HAPPY BIRTHDAY ISAAC!!

Where does the time go. I can't believe how old my boys are getting. Today is Isaac's 4th birthday. He has told anyone that has asked his age in the last month that he is 4. When he got up this morning and Paul and I were telling him Happy Birthday he said he was 5. He went to school telling everyone he was 5. I guess he was only 4 for a month!!

He got up this morning and asked if he could have cupcakes for breakfast. I am taking 48 cupcakes to his school today and he saw them in the refrigerator. He already opened his presents this past weekend. He got a basketball net, a sit-and-spin, a book that has alphabet keys (you put the key in a slot and it tells you what letter it is), the game Buckaroo.

Can You Tell Spongebob...

I was talking to Isaac's therapist today when I picked him up. A few weeks ago, his therapist was talking to her boyfriend Patrick. Isaac asked if he could talk to him, and he did for a minute. When he was done, he handed the phone back to his therapist. All of a sudden Isaac screams "Oh no!" She asked what was wrong. "I needed to tell Patrick to ask Spongebob something." apparently every Patrick is a pink starfish that knows Spongebob!! (What is sad, he rarely sees Spongebob!)

Today he talked to her mother on the phone. She asked Isaac if it had snowed at our house. Isaac said no and asked if it snowed at her house. She said it had. He said "I want to come to your house." Her mom told him that Ms. Robyn would have to bring him. He dropped the phone and turned to Robyn and told her that she had to take him to her mommys house now.

Young Love

I took Isaac to the doctor today because he has had a horrible cough the last couple of days. We were sitting in the waiting room - waiting - and I looked up to see Ashley coming out to the waiting room. Isaac got really excited and announced to the entire waiting room that Ashley was his girlfriend. Her Mom just died laughing. Ashley had just gotten a shot and was not quite as excited though. She had strep. I asked Isaac if he had been kissing her. He said no. I told him that I would know the truth soon, because if he got strep... Young love - so cute (and scary).

Bryce was taking a bath and I blew him a kiss. He went to blow me a kiss back and he ended up splashing water in his face.

Isaac's Girlfriend

This girlfriend situation is getting serious. When he was at therapy Tuesday he told his therapist that his girlfriend had yellow hair and blue eyes. His therapist asked me when I picked him up if that was true. I told her I knew she had blonde hair, but I had never paid attention to the color of her eyes. His teacher told me yesterday though that they were blue. So we have two blonde hair, blue eyed kids in love apparently. It is just funny that he was able to describe her so accurately!

Daddy's Coming Home

Daddy is coming home today - HOORAY!! I might have a little bit of hair left when he gets here (I am pulling all of my hair out with the three boys)! We are all very excited. Especially since he starts vacation on the 22nd and gets 12 days off (I have been calling them the 12 Days of Christmas!!).

We were at Walmart yesterday and a lady in line asked Bryce what his name was. He told her Truck Battery. I was buying about $30 in batteries for Christmas presents, and I guess he has a truck that needs batteries. She started laughing and said he was very imaginative. I explained to her how he has a new name everyday, and actually answers too it.

His name today: Nina

"I am 7 Years OLD..."

Isaac was talking about his girlriend this afternoon and I asked the boys why they all had girlfriends. Caleb said it was because they like to be around girls. I asked if he was too young for a girlfriend. Caleb says "I am 7 years OLD not young so I am not too young for anything."

Name Game

I forgot to put Bryce's name for today: Justin

Gingerbread Blast

About 6 last night, Caleb came in and asked "If I behave the rest of the night can I have a Gingerbread Blast?" He has only seen a picture of this thing at Sonic, but has been asking for it since. I told him I don't think it would be fair for him to only behave for that short of time and be rewarded with something like that. I said if he could behave all day, without me getting on to him one time for anything (especially bossing his brothers around), that I would get him a Gingerbread Blast. He got up this morning being the sweet Caleb we used to be blessed with. I heard several times this morning, him reminding himself of the reward.

Now I know, bribery may not be the best route, but for my own sanity, sometimes it is the ONLY route! For one peaceful day, at this point I would give anything!

ASHLEY

Who would have guessed that the day I blog about all of the boys and their flirting, I would have to deal with this. Yesterday afternoon when I went to pick Isaac up from preschool, he saw me and ran the other way, while holding a girls hand. I stood there for a few minutes with him at the opposite end of the playground, still holding the girls hand. Finally I started calling him and telling him we needed to go get Caleb. He started crying. His teacher went and picked him up and carried him to me. When we were walking to the car (Isaac really really crying now) I asked what was wrong. He said he did not want to leave Ashley, and that he loved her. He cried for about 10 minutes or so about it.

This morning he came in to me, ready to go, saying he was ready to see Ashley. When I got him to school, he searched the classroom and came back to me and said, disappointed, "Ashley not here."

It is too soon for all of this, and definently too soon for them to all be in "LOVE"!!

Caleb's Attitude

Caleb has really gotten an attitude lately. I know it comes with the age, but he is going above and beyond. We were discussing his behavior last night after church. He made a comment about the fact that Saturday he would start his "good behavior." I informed him that he needed to reexamine his time table because if he knew he was having bad behavior it needed to be adjusted immediately. He calmly says "No, I can't have my good behavior again until Saturday."

Bryce Has A Girlfriend

That title was written with tears filling my eyes. What am I going to do with 3 boys that are already so into girls. I have Caleb with many different girlfriends and who got in trouble in starting in Pre-K for kissing girls (he also got in trouble in kindergarten for that). Then I have Isaac that every time I pick him up is surrounded by girls and has to hug them all and say goodbye by name before he will leave. Now there is Bryce. He has a friend named Annalise. She is about 20 months I believe. They both ask for the other when they are not together. When they see each other they squeal with excitement, then they immediately start fighting. Chrisanna (her mother) and I swear they are going to get married because they already act like they are.

This morning Bryce was asking where Annalise was. I said she was at home. He said he loved Lisey. I asked if she was his girlfriend and he said "yeah, Lisey my girlfriend, I love her." HE IS ONLY 2!!! If this is the way these boys act at 7, 3, and 2, I am going to be in real trouble when they are teenagers. I am going to have to get alarms for every exit out of the house!! Isaac is already really good at sneaking out of his room and going through everything in mine.

Has anyone invented a drug to stop the aging process yet????? I need it for me to stop the grays and wrinkles they are and are going to cause me, and I need it for them so that they will not get any more interested in girls than they already are!!!

The Name Game

Bryce's name Sunday was Fire Chief.
Monday: Embarrassingly enough - Booty (???? I have no idea where that came from!)

Traveling Husband

Paul has been gone for a week, but it seems like it has been a lot longer than that. This has been a very long week. It looks like he will not be home before the 21st or 22nd. He is supposed to start vacation on the 22nd, so he better be home by then.

He has been working long hours, but worse than that, Toledo has been having blizzards since he got there. Anyone who knows Paul knows how much he hates cold! He would rather be in 100+ degree temperatures than cold. Everytime I talk to him he sounds like he is about to freeze to death! I keep talking about how it has been getting down to 17 degrees at night and yesterday high was 33 degrees. He keeps telling me that he is lucky if their high is as high as our low.

He reads my blog when he is gone to keep up with what is going on with the kids. They wanted me to give you a message...

Caleb: "I love you and have a good day. And hurry home"

Isaac: "a kiss, ride an airplane, I want tractors and horseys, and I miss you all the time. I love Daddy"

Bryce: "Name Taco Bell, fly Daddy's airplane, love you"

We love you, and can't wait until you come home!!

Isaac's Bedroom

As one of Isaac's birthday presents, I am decorating his room for him. He has been after me for a few months to decorate with fishing and boat stuff. Here is a sneak preview of what we are doing:

This is his bedroom door. I will post the rest of the pictures when I finish his room.

Name of the Day

I have not been on the last few days, but his different names have still been going on. Wednesday: Baby Monster
Thursday: Firetruck
Friday: Trav
Today: Taco Bell

What is sad is that he actually responds to the "Name of the Day." I just called "Hey Taco Bell and he came running!" We always knew he was a strange one (he gets that from his Daddy, of course!!)!

Vegetable Sandwich

Caleb likes very strange sandwiches. We have always made fun of his very disgusting inventions (he is reading this over my shoulder while I type it with a huge smile on his face!) Now when I say strange and disgusting, I am not exaggerating. For example, his first really gross invention was a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Not just any pb&j though. He added turkey, cheese, tomato and chips. What is worse than the fact that he made it - HE LOVED IT!! He ate the whole sandwich and has made it several times since. He also likes peanut butter and guacamole. Tonight though, it was a "vegetable sandwich." I am not sure why it is called this though. It is made of baby carrots (whole baby carrots!), turkey and crushed up fritos. HE IS A STRANGE CHILD!!!

Beware if he ever offers to fix you food. Just like his Daddy, he likes to try new creations frequently!! You will be expected to eat it whether you like it or not!

Bad Day

I just picked up the boys from school. When Caleb got in the car I asked how his day was. He said he did not get in trouble but he had a bad day. I asked why his day was so bad..."My pencil broke when I was in the middle of a test!" Boy does he have a lot to learn if a broken pencil causes a bad day.

Bryce's name for today: Kitty cat

Bryce's Name

Lately Bryce has been changing his name everyday. It has gotten to where when we get up in the morning I ask him what his name is. I don't prompt him with names anymore like I did with Dennis, we just go with what he gives us. Saturday his name was Firetruck (big surprise!). Yesterday his name was Fred (Papa prompted him with that one). Today I asked him on the way to the mall and he said his name was Monster. I think that might be the most fitting one yet! I will try to remember to post his daily names as I get them!

The Making of a Christmas Photo (part 2)

That is right - all of these photos for one good one! I noticed while posting these that this is also a good way to see the many expressions of Bryce!

The Making of a Christmas Photo

This is a silent hint of what it is like to get one simple picture for a Christmas card:

The Firetruck

Dennis (aka Bryce) thought he was a firetruck tonight. Paul started a fire in the fireplace. Our fireplace is gas started. Paul turned on the gas and lit the four or five holes in the pipe the gas comes out of. Bryce went up and started blowing on it. Paul says "You will never blow those out, no matter how hard you try. See, watch." He then turns and (much to his surprise) blows them out. We all start laughing at him, and then Dennis goes back to blowing at it. Paul put a log on and it started burning. Then it was Dennis continually blowing on it. I told Dennis there was a fire and we needed a firetruck(his obsession). He started spitting on the fire (apparantly HE was the firetruck). He found that when he spits on it the fire crackles, and a whole new game began!!!

New Buddies

The boys and I have a game where when I see their belly buttons I ask what they are and then, of course, I have to tickle them. Bryce was lifting his shirt earlier and I asked "What is that?" "My belly buddy." "Belly buddy?" I asked. "Yeah, belly buddy." Now he is walking around saying his belly is his buddy!!

For those of you who did not get the last post - I was referring to Dennis the Menace. Although it is not on TV anymore, I believe Bryce watches him somehow because he manages to get in as much or more trouble than Dennis the Menace ever did!! This is what I will now call him!

What Is Your Name

Because this morning was the first time Bryce ever answered the question "What is your name?" correctly, I have been asking him throughout the day. Sometimes he says "name" and sometimes he says "Bry". He would not answer me a few minutes ago so I asked him if his name was Dennis. He said "Yeah, name Dennis." I just asked him again what his name was and he said Dennis. It is really a much more fitting name than the one he has. He even has the blond hair!!!

Hey Cutie!

This morning while grocery shopping a lady said "Hi cutie" to Bryce. Bryce quietly replies "That not my name." The lady starts laughing and asked what his name is and he sweetly replies "Bry" It was really sweet.

Everytime Isaac and Bryce sees a police officer they call them police hoppers. Now they have everyone in the house calling them police hoppers.

Ruined Surprises

Paul went after work today and got one of his Christmas presents, an RC airplane. He brought it home and I took it from him and told him he could not have it until Christmas. He whined and complained, of course. Caleb came in and I told him to look at Daddy's Christmas present. He starts whispering, "I know what it is, it is a RC plane." I started laughing. I said "yes it is a plane." Caleb got mad and said "Mom, now Daddy knows what it is!" Okay, Paul was standing there, heard everything! I told Caleb that Daddy had already seen it, since he went and bought it!!

My Campe Food

Caleb wrote this story at school for Papa. "I didn't know how to spell Papa so I used Grandpa instead, but he is still Papa." So Papa, this story is for you!!

My Campe Food
by: Caleb

I Like to eat at camp with my Granpoul. we eat HotDogs and pancaks and mantin treats. The mantin treats are mantin bars. everyone loves them. we have fun. we like to eat thats are feverit.

Now for those of you who don't get that, let me write it how he read it. I like to eat at camp with my Grandpa. We eat hotdog and pancakes and mountain treats. The mountain treats are mountain bars. Everyone loves them. We have fun. We like to eat, that is our favorite.

More Party Pics

Ahoy Matey!

Well, Caleb had his birthday party on Saturday. It was a pirate theme, and turned out pretty well. We only had 3 other 7 year olds come over, but also had their siblings. Caleb was shy at first and would not come out. Then he came out and went overboard showing off! Things finally leveled off, and the kids seemed to have fun. We started with them just playing while we cooked hot dogs and hamburgers.

After we ate, we played some Pin the Patch on the Pirate. Paul drew the pirate by himself. He did a great job!

Then we ate cake. I made a strawberry yogurt cake, that Caleb asks for every year, and a Pirate Ship cake.

Then we opened presents. He got some nice presents. He got a Rock Crawling Jeep from us, some Magic Tree House books, a RC 4 wheeler, an army helicopter, Furby, some stamps and art supplies (hopefully I did not forget anything). After he opened presents they played Chicken Limbo (that was one of his presents). That was pretty interesting to see!! Then they went out and played with the RC cars, and ran around outside. We had some activities to do, but it was too wild to get to do them. They left with treasure boxes full of pirate booty (treasure).

Brag on Isaac

Yesterday when we were sitting at Caleb's school waiting on it to get out, Isaac sang his ABC's and counted to 10 by himself. For some this seems like no big deal, but if you knew what we had been through, you would understand! I am so proud of him!

Prophet Furby

Caleb got a Furby for his birthday. We had to exchange the one he actually got because apparently if Furby gets dropped he quits working (we assume that is what happened - he did not work when we got him). He had a black one which is the one he has wanted then we went and found this one. They are pretty cute, actually!

Well, the other night I told Paul I thought the batteries might need to be changed. I asked if Furby would forget everything he had learned when you change the batteries. Caleb overheard the conversation and asked "Are all of his teachings in there?" Paul and I just died laughing and said "yes, Prophet Furby carries his teachings in his batteries!"

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CALEB

Today is Caleb's birthday! I have heard about this day since a year ago. He has been counting down everyday, which is good math practice (positive spin on the annoyance of hearing it everyday). He got up this morning and I kept calling him to come in so I could give him his birthday "kiss" (aka birthday spanking). Actually he gets both. He finally came in my room and stood in the doorway and sadly replied, "I changed my mind, I don't want to have a birthday." "Why not?" I asked quizzically. "Because I like being six and I don't want to be seven." Let me remind you that for the last several months if anyone calls him a 6 year old he says to call him 7, because he is close enough to 7. I thought you were supposed to be excited about your birthday until you were "older" (that is a relative term). He left very mopey this morning, I hope he snaps out of it before his party on Saturday! There will be pictures of the party posted this weekend.

Caleb and His Girlfriends

Caleb went to a friends house after church on Sunday. I guess he got tired of playing so he went to help his friends sister clean her room. She gave him some candy, I guess for helping. He came home and was sitting in a chair staring at the candy and in a daze says "I became really good friends with Jake's sister today!" SHE IS 5 YEARS OLDER!! This is also added to the 4 or 5 girlfriends he already has (at least the others are his age)!

"Of course I'd like to be the ideal mother. But I'm to busy raising children." - Bill Keane

Aunt Quack Quack

I was IMing my sister this morning. Her name is Heather, but Bryce calls her Heder. I was trying to get him to say Aunt Heather, he smiles and says Aunt Quack quack, and then starts giggling and runs off. We love you Aunt Quack Quack!!!

Land of Make Believe

Okay, maybe it is not that he is beginning to think he is a firetruck, I think he just lives in the Land of Make Believe. We went and picked up Isaac from preschool to take him to therapy. We were leaving the preschool and Bryce shouts "Oh no!" I turn around quickly thinking something terrible has happened. I asked him what the problem was and he replys with a very sad look on his face "the firetruck is broken, the firetruck is broken." After a sigh of relief I play along. "It is? What is wrong with it?" "No water!" he says looking like he is going to burst into tears. I asked him if he can fix the problem and make it work again. He smiles ear to ear and says "Yeah, I fix!" Hope there is not a fire in Make Believe any time soon!

I Firetruck

I think Bryce is really starting to believe he is a firetruck and fireman. When I ask Bryce to hold my hand when we are out, he always responds with "No, I firetruck!" or "No, I fireman!" More and more when Paul and I ask him to do something this is the response we get. I always just laugh and tell him that when he becomes a firetruck or fireman he does not have to hold my hand anymore. He usually giggles and says okay.

Jail Police

Last night on the way to church, Caleb was telling Isaac what to do if he wanted to see a police officer. I am not even sure why he was telling Isaac this, I never heard anything about a police officer being said, and I never saw one, but he likes to hear himself talk (he will tell you that) so he makes things up often.

Caleb: Isaac, do you want to see a police officer?
Isaac: Yeah!
Caleb: Okay, well all you have to do is go steal something or do something bad, but you have to make sure someone is watching you. When they see you stealing, they will call the police officer and he will take you to jail. You have to go to jail to see the jail police you know.

It almost scares me some of the conversations that child comes up with!!

Chores

The boys have chores they have to do everyday (things like cleaning their rooms, taking care of their animals, setting the table, etc.). I went into the kitchen a few minutes ago and Caleb was washing their cups from snack. He was pouring soap into the cup and then using a dish rag to clean them. He said he wanted to surprise me by doing a chore he was not told to do. Then he smiles and says "I may be small, but I can still clean good!"

Is it unfair to use that against him when he does not want to clean?

Calmness?

When Isaac started going to preschool, the first couple of weeks I did not know what to do. Bryce did not want to play with me, if I went and tried to play with him, he would collect his toys and go to the other side of the room. Boy is he making up for that in a big way!! He now does not want to play. He instead spends the whole day getting into trouble the way a 2 year old does. If I take my eyes off him for more than a few seconds there will be salt all over the table or marker all of the wall and television. If he sees me cleaning one room, he goes to another room and destroys it. Do they ever find that happy medium? I seem to run around more now than I did when Isaac was home, but there is no argueing now. I guess he figured since no other kids are around (and Mommy won't do), he will cause enough mischief for all of them!

Chief Bryce

Here is our little fireman!!

Male, Female or Email?

Caleb asked me what a card with his picture on it was for. I was explaining that the company that does the school pictures sends a card with the kids photo on it. On the back is a place to fill in their info (height, weight, birthmarks, etc.) so that if they ever end up missing, you can give the card to the police and all of the information is there. I asked Caleb "Are you a male or female?" "Email." Caleb replied. "Female?" I asked. "No, email" he said stubbornly. I am so glad he knows everything!!

Star Light, Star Bright

Caleb has started the Star light, star bright... thing last night. Last night when he did it he asked for a horse. Tonight on the way home from church this was his wish: "Wishing star, God, I wish there would be no more hurricanes." I asked if he had talked about the hurricanes at church tonight. He said no, he just thought it was a better wish than wishing for pets or toys when there were more important things to take care of.

Halloween

Well, this is the first year we have actually had an active halloween. Usually Paul is out of town and I do not want to take all the kids by myself so we dress up and hand out candy while we watch movies and eat popcorn. This year we did a lot though, and the boys loved it. We started out with Boo at the Zoo. We went with some friends and the boys really seemed to like it, although I was not to impressed!! That was last Thursday.

On Monday we went to Kidsfest. It was supposed to be outside and there was supposed to be carnival games, bouncy houses, pony rides, etc. Instead since it had not rained in over 30 days, Mother Nature decided it was time to let loose. It started pouring at about 1:30 in the afternoon, and lasted the rest of the day. They moved Kidsfest into a gym, so they were not able to do everything they had planned. I think for a last minute move, though they did a great job. Caleb and Isaac spent the night playing on the bouncy houses, until right before it was time to go and then they hit some games (which is where you get the candy!). Bryce spent quite a while dancing to Radio Disney (Scooter from Radio Disney was the DJ). When I finally got him away from that he did all of the carnival games. They all seemed to have a good time and were exhausted by the time we left.

We did not get home very late, but we had no trick or treaters all night. Last year our neighborhood was so full that the people who lived here could not get up and down the streets. This year - no one. I did not think the rain would keep people in, but it did.

You're Fired

We were out running errands last weekend, and when we were getting back in the car from somewhere, Paul forgot to fasten Isaac's seatbelt. Paul got in the drivers seat and Caleb said "Your going to get fired from being Daddy if you don't do your job and do Isaac's seatbelt." I asked Caleb if he was going to be the one to fire him and he said "no the police will!" Who knew it was that easy to get fired from being a parent?

Bad Blogger

I have failed my blogger duties. Things have been pretty crazy around here, but I am going to try to catch up here! Last week Paul had to go to Petsmart after dinner one night. When we were done Paul took me to Starbucks to get some coffee. I sat out in the car with the kids and he went in to get it. We were sitting there for a few minutes and Caleb asked why we were at Starbucks. I said Daddy was getting me coffee. He looked at me, very confused, and said "Why are you getting coffee when it is dark. You are only supposed to drink it when it is really cold and you are reading the paper and in your robe." See how our children are already so good at stereotyping!!!

Whoop Ass

We were at a sporting goods store this weekend looking at kayaks. We were in the home decor type area when Caleb found a line of products from the brand Whoop Ass. Standing in the middle of the store, Caleb keeps repeating "What is whoop ass?" Boy did we get some looks! This is one of those times that I wish Caleb was not such a good reader!!

Santa Caleb

We spent the weekend looking at kayaks for Paul. When we came home Saturday afternoon, Caleb saw Paul looking at kayaks online. He told Paul that he could ask Santa Claus to bring him a kayak. This was the conversation that took place:

"Santa can't bring me a kayak, it won't fit in his bag - besides he does not deliver to adults"

"Great, I guess I will have to get you a kayak with my wallet. I guess I shouldn't have wasted my dollar on video games."

"You can't afford a kayak. You need about a thousand one dollar bills."

"Well, when my tooth falls out I will save my money for your kayak."

My question - how much money is Caleb expecting the tooth fairy to bring him???