Crack for Babies...

Also known as "Baby Einstein" videos....
And on a side note, look how well our garden is doing!  

My Little Runaway

The following conversation took place around 3 p.m. this afternoon...

Tyler:  Mom, can I wear my clone trooper costume?

Me: No, because you didn't take it off this morning when it was time for school.

Tyler (yelling):  Fine!  Then I am going to find a new family!

Me:  Okay.

(Tyler then proceeded to go upstairs...a few minutes later he came back toting a suitcase.)

Tyler:  I'm leaving!  

Me:  Okay.

(Tyler then goes outside, stands on the sidewalk with his suitcase--keep in mind it was about 100 degrees today--then says after a minute or two...)

Tyler:  I am going to wait on the porch in case no one comes to get me.

Me:  Okay.

Me:  Tyler, why are you climbing in the suitcase?

Tyler:  I'm climbing in the suitcase to go to bed because I don't have a bed.

Me:  Oh, okay.

(In the midst of this is Jacob screaming because he wants to go with Tyler but Tyler doesn't want him to...)

Tyler:  I'm doing the same thing daddy did.

Me:  Okay.

(Thanks to grandma who told him the story of his daddy running away with a suitcase full of socks.  Tyler at least was smart enough to pack the essentials--his storm trooper costume and gun, 2 ocean books--very handy in the desert, a Ben 10 watch and his Big Doggie.)

(After a few more minutes...and coincidentally right after me telling Jacob I was going to put a movie on for him...)

Tyler:  I'm coming inside now since no one is coming to get me.

Me:  Okay.

Fun in the Sun

Last week we took a little trip down to San Diego with my sister-in-law Katie and her family plus Eric's mom.  We had a great time and here are a few pics to prove it!  I have to tell something funny Tyler said at the start of our trip.  On the drive there we stopped at Carl's Jr..  Tyler did not like this, he wanted McDonald's.  Well, me and Eric are sick of McDonald's so since we were driving we decided on Carl's Jr.   We got Tyler chicken nuggets but he wouldn't eat them.  His complaint?  "I don't like these chicken nuggets!  These chicken nuggets taste like real chicken!"  Ha ha.
When we first went down to the beach there was a partial pit so the boys all helped make it bigger. Well, Eric and Tyler were trying to make it bigger.  While they were shoveling sand out Jacob was shoveling it back in.  Figures.   I was in the process of building a pretty awesome sandcastle but guess who came and stomped all over it when I wasn't looking? Jake the Snake.  Here's a few pics of the boys playing in the sand.  It is such a nice beach there--we stayed at the Navy Inn at Coronado.  What a great place!  You can walk right out the back door of your hotel room onto the beach.  Sweet!  No sandy cars to vacuum out or wet seats.  Now that's the way to go to the beach!

Eric found some little clams that would wash up in the surf.  If you watch them they would come out of their shells and wiggle themselves into the sand.  Cool!
Tyler had no problem getting down and dirty in the sand.  He also brought his goggles, put them on, kneeled down in the sand and stuck his face right in the shallow surf.  I wish I had my camera at that moment, but I didn't.  It was so funny.  We asked him if he saw anything.  He said, "I saw lots of sand."
And then Tyler buried Eric.  
Maggie was just enjoying herself.
One night we went out walking after dinner and Tyler had to pee.  There were no restrooms around so this is his solution...  At least he didn't pull his pants down around his ankles!
And for the big finale......(drumroll)........Maggie can get her feet in her mouth!  The other night in the bath, after weeks of being so close, she finally got her toes in her mouth.  And boy, did she like to suck on her big toe!  She is such a little chunk.  I love it!  Now she is obsessed with her feet.  She even grabs for toys now.  They grow up so fast!

One thing at a time....

When one is good....The other is bad...
When one is good...
The other is bad...
Does anyone else have this problem?

Lots and lots of things...

Okay, I have a lot of things to talk about...   First off, as you may know, my kids love to take pictures and I often find random shots of things I didn't even know they had taken.  Here is one example.  It is nice to see Venom expanding his horizons of friends...Mozart may be a good influence.
Maggie loves it when you move her arms up and down.  She giggles and giggles.  It makes my heart melt.  I am torn because I want her to get a little older so she can do a little more (sit up, hold a bottle, sleep, etc.) but she is so sweet at this age!   Tyler took this shot.
And here is Maggie eating.  She couldn't wait for the oatmeal so somehow got her mouth on the tray and every time I would try to move her she would scream!
Here she is.  I can just tell what she is thinking, "Geez, mom.  Put the stinkin' camera down and feed me some cereal!"
Tyler took this one of me and Maggie.  If I look a little sleep-deprived, well, it's because I am.
And here we are on Easter morning!  It was just me and the kids because Eric was sick.  Poor dad.  But we still had fun.  The boys were amazed that the Easter Bunny could carry so much stuff.  Once again, Jacob has crazy hair.
Tyler loves to play with Maggie and she adores him.  He can make her giggle when no on else can.  Notice the Star Wars spaceship above her head--typical in my house.  Poor Maggie, I will have to stock up on girl toys!
Tyler has a totally goofy face in this one, but they were both very proud of their eggs.  I was pretty proud of myself too because I let them do it completely on their own.  I took precautions--10 layers of towels on the table, dye cups on a cookie sheet with edges, etc.
Jake with his creation--he was very concerned that this egg had a sad face (remember he did it by himself).  He asked me, "Mommy, why is the egg sad?"  I said, "Because you put the smile on upside-down." (notice the tongue on the top of the mouth...)
And Tyler with one of his favorites...
Maggie didn't get left behind on Easter either.  She went to town on the box of her chocolate rabbit.  It probably won't last until she is old enough to eat it, so I guess I'll have to do it.  Being a mom sure is tough sometimes.
And here is Maggie ready for church in her Easter dress (thanks G-ma Swenson!).  It was so froofy (however you spell that) that I wasn't quite sure how to control it!  Getting her into her carseat with this on was a whole new experience.
Me and the kids on Easter.  Jake was being a stinker, big surprise there.  If you notice he is refusing to smile because he wanted to blow spit bubbles.  Ugh!  I hope I have another girl someday!
Maggie LOVED her dress.  I don't know if she loved it because it was so pretty, but she loved sucking on the material.  I couldn't keep her away from it!  I kept trying to get a picture of her laying peacefully on the floor but she thought the dress was too tasty...
This is my best attempt at getting all three kids in a picture.  Tyler is slouching, Maggie is sliding off and appears to fear for her life and Jacob will not smile.  I tried bribes, threats, and everything I could think of but this is the best I got.  I guess 20 years from now it will help me remember what life really was like "back then."

The Boss

Today I was in the bathroom getting ready and I overheard Eric talking to the boys in their room (our walls are thin).  The boys were whining for fruit rolls but Eric said no.  Here is the conversation I heard:

Tyler:  But why can't we have one?

Eric:  Because I said so and I am the boss.

Tyler:  No, you're not the boss.

Eric: Oh yeah?  Who's the boss?

Tyler:  Mommy's the real boss.

That's right.  And don't you forget it!

P-U!

A quick note....today I took Tyler to the grocery store.  While picking up some deodorant for Eric Tyler says (a bit loudly), "P-U mom!  Mom, mom, smell my armpit.  It stinks!"  He decided he needed some deodorant of his own so he picked out some and went around the rest of the time smelling it, "Oh, this smells so good!"  I thought it was so funny so I bought him his deodorant.  He even put it on tonight after his bath.  Of course he made all of us smell his armpits....

The Magic Kingdom

Disneyland, the so-called "magic kingdom."  I am here to attest that it indeed is magic...it magically makes all my expectations of happy, grateful children disappear.  Before going, I think to myself, "Oh, won't this be so fun, the kids will have such a great time.  We are making memories!  They will be so happy!"  Well.....it didn't pan out that way this trip.  I took Jacob and Tyler to Disneyland yesterday for a few hours while my mom watched Maggie.  We start out fine, then after a while the boys get hungry.  This is where it all unravels.  Tyler gets a churro.  Jake gets popcorn.  Mom wants to share both but do you think that happens?  So mom gets a fruit bowl.  Then we need drinks.  And after not too long the trip I thought would be free (because we got in on our season passes) ends up costing me all the cash in my wallet.  

As a side note here, I did read an article about how Disneyland "tricks" you into buying stuff.  Such details as all the roads are slightly curved so you have to look at all the stores/eateries instead of zoning out on a straightway....they put fans in the treat shops to blow yummy smells out onto the street to make your mouth water until you think you can't possibly live without cotton candy another minute...etc.  So you see, me and the boys are just innocent victims in all of this....

Back to the story, so after all this Tyler wants some Cheetos.  Well, after spending all that there was no way I was going to spend 4 dollars on an itty-bitty bag of Cheetos that I can get for 50 cents at the grocery store.  Tyler think this is the end of the world.  He starts getting grumpy, Jacob copies because he copies everything Tyler does, and now after selling one kidney to buy season passes and the other to buy snacks for the day I have 2 boys who are whining incessantly about how they "Never get anything."  The only thing that keeps me from reacting the way I wanted to was the fact that I was surrounded by millions of people.  

So we went back today (against my better judgement) but I packed a big bag full of healthy snacks and made it clear to each of them beforehand that under no circumstances were we buying any food today.  They both agreed and what do you think happened?  No whining (about food anyway), no complaining.  Just polite requests for Wheat Thins or graham crackers.  So I guess that's the secret.  The less I do for my kids the better they behave.  So I did learn something out of all of that.  Plus, the best part about it all?  Both boys were ASKING to go to bed at 7:00 tonight.  That is one request I had no problem giving in to....

Baseball!

Here's our little slugger!  Tyler had his first T-ball game on Tuesday.  He got a great hit.  He also caught a few balls in the outfield but wasn't quite sure what to do with the ball once he got it.  At least he is paying more attention--last year he spent the whole game time looking for ladybugs....  Up next is a picture of Jacob's latest work of art.  He took a strawberry cereal bar, broke it up into a bunch of pieces, them stomped them all into the carpet.  I came into the room and found ground up cereal bar and bright red streaks covering my living room carpet.  This picture is just a tiny sampling.  I was so mad!  I thought for sure it wouldn't come out, what with the red dye in the filling, but I steam cleaned it right away and after doing that 2 or 3 times over it all came up.  Phew!  I guess that's what I get for leaving the pantry unlocked.
And here's the picture I promised of Maggie eating her first cereal!  She loved it and did surprisingly well for her first food.  After this we broke down and bought a new high chair.  Our old one was falling apart, plus our house is small so we bought one that collapses flat.  It will be very nice!
This was taken after Tyler's first t-ball game.  We were walking out and Jacob saw these tracks in the dirt.  He stopped and bent down then says, "Daddy look!  Waffles!"  It was pretty funny.   I guess Jake does have his cute moments.
And Maggie is all smiles all the time.  She is such a fun little baby.  She loves to talk and is always making squeaky noises.  She makes our hearts melt!
Now, I don't have any pictures of this, but Tyler played a few April Fool's pranks on dad.  I had forgotten all about April Fool's Day but when Tyler came home he wanted to play some jokes on dad.  So Tyler thought of a few.  He put a plastic spider inside his wallet and had Eric open it when he got home, taped another spider to the computer screen, colored red on paper then taped it to his arm and told Eric he was bleeding, and covered a plastic ball in red paper and told Eric it was an apple.  Ha ha!  They were so funny because they were so obviously thought of by a 5-year-old.  My favorite was the blood on his arm (Eric played along really well).  Together we thought of a couple more.  We put tape, sticky-side out, on the door handle, wrote on toilet paper and left a message in the toilet bowl, and stuffed a leg of my jeans with a towel, put a shoe on the bottom of it then shut it in the laundry room door so it looked like the door shut on my leg.  When Eric came in Tyler yelled, "Dad. mommy's stuck!"  Eric thought that was pretty funny.  Tyler had the best time doing them.  It was really fun.