Mt. Everest

Yesterday I went to Staples. It was a cold and windy day and Evan refused to let me put his shoes on. After 2 minutes of struggling his shoes are on! And I feel like I should be handed an Olympic medal.

Then he screams and yells as I pull him out of the car. "I want to stay in my seat! It's too cold!" I calmly explain that when we go in the store it will be warmer. But the tantrum gets progressively worse. He kicks me, hits me. I feel like doing the same to him, but start breathing deeply to calm myself down. I count to 10 about 100 times. Evan is still yelling.

I sit him down on a bench outside the store and take away his binkie. I tell him that he won't get it back until he calms down. 3 minutes (or maybe 10 hours) later he calms down and then is a model child in the store. So pleasant and calm.

I catch 2 of the employees looking at me strangely (they had witnessed part of the tantrum outside). I just smile. Because at that moment I feel like I have conquered Mt. Everest.

Going places with toddlers has taught me patience. Perserverance. And it's taught me not to care what other people think.....mostly.

Carving Pumpkins

Max has been obsessed with carving pumpkins this year. We usually do it on the Sunday before Halloween because Ian is home and out of the two of us he is far more creative and artistic than me. But Sunday I was feeling blah (I read "Shopaholic takes Manhattan" all day and I'm not ashamed to admit it) so we finally got around to carving them yesterday.
Ben scooping out the pumpkin. Don't you love the look on his face?

Max carved this pumpkin mostly by himself (he had a little help from Ben).

I started carving the big pumpkin and then Xander came in and took over. I was so happy - and it turned out great!

Max with his finished pumpkin.

On our front doorstep - all lit up! I think Evan was the most excited. He kept pointing and yelling, "We got pumpkins!". I've discovered it's much more fun for me if I let the boys do all the work - including the clean up.

Friday

I spent the day with Max and his class at a local farm that has rides, pig races and a pumpkin patch. I've been there before when the boys were younger - but it's changed a bit. It was a lot more fun than I remembered (part of that may be that this time I wasn't pushing a stroller or chasing a toddler around).

Max was the only kid in my group who had any interest in feeding the animals. I think the other kids didn't like the idea of an animal licking their hands.

When we rode the train we had a little bit of excitement. The caboose (the part we were on) de-railed! It was crazy! And the driver kept driving for atleast 2-3 more minutes before she realized we were bumping along off the track! It was a scary adventure - but the kids loved it!


Max got to be one of the pig leaders during the pig races. That meant he was in charge of cheering on a particular pig. His pig didn't win, but he got a little toy pig as a consolation prize. It made his day.

Class picture. Max's teacher is so awesome. She's the best kindergarten teacher - and perfect for Max (nothing rattles her!). I feel so lucky that he is in her class.

Right before we left each child got to pick a pumpkin from the pumpkin patch. Max got the biggest one he could find.

I loved spending time with Max. One of my favorite parts was riding the rollercoaster with him. He was a little scared at first and held on tight to me. Once we got going he had a blast!

I'm so glad to have my mom who babysat Evan. I know he wears her out, but I know he's in good hands - so I can enjoy my time away from him and not worry. Thanks again, Mom!

Drama

I was moody today. I hate it when I'm moody. I try not to be but then I just get irritated that I can't stop being moody. My poor boys - they just don't understand female hormones. Part of my moodiness is because I'm worried. Alexander is really unhappy. This is causing friction at home and stressing me out. Fishing is the only thing that seems to make him happy.

Part of it is his appearance. His front teeth are crooked and the dentist doesn't want us to go to an orthodontist until most of his baby teeth have fallen out (he still has alot to lose). He sometimes gets teased at school and I know it's wearing on his self esteem. Plus there are some girls at school who are just plain mean. Luckily he has alot of guy friends who stick up for him.

Anyway, today as we were driving home from soccer practice Alexander started telling me about Drama class. I love when we are alone in the car together and we talk - just the two of us. I also love that he takes Drama at his school. He loves it too. Today they did an exercise that involved them being characters and acting in different situations. He said that after his group went the drama teacher took him aside and told him, "Alex, you are a natural! You should really be in Improv". That one comment made his day. It's amazing to me how kind words and compliments can make someone's day.

When he told me that story, just hearing the happiness in his voice made my day. It reminded me to look for the positive in what my children do - and to compliment them on it.

To build them up instead of tearing them down.

Twinkle

Evan loves to sing. His current favorite song is "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" followed closely by "These Bones" by Nada Surf and "Shut Your Eyes" by Snow Patrol. He does know most of "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star". He would know all of it except that he keeps getting kicked out of Nursery during singing time. Not only can he NOT sit still but he encourages other kids to join in his party. He takes after his dad.

My favorite word he says is: "yes". It's the way he says it. If you listen carefully you can hear him say it in the video.

I never want him to grow up.

Obligatory October Vacation Post

Things that were good about this vacation:

1. Tiffany - she cooked every meal and cleaned up after.

2. Tiffany - she believes dessert is essential.

3. The kids - they hardly ever fought.

4. My dad - he kept the kids occupied with fishing, Ranger rides and helping them make a tree house.

5. Greer - ice-cream. I don't think I need to say anything else.

6. Tricia - she's fun to be around and makes a KILLER salad.

7. My mom - she talks my dad into keeping the kids occupied so the adults can play Bananagrams.

8. Cool weather.

9. DVR - we got to keep up on Glee (the most hilarious show on tv), Castle, SYTYCD and Top Chef. I think I might have the hots for the bad-boy brother.

Things that were bad about this trip:

1. Xander's friend got sick and had to go home early.

2. Evan kicking me all night. Which caused me to get no sleep and consequently I felt like I was walking around in a sleepless haze most of the time.

3. Evan destroying Kohl's fishing pole, Xander's fishing pole and Tiffany's buckle in her car. All in one day.

4. Max fighting with everyone.

5. Ben crying over everything.

Here is some photo documentation of our trip. These photos are out of order but I won't tell if you don't.


Evan could've hiked up and down this hill all day. Too bad it didn't make him tired.

Picture in front of the lodge on the last day. Evan missplaced his shirt.

A rare picture of Evan actually sleeping.

The boys played games alot. Favorites were money games and their own version of Settlers of Cataan.

Bonfire! The kids had a blast roasting marshmellows (grandpa gave them a tutorial on how to roast the perfect marshmellow before they started).

You scream...I scream...we all ate some ice cream.


I want to steal Molly (and I pretty sure Tiffany does too). It was so cute to see the kids with her - Alexander, Elliott and Max really took a shine to her. Look at those cheeks! I want to eat them.

Now we are all sick with the flu. At least it waited until after we were home.

This

is what happens to your hair when you take a shower and then go to bed with a fan blowing in your face.

I think he should wear it to school like that. Just because.

Also, proof that fall does exist in Arizona:

Picasso in the making

My boys love to draw. The other day Max was irritated at Evan so Max drew a picture of Evan's future wife. Of course Evan didn't understand that Max was being mean. He even kissed the picture when Max told him to.

Max could be the next Picasso.

In other news: today we are heading up to the Lodge. Tiffany and Tricia (and their respective crews) are joining us. It should be fun.

We saw Couples Retreat on Saturday. Vince Vaughn was the best part of the movie and it still didn't hold a candle to Whip It (in my opinion).

Nake-d

I went to the bank yesterday. I was gone for 10 minutes. This is what I saw, driving back to the house:

I'm so glad I had my camera in the car with me. Look how happy he is to see me.

Thanks to Mandie, who edited the first photo for me. And for pointing out that his flip flops are on the wrong feet. Which makes the picture that much funnier.

Who said nakedness wasn't happiness?

The other day

Evan slept until 9:00! And he actually woke up in a good mood. He got his tiger and leopard, sat them at the table then told them to watch as he drew a picture. It was too cute. I always like seeing the softer side of Evan. Especially since he has been harassing and jumping on Max all the time lately.

That big tiger has been his constant companion lately. I had to draw the line at bringing the tiger into Sam's Club. That thing is bigger than Evan is!

P.S. If you want to hear the guy from Whip It sing - click on Landon Pigg. If that doesn't work go to youtube.com and search Landon Pigg. Click on "Falling in Love at a Coffee Shop." You won't be sorry.

2 favorites

I saw the movie Whip It on Saturday night. It started out slow but once Razor (the roller derby coach) came on screen it picked up. And got good. I kept thinking that Razor sounded just like Owen Wilson but looked nothing like Owen Wilson. Turns out it was Andrew Wilson (Owen & Luke Wilson's brother). He was one of the best characters. So witty. Kristin Wiig also did a spectacular job playing Maggie Mayhem. I might have to see it again - especially since I had to leave the theater to deal with a phone call from Xander (apparently Max and Evan were beating the tar out of each other). And I might have to buy the soundtrack - the band in the movie was really good. One word of advice - if you are thinking of letting your teenager see it I recommend seeing it first.

Friday night Ian and I watched Castle (thank goodness for Cox On-Demand). We had missed last Monday's episode because we were at The Killers concert. That show has some great one-liners. Like when they are looking at a murder victim with misspelled words all over her face and Castle says, "Looks like the English language was murdered as well." Or when they find a body with all the intestines taken out and Castle says, "Someone must have really hated his guts." Seriously. I usually don't like crime shows (too depressing) but this one is awesome because it doesn't take itself too seriously. It manages to be dramatic and funny. Not to mention Nathan Fillion. We loved him in Firefly, Serenity, Dr. Horrible and now this. It's my favorite show on tv. Mondays at 9:00 pm on ABC.

I'm looking forward to Couples Retreat which comes out Friday. Vince Vaughn = hilarious.

What are you watching?

Buckle up...this is a long one

Today started off with me making sunflower cakes (yes, you read that right) and my family asking what the horrible smell was. I was making them because today was also Multi-Cultural Day at the boys' school. Ben's class studied Native American cultures and his teacher wanted to have a food table with samples of different Native American foods. Hence the sunflower cakes. I also made pumpkin raisin cookies (which smelled much better than the cakes).

After making the cakes, I quickly slapped on some make up and clothes and ran down to the school to see Alexander's group do their presentation on Meso America. It was so interesting and dynamic - those boys were hilarious! They even did a small commercial during their presentation about ritual knives. It cracked me up! Thanks to Adam who babysat so my mom could come too.

Then I went back home and attempted to get a little work done. An hour later I went back to the school to bring in the sunflower cakes and pumpkin cookies for Ben's class. This one mom, Emily, organized the whole food table - it was wonderful! She found creative and appetizing foods to make and display. I had to leave before the kids got to eat but when I came back later, Kahea (who also slaved in the kitchen making beans and squash) said it was a huge success!

I love the happy look on Kahea's face in this picture

I quickly ran to pick up lunch at Elmers for my mom and dad and then ran home. I got a little bit of work done, and then went back to the school to be a docent for Alexander's class. This meant that I got to take a group of kids around to the different classes to see what they did. My favorites were Japan (the kids got to make oragami and hats), Egypt (the kids made these AWESOME pyramids out of food), Native America and America (Max's class). It was such a wonderful and enriching way to spend my day. Plus I got to hang with my homies - that's always a fun thing!

My cousin's little girl - this is the look she gave me when I told her to smile

Thomas - all dressed up as an early American settler

Xander checking out the reports in Ben's class

I loved when each time Max saw me he would run up to me and give me a hug. And Ben would come over and talk to me. Alexander was having a bit of a rough day (some punk girls in his class were rude to him) but he told me afterward how happy he was that I was there.

My mom watched Evan most of the day so that I could go. She is such a trooper! When I came to pick him up I asked if she wanted a drink (we were going to Sonic) and she said a whiskey would be great! I guess Evan really wore her out.

Tayler's class is studying Egypt and this week they did a wax museum. Tayler was an Egyptian Goddess. She's was awesome. And looked beautiful.

It's so fun for me to watch kids learn and be creative at the same time. I love it! And now my kids are on break - I'm so excited not to have a schedule for the next 2 weeks! Woohoo!

Michael flexing his muscles. He's quite the ladies man :)