM is STINKY! It smells just like CHICKEN." Dear Lord child, you are just like your father. (Maybe a little like mommy too...)

Little Teachers

Today Nicholas decided he wanted to play school. I, of course, said YEAH! Let's play school! (I'm a teacher, what can I say?) So we did all these things to prepare for the school...we had to get pens, pencils, and markers. We had to get paper of all kinds and we had to put everything into a basket. He was also very specific about making some sequencing cards (he must have them in his classroom) about brushing your teeth and getting dressed. When all of this preparation was done, we had some leftover paper. Maggie thought it would be a good idea to make some "classroom rules signs." So I asked them what they should say. Right away Maggie said, "NO HITTING!" So I write it on the paper and on to the next one. Nicholas says, "NO BITING!" I thought, "Hmm...okay, I guess you really shouldn't bite at school. So I made the sign. We had two more pieces of paper left. Maggie says, "NO PICKING YOUR NOSE!" This made me laugh really hard...I guess she has heard me tell her not to pick her nose before. The final sign came from Nicholas..."NO ELBOWING." :) He said, "Just like in football!" I love that my kids wanted to play school today and I love that their classroom rules were only four simple things to remember:
1. No hitting.
2. No biting.
3. No picking your nose.
4. No elbowing.

If only it were all that simple. :)

A Sweet Moment

Yesterday I was talking to Mark about our plans for the week. I said,

"Oh! Heather told me she could come over and do my hair Saturday morning for my birthday! Isn't that nice?"

Nicholas looked up at me with his big eyes and said, "Mommy, I think your hair looks just fine. It's REALLY pretty. I think you could be a bride or something."

I ran over to him and said, "Oh honey that was so sweet! Thank you so much!"

Then I got a big hug and a smootch! That's my sweet and sensitive little boy.

Yuk!

Maggie just fed Wrigley a booger. Nasty!

Mom...

I am sitting at the kitchen table trying to pay some bills. Maggie is INSISTENT on having a tea party in the living room and she desperately wants me to play. I tried to encourage her to play tea party with Nicholas in her room but Nicholas is busy playing police man/construction worker (he would love the Village People). So Mags is out here and has her whole teaset set up on the floor and she has not stopped talking for a SECOND. She keeps asking me things like, "Mom, do you want salt on your tea? Would you like ice cream too? I think Kasey is coming to the tea party. She's here right now, you wanna go see her? Mom, you wanna go see her? Today? She's here. Mom, you wanna go see Kasey? You wanna go see Kasey cuz I'm cutting the watermelon. You can go see Kasey. Mom, you wanna go see her today? Mom, you want to go see her today on the picnic? Mom, do you wanna go see her today on the picnic? Mom, do you wanna go see her today on the picnic?" OH MY GOSH. That is not a joke! She said it that many times and as I write, she is continuing to ask if I want to go see Kasey. She will not stop asking for even a second if I don't answer right away. The talking is CONSTANT. It is so constant that the only thing I can do is laugh at her. She is like a wind up toy. I am unconciously answering her just so she will move on to the next question. Oh wait! Now she says, "Mom your foods ready! Your foods ready! Mom, you wanna come over here cuz your foods ready! Mom do you wanna come over here and eat? Mom do you wanna come over here and eat? Mom do you wanna come over here and eat?" I need to go. :)

My Daughter is from New Jersey

Maggie talks like she is from Jersey. I don't ever want to forget this stage because I know how much entertainment we get from listening to her talk now. We'll even purposely have her say something just to giggle a little bit. I know, it's mean but it's so darn cute. When she talks if the word has an er sound in it, she makes it an "oy" sound. So purple, is poyple and Barbie is Boybie. My sister Colleen will occassionally text me and say, "Have Maggie say this..." and we both start laughing because we can hear her saying it. Yesterday Colleen had her say "Worship the Lord" (this was after the "Does God have a dog" discussion) . She said, "Woyship the Loyd." We also like to hear her say "corn kernel." This, in Maggie's language, is "coin koinel." Ha ha ha! I am laughing just thinking about it! Soon she will talk just like everyone else so I just want to always remember how cute and funny she was with her Jersey accent.

Sleeping Beauties

Ya know how in movies they show parents going into their children's rooms at night and they look longingly at these beautful, perfectly still, sleeping children? Well, my experience is close to that. I went into each child's room last night before I went to bed just to check in. Nicholas' body was sprawled across his bed with his head practically upside down, breathing loudly. Maggie was twisted around in one of the most uncomfortable positions I could imagine with her mouth wide open, also breathing loudly. So instead of looking at them longingly at the door, I giggled to myself and went to bed. They make me laugh even when they aren't doing anything.

God and His Dog

I was driving the kids to my sisters house this morning and Maggie was chattering away in the backseat. Yes, chattering at 7:00 am. That child could chatter any time of the day or night...but I love it. Anyway, she says, "Mommy, I have a question..." So I say, "Yeah, what is it?"
"Does God have a dog?"
Where does this come from?? That alone made me laugh.
"Well," I said, "I don't know, what do you think?"
"Yeah, I think he does."
"What kind of dog is it?"
"Umm...like Wrigley."
"Oh, so God has an Irish Setter? What is his name?"
"Wrigley."
Okay...sounds good to me. I'm not sure why I think this is so stinkin funny, but I just do. I guess just the randomness of her thinking is what makes me laugh. So if anyone needs to know, according to Maggie, God has an Irish Setter named Wrigley.

Yet Another Obvious Moment from Nicholas

As I begin to write this story, I am already laughing to myself. Last night Mark and Nicholas went to the Concord basketball game. This story was something that happened awhile ago but the fact that they went reminded me of this funny story.

Our family was at the basketball game not long ago. Some friends of ours (we'll call them Bob and Susie) were sitting up a few rows from us. When Maggie and I went to get a sucker at half time, Nicholas was sitting right in between them while Mark was still in our seats. He was having a great time with these two. I had no idea what they were talking about up there, but I figured it was fine. They all seemed to be laughing and having a good time.

Later that night at bedtime I said to Nicholas, "Did you have fun at the game tonight honey?" He said, "Yeah!" I said, "Did you have fun sitting with Bob?" He said, "Yeah!" And then there was a long thoughtful pause...he looked up at me with big eyes and said, "He has REALLY big teeth!" For a second I wanted to agree with him but a thought struck me..."Did ya tell him that?" I asked. Without hesitation Nicholas replied, "Yeah!" Mr. Obvious strikes again.

Teacher Gone For the Day

The other day Nicholas came home from preschool and said he had a substitute. I said,"Where was your teacher?" He said, "She went to Indy to look at her son." :) This made Mark and I laugh so Mark said, "Oh yeah, what does he look like?" Nicholas said in his 5 year old way, "He has blonde hair and a big forehead." I love it when kids say things so innocently, not meaning to be rude or mean. Nicholas has a funny way about him. He likes to state the obvious.

Beauty Shop Guys

So I am sitting here thinking about what the plan is for our day off is (it's MLK day)...I look over in the living room and see Maggie applying fake eye shadow to her daddy's face. She sprays his hair ever so gently (yeah right) and tells him that the "water helps to shape his cheeks." Nicholas is sneakily creeping out of the bedroom with something behind his back. What is it? Ooh, the nose trimmers! This could be dangerous! While Nick makes his move on Daddy with the nose trimmers Maggie sneaks over to make her move on me with the spray bottle. She stops after Daddy says, "Not when she's on the computer, honey." I love it, Nicholas is combing Mark's goatee with the nose trimmers because he isn't allowed to turn them on. What's even more endearing about this situation is that Daddy is sitting patiently and actually seems to be enjoying himself. After putting the perfume bottle lid in Mark's ear to "get the earwax out," Maggie starts to put bracelets on Daddy. I love these days! I am off to get my "treatment" now.

Our Funny Life

The original thought behind this blog was for me to keep an online record of the funny things I hear and say each day living with a 5 year old and a 3 year old. Ya know all those funny things your kids say and everyone always says, "You need to write that down!" Well, this is how I am attempting at writing it all down. My hope is that someday I can print all my posts and share these funny stories with my kiddos. We will see where this goes and I hope that I can create something memorable for my children.

Mark and I have two kids: Nicholas is 5 and Maggie is 3. Since I am their mother, I feel like they are two of the funniest kids in the world. Nicholas has tons of questions about his world and it is so funny to hear a 5 year olds perspective on life. Maggie is the kind of child that keeps you on your toes. She thinks on her feet and the thought of her becoming a teenager someday scares me to death! The are completely opposite from each other in a lot of ways but very similar in many others. We are constantly entertained by these two and I feel like I always have a "Nicholas story" or a "Maggie story" to share with my family. Hopefully this is a way I can keep track of all these funny things and I can embarass both of them when they're teenagers!