Birthdays, Winter Weather, and Games!

Logan playing the games on Alex's new laptop.

 

Alex playing his game.  He had trouble sharing it!

Alex received a Star Wars lap top for his birthday from Caison this morning.  He loves it! If you know Alex you know that he loves computers and video games--he also loves Star Wars so this was the perfect gift for him.  He has been playing it all morning and I am pretty sure it is going to break his heart when I tell him he needs to put it away and play with something else for a while. Alex didn't have school today because of freezing rain so we are trying to find fun things to do at home and hoping we don't lose power!  The day started with my boys hugging me and wishing me "Happy Biwfday!"  It really brings a smile to your face to hear little voices wish you a happy birthday.  Logan asked how old I was and when I said, "32," he looked confused and said, "How many is that?"  I can't believe it, either! It has been a good day so far.  Jacob gets off work at noon today so I'll get to spend most of the day with all my boys, which is the best birthday gift I could ask for! 

Book Fair!

Alex's school is having a book fair this week.  The last time they had a book fair I sent money to school with Alex and he came home telling me all about the book fair and showed me the books and other things he had bought.  When he came home with the letter about the book fair this time I decided that it might be fun to take Logan and Caison and let them each pick out a book. They were both excited about it. We walked into the office to sign in as school guests and Logan told everyone in the office that he was going to the book fair. They commented on how great it was that he was excited about books and a book fair. I signed us in and we walked down the hall to the library.  We walked in and Logan said, "Wow!  Look at all the books!"  They had set up shelves all around the center of the library that were covered in books that the children could purchase.  They also had tables set up with pens, stickers, book marks, puzzles, and anything else you could imagine.  Logan and Caison immediately began looking at the books.  They would grab a book and say "I want this one" and then suddenly place it back on the shelf and grab another book, "No, I want this one!" This went on for about fifteen minutes until they were both satisfied with the book they had picked.  We then moved on to the "goody" table.  Caison pulled out a fish pen and said, "Look, Logan!" One of the women in the library said, "If you squeeze his head his eyes pop out."  I squeezed the pen and the eyes on the fish popped out.  Logan and Caison both started giggling.  Logan found a fish that looked like Nemo, but eventually put it back and took the shark instead.  Caison grabbed about five different pens before deciding on one that had two different colors--one at each end.  Once they were happy with their item we walked over to the cash register and paid for them.  The boys said "thank you" and we headed back to the office to sign out.  Logan ran into the office and shouted, "Look at what I got at the book fair!"  (We have been going to this school for over 2 years for Alex's speech, so everyone knows Alex and Logan.)  The ladies in the office all acted excited and wanted Logan and Caison to show their books to them. It was our first trip to the book fair, but it was a big hit and I have a feeling we will be going to many more!

We are starting something new in our house!

As Alex and Logan get older they are introduced to new rules that they are required to follow and we have noticed that they have started testing their boundaries quite a bit. So we decided to make rule charts for the boys--for every rule they follow that day they get a star.  At the end of each week they must have a certain number of stars in order to receive special things such as treats or even playing video games. We took the boys into the play room last night and talked to them about the charts, explained how they work, and went over each rule with them until we were certain they understood what they were expected to do. We started yesterday and today I have been asked several times by the boys if they are going to get stickers for being good.  When I picked up Alex at school he ran up to me and said, "I was good today!  Do I get a sticker on my chart?"  I know I have good boys, but this is a fun way to help them learn and follow new "big boy" rules.  We'll see how long it lasts! :)

Alex Turns 5 (And His Mother Fights With a Cake!)

Alex-15 months old

 

                                                                     Alex-5 years old!

Yesterday we celebrated Alex's 5th birthday with our families.  Alex turned five on December 27th, but things had been so crazy that we decided to wait until January to celebrate. Waiting to have his party also provided some space between Christmas and the birthday party, which was nice.  Alex was constantly asking about his party; he was very excited about it.  Jacob and I had these plans in our heads for how it would be but reality never turns out the way we imagine it will--we encountered just about every stupid little problem you could think of while getting ready for this party.  The biggest problem for me was the cake; I made the mistake of waiting until the last minute to get a cake box and make the birthday cake, so of course no one had the cake box in the size I needed.  That was a frustrating problem but not the end of the world, necessarily, because I had already baked the cake.  So, I decided to just leave it in the cake pan, put the lid on it, and stick it in the fridge to decorate the next morning before the party.  Isn't it funny when things are so busy that you don't stop to really think things through?  Saturday rolled around and we spent our morning cleaning and moving furniture to make room for the party guests.  Once that was finished, I pulled out the cake to decorate it.  I put the cardboard sheet on the pan and flipped it over to get the cake out of the pan.  It, of course, refused to budge.  I remember thinking that I wasn't surprised because it had sat in the fridge for almost 24 hours.  The cake and the pan had become good friends in that time and the cake refused to be separated from its friend, the pan.  Things were already stressful and not being able to get my child's cake out of the pan sent me over the edge.  I kid you not.  I went from sane to crazy in about a second.  (You can ask Jacob!)  I started crying and talking about how I was going to have to go to the store to get what I needed to start all over on another cake.  Jacob asked why I would have to do that.  I started blubbering about how the cake was ruined and I couldn't get it out of the pan.  Jacob got it out but it broke into two pieces during the process. I thought I was going to have a nervous breakdown--OVER A CAKE! I started crying again and talking about how the cake was going to look stupid.  Jacob told me that it would look fine and Alex would be happy with it because he is only five years old and is more interested in his presents than a cake.  Jacob put the cake together on the board for me and I started icing it.  That went fine for about two minutes and then I ran out of icing.  I know females can be dramatic from time to time but this cake was making me crazy.  Every little inconvenience you could imagine appeared.  So, I started freaking out again because I was out of icing.  I quickly grabbed the ingredients to make more, but was short 4 cups of sugar.  By this point I didn't care.  I used what I had and made the icing which was runny because it was shy 4 cups of sugar. I put it in the fridge for a bit to thicken it up some. Then, I iced the cake. The icing was thin and runny and I remember thinking that it was the ugliest cake I had ever made.  I ALWAYS make my boys' birthday cakes and most of the time I am happy with how they turn out but I was not happy with this cake.  I hated this cake.  I was glad it was going to be eaten--it served it right!!  I was more concerned with what everyone else was going to think about the cake than what Alex was going to think.  I finished decorating the cake and then I asked Alex if he wanted to put the Ben 10 cake toppers on.  He excitedly ran to the kitchen and I let him put them wherever he wanted on his cake.  After he put Ben 10 and the aliens on his cake he stood back, looked at it, and smiled.  He said, "That is a really cool cake, Mom!"  I said, "You like it?"  He said, "Yeah, it's really cool.  I like the melting alien icing!"  He hugged me and said, "Thank you for making my happy birthday cake!"  That was when I realized that I had lost my mind and stressed over this cake for nothing.  It didn't matter what everyone else thought.  It mattered what Alex thought.  I made the cake for him.  It was about him--it was his day.  After that people started arriving and my stress level quickly went down and we just started having fun.  We made green Ben 10 punch and the boys ran around with Ben 10 masks playing games.  We tossed balloons in the air and played the arcade game.  It was a lot of fun. We sang Happy Birthday to Alex and he blew out his candles.  We had cake and ice cream and then he opened his gifts.  Every time I looked at him he was smiling.  He had a blast and that was what really mattered. Last night as I was tucking him into bed he thanked me again for his cake and his party.  I asked if he had fun and he smiled and nodded.  It occurred to me that we worry and stress over stupid things sometimes.  Hopefully when Logan's birthday comes in April I won't fight with his birthday cake!  Only time will tell, though . . .

Squid Dogs

Today for lunch we had hot dogs and squid dogs.  Squid dogs are something fun that the boys can make, but Alex won't eat them--and after you see the pictures you may agree with Alex.  They are, however, easy and fun to make.  We make them simply by sticking spaghetti noodles through a piece of hot dog (there are other ways to do this and make the squid dogs cuter, but it involves using a knife and I wanted to let the boys make the squid dogs themselves). Alex and Logan made theirs and went and dropped them in the pot so they could boil.  Caison stuck some spaghetti noodles through one piece of hot dog then when I looked up he had pulled the noodles out and was eating it.  It was so funny!  We had a lot of fun making them.  Logan and Caison actually ate the squid dogs, but Alex on the other hand didn't even want them on his plate.

 

 

 

 

Caison eating his piece of hot dog.  It was cute!

 

 

The boys helped put them in the pot and we waited.

The finished product.

Alex holding a squid dog. He refused to eat them, though.

Logan had no problem eating his! 

Bubble Wrap

We had a funny moment that I thought I would share with everyone.  Today was fairly uneventful--Alex, Logan, and Caison spent most of the day in the play room playing with different toys.  There was a search for the Joker action figure at one point, they pretended to be cowboys sitting around a campfire, and then they played with trucks.  As I said, fairly uneventful.  Around 1:15 I took Caison to Logan's bed and put a blanket on him so he could take his nap.  I came out of the room and heard something that sounded as if some one was being slapped repeatedly.  Being a mother of boys who wrestle and fight all the time I said, "You better not be hitting each other."  The only response I received was giggling.  I shook my head and started unloading the dishwasher and I heard the slapping sound again.  I said, "What are you guys doing?"  They were sitting in the recliner so they were pretty well hidden from me. I heard more giggling.  It was at that moment that I realized they couldn't be hitting each other because no one was crying.  If one of them was slapping the other in the face repeatedly, there would be crying! So I walked in the living room and found them sitting side by side popping bubble wrap. They both burst out in laughter when they saw me. Alex said, "You're silly, momma.  You thought we were slapping!" He and Logan both started laughing again and continued to pop the bubble wrap, which by this point, seemed to be the funniest thing ever to them.

Logan had a lot of fun with the bubble wrap. He kept straining as if it was hard work to pop the little bubbles.

So, the next time you hear something that sounds like slapping, don't jump to conclusions.  It just might be two little boys popping bubble wrap.

A Child-Free Weekend!

 

Jacob cooking!

The breakfast Jacob made for me!

Alex and Logan spent yesterday afternoon and last night with their grandparents so Jacob and I could spend some time together this weekend.  The boys had a lot of fun with their grandparents and Jacob and I enjoyed getting to hang out together.  We rented a lot of drama/action movies, played board games, and just tried to relax and enjoy each other's company.  Yesterday was rather dreary and we thought it was the perfect weather for hot chocolate, so we pulled out the newest member of the family--our Cocomotion hot chocolate maker--and enjoyed some hot chocolate.  This morning Jacob surprised me by saying he planned to make breakfast for me.  He has cooked for me in the past and I have to say that he is a pretty good cook. He said that I am always cooking for him and the boys and I don't get the chance to be served and have a meal cooked for me very often.  It was so sweet.  He told me to take my coffee and go sit in the living room and watch some of my TV shows while he made breakfast.  It was nice to get to sit there with my coffee and watch some shows all the way through without any interruptions!  Jacob made breakfast soft tacos which were very good! He went out of his way to let me know I was appreciated.  (He has a face he makes when I talk about how sweet he is.  Its a sort of "Billy Idol lip-curled-up-in-disgust" expression.  I can imagine him giving that expression as he reads this-ha!)  I had a lot of fun with him and felt very special when he cooked for me. The house was so quiet while the boys were gone.  It was a little odd at times. Then, the boys came home and started asking for ice cream.  We were happy to see their little faces and hear their little voices.

The Wild Things

This morning Alex and Logan informed me that they wanted to not only read Where The Wild Things Are but they also wanted to have a monster parade like they do in the book, which seemed like a reasonable request to me.  I had no idea at the time how much fun it would be--I really enjoyed it!  When we reached the end of the book Caison smiled and said, "Read it again!"  Alex and Logan chimed in by begging me to read it just one more time.  We read it a second time.  Every time that the book said the wild things roared the boys would roar, too.  Every time they showed their terrible teeth the boys would show their teeth.  Every time the book said the wild things showed their claws the boys would do the same.  After reading the book twice I told the boys to go in the playroom and get a mask and something to carry in the monster parade.  Alex returned wearing a police officer's hat and carrying the stick horse.  Logan returned wearing a gladiator helmet and carrying a guitar.  Caison returned wearing a monster mask and carrying an OKC Thunder fry.  They looked so cute! I asked if they were ready and they all cheered.  I said, "Ready!  March!"  They started marching in a circle in the living room and raised the items they were carrying as they marched.  It was a fun time! We may have to start doing book-themed activities more often! 

The boys stopped their parade for a picture.

 

Showing their terrible teeth like the wild things.

 

Showing their terrible claws!

Pre-K Social Studies Project

Alex came home from school today and said he had something important in his backpack.  Monday is homework day.  The dreaded red folder is sent home with that week's homework, which the children take back by Friday.  Thursday is the blue folder.  This is the folder used for letters, announcements, or anything else that needs to go home to parents.  Alex pulled out his blue folder and opened it.  He pulled out a letter with a picture of a dog holding a heart.  He said (excitedly), "We are doing a project!"  I said, "What kind of project?"  Alex said, "I don't know.  Mrs. Cook won't tell us."  I looked at Alex for a moment and then said, "What?  She won't tell you?"  He said, "No, she said its a surprise."   So, I took the letter, read it, and discovered that it was, in fact, a surprise. It was a surprise for Mrs. Bruner (the assistant teacher) and her husband. Mr. Bruner is stationed in Afghanistan and as a surprise to him and Mrs. Bruner, the Pre-K class is sending a care package to him.  Mrs. Cook also asked the class to draw a picture for Mr. Bruner.  I read the letter aloud to Alex who seemed quite excited about the entire thing.  I honestly think the term "project" just brings out the excitement in children.  I could have said, "Mrs. Cook wants you to clean the play room and help mommy," and Alex would have been like, "Great! Its a project! Let's go!"  Mrs. Cook included a list of items we could bring for the care package.  Alex helped me find a small box.  He put the items he is taking into the box so he could easily carry them to school tomorrow.

After Alex packed all of the goodies into the little box we grabbed some paper and crayons.  He was excited about drawing a picture for a soldier.  He kept saying, "It's like G.I. Joe, mom!" He thought it was so cool. Alex drew his picture for Mr. Bruner and as he drew we talked about why his class was sending the care package to Mr. Bruner.  After Alex finished the picture I said, "Would you like me to write something at the top to go with your picture?"  Alex looked confused and said, "My name?"  I said, "Well, we can tell Mr. Bruner your name. Would you like to write a short note saying 'thank you' to him?"  Alex's face lit up and he said, "Yeah, but you write it, mom."  Alex can write his name.  That is about it.  I got a kick out of him telling me to write it. So, we wrote a short note on the picture and stuck it in an envelope to send to Mr. Bruner.

 

At the top of Alex's drawing we wrote, "Hi, my name is Alex.  I am in Mrs. Cook's Pre-K class.  Thank you for all you do for our country!" Alex was very proud of it and he is very excited about this project.  His teacher stated in the letter that she also plans to show the children where Afghanistan is on the globe and show them pictures of Mr. Bruner over there. We put everything in the little box and set it beside Alex's backpack so we could take it to school tomorrow morning. After we set the box down Alex started singing part of the theme of G.I. Joe. "A real American hero . . . " it was just the cutest little moment with Alex. I know Mrs. Bruner is going to be touched when she finds out about the project tomorrow.  I hope many of the families form Alex's class pitch in and Mr. Bruner receives a package full of much needed items, as well as some treats! And, if Alex learns a thing or two about soldiers and Afghanistan, that would be good, too!

"We're a family!"

Today's start was a little unwelcome.  I had been up, off and on, all night with Logan who has been experiencing growing pains.  (For all of you nonbelievers out there, yes, growing pains are real!) Needless to say, when the alarm went off this morning Jacob and I both groaned.  I was tempted to shout, "already?  boo!" but it actually required more energy than I wanted to use.  So, we got up.  I went to the kitchen and made a pot of coffee, which included accidentally spilling coffee grounds all over the countertop.

When the boys woke up earlier than usual, I'll be honest, I wasn't too thrilled.  "Why are you already awake?" The second they emerge from their room they come up to me and say, "My tummy's hungry."  Logan's breakfast menu varies from day to day.  Alex's, however, has been the same for about 6 months now.  Every single morning I will try to encourage him to have some cereal or a bagel.  No, he always ONLY wants a waffle.

So, I fixed Logan's cereal and Alex's waffle and then stepped into the bathroom to brush my teeth. The minute I closed the door I saw four little fingers appear under the door. "Mom? What are you doing?  I can't see you!" came Logan's voice.  "Mommy's brushing her teeth!  I'll be out in a minute!"  I stood in front of the mirror and reached for the toothpaste.  "But, mommy, I need you," he said.  I sighed.  I might have rolled my eyes, too.  I said, "Let me brush my teeth.  I'll be out in just a minute."  Silence.  YESSS!!  Success!  I could brush my teeth in peace and . . . nope . . .
"But Mom, I need to go potty! Can I pwease come in?"

It seemed as if it was going to be a stressful day.  Logan saw Alex's waffle and decided that maybe he didn't want the cereal sitting in front of him after all.  A waffle sounded (and looked) pretty good.  "Mom?"  he shouted from their "breakfast table" in the playroom.  "What?"  I called back.  "I want a waffle."  I laughed.  I walked into the playroom and looked at the two of them sitting there at their little Spider-Man table eating breakfast.  I said, "Logan, you eat that bowl of cereal and then if you still want a waffle, we'll talk."  He thought about it and then said, "Okay, mommy" and started eating his cereal.  Of course, by the time he finally finished he had completely forgotten about the waffle.

Then, to my surprise, as I was getting ready, I found a $10 bill in my pocket.  "Where did that come from?"  I thought.  "Who cares," I answered myself.  (No, I don't usually have entire conversations in my head, but some days it happens.)

I eventually got the boys ready to go and we headed to the school.  Another nice surprise awaited us.  A parking space was open.  This NEVER happens.  On a good day you're lucky if you can park in the street a block from the school.  So, we took that spot and walked with Alex to his class.  The boys were asking questions.  "Why did we park here, mommy?"  Logan even said, "Mommy, you messed up."

We made it to Alex's class and I knelt down to hug Alex and tell him goodbye.  He said, "Mom, one minute." He walked over to his teacher and when he had her attention he pointed to me, Caison, and Logan and said, "We are a family.  Daddy is at work, but we are a family."  He walked over and put his arms around Caison and Logan and said, "Caison isn't my little brother, but he is my family too."  It was a very special moment.  I couldn't help but smile.  It made my day.

I hope it makes your day, too!

A Winnie The Pooh Themed Day!

I received a cute, kid-friendly cook book from my Aunt Karla (I believe) a few years ago.  It is The Pooh Cook Book from 1969.  It is a first edition and such a cute little cook book. I have never used it.  It has sat proudly (displayed, is more like it) on our bar beside an old 1965 Italian cook book (which, actually, might have come from Aunt Karla as well). It is a special edition which was printed for some well-known, family owned food company.  They are both interesting cook books with great covers.  So, I haven't used them much and they sit in a special spot, away from my other cook books, so they can be seen.  (You know us Astleys and books . . . )

So, today, for the first time, I pulled The Pooh Cook Book down and flipped through it to see if there was something fun I could make with Alex, Logan, and Caison today. I found some interesting recipes, such as Peanut Butter, Bacon, and Honey Sandwiches.  I decided to go with a cute little recipe entitled "Minted Honey Banana Bread."  Minted?  I read the recipe and discovered that the mint is optional.  I decided that this recipe was our winner (minus the mint, of course) and after we finished lunch we gathered up the ingredients and began the process of making Pooh's Honey Banana Bread. The boys were excited about it and more than eager to help measure, pour, mix and stir. We poured the batter in the pan and it had to cook for 40 minutes.  This was the hardest part for those little boys!  I think about every two minutes one of them came up to me asking if the bread was ready.  When the buzzer finally blared at us Alex started jumping up and down and shouting, "It's ready!  The bread is ready!"  Logan and Caison then started shouting and jumping up and down.  It was the funniest moment.  I pulled the bread out of the oven and the boys ran to their places at the table.  As I cut the bread I heard Logan say, "Wait! We need our friends!"  He grabbed the big Tigger and Pooh stuffed animals and sat them at the table to have some of Pooh's bread with them.  I said, "Are Tigger and Pooh joining you?"  Logan said, "Yes, it's Pooh's bread and he and Tigger want some too."  I had to cut pieces of Honey Banana Bread for Tigger and Pooh, too.  They, of course, are watching their waist lines right now, so they didn't want any.  I eventually heard Alex say, "Pooh, are you going to eat that? No? Okay," and then he grabbed the bread off Pooh's plate and began eating it.  After the boys had their bread with Pooh and Tigger, Alex decided they needed to watch The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.  (With Tigger and Pooh sitting with them, of course.) It has been a fun, Pooh filled day! The bread was delicious and the boys had a great time!

 

 

Books, Books, and more books!

Most people who know us know that we love books. I think I get more excited than the boys at Christmas and birthdays when they receive new books. I joke that the boys have their own little library, but in fact, its true. There is a poster hanging above Logan's bed that reads, "never enough books." So true! We spent Saturday organizing the play room. It was a task that had needed to be done since Christmas, but I kept putting it off. The boys received new toys for Christmas and when we got home the toys were put in the playroom. We just sat them on the floor in the play room and the boys had a very limited space in which they could play because of it. So, on Saturday we tackled the play room. The boys tried to help, which was nice, and we eventually had everything in its place and the floor was once again clear of toys. I was telling my best friend about it and her response was, "it will be organized until Monday." Well, I am happy to report that it is Monday and the playroom is still organized. Well, for the most part, that is.

We keep all of the boys' books in their bed room. It is where we read our bedtime stories so it seemed to be the logical place to keep them. The boys received several wonderful new books for Christmas and we needed to make room for the new books. (Again, I am not complaining. Feel free to give my boys books anytime. We welcome them!) Don't you just love it when an idea pops in your head? What is even better is when it pops in your head after something your five-year-old son says. We have used square, fabric lined baskets stacked on top of each other as a book shelf for a while now, but all the books wouldn't fit. I was standing in the room looking around trying to decide where to put the new books when Alex held a paper back book against the wall and jokingly said, "hang them on the wall, mom." (I am assuming this was in reference to my constantly saying, "where will we put it? Hang it from the ceiling?") I stood there for a minute and BAM! the idea just popped into my head! We took several of the paper bound books and hung them on a ladder-like shelf (broken baby bed) that was in the garage. It worked perfectly and Alex was VERY excited about it. "It looks really cool, mom!" The boys can easily get the books down to look at on their own and made room for the new books we received.

So, everything is in its place. For now at least!