Fun in the tree

I was trying my hardest to capture some really good pictures of Colin and Cameron while they were in our climbing tree the other day....

I was really happy with the results!

Ethan singing

I just have to say before I start this post....this video is one of my favorite videos ever of Ethan.

Ethan loves singing. He loves when I sing, when people sing on the radio, when we sing in church....whatever. Lately, he has gone from only listening to actually participating.

Veggie Tales are always a hit when we watch them, because of all the music in them. He has become particularly fond of a song with a catchy tune....the one from The Ballad of Little Joe.

"Oh little Joooooooooooe, oh little Joooooooooooooe....."

You'll hear me sing that little ditty in the video. He loves when I sing this one, and now he is starting to chime in. It is really cute. I say, "Oh little........" and then he comes in with his version of "Jooooooooooooe....." Hilarious. I just get the biggest kick out of this, and he does too!

Also--for my stepmom Amy, who played that record for me over and over again at Normie's house while she would clean (when I was probably 6--oh yes, I remember) we have begun working on the old favorite, "On top of spaghetti." I was singing this to the older two boys, and Cameron (my resident comic) decided to add two fake sneezes after the first verse. He did it once.....and it caught on. Now, the song can not be sung in our house without the addition of "Ah-choo! Ah-choo!" at the end of the first verse.

On top of spaghetti,

all covered with cheese,

I lost my poor meatball

when somebody sneezed! (***Ah-choo! Ah-choo!**)

Most of the time, the older boys are the ones singing along with me....this day, I happened to catch Ethan doing it on camera! I was thrilled (you know how they never do anything when you hope they will!)

A couple of things to watch for:

• Ethan chiming in with me on the Little Joe song
• Ethan communicating with me that he wanted his yogurt (NOW) and exactly where he wanted me to put it....and his displeasure at the fact that I didn't put it in that exact spot :-)
• How he is sort of displeased and restless, but when I start to sing the spaghetti song, it completely captures his attention
• His fake sneeze at the end of verse one, complete with the blink!
• How, when I didn't begin the second verse (oh, yes....there is a second and a third verse to this one! The second verse starts, "It rolled off the table....." and it almost sounds like that is what he is actually saying! But I started back with verse one so he would do the sneezes again *grin*) right away, he started it for me....and in tune at that! :-)

Love it. I just love it.

And now, for your viewing pleasure....

448 reasons to love shower time

1 shower

3 naked bottoms

1 child who went pee-pee in the potty

1 child who went pee-pee in the shower

1 child who, when freed from his diaper, made

4 puddles of pee-pee on the floor

7 paper towels and

5 shots of Anti-Bacterial Fantastic to clean it up

6 dirty knees

10 frightfully loud minutes

3 shampooed heads

52 teeth brushed

3 bodies washed

87 shouts of glee

6 clean ears

30 clean fingers/toes

196 splashes

1 soaking wet Mommy with

2 aching knees

1 sopping wet towel

5 minutes of 'lotioning'

3 sets of PJ's

3 smiling boys

15 minutes 'till bedtime.....

2 HAPPY parents!

Please pray

If you have listened to any kind of Christian music over the last 25 or so years, you have probably heard something by Steven Curtis Chapman. He is one of my favorite artists in Christian music, for many reasons.

Last night, his 5 year old adopted daughter from China was struck and killed by an SUV in their driveway at home. The SUV was driven by the Chapman's teenage son, who apparently did not see the child in the driveway.

I can't image this terribly difficult situation.....please, please include this family in your prayers as they face immensely difficult days ahead. You can read more about the incident at Fox News.

A special gift

My sweet Mother's Day gift from my sweet Mother-in-law!

She pulled pictures off of my blog and MADE THEM INTO COASTERS FOR ME!

How cool is that? She is so creative. I would probably never think of something like that. But she did, and they are sooooo special to me! (Never mind the fact that Ethan likes to play the 'slam the hard ceramic coasters down on Mommy's glass end table' game (hee hee)....we've dealt with that by keeping them on higher ground where little hands can't reach!)

Lynette--I love these! Thank you so very much for doing this for me! You are one thoughtful Mother-in-law!

Progress

I just wanted to thank you all for pitching in your ideas for helping Ethan adjust to regular foods. And, if you haven't yet, please scroll down to the next post and add yours! I got several ideas that I intend to try, including what many of you said: trying to 'mash' the food up a little bit more. I am hoping that will do the trick!

Today we had quite a successful breakfast and lunch, so between that and everyone's comments, I am encouraged! Ethan had zucchini bread (not a new one--he loves that) and some dried cereal for breakfast, and Wheat Thins, some yogurt, several bites of cut up banana (which I did have to shove in his mouth for him, but he didn't scream and cry this time--he chewed it up and ate it like a champ, which is definite progress), a few bites of my PB&J, and a few Sun Chips for lunch. (He is a carb addict like his mom, can you tell? All the things he loves most....Sun Chips, zucchini bread, Triscuits, Wheat Thins, dried cereal.....CARBS!)

Anyway, thank you all for giving me some good things to work with....just goes to show you that with motherhood, you are always learning new things!

Calling all Mommies.....

Okay moms. I am calling for H.E.L.P.

My youngest little man, Ethan, is a pretty easy child on most fronts. You would think that by child #3, I would have everything down and hence, not need to be asking advice on something like this; yet, here I am, finding myself facing something that is new territory for me as a mommy.

Ethan will be 16 months old on the 31st of this month, and he is having an absolutely terrible time transitioning to 'normal' table foods. He is still eating jarred or mostly pureed food, like yogurts or refried beans (soft things). Colin and Cameron--and I do realize that each child is different--both began eating some table foods in the 9 - 12 month range; and were eating only table foods shortly after that. I always thought that 'once they get a taste of real food, they don't want to eat the jarred stuff anymore!'

However, that is not proving to be true with Ethan. He is giving us the hardest time.....meal times have just begun to get out of control. I mean, I really am starting to dread them. Ethan doesn't cry much....in fact, the most he does cry is when he is in his chair at the table! I have tried offering him MANY different foods, and he just cries and cries. However, when I finally give in and give him a jar, or some yogurt, because I know that he has to eat something, he stops crying (mostly) and eats.

He does like some table food; he will eat triscuits (how weird, huh? He loves those) or sun chips, cheerios or any kind of breakfast cereal, refried beans, some rice, some cooked hamburger, green beans (sometimes), yogurt, eggs, and cheese. But I am so limited....he just cries and cries if I offer him anything else. Today at lunch it was spaghetti (cut up really small, of course) that we fought over.

He won.

Another really weird thing....even with the foods he does like: when I put them down on his tray, he cries. I have to actually pick the bite up, put it in his mouth while he is crying, and wait for him to chew. Then, he realizes, "Oh, I actually do like this...." and will eat the rest by himself! It is just awful, and is really wearing on me.

I am at my wits end here. I know this may seem strange to some of you, especially if you have good eaters (and my other two have been!) but I am really struggling with this, and would appreciate any advice you are willing to give! :-)

Psalm 119:11 and Romans 6:23

These verses actually were from last week and the week before....I am sooooo behind! This computer trouble is giving me absolute fits, let me tell you!

So, in the time I have today, here are Cameron and Colin doing some verses! (Cameron is soooo cute doing these verses....he has 'ways' of making them his own! In this one, he turns around the words might and not. I'll correct him later--for now I think it's adorable!)

Psalm 119:11: "Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against Thee."

Romans 6:23: "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord."

Computer Down! Computer Down!

You never realize how dependent you are on certain things until they're gone....

This week, it's the computer. My computer genius of a brother-in-law is in the process of helping me fix the problems, but right now, I can't do much. I think I have some sort of virus or something....the other day, it just crashed right in the middle of what I was doing. I panicked, because when I was trying to get everything up (like, all of my pictures/videos/precious things of my boys that I have recorded!) it wouldn't come up! Luckily, Roger helped me locate and save everything to a disk....and yes, I have now learned my lesson, because if I had lost all of that stuff, I would have been devasted!

Anyway, this silly contraption is still kicking me off of the internet after about 8 minutes, so I don't have long to blog....just wanted to let everyone know that we are doing great here, other than the computer issue, which is hopefully soon to be resolved. I'll be back soon with lots of neat things, including some video of Ethan singing "On top of Spaghetti...." (well, sort of) and the boys' new verses, and lots of pics from the last couple of weeks!

Hope you all had a marvelous and wonderful Mother's day, being celebrated for the amazing women you all are! :-)

25 Reasons I owe my Mother

My Stepmom, Amy, sent this email to me, and I got a real charge out of it. A few times, I caught myself actually laughing out loud....in light of this coming Sunday, when everyone will pause to thank their mom for all the wonderful ways she has blessed their lives, I thought I would pass this along.

Happy Mother's Day everyone!

25 REASONS I OWE MY MOTHER

1. My mother taught me TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE: 'If you're going to kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning.'

2. My mother taught me RELIGION: 'You better pray that will come out of the carpet.'

3. My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL: 'If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!'

4. My mother taught me LOGIC: 'Because I said so, that's why.'

5. My mother taught me MORE LOGIC: 'If you fall out of that swing and break your neck, you're not going to the store with me.'

6. My mother taught me FORESIGHT: 'Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you're in an accident.'

7. My mother taught me IRONY: 'If you don't stop crying, I'll really give you something to cry about.'

8. My mother taught me about the science of OSMOSIS: 'Shut your mouth and eat your supper.'

9. My mother taught me about CONTORTIONISM: 'Will you look at that dirt on the back of your neck!'

10. My mother taught me about STAMINA: 'You'll sit there until all that spinach is gone.'

11. My mother taught me about WEATHER: 'This room of yours looks as if a tornado went through it.'

12. My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY: 'If I told you once, I've told you a million times. Don't exaggerate!'

13. My mother taught me the CIRCLE OF LIFE: 'I brought you into this world, and I can take you out.'

14. My mother taught me about BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION: 'Stop acting like your father!'

15. My mother taught me about ENVY: 'There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don't have wonderful parents like you do.'

16. My mother taught me about ANTICIPATION: 'Just wait until we get home.'

17. My mother taught me about RECEIVING: 'You are going to get it when you get home!'

18. My mother taught me MEDICAL SCIENCE: 'If you don't stop crossing your eyes, they are going to freeze that way.'

19. My mother taught me ESP: 'Put your sweater on; don't you think I know when you are cold?'

20. My mother taught me HUMOR: 'When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don't come running to me.'

21. My mother taught me HOW TO BECOME AN ADULT: 'If you don't eat your vegetables, you'll never grow up.'

22. My mother taught me GENETICS: 'You're just like your father.'

23. My mother taught me about my ROOTS: 'Shut that door behind you. Do you think you were born in a barn?'

24. My mother taught me WISDOM: 'When you get to be my age, you'll understand.'

25. And my favorite: My mother taught me about JUSTICE: 'One day you'll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you .

And the winner is.....

Brittany!

She was the first one (but not the only one) to correctly guess the birth order in the baby pictures!

It was:

#1. Cameron

#2: Ethan (I thought this one would be a no brainer, simply because E was the only one born with hair, but apparently the hair wasn't that apparent in the picture so it was still a tricky one!)
#3: Colin
Also, big props go to Julie, Aimee, Karie, Shelley, and Grandma MJ for knowing the right answers, even though you weren't the first guess!

Name that Merritt

It amazes me sometimes, when I look at baby pictures of my children, just how much they looked alike at one time. (Colin and Ethan definitely still do....) These are all pictures taken very close to the birth of each of my children, and all in the exact same bouncy seat.

Can anyone guess who is who? You have two days from today, Monday, May 5th, to get your guesses in. Just leave me a comment at the bottom of which child you think is which! When you leave your comment make sure you specifiy: Picture #1 is....., #2 is....., and #3 is......

The first person to get the correct order gets their name posted here in BIG letters as the winner! *grin*

Child #1Child #2Child #3

Ethan and my new best friend

Can you say, $12 a year to operate this bad boy?

And, like, 95% less water used with every wash?

And great entertainment for my boys, who love to watch the clothes going around and around and around and around......?

And quiet as a mouse, even when it is spinning at WARP speed?

And clothes that take no time to dry because of said spin cycle?

And the cleanest clothes I've ever seen?

I LOVE YOU SHANE!!!!

Funnies

The April 2008 Installment


~Colin comes into the bathroom, where I am getting ready.
Colin: "Mom, I have to go potty." (Why do both of my boys feel the need to annouce this every time they go?) He then gets on potty and starts going.

After a couple of seconds I asked, "Do you feel better buddy?"

"Not yet Mom...."
Tinkle, tinkle....
Tinkle, tinkle.....
Drip....drip........drip..............

"Aaaaaaaaaah, now I feel better."

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~Colin was sitting quietly one day at lunch. This is absolutely unusual, by the way--normally, he and Cameron are carrying on a conversation a mile a minute. I could tell he was pondering something, but I didn't say anything.....I knew he would ask me when he was ready. Nothing could have quite prepared me for what he actually asked.

He turned to me and said,
"Mommy, are you a spring chicken?"

I had no answer for him.....

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~Shane, to me, as he is walking out the door to go to work: "Bye, honey!"
Cameron, from the kitchen: "Bye, baby!"

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~I noticed one morning that Colin was clearing his throat a lot. So, I asked him, "Col, what's the matter, buddy?"

Colin: "I'm just having some serious coughing issues."

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~I came into the living room one morning to find Colin almost on top of Ethan, practically pinning him down. I couldn't tell what he was doing, until I heard Colin say,

"Ethan, hold still. I know this hurts, but I have to get these crusties out of your eyes."

And he did.

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~The other day was grocery shopping day. Yes, I do it with all three of them. And, yes, it takes a long time.

Many times, Shane goes with me, and we have sort of a 'family grocery shopping event'; believe it or not, we fill two carts to the brim. But those are our BIG shopping days, when I am shopping for 3-4 weeks worth of meals. This one was just a quick one, only about a page worth on my list to get.

Colin wanted to go outside that morning. Big surprise there....anyway, I told him that it was a quick shopping day, and that we would only be gone for a little while. I said that when we got home, there would still be plenty of time left before lunch, reading time, and rest for him to go outside and play.

Colin, who has gotten used to going on these 2 hour major shopping trips, thinks that over for a moment; then turns to me and says,

"Mom, realistically, I just don't think that is actually going to happen."

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~We treated ourselves last weekend to a family night out with my Mom at Monical's Pizza (sorry Dad, I know you are salivating....)

We had gotten our pre-pizza food--you know, the breadsticks and salad, drinks, and all that kind of stuff, and were getting all the boys situated with all they needed. (That can be a task in itself, huh moms?) We noticed, however, that the waitress had forgotten to bring us one of our salad dressings, so we called her over to the table and asked her for it. She left, retrieved the dressing, and brought it to our table.

"Is there anything else I can get for you? Anything else you need?" she asked me.

I replied, "No thanks, I think we are good now!" and she started to walk away. That's when Cameron, who was intently watching this interaction with the waitress, piped up from his seat:

"Yes, we need our PIZZA!"

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~And, one that is not a funny, but just sooooo sweet, and I want to remember it:

Colin, saying his prayers a few nights ago, was done, and had said, "In Jesus' name....." and stopped. Then, he said (as if it were an afterthought), "And thank you for my Mom. My sweet Mom. Who is so pretty. In Jesus' name, amen."

He got an extra big hug that night....

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~We went out for some mexican food a few nights ago. It was de-lish. :-) One of my favorite places.....anyway, as we were loading up the boys back into the van, Colin got a funny look on his face.

"What is it, Col?" I said.

Colin, after a long pause: "Mom, I almost threw up just now. I burped, and it came up in my mouth. And it was all over in there. It wasn't very fresh......it was yucky."

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~Colin was putting on his socks this morning, and grabbed one of several pairs that are in his drawer that I hate--they are soooo huge on him, it is ridiculous. They have just gotten so stretched out because he pulls them up to his knees when he puts them on. They're ankle socks, crew style. I keep meaning to throw them away, but then the bargain hunter inside of me says things like "Well, maybe I'll rummage them....." or "I should just put them away until he gets a little bigger, and then they will fit him...." and so, they never make it to the trash can.

Colin knows how much I hate these socks, because every time he puts them on, he ends up taking them off and getting another pair midway through the day because they bug him so much, and I end up saying something to the effect of, "I hate those socks."

So, he grabs these socks, and we do our usual, "Take those socks off and get another pair, Col. Those are too big on you."

To which he says to me, "Mom, maybe instead of always having to take these socks off to get another pair, we could just take them back to the lady at the store? We could say, 'Excuse me, Lady? Lady? I mean.....Excuse me, Ma'am? We just need to tell you that we can't use these socks for our kids anymore, because they are waaaaaay too big for their feet.' And, then, we could just get some different pairs so I don't always have to change out of those ones."