Some Days are Like This....

Some weekends are made for big plans, running around everywhere, and making fabulous memories. Not this one.
This one was for lounging around, dressing up in crazy outfits,

playing imagining games, roughhousing with Upa, computer games,

and best of all.....

early morning slumber parties in bed all together.

We needed this.

Bring it on world. I think we're ready now.

Thank You Presidents~

3 whole days of family time! Sunday we headed out to the park after church to hang out with the U's and Nana. The boys were pretty squirelly, but we had a blast. Ethan told me that his big goal for the weekend was to do an art project and to paint. And so we did. I grabbed a big piece of cardboard, paints, and q-tips...

We realized once we started painting that it looked like pieces of a house, so Ethan offered to make the floor. (the piece on the left). I loved his technique of painting and then smearing it around with a paper towel. It looked really cool.

At the end we taped it all together. Note all the names Ethan painted on the house - he did "mom" without any prompting first and then decided he wanted to figure out all the rest.

We had a great time catching up and then it was off to the video game store to pick up Wii Zumba for me. (Which is really cool). Ethan really wanted a game, but knew I wasn't wanting to get him one, so here's his persuasion techniques...

"We should look and see if they have the right stuff for a learning game. I really want a learning game."

He knows the way to my heart. Then we told him where we'd be going on Monday:

"Ethan, tomorrow we're going somewhere very cold."

"Ooh, we're going to Winter! We'll need a warm hat and a winter coat. It'll be freezing and there'll be penguins there!"

No penguins, but our friends were there! It took us forever to get there. I'd bought the boys winter coats on clearance the night before and we promptly left them on the couch. I figured we'd be able to find some on clearance somewhere else - it was pretty much a disaster looking. We took wrong exits, ended up in the boonies, and tried to laugh at it all. We finally got there and it was great!

Lucas was a little freaked out at first, but was won over at first run with Daddy!

Ethan and Nadia loved going together - crazy! My heart was in my stomache, but they did great!

Ethan also got to go by himself. He went pretty slow, since he was so light, but had fun doing it.

Both boys loved being towed up the hill. So cute.

By the end, Lucas was DONE. He was just in tears and shaking. I felt bad for him, but what he needed most was sleep. Once he got it, the world was all right again.

Such a fun trip!!! Ethan keeps talking about how cool it was to go "sledding!" We got home and the boys were in such a great mood that we got help cleaning the house! Ethan tagged along with me in each room and helped.

We don't really work on much school-type skills at home. There's just not a lot of time during the week. We read books and play games every now and then, but he works on all that stuff at school, so I worry more about getting exercise and just snuggling. So every now and then Ethan'll blow our minds with some new skill. In the car, Brian was asking him simple addition and subtraction problems (up to 10) and he could do it! Then Brian got creative and asked him questions like "If you have 4 and want to make it 7, how many more do you need?" He could do it (about 75% of the time.) He wasn't even using his fingers. Trippy! He told me (after prompting from Brian) that he was doing "albraga". Upa will be proud.

And now we're at meltdown stage. I better go help with bedtime. EERgh... All fun days end in a mess...

Some Downtime?

"Ouch guys, my stomach hurts!"

"Here mom, I know what to do." He proceeds to do chest compressions on my stomache.

"This is what you do when you're hurt or dead."

It actually did work, I'm just sayin'.

Lucas' phrase of the week - "Weally bad."

As in "I wuv you weally bad."

"I need it weally bad."

"Go potty weally bad!"

(Which he refuses to do....)

But the phrase is so cute....

It was a crazy week, but there were some really great moments as the boys got better and better. Friday night we ended up with the U's at Round Table. They had picked up the boys and taken them to Nana's for a bit (making them very happy) and then met me at the pizza joint. Lucas was downright obnoxious, but he's so darn cute that people just eat it up (luckily).
Today we had gymnastics and it was so great to see how far Ethan's come in just a few weeks. His strength has really increased. I do believe I was beaming a bit. He was even jumping on the beam - very cool!
Naptime was a struggle. Lucas figured out that we really can't do much to force him to take a nap. He kept getting out of bed and playing. I caught him with the blocks all dumped out, in the hallway, and apparently he was even in Ethan's room for a bit. We kept trying, but there was only so much we could do. Eventually he did fall asleep though - thankfully!
Tonight we invited our friends, Alex and Kenzie (and their mama) over to visit. Ethan was totally wrapped up in a Dora movie, but Lucas and Alex decided to do a little tumbling. They were hilarious.

The tumbling soon turned to jumping - "One, Two, Three, Four..." They'd often get to seven before they jumped... landing in a giggling heap on the floor.

Later on the boys put on a show. Kenzie was impressed, Alex not so much.

My ears are still ringing....

They were all pretty darn funny. And now they are all tucked into their respective beds and this mommy is ready to relax. Actually, this day has been pretty relaxing overall. Which just means I have a lot to do over the next two, but that's alright. We'll survive - we always do.

Feeling Better

"Tickle me gain daddy!!!"

The boys are on their way to recovery. Brian's exhausted after his day off with them. I'm grading papers like mad trying to get caught up. Ethan's being an obedient sick kid and glued to the TV. Lucas is HYPER. The noise level is intense. But when is Lucas not intense?

The Plague

I so wanted today to be a better night than last night. Last night we came home to no power. A fairly miserable evening, since all I really wanted to do was watch some tv. I'd been looking forward to bedtime all day! But, no power, so the boys went to bed and out came books. We were both asleep by 8:30, which meant we woke up at 1:00 am when the power came back on and stayed awake for quite awhile - me anyway.
Today was a rough start, I figured since Lucas had fallen out of bed and Ethan hadn't slept super well. I dropped them off with apologies and fake smiles. I should have known. I picked the boys up after school and it was obvious Lucas had pinkeye. Also, Ethan's teachers were "concerned" as he'd been so emotional. I tried to ask him if he felt okay and he started crying that he didn't want shots!!! So I knew he must be hurting. Sure enough - another ear infection. Stinkin' fallen out tubes!!!! And Lucas has pinkeye and the start of an ear infection again, but the doctor is "sure" it will go away on it's own. The boys are pretty obnoxious when they're miserable, so I won't even go into the trip to the pharmacy. We finally made it home and are now just waiting for bedtime. Meds have been dispersed and dinner has been eaten. The boys are staying home with Brian tomorrow, so hopefully they'll sleep in a bit.
And now I'll go serve my time in the whining chair. Because tonight just feels like a whining night. Nothing a good night's sleep and a lot of antibiotics can't conquer though!

The Weekend

We had a school fundraiser at a local restaurant on Friday night. The entertainment called in sick, so Ethan played the guitar - on his shirt. It was cute, but not as impressive as this girl who learned to hula from Lilo and Stitch and hula'ed for a good hour.

Lucas enjoyed the pool table - though the only ball they could use was the cue ball (I think it's called that?).

They both really enjoyed being around other kids. Ethan even got to play with a boy that might just be in his class next year. Yep, it's time to enroll him for kindergarten for next year. My baby! How can that be? Except, I can so see that it's time and he is going to so love school. I can't wait to see him in action. Not that I'll be spying on him or anything. That would not be appropriate... Definitely not. hmmmm.
Saturday was one crazy day! Zumba, then it was Ethan and Brian off to gymnastics and Lucas and I off to one of my student's basketball games. We all had a great time at our respective events and then it was off to Uma and Upa's. They took the boys and Brian and I were off to an exciting night in Seattle!!! We ate at a delicious and very cool restaurant - The Alibi Room, went on the nightime underground tour, stayed at an elegant hotel right by Westlake Mall, and then walked around Pike's Place this morning. We had a great time, ate way too much great food, and laughed a lot. A perfect way to celebrate! We were engaged 9 years ago today!

We were excited to see the boys when we got back. They were great for my parents and were super excited to see the new coats we bought them on clearance at Old Navy.
The afternoon and evening were spent playing games and filling out Valentines. Ethan filled out all of his (except for one because that kid had a hugely long name...). He was soooo proud of his work. I wish I could be a fly on the wall and see him pass them out tomorrow! He told me which girl was his favorite and that he'd ask her to be his Valentine tomorrow. So cute! He even blushed.

Ethan also got to wear his daddy's game t-shirt. Proud?

This week will be insane, I'm sure. I am not ready for it, nor will I be before tomorrow. You see, once one is totally relaxed it is really hard to come back to reality. Really hard. But worth it. The papers can wait.... As can the cleaning. I need to rest up for Valentine's Day- which is always an insane day at school!

Just Keeps Coming....

To song...

"If I remember you... But I can't remember you..."

I think it's about all his girlfriends' names... He can't seem to keep them straight.

"MOMMY! Eetan HURT me!"

"No I didn't."

"Just peetend Eetan, k?"

................

"Mom, I don't feel good."

"What's wrong? What hurts?"

"It's my heart. It is hurting."

"Why is your heart hurting?"

"It's just so full of blood. It needs to pop. Really bad."

.... dinner....

"I was just waiting for ketchup. Now my heart is popping. It doesn't hurt anymore."

I put them to bed early. Really early. They just seemed exhausted and whiny. But cute, I'll give them that! I still feel cruddy. But, I had a great day with my kids and the boys were actually pretty good tonight, just grumpy. I'm off to sit under my heated blanket and watch silly TV. That's what tonight demands!