Holiday Season 2010

What have we been up to? Well Thanksgiving was fun, relaxing, and quiet. We enjoyed a great dinner at a great friend's house. The kids played, the parents relaxed, and best of all, the food was awesome. Even though it wasn't a huge formal thing, the kids enjoyed sporting some new clothes.



So then came the rest of the Christmas shopping. I was surprised when I was done by mid-December. Go me! Well that is what I thought. Come to find out, one of Kaidynce's gifts didn't work (aka was broke) in the box and on Dec. 23rd, on our way to San Diego, we had to stop at 3 different Targets to find it. The third store had ONE and I grabbed it. It worked (thank god).

For Christmas, we enjoyed a visit with family at my dad's and the kids absolutely enjoyed being at Grandpa's house. We had a nice dinner on Christmas Eve at my dad's and then returned to the timeshare to set out cookies and milk for Santa reindeer food for Rudolph. Did you know that reindeer will eat all of their food off the small balcony of a second story timeshare/condo? Yeah....not sure the downstairs neighbor appreciated a deck full of glitter and oatmeal but my kids sure thought that the empty balcony was great. It meant Rudolph came. Brennan was a little concerned though that Santa left one cookie. I think we will have to talk to Santa next year. It took me pointing out the big stack of presents to him before he actually realized Santa came and left them. He walked right past them to see if Rudolph ate his food but didn't notice them. Gotta love kids right? So after a great morning enjoying gifts at the timeshare, the kids learned that Santa also visited Grandpa's house (who knew!). More toys but the greatest gift left by Santa was the scooters. We had to bribe the kids to get them in the house for lunch. And then we had to fight them to take a nap so we could enjoy the evening and not have devil children arrive.

So here are some pictures of our wonderful holiday. Hope you enjoy!

Our Little Boxer

So on Monday, November 8th, I received a call at work at about 10:30 telling me Brennan had fallen at daycare and had received a pretty gnarly mark. The preschool director suggested I come and take a look at it. So I call Aaron and head to daycare, with him meeting me there shortly thereafter.

Upon arrival, I am totally expecting a crushed face. I am expecting the worst, especially when the front desk person tells me it is bad. She takes me back to where he is and there he sits in a chair with an ice pack to his cheek. My first thought was "At least it is not as bad as I was expecting" but that slowly changed to "my poor little man" when his lip started quivering and he started crying upon seeing me.

His face was extremely swollen and quite bruised. He said he fell really hard. I asked him what he fell on and he told me it was the steel climber on the playground. He also told me he needed to go home because he had a fever (leave it to my child on that call). After calming him down and daddy arriving, we had him take us to the playground so we could see where he fell. He showed us and then had to show everyone his owie. We decided to take him home but not without stopping at mom's work for tacos first (yeah definitely my child). He smiled in the car, ate crunchy cereal, and was overall in a good mood. I called the doc's office and was told unless his face was crushed in, there was nothing they could do so we decided to skip taking him for x-rays that were just going to tell us that he broke it and to keep ice on it since casting his head was not an option.

So it has now been over a week and the bruise is still present. Not nearly as present as the first couple days, but present all the same. He has had no issues with it and unless he presents problems in the near future, we will be maintaining our position of no x-rays or poking and prodding of doctors that is not necessary.

So here is the damage on the first day:


I don't have another pic of how it looks today, but I can assure you, it got worse after this picture and now is much better.

Kaidynce's Birthday, Halloween, and Oh My it is Already November

So I am not the greatest at this blogging thing. I go and post an update and then seem to forget about the fact that I have people who follow this. So I will make an effort to be more consciuos of this blog and my "fans".....

Anyway, September brought Kaidynce's 2nd Birthday to us in the form of Tinkerbell and Princess dress up.

She loves her dress up stuff. She enjoys her baby dolls she got. She loves her clothes that were bought for her. Did I mention that she LOVES her dress up stuff? Oh yeah, and so does her brother.

But hey - at least he is playing with a jet.

So her birthday has passed bringing us into October. We began that month with a trip to San Diego which included Sea World. The kids loved it and I have to say I had a pretty good time too. I think we will be getting a family pass when our taxes come back.




October also brought the pumpkin patch at Murray Family Farms in Bakersfield. We had a good time as did the kids running through the ant farm and being able to pick their own pumpkins.



And then came Halloween where my little Tinkerbell and Lightning McQueen Pit Crew Member were troopers when it came to trick or treating. Brennan kept up with the bigger kids while Kaidynce tried stealing everyone's Halloween decorations, especially the pumpkins. Yeah I know I am in for a world of pumpkin smashing from her in my future. And upon coming home, candy was split up for me, daddy, and the kids and Halloween was over.

So here we are in November with Thanksgiving and Christmas right around the corner and I can honestly say - we are almost done with Christmas shopping already so no rushing at the last minute - YAY US!

Okay so I promise to try and keep this updated more often. Time just gets away from me and I forget. No other excuses!

Pictures of the House

So as I stated in my post a couple days ago, I was going to post some pictures of the house showing our painting project. Well here goes........

This is the before image of our tv wall (note the visible speaker wires):


Here are our after shots. The tv wall is now blue and the rest of the walls in the living room and down the hall are ivory. Also note that there are no visible speaker wires (that was a project in itself but we succeeded).



And this is the back wall in the kitchen that we painted a couple months back. The rest of the kitchen walls are ivory to flow with the house.

Leave me alone - I have been busy

Okay so when I logged on today and noticed that it has been over a month since I have posted, I kind of felt bad for my followers (yes I have a few).

Well August has been a busy month. I was sick with the flu at the beginning of the month all the while celebrating turning another year older. By the middle of the month, I was ready to paint our house. We have been talking about it for quite some time but we actually did it. We hid the speaker wires, repaired the wall where those are hid, and painted. And if I do say so myself, it looks awesome! I will post pics on a separate posting (they are on the home computer).

The end of the month brought forth a lot of work for Aaron. He was busy working his tail end off at work and ended up with some nice overtime for it.

Labor Day weekend included a trip to San Diego which I will post about in a couple days. I have to collect my thoughts and details before I end up rambling.

Allergies, Colds, the Flu....Oh My!

If one were to come to my house right now you would think it was the middle of winter sickness. But then you would realize that it was over 105 degrees outside and July. So why are we sick?

That would be because of our petri dishes, or germ factories as we tend to call them. Kids + daycare = sickness for the whole house.

Since March here is how it has gone:

Brennan = walking pneumonia 3 times, pink eye once, allergies, colds, and the occasional vomiting for no reason

Kaidynce = walking pneumonia once, double ear infection once, a single ear infection, pink eye, allergies, colds, infection of her girly parts, and the occasional vomiting for no reason

Aaron = allergic reaction to Levaquin, allergic tests resulting in allergy to animals, sinus infection, allergies, colds, and the occasional vomiting we blame on the germ factories named above

Chevonne = sinus infection due to extreme drainage from allergies and the stomach flu - and mine was all in the past month.

While I love the daycare environment for the kids and the social networking that they are getting (btw - they both have best friends), I have to wonder some days why I put myself through this constant state of being SICK!

Oh yeah, because I have to maintain a job for my sanity........I know I would not survive as a stay at home mom!

A year half over

So here we are in July. What was that - July already??????!!!!!!!!!!! Where the heck did the year go? I am now a firm believer that as you get older, the years get shorter!

Anyway, so as I said, here we are in July. Things with the family are good. Aaron and I are learning so much about control when it comes to the kids. The kids are at the age of testing our every nerve and seeing which buttons do what to us.

Brennan is now taking his anger out on his sister. If he doesn't like what she says, does, or is about to do, he hits her. Needless to say, we are encouraging using words instead of contact, but he is struggling with this concept at home. I say at home because we found out at his progress conference today that he uses his words at school just fine without physical contact. But with every day and every hit from him, he loses a toy. He has lost a total of 4 toys so far with no real progress in this newest punishment. We will have to see what another week brings.

Kaidynce is developing more and more in her personality. She talks and talks and talks but we are only able to make out about 2/3 of what she says. She LOVES Tinkerbell and Buzz Lightyear. She is completely and utterly infatuated with shoes. In fact, if anyone is looking for ideas for her birthday, shoes and dress up stuff will be welcomed. I am sick of not being able to find my shoes when I need them. But in all seriousness, she is doing great. She is learning her shapes and colors with Brennan (well attempting to learn). We are working on potty training but right now her record is about 3 seconds on the potty chair before she is "done." We will get there.

Both kids are about to move to new classrooms in about a month. Kaidynce will be moving up to the Dolphin classroom, which is Brennan's current buddy classroom (some shared activities). Brennan will be moving to the preschool ward, and if all goes the way it is planned, will be with a teacher that encourages independence. His new class will also be going on field trips and have a lot more art/craft stuff to do. He will be learning more as well. We are all looking forward to the new developments to come, minus the part of Brennan leaving his current teachers whom we adore.

Aaron and I are doing great. We have our biweekly lunch dates without kids and it has helped in both our sanity and relationship. I highly encourage anyone to steal an hour when possible. Even though we are stuffing our faces with pizza, salad, or whatever the food of choice is that day, we are with each other and not having to worry about what the kids are doing.

Well since I have probably bored you to tears, I will end this now. Here's to a positive second half of a year!

Turbo: Fall 1999 - Summer 2010

On Friday July 9, 2010, our beloved Turbo lost his life. He was sick and in pain with no relief. He is now in a better place and hopefully running among his friends (Millie & Shady) all the while, chasing rabbits.

Our family is doing fairly good with it all. The kids have asked where he is but we just explain he is in a new home and he is not sick anymore. That is enough of an explanation for them.

Aaron is doing better than I expected as well. Turbo was his pal, friend, companion. I was not sure how he would do, but I think he is relieved that his trusty friend is no longer in pain.



RIP Turbo!

Containment

So the word containment can be utilized to refer to anger, frustration, happiness, laughter, the kids, etc. You get my point. So today I am going to talk about all of the above.

First, containment of anger. Those of us that have kids in daycare know we all have issues with certain aspects of the facility. Whether it be small (attitude) to major (injury), we all have issues. Well today I am trying to CONTAIN my anger with regard to an injury Kaidynce has sustained at daycare. Last night after Aaron had given her a bath and dressed her, she came running into my room to play with me. I noticed her ear had a spot on it, which at first I thought was dirt that daddy missed. Upon further inspection, I noticed the ugliest bruise over the top of the ear. My first thoughts were:
"What happened?"
"What did we miss during the kids fighting?"
"Did daycare say anything?"
"Honey, do you know what happened?"

The answer to all of the above were "NO" and so then came the thought process. Aaron and I went back and forth over the possibilities of what happened for an hour. This morning I asked the teachers if she had an accident at daycare only to be told, "oh yeah, she fell yesterday and hit her ear." This was before I showed them what I was referring to. HELLO - don't you think you should have mentioned it to us. Hence the containment of anger came in since they take care of my kids for eight hours a day.

Next, the containment of frustration. This happens in our house daily at meal time. Aaron and I get frustrated with the kids and their lack of eating habits but we CONTAIN our frustration to the best of our abilities. This might be through a channel between our eyes (we have to maintain eye contact and not break) or it might mean taking a break from the table.

Containment of happiness is a harder one because you want to show your happiness for people. But when the happiness comes during the frustration at the table, you have to contain it so that the children do not feed from it. For example, when Kaidynce uses a new word in sign language or says a new word that we have not heard, or Brennan sings an entire song by himself that we and daycare have been singing to him, while we are extremely happy, we cannot let him know that he will get out of not eating his dinner.

Laughter has to be the most difficult to contain. And when I say laughter, I mean the laughs that come from deep down in the belly. And with my kids, this happens frequently. Brennan was worried sister's pee pee fell off in her belly button and I lost it. I could not contain it. Or when he thinks that if he gets off the bed the dinosaurs will get him and eat his butt, I laugh hysterically. Or when Kaidynce just gives us a look that tells us she is goofing off. Or when she comes out of the bedroom with her shorts around her ankles, shirt around her neck, and her diaper hanging off her butt (she is teaching herself to dress/undress), you can't help but laugh. But then again, you are a parent and have to maintain control and containment right? So how do you do this when things are absolutely hilarious? Well you cover your mouth and pretend to cough and hope that the kids don't catch on.

And as discussed above, containment can also refer to containing the kids. Whether it be in a dog crate such as the case on mother's day when I turned around and the kids were sitting quietly in Turbo's crate, or on the couch watching the electronic babysitter, containment of kids should be enjoyed! To an extent of course because then the anger, frustration, happiness, and laughter tend to take over and the containment of children itself is long forgotten.

Where has the time gone?

So until I logged in here today, I didn't realize it has been more than a month since my last post/update. So here goes....

April came and went rather quickly. Brennan and I took a trip to San Diego to visit with Aunt Jaimie, Cousin Amanda, and her baby Conrad. The trip was fun but quick and short. I wish I was closer to family in order to see everyone more often.

So now we are into May, hell we are almost back out of May. I will start with the beginning of the month. Brennan and Kaidynce were both down and out for 3 days with pink eye and the beginnings of pneumonia. It was a rough few days but they went back to daycare without causing me to lose too much hair.

Mother's Day brought a new smile to my face. I had a breakfast with Brennan in his classroom the Friday before the actual holiday. We had donuts and fruit and he gave me a little treasure chest with candies, a necklace, a picture of him, and a poem. It was sweet and I enjoyed being able to spend some special time with him in his environment.


That afternoon I had a party with Kaidynce in her classroom. She gave me a treat bag with some tea and her handprints laminated with a sentence that stated to remember when her hands were small. It is a magnet that hangs on the refrigerator at home and I love to look at it. We enjoyed juice, strawberries, pound cake, and ice cream on the playground.

Yummy!

On Mother's Day, Aaron let me sleep in and got up with the kids. He had them color pictures for me and they made cinnamon rolls as I requested. Of course, Aaron went outside to smoke and the kids took advantage of it and came to wake me up. It was okay though since I got up to pictures, coffee, and cinnamon rolls. We spent the day running errands and had a nice relaxing day.

So here we are at the end of May. Aaron and my anniversary is coming up. Can you believe it has been 5 years since we said I do? Dang time passes too fast. The kids are amazing us every day and I can't believe how big they are.

In fact, Brennan was given the discussion about boy and girl parts being different last night since he was very worried that Kaidynce's pee pee fell off and into her belly button (she has a small outie of a belly button when she stands up). He is climbing on the furniture in his room (namely the dresser) so we have moved furniture.

Kaidynce is suffering from "Mom doesn't focus on me and only me" syndrome. What, you have never heard of it? I will let you listen in the next time she suffers from it. It really is quite entertaining seeing how difficult life is for her.

Well this is my update for now. I will try and keep up with this since I promised it would be a way for me to share our quirks with everyone!

The Chinese

On Wednesday of last week, Aaron noticed we had bird eggs in our bird feeder (we use it as decor and not so much for food since we have such lovely winds). After dinner I went out and took some pics of the momma bird protecting her eggs.



I also took pics of Brennan's tomato plant to send to Grandma so she could see he was taking care of it. That is when I noticed that we had tomatoes.



I brought Brennan outside and showed him. He was so excited. He wanted to pick them but I explained we had to wait until they turned red. We watered the plant and went inside.

He called Grandma to tell her he had tomatoes on his plant. Told her he missed her and that she needed to come see him. Then as Aaron was talking to Grandma, Brennan starts yelling that the Chinese were going to eat his tomatoes. I about lost it. I have no clue where he learned that but he had all of us laughing so hard I am sure we were close to peeing our pants. He was very serious about the Chinese coming so I had to explain that his tomatoes were safe and that when they turned red, he could eat them. He finally calmed down.

I LOVE HIS IMAGINATION!

Weight Lifter

So on Friday I decided that I was going to start the Jillian Michaels 30-day Shred. So I picked up the DVD at Walmart on my way home and thought the best time would be right before I shower each morning. On Saturday morning I began my workout, but not alone. Brennan and Kaidynce joined me in the living room jumping around, climbing through my legs, and then sitting on my stomach during the ab sessions (yes that made it very difficult to do the exercise). About halfway through the workout, Brennan started doing some of the exercises. By the end he was telling me we had a great workout.

Fast forward to Sunday morning. Aaron is outside doing the yard work so I started my workout. As soon as Brennan heard Jillian's voice, he came running out and got into position. I picked up my weights (didn't have them the first day) and Brennan wanted some too. I told him to go get a couple of his cars and use them as weights. So he did. He brought out the handmade wooden cars that have a hole in the top (made by my grandfather).

So we start working out. And Brennan did everything I did. Of course, he has his own interpretations of how the exercises look, but stuck with me for all 20 minutes. He even told me not to take a break until we were done working out (all I was doing was taking a drink). Here is a pic of him working out:


Last night he told me he can't wait to workout with me again.

Easter Vacation

We took a mini vacation to San Diego to visit some friends and family for Easter weekend. The week prior to leaving was very stressful for me as it was coming up on the end of the quarter at work, the beginning of the month, payroll, and just not getting enough time to get it all done. I got through it though - BARELY!

Anyway, we head to San Diego on Thursday. The drive was nice and the kids were excellent. Friday we went to the beach and enjoyed the beautiful weather!




During our beach going I realized I was extremely happy. My little family was complete. The quirky things that come out of my son's mouth and the funny faces my daughter gives me make everything perfect. Oh and the hubby makes things great as well! Love ya dear!

We visited with friends later that day and played on the trampoline. By the way to the grandparents that might read this, the kids really loved the trampoline and would like one for Christmas - hint, hint!

Saturday the kids slept until 9 am. I could not believe it when I heard the little voice say, "Mommy, it is time to wake up. We don't need to sleep anymore. It is light out now." Rolling over to check the time, which I was sure was before 7 am, I was pleasantly surprised, okay completely overjoyed, to learn it was 8:53 am. I don't remember a time since kids that I slept past 7:30 am, let alone almost 9! We enjoyed a relaxing day at the timeshare where Brennan decided to try and sing the ABC song. It came out as follows:

ABC, how I know, QRSW next time won't you sing with me!

I was a proud mama! My son was trying to sing with Leap (the frog from the leap frog toys). He continued this each time with a different version. Kaidynce decided to take her independence further this week and took off out the back door of the timeshare, literally giving me a heart attack when I turned around and could not find her and she didn't answer to her name. Luckily, she was just purusing the back patio.

Easter Sunday we went to my dad's house and the kids, even Aaron, enjoyed hunting Easter eggs.





We had a great weekend and didn't want to come home but responsbility called and told us to come home! Hope you all had a great Easter

If I was a Drinker

So remember I described our blog to include parental tantrums.....well here is mine.

With both kids being sick last week and Aaron's vasectomy on Friday of last week, by Sunday night I was ready for everyone to be better. My husband was a very easy patient. He stayed in bed and only called to me when he really did need help with something. For the most part, he took care of himself (thank you honey).

But for the kids, that is a different story. I think I have yelled, swatted butts, and spent more time trying to run away this past week than in the past year. I think the kids knew Daddy wasn't going to be getting up to punish them. They pushed every button possible to the point that Tuesday night when I went to bed, I was in tears.

I have come to the realization that I am not the parent I wanted to be. Of course, we all think we will have angel children that will listen and behave and that is not true. A nice dream but not reality. Anyway, by the time I get home each day, I try to cook dinner, attempting but not succeeding, without yelling at the kids to stay out of the kitchen while hot stuff is being cooked. If I was a drinker, it would be at this point that the first glass would be poured.

Kaidynce has a fetish with food. Okay, she LOVES food. If she is in the kitchen while I am cooking, raw or not, she starts screaming for me to give her the food I am cooking. It is frustrating. So on these nights that first glass would be chugged (if I was a drinker of course).

So I get dinner on the table and we spend the next hour, yes I said HOUR, eating dinner. My daughter who loves food (see above), takes forever to eat her dinner. Brennan takes awhile too but usually starts whining to get down because he "doesn't feel good." That is another frustration in itself as it is his new favorite excuse. The second glass would be poured about 30 minutes into the process (if I was a drinker).

Dinner ends and I clean up. I once again find myself begging/yelling/and even swatting the kids to get them into their room for this process. Uninterrupted, cleaning the kitchen takes me about 15 minutes. That is all I ask for. With my kids testing my patience on a minute-by-minute basis, the second glass would be chugged (if I was a drinker).

Kitchen cleaned. Now it is time to play with the kids. But at this point, since they have been in trouble, it is whining and crying. After about 30 minutes, I have had enough. At this point, the third glass would be poured and probably chugged (if I was a drinker).

I usher the kids to the bath, wash them up and hoping for no whining but it doesn't happen, and then off to bedrooms for pajamas. It would become easier to put up with their whining and clinging at this point if I was a drinker of course as I would be a bit buzzed. But since I am not a drinker, I fall into the computer chair with Kaidynce in my arms and her glass of milk. Thirty minutes later, the kids are put to bed and I am able to relax.

This is how my nights go. Well not anymore. Last night, the kids played in their rooms for about 20 minutes, only coming out twice and being told to go play while I finished what I was doing. No yelling, just asking! It was nice. I then played a game of Candyland with Brennan, gave him his snack, cuddled Kaidynce, and put them in bed. It was a nice evening. Starting tonight, there will be a time limit on dinner for Kaidynce, a no whining rule for Brennan (meaning "I don't feel good" is not going to work anymore), and then a family game. It was much more relaxing last night and I never once thought about becoming a drinker!

Doorknob Underwear

So after Brennan's nap today, I asked him to go get his underwear from the top of his dresser. He ran down the hall and then I heard his door close. He came running back to me with no underwear. Upon asking him where they were, he responds with "I put them on my door." Knowing ahead of time that my son is pretty literal, I grab the camera. This is what I found:

Aaron's Vasectomy

So yesterday Aaron had his vasectomy. All week he was nervous and one particular coworker of his was making it worse for him as well. We get to the doctor's office at 1:30 for his appointment. The nurse takes us into the patient room and then proceeds to tell us that one of Aaron's friends called and told her to scare the life out of him regarding the procedure. Come to find out, it was this coworker so Aaron wanted her to call him back and tell him that Aaron had a heart attack during the procedure. So you can see how the appointment is starting.

We then get taken into the procedure room. Aaron is told to strip from the waist down and I get told where to stand in the room to watch the entire thing. Yes the doctor let me watch. He even said I could take pics and/or film it. I promise you, there are no pics or video of the procedure. I promised my husband and I stuck to that.

The nurse comes into to start the pre-op. We begin joking about our families and kids (she knew our son through some mutual friends). She shaves him and then proceeds to take about 10 pounds of soaked gauze for cleaning the area and prepping his "boys" for surgery. The doc then enters the room asking Aaron how he feels. Anyone who knows Aaron would know that this begins some fun banter.

Aaron: Doc, there is no reason to jump right in. Shouldn't we have dinner first?
Doc: Do we have to see a movie afterwards?
Aaron: No, no movie. Just dinner.
Doc: Do I have to call you tomorrow?
Aaron: Nope. You can treat me like a doormat and never call again.
Doc: Alright, next time I will call you for dinner first.
Aaron: Next time huh? We planning to meet like this frequently?
Doc: Well you are a little "nuts" about me aren't you?
Aaron: Oh straight to the nut jokes huh?
Doc: Why not?

This went back and forth for the entire procedure. I watched some of it and was rather impressed with how it is done. The rest of the time I sat and played games on Aaron's iPod. Hey I was just the driver for this procedure.

Anyway, it is now Saturday night and Aaron has been resting in our bed since we got home yesterday afternoon. He is getting cabin fever and says he feels guilty for not being able to help me with the kids. It is okay though. The kids are being very good with him (actually leaving him alone for the most part). He is returning to work on Monday and has his stitches taken out on Thursday.

And he has learned a whole new level of deep muscle pain!

Daddy's Hair

While sitting at dinner discussing how Brennan could not go to the store with me because he was sick, the subject turned to Aaron's impending Vasectomy on Friday. I explained to Brennan that Daddy was having his pee pee and balls fixed (Aaron corrected me to say Family Jewels) and that this weekend everyone would be resting and not jumping on Daddy.

As most 3 year olds do, the subject was quickly changed again as Brennan started meowing. He then said he looked like a cat. I explained that he sounded like a cat when he meowed. He said, "Mommy I not a cat. I need hair on my pee pee and balls to be a cat. Daddy is a cat because he has hair that has to be fixed." At this point, I lost it completely. I covered my face with my hands and laughed until I cried.

Then I noticed that Kaidynce was laughing behind her hands too. Now she doesn't understand what brother said, she was just mimicking me, and kept doing it for the remainder of dinner.

Pneumonia & Ear Infection

Yesterday was the beginning of it. Aaron went to pick up the kids to find out that Brennan had been laying on the couch for most of the morning and only started playing in the afternoon. He barely ate anything except the snack, which of course he loved. Kaidynce apparantly was so unbearable that the teacher looked as though she was ready to hurt someone (Aaron's words not the teacher's).

So they came home and the typical afternoon whining started. Thinking I would try and get them to eat, we got nuggets for dinner. It worked for Brennan and Kaidynce ate a little bit. A lot of coughing throughout the evening, combined with more whining made me very happy once bedtime rolled around.

Fast forward to this morning. Kaidynce will not leave me. She won't sit on the couch. She won't cuddle her blankets and stuffed animals. Brennan woke up and was the same way. Aaron came home to be with them and I head to work. We took them to the doctor's office just before noon and found out that they suddenly felt much better. Well except Brennan. If you asked him if he felt better he said, "Not yet!" But the running around in the office contradicted that.

Brennan was very good for Dr. Bob. He normally is scared of him but was truly an excellent patient, following all directions of breathing deeply and talking when needed. His diagnosis: Pneumonia!

Kaidynce was more leery of being a good patient. She would only sit still in my arms or if I was holding her hand. Luckily her diagnosis is a little better: Double Ear Infection!

Off to get antibiotics and lots of hydration and rest.

Turning the Big 3

So Brennan turned the big 3 yesterday. While I am sad that he is growing up, I laugh at his ever growing humor and personality.

For example, Thursday morning Grandma showed up for his birthday weekend. The first thing out of his mouth was "You didn't bring me my birthday cake." Then came the
Hi Grandma" and the hugs and kisses.

So on Friday night, we were all sitting around having a good time visiting with each other and making the kids laugh. Well Aaron kept telling Brennan to lick grandma's feet (I know gross). Well Grandma kept hiding her feet in the couch cushions. So I decide to help. I held Grandma's legs still while Brennan gave her a good lick, from ankle bone to toes. Then without missing a beat he looked at me and said, "Good job Mommy. High Five!" I think we all about peed our pants on that one.

Then comes another boy gross moment. Grandma decided to air herself out (passed gas) and Brennan stuck his head under her legs (she was laying on the couch) and while we are all telling him no, he says "I see light." So then my husband, the loving man he is, tells my son to stay away from the light.

On Saturday was the big birthday party. Brennan had fun playing with his friends and his grandparents. When it was time to open presents, he was so excited. Opening them one by one, he couldn't contain his excitement for the trucks, the "shoop" toys (a Toy Story worm boot shooter - don't ask), and the Thomas and Friends train stuff. He then takes the bike helmet out of the bag from Grandpa. I put it on his head and Aaron came into the room with his bike. Dead serious he says, "I no want that." We all laugh and explain that it is his. He told us to take it back. Now we didn't do that of course and now he has been riding up and down the back patio for a couple days. He loves it after all.

3, no 5, Girlfriends

So last night I got home late since I had my massage and hair appointments. The kids had already been fed so I was able to talk to them without the typical crying moments that they have when hungry. So here is little man's and my conversation:

Me: Brennan, how was school today?
B: Good. I got in trouble at the light table and then had to clean up.
Me: So you got in trouble?
B: Yeah but I okay now.
Me: So are you making friends at school? Any girlfriends?
B: Yeah I have three (makes his fingers show 3).
Me: 3 girlfriends!!!
B: No, I have 5 (makes his hand show all fingers up).
Me: 5 girlfriends!!!???
B: Yeah and they are cute.
Me: Cute huh? What are their names?
B: He rattled off names that I couldn't comprehend (need to ask the teachers).
Me: Well good for you.

This was our conversation about school last night. And the night before when we were out getting our nuggets, we saw 2 high school girls in workout clothes. I asked him if he was looking at the cute girls and he said,

"Yes Mommy. They are so cute!"

Man I am in trouble already!

No more Pee Pee

I asked Brennan to go potty last night and he flat out said "No Mommy, there is no more pee pee." Gotta love the honesty but I still made him try. He was a little upset with me but ended up running out of the bathroom excited that he made the water turn green (we have the 2000 flushes blue tablet).

Oh the excitement of childhood!

Code Brown

This evening was rather interesting in the Perry house. Kaidynce was playing in the bath and Brennan just ran into the bathroom to join her. I was giving Aaron the list for Walmart and then we heard it. That cry where you know a child is scared. We both run in to see Brennan shaking, crying, and saying things that were beyond understandable. I asked him what was wrong, kind of having a feeling I knew what happened. He pointed to the back of the tub and said "That!"

Before looking into the tub, I already knew. As I got closer to the tub, my suspicions had been correct. Looking menacing and rather disgusting was the answer. Poop!

Aaron calms Brennan down by taking him out of the tub (I was dying of laughter at Brennan's reaction to the whole situation because as parents the poop doesn't phase us). We get Kaidynce out and then I proceed to rewash her and wash him in our bathtub while Aaron cleaned the front tub and disposed of our present. At this point, Brennan looked at me without any concern in his eyes and says, "I poop in the tub." So I ask him why and his answer was "I no poop in the tub again."

What do you do with that response except tell him that it was disgusting and to not do it again but to get out and try the potty chair.

Now Kaidynce keeps walking to the bathroom door with the stink face and telling us that it is yucky! Wonder if they will ever take a bath in that tub again.....time will tell.

Urine the Way

So while sitting at my office this morning I recieve a phone call from home. You see, every other Friday, Aaron is off work and stays home with the kids. So the conversation goes as follows after I answer:

Aaron: Remember how the kids weren't supposed to go potty together anymore?
Me: Yeah, what happened?
Aaron: I opened the door after I heard giggling and found Kaidynce shoulder deep in the toilet and Brennan standing over her still peeing.
Me: (uncontrollable laughter) Did you give her a bath?
Aaron: Yes
Me: Did you wash her good? (still laughing uncontrollably)
Aaron: I am glad you find this amusing. I will talk to you later. Love you!
Me: Love you too!

So then I proceed to tell my employees the story and each and every time I told it, I laughed so hard I cried. You see, earlier in the week the kids got in trouble for playing in the toilet while flushing it. This was just an extension of their playing.

Salt, Pepper, and Pizza

Tonight we went out for pizza and as expected, Brennan was back to whining. So in order to get him to eat his dinner, I let him put parm. cheese on his food. That worked but then he wanted the other sprinkly stuff on the table. After telling him no more times than I can count, I let him experiment.

He covered, and I mean covered, his pizza in salt and took a bite. Expecting him to spit it out, I got the napkin ready. Much to my surprise, he took a second bite. That is when it hit him. He drank some water and said he wanted to try the pepper.

Aaron and I gave each other that look. You know, the I know he is going to cry when he takes a bite look. Again, much to our surprise, he finished his pizza, repeppering after each bite. It wasn't until his last couple bites that he needed a drink.

I guess his tastebuds are evolving!

Marshmellow Please

So our quirkiness of this morning is brought to you courtesy of Kaidynce.

I am up before the kids each and every weekday morning (okay most mornings) with the intent of enjoying a few minutes to myself. Aaron has been gone for over an hour at this point and the only sound in my house is the damn cat meowing. Soon this sound is joined by Brennan crying and wanting to watch Phineas and Ferb (our new favorite family cartoon). Then the sounds are joined by Kaidynce giggling and carrying her three friends (mad cow, happy hippo, and baby) into the kitchen. She wants her milk.

BUT, then she sees them. The white fluffs of greatness for children. Marshmellows!

Damn, I forgot to put them away in the cupboard so our conversation was as follows:

Kaidynce: Points to the marshmellows and signs please.
Me: No Kaidynce, you cannot have marshmellows for breakfast.
Kaidynce: A stronger signing of please along with a few grunts.
Me: No! No marshmellows for breakfast. Would you like a cereal bar?
Kaidynce: No more please just straight whining and grunting and pointing.
Me: Here (hand her a cereal bar).

At this point, I am glad that she brought the stuffed animals out with her since she decided to throw the cereal bar on the floor and then herself (landing on all three of her friends). She screamed, tears and all, for a simple marshmellow.

I ignored her for a few then realized that if I did not give in, she would cause my always loving headache to come back.

Yes - the one and half year old won and got a marshmellow for breakfast. At least it was only one and it was a mini!

Getting Started

Still new to this whole blogging world but thought it would be a great outlet for our little family and our quirky actions!

Stay tuned for the updates on our family......