Poor Cinderella

Saturday mornings come around and it is time for everyone to pitch in together and clean. This Saturday Kennedy was insistent that she wanted to mop the floor 'like Cinderella'. I wasn't going to argue with that. It started out with Kennedy in the entry with a wet rag where she quickly got into character piously singing the "Sing sweet Nightingale" song that Cinderella sings while mopping the floors. It was pretty cute because for 45 min she sang the same line over and over "swing sweet Nightingale" with the occasional "hiiiiiiiiigh, above thee". Pretty soon she had solicited a more than willing Kohen to play the role of Lucifer the naughty cat (not such a stretch) to come and put dirty paw prints through her freshly mopped floor so she could cry out, "you mean 'ol thing!!!!" just like Cinderella does. As the pictures show the activity quickly escalated and to be more authentic Kennedy wanted a bucket with water- and so of course then 'Lucifer' -who knows an opportunity for a mess when he sees one- needed his own bucket and rag too. In the end they both went around sopping the floor while I went behind and dried. Though it took 3 times longer, eventually the floor did get cleaned!

Tinkle Tinkle Little Star

Potty training. It has to be done. No one wants to do it, but it must be done. At 2 1/2 yrs old Kohen was already half way there. He had been doing the dirtier business on the toilet for about a year now (a glorious phenomenon/blessing we kind of happened upon) and I knew that if I didn't take on the rest of the task soon he would get too stubborn and it would be diapers through kindergarten. We actually had a false start a week or so ago when Kohen found his 'Go Diego, Go!' underwear and was adamant he wanted them on. Eventually I acquiesced and soon forgot that he was even wearing underwear until about an hour later when he peed on the wood floor. In that moment I knew that I was wholly unprepared and unwilling to go it alone. So this time:

We Prepared

We Got Inspiration

And We Got UNDERWEAR!!!

So we started last Saturday when Nathan was home and we were able to focus on Kohen properly. He actually had an amazing first day with no accidents even though one of us was taking him to the bathroom every 20 minutes or so. The next day however, Kohen decided to use his agency and had 3 accidents in a short period of time leaving him quite distressed. He kept bringing me diapers and begging me to put them on him. Luckily the phase of rebellion for Kohen (and guilt for me) only lasted about 2 hours and then he seemed to resign himself to learning the new skill. Now -as some of you may know- the mechanics of a boy are quite different from a girl and as it turns out very...unpredictable. The distance and scope they can cover is unbelievable! So just because Kohen would make it on to the toilet didn't necessarily mean that anything made it in! It was after just such an occasion that I was kneeling in front of Kohen -who was still sitting on the toilet- cleaning up the wayward half while enthusiastically praising him for the successful half, when Kohen decided he wasn't finished. At near point-blank range I had little time to do anything...even close my mouth!!!!! In horror I rocked backwards desperately trying to gag and spit at the same time (no simple task) while Kennedy who had witnessed the whole thing comments with controlled disgust how 'it' got on my shirt and pants too! Perfect. A few minutes later as I was brushing my teeth I pondered how they hadn't mentioned this type of thing in any parenting class -and also how someone once told me that urine is sterile and I wondered if whoever had come up with that 'fact' had ever had any in their mouth! Either way I wasn't taking any chances! Later when I relayed the incident to Nathan on the phone he couldn't help himself from laughing and saying it sounded like a 'special treat' before pulling himself together and playing the role of sympathetic husband.

Anyway, I think soon enough Kohen will have completely mastered the technique of using the bathroom. And I am sorry for all of the potty talk, but I did warn you! I think from this I have learned two very important lessons. #1- My son will do probably anything for candy #2- Whether or not you think they have ammo, NEVER BE IN THE LINE OF FIRE!

Choose The Right

True Story: Last Sunday Kennedy came home from church proudly displaying her very first CTR ring. She of course loves it and is very proud of it and that she know that CTR means Choose The Right. Well, today Kennedy and Kohen were playing with some trains on the floor when a disagreement broke out and after a brief scuffle Kohen pulled Kennedy's hair. Kennedy cries out and immediately holds up her CTR- wielding middle finger and shouts indignantly at Kohen, "C-T-R Kohen! CHOOSE THE RIGHT!!!" The irony of the moment had me laughing so hard, leaving both children quite confused! I was pleased that Kennedy reminded Kohen to choose the right...even if she shouted it at him. She seemed extra proud of herself when I wanted to take a picture of her CTR ring... then I showed her how well rings fit on our "ring fingers" and hopefully we won't have her unknowingly flipping people off and telling them to 'Choose The Right', anymore!

Pumpkin Pie

At 8 months old Alyssa is finally getting the hang of sitting up on her own! She hasn't been a bit bothered that her peers have been passing her up, by sitting, cutting teeth and for an ambitious few- crawling! Well, I like that Aly isn't feeling the peer pressure. She doesn't feel compelled to follow the trends...she is blissfully unaware. I have called Aly "Pumpkin Pie" (sounds more like "punkin pie") since shortly after she was born. I think I have called all of my children "punkin" at sometime or another but Alyssa is sweeter than pumpkin- hence, Pumpkin Pie (try not to gag on the cheese and go with it). She truly is such a sweetheart. She has a very calm and kind demeanor- very forgiving. I know this because even after Kohen gives her a "hug" (the kind that look like a body slam from WWF wrestling) she cries for a second and then she is right back smiling and babbling at him.

The other day I got the picture below of Alyssa. She was sitting in her swing that sits close to the floor, her hat box of toys sits next to the swing. Well, I looked over and watched her carefully lean all the way over and reach down into the hat box. She was unable to turn her head to look into the box so she just felt around until she found a toy she wanted and she gingerly lifted it up and carefully dropped it into her lap. Even in her hunched over, cock-eyed position I could tell she was really pleased with herself...until she realized the she couldn't get back up! "Curses!" She thought, as her poor abdominal strength came back to haunt her. It was so comical because she sat there for a second and then quietly started calling out intermitently to get my attention. She was probably a little irritated with me because instead of rushing to her assistance I grabbed the camera and took a picture first...what does that say about my mothering?...hmm...Anyway, I sat her upright and let her enjoy the rewards of her hard work for a while.

Lastly, I wanted to share one final Aly tid-bit because to really know her, you have to know about what Nathan and I refer to as "the light-bulb". The light-bulb is a motion that Alyssa does with her left hand constantly, and I mean CONSTANTLY. When she is eating baby food, when she is playing with toys, kicking her feet, being squished by Kohen, when she is excited, upset...pretty much any time she isn't sleeping she can be found doing the light-bulb. It is this motion that looks just like she is screwing in an invisible light-bulb with her left hand (go ahead, try it. I wanted to know what the pay off was too!). It is often accompanied by a frantic kicking of her feet. How she manages to do it all at once is beyond me! Maybe this is what she has been working on while all of her peers were learning how to sit!!!!

The Storm

Perhaps you have heard about the storm that has made the East a complete mess. Well, we experienced some of it with several inches of snow followed by several inches of sleet and freezing rain. School has been cancelled for 3 1/2 days and Nathan couldn't get his car out of the driveway the morning after the storm hit. So guess whose mini van saved the day!? That's right, chalk one up for my mom-mobile! Needless to say we have been spending a lot of time indoors! Check out our deck that -like most parking lots and side streets- is a thick sheet of ice! You can see that in most places it is at least three inches thick! And with the temperatures remaining well below freezing, we are going to be ice skating out there 'till spring!

Five Guys

Friday nights at Five Guys (or "Two Guys" as Kohen calls it for some reason) has become a tradition that we have inadvertently started since moving to Virginia. Five Guys Burgers is an East Coast thing- a restaurant that makes fresh burgers and fries when you order...SO GOOD! The children look forward to it all week and when Nathan gets home from work we head out.

Kennedy comes for the free peanuts...no lie, she makes a meal out of 'em (as seen below). Oh well, at least she is getting some protein. She really gets a kick out of putting her peanut shells on the floor (you are supposed to) and one time she brought a few peanuts home and I came in the kitchen and there she was sitting in her chair perched above a carpet of peanut shells! We had to discuss how Five Guys is the only place we drop our food on the floor!

Kohen is showing off his french fries (made fresh cut from Idaho potatoes!) his hot dog is long gone! It all works out well because then Kohen eats half Kennedy's hot dog too!

Toy Story

Meet "Baby Jesus"

The Evalutionists will be thrilled. I can see the headlines now, "MAN EVOLVED FROM SEA TURTLE!" Apparently the Christmas season had quite an effect on Kennedy because she has been carrying this little turtle "Baby Jesus" around and treating him with the utmost reverence and care. I just don't have the heart to correct her, and I am not sure I want to. She is not being disrespectful- though maybe a little sacreligious. If you notice "Baby Jesus" is swaddled in Kohen's green army hat, then in a pink blanket for extra safe keeping.

When I tucked Kennedy in for a nap I found she had a rhino in a tupperware and "Baby Jesus" swaddled in a pair of her most prized princess panties...maybe he would prefer a manger!

This is how I found Kohen's favorite action figures (or "action fingers" as Kennedy calls them) the other day. This cow is one of Kohen's favorite toys and even knowing that I still couldn't help laughing at Captain America and Spiderman headed off to save the world...on a cow.

Shortly there after it seems Captain America hit a bump in the road...or became one! What has my son been watching???

And finally, this is Kennedy and Kohen playing "Airplane" on our stairs. They refused to let me move the paper towels - apparently it was some sort of cockpit- and you know, FAA rules or some such! Notice "Baby Jesus" next to Kennedy, she said it was his first ride and he was "a little nervous." With Kohen as the captain? I would be too!

Snow Day!

Do you remember the excitement and anticipation you used to have when the weather man said snow was on it's way? And you would go to sleep just hoping that mother nature would unleash a blizzard that would cancel school for at least a week?! And then you would wake up and check the news to see if school had in fact been canceled, and then climb back into bed and enjoy sleeping in. I will never forget one morning I got up to get ready for early morning seminary and Natalie had written a message on the role of toilet paper "school cancelled for snow!"- hilarious! Well, I am afraid snow days just aren't the same anymore. It is so sad because I still feel this anticipation waiting for it to start snowing, but there is no reward of a day off like there used to be. Even still it is always fun to wake up to snow...since I don't have to drive in it! Today was one of those days. To make the most of the snow Kennedy and Kohen wanted to go out and play in it for a little while. And by "a little while" I mean about 15 min. Almost worth getting bundled up for! I think they enjoyed the hot chocolate afterwards the best. Or maybe it was me dancing around the kitchen singing the hot chocolate song from The Polar Express, "HOT-HOT! Oh we got it! HOT HOT! Yeah we got it! HOT HOT! Oh we got it...HOT CHOCOLATE! Here we only have one rule- NEVER EVER LET IT COOL!...HOT CHOCOLATE!" I put a hat on Aly just so she wouldn't feel left out!

Writer's Block 101

Apparently I have arrived! I have my very own blog! The excitement it seems, has given me quite a case of writer's block- it must be the pressure. A blog sounds...big...and complicated. But I will overcome the urge to turn off my computer and pretend this little thing never happened, and trudge ahead! After about 12 days of passing around a really great cold/pink eye combo, it looks like we are finally getting healthy. Nathan came home from work early last wed. to help take all of us to the doctor and we got medicine for the pink eye. That night when we put Alyssa's medicine in her eyes they immediately became red and irritated then swelled shut. Trying not to over-react I called the pharmacist and she said that she was shocked but that Aly must be having an allergic reaction to the Erythromycin. She also mentioned that the same active ingredient is in Neosporin so Alyssa shouldn't have that either. I was telling my mom all of this when she chimes in with, "oh, I'm allergic to Erythromycin." How did I never know this? I don't know, but oh well, it isn't that big of a deal- and it will be kind of neat for Aly to see genetics at work- well, if her eyes weren't swollen shut!