Boys and their Backpacks

Today was Caleb and Joshua's first day of "school".   I had been talking up "going to big school" so they were ready to go this morning with their backpacks.  I was thinking dropping them off would be a piece of cake.  No crying.  Well, on our way to Mommy's Day Out I realized my "big school" and their "big school" were not the same.  They thought they were going to Hayden and Ally's school.  As we passed Legacy, they both starting pointing and grunting.  Sorry guys, for now you'll have to settle for "little, big school".  They did really well when I dropped them off.  They went right in and started playing.  Here are some pictures of them this morning.  You notice I have no pictures of the girls on their first day.  Ben took the girls to school on their first day . . . talk to him.

Our Vacation

We took a couple of days this summer to make a circle of the South.  We travelled to Birmingham to see the zoo, down to Auburn to see our newest family member, Ava, over to Atlanta for White Water and up to Chattanooga for 

the Aquarium and Children's Museum.  It's been so long since we took the trip (and so much has happened since) that I really can't think of anything funny that took place.  Here are some pictures from our adventure.

You never know where you'll find a smile!

I wish I had a camera in the boys room.  I can only imagine what goes on in there.  So this morning the boys found our potty training stickers and wanted to wear the smiley faces on their shirts.  No problem.  They also wanted to take Ally's Dora the Explorer bag into church.  Problem.  So this afternoon we put them down for naps in their shirts from church, pull ups(we call them nap nap pants) and shorts.  They typically run around their room for about an hour then either settle down and go to sleep or get into something that demands my attention thus ending nap time.  Today they went to sleep.  When I hear them get quiet I go check on them just to make sure they haven't climbed out the window.  Just kidding, I just feel better seeing them asleep.  In the past, they have pulled off their pants and sometimes their pull ups.  Today they were bottomless.  That would make 3 nudists in my home.  I'm so glad they are following in Ally's footsteps!  So when they wake up, they have tinkled in their beds and Joshua has pooped on the floor.  We clean them up and move on.  We notice however, that Caleb keeps grabbing his bottom.  He isn't really give the "potty" signal, but what could he be doing?  He does manage to go potty, #2 and he seems to be ok, for a while.  We finally get everybody heading for bed.  Ben starts to get Caleb dressed and as he lifts up his bottom, guess what he finds?  Yep, one of the smiley stickers from his shirt right inside his little cheeks.  Poor guy, I'm sure that was what was bothering him.  Do you think his brother put it there?  I can only imagine!!

We're still here.

I'm sure everybody's wondering where we've been.  Two words: potty training.  OK, maybe that doesn't really mean anything special, so how about three words: potty training twins.  Still not impressed? How about four words: potty training twin boys.  Never fear, we are trained . . . for the most part.  Since the boys still don't feel the need to talk, I have to interpret grunts.  Sometimes the "I've gotta go" grunt sounds very similar to the "I want what he has" grunt.  If I'm right there with them it is easy because the grunt always accompanies the hand holding the privates stance.  However, if I'm in another room, not so easy.  Probably more of a visual than you needed this morning.  Since I always seem to stir up some kind of "incident" here is what we concocted yesterday.  We (kids and I) went to run errands for Ben's Birthday and to find backpacks, lunch boxes, etc. for school.  We stopped at Target and, after a lengthy process of getting the kids out of the car(if you don't understand, take Ally and the boys out someplace) we had a decent shopping experience.  We dropped by Mom's house for some leftover hamburgers and hotdogs and let the kids hang out a little.  We left(and should have gone home for naps) and went over to Bridge Street.  We walked  around a little and then decided everybody was hot and maybe a little cranky, so we headed to Barnes and Noble.  The girls headed to the kids area and after a quick review of the Goode safety policy concerning strangers, I went to get a drink.  I got a Venti(large) Strawberries and Creme Frappacino.  It was so good.  The boys and I made our way back to the Thomas train play area and Joshua needed to go potty.  Hayden watched Caleb and we went and came back.  While we had been out looking around at the stores, some workers gave us 4 water bottles.  I didn't realize it until our trip to the potty, but Joshua had dumped half of his down his back and his wet shorts and underwear were bothering him.  So back at the stroller, I decided to change his clothes.  I set the Venti drink on the arm of a chair close to us and began stripping Joshua.  In the middle of getting his clothes on, he fell a little and I slung my arm out to catch him and knocked the Venti drink all over the floor.  I asked Hayden to run to the potty and get some paper towels.  Not sure what went through her mind at this point but she returned with 2 paper towels.  Maybe she didn't see the whole spill or maybe she thought these were the super deluxe towels that clean up major spills with 1 towel.  I asked her to return to the bathroom and she returned with plenty of towels.  You might be wondering where Ally is at this point.  I was too.  So there I am, blue jean skirt, sweating like a pig, cleaning up this Venti pink drink.  The security guy was surely getting a good laugh watching the cameras in the kids area.  I am most positive I showed my underwear several times in getting up to help Caleb reattach the trains and then returning down to my mess.  I mean I couldn't let the little guy scream in frustration while other patrons were trying to read and relax.   Meantime Hayden is having difficulty finding any books she would like to read.  I make several suggestions, each met with a definitive No.  Oh, yeah, where is Ally?  She is on the other side of the kids area, leisurely sitting in a chair, reading 20 or so books.  I told her it was time to join the rest of the family.  We only made it another 5 minutes and I decided we needed to go.  On a positive note, we made it to the car before the rain hit.  Another bit of important information, this is the Barnes and Noble that Ben frequents for his coffee.  He was quite concerned about his reputation after I told him our story.  Don't worry Honey, I didn't wear my monogrammed underwear yesterday!!

Boys Party.

Our wild week ended with a bang as we celebrated Caleb and Joshua's 2nd Birthday.  We invited everybody over for an afternoon cookout.  But first, Ben had to wash his truck.  I realized early Saturday morning that it was driving him crazy that his truck was sitting there, dirty.  I gave him 30 minutes ALONE, just him and his truck, to bond.  You might be wondering if 30 minutes was enough to wash his truck and my van.  No.  Guess which didn't get washed.  And yes, it took him more than his allotted time limit.  Back to the story.  We had a race car theme since the boys seem so drawn to cars and trucks.  I made the cakes.  They were race tracks with 2 little hot wheels racing around each.  Yes Dad they were giant eights, figure eights, and no, the little white candies were the lines in the road, not the cars.  The cars were the cars.  We had hotdogs, hamburgers and all the fixings, opened presents and ate cake.  It looked like Christmas with all the gifts, but they still fight over everything.  You'd think there would be plenty to play with . . . who was it that said they would share?  So our family has officially entered the terrible twos times two.  Pray for us.  Soon it will be potty training times two!

CRAZY week.

Our crazy week continues as it is Vacation Bible School for our church.  I am teaching 3rd grade which is Hayden's class.   We have 30 in our group and the majority is boys.  You would think this could lead to a very wild class, but they are a great group.  They play hard at recreation time and listen well during Bible study.  I need to note here that even though I am an old lady with 4 kids, I can still smoke 9 year olds in a running race!  Go me!  We also had one incident where a kid in my class got hurt at recreation yesterday.  I had left the kids at the rec. field to go put my bag in the Bible study room.  On my way, I ran into a girl in our class that was running late.  I took her to join the rest of the class.  As I approached the field, I noticed a boy laying in the field with 3 youth "leaders" hovering over him.  I started trotting towards them and asked," Is he hurt?"  Yes.  I picked him up and saw that he was sobbing and had chipped his front tooth.  We got him over to the VBS nurse and ride for the week.  His Mom came and took him to the dentist and he was able to return today.  I'm just thankful I came back to the field and found him or he could possibly still be laying there today with the 3 youth still looking at him!  

I have prayed for this group many times before this week.  I really felt that I needed to concentrate on the lessons instead of the "fluff" that sometimes goes along with it.  I think we have several that are searching for the answers and don't really have guidance at home to help them find what they are looking for.  I pray that Capshaw will keep contact with these kids and their families.  

I've had a good time so far at VBS and hope that next year I won't get in trouble with the other workers like I have this year.   Who knew that sitting with my class makes a bigger impression on them than standing beside them?  Can we say "chill out?"  I think my kids had a good time and I may have found a potential babysitter for the boys.  A young girl that helped in their class has fallen in love with them and she really impresses me each day I pick up the boys.  She is so calm and organized . . . unlike some of the adults in the room.

Tokyo . . . again.

We have a family tradition that on your Birthday, you pick where we all go eat to celebrate.  Hayden loves Tokyo.  We have been there(or similar restaurant) for the past 4 years.  It is the kind of place that cooks in front of you, with some knife slinging and humor.  Thanks family for "enjoying" the celebration one more time at Tokyo.  I wish the boys had liked it more . . . I'm guessing  in coming years, when fire is one of the joys of boyhood, they will like it a whole lot.  Right now, not so much.  Hayden had a great time and it is fun to see her excitement each year.  I know some of you may have had some digestion issues after dinner, but again I say thanks and when it is your Birthday, you can pick where ever your little heart desires!