Why Buy?

I am struggling with what to get the boys for Christmas this year.

They don't need toys.

They don't need clothes.

They don't need books.

Deacon is a little easier. He wants stuff like ice skates, roller blades, a skateboard and a hockey stick. He would use those things. He would like those things.

But the little ones?

They want L. Mcqueen figures. And Batman caves.

And stuff that they just don't need.

I've thought about stuff for Roman's imaginary play.

Like a penguin suit.

But he is so cute in his footies, gloves and hat, combined with his true sense of bird royalty.

Or I could get them guitars to rock on.

But they seem perfectly content to use their swords as guitars, so why bother?

They use my pot lids as shields.

The piece of wood for the sliding glass door as a club.

My old studded belt and drape hooks as pirate bling.

They have bunkbeds for a pirate ship.

They have a folding chair and a Brazilian rug as a throne.

Under my bed is the new campground.

And they are happy.

So why rock the boat?

(what are you getting your kids for Christmas? Any great ideas that I could borrow?)

Thankful Thursday

Good Morning! Today I thought I would join Kim over at "I want a Minivan" and try to remember (and highlight) things I am thankful for this week.

We are blessed beyond measure, and I need to remember it!

*For parents and In laws who love our children and will take care of them for us. Often.

*For a house to live in.

*For a getting-handier-by-the-minute husband who loves me enough to spend his spare time hanging with me and the kids and doing projects that are more important to me than to him

*For our 10-year engagement anniversary today!

*For an excellent health plan over the past few years with almost nothing paid out of pocket. Trying to remember that as I look over the coverage for this year!

*For a job that I really do enjoy and the flexibility of getting to pick my own hours.

*For healthy kids, including this new little growing baby.

*For an intact extended family free of feuds and drama (working in the hospital I have learned that this is an incredible gift)

*For little boys who love to be read to.

*For brown hair and brown eyes.

What are you thankful for this week?

Yep, He's My Son!

I am the one in the family with big dreams.
Big goals.
Big plans.

Well, I was the one anyway.

A couple nights ago I decided to clue Noah in about my well thought out plans for an addition on our house.

You see, he built that deck with his own 2 hands.

And he laid the flooring on the main floor.

And he tiled that bathroom and that countertop.

And he says he is not leaving. Ever.

Well, unless he can take the deck with him.

So, since I kind of like him, I will stay too.

Me and our soon to be 4 kids.

So I made an awesome addition plan for our lot, and a loosely constructed plan for the lot next store- just in case we ever purchase it.

And I was telling him about it.

Deacon caught the excitement and soon took control of the pen and paper.

He added a tennis court.

And a basketball court.

A wiffle ball field.

And a hockey rink.

"Everyone will want to come to our house" he exclaimed.

He added a pole vault.

He added a ski jump.

"And then we can start our own olympics!"

He is still talking about the Olympics he wants to start.

And when I was putting clothes away I found the piece of paper, tucked into the bottom of his pajama drawer.

Maybe someday?

Controversial Monday: The Mailbox

I worked a lot last week.

And I didn't really blog.

So I'd like to say thanks to Noah who picked up the slack, instead of complaining about me not posting.

I had a more serious topic for today, but I can't find the piece of paper that I wrote it on. Fortunantly one just fell into my lap (an idea, that is. Not a piece of paper).

We were out in my friend's cul-de-sac and the kids were riding bikes. A woman drove up the street and pulled over so she could get her mail before pulling into her driveway.

I think that is the ultimate in laziness.

My friend confessed that she does it sometimes.

I mentioned that Noah used to occasionally try.

But that if I am in the car I throw a fit.

And now he no longer makes any attempt to pull that lazy manuver.

And I make sure I get the mail (by walking down the driveway) before he gets home.

Now, I can see doing this if you have health problems, or if your mailbox is some distance away- but here in suburbia?! Really?!

So what do you all think?

And maybe more importantly, what do you all do?

Who dun it?

This morning I pulled the cutting board out, and it was covered in solidified red jelly. Fairly or not, I muttered an exasperated "Ju-lee...."

Deacon piped up. "Dad, it was probably me. I make a mess sometimes when I make my own toast."

Me: "Okay, but when you do, you need to clean it up. Come over here and take a look at this." I started scrubbing.

D: "Oh, that wasn't me. I make messes with peanut butter, not with jelly."

R: "It wasn't me. That looks like it probably happened back when I was a baby. I couldn't have done it."

R: "It was probably Lincoln."

D: "Yeah, probably Lincoln."

-N

Three kinds of people

My coworkers and I, had a conversation that was too long and geeky to relate in its entirety. But we came to a conclusion. There are three kinds of people in the world.

When encountering a knob, the first type will not touch the knob. They're perhaps scared or lack confidence, or maybe just not interested.

The second type will examine the situation and possbily turn the knob if they can figure out what's going on, or at least be reasonably sure what happens if they do.

The third....and here Julie broke in..."is Roman!...and I said, "Yes! The third type doesn't pause or ponder, they just spin the knob!"

For the record, I'm type 2. I'm an engineer. I try to figure out how to fix things, but I also try not to break them.

Julie is a type 2/type 3. Deacon is a type 1/type 2. Link might be a pure type 3 like Roman, I'm not sure.

What are you?

The Princess and The Pea (Alternate title: "The Husband and The Washcloth")

I have been reading the boys a lot of fairy tales lately. We talk about them and discuss if they could really happen etc. Sorry, I am a literalist.

Anyway, the other day we read "The Princess and The Pea".

It made me grumpy.

You see, I had never really thought about it carefully before, but as I read it to the boys I thought, "what a load of garbage!"

The Prince wants to marry a true princess.

What is the requirement for the princess?

Apparently some of them are: A. They complain and whine to their hostess about how poorly they slept and B. They toss and turn all night and don't even try to figure out the problem.

And that is what the Prince and Queen wanted? Well, let them have her! She sounds too needy to me.

-------

Fast forward to Monday morning.

I got home from work in the am. Everyone was already gone, the house was quiet.

After getting ready for bed, I climbed in on Noah's side.

Funny, I know.

I have my own side.

But when I sleep alone during the day I usually sleep on his side.

It used to be my side, but we had switched.

Maybe I still subconsciously (or consciously) like it better.

I felt something at my back. It was uncomfortable and lumpy.

Was it a pea? (just kidding)

I deduced that it was some kind of clothing stuck between the mattress pad and the fitted sheet. I couldn't sleep. I tried, but I tossed and turned. Too uncomfortable. I put my hand onder the fitted sheet and pulled out a washcloth. It must have clung to the sheet after being in the dryer. It had probably been four days since I had washed them. (I wash the sheets once a week. Is that normal?!)

Anyway, finally the problem was resolved and I fell asleep.

I woke up with a question in my mind.

Why hadn't Noah taken care of the lump?

Had he not noticed the washcloth?

I couldn't believe that to be true. Noah is much more sensitive to such things than I am, and the fact that it bothered me made it hard to believe that he wouldn't have noticed.

Or was I a true princess?

The question bothered me.

Over dinner I mentioned it. He acknowledged that he had noticed the lump and it had been driving him crazy all weekend. I said, "how did you even sleep? I had to remove it. I didn't even climb out of bed, just pulled it out."

He gave me a sheepish grin.

"I just scooted down in the bed until the lump was even with my head and then it didn't bother me."

I think my response was something like, "are you kidding me?"

His was, "This is going to make for a blog post, isn't it."

So here is the question, which one of us is true royalty?