2 teeth in 2 days - yea for Ben!

Today we were on our way home from swimming lessons and Ben said he had another tooth that was loose. I told him to leave it alone and not wiggle it so it wouldn't fall out (not sure why, just thought it was the right thing to say). I was out (getting my hair color corrected) and he called me on the phone and told me that his tooth fell out and he was saving it for the tooth fairy.

This morning was quite dramatic with him and his 3rd tooth. He was pretty sad (or just tired) this morning about his tooth and really wanted it back. The tooth fairy even brought him 4 shiny quarters in his tooth fairy pillow - but he really wanted that tooth. I think he thought the tooth fairy threw them away. Why would she do that, right? We told him ... no - she saves them in a special box with your name on it and you get them when you are 70 and have no teeth. Pretty funny. That is the truth though, he will get them back if he wants them. I'm not sure why I'll save them all - but I will. I love keeping things from my boys - things to pass down to them and their children - and I guess their teeth will be one of those things.

Daddy and photography

Ok - so maybe some of you don't know the torture our family has to endure with David taking photos. He is very much a perfectionist when it comes to taking pictures. There will be moments when I just want to grab a photo of the kids, or grab a family photo - and I know as soon as I say that out loud to him ... well, it's over. He loves to take photos like I do. He likes to experiment more than I do. I'm the type that is like - go with what you know, don't change it if it's not broken. He'll go through this big elaborate plan to set up a backdrop or a scene to take a photo and when he finally gets it set up - we'll have the kids for about 2 minutes and then there done.

I always tell him how much it annoys me that he's like this. Sometimes I just want a photo without all the elaborate set ups. I just want a photo! Do we have to go through the 45 minutes set up for a 2 minute photo? And of course his answer is always 'yes we do.' So - of course we do. Sometimes the kids are smiling, sometimes they aren't (mostly they aren't). I prefer when he does his photo shoots with the kids while I'm away. He's taken so many photos of himself and the kids - some are good shots, some aren't (because of the kids, not him).

But when I think about it - it's great. He's documenting the boys, the family from his view, and I think that's important. I'm all about leaving a leagacy for my boys. So I'm glad that he's different than me. I am famous for cutting off tops of heads, arms - photographing half the face. Catching babies/kids when they are in full tantrum mode. I like real life. I love doing that. I think it's so artistic to photograph someone that way. Tonight - David took these pictures of Andy. I think it's something I would of definitely taken. I like that his style is different, because I get to see different angles of my boys that I wouldn't normally see. And I know later - I'll be thankful for all the torture we've had to endure because of his annoying soft boxes flashing. I created a quick collage - very simple, but just wanted to display these photos that David took of our sweet Andy.

Learning to use the spoon

Daddy fed Andy his dinner tonight. He loves to eat. In fact, he is always either signing 'eat' or saying 'eat'. He's definitely a growing boy. Like mommy, daddy loves to take photos too. He snapped these two photos of Andy eating dinner tonight. He's just learning to use the spoon. And although this picture reflects that maybe he has it - it's not quite as graceful as this picture portrays him to be. I think at 14 months - he's doing a great job. Wow, did I just say 14 months? Oh my ... my baby is no longer a baby. I can't believe how big he's getting. Not that he's walking - he's a toddler, I suppose. I just want him to stay little a little bit longer.

Kuma's recovering well

Kuma had heartworm treatment this past Monday (June 16). So horrible. I just don't understand why there has to be diseases like this that can be fatal for dogs. Kuma was one of the lucky ones. She had some issues a few days after she came home. We had to take her back to get some pain medicine - but today, she's doing great. She's not supposed to jump, run, play or get excited. Yeah right - like that's easy to get her not to do. As she starts to feel better and get back to her old self again - she just wants to be her spunky little self.

Remember the 1am tooth problem?

Well - it fell out on the way home from my girlfriend's house tonight. This was his 3rd tooth to come out. He's lost 2 on bottom (middle) and then this one on the top. He has been playing with this tooth for a few days now. Wiggling it back and forth with his tongue. Once we got home, he couldn't wait to show his daddy and put it in his tooth fairy pillow so the tooth fairy could bring him 4 shiny quarters. While he was brushing his teeth tonight he said "I look so crazy without my tooth mommy."

Day 15 of summer

Today was a fun day. We went to a friend's house to swim. I got a sitter for the baby, so I was actually able to visit with my girlfriend, have adult conversation and let the older boys play. They swam for awhile and then decided that the Xbox was a lot more fun. Since we don't have one of those - Ben was thrilled to play as long as he was allowed. Here's a few photos from our day with our friends.

On the way home, I stopped by a local resale shop to look for soccer cleats for the boys (which I did not find). However, we did spot a really cool dirt bike bicycle. Will has had his eye on this dirt bike for months and months now. A few of the neighbor boys have it and he just stands there, watches and begs to ride. So, back to the resale shop... we walk in - and there is this dirt bike that he's been wanting forever. It's a great price - $25. I called my hubby - he said it was ok - definitely buy it. Will was so excited to ride it when we got home. We let him know it was his early birthday gift - which he is so thankful for. He kept saying "thank you for buying me this motorcycle mommy and daddy - I love it." He's so sweet and genuinly thankful for the things he gets. Here's a photo of him on his new dirt bike.

Last post and then I'm off to bed...

So - right now it's 2:22 am, and for some reason I am NOT tired. I'm not real sure why I'm not tired, I'm just not. About an hour ago, Ben got up and came in and told me he was hungry and told me about a bad dream he had about Muffy (that's Kuma in the picture) and also that his tooth that's loose in the front has not yet come out. This was at 1am. Really? Ok .. so I gave him some animal crackers and told him to lay down on the floor. He kept telling me he wasn't tired... I snapped some photos of him

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And now - I'm caught up on my blog... so I think I'll go to bed! Of course, after I carry Ben to his bed.

Finally following through

Yesterday (Tuesday, June 24) William was really tough. He wasn't listening - wouldn't pick up his game or puzzle. He was just being bad. So I told him he was grounded and he couldn't go outside, have friends over or play with friends. He didn't take me to seriously until Ben went next door to our neighbor's house to swim and he didn't get to go. Boy was he mad. He screamed and yelled, and screamed and yelled - and yelled and screamed some more. But I didn't break. I didn't let him go swimming. I sat on the floor with he and Andy and played with them and we got the camera out and took some pictures. Notice Will's bloodshot eyes - lots of crying ... did I mention the yelling and screaming? ...

However, he did get to go outside for about 15 minutes in the front when the friends were out. He didn't get long - but he did get sometime outside. I didn't completely follow through - but I think it was like 95%, right?

Ben's 6th birthday party!

I don't think I've had a birthday party for one of my boys be quite so stressful. Public school is a lot different that pre-school. They have a lot stricter rules about giving out addresses and phone numbers of the parents. My intentions were to mail the invites for Ben's party, but then the day before school was out his teacher told me she couldn't give me the addresses of the students. So I had to figure out what I was going to do, set the date, place, time, print invites and get them ready to be handed out the day school was out. Thankfully - I got it all handled. I specified on the invites to the parents "Please RSVP I don't have your address or phone number the teacher couldn't give it to me." I'm thinking surely they'll RSVP now, right? We had been to a few other parties where the parents didn't RSVP and the children didn't show up. Apparently parties aren't as big in public school as they are in pre-school. In pre-school you go to 13 parties and you get invited to 13 parties. It's just the way it works. Public school has been a big shocker for me.

Needless to say, only one boy from Ben's class was able to make it - and they are the only ones who called me. I mean, really ... is it that hard to pick up the phone and call and let me know you can or can't come? My girlfriend tells me that it's not the norm to RSVP or send thank you notes for gifts anymore. That's just not the way I do things - so it's tough for me to deal with that.

For the party - we went to a local waterpark. The 5 of us, our babysitter (to watch Andy), Granny, the little boy who came to the party and his family, and our next door neighbors (there's 6 of them). All in all - it was fun. The kids had a great time. We played, then ate hot dogs, then played some more. Once the park closed we came back home and ate our beautiful birthday cake (shaped like a skateboard) and ice-cream. Then everyone left except Ben's school friend - he stayed for a sleep-over. This was Ben's first time to have a friend sleep-over. They had a great time. They played and played. I had to make Will sleep in his own bed (Ben and his friend slept on the air mattress in the living room) because he wouldn't leave them alone. In the morning, we got donuts - jumped on the air mattress and then our friend went home. It was a great party and great fun.

Ben's birthday party - more photos

Ben's birthday party - photos

Do you think that sign applies to us?

These photos are from Ben's soccer team party. Isn't it great that boys tend to ignore the rules and just kind of do their own thing. Those of you who have boys - you know exactly what I'm talking about.

That's his coach with him giving him his trophy for a season well played. This season David was assistant coach and Coach Chris was the head coach. Next season (fall 08) - David will be the head coach and Chris will be the assistant. David's hoping with the kids being a little older (this will be our 3rd season with this team and David coached the first season) they'll hopefully have better listening ears. Hopefully - one can only dream, right?

Day 11 of our wonderful summer break (June 19)

We met some friends that we haven't seen in a long time at the gym for a swim. Our two older boys use to be bestfriends (and still are according to Ben) - but our hectic life makes it hard sometimes to slow down and get together. The boys had a great time swimming and can't wait to meet again to play some more.

Day 10 of Summer - June 18

These are from Day 10 of our summer vacation (not counting weekends). Summer days are where I - solely - have to entertain the kids. This day we had the whole neighborhood at our house (or so it seemed). There were 8 kids (including my 2 older boys). This day they were actually here for about 4 hours. Everyone had a pretty good time and changed locations quite a bit to keep from getting bored. They played skateboards, leapsters, pirates, guns, castles, and then outside on the swingset they played store - where they buy and sell the stuff in the backyard to each other. Pretty interesting how these kids come up with these games to play. I don't really remember playing stuff like that - I guess maybe because all I played was barbies.

Ben's new thing is to play chess & checkers. The friend playing with him liked the game too - but he's played it longer than Ben, so he was also multi-tasking by playing a Leapster while waiting for Ben to move.

I included a photo of Andy in his playhouse. We had intended to buy Andy a playhouse for his first birthday - thankfully our neighbor gave this one to us. I think she said it was about 15 years old. You couldn't tell by looking at it. It's still strong and in great condition. This was Andy's first time to be able to actually play in. He really liked it a lot. He laughed and giggled as he opened and closed the door and looked through the windows.

Their newest thing to do is play golf. The kids all get their clubs (Ben and another boy have clubs so they all share) and use our yard as their green to drive and putt. David has become quite the neighborhood 'dad'. All the kids want him to come out everyday to play golf with them. I think they knock on the door and ask just for him and if Ben and Will can come out too - that's a bonus as well. He seems to enjoy it and the kids really have a good time.

Two identical pictures ... well, almost.

Ok, so - I wanted to put these two photos side by side to see if they really do look alike. The first one is Will when he was 11 months, and the second is Andy at 14 months. I'm going to have to say 'yes' they do look alike. You can vote and let me know. Will was definitely bigger (in poundage) but they are definitely brothers.

I'm pretty behind with my posts - I will try and catch up now - if I can....

Almost quiet time...

Tonight was one of the lucky nights where Will fell asleep watching tv. Woo Hoo! Normally, we have a huge bedtime fight. So we love these nights. We got the baby to bed shortly after and just have Ben awake. He's playing chess and internet games w/daddy. Big fun for him.

I'm going to try and start planning my re-organizing of the house (parts of it). Hopefully I can figure it out and figure out what we need to function better. I'll keep you posted.

Blessed to have too much!

As I look around my house and realize that there's not one counter, shelf or room that isn't cluttered - I'm thinking "how in the world did we get here?" We are so blessed to have too much. I would like to do a huge de-cluttering of my house and simplify. Why does a family of 5 need 20 towels? I think everyone should have one towel and then you have a few for those times when you just need an extra towel. Why do we need so many plates and cups? When we have parties and guests - we use paper plates. So why not just get rid of what we don't use and keep 1 plate and 1 cup for everyone. That way you know who is leaving their cup or plate on the table or coutner, right? Yeah - makes sense. Not sure I could convince the husband to simplify quite that much. I would like to go through every room, cabinet, closet in the house and just get rid of everything that we don't use or we haven't touched in 6 months. It's hard sometimes to do that because you think "What if. I'm certain I'll need that in 2 years." I would seriously like to do that. I'll have to try and work towards that goal and see if I can get that done. Boy - would it make life more simple. I'm tired of stepping over clutter and not feeling like the house is ever clean.

I am about to embark on a process of trying to get my house organized - hopefully. My dining room is a complete disaster - cluttered and piled with 'what if's. I have to go through that stuff and get rid of it. My bedroom is cluttered from the overflow of my closet that was piled with 'what if's.' I must get rid of that stuff as well. I'm not sure about the rest of you - but with 3 kids under age 6 - organizing, cleaning, showering ... it's all tough! Wish me luck!

Ben's first time on the golf course

I promised Ben that when he turned six I'd start him on golf. It was as much a promise to myself as to him. So today was the day and we went to the local municipal golf course.

We started on the putting green.

But, like most golfers, he just wanted to hit the long ball....

And like most golfers we finished up in the club house!

It was a good day and a good start to what I hope turns into a real love for the game.