More Butts

KiKi was sliding down the stairs tonight, pretending he was sledding. "This is a fun! It's like a game. It's like fun!"
CoCo and I chuckled as we watched him make another run. When he got to the bottom, he laughed and said, "Mommy, can you slide with your big butt?"
Ahhh, the honesty of little ones. I'll spare you the picture of my backside, but I will let you know that big butts slide equally fast!

Butt Cheeks

I have to admit that I love baby butts - adorable, squishy - and even though I am seeing entirely too much butt lately, I laugh every time I see KiKi running out of the bathroom naked proclaiming, "Mommy, Mommy, I went pee! Come look at my pee! Do I get a treat?"
KiKi graduated to big boy underwear yesterday - no more plastic pants! He is still trying to figure out exactly how to get them on, though; and this is a picture of his evening attempt. Yes, they are backwards, and he does have his waist in a leg hole; but hey, they're on!

"My Brrain is Brrroke!"

I know that I typically write about the funny things that the younger ones do, but our eldest is equally funny. I do have to be more careful about what I say, due to the fact that she is a teenage girl and might get irritated! Despite the potential wrath, I am going to share some of her more humorous and frequent school-related statements.
"I got a zero on my test." (Translation: "I got a B.")
"That test wasn't so bad." (Translation: "I got an A.")
"My brrain is brrroke." (Translation: "I am tired of thinking, speaking, and writing English!")
Tonight I have heard many repetitions of "the broken brain"; of course, who's brain wouldn't be broken with a history test, research paper, and 31 questions in Living Environment. I know that I am greatly relieved to have this little study break while she is on the phone!
By the way, A wanted to start his own blog. Check out the link to "Creative Croc."

No Longer a Clone!

Though I have often been accused of merely incubating my boys as clones of my husband, he assures me that we now have solid proof that I had some greater involvement - passing along bad genes! :-) Neil-Te got his new glasses today. He is, luckily, very excited about them. When he found out he needed glasses, his greatest disappointment was that he couldn't bring them home that day. So let's see how often we have to get his glasses fixed; between both of the boys, I will probably be at the eye care center every week instead of only every other!

A New Project

According to hubby, "Nothing makes [him] happier than a new project." You can just imagine how much he made up to me for that statement!;-) So yesterday, he began a new project. I am never very enthused about the actual building (SOOO much mess and noise), but I do enjoy the finished projects. The latest project is a new pantry closet off of the kitchen. He is teaching CoCo how to build, and it was very funny to hear CoCo say, "That doesn't look very sturdy that way, daddy." Anyway, the boys are having fun, I am tolerating the chaos, and we are all looking forward to more storage space. I can't believe how much food these kids can eat!

Just a little note of pleasure - I forgot to put KiKi's gloves on as we headed out for church today. By the time we got halfway to church, he was screaming because his hands were so cold. He pulled them into his sleeves to warm them, but continued to cry. Suddenly the car was silent, and I assumed that his sleeves had warmed him up or that the car was finally feeling warmer. However, when I peeked back at him, I saw that he had CoCo's mittens on and that CoCo had his hands stuffed in his own sleeves! Happy moment!

The Giggles

Because it is KiKi's birthday week, he has had to have his annual Dr.'s appt. and his first official dentist appt. We have decided to bring him to the same dentist who is doing SS's pro-bono braces. He is a pediatric dentist and actually did my braces when I was a teenager.
So the morning of KiKi's dentist appt., he had clearly either woken up too early or just decided to be cranky because he thought it would add interest to our day. Anyway, when we got to the dentist, he made it very clear that he wanted NOTHING to do with choosing a toothbrush (They even had tigger!), and he tried to burrow between my legs when the hygienist handed him Sponge Bob toothpaste. The hygienist shuffled me back to the waiting area so I could fill out some papers and KiKi could relax with some toys. "I think that he may need to just get used to us today," she commented.
I grumped in my head, "He comes here every two weeks to play while his sister gets her braces adjusted. How much more getting-used-to does he need?!" But I did the nice mommy thing and said, "KiKi, do you know that you get a treat if you are very cooperative with the nice lady?"
Clearly enthused, he replied, "I do?"
After persuading A to sit with him on the exam chair, he clambered up and lay with his mouth open, until the hygienist approached him with "THE TOOLS!" You can all imagine the perspective of a 3 year old when it comes to sharp, pointy objects being thrust into his mouth with the claim that they "are going to count his teeth!" Well, the mouth slammed shut, the whimpering began, and when "THE TOOLS" had moved far enough away, the crying commenced!
Dr. S heard the crying and came out of his office. I don't know what magic he used, but he had KiKi giggling uncontrollably within seconds. KiKi giggled for a good 20 minutes, much to the relief of mommy and the delight of the staff. Yesterday, when SS needed her braces adjusted, he begged to go visit "HIS doctor." Just mentioning the doctor's name makes him giggle! So what began as a disaster ended with the giggles, a favorite tigger toothbrush, a new love for cleaning his teeth!

Our baby is 3!

We had a fun morning sledding. (Of course, mommy and KiKi went so fast and so far on our first run that we nailed a fence and KiKi had a face FULL of snow. Luckily, he was willing to try again!) Then we had a very fancy lunch - Cinnamon Toast Crunch - Birthday Boy's choice! Lunch was topped off by a visit from Auntie J. (Ki Ki had to take a nap with his new bath toys, so you can just imagine how much sleep he actually had!) We had pizza and ice cream cake for his birthday dinner. We had to sing "Happy Birthday" twice because the first time Neil-Te blew out the candle instead of letting KiKi! Then, Oma and Opa stopped by before he went to bed. Though I am still feeling a few pangs of guilt for not having a big party this year, my 3-year-old went to bed happy and totally unaware that anything was lacking on his birthday!

Romance

Hubby needed to take the older boys shopping for a present for KiKi's birthday, but after the bustle of Sunday morning, Hubby and I were cuddling on the couch - very nice, peaceful...despite two of the boys playing a little loudly on one couch and another boy snuggling up to our feet. Anyway, A started to feel a little impatient and blurted out, "Enough of that romance stuff!" Ah, well...guess our "romantic moment" was shattered by uncontrollable laughter!
A doesn't like the angle of this picture, but I thought it was a good representation of the cockeyed view of romance that a family of 7 with 7 pets (YES, most of them are fish!) has! :-)

The voices in my...tummy?

Neil-Te's voices started when he was about two. He would say, "My tummy says it's hungry." We would all humor him, and eventually that little statement expanded to other statements. "My tummy can't want that shirt." "My tummy isn't sleepy." Fast forward almost three years to a sample conversation about his tummy...

Neil-Te -"The people living inside me are very noisy today. I think that the mommy inside me had a baby. Do you know how my people eat, Mommy?"
Mommy -"No, Neil-Te, how do they eat?"
N- "Every time I drink, they catch it coming down in cups. Sometimes they even use straws. They also eat the same food I do."
M- "So how many people live inside you?"
N- thinking..."Now that the mommy had a new baby, there must be 11."
M- "Doesn't it get very crowded?"
N- "Well, I'm getting bigger every day, and they have very nice houses."

You get the idea of the conversations we have had. SS loves to get him talking about his people. She can barely control the laughter; for that matter, neither can I! Once in a while, I did worry that he really was hearing voices because his conversations were so serious and elaborate.
However, Thursday, I had a terrible shock. When I asked him if his people were full after breakfast, he answered, "They're not real, mommy. That's just pretend." Rather than feeling obvious relief that my son is not a lunatic, I had the horrid realization that he is growing up.

FINALLY!

Happy day! KiKi finally used the potty successfully today! He is proudly proclaiming what a big boy he is, and his brothers are helping him by reading to him while he sits. I am relieved to know that he may actually decide that he doesn't like diapers by the time he gets married! ;-)

Perfect Lips

CoCo came home from his boy's club last night sporting a very swollen lip and an ice pack the size of KiKi's head! His leader brought him home and was impressed at CoCo's stoicism. Of course, as soon as he sat in my lap, the tears welled up! Poor little guy had quite a bit of damage in his mouth. It looks very sore. Well, I quickly got him set up with some ice cream and ibuprofen, and he allowed me to take a couple of pictures. I promised him that I wouldn't post the one with the gigantic lip, but here he is sucking an ice cube and showing off his new spider key chain. For those of you who don't know or may have forgotten CoCo's lip history, he has had his teeth go all the way through his lips three or four times, so we were very thankful that they didn't do so much damage this time. However, he is still perfectly kissable! :-)

Sundays

It seems that every Sunday morning starts the same way - not wanting to get out of our nice warm bed, rushing the kids to eat breakfast, checking to see what the older boys are wearing (50/50 on whether it will match or fit anymore), arguing with Neil-Te about what outfit he will want to wear, struggling to find matching church socks (the sock monster has apparently procreated), rushing through showers, maybe putting some mascara on, checking to make sure that the kids brushed their teeth ("Did you brush your teeth yet?" "Yes, Mommy." "Smile for me." Flash of yellow teeth. "Well, I guess that I didn't really brush them."), deciding which shoes Neil-Te wants to wear ("I know they don't fit, but they're my favorite, and I can run really fast in them."), rushing everyone out the door in hopes that we haven't forgotten anything (usually Mommy's coffee and breakfast). So that is our typical pattern, and it is always a rat race to get out of the house on time. Well, this morning we had the luxury of 6 extra inches of snow which hubby had to snowblow so that I could get out of the driveway. When he went out to start, he noticed that the mini-van had been broken into. Though nothing but change was taken, it was still very annoying! Then we rushed off to church, arriving only ten minutes behind schedule. I was greeted by an always-encouraging woman at our church, whose wonderful husband had already shoveled for me. My sister-in-law brought me a delicious breakfast sandwich and a cup of coffee to eat while on Sunday School nursery duty. I am teaching 3's this month during service, which can bring a smile to anyone's face - they are too cute! Then my cousin, H, took CoCo home for an afternoon playdate. All in all, the chaos disappeared - until next week! :-)

Oh- saw Twilight with H last night. The movies are always a disappointment after the books, but it was still very fun and interesting. Besides, who can complain when the evening is topped of with a trip to Phillip's and awesome company?!

Ramblings

So my dear hubby is out this morning helping some of our friends buy a new-to-them car. This family came to America last February, and the father is hoping to pass a driving test in a couple of weeks. D has been fretting about this purchase all week because the pressure of research and negotiations is all on him. The family's English is steadily improving, but they are unable to do most business-type of transactions yet. So off hubby goes in hopes to find a reliable, silver car (The wife would really like a convertible SAAB, but we were able to talk them out of it! :-)) that they can afford.

I, on the other hand, am enjoying a cup of coffee and savoring a form of web contact that makes sense to me. I signed up for facebook Thursday night because hubby had volleyball, and I wanted to look at H's page. I have quickly discovered that though I really like seeing friends and former students' pictures, I feel overwhelmed by the number of emails and interactions. I don't know how some of my friends manage 200+ friends! I may need to figure ou t how to get my profile off of facebook since it appears that the reclusive side of me is in a mild panic! Facebook feels like a lot of small talk, which is really not my thing. Well, everyone assures me that it is the initial startup that is time consuming, so we'll see! I'm off to the bookstore with the boys. They got gift certificates from their aunt for Christmas. CoCo already know what he is buying, and A will probably take an hour to decide - sometimes he reminds me of his mother! :-)

Spreading Blessings!

Hubby expanded our kitchen into the porch this past summer because we were having a difficult time fitting 7 of us at the table in our existing kitchen. We have really appreciated the extra space and the new-to-us table that D's aunt and uncle gave us with only the request that we donate the money that we would have paid them to S's mother. That was a blessing to us and also to her mother. Her mother was able to use a good portion of the money and also help a family who couldn't afford food that month. S insists that when someone blesses someone, that God will spread the blessings.

The next blessing...We were frustrated by the continued lack of counter/cupboard space. We very briefly made up some estimates for purchasing new or even used cupboards and then decided that it was just not going to happen for a while. Well, last night, a different one of D's uncles brought over a truck full of oak cabinets! He is doing work for a Dr. who is remodeling his kitchen, and the Dr. wants to give the old cabinets away. D's uncle mentioned us, and we will have a complete, new-to-us set of cupboards in just a few weeks! I am not sure how this blessing will spread, but we are very excited and thankful! YEAH!

Hubby came home with a migraine today and was lying down on the couch for a little while. KiKi felt worried about him, so he brought out "hot blankie" to cover daddy with and proceeded to tell stories and sing songs to him. As he left the living room, he said, "Goodnight. I love you. Don't let the bugs eat you!"

Good news - The dentist says he will probably be able to remove S's braces in about 6 weeks! She is very excited.

Real Life

I finished the Twilight series last night and thoroughly enjoyed it. I don't think that I have been able to spend a week just lazing around reading since I was pregnant with A. Luckily, everyone was busy with new Christmas things, and hubby was happy to see me enjoying my Christmas books, so it wasn't until yesterday that I fully realized the impact of my reading time. Saturday night, I had set a couple of piles of folded clothes outside of A and CoCo's door so that they could put them away in the morning. Sunday morning, I awoke to squeals of delight and heard CoCo exclaim, "I have clean underwear!" A replied, "Look how big my pile is! I even have socks!" Hubby awoke to the same commotion and said, "Is it Christmas again?!"

Ahhhh...but it was sooo worth it! (At least that is what I have been telling myself as I look at the laundry piled up to the ceiling!)

Blog Background

So, I did a background by myself thanks to Aqua Poppy. I do wish that I knew how to do the fun stuff to my header picture like H did before, but at least I tried! Now that I've spent all of this time making my blog look pretty, I don't feel like writing anything. I just want to curl up on the couch with Breaking Dawn. Thank you, hubby for my Twilight series Christmas gift!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, All!

I woke up feeling happy and thankful for all the gifts that God has given us this past year. Can't believe that it is 2009 already. I am convinced that I lived in a haze of pregnancy, nursing, and childcare up until 2008. I think that I have been slowly noticing the world around me again during the past year as the kids become progressively more independent. Not that I want to rush that AT ALL, but I am enjoying embracing some of my former spontaneity that was necessarily pushed aside when the kids needed more rigid routines. So... excuse my ramble, but I am looking forward to 2009. Dear Hubby made a comment to someone yesterday about how this is the first year in a long time when we are not planning on any more family additions, so I do have some obvious concern that he would vocalize that thought! Tempting fate?!?! ;-)

So about the red-eye - still can't open my easy share for more than 1 minute before it crashes - grrrr. I called yesterday and apparently I uploaded the new version without checking my computer capabilities, and now I can't get my old software back either! Maybe next time I should read the requirements first.