First Comes Love

Our neighbor friends came over to play with the kiddos today.  In their adventures, Riley and Emerson found a giant, two-headed, stuffed snake, so Jack was making it hiss and pretending to have it crawl towards the girls.

One of them shared that she didn't like snakes, so Jack took it upon himself to tell her that his daddy used to breed snakes.  "Do you know what breed means?" he asked.

As I tried to figure out the best way to intervene, Jack explained as best he could.

"It means when two snakes love each other and they make a completely new snake!"

So I quietly walked away and jotted that little nugget down so that I wouldn't forget how completely tactful and appropriate my little man was in explaining a tricky subject to his four year old friends.

And then I smiled because, somewhere along the way, he's learned that loves come first :)

You're So Old!

Tonight we had breakfast for dinner.  Mostly because it's easy and quick, and I know my kids will eat well!

Brad fixed the bacon and the littles were overjoyed and eager to eat as much of it as possible.  We asked them to share it equally, and Jack was kind enough to offer some of his to me.  When Hannah found out I wasn't going to take him up on his offer, she was excited to have a few extra slices.  We had to explain to her that he was still going to eat it, and he celebrated this small victory.

Playfully, Brad joked with Hannah by saying, "You got served!"

Jack had a questioning look on his face, so Brad started to explain that it was from a movie called You Got Served, when Jack interrupted to say, "Oh, like you got burned!"

Brad responded by saying, "No, that's a little extreme..."

To which Jack had to explain that the phrases, "You got served!" and "You got burned!" mean the same thing.

And then, laughing to himself, he joked, "You're so old!"

I laughed so hard, juice almost came out of my nose.  Dinner with my family is never dull!

STEAM Night

Tonight Jack and Hannah's school hosted a STEAM Night.  STEAM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math.  To me, it sounded right up Brad's alley, so I sent him with the kids :)

They had a lot of fun, and while Hannah did mention when she got home that she wished I'd been there, I'm glad they got to spend some fun time engineering with their dad.

First, they participated in a 10-foot egg drop.  Brad explained to me that this is a cube structure.  They put the egg in a bag and then surrounded the bag with newspaper.  Then they buffered that newspaper with extra newspaper inside the cube structure to protect the egg.  And their egg didn't break!

Next, they went to a station called Spinning Spheres.  They made a Spongebob structure, and then placed it around a sphero (when I asked Brad how to describe a sphero, he replied, "An autonomous, multidirectional, spherical android," so there you have it).  The sphero could somehow be controlled by a tablet.  I love that last picture so much - my happy scientists, having a blast!

So glad they got to go and burn some creative energy!

Time with Friends

Today was the day for play dates with friends.  This morning, we met up with Kimmee and Channing for some fun at Rebounderz.  The kids all had such a good time getting their extra energy out on the indoor trampolines.  Once they were all bounced out, they played some arcade games in order to win a few cheesy prizes :)  Then we headed over to Burger 21 for lunch - my kids are crazy about Burger 21!  We had such a good time catching up, but I didn't get any pictures!!!

After we came home to rest for awhile, we had another play date with Hannah's best friend, Ryan.  We met up at a local park that has several playgrounds and a creek.  It was a beautiful day, and the kids had a great time!

These two melt my heart - and I'm secretly hoping they get married.

So peaceful :)

Not quite as peaceful, but so much more fun!  Hannah was hanging out on the sidelines because she got a cut on her hand.

I mean, really.

Once we came home, the kids still wanted to play outside, so Jack and I played a game of HORSE with his new basketball hoop (he beat me).  We played ring toss with Hannah, and before we knew it - Daddy was home!

And just like my dad used to do with me when I was little, Hannah climbed up onto Brad's lap to drive into the garage.  Jack was very generous and let Hannah have a turn by herself :)

It was a great, fun-filled day.  And all that sun made me wish summer was here already!

Down on the Farm

As is our custom on Spring Break, we spent the day on the farm.  This year, we decided to go to Great Country Farms, and it didn't disappoint.  The weather was gorgeous - maybe even hotter than I'd planned for!  I think we even got a bit of sun, which felt nice.

My kids love a photo-op :)

Pure joy

This boy loves the slides!

Me and my little lovelies on the hay ride

Summer freckles make their first appearance

Jack showed her just what to do and what face to make!

They were so excited about this ninja course - it's like it was made just for them!

That face she makes when I've taken too many pictures

Funny side story: While we were at the farm, we decided to play a round of mini-golf.  It was only the second time the kids have played, but they were so excited!  Unfortunately, there wasn't a score card and any of those cute, tiny pencils, so we had to keep track of our own putts which wasn't a piece of cake.  For most of the game, Jack was in the lead, and so happily content.  Towards the end, I started to gain on him and finally overtook him.  At the very end, Hannah announced her score, and I announced mine.  Then Jack proudly explained that he hadn't been keeping score; he was just playing to have fun!  There was a grandma nearby playing with her grandkids, and she chuckled when she heard that...

"Gotcha there, didn't he?" she asked.

"Yes, definitely.  He always does!"

Thankful Thursday

Today, I'm thankful that my littles get excited over new books - picked out just for them at my school book fair!

Crisis Averted...and Messy Fingers

Hannah Bear had a soccer game this morning in the rain.  Since the weather was less-than-stellar, Daddy and Jack decided to stay home where it was warm and dry.  Hannah and I bundled up and went to soccer.  I was glad that the girls got to play today since they were rained out last weekend.  Hannah did extremely well - she scored three goals and played tough the whole time.  I was a proud assistant coach!

After soccer, we ran a couple of errands together before heading home for lunch.  On the way home, Hannah announced, "Mama, can I tell you something?  I think it's a lie."

"What's a lie, Baby Girl?"

"I don't believe that Santa, with his belly like a bowl full of jelly, can really fit down the chimney.  The pipe is just too small."

I decided to wait this one out...while I bided my time, Hannah continued.

"I think he just comes right in the front door...belly like a bowl full of jelly...that rhymes!" she shouted through her girly giggles.

I took a deep breath, thanked my lucky stars that I'd kept my mouth shut, and agreed with my sweet girl of five.

*****

Later this evening, we decided to order Chinese food since neither Brad nor I wanted to make dinner.  Jack is not really a fan of Chinese food, and hasn't really found something on the menu that he loves, so we keep trying new things.  We decided to order him some barbecue spare ribs since he loves Grandma's ribs so much, and believe it or not, aside from the grumbling about getting the meat off of the bone, he really liked them.

It occurred to both me and Brad that it's the messiest we've ever seen Jack get during dinner.  I started to tell him about when he was a toddler, he hated to be messy so much that he would opt of art projects in the toddler room at school.  I said something about how impressed I was that he was eating and not worrying about his messy face.

"Oh, I'm very aware, and it's bothering me very badly."

We had a good laugh about that, and then I told the story of how Miss Tab had suggested that I get a bag of uncooked rice, put it into a big bowl, and then have Jack watch as I put his little cars and dinosaur toys inside the rice.  She was hoping that he'd get over his sensory issues while digging for his toys.  That, of course, is not at all what happened.  Eighteen month old Jack watched with big, blue eyes as I buried his tiny toys in rice, and then he ever-so-calmly walked away to play with something else.  He was not about to stick those tiny fingers in a bowl of rice when there were plenty of other toys to play with.  In hindsight, maybe I should have buried Skinny Bear?

Adorable

While we were eating dinner tonight (and when I say dinner, what I really mean is a frozen meal I heated up because I am so very, very tired), we were talking about after dinner snacks as we were trying to convince Hannah to at least try the chicken enchiladas.

Jack was listing the various things he might have eaten if he finished his dinner, and at some point, I shared the fact that I often eat a bowl of cereal right before I go to bed.  (Don't judge.)

Jack was intrigued by this fun fact: "Really?" he asked.

"Yeah, I do it a lot.  Why?"

"Aww...that's so adorable."

Just like that.  It was the cutest thing, and I immediately smiled and jotted it down.  I'm not sure what is so adorable about me eating breakfast right before bed, but the fact that Jack had that reaction to it was the most adorable part.

Back to School

Today was a very big day.  It was the first day of school, and somehow I woke up to a third grader and a kindergartner!  I was surprised at how smoothly we were able to get up, get ready, take pictures, and get everyone to school in plenty of time.

Aside from a comedy of errors when we were in the Kiss & Ride line, all went smoothly.  Hannah couldn't open the car door, Jack had to climb over her seat, his foot got stuck in her armrest, and then he nearly fell out of the car and onto the curb as Hannah tumbled out after him.  But after they were both firmly on their feet, I said I love you, and I watched as my two babies walked towards the front doors, hand in hand.  And my mama-heart just soared.

Tonight, we are exhausted, understandably.  But I will leave you with some of my favorite back to school photos from our day!

Our babies aren't so small anymore

First Day of Third Grade

1st Day of Kindergarten

They were so excited and happy!

And very patient with my picture-taking

My loves

Excuse my florescent orange shirt, but that was our first day of school uniform :)

Hannah and one of her best friends on the mid-day bus to daycare...looks like she had a good day!

Look, Mama - no tears!

I couldn't have asked for a better first day experience.

Too Much Mom Love!

Last night the kiddos spent the night with me in our bed since Daddy was traveling for work.  From the time Jack was a tiny baby, I would bring him into bed with me whenever Brad traveled.  As he got older, he'd look forward to our mommy sleepovers whenever Daddy had to go out of town.  Then Hannah was born, and once she was big enough, she wanted in on the sleepovers as well.  Lucky for me (?), they both want to sleep next to me so that we can snuggle, which transfers to the fact that they sleep soundly on the sides, and I sleep directly in between two little lovelies that thrash in their sleep.  I say this, but I really do enjoy these special nights.

This morning, Hannah woke up before me and Jack, and she quietly sneaked downstairs to watch cartoons.  Jack and I woke up around the same time, and we just snuggled in bed for awhile, chatting, catching up on our Instagram feed, and searching the internet for Minecraft lunch boxes (which for whatever reason, don't seem to exist!).  We got up, went down and had breakfast, and I straightened up the house a bit.  After awhile, I came up to get a few things done on the computer, and soon enough, Hannah Bear came up with snacks to ask if she could have some.  I told her first she had to give me snuggles, so I pulled her up onto the bed and tickled her like crazy.  Then I kissed her little cheeks and her eyelids and her hair and squeezed her little legs.  She was laughing and laughing, and then she started shouting, "Too much mom love!  Too much mom love!  Too much!  Too much!"

"Too much mom love?" I asked her.

Simply not possible.

Justified.

So Brad goes through Netflix binges where he becomes completely obsessed with one show at a time.  Sometimes, I get roped in and enjoy our binge-watching, but mostly, I suffer through however many episodes there happen to be of one show until it's finally over, and I can breathe a sigh of relief.

One of these shows was Justified.

It just wasn't for me.

It was absolutely perfect for Brad.  So perfect, in fact, that somewhere between watching however many seasons it was and traveling to Texas for work, Brad decided he needed a cowboy hat so he could walk around the house, tip his hat, and say, "It's justified."

I'm not even kidding.

Up until this past weekend, Brad decided to keep his hat at work...probably because I laughed when he returned home from Texas with a Justified-looking hat.  But on Friday, he brought it home from the office and promptly made sure that UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES were the little ones to touch his hat.

And ever since then, they've both been dying to do just that.  

If he hadn't said anything to them, they probably wouldn't even have noticed he had a hat, but since it was forbidden, they were chomping at the bit.  (I'm taking this as a lesson learned, that's for sure!)

So tonight, as Brad was wearing the hat during our typical bedtime routine (well, typical, except for the fact that Brad was wearing a cowboy hat), the kids were attempting to reach the hat and Brad was enjoying their feeble attempts.

As I finished reading to Jack and Brad came in from reading to Hannah, he leaned over and teased Jack, "I let Hannah touch my hat!"

I gave him the "stop teasing" look and as Brad allowed Jack to ever-so-carefully touch the hat, I made my way to Hannah's room. 

Hannah, grinning from ear to ear, eyes glowing, whispered to me, "Daddy let me touch his hat," as I snuggled down next to her and she giggled away.

I know exactly what Brad was thinking.  The look on their faces and the happiness Jack and Hannah got from one little touch, made it all worth it.

I'm sure he'd say, "It's justified".

10, yes. 15, no.

This boy - I love him so very much.  I can't believe he's already eight, and every time he snuggles with me, I soak it up as much as possible because I worry that one day, he won't.

Having a sister (and no brothers), I never quite know what to expect from my ever-growing son.  We are very close, but I try hard not to baby him or smother him.  He seems to be at the age now where he's easily embarrassed.  He likes to pre-approve his pictures for my social media...  At the same time, I don't want the fact that he'll always be my first-born baby to slip away.  I don't want our closeness to disappear over time.

The other night, he came up from watching a show to snuggle me.  So as we snuggled, I asked him, "Will you still snuggle me when you're 10?"

"Yes."

"What about when you're 15?"

"No." 

So there we go.  I have at least two, but no more than six years left to snuggle him.

Good to know.

Silent Sunday

Three Peas in a Pod

Keep On

Jack might be an engineer when he grows up.  He loves to build with Legos, and not only that, but he's really, really good at it.  He builds his own creations frequently and we're often amazed by the symmetry and thoughtfulness that each one displays.  Tonight, he made a spaceship all on his own and then came upstairs to share it with us.

In order to make this spaceship, Jack had to disassemble part of another set.  His conversation with Daddy went like this:

Brad: Would Lord Business approve?

Jack: He's imaginary.

Brad: I feel like I'm channeling Lord Business...

Jack: You're channeling something that's imaginary?  Keep on doin' that.

And then Jack walked away.

*****

I think we've created a smart-alec.  Just a tiny bit.

But I suppose that means we've also created a miniature engineer.

And both of these things are perfect to us.