Springtime

To me spring is snow cones, dirt fields, home runs and loud cheers. It is frantically rushing from one side of town to the other hoping to catch each child's game before the first pitch. It is holding a squirmy toddler while yelling at a fiesty 4 year old while cheering on my favorite player. It is sweating because my child is up to bat while the sun is beats on my neck. It is joy and disappointment. Win and loss. It is sitting with friends, chatting and cheering, laughing and screaming. It's my favorite time of year.

These are pictures from Ben's game on Saturday. I didn't get any from Alexander's game but I will try to post some soon - Xander's teams uniforms are awesome :) (hey - I'm a woman - I appreciate fashion).

Survival of the Fittest

For me one of the best things about being pregnant was thinking about what each child would look like. Would they have blue eyes? Green eyes? Blond hair? Curly hair? As babies they all have pretty much looked the same, but the older they get the more they change. Not just physically. Alexander and Ben are in a lot of ways polar opposites.

Alexander did not want to learn to ride a bike. For a long time Ian and I had encouraged him to learn to ride without training wheels. Ian's parents had bought him a really nice 2-wheeler but it sat in our garage untouched because Alexander had no desire to learn. Part of the reason is that a lot of things come naturally for Xander and this didn't. If he can't learn something right away and do it well then he gives up. Ben also had a bike but his had training wheels. He rode it all over (see My Worst Day post).

One day we're out front and Ben is riding around the cul-da-sac. Tiffany was there and we're all chit-chatting. Ian innocently remarks that he could probably take the training wheels off of Ben's bike - Ben looks like he's ready. So Ian starts to take the training wheels off as Alexander rushes by to get his bike. Ian helps Ben on the bike and he is riding! The look in Alexander's eye was priceless. He frantically tries to get on his bike - the fact that his younger brother is riding a 2 wheeler before him is killing him. Tiffany and I are laughing so hard that there are tears running from our eyes. Alexander learned to ride a bike 5 minutes after Ben. He likes to deny it, but it's the truth.

I have especially noticed the difference when it come to sports. Alexander is all about winning and practicing. Ben is more about socializing. I watched Ben play at his game today and half the time he was kicking dirt and biting his nails. It's kind of comical - the ball will be rolling right toward Ben but if it's not directly in his path then he will not exert the energy to get it. Ben thinks his team wins every game (totally not the case) or if he knows they lost he will insist that it was close and they almost won. Alexander will then pipe in with the exact score along with how many errors there were.

I love that Alexander likes to win. The thing that bothers me is that he is afraid to fail. He is so hard on himself and if he feels like he's failed he won't try again. In the first grade he was invited to a roller skating birthday party. He put the skates on and immediately realized that it was harder than it looked. Instead of trying he basically sulked and sat and watched the other kids. Ben was invited to a roller skating birthday party last year and I thought, "Great...here we go again". Ben put the skates on and immediately fell. And then he got back up. And he went into the rink and skated all around. He had the best time just being with his friends, learning something new. I love that Ben isn't afraid to fail. I just worry that he doesn't have that competitiveness to him.

I love watching my sons learn and grow. I know as parents, it's mine and Ian's job to guide them and teach them. I just don't want to fail them.

P.S. I loved the movie- I'd see it again if I had more time and money :)

The Happening(s)

Evan is becoming quite the character. He does this thing where if he wants to sit on your lap he back up slowly then plops down. Now that I think about it he seems to like to walk backwards. Like a truck in reverse. I keep waiting for that beeping sound. He also is talking more and more. Whenever I give him something, I make him say it first. In the past week he's learned "ippy" (sippy), "cucu" (cookie) and "oooo" (shoe). I love his little voice and the kids get so excited when he says something new. He loved David Archaletta's song the other night and was singing "oh, oh, oh" all night.

Lately I've been feeling like Max has been chewing me up and spitting me out. I think this kid might break me...seriously. However, today Max and Addy played together for over an hour without any major problems. We had Liam over a few weeks ago and it was the same. Whenever he has a successful play date I feel such a sense of accomplishment. See! He can play well with others...it's just his family that he has trouble with.

Ben has also been acting out. He has a stubborn streak the size of China. Everyday he tells me he doesn't want to go to school. Knowing my child the way I do I know this is because school requires work and he'd much rather stay home and play. He finished his report and can I just say I would rather someone pull out my toenails than to have to do another one of those. He has a science project coming up but luckily he seems excited about that.

The older Alexander gets the more ill-equiped I feel. In some ways I love it because I can talk to him as a friend. He's such a bright, inquistive kid that I forget he's only 9. He is a lot of help with the younger boys but he can get carried away. I have to remind him that I'm the parent, not him. It's so funny sometimes - when he tells Max to stop doing something it's like I'm hearing Ian. He is like Ian in so many ways and that's the greatest compliment I can give him.

Tomorrow 21 comes out! We're going to the 7:30 showing so if you want to go with us - call or e-mail me! I have been saving my movie passes that Kim got me for my birthday. I am so excited I can't even say. Also Jim Sturgess is supposed to be on Jimmy Kimmel tonight. I'm going to have to stay up and watch it. The more I watch Across the Universe the more I love it. But it's becoming a bit of a problem...like the other day when I was dropping Alexander off at his game I could hear the soundtrack playing in one of the other boys car. When the boy came over to walk with Xander I gave him the third degree, "Do you guys love Across the Universe? What's your favorite song?" All sorts of things came tumbling out of my mouth and the kid looked at me like I was insane. It's partially Ian's fault - I swear he invites someone new over to watch the movie every weekend. Maybe I should just invite everyone I know over for a showing and then be done with it?

P.S. Good news! I finished writing the skit for girls camp (thanks to some help from Kim). I'm the camp director this year and I was getting a little stressed but yeah!

Deep Thoughts

The receipts of my service :)

I'm always amazed by compassionate people. Not that I'm not compassionate but sometimes I'm oblivious to those that may need my help. Whenever I'm asked to serve I try to do it with a good attitude - but there are those who seek out opportunities whether big or small to help others. And I wish I were more like that.

A lot of the time I need a babysitter and a lot (o.k. most) of the the time that responsibility falls on my mom. My kids love her and she loves them but I know they (especially Evan) wear her out. I needed a babysitter Monday and asked Tricia. She didn't even hesitate to say yes! I already felt guilty about calling her because I know how busy she is and that she has 3 kids of her own. Tricia is always so willing to serve and never complains about it! My other sil Trina is the same. If I call her to watch the kids she will rearrange her schedule to accomodate me. I appreciate them both so much.

Yesterday at Ben's baseball practice I realized I left my phone in the car and I needed to call Ian to coordinate some things. I started strapping Evan in the stroller to head back to the car (it was a little ways away and up a hill) when one of the dads volunteered to watch the kids so I could run get my phone. It was a little thing, but I appreciated it so much. And then I thought of Alexander's coaches who always offer to pick him up for practices or games. Because of them I am able to have both of my boys in sports at the same time.

When I was younger my mom, sister and I volunteered at a battered women's shelter. It was an eye-opening experience for me and one that taught me the importance of service. I'm lucky to have parents who serve willingly, faithfully and most importantly happily. I hope I can teach my children to be and to do the same. And I really hope that I can get my act together and be a better example for them.

Easter Eggstravaganza!

Easter was a three day event for us. On Friday Alexander had a friend over and we colored eggs. Most years the whole coloring of the eggs stresses me out but this year I actually enjoyed it. There was no fighting and all of the kids had fun doing it. I spent the rest of Friday baking rolls and cookies.

The Camerons were in town so they came over Saturday for lunch and wiffel ball. We had a great time chit-chatting and reminiscing. The Camerons creamed us in wiffel ball. They're like a well-oiled machine! We'll have to have a re-match next time they're in town.

Later on in the day we headed over to my grandma's house for our annual Easter dinner/egg hunt. Ben made out the best - one of his eggs had a pocket knife in it! James offered him $53 for it but Ben decided to keep it (sure glad my kid knows that value of $). It was fun to see baby Mel and baby Jack after reading so much about them on Becca & Teresa's blogs. They are more adorable in person! Evan's favorite part was the pink frosted cupcake he managed to snag and Aunt Cathi helping him find eggs.

Sunday after church we went over to Nana & Papa's (Ian's parents). Ian's mom is a superb cook and made a delicious Easter feast. After the boys hunted for eggs in the front yard. They had been looking forward to this since Ian's parents stuff the eggs with money. In the end, they all had to divide up the cash evenly so each boy got $15. Max is sure that will buy him at least 2 toys.

At Ian's parents Evan climbed into one of the puppies kennels. Uncle Sean picked him up and carted him around. Cages! Why didn't we think of that before?

The worst part of the whole weekend is that Addy (my 3 year old niece) is in the hospital with an infection. We couldn't visit her in the hospital because we have all been a little sick so I really missed seeing her. Get well soon Addy! We love you!

What's Your Emergency?

Evan just did the cutest thing...he brought me two mismatched socks and said "ow-died" (outside). He knows he has to put his shoes and socks on to go out. Yup, he's a genius.

In other news...Ben called 911 today. Alexander had made himself hot chocolate this morning and all of you who know Xander know that he likes to rub things in. So he's sitting drinking his hot chocolate saying, "Ohhh...this is so good...this is the best." Naturally the other kids wanted some after hearing Xan go on and on. Ben asked for some but I didn't have time - I was scrabbling to get ready to go to Ben's baseball practice. I told him, "Make it yourself or I'll make you some later." Not good enough. I started to change the baby's diaper and the phone rings. Alexander said, "It's City of Chandler." "Don't get it! I don't have the time!" I replied. I thought it was probably someone from the sales tax division and that maybe I made a mistake on my dad's return. It didn't occur to me that it would be the police. I piled everyone in the car and we're off! I made a quick stop at my dad's and noticed a police car drove by. Alexander yells, "Ben called the police!" For some reason I'm really dense and don't really think much of it. I asked my dad to take care of it (please...). On the way I got the full story...apparently Ben didn't like my reply about the hot chocolate and decided to call the police. I didn't understand his thought process here, but then again, I rarely do. He dialed 911 and Alexander told him, "If you call 911 mom and dad will ground you for a year!" so he quickly hung up. I was upset and Ben knew it because it occurred to me that if my dad didn't talk to the police they will break down my door. I called my dad - luckily he took care of it. He's been doing that for me a lot lately. Love you Dad!

In other Ben news...he was assigned a report (or maybe I should say I was assigned a report) for school. He is supposed to take notes, make a rough draft, a bibliography and final copy. Mind you, he's in 2nd grade! If this was Alexander I wouldn't sweat it...that kid is always on top of things and always gives himself enough time to do things (I have NO idea where he gets that from). But it's Ben. We just finished the notecards and it was beyond painful. I can't wait for the rough draft!

Max is sick = Max is SUPER ornery. This involves lots saying the word "idiot!" and lots of violent threats, you know..."I'm going to kick you in the head" those kind of charming things. He is trying my patience to the nth degree. And he's been doing this thing where he likes to kiss the older boys because he knows it annoys them. You see, he can't get in trouble for kissing. I am in awe of the things he comes up with. I keep telling him, "Use your powers for good, not evil!"

Alexander has been pretty good because he knows he can get his way as long as he obeys me. His whole world revolves around "Super Smash Bros. Brawl". He has a friend coming over tomorrow to play it and can hardly wait. I've never seen him excited about video games before...it's a little weird and I hope it wears off soon.

We are all loving American Idol. How great is David Archaletta (I probably butchered that but I'm too lazy to google)? He is our favorite, along with Brooke, Carly and Michael. I loved Beatles night(s) although Tiffany, Ian and I were all miffed about how Kristy butchered "Hide Your Love Away". Kick her off already!

You all will notice that Ian gave my blog a little bit of a new look. He even added a slide show of Jim at the bottom. Love you Ian!

and the Winner is....

Drum roll please....Darrel!!!!! No drama...he won fair and square. Darrel - I'm thinking you probably want the mix c.d....e-mail me with some ideas of what you might want on it. Congratulations!

I hope to do some blogging today, but as my whole family is under the weather...we shall see :)

Update of Movie Monday

Impressive! Good job guessing. I'll do the drawing tonight when Ian gets home from work and will notify the winner. Thank you all for playing. That was lots o' fun.

Movie Monday

Jen recently posted movie quotes on her blog. You had to guess the movie. It was so fun going back every day and seeing what everyone had guessed and the correct answers. I have compiled a list of 10 of my favorite movies (that was harder than I thought - turns out I have about 50 favorite movies). I have posted a quote from each movie. Please guess only one every 24 hours (to give others the opportunity to guess). I will highlight the movies that are correctly guessed. Everyone who guesses correctly will get entered into a drawing to win either a mix c.d. (courtesy of Ian) or my chocolate chip cookies. Oh yeah, and don't cheat by googling the quotes. No one loves a cheater.

On your mark....get set...GO!

1. "Good heavens. Are you still trying to win? You've got an overdeveloped sense of vengeance. It's going to get you into trouble someday." The Princess Bride - guessed correctly by Darrel

2. "You should've gone to China, you know, 'cause I hear they give away babies like free iPods. You know, they pretty much just put them in those t-shirt guns and shoot them out at sporting events." Juno - guessed correctly by Jamie

3. "You must know... surely, you must know it was all for you. You are too generous to trifle with me. I believe you spoke with my aunt last night, and it has taught me to hope as I'd scarcely allowed myself before. If your feelings are still what they were last April, tell me so at once. My affections and wishes have not changed, but one word from you will silence me forever. If, however, your feelings have changed, I will have to tell you: you have bewitched me, body and soul, and I love, I love, I love you. I never wish to be parted from you from this day on." Pride & Predjudice - guessed correctly by Megan

4. "I will eviscerate you in fiction. Every pimple, every character flaw. I was naked for a day; you will be naked for eternity." A Knight's Tale - guessed correctly by Kim

5. "Brothers don't shake hands. Brothers gotta hug." Tommy Boy - guessed correctly by Brian

6. "I was hired to kill you. But I'm not going to do it. It's either because I'm in love with your daughter or I have a newfound respect for life. " Grosse Pointe Blank guessed correctly by Stephen

7. "You still have options man."

"Yeah, jail or Canada and they both suck. I mean I could never come home, so what is it, it's a choice of a 6x4 cell or an endless wasteland of frozen tundra. "

"Montreal is cool."

"Man, they speak French." Across the Universe - guessed correctly by Darrel

8. "I find the key is to think of a day as units of time, each unit consisting of no more than thirty minutes. Full hours can be a little bit intimidating and most activities take about half an hour. Taking a bath: one unit, watching countdown: one unit, web-based research: two units, exercising: three units, having my hair carefully disheveled: four units. It's amazing how the day fills up, and I often wonder, to be absolutely honest, if I'd ever have time for a job; how do people cram them in?" About A Boy - guessed correctly by Kayla

9. "What'd you bring her here for?"

"One, I had no choice, two, I may have suffered a slight concussion and three, she is mentally imbalanced to a spectacular degree."

"I can hear you!" Bandits - guessed correctly by Becca

10. "Tell us everything! Everything!"

"Everything. OK! I'll talk! In third grade, I cheated on my history exam. In fourth grade, I stole my uncle Max's toupee and I glued it on my face when I was Moses in my Hebrew School play. In fifth grade, I knocked my sister Edie down the stairs and I blamed it on the dog... When my mom sent me to the summer camp for fat kids and then they served lunch I got nuts and I pigged out and they kicked me out... But the worst thing I ever done - I mixed a pot of fake puke at home and then I went to this movie theater, hid the puke in my jacket, climbed up to the balcony and then, t-t-then, I made a noise like this: hua-hua-hua-huaaaaaaa - and then I dumped it over the side, all over the people in the audience. And then, this was horrible, all the people started getting sick and throwing up all over each other. I never felt so bad in my entire life."

"I'm beginning to like this kid, Ma!" Goonies - guessed correctly by Tom Bogle

P.S. Ian and I had way too much fun doing this.

All You Need is Love

Today Ian's brother Sean got married to the coolest girl. Meg is a free-spirited hippie chic. She used to be a photographer (the photos I've seen are AMAZING) and now she is a teacher. Meg and Alexander get along well because they both love "creatures" (as she likes to say). She is constantly rescuing cats, dogs, birds, fish...so much so that I have heard Sean refer to their house as Noah's Ark. One of her dogs was even part of the ceremony (I'm kicking myself for not getting a picture). Meg is a vegetarian but is totally cool with other people not being one. Her wedding dress was made of hemp and her shoes were made out of recycled tires. Ian had all sorts of jokes about that (can you get them pro-rated if they fall apart?).

Since Ian's mom is from Scotland they both wanted to have a Scottish wedding. Sean wore a kilt (which was made from the plaid of Ian's mom's clan) and they had a bagpiper play. He rocked! They also incorporated the Scottish "hand fasting" ritual in the ceremony - which by the way is the origin of the slang phrase "to tie the knot". It was a beautiful ceremony. Meg was crying as her dad walked her down the aisle, which of course made me cry. As the minister spoke (who btw was a woman) I cried lots more - the things she said were touching.

Afterwards they had a big shin-dig at their house. It was catered by a guy who made the best rolls. I wish I would've snagged a few more. Sean has a beer tap on his back porch which Evan was enthralled with. Wouldn't you know that it was right his height? Ian and I were exhausted keeping him away from that and out of trouble. I had to include that picture of Max - Sean & Meg have a swing in their backyard that sits really high up. I called it the "time-out" swing because there was no way Max could get out of it (and he was being a stinker - BIG TIME)...but as you can see Max was lovin' it.

It was a perfect day. I'm so happy that's Meg is officially part of the family now :).

P.S. Thank you Kim for taking time out of your busy day to take their wedding photos.

If Only Tonight We Could Sleep (looks like we can!)

Alexander is a genius. Seriously. Ian insists Alexander takes after his father.

This past week Evan has started climbing out of his crib. I will be soundly sleeping and all of a sudden there is a baby bum on my face. I'm not joking. Ask Ian. We have had little sleep this week and I've had the lack of sleep headache for days. We used to be able to just put Evan in his cribs for naps and bedtime. We'd say, "Evan, go to sleep" and we'd shut the door and he'd go to sleep. I've done that with all my babies and the only one who has bucked the system was...wait for it...you guessed it...Max. I think that was mostly because Max was my only one who didn't take a binky. Well now that Evan can climb out of the crib, he doesn't go to sleep...he just splunks over and is off!

Today on the way home from the grocery store Evan fell asleep. Yeah! I put him in his bed...all is right in the world...until Alexander gets upset about not being able to go to grandma's to play Wii and starts whining. Loudly. And wakes the baby up. I am pissed. Sorry for the language. I lay with the baby in my bed thinking of all the ways I can make Alexander's life miserable (not really, o.k....yeah, I totally was). After it becomes apparent that Evan is not going back asleep (even though he is loopy he's so tired) Alexander comes in. I put Evan back in his crib so Alexander can witness Evan's ingenuity. Alexander is amazed. After us putting Evan back in his crib a few more times (hey - it's entertaining to watch him climb out) Alexander notices that Evan always climbs out on the same side, the same way.

Xan: "Mom, why don't you move the song toy over so that it is blocking where Evan climbs out?"

Me: "Because he'd just climb out another way."

Xan: "I'm going to move it."

He moves it and guess what? Apparently Evan can only climb out on the one side. Like most people are right-handed Evan is right-legged. He can't move the left leg up high enough and the other place where he could climb over is against the wall. Genius, Alexander...pure genius. That's why we're keeping you.

Elaine has nothin' on me...

I'm o.k. with being an embarrassment my kids. Quite frequently I make a fool of myself around my children. And I'm o.k. with that. It's just who I am. Most of the time they just ignore me...a few times Alexander has rolled his eyes at me. The other night I went to pick up Ben from Christian's house. They were playing in the basement and when I ran down to get Ben there was music on. Naturally I started to dance. Maybe I exaggerated my movements a little and I might have leaped a couple of times. All in good fun, of course.

After raiding Tiffany's M&M supply we headed home. On the way, I'm asking Ben the usual questions, "Was it fun?" "What did you do?" You know...the usual. Ben says with a disgusted look in his eye, "It was fun until you started dancing. That was embarrassing! It ruined my whole time."

"Seriously, Ben...it ruined your WHOLE time? C'mon..."

"You don't even know Mom, you don't even know."

Don't come by tonight - I'm going to be perfecting my dance moves for future embarrassment opportunities.

P.S. I'm surprised that none of you made fun of me for the HSM reference in my previous post. Maybe you all love Troy & Gabriella as much as me...

The Music in Me

I think I had this poster on my wall!

Recently Chris posted about music. How hearing certain songs can take him back to another time and place. I feel the same. I love going to other people's blogs and hearing music that I haven't heard in forever. Someone had old-school Madonna on their blog and instantly I was reminded of hot days by the pool - playing the "favorites" game with Madonna blaring in the background. Heidi and I used to love that Madonna record - the one with Holiday, Lucky Star, Burning Up...I can remember sitting in her room listening to the songs and singing along. We all used to dress up and have my dad video tape us singing Madonna or Cindi Lauper.

Any time I hear a New Order song I'm reminded of my first concert. The Throwing Muses & New Order played at Mesa Amphitheater. I was 14 years old and had got my braces off the day before. The whole "crew" was there - Matt Porter, Kevin, Rich, Mark, Elise, Kim - were you there Merilee?

Or my MAJOR Smiths phase courtesy of Mark of course. I think the acoustic version of Back to the Old House will always be one of my favorite songs. I remember listening to Question of Lust by Depeche Mode while sweeping my dad's building - Heidi and I would dance with our brooms pretending it was really Dave Gahn (in Heidi's case) or Alan Wilder in mine.

I remember those lame church dances and how Brandon Beecroft always tried to get the d.j. to play "This Charming Man" but he only did a couple of times...and how excited we'd get when he'd play The Cure. One time I danced with Paul to Facination Street...but I always wanted them to play Hot, Hot, Hot or even better - Inbetween Days - my all time favorite Cure song.

Everytime I hear Green Day I'm reminded of the crowded club (the Mason Jar - I think?) that we saw them in 6 months before they went BIG. How Billy Joe was mingling at the bar...but I was too wussy to talk to him...or how I told Ian "I love you" for the first time and Green Day played in the background (pretty romantic - eh?).

The Wonderstuff reminds me of driving with Kim to MCC - singing all the wrong words to Caught in My Shadow. Then I invariably think of NEDS and of course Nate, the railroad tracks and hole in the rock (that place has really gone downhill). Or that time we hiked the Superstition Mountains right before Nate left on his mission.

If I'm listening to Dance Hall Crashers I remember Jill, Tiffany & Lisa's apartment. How much fun it was there - the time we dressed up in 70's garb and saw that lame movie. Or our trip around the U.S. (although I left in Pennslyvania - something I'll never forgive myself for!). Lynn's house in New Orleans...the beach in Florida, South Carolina...our "whirlwind" tour of Washington D.C. Luckily Ian and I were able to go back there after we got married.

Whenever I hear Op Ivy or Rancid I can remember standing next to Tim Armstrong at the t-shirt stand at one of their concerts and how I was so oblivious...but Ian whispered in my ear to look slowly to the left....That was a gross concert for reasons I won't expound upon.

The song Black always reminds me of Ian....we've slow danced so many times to it that it might be "our song". I didn't really like Pearl Jam at first, but they sure grew on me...to the point that I think I listened to them for 4 months straight after their 2nd album came out. We traveled to San Diego to see them in concert...I can remember Jason being with us because we stopped a lot for food...

The song Green Eyes reminds me of Ben everytime I hear it...he loves that song for that reason...any Elliott Smith song reminds me of Alexander - he loves him as much as Ian does (or maybe because Ian does). Anytime I hear The Killers or Jimmy Eat World I think of Max...how he constantly sings the wrong lyrics to The Middle or Somebody Told Me. The song "My Eyes" by Travis always reminds me of Evan.

I could go on for hours...What are your favorite song memories?

Policy of Truth

A while ago I heard Ben talking to Max, telling him that he was sure there is no such thing as the Easter Bunny - because a giant bunny hiding eggs in your yard is ridiculous. Max and Ben both have expressed this to me and each time I just crack up.

Anyway, the other day we were at Target getting a birthday present for one of Ben's friends. We are in the lego aisle and Ben really wanted me to buy him a lego car. He argued that it was only $5 and that they are really cool. Max quickly chimes in, saying he will help pay with his money. This confuses me because Max has no money. Anyway, I tell Ben "no". He proceeds to throw a fit and that's when I walk away from him. Ben catches up and keeps on whining. About this time I am really questioning the sanity of taking 4 boys to Target alone.

Finally I say, "Fine, Ben I'll get you the car for Easter instead of an Easter basket with candy."

Ben looks shocked, "What? You're the Easter Bunny???"

"You already knew there was no Easter Bunny - who did you think was hiding those eggs and leaving you candy?"

"I didn't think it was you! You always were the last one to find the eggs!"

At this point Alexander pipes in and says, "Ben, Ben...that's just something parents do to trick you."

Honestly I have been so worried about "lying" to my kids about these things but I think Ben was more disappointed to find out the truth. Just like when I told Alexander about Santa Claus. His reply was, "I still believe!" and this was after months and months of him asking me if Santa was real. I just can't win.

And I'm also wondering...as a religious person is it bad to tell my kids about Santa and the Easter Bunny? Does it detract from the true meaning of the holiday(s)? I've always thought it was a magical part of childhood...I'm hoping it's the same for my kids. What do you think?

Why Can't I Be You

Sometimes it gets annoying being married to Ian. He is good at everything he does. Really. When we were dating in college we took a volleyball class together. Ian was easily the best player in the class and one girl in particular took notice. She'd always call out, "Ian! come play on our team!" and he'd always reply, "I can't...I'm helping my girlfriend." Yeah, I think I was the worst player in the class. By far.

It's not just physical things...it's mental things too. Ian always knows the answer. It's the same with music. He almost always knows who sang what song, what album it's on, what year it came out...That stuff doesn't bother me too much because really, it's useless information. Today was the exception.

We were laying in bed this morning as Evan was crawling all over us. We're talking...Ian starts singing a Cure song. O.k. I have been listening to The Cure since jr. high. I used to fall asleep to Disintegration. I knew The Cure long before I met Ian. Maybe he forgot because when I tell him he is singing the wrong lyrics he laughs at me - you know the laugh. The "yea, right...like you know The Cure better than me" laugh. Normally I'd just let it go...but I know I'm right. So I say, "How much is it worth to you? 5 back massages?" He looks at me and can't believe that I'm serious. He says, "One back massage..." And the satisfaction of being right, I silently add. I go get the album cover.

Ian can't believe I was right. Let me tell you...it was a wonderful feeling. I have been teasing him all morning. "Wow...I can't believe I know more about The Cure than you..." I say. Ian yells back, "YOU DO NOT KNOW MORE ABOUT THE CURE! DON'T YOU DARE BLOG ABOUT THIS!" He just can't stand to be wrong...it's these little things that make my day.

P.S. the song is #9 on Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me. Anyone want to guess what lyrics he got wrong? Also, do I really have to do laundry today?

One Man Wrecking Machine

I love this baby. He is just starting to talk and tries to repeat half of what I say. As a little baby, I thought he was going to be chill. He was so laid back and a go-with-the-flow type of child. Then he became mobile and it was like the world opened before his eyes. He is literally into EVERYTHING all of the time. If it is quiet, I know we are in trouble. Things he has gotten into/broken in the last week include: My crockpot, Ian's electric toothbrush, our swivel sweeper, Roxy's water bottle (Roxy is our pet chinchilla) and the list goes on....

I need to give Evan credit - if he wants something and screaming doesn't get it for him, he will find a way! He has climbed on the dining room table countless times to get one of the boys drinks. Evan also has just figured out how to scale the bar stools to get to the kitchen sink. I can't even leave the room for 5 minutes. If left alone in the office he will scoot the computer chair over to the desk, climb on the desk and proceed to throw everything off the desk until he finds something interesting. He does the same thing in the master bathroom using the tub to propel him up to the sink. When he learns how to open doors we are in MAJOR trouble.

OK COMPUTER

This post is from me--Ian.

I originally had this post titled Welcome to the Cheap Seats. Hence the random picture of The Wonder Stuff. I guess Sheri had just done a post with that title. I am too lazy to take off the picture and find my new Radiohead reference.

It has been awhile since I added something new on the old family blog. I have a few stories that Sheri keeps telling me to write about, but this one is all new...and fresh on my mind. I guess I will keep certain parties involved nameless, due to some embarrassment. I know that isn't like me, but it will work just the same with a faceless victim.

Okay...

I have been texting more now so that I won't go over on minutes from our family share plan. Sheri knows, oh too well, that I don't really have a job that lets me talk on the phone all day..so it is not usually a problem. Of late I have went over and got tagged with extra usage charges. Nate and I have talked a lot more and I had some serious help with some Valentines Day and Birthday surprises --thanks Kim and Tricia--so the minutes added up. So, Sheri and I got 300 texts a month added to our plan, and now I just text other drivers were we should eat lunch, meet points, help each other out, etc...and now I save many minutes.

Well...

I mentioned that I found voicemode on my phone and now it is even easier to text. I had to adapt it to the sound of my voice by taking 3 minutes to read some common words. Now when I talk in text mode it will put down the words that I say. I mentioned I have to talk a little bit robotic to make sure the words don't get jumbled together. Well at some point a certain person misunderstood and said they would really like to hear a voice text from me. I immediately realized they didn't get how it worked so I tried to explain through text.

That didn't work either...This is where my sly grin appears.

I text to the victim-

'call my cell phone.voice text has been activated'

... seriously, you can't make this stuff up.

I turn off my truck and prepare my voice for the impending phone call.

ring, ring...

..okay Ian..no laughing..calm down ...you got this one(sorry that was my pep talk)

"Hello?" the voice on the other side asks.

and now me, in my best Stephen Hawking voice(robot sounding, just in case you missed that reference)

Wel-come to Voice mode.

To speak in voice text with pfft IAN pfft
Press 1 now. To Exit press 2.

and yes pfft is me making a static sound before and after I say my name in my normal voice.

I hear them say

'what!?!'

then press a button. 1 or 2 I presume... he he he.

Hello? My robot voice asks --

then a not so nice word and they hang up.

..and I of course bust up laughing because of how beautiful it has turned out so far...

ring, ring...

Here we go again. Robot on.

Welcome to voice mode blah,blah.. same exact thing

"What the! .. oh, come on! huh?! what!!!"

They pressed a button again.

Hello? robot asks

"Hello, IAN?"

Hello Bleep(I can't say their name) this is voice text.

"Can YOU hear me?"they ask meekly.

Sorry robot malfunctions and breaks into laughter

"What is going on?"

...more laughter

'It's me,' I said. 'I'm here.'

They were still confused how I had a voice system to do that

and thought it would be cool if text could have our voices attached to them.

I explained that would be the exact same as talking on the phone.

That is why this person shall remain nameless.

Yesterday

Yesterday Ian had the day off. Mostly so he could go to the dentist (he was long overdue) and meet with an insurance adjuster about water damage in our house. I don't like to do those sorts of meetings because then I get the third degree when Ian gets home. Anyhow, Rowan and Addy came over to play in the morning. Max and Addy played so good at first. They had me cover them in stuffed animals and then they'd break out. I tried to take a picture but then Evan started pulling Addy's hair which caused Addy to wiggle and knock Max down...After a while Max started being a turd (sorry but it's true) and didn't want Addy to play his "game". So I turned on Aladdin for Addy until Darrel got back. Rowan was hilarious. He basically did his own thing and even endured hair pulling and pushing by Evan (we train them early in methods of torture at our house) but didn't seem to mind.

Later on in the day I got the bright idea that since Ian was home we should call up the Ganems and go bowling. I even had coupons. It started with me forgetting Evan's shoes and socks. I know! But in my defense, I did remember Evan (I've only forgotten him once in his whole life - but that's another blog). We get to the bowling alley and it takes FOREVER to get us checked in (in the mean time Ian is frantically trying to calm Evan down as he screaming "BALL!"). We couldn't use our best coupon because it was league night and we only had a limited amount of time to bowl. As it were, we didn't even get to finish bowling one game. Some of the highlights:

*Jason saying he was dying of hunger 5 minutes after we started (this is only funny to those who know Jason - and the fact that Tiffany predicted this right before we came)

*Liam's ball going everywhere but down his lane

*Alexander and Tayler's ATTITUDE. Whatever goes wrong is the parent's fault.

*Evan screaming...then screaming some more. Next time we will get a babysitter

*Who knew that a three year-old (Elliott) was the best bowler out of the bunch of us?

*Max insisting that he should get to keep the bowling shoes

We tried...