No such thing as a retorical question

Posted March 30th, 2007 by Mom | Comments (0)

Ever since C and J could utter their first words, they have been able to communicate effectively with us. Here are a few examples:

B (calling out J’s full name): What are you doing out of bed?

J: I want you

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C runs inside, I can hear J crying and running towards the house…

Mom: What happened?

C: I just smacked J in the head since he threw a car at me.

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J: I want some gum

Mom: I don’t have any

J: Daddy does

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Mom: J, bring the fly swatter back inside.

J: But I need to kill the bugs.

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Mom:  J, what are you doing out of bed?
J:  I want to keep you.

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Dad:  J, are you going to stay in bed?

J:  (shakes his head no.)

You’re Whining…Again!

Posted March 30th, 2007 by Mom | Comments (0)

This evening, B and I went to a seminar at the kids’ preschool. I met B there as he was coming from work. We got the kids settled into their respective classes and had a good time. The speaker was both entertaining and informative.

After the seminar, we took the boys out to Sonic for a late snack. On the way there, as B was driving, I started to open my sunroof. B immediately moved to close it and mentioned that his allergies were really bothered by the pollen in the air. I mentioned that I really like it open and that I was hot. As the sunroof was closing , C piped up from the backseat and said, “Mommy, you’re whining.” I was a little taken back, but agreed and apologized since whining is not acceptable behavior. C then asked, “Mommy, why were you whining?” I explained to him as best that I could in terms that he would understand as to why I like the window open (I am extremely claustrophobic and have the sunroof open almost always).

As we were in the Sonic parking lot, B was choosing a parking spot. I mentioned that I don’t like to face the wall. B said that he didn’t like to face the open area since the kids would want to get out of the car and play. I responded that the kids would understand that at night we don’t get out of the car to play. Up pops C’s little voice again, “Mommy, you’re whining again!” B laughed for at least 5 minutes. It took him awhile to place our order since he couldn’t stop laughing.

I guess C has a good grasp of the fact that whining is unacceptable – from the children or the parents…

What kind of truck is that?

Posted March 30th, 2007 by Mom | Comments (0)

The boys love trucks.  They especially love to ride down the road looking out the windows at the different kinds of trucks on the roads.  Here was part of the discussion this afternoon on the way to the grocery store:

J:  What is dat?

Mom: a truck that delivers packages

C:  What is that van?

Mom:  It goes to homes and fixes their telephones

J:  What’s in dat dump truck?

Mom:  Sand

C:  What kind of truck is that?

Mom:  It is an Earthgrain bread truck that delivers bread

C:  Does it have green beans, too?

Ramblings and Updates

Posted March 30th, 2007 by Mom | Comments (0)

Well, spring is officially here. I just finished mowing the front yard, in a diagonal pattern. The boys were busy riding their truck and tricycle. I only had 1 incident – the mower stopped due to me trying to cut off too much grass at a time and I had to restart it (we have a pull start mower). When I went to pull start it, the handle came off – the knot that was in the line pulled through the handle. The boys brought me a pair of pliers and I was able to get the knot undone and retied with the handle intact. Only a 20 minute delay in completion.

The bird (pigeon?) that has been living in our front flower bed watched me from our roof most of the time I was mowing. He has recovered from slamming into our front door two times. Glad that we’re not going to have to catch him and take him to the vet (B’s suggestion if the pigeon stayed in the flower bed much longer).

Last night we had a delicious meal of fillet mignon due to a friend’s refrigerator being on the blink. We are letting Mr. L keep his refrigerated and frozen items here for the time being. Mr. L cooked dinner for us. We also had rosemary garlic bread and fresh asparagus marinated in red wine vinegar. (No, B didn’t eat any… he had green beans.) In organizing our freezer, I located a frozen apple pie. It made a great dessert. (No, B didn’t eat any of it either…)

Around 1 o’clock this morning (I have a head cold and couldn’t get to sleep), I was getting a baggie out of a kitchen drawer and the drawer was stuck. I guess I need to clean out my kitchen drawers like I did the refrigerator and freezer yesterday. I pulled on the drawer a little too much and the front of the drawer came off. Shoot. I really miss the good construction of the old days. True hardwood versus this laminate junk, dove tail joints as opposed to just glued on attachments, etc. Well, I got the drawer emptied, glued, put back together and held with a clamp. In the process of this, I determined that B needs larger clamps. I used what he had and made do. B’s garage is so organized! It is great to go out there and find what I need or determine what to get. Tools are rarely hard to find and if they are hard to find, it is due to little hands getting a hold of them…

Also in the garage, the boys are still playing with the hardwood selections. My prior favorite has now been totally ruled out. It showed every ding. B had a really good idea in letting them “work” on the wood!

Well, I am off to mow the back yard. Before I start, I am going to clean out the boy’s toys out there. They have too much junk right now. Plus I don’t want to mow over another toy. Last summer, I mowed over a little toy Scoop – think Bob the Builder. It was a traumatic moment for J!

Yummy!?

Posted March 27th, 2007 by Mom | Comments (0)

At least once a month, preferably twice a month, B and I split up the kids and I take one and B takes the other out to eat or to do errands.  The next time we rotate which child goes with which parent.  It is a lot of fun usually and lets the children have 1-1 time.  Tonight was my pleasure to dine with J.

I had a delicious meal of grilled salmon with orzo pasta and steamed spinach.  J had a plate of spaghetti with a huge meatball.  He did really good eating the meatball once I had cut it up and ate at the spaghetti.  I think he filled up on bread and olive oil before getting his spaghetti.

As we were leaving, I let J get some green and white mints (my favorite!  I don’t like peppermint much).  On the way home in the car, J asked me to help him open one of his mints.  He said, “this tastes like dental floss!”

Happy Birthday, J!

Posted March 25th, 2007 by Mom | Comments (0)

Today after church, we had a birthday lunch party of pizza to celebrate J being 3. J had a yellow and black bumblebee cake with chocolate layer. He beamed so bright when we sang him “Happy Birthday” and he blew out his candles all by himself while standing in a chair leaning on/over the table. I hope nobody minded his blowing that included some spit.

Before we all were finished eating cake and vanilla ice cream, C started opening J’s presents. I’m sure it was just to show J what to do with the gifts…

At one point while J was opening a present, C piped up and said, “look what we got!” (I wonder when C will realize that these are J’s toys?! I think C might have gotten a clue at rest time. C took one of J’s new gifts to rest time with him. When C got up to ask me a question, J ran into C’s room and took his toy back! C was seriously hacked off!

This evening I took the boys to church while B went to work. Now we are back home and the boys are going around the house with C pushing J’s new Tonka Gus ‘n Gobbler talking garbage truck (thanks Aunt L and Uncle D!) and J pushing his new big black truck complete with carry case (thanks Grandma and Grandpa!). My left ankle is still smarting from where J accidentally ran into me. The new brute front loader (thanks Nana and Pop!) is rotated into the mix once the boys stop fighting over who gets to push it.

Bedtime soon – I can’t take much more noise of these toys on the tile floor and the boys screaming with joy. J is totally wiped out from the day. He didn’t rest much at nap time since he took his new toys to bed and he was overwhelmed with the trucks, trains, and cars on his new bedding (thanks Aunt Co and Uncle Cr for the matching curtains). J has already fallen several times (talk about falling down tired).

A new day tomorrow to listen to toys on tile. Soon they will be moved outside to the sandbox, but for now, the boys are enjoying having them inside. Happy Birthday, my dear J!