Tyler loves baths . . .Finally!

The first time I gave Tyler a bath as a newborn baby he screamed. And EVERY bath after that (no exaggerration) for two and a half years he screamed bloody murder. It was baby shampoo and a washcloth, but anyone could easily have mistaken it for thumbscrews and the rack. Then this summer we went to visit my brother Mike in Idaho. We'd been there a few days and the boys had been playing pretty much nonstop in a huge pile of dirt with cars and shovels and stuff, so needless to say they looked like neglected orphans before too long. With a huge sigh, bracing myself for the worst, I announced the bad news to him: time for a bath. He cried before I even started peeling his clothes off. I had top pick him up and carry him so he wouldn't make a hasty getaway. Then a miracle; my sister-in-law keeps a well-stocked bathtub; squirting frogs, rubber duckies, boats, fishing games, wind-up sharks . . . in other words, a floating, squirting toy store. An hour later he screamed and cried when I made him get out. I guess all those years he was just bored.

Some of the boys' favorite things . . .

Picnics

Even if it's only on the front steps.

Forts

Remember building forts? It's one of their favorite things to do, and it keeps them busy for hours at a time. It reminds me so much of my childhood. I love it. Although I hate having to fold all the blankets again.

The marble run

This was one of my most creative ideas, if I do say so myself. I like marble runs, but I didn't want pieces all over the house, and I thought it would be fun if it were magnetic and could stick to the fridge. I got a bunch of PVC pipe and plumbing pipe pieces, cut them up, spray painted them and glued magnets on the back. Actually, that makes it sound simple and easy, but really it was a big pain in the butt. Worth it, though because the kids love it. And I admit, I've probably played with it as much as they have.

"Sleepovers"

For some reason my kids LOVE sleeping on the floor. I don't know how it started, but every Friday night now they sleep on the floor, like it's a sleepover or something. I put the laptop in there and they watch a movie, and play, and fight, and completely destroy their room. I think it's really cute, and I'm glad they have fun as brothers. I'm also glad that the thought has not occured yet to Joey to have a sleepover with one of his friends. Does anyone else think that it's scary to send your kid to sleep at someone's house? Or even to have someone else's kid over? It scares me, and I'd like to just say no sleepovers allowed, but I don't want to be a mean old meanie, either. What are your thoughts on sleepovers?

Carving Pumpkins

We usually go to a pumpkin patch, but because we ran out of time this year we went to the Wal-mart pumpkin patch. The kids couldn't wait to carve them. Jared had class every night, so he wasn't there to help, which was unfortunate because carving three pumpkins turned out to be rather exhausting for me. The first mistake I made was telling Joey to scoop out the guts. "What?! Are they really guts? Gross!!" I assured him that they were merely seeds, and so he helped a little bit, but since I wouldn't let them weild the knife, all three soon lost interest and I ended up by myself while they went outside to play hopscotch. Joey had drawn the face he wanted on his pumpkin, but had a meltdown after it was carved because it "wasn't scary enough." I dripped red food coloring on the teeth to look like blood and made some angry eyebrows, and that appeased him somewhat. In the end they turned out OK, and I'm glad we did it, because Halloween is no fun without Jack-o-lanterns :)

Halloween

The kids went as Michaelangelo, Leonardo and Raphael from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I planned their costumes 6 months ago, when they were really into ninja turtles, but by the time halloween came around they kind of wanted to be Transformers instead. Too bad, though, since I'd already bought the material and green clothes. I think they turned out really cute, though, and they thought the weapons were especially cool. On our way out the door Jason said he was going to fill his candy bag all the way up to the top. But after only 1 block, both he and Tyler said they had had enough and wanted to go home. So I took them back while Jared went with Joey for more loot. Jason ate his entire stash within 24 hrs, then tried to convince his brothers that they really didn't like their candy, and should give it to him (to no avail)

I'm a Blogger!

I guess I jumped on the bandwagon. We'll see if it lasts, since I'm usually pretty aweful at writing/ journaling/ newslettering, etc. But I love reading everyone else's blogs, and I think it's a great way to keep in touch, so here goes!!

Tyler

He's just so adorable. I can't get enough of his cute little voice. He's our little firecracker. He has the most incredible temper tantrums. And, being my baby, I let him get away with far too much. He has to do everything his big brothers do. He loves Hot Wheels, big machines, trains, and riding his bike (aka his "motorcycle"). When not on his "hog" he travels by air; everywhere he goes he has his arms out and makes airplane noises. He sandwiches most things he says between 'moms.' ie. "Mom, I'll do it by myself, Mom." Jason's nickname for him is Bubba, and some of the kids that come over to play don't even know his real name.

Jason

Jason is funny, charming, and dramatic. He goes from raging storm cloud to ray of sunshine in the space of 3 seconds. He loves all things that have to do with sports. He did swimming lessons and soccer this summer, and they were the highlight of his short life. He also loves play-fighting. These are the things I hear from him all day: "Do you want to play baseball with me?," "Can I watch a movie?", "can I take a bath?" and "Try to beat me up, Dad" or "Wanna fight?" His goal in life: Get candy. If you want to insult him, tell him he's little. He insists he's a big boy. In fact, when we visit Jared's family it can get confusing because his brother is also named Jason. So Big Jason and little Jason, right? Nope, it's got to be Uncle Jason and Big Boy Jason, lest we insult anyone.

Joey

I can't believe I'm old enough to have a 7-year-old.

Joey is a great kid! He never gets in trouble in school, and everyone likes him. He is friendly and smart. He loves mazes, math, trains, music, games, transformers, and playing with friends. He hates all fruit, writing, chapter books and homework. A conversation I had with him recently went something like this:

Me: Joey, I think you should set a goal that you get ready for bed the very first time I ask you to. Do you think that's a good idea?

Joey: No, I don't think so.

Me: Why not?

Joey: I just don't think that's a very good goal. You know what my goal is? To get more Transformers.