Jake's Birthday - Phase 1 of 4

Smudge was Phase 1. Despite what you have read here, this was not solely my doing. The only thing that I am guilty of is of having had ferrets before, and having liked them. Jake wanted a pet, and to be fair, it was Marisa that decided we would go to the kids fair, where, with Pete as my witness, Zamzows had a booth set up that had several ferrets in it.

Now, Jake wanted a pet for his b-day and I tried to be as up front as I could about how ferrets behave. They are very much like kittens, they wrestle, play, stalk and attack for fun. They know that they are playing so they don't bite hard, but they do bite. I told Jake this up front. Well you know how it turned out, now we have two nondescript goldfish. For the record, I do want it stated that Smudge was a great little ferret, and if I had the time, he would still be here. His only crime was being a ferret.

This was Phase 1 of Jake's b day and his present from Mom and Dad. Therefore, there were no other gifts from us going forward (trust me there was no shortage).

Smudge Bites The Dust

No, he didn't die. But he has returned to the lovely oasis of Zamzow's- the neighborhood pet store.
Smudge was under a 14 day money-back guarantee which I was quite happy to take advantage of last weekend. They took EVERYTHING back- cage, leash (Yes, you can take them for walks), food dish, etc.... We are now the proud owners of two much more realistic and hassle free GOLDFISH named Coconut and Carrot (Tanner named them). Smudge was cute, but he nipped. He was just a kit so he hadn't been litter box trained. Brian soon realized he didn't have the time to deal with him and while he liked the IDEA of owning a ferret, the reality was something a bit different- not quite the same as owning them when you are single with no children. Anyway... Jake wasn't too sad to see him go since he was a bit frightened of him and I think it was actually a bit of a relief. Tanner, on the other hand, is still asking us, "Smudge? Home? Why???"

First Trip Around the Sun

We celebrated a day late due to a bad flu bug in our household but Faith didn't seem to mind.
Grandma Mary and Jake baked her cake and decorated it as I was in bed recovering from above mentioned flu epidemic.

After sleeping most of the week away, Faith and I both rallied for the party . Forget using hands, she just dove her face right in the cake. She loved it! Her favorite present was a pink "Little People" school bus which she defends just short of her life when Tanner tries to take it. She also got a baby doll and stroller which Tanner immediately usurped. He spent most of the weekend putting the baby to bed, feeding her, and rolling her around the kitchen in her stroller. So far it is OK with Faith, but God help Tanner if she decides she wants it back: She can screech and grab with the best of 'em. Her spring wardrobe is now complete with adorable dresses from both grandmas, Auntie Sue, and her mommy, of course. Even Dad got into the fun, buying her a summer "blouse" and sparkly jeans. As you can see, Tanner took her Easter hat for himself. That's OK.... we couldn't get her to keep it on anyway.

Another first has come and gone. Faith continues to charm us everyday with her good nature, easy smile, and adorable giggles. She is learning to talk and so far we can deduce: "All done!", "Thank you!", "Dada", and "Nana" (for banana). She only has half a tooth- I don't know if this one EVER intends on coming in all the way- and no others are even on the horizon. She's gotten really good at gumming her food. She still pushes her truck around but has not gotten any closer to walking on her own yet. That's just fine with me- she's growing up too fast as it is!

Dear Faith,

Somewhere along the years of growing up you are going to hear that you were "a surprise" or you were "not planned" or you were "an oops". (Probably by one of your brothers- or maybe your Grandpa!). I want you to know, today of all days, that even though you may not have been on our radar screen, that even though you were unexpected , you are the greatest gift I have ever gotten. You are a true blessing in my life and in our family.

I don't know a better way to say it than by putting the lyrics here of the song that was playing the first time I ever held you in the hospital. It's called, "Find Yourself" and it's by Mommy's favorite country singer, Brad Paisley.


"Well you go through life
so sure of where you're heading
And you wind up lost
and its the best thing that could have happened
Cause sometimes when you lose your way, its really just as well
because you find yourself,
yeah that's when you find yourself.

When you meet the one, that you've been waiting for
and she's everything, that you want and more
You look at her and you finally start to live for someone else
And then you find yourself,
yeah that's when you find yourself

-Brad Paisley


Happy Birthday, Baby Girl!

Smudge Joins The Fun

First the tattoo.... now this. What is happening to my good sense?

Smudge, a 3 month old ferret, joined our family this weekend.

No, I am not joking.

We have been promising Jake for months that he could get a pet for his fifth birthday. I kept pushing him toward fish ("Honey, aren't they cute how they pucker their lips like that?"), but he was fairly insistent on a mammal of some sort- guinea pig, hamster, rat, etc... I don't enjoy any of these animals, and out of desperation began pushing reptiles- "How about a frog, Buddy? Frogs are SO cool. No? Ok, how about a turtle? Look how sweet he is with his head tucked up in his shell!"

I even tried to encourage a hermit crab- I found one with a shell painted like a football, sure that this would do the trick.

No. He kept coming back to a mammal, and a ferret in particular. Not without some prompting from his father, of course. Brian owned ferrets before he met me (You all knew he was weird already, so don't act so surprised!) and since our first trip to Tahoe as a newly dating couple he has been trying to get me to fall in love with the furry little creatures myself. It became a running joke- Mom even got him a book on ferret care for Christmas. I insisted (and I quote...) "WE WILL GET A FERRET OVER MY DEAD BODY!"

Well, clearly I am not dead.
Must mean I caved.
Out of the choices of mammals available, I decided a ferret was at least a little more interactive than most and not as yucky to me as the other limited options.

There were, however, some stipulations:

1. All care, including but not limited to: litter box cleaning, bathing, playing with, and feeding of Smudge is Jake and Brian's job.

2. Smudge lives in his cage with supervised playtime each day after school in the boys bedroom with one of the boys or Brian present.

3. Smudge does not get free run of the house*

*except during the day when Brian works from home at which time it is OK if Smudge runs loose around the office with the doors shut.

In any case, Smudge is Jake's pet. And he loves him to death. Having him for one day already has some great benefits: Jake and Tanner have been up in their room playing with him non-stop. Up to this point getting either one to actually PLAY in their PLAYROOM was close to impossible, both of them preferring to play any multitude of sports in our living room.

Tanner loves him, too. Faith, much like her mother, is undecided.

As you can see, Milo is not so sure about our new house guest, either. While I am sure they will be buddies eventually, right now they are in kind of a stand-off.

Stay tuned for details as they arise. I could end up loving the little guy. I am trying to get to know him and give him a chance. On the other hand,
it is possible that a rant on "ferret ownership" is in this blog's future.

Some Dad Updates

Well, I don't know what happened to winter, but it certainly has wimped out in the last few weeks. We got a whole night and day of snow right before Pete came and it was pretty much all gone by the next day. We're pretty much outdoor creatures so Grandpa Pete was treated to tennis in the cold February air and an excruciatingly cold and windy fishing trip while he was here, both of which he handled with great aplomb.

We had an excellent visit which Marisa detailed in her post. Now that I am sufficiently recovered from my posting frenzy while she was gone, there are a couple of details that I want to memorialize as well. Speaking of trips, I am out on business trips twice in March....I better not get any grief for being gone.....

This is a picture that we took of the boys in the park a week or so ago that I just love. Their relationship is starting to develop it's own nuances that are really interesting to watch. Tanner wants to do everything that Jake does and is a willing participant in anything Jake wants to do. This includes; going upstairs to get clothes, putting toys away or going to the bathroom. Jake yells," Tanner, do you want to do XYZ?" to which Tanner excitedly yells, "Yeah!". The only difference is movies. The boys alternate days picking the morning and evening movies. Tanner loves it when it is his day (and he can watch any permutation of Shrek that he wants), and makes sure that he rubs it in his brother's (who can't stand Shrek at this point) face all day long. First thing in the morning, from bed, "Dada, my pick, movie?". "Yes, Tanner your pick movie." "Jake, MY pick movie". This conversation is repeated down the stairs, to the couch and until the movie starts. We then start fresh while I am unloading them from the car after school.

They also have begun being boys more by; fighting, wrestling and farting. Jake gets very frustrated with Tanner sometimes, and as boys (and older brothers) are wont to do, sometimes pushes or hits Tanner. He gets time out for this. Tanner retaliates by hitting or pushing Jake, trying to get him in trouble. Tanner is a great love, but he can also be a little sh*# sometimes when he wants to be. He LOVES to antagonize.....Both he and Jake love a good fart or burp and laugh and laugh....so glad we have 18 more years of that to look forward to.

Faithy is a beautiful little girl. She is getting so big, but is starting to have to hold her own against her brothers. She sometimes has the audacity to sit on the floor in the middle of a catch or kickball game, or in front of the pitch back screen. Her bothers, who love her so much the rest of the time, don't seem the slightest bit concerned for her safety as the balls go whizzing by her little head, or she get's knocked over during a touchdown run. Things here are getting a little rough...Faithy needs to learn to walk just to survive.

We are really looking forward to visitors over the next few months and Grandma Cori moving to Idaho (she bought a house, literally, right down the street) as well as birthdays for Faith and Jake. Also, Jake just got his own email address, so if you get an email from him, it is really from him and he's tickled to death whenever anyone replies.

It's getting onto springtime. I just bought my fishing license for the year and am looking forward to the sun. Hope to see most of you soon.

Papa Visits

Papa's arrival was met with a variety of responses: Jake was very excited and ran into his arms asking if he could play; Tanner was shy and refused to look at him for the first few minutes, but then quickly warmed up to being Papa's best buddy; and Faith screamed bloody murder upon seeing him, then continued to cry each time she was left alone with him.

It was a GREAT visit. Tanner charmed Papa to no end with his knock knock jokes, baseball and "Perfection"skills, dedication to his sister, and his impish character; while Jake entertained him with game after game of tennis,baseball, basketball, football, etc... Faith watched him warily the entire time with the funniest look on her face, clearly not too sure about who he was or why he was there, despite his many attempts to "make nice". Apparently she is entering the 'stranger anxiety' stage- sorry Dad! That should make the impending arrival of both grandma's, Auntie Sue, and the Evans' clan next month really interesting!

Dad was so patient with the chaos and so good to the kids. He was a great play buddy for the boys and both were sad to see him go. Tanner keeps asking, "Where's Papa?" and when you tell him that he had to leave he looks down sadly and says, "Ohhhhhh!" (I wish I could put inflection into an email because it is classic.).


Some Updates:

Faith still has no teeth. One has been trying to pop up for months but to no avail. She is still walking while holding onto a truck, but has no interest in trying on her own. She turns one in 9 days and I can't believe how the time has flown. And I certainly can't imagine our family without her.

Tanner's knock-knock joke repetoire is expanding daily. He is quite the little comedian. He has a newfound interest in music. His favorite song is one about infidelity by Martina McBride. He asks me to play it constantly and then sings along happily. Most kids choose "I've Been Working on the Railroad" or "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star". Not my boy- he croons about "lipstick on his collar and the smell of cheap perfume". Again... not sure I should be proud of this fact, but I am.

Jake is reading! It has been so interesting to watch. He just took off earlier this month and is reading lots of little phonics books to himself and some British readers that Grandma Joan gave him last year. When the boys woke up early on Sunday Brian and I heard Jake find a book called Superdad and read it aloud to Tanner. Naturally he is quite proud and asks me to type all the books he can read and send them to various grandparents and family members. He starts T-ball next month. Currently we have a pitch back net in our living room- which he purchased with b'day money
from Papa. I guess we figured we already let the kids play football, baseball, hockey, kickball, soccer, and volleyball in the living room- why not practice pitching? Although I am looking forward to spring so I can get access to my couch back!

Everyone is doing well. Brian and I are looking forward to all the visitors we have planned in the upcoming months and enjoying planning our big Roadie to Minnesota this summer. Hardly seems possible the school year is already down to 3 months left!

The Joy of Boys

Granted, they are not nearly as much fun to buy clothes for, but the games are so much more enjoyable than Barbie and Princess! Although Football is still the latest obsession for Tanner and Jake, with practice sessions in the living room with dad becoming a nightly event, sword fighting has recently been added to the mix. They play "Pirates" and point their swords at each other, muttering, "En Guarde!" Sometimes Brian needs to intervene and help Tanner fend off his older brother, and recently Faith has even gotten into the fray.

Kid Catch Up

Faith has started to walk-holding onto and pushing the wooden truck that grandma gave to Jake when he was her age. She is VERY proud of herself. She also will walk holding onto one finger. For awhile we thought she may walk before her first birthday, but that date is creeping up on us pretty quickly. Still no teeth (and very little hair), but at least she is not as annoyed about it as she was earlier in the week.

Tanner has taken to telling knock-knock jokes. As you can imagine, they are hysterical (to him, that is).

Example:
"Knock-knock"
"Who's there?"
"Nana"
"Nana who?"
"Nana HOME!!!" HA HA HA HA!!!!

This is oft repeated with the word Nana being replaced with "orange". We don't know why.

Jake has his first crush. He came home and announced it to me the other day. Apparently little Chloe in his class is quite the heart throb. When I asked him what a "crush" meant, he told me that is means that you want to marry someone. He made me swear not to tell anyone at school. When I went to watch his dance class on Friday I watched him scramble to get Chloe for his partner for the "ballroom dance" section of the instruction. He turned bright red and, I have to admit, it did break my heart just a little bit to see how Chloe was obviously interested in little Caden, not Jake.Jake ended up with Zoe instead- and blushed again when he had to hold her hand. Too funny.

We've had a little bit of spring weather the last few weeks (meaning temperatures above 40!) and we have taken advantage of it. Last weekend we went to the zoo. Tanner's favorite was definitely the monkeys, despite Jake warning him repeatedly that they would throw their poop at him if he bothered them. They all liked the penguins, and Jake loved the giraffe slide. This weekend Brian pulled down all the bikes and pumped up the tires, attached the trailers, etc... and we went for a neighborhood ride wearing ski caps and mittens. I'm sure people thought we were crazy.

Strep Throat, Vomit, and Coughs... Oh my!

If it's not one, it's the other. I am lucky I haven't been fired yet.

Jake was home with strep throat yesterday. Today he is fine, but on our way into school I got a call from daycare (literally five minutes after I dropped TJ and Faith off) that Tanner had thrown up all over the breakfast table and could I please come pick him up immediately. I swear I thought I was on candid camera. I'm not sure that I have spent a full week teaching since before Christmas break. My partners should be ready to kill me, but the (very real) tears they saw me shed this morning as I broke the news that, no, I would not be back today, but instead would be staying home with another sick child, made them very sympathetic instead of homicidal.

Is it pathetic that the only thing I am really looking forward to is that there is a new "Lost" on tonight??? Actually, I can answer that myself.

By the way, lest I seem nonchalant about my children's various illnesses, let me assure you that Tanner is JUST FINE, happy as a clam, and watching Shrek 2 as I type this. I am just waiting for the phone to ring to tell me that Faith spontaneously combusted or something. Send chocolate. Please.

Post Script: I finished typing this exactly two minutes ago. The phone just rang. You guessed it.
At least there were no flames involved.

Oh, yeah.... HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Plumber Butt

Tanner has thinned out considerably from his "football" days last year. Now he struggles to keep his pants up- even the 18 month size.

He is fascinated with the potty- especially the urinal at his daycare and asks to wear "undies" so he can "pee in the urnal". If only he would actually do it. Instead he just sits on it, or stands in front of it, and flushes the toilet repeatedly.


Our champion sleeper is no longer. Tanner has taken to waking up EVERY NIGHT sometime between 11 and 1 and screaming bloody murder until Brian or I goes in to either sleep with him or bring him in our room. This started when he was sick, so we allowed it without comment. But now, 10 days into a healthy boy and he is still doing it. Plus, because he shares a room with Jake, this wakes Jake up, at which point we generally have two overtired and crying/whining little men to deal with (not including Brian). Let's suffice it to say that Brian and I haven't slept in the same bed for an entire night for close to two weeks. I have become very familiar with all the OTHER beds in the house, however. As frustrating as it is, I have to say that with them growing up so quickly I try to take advantage of the time when they will still cuddle and sleep with Mom and enjoy it. Still, it is getting old fast, and another bout of "crying it out" is going to be in store for Tanner soon!

Faith's Teething Experience Thus Far

Enough said.

Snowy Days and Superbowl Saga

Here's the view out of our front door on Superbowl Sunday. It's been so much fun lately. The average snowfall for January over the last 30 years in is 4.2 inches. This January we had 11.5! This has some definite advantages:
I have learned how to drive in the snow with relative ease; have mastered the art of bundling up for recess treks outside (Key #1: You just can't care how you look); and we had a snowday last Wednesday (No SCHOOL!). Jake loves it- especially "ice skating" on the icy sidewalks. Tanner, on the other hand, always likes the IDEA of the snow, wanting to be bundled up, but once he steps outside and (god forbid) actually feels the stuff on his hands he cries and wants inside again.


Here's a picture of Jake taking a snowmobile ride with our neighbor Greg around the block- another clear indication of the amount of snow we have here this year. Greg likes his toys and it was either this, a boat, or a motorcycle. I personally was rooting for the boat, hoping to get a few lake trips in with their family this summer, but the gigantic snowmobile won out.

The Superbowl build up around our house was BIG. Jake watched most of the playoffs and was really excited to see "his" team make it to the big day. He has been practicing routes (or as Jake calls them.... "fades") in our living room for weeks with Brian and Tanner. We were all hoping to see New England go 19-0. We greeted the event with a multitude of fattening snacks, a sign made by Brian and Jake, and high hopes. We also greeted the event with NO NAP- not for Jake and not for Tanner. Tanner fell apart at around kickoff, so I spent most of the game chasing after him as he: hit his sister, drew with sharpie on my desk, dumped cups full of water out of the bathtub onto the floor, and generally was just a gigantic pain in the butt. Faith practiced walking- holding onto her push truck- and rolled around the floor charming both her dad and me with her full face grin and giggles.


Jake held out until the 3rd quarter then actually told us he was ready to go to bed, but made sure we set up the DVR to record the rest of the game. After putting the boys to bed, Brian and I settled in to watch the recording of the fourth quarter and that's when it got interesting. With 25 seconds left to go, the recording stopped. Apparently the DVR thought the game was over so it just stopped. We were left wondering who won, knowing that it was probably NY but hoping against hope that it was the Patriots. (No, it's not that we are that big of NE fans, but neither one of us wanted to break the news to Jake in the AM that his team had lost.). So, after uttering some choice curse words Brian went to check the final score and get details of the final 25 seconds online.

To his credit, Jake handled the loss well. When Brian told him he said, "DOH!" (Very similar in inflection to Homer Simpson) and let it go. He was just excited to watch the end of the game.
We warned him that we hadn't gotten the last 25 seconds, but he was relatively OK with that news, too. But when we went to play the recording for him before breakfast it turned out that Brian, in his annoyance/anger/frustration over missing the last 25 seconds- had accidentally ERASED the entire 4th quarter. So, not only did Jake's team lose, he didn't even get to see the end of the game. There were a few quiet tears, but he managed to buck up, put on his Patriots jersey anyway, and head to school with me to face the music from his peers and teachers (most of whom were rooting for the Giants).

Better luck next year.

And What Was Mom Doing?

In addition to attending a great reading conference I: finished two books, watched two entire movies, slept through the night, and ate meals without reminding someone to please finish their peas/asking someone to move their milk farther away from the edge of the table/cajole someone into eating what was served/or shovel food in my mouth before someone fell apart and needed to be put into jammies/put into bed/put into timeout. Did I feel guilty about these pleasures? Yeah, a bit. But I reminded myself how infrequently I get the above luxuries. While I missed my husband and all of the kids like crazy (no... really... I did... I swear!), Brian's blog kept me feeling in the action, made me laugh, and made me appreciate my freedom even more- while also reminding me that I was going home to a pretty amazing guy and three wonderful kids.

I was greeted at the airport last night with three children, each with a rose for me. Am I spoiled or what? After hugs and kisses all around my poor, harried husband let me know in no uncertain terms that I better not die because if I do he will either have to marry again within days, have his mom move in with him, or send at least one of the children to boarding school. He made it look easy, though. All the laundry was done and the house was CLEAN. I am pretty sure he missed his calling as Mr. Mom.

I guess things were interesting right up until the moment I walked off the plane as, of course, Jake had to go to the bathroom upon arriving at the airport so Brian was pushing Faith (screaming) in her stroller while trying to keep Tanner from rolling around on the men's room floor and repeatedly asking Jake to hurry up with the pooping already. Three separate men commented: "Looks like you have your hands full there!". Yeah... you think???

In any case, everyone survived the weekend no worse for wear. Brian definitely earned some big time brownie points. I think the best thing to come out of it was me understanding how hard it is to go away and Brian understanding why it's so hard for me when HE goes away! That.... or maybe the fact that I got to drink my morning coffee and read my morning paper in peace for three mornings in a row.

...tuppence a bag..tuppence, tuppence, tuppence a bag...

For whatever reason, Jake decided that it was very important that the birds be fed today of all days. It is about 38 degrees, windy and rainy here....but I wasn't going outside, so whatever. The boys tore up a big bowl of bread crumbs and proceeded to throw them all over our back lawn. I didn't see any birds while they were doing it, but they are looking out the back window waiting for them to come and giving me enough peace to get this post typed.




Prior to that we were playing catch in the front room, and I explained to Jake what a "fade route" was. I literally spent the next 45 minutes throwing ball after ball to the corner of the living room while he ran route after route trying to get it perfect. Tanner alternated between running fade routes and hitting the baseball. Jake was running routes down one side of the living room and Tanner was batting down the other side and I was in between both alternating between passes and pitches.

Now this is the current state of the living room (it actually looked much worse yesterday). Jake is currently chasing Tanner through the house with the play swords, yelling, "Seize him!". Tanner finally understood that I was serious and that we were not watching any more Shrek this weekend, (Shrek 1, 2 and 3...in order and Shrek the Halls 3 separate times is enough to make you want to barbeque donkey yourself...) and stopped asking a few minutes ago. The boys are enjoying some Buffalo WIng flavored Doritos (Jake's choice, not mine!) for snack and it's leftover night and then baths.

Just for the records sake, Tanner slept for about 45 minutes, Faith slept for about 2 hours and Jake barely even closed his eyes and didn't stop tossing, turning and talking to himself for me to get any sleep at all. It is early bedtime tonight.....I'm really glad you are back tomorrow, and I have never looked forward to a workday so much!

More from the Art World

In retrospect, it might not have been the best idea to show Jake that I could put his drawings on the computer.....however, I do love the Cherokee War Paint that Tanner did on his face while I was on the phone with you...

Happy Sunday Morning! Having your paper and starbucks?

Well, let's see what to say about that.....Faith went to bed at 5:30 and then woke up about 8:00 PM for a bottle (I was feeding her when you called). Jake woke up at about 8:30 and wanted to go in our bed, but not unless I was in the room, so he came downstairs while I finished feeding Faith. I put her down and he and I went to bed at about 8:50 PM or so. At about 9:30 PM Tanner fell out of bed and started crying, Jake woke up and realized that I wasn't in bed with him as I was in getting Tanner and he started crying. I the middle of this Faith woke up and started crying....so that was fun.

Tanner eventually came into our bed and slept between me and Jake. Since only Marisa and I have done it, I will try to explain sleeping with Tanner. Try to imagine sleeping with the Tasmanian Devil, only he doesn't just spin around, he rotates in all directions, refuses to sleep under covers and doesn't care if he lays his head on the pillow, or your head, shoulders, back etc....it's a VERY restful experience. After a night full of that, more or less, Tanner woke up at 6:00 this morning and he and Jake proceeded to engage in a fun game of "Tanner Stop Touching Me", until I just made the executive decision to get up as Faith was also awake in the other bedroom.

I told Jake that we were all taking naps today and he, as usual, got upset and started to cry, so I told him that I was taking a nap today and he could do whatever he wanted - he says he wants to nap with me - so we'll see how that goes.

They were in the kitchen watching Curious George (which Tanner seemed to really like, these photos are of the boys being monkeys) and having pop tarts. In the part of the movie where George is chasing the man in the yellow hat's taxi through the city, Tanner was yelling, "ahh ahh wun" at the TV. Now they (including the damn dog) are all in the office with me while I am trying to type this so I will need to say goodbye for j nxmcrwalget .....

Saturday Night Live

Some photos from Saturday afternoon/evening that I took but did not have the energy to post last night before bedtime. Jake and Tanner both worked on puzzles. Jake did his new puzzle from Yellowstone and Tanner did the "melmo" puzzle, actually putting in a couple of pieces on his own. Everyone had a good dinner of spagettio's (I have NO idea how that is spelled, and really don't care), peas and yogurt, which Faith just loved. She did pretty good until she eventually flipped the plate over onto the floor. She was then just content to eat off of her place mat.

Saturday Evening Art Show

Honey - here is some artwork that the boys did for you this afternoon. Jake will not let me eat dinner until I get this on the blog for you. Remember that if you double click on them they will get bigger for you to look at.

The first one is a picture that Jake did of the two of you playing chess together. Notice the stark contrast of the monochromatic palette he has chosen to offset the serious, intellectual nature of the game. In addition, you have really messed up hair.

The second one is the two of you playing kickball. It says, " I hope you have a nice day in Florida."

The third one to the left here is from Tanner. It is hard to interpret (as is all great artists work). He didn't explain it to me very much, other than it had to do with his "head".

They have all finished dinner and the boys are watching Shrek II (as a sequel to Shrek and Shrek the halls that we watched already today). Faith is in bed already. She is just exhausted today, but seems much more herself, I think she is just resting up and getting her strength back. The house looks like a cyclone hit it. I will clean up after the boys go to bed and then it's bourbon and vanilla ice cream (mother of god, Scrubs better be on tonight!)

I'll post again after I get the boys in bed. Miss you.

Saturday Morning Update

Good Morning Mom!!!! All three kids made it through the night. Tanner woke up about 6:00 AM and came into bed with me and Jake (more on him in a minute) until about 6:30. Faith woke up about 7:15 or so. Jake picked Cream of Wheat for breakfast and we all had some, Faith really seemed to like it.

After some equal parts "donkey" and "Flushed Away" we got dressed and played some foot volleyball while I read to Tanner in the chair. The lack of sleep over the last few days seemed to help as they all went down fairly quickly and without incident, which was great as I was able to get caught up from the work that I didn't get done during the day on Friday.

Jake woke up calling out for you around 9:30 last night, so I brought him into bed with me. I was able to move him without waking Tanner up (who slept in the same position all night, so he was OUT). Tanner also woke up this morning calling out for you as well now that I think about it. Jake was his usual "Kung Fu Fighting" sleeping style in our bed. This picture was taken at 2:30 am (I didn't want you to miss any detail) so I took the camera to bed with me in case things like this happened....How did you sleep?

Faith is already looking sleepy and I am going to put her down for a morning nap here in a little bit. We miss you.

After kids bedtime conversation...

Just in case you were homesick for me as well, I thought I would include some after kids bedtime normal conversation. (For those not in the know, this is had while shoveling some form of ice cream into our mouths, while watching bad TV.) For instance, this evening, the conversation would have been had over Dreyers Vanilla and Peanut Butter, while watching "Scrubs" (admit it, you know you're jealous of our jet-set lifestyle).

The new issue of Real Simple came today (yes, I read it... so what....don' t make me kick your ass). This months question column is, "What is the secret to a good marriage?" - for those who don't read this magazine (sorry for the ass kicking comment earlier), they announce the topic in the month prior issue and these are reader answers. This is my favorite part of the magazine (other than some of the recipes...what?...seriously watch yourself...) because the breakdown is as follows: 15% - honest, helpful or funny answers and 85% pretentious a-holes. Some of my favorites from this month:

1. Never argue with your clothes on (obviously these folks don't have kids)

2. Weekly tickle fights (Karla Perrin of London, Ohio - now the MOST annoying person on earth)

3. NPR! Both Mr. & Mrs. listen to NPR "it's so nice to have so much to discuss" - okay... one question later, new most annoying people on earth (Amy Fischer - NY). It WOULD be salvageable if it were actually THAT Amy Fischer and she just changed the spelling of her last name, but I don't think so...

4. Friday night dates - people who are childless or rich (in this case probably both...)

And my personal favorite, one word answer...."alcohol" - thank you for playing. Next months topic, " What eco-friendly changes have you made in your life"...so potentially preachy and sanctimonious...I can't wait...

Now do you want to get the bottle and I'll go get the baby or what?

Leaving on a Jet Plane...

Marisa is off to a conference in Florida this weekend, she left first thing this morning. She is really sad to be away from the kids for this long. As an aside, when I left for two weeks earlier this year, I was told to stop saying how hard it would be to be away from them (Faith was 1 month old!) because it would be a "vacation" and "heaven" to be able to sleep through the night. Don't think I didn't bring that up in response to her statements this week. To be fair, she felt really badly and apologized, now that she knows how hard it is to be away. So being the "supportive spouse", I am going to use the blog a little differently over the next three days to try to help the love of my life stave off some homesickness.

Honey -

After we dropped you off at the airport we made it across town in just enough time for Jake to use the bathroom at Tanner and Faith's daycare so he didn't have to pee in your Starbucks Travel Cup. Here are some other highlights from the day:

1. Jake and I went out to breakfast - try to guess where....While eating, we were having a good conversation about who was better at certain things between you and I. Jake voted me the best rememberer, the best cooker and the strongest, but voted you the best parent because you don't get angry with him :(

2. We played volleyball. He wanted to play for points until he fell behind and then he fell apart. (For everyone else reading - there has been precious little sleep had in our house the last few nights - big surprise huh?). We got through it and I thought he let it go, until two things happened. The drawing here is of him and you playing volleyball, which he likes better, because "you're (being me) too good". Then an hour or so later, while driving to the grocery store, we had the following conversation: " Dad, I know what I am going to do in college." What buddy?" "I am going to get really good at volleyball so I can come home and beat you all the time." Talk about holding a grudge

3. Jake wants to explain his drawing to you." Mom - it's about volleyball. There's flowers on it. It says , "Mom, I hope you have a very nice day in Las Vegas. That's all that it says." (Las Vegas is her layover city)

4. Jake (a weird child in MANY regards) stayed home from school today while I worked from home. He watched, Airbud Volleyball - a movie about a Golden Retriever who plays volleyball and (for the 20th or so time) the 2006 Fiesta Bowl DVD of Oklahoma State v. Boise State.....

5. The boys did a great job playing by themselves while I made dinner and fed Faith. Here's an action shot of a spirited game of "Keep the Balloon Up".

Too Little Too Late

Brian was trying to do some frustrating household project on Sunday and said
loudly, "Son of a (leaving out the end, trying not to set a bad example)" and Jake said, "It's OK, Dad. You can say 'bitch'!"

The Kids

Yes, it's trite, but they are getting so big so fast! It is hard enough to believe that Jake will be five in two months, but Faith turning one seems downright impossible.

JAKE:
Jake continues to be a huge football fan. In fact Brian and I had to really discuss how much is "too much" to watch during the weekend because I think if he had the option he might watch all of all the games. Especially now during playoffs. He amazes our neighbors with his ability to discuss the games- the players, the outcomes, the next step in the playoffs, Superbowl possibilities... He likes school and is a natural mathematician. He loves me to give him "story problems" to figure out and (amazingly to my non-mathematical mind) he can figure out whether he needs to add or subtract and then carry out the operation in his head. He is beginning to read a few sight words and loves to hear stories- we are currently reading Superfudge to him, which he thinks is hysterical as it is about a big brother with a little brother and a baby sister, so he can really relate. He has begun picking up books he knows by heart and reading them to Tanner, which is great because if TJ had his way he would have someone reading to him 24/7. He says writing "is hard" but dictates stories to his teachers who type them up on the computer for him to illustrate. Not one to spend a lot of time on ANYTHING, his art work is a lot of scribbles- coloring in the lines of a project is usually not a priority. He loves PE, of course, and is constantly teaching Brian and I new games. Chess is still a big focus and he loves to play against students in my class after school. He tends to get discouraged when he loses, but we keep reminding him that to get better he needs to play against better players. I love playing against him and seeing his mind work as I learn the game. He has taken to "being easy on me" and pointing out when I am about to make a bad move or am missing a good move I could make- even if it means he won't win. He's gotten back into building things with his blocks, legos, magnetix, and Wedgits and often will stay occupied with them along with Tanner and Faith for more than his usual 5 minute attention span. Although his personality continues to challenge us frequently, he has gotten a lot easier to deal with on the basics like bedtime and mealtime. I'm so proud of the way he takes on new situations with ease and deals with social stuff so well.

TANNER:
Tanner's current obsessions include painting, reading, building, and watching "donkey". Anyone that requires privacy in the bathroom better not head to our house anytime soon. He insists on turning the lights on for you, flushing (after he has asked, "Pee or poopy?") and washing hands together. He is still obsessed with the "ah-ah song", does an adorable "booty dance" and "naked dance", and absolutely ADORES his baby sister- crooning "BABA GUL!! BABA GUL!" whenever he sees her after a bit of an absence. He insists on a hug immediately and literally showers her with affection. He is an imp and runs away whenever we try to get him diapered or dressed, still climbs out of his bed several times an evening to run across the room giggling maniacally, and loves to get a reaction from mom and dad by doing "naughty" things on purpose. He is also a complete sweetheart. He insists on a "love you, dude" from Daddy at bedtime, sits on the potty and says, "I twied, Mommy", greets me with huge hugs when I pick him up from school, and cuddles with the best of them. After seeing him so sick last week, it is great to see him back to his usual self.

FAITH:
Faith has found her official "stuffy" or "lovey" or whatever you want to call it. It is a giraffe that was given to Jake when he was born. We are currently on the hunt for "Replacement Giraffe" in case this one is ever lost. "Replacement Cow" and "Replacement Monkey" both live in the boys dressers just in case. Anyway, the giraffe's name is Sprinkles and she grabs it and puts it under her head to sleep with and when given the chance will drag it around the house. As you can see in the pictures, it is with her in both good times and bad times.






She has sort of learned to blow kisses and makes this ridiculous face that looks kind of a like a parody of a super model sucking in her cheeks whenever she tries to kiss. She delights in her food and I delight in her Buddha belly and dimply thighs -something neither of my sons ever had! She still has no teeth. In fact, when Jake was helping me put her to sleep the other day he said, "Mom, I think we may need to buy Faith some teeth soon". With as much as she loves her food, we are hoping she gets some quickly! Tanner is in his bed full time now, so as soon as her room gets repainted (the beautiful red and blue room that Brian painted last Christmas is now being painted light yellow) she will get the big crib and we can get rid of the mini one that she has been sleeping in up till now.

Time is going too fast. I want to remember it all. If you haven't heard it, you should download "You're Gonna Miss This" by Trace Adkins. It's a great reminder to stay in the moment.

Missing in Action

At least that is how I feel. 11 days of 2008 are behind us already and I feel like I've barely seen them. Our family just got over a bout of stomach flu.

Luckily for us (and unluckily for her!) my mom was here to help out in the chaos. Actually "help out" would be an understatement. Mom was here to keep us all in relatively good spirits through the vomit covered pillows, blankets, towels, clothes, and carpet; the times when I would be holding Tanner over the sink while across the room she rubbed Jake's back as he squatted by the toilet; the endless laundry; the grumpy moods. No one was exempt from the action- we fell like dominoes. The epidemic started with Mom on the 2nd day of January, followed quickly by Faith and I on Thursday, Tanner on Friday, then Jake and Brian on Sunday. Mom was scheduled to go home on the 5th but when she offered to stay and help... let's just say that I was taught never to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Mom, there's no way we could EVER thank you enough.

We are so grateful.

Poor Tanner got the worst of it. He was such a sick boy. While the rest of us were pretty well recovered within 48 hours of onset, he was still vomiting as of yesterday. I took him to the doctor and turns out he also has tonsilitis. After 24 hours on meds he is much improved and even spent today at school. He must have watched Shrek the Halls 100 times and asked me to sing "Ah Ah Tree" (otherwise known as "Three Little Monkeys Sitting in a Tree") a thousand times this week.

From our house to yours, we TRULY hope your 2008 is starting out healthy and happy.