Another Good Prayer

Collin: "Please help that I won't freak out when my mom says I can't play the Wii when I get home from school." ... Amen to that!

Spiderman Turkey

The funny homework assignments are just beginning. Collin came home from Kindergarten with a homework assignment for the entire family. It was called "Family Turkey Project". The object of the assignment was to disguise this generic turkey body so that it wouldn't get eaten for Thanksgiving. Collin decided that we should disguise him as "Spiderman", of course. So after some family brain-storming, this is what we came up with. Collin also required us to put "Spectacular" into the title of Spiderman. I just had to post it because it's good for a laugh, and Collin was so proud! Collin beaming with pride wearing his Spiderman shirt and holding his Spiderman Turkey

The Bully, The Martyr, and the Mother Failure.

I'm finally getting a taste of what it's like to have a naughty bully for a child. I have had several friends that have battled this with their children and I have honestly always felt bad for them. I have never judged my friends thinking they were bad parents. I simply was just grateful that my child was not the bully. Well, what goes around, comes around. Here's a quick example of my latest challenge...

Introducing my Bully:

And the Martyr:

So the Bully decides it's a good idea to bite the Martyr on the shoulder as hard as he can. The Martyr screams as loud as he can. I observe the enormous and deep bite on his shoulder and unleash my wrath on the Bully. I spat his mouth and his bum (lightly - I promise) and sent him to his room. (I know that this is not the proper way to handle this situation, but I was acting on emotion and had never dealt with this before.) So the Bully screams like I have just bit him on the shoulder as hard as I could and he continues to cry as I put him in his room. I return to the Martyr to comfort him as he is still crying.

I say, "Are you OK?"

And he says, "I'm sad because now Ty is sad."

Me: "I was just punishing him for hurting you."

Him: "Well, I'm OK mom. I just feel bad for Ty."

Me: "He'll be OK. He knows that I love him. He just needs to learn that it's not OK to bite."

The night passes and the drama ends. The next morning I walk into the room just as the Bully is opening his jaw ready to clamp down on the Martyr. I run over to break it up.

I then say to the Bully: "No No. You do not bite your brother." - No violence this time. Calm.

The Bully laughs at me and runs away - of course.

I turn to the Martyr and say "If your brother tries to bite you again you need to yell for me to come so that I can spat his mouth again."

The Martyr replies after a moment of silence and looking at the ground: "Well then I'm not going to tell you mom, because I don't want you to hurt him."

I GIVE UP! Clearly I'm supposed to learn a lesson here, not the kids. I guess I need to find another way to punish my little Bully so that Collin doesn't feel the need to be a Martyr and continue to protect this nonsense! Suggestions parents of Bully's??? It's especially interesting to me because my Bully is 2, my Martyr is 5, and the Mother Failure is...well old enough to know how to handle this situation, and yet doesn't.

Collin's Preschool Program

Collin entertained us on Monday night at his Preschool Program/Graduation. They did a fun "50's Sock Hop" themed program. It was really cute! Just as every Mom says, it's so amazing how quickly they grow up. Off to Kindergarten he will go in a couple of months.

We love you Collin! You bring so much love and happiness into our home!

"Goodnight sweetheart, well it's time to go...."So Cool.

"Splish, splash I was taking a bath..."

Side Note here: Collin accidently stabbed himself in the head with a knife - hence the band-aid. Yes, I did say knife, and a sharp one at that. Parents of the year here. We're just glad he didn't stab his eye out. We learned our parental lesson for the year, or month, or day.

Happy 5th Birthday Collin!

I'm a little behind on blogging, so here's a small effort to catch you all up on what we've been up to this month... On March 8th Collin turned 5. Time flies! Collin is a great big brother and a good student. He brings a lot of laughter and happiness to our family. We love him so much! Happy Birthday Collin! He requested last year on his 4th birthday that he would like to go to Chuck E. Cheese's for his next birthday and has reminded us weekly throughout the year of this request! So, Chuck E. Cheese's it was...

Jesse made this "Transformers" cake for Collin. It was a lot better than I could do.

We thought it was a really great idea to get Collin this Pogo Stick for his birthday. He can't do it, nobody can except my 11 year old nephew, Trey. When Collin tried to do it he just fell over if we weren't holding it. When I tried to do it, the thing sunk all the way down and almost went through the floor. We all got a good laugh out of it, but the pogo stick has sat lonesome in the corner ever since. I should have got him the sand and water table that I originally was going to get for him. Oh well. Live, learn and share. Don't buy one for your 5 year old. And sorry, no pics of me going through the floor on it. Just use your imagination and I'm sure you'll be pretty close.

P.S. This is Collin's new favorite outfit that he has on here. I have tried to hide this shirt or the pants, but it's not working. He finds them and puts them on nearly EVERY DAY! What do you do?

Dirt + Water = Mud, Right?

A mother/son early morning conversation.

Collin: Mom, what does dirt, water, and mud make?
Me: Well, dirt and water make mud. So, if you add mud to the dirt and water that you just made mud out of you get a lot more mud. (Me thinking to myself - "What am I saying? Did that even make sense? Oh well, he's 4.")
Collin: No, No - Mom - I mean, what does water and mud make?
Me: Runny Mud. (Thinking I'm funny.)
Collin: No Mom! (frustrated) You don't even get it. I want to know what mud makes.
Me: It makes a big mess, Collin.
Collin: GRRRRR! Mom, never mind, you don't even know. You need to go to school.

The "Licensed Character" Disclaimer

Okay, so I have never been a fan of any kind of "Licensed Character" item. I always swore that my kid would never be the kid wearing the "Spongebob" shirt or the "Spiderman" light up shoes. Now that I'm a mother of two boys, I am faced head on with this dilemma. I still do not approve of it, and yet, I've gotten to the point that I just don't care anymore. Last year Jesse's sister bought Collin some "Spiderman" sheets for his bed. Collin was in Heaven! He was in love with his new sheets. I couldn't help but just be excited for him. I try to remember back to my days of loving "My Little Pony" or "Cabbage Patch Kids". I know for a fact that I had a couple of "Licensed" shirts that I loved wearing.

So, basically what I'm getting at here is, If you see my kid wearing a "Licensed" shirt or pajamas, this post is my:

"OFFICIAL DISCLAIMER" -

I KNOW, I DON'T APPROVE OF IT EITHER, and I know we look like we shop at Wal-mart and K-mart, and just so you know, WE DO.

So Anyway, I hope you all have a great New Year.

Christmas Morning

Collin completely forgot that it was Christmas that morning. He came into our bedroom and climbed into bed with us and did not mention a thing about it. Jesse and I kept looking at each other laughing because he had no idea what was awaiting him out in the living room. Santa was good to our little boys this year because they were good for their mommy and daddy (most of the time)!

Collin walking out amazed at all of the toys, and discovering something much bigger in the dining room...A miniature bounce house equipped with balls!Collin also enjoyed several laps around the house on his new scooter.
Ty discovering his new grocery cart and groceries, while gripping the popper gun.Fun in the bounce house! Ty was in HEAVEN!
Later that day we went over to Holly and Matt's house to enjoy some time with Jesse's family. Justin and Julie braved the awful weather and made it to Salt Lake safely. Holly got nearly two feet of snow at her house in South Jordan, while our house in West Jordan got a mere few inches! Santa brought Lauren and Lindsey the cutest American Girl dolls that looked just like them!

I don't have any pictures of this (because I'm the family photographer), but Jesse surprised me with a new IPOD for Christmas! I'm so behind the times, but I'm thrilled with it and I'm having so much fun downloading all of my favorite songs! We had a great Christmas and we are so grateful for all of the many blessings we enjoy all year long!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Wish Upon a Star, On the Toilet...

A Mother/Son toilet moment to be remembered...

Collin (while sitting on the toilet): "Mom, will you let me go outside when it's dark so that I can wish on a star that I can stay a little boy forever?"
Me: "Sure."
Collin: "Thank you for letting me do that."
Me: "You're Welcome."(...while wiping his little bum...)
Collin: "Sorry that you have to do that because I know it's yucky. Mom, if there's another wishing star, I'll wish that dad doesn't have to go to work anymore so that he can stay home and wipe my bum."
Me: "That's a great idea! I'll second that wish!"

Decorating the Tree

The boys had so much fun tonight decorating the tree. It's going to be a long month with Ty and the tree. He wants to pull everything off of it! (Which is actually fine. I don't mind that. Everything that he can reach isn't breakable. I'm more worried about him pulling the entire tree over on top of himself!) Oh well - What do you do? Happy Decorating to you all! May your holiday season be merry and bright!

Collin carefully placing an ornament

Ty loving the new "toy" in the house!

Collin placing the star on the tree with the help of Jesse.

Best Buddies

And at the end of a crazy busy day... the sweetest moment ever!

I love my cute little boys!

Collin's Preschool Halloween Party

Quick Family Photo Shoot - This picture is quite typical of our everyday life!

Collin singing Halloween songs with his class

Collin & Tolman (Ragedy Andy)

Cambree (Tinkerbell) and Collin

Addison (Ragedy Ann) and Ty

Now Presenting: Batman & Robin

Starring: Collin as Batman & Baby Ty as Robin

Together they will take on Halloween with a Vengeance!

With a special thanks to their father (and my hubby) Jesse for spending hours and hours making their adorable costumes!

"Everyone Will Think I'm So Handsome!"

My sweet, nerdy, little Collin dressed himself yesterday and was so proud! I wanted to tell him to untuck his shirt and to change his sandals with socks, but I thought - What's it going to hurt? Let him be a little geek as long as possible! As we were leaving the house he exclaimed "Everyone will think I'm so handsome!" I thought it was so cute- I had to take a picture! I just have to embrace these moments because he is growing up so fast, and these silly little moments are just slipping right through my fingers!

I love this funny little boy so much!

My Lil' Punkins

We went to Arctic Circle tonight because Collin's been begging for one of those "square pumpkin kid's meals". He got a pumpkin flashlight in the kids meal, and of course, he was more interested in the box that the meal came in than the toy! After we were done eating, Collin asked me to cut out the pumpkins on the box so that he could wear them as masks. Ty thought it was a great idea too. They had so much fun with these tonight. Cute boys.

"Secret"

Do you remember building huts/forts as a kid? They were one of my favorite things to do when I was young. Collin calls his hut a "secret". I think it is derived from "secret hide away" - but I'm not 100% sure. Collin asks for a "secret" on a daily basis. Ty loves them as well. They entertain themselves for hours at a time in one of these babies! So, if you have bored kids, give a "secret" a try! FYI - A queen or king sized sheet works a lot better than a heavy blanket for the roof of the secret!

"Javier, Are You There?"

I am laughing out loud right now (and also wanting to cry at the same time!) because Collin just said (again, I know) the most hilarious prayer! Maybe these get old to you, and if so, please skip this post. But for me, it's always a good laugh. For those of you who don't know, Javier was our little dog that died a little over a year ago. It was traumatizing for our family because he was truly such a part of us. We haven't talked about him in quite a while so this was totally out of the blue...
"Heavenly Father, Please come down and bring my dog Javier with you in your hands. And be careful! Don't drop him. But just bring him for a little bit, but not for long. I just want to see his little body. Because I know he's just little, and he lives in the sky with you, but I just need to see him for a minute because I want to play with him, and then you can take him back up in the sky with you. But don't drop him."

Prayer ends. Then Collin says:

"Mom, just be quiet for a minute...He might come down...."

(silence for a few seconds, and then he says,)
"...Javier, Are you there?"

I have to admit I stopped and looked around, hoping for Collin's sake (and mine, let's be honest here) that Javier would suddenly scratch on the back door. A little faith never hurt anybody.

But, no such luck.

May he rest in peace... my sweet little dog. Until we meet again...

Collin Gibberish

So, I just have to jot down another funny prayer. These are precious comments that make me laugh, so I never want to forget them!"Please bless that our food won't go bad, because then we'd have to go down and feed the yucky food to the ducks, and there's rats there, and my mom doesn't like the rats, and she thinks they're ugly, and she screams and scares me."

All of this is true. It's just funny to hear it come out of his little mouth. My favorite past time of feeding the ducks and goats has been ruined by nasty rats! The rats are smart creatures. They know a good spot when they find one. I'm just sad that they always manage to find ME! As many of you remember, my next door neighbors house was infested with rats last fall and I've never quite gotten over it. I watch out my side window frequently to make sure they have not returned. So far so good. But the nasty little devils did take over my duck haven! Sad.

It's Like a Toy Bubble Bath!

Collin is always creative in entertaining himself. Poor Ty is usually the brunt of the entertainment. Collin yelled out to me "MOM! Come see, It's like a toy bubble bath!" Ty was sitting there patiently covered in toys while Collin was pushing him around the house in the laundry basket. Collin has decided that this skeleton shirt and short green shorts are his new favorite PJ ensemble. What do you do? It's totally ghetto, but he's happy as a lark.

Let the Games Begin!

Collin started T-ball this week. These pictures are from their first practice. All I can think is...Let the games begin! I have seen the serious nature of sports in children through my sister Wendy's boys. I always knew that I would be the "soccer/baseball/football mom" but actually beginning the process is a little overwhelming. Collin has 2 games per week. It seems a little over the top for a 4 year old. But, the most important thing is that he loves it! He likes baseball better than soccer (so far). Cute little leaguer
Collin's biggest fan - Ty (Who was squriming in his stroller, dying to play ball with the kids!)
Collin's team mate and good friend Johna Tucker