Dinosaur Train

Have you all seen/ heard of Dinosaur Train yet on PBS? It is a new program that Brady is in LOVE with. There is a little family of pteranodons who adopted a baby t-rex in to their family. They travel the land on a train learning about different types of dinosaurs.
Scott, the Paleontologist, inserts all kinds of facts about dinosaurs throughout the shows.
One thing that Scott has talked about is everything that we have learned about dinosaurs from their "poop". They even made up a cute little song that the little dinosaurs sing called, "Every Dinosaur Poops". It's quite catchy. One of those songs you find yourself singing all day long. (Oh, gee)
Brady has also taken to singing it all day long. The problem is that when Brady tries to sing "every", it comes out sounding like "I eat".
So Brady likes to run around the house singing, "I eat dinosaur poop!"

Seriously Cute Start to the Day

This morning I handed over a cup of hot (warm) chocolate to my 23 month old son. He whispered, "I wuv you, mom."

Smashing Her Dreams

Yesterday we took it easy. We stayed in our (new) pjs most of the day and played with our new toys. Today we got right up and at 'em. We decided to beat the crowds and do our exchanges and returns earlier in the day. For the most part, the plan worked.
This morning when we were getting ready to head out the door, I asked the girls to get dressed. I was surprised (why?) to find that Sadie had passed over her stack of cute, new clothes, and put on some old, stained clothes.
I asked her WHY she chose to put on an old, stained shirt, when she had so many cute new shirts.
She said, "Mom, I am going to tell you exactly what I told Bethanie. Sometimes, you just gotta follow your heart."

I made her change.

The Lesser of Two Evils

Sadie has changed some lyrics to a popular Christmas song. She refuses to sing, "Jack frost nipping at your nose", and has chosen to sing, "Jack frost leaping at your back door."
I kept telling her she was singing it wrong. My sister, Kimberly, heard about the change in lyrics and we talked about it for a while. She and I decided that while it would be quite creepy to look out your back door and see Jack Frost leaping at you, it would be even worse to have Jack bite your nose.
Sadie wins.

Sing, Sing a Song

A couple of songs that Brady likes to sing;

"Wheels on bus go ound, ound, ound! Wheels on bus go ound, ound, ound!"
"Baby, cold outside!"
"La, la, la, la, la, BUM!"

He also likes to chime in on the second line of Sadie's newest favorite song.
Sadie sings,
"I'm Gettin' Nothin' for Christmas!"
Brady comes in with the harmony on the next line..
"Mommy, Daddy, MAD!!"

One Year Ago

Calvin William Gehen passed away exactly one year ago today. He died at the age of 52 years. It has been amazing to see how much he has still blessed our lives and watched over us in the past year. We have felt his presence here with us on many occasions throughout this year.

I have shared this quote already with many friends recently, but I think it is a fantastic example of the person Calvin is;

"The years of our lives are made of months, the months made of days, and the days made of moments. The great and eternal decisions in our lives are in fact made of small and simple moments combined over a lifetime."

He lived his life like that. I am grateful for his example.

You're Not Santa! You Smell Like Beef and Cheese!

This is another reference to the church Christmas party on Saturday. The kids were able to meet with "Santa" and let him know any addendums made to their previous wish lists sent earlier in the season.
I am thinking that there must have been a last minute switch when they were deciding which one of Santa's helpers to send to the party. Bethanie noticed too.

Bethanie: "Mom, did you notice that Santa was wearing capris at the party on Saturday?" (Insert cute Bethanie giggle here.)
Me: "Yes, I did happen to notice that."
Bethanie: "It made me laugh!"
Me: "Maybe the elf that was supposed to come was shorter, but he got sick or something, so they had to send a taller elf."
Bethanie: "Yeah, so they sent Buddy the elf to see us."

-I love that Bethanie has such a great sense of humor!

We Don't Make Mistakes At This House

Every day at homework time there is a hunt for a pencil with an eraser in this house. It is a nearly impossible task to find one.
Today Bethanie was given a brand new pencil as a prize at school. She brought it home, very excited. Within 30 minutes of getting home Brady bit off the eraser.
Do you think he likes the texture, or he just has high expectations for his sisters?

How Prayer Works

Sadie: "Mom, do you know how prayer works? When you say your prayer, there is a big invisible tube that goes from you all the way to heaven. Your prayer goes up the tube to Jesus. Jesus reads the words in your prayer, then he answers your prayer and sends it back down the tube."

Me: "Kind of like at the bank, huh?"

Sadie: "Exactly!"

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

This morning we had our church Christmas party. It was a lovely brunch.
When we were getting ready, we told the girls that Santa was going to be there. Sean told the girls Santa would ask them if they had been bad or good.

Sadie asked, "Hmmm... Dad, what should I tell him?"

Success!

Every so often in a mother's life, there is a short moment of pure bliss. Success. Those are the moments that make the rest of life ok.
This month we are making an extra effort to talk about service. We set out a bag for a Christmas present for Jesus. Every time the kids do an act of service, they write it down or draw a picture and put it in the bag.

Today Bethanie and Sadie decided that they wanted to do something nice for Jeff. Before he came home from school Bethanie and Sadie made his bed, threw away the garbage off of his floor, and took his dirty clothes down to the laundry room. They topped it all off by vacuuming his floor.

The best part of it all? Bethanie said, "Mom, I feel so great! Doing something nice like that made me feel the spirit!"

Tis the Season

Yes, it is a little late in the season, but today was the day that my kids got their flu shots. It has become a "fun" family tradition for Sean to take the girls for their shots every year.
The clinic was tonight from 6pm to 8pm. We sat down to dinner at about 5:45. The kids were not yet aware that tonight was THE night.
They found out.
Most of dinner was spent in tears. No one was very happy with me. Sean is pretty sure I am the worst person in the world for making him take the kids every year. (Hey! Suck it up! I take them for the rest of their shots!!) Sadie barely got all of her food in her mouth between repeated statements of "I don't want a shot!"
Oh, really?
It was finally settled that they would go. Brady already had his flu shot at his well child appointment, so he and I stayed home to make candy for all of those who did have a flu shot.
The results? Bethanie laughed when they gave it to her. She wondered what she was so worried about. Jeff was happy to have it done, and said it wasn't a big deal.
Sadie... Oh, Sadie.
Sadie was chased around the entire office by her family and a team of specialists while Bethanie laughed in the corner. She was then dragged out from underneath the table and held down while the shot was administered.
She was shocked when she found out the shot had been given and she had not even noticed it.
Although she couldn't feel the actual shot, she is pretty sure she will never be able to use her arm again. Such is life.

It Isn't All About You, Bethanie!

Bethanie had a hard afternoon yesterday. She fell down the stairs twice, poked herself in the eye with her pencil, and caused herself other types of bodily harm in random, strange ways.
She was telling me what a hard day it had been when Sadie said,

"You think you have had a hard day?!! I had to come home from my friend's house because they were having dinner, AND my sister won't stop hurting herself! That is a hard day!"

My Problem

There is a problem with this house. A problem that could be remedied, but some how it is not.
The door on the master bedroom locks, but the door on the master bathroom does not.
Sean- the dad- does not find this as much of a problem as I do. He just locks the bedroom door when he takes a shower or uses the bathroom.
I am the mom. The mom has to be ready for an emergency at the drop of a hat. A mom can not have two doors between her and her unsupervised offspring.
If my kids need me, they need to be able to knock on the bathroom door, thus alerting me that someone needs to go to the emergency room.
Lately Brady has been taking advantage of this fact. No matter where he is in the house, if he hears my bathroom door shut, he sprints to it and opens it. WIDE. All the way.
My shower happens to be a small, clear, box. There is no where to hide. So I stand there, exposed, yelling, "SHUT THE DOOR, BRADY! SHUT THE DOOR!"

Why don't we just buy a lock for the bathroom door? I dunno. Why don't we? We have shopped for one before. It was too expensive.
One of these days Jeff is going to walk by at just the wrong time and we will wish that we had.

Hey, They Have Online Ordering

Is it a bad sign when your 22 month old sees the pizza delivery guy standing at the door and he yells, "Pizba! Pizba!"?

We don't order pizza THAT much....
Um...

Nice Shirt, Jeff

On Monday I gave Jeff an assignment to help out with FHE. He went above and beyond. I asked him to make some body armor. Not only did he make it, he duct taped it to himself.
Sean got home from work and went about his business. After dinner I announced that it was time for FHE.
Sean was very surprised to find out that Jeff's "outfit" had a purpose.



So that was Sean's reaction to the body armor.
Here is a picture of Brady's reaction;

What Goes Around, Comes Around

Brady streaked off as fast as lightning and as naked as the day he was born as soon as I got him out of the tub.
I knew Sadie had found him when I heard the angry shriek.

Sadie: "Mom! Brady is sitting with his naked BUM on MY BED!"

Me: "Sadie, I remember you doing the same thing to Bethanie's bed."

Sadie: "Now I know how bad it SUCKED!!"

So many levels of Karma in this story.

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