Max's Tooth

It was hanging on by a thread... finally he let Ross give it a little tug and out it came!! Max didn't even know what happened! But he was very proud afterward and slept holding his pillow once again!


The tooth fairy has been a frequent visitor to our house lately. I have been ordered to share with you (in all fairness) that she came for Zoey's eighth tooth the other day! And she helped us out by leaving a note for Max saying she was excited to get his first tooth very soon. Clever, that little fairy is...

Siblings...

As Zoey and Max get older and we get to see the individual personalities start to take off and become their own, we notice a dynamic growing between them as siblings as well. This is to be expected, of course. We smile and give thanks when we hear them playing together so nicely, or when one offers a sweet gesture for the other. And then there are those other times... Ah, yes, the yelling and fighting occasionally does occur. And then... Sometimes things happen that don't fit into either category, but just crack us up all the same!! And these are worthy of a blog post...

Situation 1: Casting the Blame

Zoey was playing a game on the computer and Max was watching over her shoulder. At some point in the middle of the game, he got bored and decided to leave the room and go upstairs. She was so into her game that she didn't notice. And then all of a sudden a huge crash came from the office where she was! Ross and I went running into the room. She didn't even look up from the computer, but quickly yelled, "Max did it!" She didn't even know he was gone, or even what really happened (some things fell off of a shelf), but she was certain she was not at fault. And therefore, quick to blame her brother.

Situation 2: How to Stop the Madness
Otherwise titled: My sister sometimes talks so much that I don't know what else to do to stop it!

I don't know what it is except for just being a normal 6 1/2 year old girl, but sometimes Zoey talks and talks and talks your ear off. It often happens in the car when you are in close quarters with her and there's nothing else to do. She also has a little bit of the older sibling "bossyness" in her as well. Sometimes we will be in the car and she'll be chatting away. And then she will start ordering Max to say things or do things. "Max, look out my window. Do you see that red truck? Let's wave and see if we can get that guy to look at us! Or look out your window. Do you see the corn?" Sometimes, Max is all for it and plays along and they have such a fun time. Other times, he just isn't in the mood. He'll tell her "no" but if that just doesn't work (it often doesn't), then he just resorts to snoring and pretending to sleep! It cracks me up every.single.time!

I am actually waiting for a good time to try it on Ross, if ever I just don't feel like listening or doing something!!

Tooth Fairy Pillow

Max has two loose teeth. I had to put a rush order into Grandma to get a Tooth Fairy Pillow for him. See, she made one for Zoey as a surprise a couple of years ago, and well, I have learned lately that one kid can't have something without the other one having it too. He was very proud of his pillow when it came in the mail, and was quick to say, "it's just like Zoey's." With all this said, however, he doesn't want his teeth to come out!! He keeps telling us that only the dentist will take them out!! Anyway, I went to check on him last night and he was sleeping with his pillow. So cute:

Party in the AM

There is a rule for Max that he is not allowed to get out of bed in the morning until it is "day". "Day" meaning the sun is up. Well, these long summer days start well before 6 am here in Ohio, so sometimes, our days start pretty early. And that is difficult when we are staying up late, too.
He does have dark curtains in his room, so sometimes, if he wakes up but is too sleepy to get out of bed and check outside, he ends up going back to sleep- golden! However, this morning, he had to go the bathroom really bad (which must have been his wake up call) so he left his room and discovered the day had dawned!

I was actually downstairs on the couch because I couldn't sleep from someone's crazy house alarm in the middle of the night (grr.... don't get me started), so I awoke quickly to a big jump and then running feet to the bathroom. Max starts every day with a JUMP off of his bed!! When he is ready, he is ready! I heard Ross whisper for him to come into the bed with him. And then it was quiet for a minute. I wasn't fooled though. Neither of our kids would sleep in our bed even if we wanted them to!! And then all I hear is, "Ummmm, something here is not right!" More running to get to the stairs (he actually doesn't walk anywhere)... and then (VERY LOUDLY),

"Let's get this party started!"

Yep. A SIX AM party wake-up call. By our five year old. How awesome is that? It was just one of those moments where all you could do is laugh!!

Hopscotch

Sidewalk Chalk and Summer Days = Hopscotch

We had some fun playing hopscotch on the driveway the other day!







Zoey can't just do it the normal way. She has to add special jumps!


It had rained earlier and the sidewalk chalk was new. So as soon as the driveway had dried a bit, I told them to head outside. They were so excited, that they forgot shoes. I figured, what is summer without some dirty bare feet, right?

Bad Idea, Mom! I had to scrub those stinkers to get the blue out!!

Grace

I feel like lately God has been throwing life lessons at me left and right. OR at least one major one, anyway. I figure if I don’t take note of it, I may just have to keep re-learning. I don’t have time to be put in the remedial class, though. I have a lot more to learn and a long way to go. This is my main reason for writing. Trying to articulate my thoughts may make it more permanent in my brain. And then to have it written permanently so I can go and reread it should help too (just the refresher course, instead of having to retake the class).

I write a lot about the weather. I probably have that Seasonal Disorder where it really affects me. So winter, cloudy, rainy weather, definitely dampens my spirits. In contrast, then, I love summer! I love the long, lazy days that come without big schedules and daily demands. And after a long winter, and one of our first in a couple of years because of living in Southern California, I was really looking forward to this summer, in particular. We didn’t have big plans; just to get outside a lot, to enjoy grilling, and swimming and running in the sunshine. And then I got sick. Nothing major, but it kept me from running and from swimming and generally put me in a pretty sour mood. And it took a couple of weeks to figure out what was going on before I could get better. I did get better and was fine for about a week, until I found out that I needed to have some other medical procedures and a surgery. Again, nothing too serious, and I actually had the surgery this past week and am recovering and doing pretty well. But, again, it was keeping me from running, and from swimming, and from just being able to enjoy the summer. The little bit of anxiety that was building and then the absence of good exercise to relieve the stress, were really beginning to take its toll and, goodness, a monster was starting to emerge. I was seeing a part of me react with my husband and children that I did not like and I didn’t know how to handle it! I was angry that summer was not turning out how I wanted. My mind was making me think worse thoughts than I needed to and I was taking it out on my family. This is usually why I run. For me, it is so much more for my mental capacity than it is for physical fitness. And yet, sometimes in life, you just can’t run. I couldn’t use that as my excuse. There is only one thing that doesn’t go away or change with the seasons. All along I knew that the only thing that would help me was God and that I needed to give it all to him and really let it go. I thought I was, of course. But I wasn’t doing it completely. Maybe just for that five minutes in the morning or the evening. And then, as soon as something came along during the day, I quickly forgot the earlier commitment I had made.

I have been blogging a lot lately. More than usual for me, anyway. And I have been doing it for a reason. Each day I was looking at my life, my family, my surroundings, and making a point to see the beauty in them. When nothing significant happens in the day, which is often better than when something does, you really notice the beauty and the blessings you are given. And when you notice them, you are more aware of the Creator that makes it all possible. And you learn to ask for the grace to deal with the tough stuff, and you know that no matter what, you will get through things. EVEN if you have to recommit yourself every hour of that day, or even every minute of the hour. As I write this, I still can’t run. But, I can smile. And I don’t have to be that monster that was emerging. I can just be. And I can give thanks for this…

And this…

And this…

Because it is more than I deserve.

Lots of Summer Goodness...

Baked in a pie!

We have been enjoying the wonders of summer produce (and their prices) lately. California spoils you when it comes to fruits and veggies!! We are learning how to be very seasonal here in the midwest. Zoey and I had a fun time making some berry tarts today!

Here she is with hers!

The coffee is brewing... come on over!

Overheard

The kids were playing in the hall upstairs today. They had all of Zoey's stuffed doggies out and a couple of cars. Max was setting up a car race and the dogs and other things were obstacles... He was sort of play-by-playing the action, when Zoey joined in...

M: Watch out (one car to another) there are obstacles in the way. You can't get around them.

Z: What about this obstacle? (grabbing Max's sandals and putting them in the path) I call it THE SHOES OF STINKINESS!

M: Yeah, those are my gross ones!

Love you, kiddos!

Viewpoint

Max is still a big Scooby Doo fan (although we have branched out a little more lately). Certain Scooby movies/episodes have a monster character that is a little scary for him. BUT, he can't not watch!!
So, that is when we find him here:

It's safer up high on the stairs, you know?

But, if there is nothing scary... he can be found totally just chillin'!

Enjoying it so much that you don't care about your shirt all hiked up and your belly showing... As the kids have been quoting from Madagascar lately, they would be quick to say, "AHHHHHH, THIS is the LIFE!"

Flashback Friday

Volume 1

One of my projects for the summer is to turn old photos/scapbook stuff into digital photo/scrapbooks! Well, I haven't really started, and I need a good scanner, but still the goal is there!! I figured to keep me motivated, I would do Flashback Fridays!! Since we celebrated our anniversary this week... here is a wedding photo and one from our honeymoon!

My Muscle Men

On a hot summer night recently, the boys were going shirtless (hey, we live out in farmland ohio, its what you do). Max climbed up on the chair behind Ross and looked so cute when I asked to see his muscles, that I just had to get some photos.



And like the good boys they are, they went around the house posing so mommy could get more pictures!!

Gravity

So I had successfully kept my kids away from gum for over six years. Not that this was a big goal, mind you. It was more of me being lazy and not wanting to deal with things like gum in hair or on the rug, than anything else. However, that ended when Zoey got gum as a fun reward in school this past year. Every once in a while after that, when she was with me at the grocery store, we would get some gum and share it on the ride home. She is old enough that it isn't a big deal anyway, and she is so cute about it. She tells me that "it is very important not to swallow it (it lives in your stomach for seven years after all, yep the kids still say that), BUT you can drink the "juice" that it provides... AND remember to spit it out in the trash when you are done!" Clear enough. So the other day, I decided to let Max in on the fun. I explained the rules. Zoey re-explained them. And...we had success!! About 10 minutes of chewing and drinking juice and we were done. Off to the trash it went. A couple of days later, we tried again. Max is a fast learner. I figured it was safe to leave the room for a second. Will I ever learn? Things always happen when you do that!!

I returned to find Max standing up, but bent over at the waist, head between the knees!
"Are you okay, Max?" I asked, already knowing the answer!
He looked so upset and said, "it is not coming back!!!" He had accidentally swallowed it, and was trying to get it to come back!! Poor thing. He was devastated, that he hadn't followed the rules. He wanted it back so that he could spit it in the trash. I quickly told him it was okay. Zoey chimed in that it would be in his stomach for seven years though! That made it worse, as you can imagine. So I just said that it was fine and it would come out sooner. And, thanks to the Magic School Bus, he knows the path it will take. So he smiled and said it would come out the other end, "in my poop!"

And speaking of things coming out that end....

We were all riding in the car the other day and let's just say, Max had some gas(that is putting it mildly). He ripped a silent one, and all of a sudden it hit my nose. So I kind of made a couple of big sniffs. (Why? I don't know... why would I want to smell more of a stinky smell? Just like when someone smells something stinky, tells you that it smells stinky and then sticks it in your nose to smell it and you do) Anyway, Max heard my sniffs and said, "HEY MOMMY, You smell something? MY TOOT!!!!!" Such a boy that one is.

Happy Anniversary Ross!

I am so enjoying the ride!

Krispy Kreme Manager -in-Training

Actually, it looks like he already has the job:

Keep up the good work, boys! Looks like its all running smoothly!

In Just a Blink...

it seems we went from this:

To this:

Happy Fourth!

ps thanks Grandma Bette, for the face paint!

Child Safe- Maybe... 6 Year Old Safe- Not So Much

Zoey makes it her responsibility to make sure that she and Max get their daily vitamins. She usually reminds me, and then I get them out of the bottle and she passes them out. Today I was busy, so she got them out of the cupboard. I told her to hold on a second, and that I would open it as soon as I was finished. Well, since patience is not part of her vocabulary yet, she took things into her own hands. A second later she said, "It's okay. I got it open." Confused, I looked at her and said, "how did you do it, it has a child safe top?" She replied, "I just read the top! It worked."

I looked at the top and sure enough it said, "To open, push down and turn"

Well, alrighty then. I guess if they can read, they can understand that it is medicine and not candy. I just thought the whole thing was humorous.

inside fun and a laundry bag!

As much as I love being outside... especially during summer, I sometimes have to get some stuff done on the inside. So the kids entertain themselves with whatever they can find of course!!

Here they are with my laundry hamper! It is on a stool and they were sitting inside pulling it up and down and up and down. (it is weird, not hard or soft, and stays in whatever position you put it in)



I must say... I love to hear them playing together... It makes my heart smile!