What the...

The other day my boys came home from school and I soon heard them running around the house repeating the phrase "what the heck". I was none too happy to hear them speaking like this. Jake and I discussed where on earth they could have possibly heard such a phrase since we are the "perfect parents" and it certainly couldn't have been from either one of us. We came to an agreement (rather quickly) that they must have learned it at school.

Of course, school! That's where they have learned every single bad behavior that they have ever displayed, because obviously we couldn't be at fault. Right? We conjectured that someone else's child must be the one who put this phrase in their heads. Mystery solved! Or so we thought. . .

Last night as we were heading home from school I turned down the street heading to our house only to come upon a huge back up of cars. I knew I was stuck and could be there for quite a while. Immediately, without thinking the phrase "what the heck" came out of my mouth. I couldn't believe it, I was to blame. Me. ME! I started wondering how many other things I was to blame for that, up until this point, I was blaming on the poor, innocent classmates of my boys (OK, well not so innocent).

Then I heard Evan pipe up from the back seat. "Mom, you don't say words like that. That's a bad word. You need to say only nice words. You need to call Daddy." I'd been caught, and scolded by my three year old none the less.

Oh well, what the heck...nobody's perfect!

Orange for Stellan

Today my boys and I are wearing orange and praying for Stellan as he undergoes heart surgery. You can follow his story here.

The Small Things

Sometimes, I wish that I could be as thankful for the simple things in life as my boys are. The pure joy they get from going down a slide, the excitement in their face when they see a snowflake (in April no less). It's wonderful to have a child to remind you of how great the simple things can be.

Take this for example. I made oatmeal raisin cookies the other day for Evan and Zachary's Easter party at school. I had a few left over and gave the boys each one after dinner last night. I told them that I had made the cookies as a special treat for their party. Evan put his cookie down, looked at me and said "Mom, you made these all by yourself?". I told him that I had and he looked at me, cocked his head to the side, put one hand over his heart and said "Aww, that's really nice!"

I wish I could replay that moment, I wish I had it on video. It was truly touching. The fact that I had made a simple oatmeal raisin cookie made his day. You could tell, that he was really appreciative and very sincere, something I know I don't always express, especially with the small things. Today I will take a lesson from my boys and remember to be appreciative of the small things.

Fat Lip

Yesterday evening my boys were in the midst of another wrestle-mania match in my living room when someone got hit in the face and got a fat lip. No, it wasn't Evan or Zach's pretty little puckers that plumped up, it was mine. Zach had thrown his head back right into my bottom lip.

After checking out my war wound in the mirror I noticed that it swelled up pretty nicely but only on the lower left part of my lip. Since, I was heading out of the house to go to the gym in the next few minutes I wanted to check with Jake to see if he thought it was noticeable. Now, you have to understand that this was an obvious question. If I could see it, I'm sure others could too, but I was hoping that he would console me and tell me that it wasn't that bad. So, upstairs I went to ask him.

Jake said that it was noticeable and that he could actually see it getting bigger as he was staring at my lip (not something you say to someone who is self-conscious by the way). He also said that it didn't look bad and that he liked full lips. In response I said that I already had full lips but this wasn't what I had in mind. In case he couldn't already tell, I reminded him that I looked ridiculous with only one half of my lower lip puffed up. He then told me to make the other side match. What did he want me to do punch myself on the other side? I looked at him like he was crazy because at that moment he certainly was acting crazy. He then looked at me funny and asked why I only put the "stuff" on one side of my lip. At this point I finally realized that Jake thought that I had done this to myself. The "stuff" he was referring to was plumping lip gloss. First of all who plumps their lips only moments before heading to the gym and secondly, who on earth would choose to plump only a portion of their pout! You've got to be kidding me!

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.