New site!

This site is now closed. Please visit my NEW and IMPROVED site at:

http://www.ourcrazyboys.com

Time for reflection

A recent event has caused me to rethink what is important in my life.  

This guy, for example: 

I wouldn't trade him for anything in the world. 

Or these inquisitive little guys right here:

They might drive me batty every once in a while, but I love 'em to pieces. 

Today, I have been thinking about them and how I should spend more time with them.  

Not just "with" them, but WITH them.  

Not riding in the car, but talking and looking at the scenery and laughing.  

Not doing chores, but turning the music up loud 

and being silly while we get the house picked up.

Not just thinking about how much I love them, 

but telling them... all day, every day.

So, I'm going to go do that.  

And I hope you will, too.  

"Moommmmmm..."

Jack is copying me...

Michael is picking on me...

Jack is looking out my window...

Michael is laughing at me...

Jack just spit on me...

Michael is poking me...

Jack is annoying me...

Michael is annoying me...

Jack pushed me...

Michael took my car away...

Jack took my car away first...

Isn't that what brothers are for?

Poor Grandma...

I think that right now my Grandmother is rolling over in her grave, amazed at the disservice I have done to my children.  

Sorry, Gram. 

Direct quote from Jack while playing Disney Sorry tonight:

"Mom, is this Jesus?"

Sadly, I don't know who this even is... I just know she's from Toy Story.  

Darcie, a little help, please?

Transportation Museum

Well, "museum" is debatable...  Let's just say that the term is used loosely here.  But we still got some cute pictures, and that's what it's all about, right?!

Jack and Molly, who are "NOT girlfriend and boyfriend", 

but they are friends and one is a girl and one is a boy. 

That's their story and they're sticking to it. 

Molly looked a little scared of the big white conductor, but was brave for the camera.

After the 6 minute tour of the "museum" and finding out that the train is only open for one hour every Saturday, Jack was ready to go home and Molly was "very very hot." 

I'm still a little confused about what Doc Holliday and Wyatt Earp have to do with Southern Arizona transportation, but the kids posed next to their statues. 

The aforementioned train that is only open on Saturdays... for one hour... 

"most of the time" (the museum docent told me)

Sore little muscles

Michael came home from gymnastics camp yesterday and couldn't figure out why all of his muscles were sore...  I think I figured it out today:

Michael & Jackson

Overheard in the car this morning: 

Jack: "It's really sad that Michael and Jackson died."

Michael: "Jack, isn't it funny that Michael is my name and Jackson is your name?"

Jack: "No, my name is Jack."

Michael: "No, your real name is Jackson."

Mom: "His real name is Johnathan Reese, but we call him Jack.  We call him Jackson sometimes for fun because that's what he called himself when he was little and it was cute."

*Note to self and friends: Maybe it's just easier to name your 

child what you're planning on calling him for the rest of his life.

Bribery 101

Jack, Jack, Jack...  

We went to the water park. 

We stayed in a fancy ("fancy" because it had 2 rooms and a refrigerator) hotel. 

I let you jump on the bed and have a pillow fight with your brother. 

I let you hang over the balcony and look down two stories at the ground (which scared me to death). 

We swam until we couldn't swim anymore. 

Then we went out to dinner and I let you drink Coke (aah!) and have an ice cream sundae for dessert (aah again!). 

We played Uno before we went to bed (very late, I will add).  

Then we woke up the next day and did (most of it) all over again.  

And when you didn't listen and had to sit out for a few minutes, what did you do? 

You tried to bribe me into buying you candy buttons.  I have proof.

I love the big smile at the end.  

Anyway, here are some other pictures of our fun night at Arizona Grand:

Wordless Weekend :-)

The (not so best) "tucker-inner"

Grandma and Grandpa Ludlum are visiting this weekend. Last night Steve was tucking the boys in at bedtime and told them that they should ask Grandpa to tuck them in because he is the "best tucker-inner." I should note here that usually the person who can wrap the boys up the tightest - so they can't move their little bodies around - is the best "tucker-inner." What happened next is a perfect example of how different my two boys are:

Michael & Jack: "Grandpa, can you tuck us in? Why are you the best tucker-inner?"
Grandpa: "Because I used to tuck your Dad in and I am really good at tucking little boys in."

Grandpa tucks them both in gently

Jack: "What's so good about that?!" (obviously upset about Grandpa's inferior tucking-in skills)
Michael: "That was really good, Grandpa! Thank you!"

My brains, my brains!

Poor Jack hit his head pretty hard.  He and Michael were wrestling and he fell into the solid wood bed that Grandpa Mike made for him. Jack was crying and crying and I came in and felt his head. I didn't mean to, but I gasped when I felt the huge bump that he had (oops).  Jack felt his head and was hysterical.  We sat on the couch for a bit with some ice on his bump, and every time Jack felt his head again, he would start crying uncontrollably.  Steve came in with him so I could have a break, then came to me a few minutes later laughing.  Steve had asked Jack why he was so sad and Jack said "Dad, feel this -my brains are falling out!"

Swim Team!

I usually only post when the kids do something funny, but bare with me.  Today was the first day of swim team! The boys had a blast!

 Here's Michael on the right:

and on the way back:

When it was Jack's turn to swim the length of the pool (they had to show the lifeguards that they could swim that far in order to be on the team), he realized that the other kids were ahead of him and decided to get out of the pool, run ahead to the end of the lane, then jump back into the pool to beat the other kids!  He was pretty popular after that! 

Here's Jack telling the coach that he wants to work on diving:

The coaches/lifeguards were a little confused about what to do with the little (ages 4-7) guys... here they are discussing what to do next...

Our little Michael Phelps:

 Jack and his friend Garret practicing their kicks:

Overall, a very fun time!  Good thing we get to do it again tomorrow,

 and the next day, and the next day...

Trying SO hard!

The other day Jack was driving Michael crazy by copying him.  Anything Michael wanted, Jack wanted.  Milk instead of his usual apple juice for breakfast? Ok by Jack.  No ketchup on his hamburger that day? Jack said "fine." Michael was trying everything to get his brother to stop copying.  Finally, Michael had a heart-to-heart with him and Jack promised to try to not copy his big brother all day Thursday. 

Thursday

I took the boys to Cold Stone for ice cream after running a million errands.  I asked the boys what they wanted and after stalling for a long time...

Jack: "Whatever Michael is having." 

Michael: "Mom, Jack is copying me again. Jack, I thought you were going to try to not copy me all day today."

Jack: "Michael, I said try and try is when you try to do something. I tried."

Michael: "Two small peanut butter perfections please." 

Oh, Jack.

Jack and Steve were outside this morning mowing the lawn. When Steve was emptying the lawn mower, Jack said "Dad, I want to go cow-tipping-overing sometime. You know, when you push the cow and they run away." 

Everyone misses Daddy

Steve is coming home today! Normally it's not this big of an occasion, but I think summer vacation has put a new spin on things. I am excited about having another adult around the house, and the kids are excited about playing with someone other than me :-)  While I have been cleaning, Jack has been hard at work making signs to hang on the doors: 

He told me that this one has X's and O's 

because "Grandma Sharon always puts X's and O's on  her 

cards, and that means kisses and hugs". 

This one started out with big letters but Jack had a lot to say, so I ran out of room. 

He's getting to be quite the tracer, though! 

Your WHAT is falling off?

Actual conversation:

Jack: "Dad, can this part of your penis fall off?" 

(Thank me for sparing the pictures this time)

Dad: "What?!"

Mom: hiding behind book laughing hysterically

Jack: "Is this part of my penis falling off?"

Dad: "I don't know. Ask your Mom."

Jack: "Mom, is this part of my penis falling off?"

Mom: "No, I think it's fine."

Jack: "Is it bad if this part of your penis falls off?"

Dad: "It's bad if any part of your body falls off.  Go get in the bath."

Jack: "Ok." (walks away and looks very concerned)

Dad: "Jack, did your brother tell you that?"

Jack: "Yes."

No Jack Allowed

Jack is not allowed in the bathroom by himself until further notice.  Says me.  "Why?" You might ask...  Let me count the reasons...

1. Mysteriously, large amounts of "foamy soap" have appeared on the wall, floor, and cabinets around the bathroom after Jack has washed his hands.  When I say "large amounts" I mean "Holy crap - How did half the soap container get on the walls and floor!?"

2. After sending Jack to wash his hands, I have found that Michael's retainer cleaning bowl has been filled with foamy soap, mouthwash, toothpaste, and basically anything BUT retainer cleaner. Not that he is allowed to touch the retainer cleaner - because he dumped one full $10 bottle down the drain about 3 months ago.  

3. Michael's retainer has been dropped in the toilet. AFTER Jack peed. 

4. Gracie has been closed in the bathroom. With Jack. And when I opened the door, Gracie flew out and hid for a long, long time. 

5. Jack just came into me and said "I just made A LOT of toilet water. A LOT.  And the wipes aren't going down."

Is it vacation time YET?

For the past 2 weeks, the boy's bathtub has been draining r-e-a-l-l-y 

 s-l-o-w.  I asked Jack what that problem could be 

(because really, who else do you ask?) and he said - 

this is a pretty direct quote -

"Maybe, it could be, but I don't think so, but maybe it's those little sponge thingys that the Easter Bunny got us, maybe they are stuck, but maybe not, I don't think it's them, but it might be them."

I asked Steve to look at the drain this morning.  

Lesson learned. 

By the way -this came from the same kid who came out of his room last night dressed like this:

What a day!

Is this not the funniest picture you have seen all day long? Steve was working hard at getting whatever animal (we thought it might be a pack rat) that was under the pool equipment out so the dogs would stop digging around there. The poor guy was stuck like that for at least 30 minutes:

Riley helped a lot, too:

After Steve finally got the chipmunk out, Riley grabbed it, Steve yelled 'drop!' and Riley dropped it, then Gracie swallowed it whole...  She looks SO happy here:

and here she is after getting her well-deserved 

drink of pool water after it all:

Just in case you needed a laugh...  This is our CERTIFIED pack rat 

(and chipmunk) removal team in action:

"Jackisms" of the day

I was at the doctor with Jack today.  He went with me to the foot doctor and when we checked in the woman at the front desk gave him a coloring book full of National Landmarks and military vehicles.  While we were looking at it, he asked "Does the Vampire (Empire) State Building have Vampires in it?" which got quite a laugh from the people around us.   A few minutes later, he asked "What does the Stachaio of Liberty have inside of her? Pistachios?" He was a hit with all of the older people there!! 

We have a problem...

If you haven't yet heard, we have a small pack rat problem.  I guess they are common out here. Steve has been putting little poison packets out at night and we have been asking Michael to pick up the dog poop a little more frequently...  but we still have them.  Good news, though! Yesterday, Steve found a HUGE dead one out in the backyard!  I almost took a picture, but was trying to make dinner and didn't really want to get that close to it.  Today, though...  I had to take a picture of what I found today.  

A little massacre!  Three little dead rats that Riley and Gracie got... and Riley had another one cornered by the trash cans.  I haven't figured out if I am happy about this or not, but wanted to share.  Oh, and the rocks? That was Jack's contribution to the war.

Update: Upon further inspection, we believe these sad little guys are chipmunks and not pack rats. The one that Steve found in the yard was a pack rat, though...  the battle continues.

Missing Daddy

Last night as I was tucking the boys into bed, they each found notes under their pillows from Steve (he left yesterday for a short business trip). They were SO excited to read their notes - after Michael read his, he opened his pajama drawer and slipped it inside.  Tonight I looked in there, and look what I found:

Tons of notes saved from Daddy, and a few there from little brother, too.

Who's the cutest 8 year-old in the world?

Stolen basket

Jack woke up this morning and went out to the coffee table (where he left his Easter basket last night) - when he saw that it was missing, he asked me where I put it. I promised I didn't touch it, and then he got very sad because it was STOLEN!!  I was able to get the last few seconds on video:

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter! The boys woke up this morning at 4:00 AM!!  We got them back to sleep and then had to wake them up at about 8.

   

After they found their baskets and eggs, they were allowed to eat as much of their bunnies as they wanted...  (SO hard for Mom and Dad!)

Ouch!

This picture is of ONE of Michael's bruises that he got while riding in his first BMX practice race - I swear it looks much worse in person:

And then the poor kid ran into a cactus tonight while he was riding his bike - 

Ouch!! 

Chore Day

I asked Jack how he was helping Michael with the chores, and he told me "Michael sprays the 'Cleandex' on the mirror, and I wipe it off!"

April 2

A quote from Jack:

(with big, sad tears in his eyes) "Mom, April second is NOT a holiday!"

Watermelon Obituary

It is with a sad heart that I have to report the (uh-hm)... passing of 5 watermelon seeds, who have lived such a short life on our back patio.  We are, however, offering a reward for anyone who has information about the whereabouts of the seeds...  Any ideas?

p.s. I am doing a small happy dance right now because it wasn't ME who killed them. 

Garden

The boys now have a garden.  I didn't provide the garden- I am blaming my neighbor for most of it.  She bought the boys a sunflower seed that they planted, then brought them down a tomato plant.  A week or so later they came home from her house with an aloe plant, and now... we have a garden.  I should probably mention that I have never, ever kept anything alive in my house.  How the kids have survived this long is a miracle (I bet it has something to do with how they tell me that they are hungry). 

A few days ago, Steve came home from Home Depot with watermelon seeds for the boys.  Yup, you read that right -watermelon seeds in the middle of the desert.  I decided then that I needed to document this whole thing myself :-)

I am posting a picture to prove that these plants are actually alive right now. We'll see how they're doing next week. 

No words needed...