Bedtime

I love bedtime. It's one of my favorite parts of the day and no, not just because it's one of the only moments of peace and quiet a parent gets during the day, although that is really nice. I love how my kids turn from crazy, manic, chase you around the house, growling monsters to sweet, loving, can't give you enough hugs and kisses, adorable, little human beings almost instantly.

The boys bedtime routine is fairly simple: put on PJ's, brush teeth, climb into bed, say prayers (usually followed by a hug fest). My heart melts every time I hear them say their prayers. I don't know if they even realize what they are saying but it is so sweet. We say the same prayer every night. It goes like this:

Dear Jesus,

Thank you so much for today. Thank you for my mommy and my daddy, and my big brother Evan (said by Zach) and my baby brother Zachy (said by Evan). We love you so much. Please be with us as we sleep tonight and give us sweet, sweet dreams. Fill our hearts with your love and teach us to love others the way you do. Help us grow to be Godly men, honoring you in all we do. We love you.

Amen.

They have said this so many times they have it completely memorized. My favorite part is when they say "Godwy men". So cute! After prayer, we tuck them in and give hugs and kisses.

After the hug fest I often tell the boys that I love them all the way to the moon and back (taken from one of my favorite children's books "Goodnight Moon"). Well, Evan wanted to one up me so he started saying that he loves me all the way to the moon and back and back and back again. And, of course, like most little brothers who copy everything that their big bros do, Zach was soon to follow in this new addition to the bedtime routine. After the boys say their response I usually come back with "That's a lot of love!". Evan, again, not liking to be one-upped, came back with this one last night. "No, that's a super lot of love!" Doesn't it just make you want to smile! I know I do.

Counting down the hours until bedtime tonight.

Another Conversation with Evan

Me: Evan please don't forget to flush the toilet after you go to the bathroom.

Evan: But mom I don't have to flush today. I only have to flush on Sundays. You flush on Wednesdays.

Don't ask me where he got this idea. Although, it might help conserve water I don't think it's exactly sanitary or what anybody had in mind when they suggested going green.

On a side note: I realize I seem very partial to Evan in my last few posts it's just that Zachary hasn't said anything funny recently. Scratch that, he probably has I just couldn't understand him. I'm working on my translating skills. Hopefully there will be more to come from him soon.

Conversation with Evan

Evan: Mommy I'm hungry.

Me: I'm making dinner right now, it will be ready soon.

Evan: Can I have butter jelly?

Me: No, I'm making sloppy joes. They're yummy, you will like them.

Evan: But I don't like jokey dopes.

Me: How do you know, you've never even tried them. (I'm thinking well, I've never tried "jokey dopes" either) Evan, try saying s...s...sloppy joe.

Evan: sss...jokey dopes!

Me: Close enough, you'll still like them.

And by the way he did end up liking his "jokey dopes". Zach on the other hand wouldn't even try them plus his once perfect pronunciation of sloppy joe turned into jokey dopes by the end of dinner after hearing Evan say it so much. What can I say, I tried.

Right Turn on Red

This morning on our way to school (really daycare, but I like to call it school) Evan was helping me with my driving by telling me when I should go and when I should stop. He's been learning about the signals in school since that is how they chart their behavior. For example when his behavior is good he has a green light, after a warning he will get a yellow light and after several warnings he gets a red light.

Evan was doing an excellent job alerting me the moment the light turned green that it was time for me to go. Well I really confused him when I was stopped at a red light and made a right turn before the light turned green. Evan noticed this apparent blunder right away and told me that red means stop. I tried to explain to him that in some situations red means stop, look around, make sure the coast is clear then go. As this explanation was coming out of my mouth I realized how confusing this would be for him and how it could possibly get him into trouble at school. I could just see him telling his teacher that his mommy said that sometimes it was OK to continue doing whatever bad behavior he was doing as long as the coast was clear! So, instead of coming up with a better explanation ( I figured at this point all I would really do was confuse him more) I just turned up the Veggie Tales CD and encouraged him to sing along in the hopes of distracting him. Luckily it worked....this time.

Cookie Anyone?

So Evan, Zachary and I are in Target the other day strolling down the diaper isle. This is the first shopping trip that I've allowed Evan to walk with me and not stay in the cart with his brother. He promised me that he would stay with me and behave. In return for his good behavior I promised him a cookie at the end of our shopping trip. Evan is keenly aware that we are approaching the bakery area (where they give away free cookies). He has asked me several times when he will get his cookie. I assure him that it won't be long. Well, I guess Evan grew impatient with me while I was price checking the best deal on diapers. Evan turns to me and starts spitting brown stuff out of his mouth and says that his cookie is "gross". I'm thinking what cookie? I look down and see that he has picked up a pile of dirt (don't ask me what a pile of dirt is doing in the diaper isle) and put it in his mouth! Can you say icky, scary disease!? All I have in my bag are lemon scented antibacterial Wet Wipes. About three Wet Wipes later almost all of the "cookie" is out of his mouth and Evan's breath has a wonderful lemon aroma. Evan then asks if he can ride in the cart now and of course I answer with a resounding yes. We exit the diaper isle and make a beeline for the cookies before Evan can find anything else to put in his mouth.

I am happy to report that it has been several days since the eating of the dirt and Evan did not come down with any scary "floor cookie" disease.

Big Boy Bed

We finally moved Zach into his big boy bed over the weekend. As if the transition from crib to twin bed wasn't enough we decided to move him out of the nursery all together and in with his big brother. Just as expected the first nap in the new living situation was not much of a nap at all. We heard playing, giggling and jumping on the bed...followed closely by crying when Zach hit his head on the dresser. Eventually, (close to an hour later) Evan and Zach finally went to sleep. Each night since has been slightly better.

Even though I now have to make several trips to the bedroom each evening to settle them down, I am honestly loving having the boys in the same room. I have always hoped that they would grow up to be best friends since they are only 16 months apart in age. As much as I would love them to go to sleep when we close the door I am secretly enjoying the laughter of two boys who can't seem to get enough of each others company.

Welcome!

We all know that kids say (and do) the darnedest things. My kids are no exception. I am constantly saying to myself that I need to write it all down. Well, this is my attempt to keep track of all of those cute, funny, embarrassing and crazy moments. I guess you could call it my own little online diary. I hope you enjoy!