Let's Go Racing Boys

Today was one of those days I'd like to bottle up and experience again and again. Sleeping in till 9 and waking up to sunlight streaming through the window. Eating breakfast at 10. Moving from one part of the house to another without being followed by my 4 year old. Not knowing where my kids were at times, since I knew Derek had his eye on them outside. Later, finding all 3 of my boys playing in a make-believe world, not needing a thing from their parents. I can't ever remember a time when they played better than they did today. Washing the car with Derek and actually having a chance to talk without interruptions. Running several errands alone. Making pizza and eating it in front of the TV for our family movie night. Ahhhh, what a great way to end the month of January. :)

Their make-believe world with K'nex blocks, even stuck on the doorframe

This past Monday was our Cub Scout Pinewood Derby Race. Both boys had fun racing their cars. Even though they didn't win the big prize, their cars did well. Hopefully the pictures can convey what my words cannot.

Excited to go

Grandma & Aaron cheering them on

All together now

This race came just in time for Braylen, who came down with a high fever and tummy troubles that night. He missed 2 days of school this week. Thank goodness he didn't miss his race. We never would have heard the end of that! One good thing came of his illness. As his fever went away and his strength was returing, Braylen became Aaron's guest at preschool for a few minutes. Since the letter of the week was "B," Big Brother Braylen sat with Aaron while he introduced his guest. His teachers asked him questions about Braylen, and Aaron answered each and every one. From the look on his face I think Aaron felt 10 feet tall. They both wore their football jerseys (Broncos and Bears), and my heart was happy to see them so happy. I guess that even in illness there are things to be thankful for.

Celebrating Brotherhood

Policeman Starts with P

I am playing catch-up with my blog today. Pretty soon I'll have even more to post, and I don't want to forget these few things!

First of all, a few weeks ago Derek was Aaron's honored guest at preschool. The letter of the week was P, so of course Aaron wanted his policeman daddy to come talk to his class. I'm very thankful for a husband who enjoys doing that kind of thing, even though it's the third time around. :) Aaron just loved it. He shot his hand up in the air whenever Derek asked a question, and he reached so high his little body tipped sideways every time. Derek handed out badge stickers at the end, and those were a big hit with the preschoolers. It was pajama day, so that's why Aaron is in jammies. He may be my third child, but I still manage to get him dressed in the morning. (barely!) :)

Braylen and Kaleb have been working hard with Daddy on their pinewood derby cars for Cub Scouts. Braylen made his own car with little assistance from Dad--a first for him! He was so proud to use the tools all on his own. This is Kaleb's first year in scouts, so Daddy helped him quite a bit. The derby is tonight, and I will finally be able to tell Aaron "yes" when he asks me, "Is this the racing night at Cub Scouts?" He looks forward to this ALL year long! Some day he will have his own car to race.

All lined up for back to school, 2009

Nice shirts from Aunt Sarena!

Aaron's picking up some habits that we're not quite sure about. He is obsessed with squeezing Kaleb's ear, saying it's a "squishy ear." Poor Kaleb can only put up with it for so long! Aaron still squeezes my arm all the time, telling me how squishy it is. "How come God made you so squishy Mommy?" Coming from anyone else this would not be a compliment, but from Aaron, that's what it is. For Christmas we made sure he received one of those squishy pillows--the kind with gel-like beads inside. I thought that might help him satisfy his cravings--nope!

Finally, some sayings I want to remember from Aaron. (of course!)
"Some things smell so good they make me 'bless you' at it."
"That is the number 41? Where's the 'D'?" (he hears 4D1, not forty-one)
"My gum isn't doing very good."
After walking down the hall with Aaron and going opposite directions in the living room, Aaron says, "We just made a Y!"

Joy in January

This time of the year finds me wishing for spring, but realizing it's still months away. I don't know if anyone else is like me, but I think January is the longest month of the year. Christmas things are packed away, kids are back in school, and we settle into a routine to get us through the cold winter. Of course there are things I like about winter, but mostly it's just something to be endured once the Christmas festivities are over. To chase away January blues, I've done a few things differently this year. My kitchen cabinets are still topped with evergreen garland wrapped in white lights. The kitchen looks so cozy at night when the twinkle lights are on, and I'm not ready to put them away yet. I'm embracing the Wii, which has helped me find a new way to really have fun with my kids when we can't go outside. I'm also trying harder to find joy in everyday things, since there really aren't any major fun getaways planned for months. Last night something really brightened up my week in the most unlikely place.

Braylen, being a 3rd grader this year, has joined me in the T&T Awana clubs. I've been a T&T leader for 9 years, and it's been very different for me to see my own son as one of the "big Awana kids." Anyway, Wednesday nights at our house are pretty crazy. Everyone tries to eat a quick supper and get out the door for Awana, and we are always running late. Last night was no different. In fact, it was even harder to get out the door since Braylen and I had to get ourselves ready for Crazy Hair Night. He spiked, gelled, and sprayed his hair while I put pigtails in mine. At Awana I watched him run around the circle, laugh with his friends, and it hit me that the kids I used to care for during my first year as a leader are now seniors in high school. I know he will be there someday too, and it made me want to really enjoy him right now. As if he knew that, at council time (on the floor) he sat by me and actually leaned into my side. My 9 year old son who won't give me a kiss goodbye in the minivan snuggled up next to me in public! I want to remember that as one of my bright moments of January. We sat there with spiked hair and pigtails, and it was the brightest moment of my day. :)

Playing Cars

One thing all 3 of our boys love to do is play cars--and it all began with Braylen. As a baby he had a fascination with the wheels of his stroller, the makes and models of cars on the road, and of course--his toy cars. Kaleb and Aaron love cars just as much. They know where their cars came from: grandparents, friends, McDonalds, etc. They have favorite "fast" cars and favorite crash cars. Days and days worth of time have been spent playing cars over the years. They always want me to play cars with them, and I have to admit, everytime I play I wonder what is so fun about driving these cars through the carpet? So we acquired quite a collection of roads to drive the cars on. We pick out which cars we will have, where we will work and live, and then we chase bad guys and pull them over. We go through the car wash, we go to the gas station, we go out for lunch...in other words, we create a mini-story as we play. When Daddy plays cars with them, they zoom the cars on the carpet and ramp them off of other cars. They make lots of noise and there's never a story or a house or a job or a restaurant to visit. It's so different!

Each boy plays cars differently too. Sometimes when I play cars with Aaron, he won't let me drive my own cars. He wants to do it. But if I get up and walk away, he's sad I'm not playing cars with him. So I just sit there and watch, and he's happy. :) With Kaleb, I have to do my own driving, and I have to make sound effects. Even with all my years of practice, their sound effects are so much better than mine. I'm convinced they're born with that ability! Braylen played like Aaron does--having me there was his number one wish.

After all of the times I've played cars, today I did something new. I arranged all of my cars according to the colors in a rainbow. When Kaleb walked in to the living room and wanted to play, I let him have my cars. Before surrending them to him I said, "See how they're lined up like a rainbow, Kaleb?" He looked at me like I was an alien. My husband looked at me like I'd lost my mind. You'd think that after 9 years of playing cars I'd figure out that my boys don't care about things like that. But if I don't teach them to appreciate things like that, who will? :)

Aaron and Kaleb with one of our roads

My rainbow lineup on the left, Aaron's cars on the right

Deer or Pig?

This past weekend Derek enjoyed another deer hunt with his dad and his good friend Shawn. Everyone got one deer, and the guys donated the meat to a friend who will make good use of it. Our freezers are still full from November's hunt! With hunting on their minds, the boys made some funny comments at supper tonight. I served ham, but the kids didn't think so. Kaleb and Aaron kept saying, "Look at the fat on this deer. Boy, this deer is good. Did you shoot this deer Daddy?" I reminded them it is ham, which comes from a pig. Aaron looked at his ham and said, "I bet this pig is cold." Derek told him no, the pig isn't cold--it's dead. Kaleb said, "Who shot the pig? Did you shoot the pig Daddy?" Derek said he didn't shoot the pig, and he doesn't know who did. I guarantee you, my brother and I NEVER had this conversation at the dinner table with our parents. I love to hear the boys laugh, and they did plenty of that tonight. :)

On another subject, Aaron still switches his words around: "light-night" for night-light, "put up it" instead of put it up. I should probably correct him, but it's too cute. So much of my baby is not a baby anymore, and I'd like to hang on to what I can.

Fun in the tub at Grammy and Grampy's house

Monday Madness

I have to admit, today finds me with a case of the Mondays. A fun yet chaotic topsy-turvy weekend, my kids pushing my buttons and ramming into each others buttons, and general apathy on my part all lead to this Monday of Mondays. I'm discovering that because it's easier to do things myself than delegate tasks to my kids, I am doing ALL of the work around here. As they get older and the work gets bigger, I'm seeing this is not working. My laziness in teaching them responsibility leads to MUCH frustration for me, so something's got to change. Since this is a new year, I guess now's a good time. I'm bracing myself for lots of whining when my sons find out they are now responsible for things they never even knew I did. Here's to hoping I can stick with it. I know in the end everyone will be better off. Ironically enough, Aaron ran through the living room this morning saying, "Mom, is it Monday? YAYYY!!!" Hmmph.

On a brighter note, this past Saturday something happened to Aaron that made me laugh and laugh. While playing catch with Braylen, I watched Kaleb and Aaron ride their bikes up and down our street. After a while they had enough of their bikes and played "Follow the Leader" around the yard while wearing their bike helmets. Braylen stood in the street and booted the football way up in the air, only to have it fall in a perfect arc and hit Aaron square on the top of his head. If the boy would have not taken one more step, the football would have landed at his feet. But no, this is Aaron I'm talking about, so of course it hit him on the head. What kind of mother laughs hysterically at her son when he's crying like that? ME! (But I wasn't mean about it--I promise!) If he never crashes his bike helmet on the cement, it will still be worth every penny I paid.

A Fresh Start

I'm writing this to celebrate everyone's return to school! As fun as our Christmas break was, it's nice to have everyone on a schedule again. Although I have to admit, I was not a happy camper when my alarm went off. I love sleeping in too much.

Our trip home from Illinois went much smoother than our trip out there. However, we've been without our kitchen sink since coming home. I'm getting really good at doing dishes in the garage at Derek's utility sink. Aaagghhh! My new faucet is supposed to come in the mail today and I can't wait! I never knew how much I used my faucet until it was gone. For some reason our kitchen sink, water purification system, and kids' toilet all decided to give us trouble on Saturday. I guess it's best to tackle it all at once, but sheesh. Imagine a useless kitchen sink, drinking water in pitchers all over the counter, and a toilet taped shut to prevent use...our weekend was so much fun. :)

So now that the kids are all at school in their new Christmas clothes, I'll post some of our favorite Christmas pics. Until next time!