Olympic Dreams

We've been watching a lot of the Olympics in the last couple of weeks. Since NBC seems unable to broadcast the most interesting results before the last hour of the telecast, and I seem to have lost the ability to stay up until midnight, I've been DVRing the coverage and watching it with the boys the next day. It's been interesting to see what piques their interest. C has really taken to speed skating (or "skate racing" as he calls it), cross country "ski racing", and snowboard cross. I would never have predicted that these sports would be what would catch his attention. But they've sparked an interest in learning to skate and ski, so that's a good thing. Too bad the seasons for both are almost over. I hope he'll still be interested when the next session of lessons starts in the fall.  And that he manages to have more athletic ability than his parents!

O, on the other hand, has less interest in the games. The only sport that routinely catches his attention is figure skating, and that's only because of the soundtracks.  "Hey, that's the music from Firebird!...That's the song from Frances: Whiny Sister!...That song is in the Little Einsteins: Pirate Treasure episode!"  If recognizing music were an Olympic sport, he would be on the podium for sure! Yes, clearly my boys watch too much TV, but hey, they're learning classical music! That's got to count for something, right?

I'll leave you with an Olympic deep thought from C: "Hey Mom! Why does the Switzerland flag have a hospital sign on it??"  You can find the answer here.

The Best Medicine

Obviously I've been feeling down in the dumps lately. Luckily, I have two boys who are excellent at providing comic relief. There's not much that's funnier than watching a 2 1/2 year old bowl for the first time.

Will the ball make it all the way down the lane to the pins???....No!
But we cheered all the same!

Love and laughter really are the best medicine.

Ordinary Day

Today was supposed to be my initial 8 week OB appointment. Today was supposed to be the day that I would get my first glimpse of our new baby and its beautiful heartbeat. When I first found out I was pregnant and calculated my due date, I thought, "Uh oh, this timing is going to be a little crazy!" Because today was supposed to be the day I would learn for sure that September would be the busiest month on record, with C starting kindergarten, O starting preschool, and a new baby arriving at the end of the month.

But instead, today is just an ordinary Monday. Hubby went off to work, C went off to school, and O and I spent a morning filled with the usual activities (laundry, music class, errands, and a few debates about whether or not the potty is scary...). And any other day, this ordinary day would have been the perfect day. But today I woke up knowing what this day was supposed to be. And the hurried scribbles on the calendar that blacked out our previously scheduled activities weren't enough to wipe away my sadness.

We should be Five...

One day when C was just three years old, he announced "We need another baby!" He had never mentioned anything like this before, so I was baffled by this statement. "What do you mean?" I asked him. And he said with total certainty, "We should be five. Our family should have five." "Five kids?!?" I asked him, in disbelief. "No, Mommy. Just five people. Not five babies." he said.

I had an instant flashback to the delivery room immediately after O was born. As O was snuggling on my chest, I informed Hubby, "We are soooo doing this again!" Clearly, the idea of having a family of five was not out of the question for me. But at the time of C's announcement, O was just a year old and still not sleeping through the night, so adding another child to the mix was the last thing on my mind. I chuckled and told C, "Well that might never happen, but we'll see what life brings us."

Ordinarily, I forget the funny things the boys say quite quickly, but C had said "we should be five" with such conviction that it stuck in my head. And over the next year and a half, he kept talking about it. Always out of the blue, and always at the most unusual times, but he never wavered. It didn't matter to him whether he had a little brother or a little sister, he just knew that our family needed one more person in it. And as O transitioned from a baby into an independent boy, the idea of another baby that had been in my head since the delivery room, began to sprout. Like a long dormant bulb, what had been hidden away began to slowly bloom.

Earlier this month, for two blissful weeks, I knew our third child was on the way. Until suddenly, it wasn't. Multiple OB visits and tests confirmed that this wasn't our time. For now, and perhaps for always, we will be just four. And it's such a great foursome that I feel guilty even wanting more.

But I can't help feeling that C is right. We should be five.

I hope someday I can tell him that we will be.

Boyish...

When I was younger, I always imagined that when I grew up, I would have two girls. Sometimes I imagined they would be twins, other times not, but it was always girls. Girls to play Barbies with and girls to take to ballet class. But, when I was pregnant with C, I had a feeling he was a boy from the very beginning, and I was so excited! I never once wished for a girl. When I found out I was expecting again, I hoped for another boy, because I wanted C to have a brother and best friend for life. And I was thrilled to end up with a second son. I think my life has turned out just the way it was supposed to, even though it's so different than I imagined. But some days it just really strikes me, "Yes, you have two BOYS."

Yesterday was one of those days. Here's just a sampling of why...

--I watched the first NASCAR race I have ever seen in my life, so that the boys could see the real Lightning McQueen. Of course the DVR stopped taping with 5 laps to go, so after investing 2 hours of our time, we still don't know who won. At least the boys enjoyed seeing some real pit stops. Those guys really DO change tires fast!

--I was totally exasperated with their blatant disregard for my "No throwing balls inside" rule, when I realized that they were playing baseball using a small whiffle ball and a lincoln log for a bat. Just as I warned them, that game ended poorly when C hit O square in the face with the ball. He really needs to work on his pitching skills!

--I put a diaper on their baby doll, in an attempt to discourage the new game they've started playing with this doll, commonly known as "The Baby Pooped on Your Face!!" When C asked why the baby had a diaper on it, I explained that this way, the baby would no longer poop on people's faces. To which he replied, "yes he can, because the poop will just leak out of the diaper!" And then he and O began running around screaming, "The baby's diaper leaked and he pooped on your face!...No, the baby pooped on your face!...HA HA HA HA HA."

Sigh.

But even with a lifetime of race cars, injuries, and poop talk to look forward to, I wouldn't trade my wild and crazy boys for anything! I just hope that they'll always let Mom into their "No Girls Allowed" clubhouse.

Dreams

O usually is the first of the boys to wake up. In the past, as soon as he was awake, he would come hurtling toward our room and jump right up in our bed. Where we would engage in a battle of wills, in hopes that he would go back to sleep until his brother woke up. But in the last few weeks, O has started staying in his bed a little longer. He starts talking, in the hopes that C will wake up and play with him. Since O has that "it's impossible for me to whisper" 2 year old voice, C usually does wake up in response to the barrage of words coming his way. It's fun to listen to their early morning conversations.

From yesterday morning...

O: "C? Are you awake?"

C: "Mmm...what?"

O: "I had a bad dream about rainclouds."

C: "You did? Why was it bad? Did the cloud rain on you?"

O: "Yes, it rained on my FACE!"

C: "And got in your eye?!"

O: "Yeah! And I had four more dreams too. How many dreams did you have?"

C: "I didn't have any dreams. I had ZERO dreams."

O: "Oh. I had four dreams. One bad dream about rain clouds and then dreams about race cars."

C: "You had dreams about race cars?"

O: "Yeah. Race cars in a show!"

C: "Awesome."

Tired...

I've been very tired this week. Insomnia plus a nasty lingering cough have really made me feel worn down and bleary eyed. It would have been the perfect day to stay in bed and do nothing, but of course, I never have that luxury anymore. A girl can dream though!

I asked the boys to please be quiet and calm this morning since I wasn't feeling well. Which to them apparently meant, please pull all the couch cushions onto the floor to make a pyramid, and then jump across said cushionless couch playing "racing bunny rabbits." Sigh.

After taking C to school, O & I stopped by CVS to pick up some prescriptions, and then hit Costco for our usual staples. Of course, in my sleepy state, I forgot to buy peanut butter. We've been completely out of peanut butter for 2 days, and since C eats a PB&J every day for lunch, this has been an issue, and was one of the main reasons I went to Costco this morning. I realized I forgot to buy it as I was loading our other purchases into the car, but O burst into tears at the idea of going back into the store. It was cold so I couldn't really blame him, and I just left it. But I hate that feeling of finishing an errand, only to realize you will just have to go out again later.

These are the days I really wish the boys still napped. Because I would actually take one too. This day needs a reboot!

City

Building this kept the boys busy for about 45 minutes before school.

50 books in 2010--update!

The boys' Gramma has been visiting for a few days, and I've taken full advantage of having someone else around to entertain the boys for a change! I squeezed in a long overdue doctor's appointment for myself, and was also able to read 2 books, bringing my grand total to 3 books read so far this year. Not bad for a week's work, and necessary to catch up since I started this challenge almost a month into the New Year. I've really enjoyed all the discussions that this challenge has sparked among my local and online friends. They've been providing wonderful suggestions, and several have taken up the challenge too. One great suggestion was "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins. I read the whole book yesterday (staying up waaaay too late to finish it!) and I can't wait to read the sequel! After that there will be only 46 books to go. Keep the suggestions coming since I'll need a lot of them!

Funnies

A few funnies from my 2 year old...

During a family Rockband Wii session, he didn't want to sing or play along, and announced...
"I want to watch. Watching is my favorite instrument."

* * *

In the midst of an endless breakfast tantrum that had already screamed its way through the topics of wanting a different spoon, his bib being crooked, and a chunk of peach falling back into the yogurt container...
O: "WAAAAAHHHHHH! Mommy!!! WAAAAAAH!!! I have a problem!!"
Me: "What is it now?"
O: "There are drips on my cheeks! You have to wipe the drips off my cheeks!"
Me: "Oh, do you have yogurt on your face?"
O: "NO! There are different drips! Wipe them! Wipe them! WAAAAAAH!"
(At which point I realized that the drips on O's cheeks were TEARS!)
Me: "O, if you would just stop screaming and crying about everything, you won't have anymore tear drips on your cheeks!"
O: "Oh..."
Tantrum ends while I do my best to contain my giggles!

* * *

Attempting to tell a joke he heard on TV, but clearly not getting it quite right...
O: "What do you call a chicken mowing the lawn on a windy day?"
Me: "What?"
O: "A windy car!! A HA HA HA HA HA HA!"
O falls to the floor laughing while I remain confused.

I'm thinking of an animal...

While we were in the car today, C suggested that we play a guessing game. Since we were on our way to an unfamiliar destination and I was concentrating on the road, I suggested that the two boys play on their own.

C: "I'm thinking of an animal that is a pet!"

O: "A COW!!!!"

C: (sigh...) "No, O, a cow is not a pet. I said, I am thinking of an animal that is a pet."

O: "ummm....A TIGER!!"

C: "O, a tiger is NOT a pet. Try again."

O: "A LION!!!"

C: (even longer sigh...) "No."

O: "A PARROT!!"

C: (whining) "MOOOOOOM, I said I am thinking of a pet. How come he's not guessing a pet?!"

Me: "Well, some people keep parrots as pets, so that was a good guess."

C: (getting more and more agitated) "No it wasn't!!!! O doesn't know how to play!! Now you have to guess, Mom!!!"

Me: "Is it a cat?"

C: "YES!!!"

Phew! Crisis averted!

Hints of Spring?

Today was on the warmer side and most of the ice leftover from the last snowstorm has finally melted, so after lunch we ventured out into the yard for the first time in days. C plays outside everyday at school, but since I don't particularly enjoy the cold, O has been significantly deprived of fresh air lately. I really need to work on that!

Oh, to be a kid again, when all you need to have fun is...

...a few good rocks to add to your collection.

...a mess of sticks blown down during the last storm. These can be collected to make "a bird's nest" in the driveway. Or thrown in the garbage can if you are willing to comply with Mommy's "clean up the yard" game.

...something to run circles around while pretending you are in a grand prix auto race (a car, slide, or a leftover snowbank will do the job nicely). Of note, Mommy must properly wave a stick or mitten at the starting gate to begin the race, otherwise it doesn't count.

I brought a book outside, in an attempt to get started on achieving my 50 books in a year goal, but I didn't read a single page. I was having too much fun watching the boys running around. Besides, it really is a lot of work to organize a grand prix race, what with the starting gate duties, announcing the lap numbers, calling for pit stops to change tires, and declaring the winners (there are always two--one in the 2 year old category and one in the 4 year old category). Frankly, by the end, I was worn out. And I didn't even run at all. Maybe next time I should put C in charge of the race, and I'll run the laps.

50 books in a year?

Today I saw a blog post about challenging oneself to read 50 books in a year. My first thought was "50 books? That's nothing!" After all, 50 books is just one book a week. In years past, that would have been nothing for me. I was always a big reader growing up. It was such a treat to go to the library every two weeks and check out the maximum 20 books each time. My mom realized early on that the best way to get me to do my chores quickly was to tell me "You can't read until after you've done XY&Z." Because depriving me of books was like torture!

But then life moved along. In college I still did quite a bit of pleasure reading, and read plenty of other interesting books for my courses along the way. I'm sure I met the 50 book a year goal easily. Then grad school came, and pleasure reading went out the window for the most part. There was just too much required reading, and what little time I had left over was devoted to sleep! But I still had vacations, and I read and read when I had snippets of free time. Browsing at the bookstore was still one of my favorite pasttimes, and lazy afternoons reading on the beach were the perfect escape.

And then the kids came along. And pleasure reading really went out the window. I did read a lot on the internet about parenting, and have read plenty of alphabet, rhyming, and Thomas books over the last 4 years. But I did very little reading purely for myself. I was always just so tired at night, and it was easier to plop down in front of the TV than pick up a book. I missed reading, but I wasn't quite sure what to do about it. I'd bring books along on vacation, but all my time was spent running after the kids. Lazy afternoons on the beach had now been taken over with sand toys and reapplying sunscreen. I don't even throw a book in my beach bag anymore because I know I'll never get to it. And browsing in a bookstore? Forget it. With two kids in tow, a visit to the bookstore is limited to picking up essentials only, and the faster we get in and out, the better. Hubby still buys me books every Christmas since they have always been among my favorite gifts, but it takes me months to read them (and sadly some great finds still sit on the bedside table untouched).

Now 50 books in a year seems nearly impossible to achieve. And that makes me sad. But I've been inspired! I want to try to regain some of that personal time and get back to what was always my favorite hobby. There's nothing like curling up with a good book! I don't know if I'll make it to 50 books this year, and I'm sure whatever I do read will be mostly fluff fiction because, hey I have to start somewhere, right? I think I'll start leaving a book in the car to read while I'm waiting in the school pick up line. And maybe stash another in my gym bag. First, I'm going to work on finishing the newest Elizabeth George book that I gave myself for Christmas.

Anyone else up for the 50 book a year challenge? Or have any suggestions for good reads? I'll need them!!

C's tale.

Winter seems extra long now that I have two boys cooped up inside all day. They have energy to burn, and it feels like all I do is try to balance active fun with preventing injuries and breaking up fights. Tonight the boys were butting heads and couldn't find a way to play nicely together. So I suggested that C sit down at the table and color or write me a story. C loved this idea and immediately sat down to write me a book. He was so excited that he insisted that I give him at least 11 pages to write on. O didn't want to color, but at least he was able to play with his cars quietly while C was otherwise occupied.

Here is C's tale...

"One day I was walking in the woods"

"In the woods I saw the car Lightning"

"I also saw a train"

"The train took me to Gramma's house"

"I played the game of Labyrinth with Gramma"

"Then I went home. The end"

I can tell time...

I woke up this morning to find C snuggled in and sound asleep next to me. He never climbs in our bed anymore, so when he finally woke up, I asked him when he had come into our room. He looked at me, sighed, and announced with a very matter-of-fact tone,

"I don't know Mom! I know how to TELL time, but I don't know how to REMEMBER time."

(Of course. My mistake.)

I love it

When C reads to his little brother!

Too bad they started pushing and shoving each other about 30 seconds after this photo. :-(

Hide & Seek with a 2 year old...

From the mixed up counting (11...12...13...16...18...20...17...18...19...umm.....here I come!)...

to the peeking through his fingers so he knows exactly where you hid and can find you instantly...

to his hopeless hiding (sitting right in the middle of the floor, hiding in the same place 3 times in a row)...

to the exuberant giggles that begin when you are within one mile of his location and eliminate any sense of mystery...

...it's the recipe for a good time...and a lot of silly fun!

Get out the vote!

Today O and I braved the rapidly falling snow and headed to the polls after dropping C off at school. Despite the eyerolls I draw from poll workers and other voters when they see me arrive with two rambunctious boys, I have always taken C & O with me to vote. I think it's important for them to learn at a young age that they can and should be a part of our country's political process. When I was a child, I was always so excited to go to the polls with my mom on election day and I want my boys to have the same enthusiasm! As immigrants, gaining citizenship and the right to vote in this country was so important to my parents, and they never wanted me to take that birthright for granted.

Now I'm feeling a bit guilty that I went to vote while C was in school, because it was just easier to go with only one child! Hopefully Hubby can take C with him when he goes to vote after work!

The hunt is on!

Every evening the boys are responsible for helping to clean up the mess they've created during the day. And they do, but with a LOT of whining. "I can't do it! O's not helping!" etc, etc. It's fairly torturous for all of us and yet I do force the cleanup issue everyday because I think it's important for the boys to help out at least a little. It always goes more smoothly when we make a game out of it. In the past, I had great success with cleaning races. "Who can be the first to clean up 20 things?!" C, always very goal directed, would win handily, while I purposely lost count and kept dropping my items, and O ran around in circles, picking up only one or two things. There was no whining and the toys would usually get cleaned up fairly quickly. But lately, the charm of this game seems to have worn off. Suggesting a cleaning race is now met with "I don't want to. You just clean it up Mom."

Since the boys stopped napping this week, I've been much more exhausted than usual. I guess I really did need that downtime every afternoon! Last night I looked around at all the blocks and Legos everywhere and sighed. I just didn't have the energy to fight with the boys about cleaning, nor did I have the energy to clean it all up myself. And then, an idea flashed into my head!

I told C & O that if they cleaned up all the blocks and Legos, they would earn a clue to a treasure hunt. They cleaned up very quickly and then I sent them to the kitchen so I could lay a trail of 3 clues in the living room. I wasn't sure they would really understand the game, but they loved it. C read the clues aloud to O and then they both searched for the next clue. They had a great time following one clue to the next, and were thrilled once they eventually found the cookies I had hidden under their cowboy hats. After gobbling them down, they begged to play again. I told them they would have to choose another treasure to find since they couldn't have any more cookies, and they chose to search for their Lightning McQueen car. I sent them to the kitchen and sent up a new treasure hunt. When they returned, I handed C the first clue to start the hunt. He said "No Mom! What do I have to clean up to earn the clue?" (!!!!!!!!!) Apparently treasure hunt is only a cleaning game! So I found a few more things for them to clean up and then they completed the new hunt.

After that, C wanted to write the clues so O and I could hunt. I wasn't sure how that would go since, after all, C is only 4! Would he really know how to write out clues, or figure out that one clue had to lead to the next? He busied himself at his table and O and I waited eagerly. I was amused when he ruined one of the clues by asking "Mom, how do you spell computer?" When he announced he was done, I said "OK, give me the first clue." To which he replied, "NO MOM! You have to clean up something to earn the clue!! (This is the best game EVER!!!!!) So I put away a few loose toys that the boys had missed and O and I started on our hunt.

C's clues (painstakingly handwritten in all caps):

1) "I LOVE TO W"
C explained that this was supposed to be, "I love to watch" but he got distracted and forgot to write the rest of the word. I searched for a clue near the TV, but there was none. I was confused until he explained that he meant the show "Frances" and I realized the clue was in the book bin with his Frances book.

2) "IN THE IN"
(????) I asked C what this meant and he said "I don't know." Then he couldn't remember where he had hidden clue number 3 so the game paused for a bit while he searched and eventually found it on the desk. Still don't know what "IN THE IN" has to do with that!

3) "I LIKE MAPS"
I figured out that this meant his globe, where clue # 4 was hidden.

4) "LOOK IN COMPUTER"
Ah, at last the clue that I had helped him spell. Leading me directly to where a toy dolphin was hidden on the keyboard.

Not bad at all for a first attempt, in my opinion!

C and I played several more times after O went to bed, taking turns writing the clues and being the treasure hunter. And since cleaning up is the required first step of this game, by the end the floor was spotless. This morning they are already talking about hunting for treasure later. I hope this game holds their interest and makes cleaning up easier for a long time. Or at least until I can think of a new cleanup game!

Can't wait to see...

...what games they come up with now that they have TWO boxes. I see a lot of head bonks in our future...