Thursday, March 31, 2016

Thursday: making food

Here's what happens at least once a day...

I'm making {breakfast/lunch/dinner} and realize that I'm out of {granola bars, chicken, canned fruit} in the kitchen but I have some in the basement.  I try to sneak to the stairs, but the gate squeaks and the kids hear it.

They want to join me in going down to the basement.  On my quick trip.  Every single time.

Isaac comes over and gets down the stairs pretty quickly!  "I beat you!" he exclaims.  Meanwhile, Joshua has opened the gate as far as possible, so that it bumps into the cedar chest and I wince.  He then turns around to go down the stairs backwards.  Half the time he starts too far away from the stairs and misses the target.  Joshua and I go slowly down the stairs.

I grab my item and ask everyone if they're coming back upstairs with me.  They don't have to, but they usually say yes.  Isaac races up the stairs and starts flashing his hands and me.  "I beat you this much!"  Joshua is a bit faster going up than down, but then we get to the top and he doesn't quite realize where to stand to close the gate, and I always think I'm going to topple him over.

Phew.  Ingredient obtained.  It only takes five minutes with kids instead of thirty seconds by myself, but apparently trips to the basement are super fun.

Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Wednesday: 51 months

Isaac turned 51 months today.


Puppy-dog had a pretty good month.  We heard him count up to 18 without missing any numbers.  (I'm pretty sure he could do 20, but I guess that'll be next month.)  He has started to figure out what letters are in words if they're not the first letter of the alphabet.  His math skills are getting pretty good if you give him simple story problems instead of just straight numbers.  (Such as "There are four chairs and five people.  How many more chairs do we need?)

Isaac still doesn't really enjoy going to the gym, but he always says that he had a good time afterwards.  And he doesn't like nap time at school, but otherwise enjoys it.  He enjoys going to church and to Grandma's house.  He currently wants to go to Aunt Jamie's house, and I'm not really sure where this came from or why he thinks he wants to go there.  (Not that we don't want to go there, but it's been a while and I think what he expects (toys) might not be the reality.)  He also wants to go to CCs house.  And Disney world.  I think he just likes getting out and playing with new things.


He also likes games, imagining things, reading, Ipad, and treats.  He usually plays well by himself, although he far prefers to play with Ben or me.  He's warming up to Joshua, but still isn't convinced he's a good playmate.  He has started to rock Ben after they read books at night.  He likes to turn on the TV and get shows started.

He sometimes will actually tell us what happened in school, with names of classmates, instead of just saying, "I don't know" when asked what he did at school.

One thing I've really noticed lately is how he can do a lot of things by himself.  He has done assorted things enough and knows what to do and can just do it.  (For example, Joshua fell asleep in the car before lunch.  I got Isaac's lunch together and told him that after lunch he should start his clock and have quiet time.  Then I started my nap too. (I did let him watch TV so it wouldn't be quite so lonely.))

He can reach the checkout buttons on the library computer.  I thought it would be a few more months, but suddenly he can do it.

Isaac loves silly things.  I'm thinking that April Fool's might have to be a semi-big event this year.  We'll see...it takes some planning too.

Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Tuesday: conversation

Isaac wanted to bring washers to school for W show-and-tell.




a little bit later
Amanda: do you remember what you're bringing for show and tell?
Isaac: cleaners!

Monday, March 28, 2016

Monday: 20 months

Joshua turned 20 months today!

Language: After last month's stall, this month Joshua seems to have exploded with language.  He definitely understands almost all of what we tell him.  He can point to many body parts when asked.  He can repeat words right after they're said.  He has words for several animal sounds, along with snack, this, up, Isaac, book, row row (as in row, row, row your boat) and probably a few more that I missed.


Playing: He still plays pretty well by himself.  His favorite activities are dancing/singing, cameras, playing with dishes, and books.  Oh, and plugging in an old keyboard to any hole that fits the USB connector.  It is surprising how many he has found in the basement.  He is enjoying Curious George, but doesn't always get through a whole episode.  He loves to play with Isaac, but it only works if Isaac is in the right mood.


Eating: lunch has gotten much better - there's even been a few times he's eaten all of his food!  Dinner remains a challenge.  He'll eat the bread products and often the fruit.  Anything beyond that is a surprise, although it happens sometimes.


Sleeping: has been a bit of a challenge lately.  However, he will sometimes know when he needs to go to bed at night.  He is waking up two to three times at night, but I can sometimes get away with just telling him to lay down and go back to sleep through the monitor.

Cuteness level: through the roof!  He's not very good at smiling for pictures, but I have seen lots more smiles.  There's been a few times that he's been the welcoming committee at some public place and says "hi" to everyone as they come through the door.  It is so fun to see him dance too.  And he is imitating so much!  It's been fun to see what he picks up on, like the self-timer for the camera.

Attitude: Joshua has been a bit clingy.  He tends to get especially clingy when he's hungry, but that is far from the only time.  I'd say most of the day is pretty good, with several spots that are hard.  He doesn't enjoy getting his diaper changed, but does like the lotion that he sometimes gets when the diaper is changed.

Sunday, March 27, 2016

Sunday: He is Risen!

He is Risen indeed!

Church this morning was good.  I think they introduced many new songs, which is my only complaint.  It takes at least two or three times with a song before I feel as though I can worship well.  But although I didn't know the songs, there was energy and excitement in the celebration.  And I knew some of the songs later, so that was nice.

I thought the pastor had an excellent sermon.  It was geared toward people who don't have a relationship with Jesus, but was still an excellent reminder of truth for the rest of us.  I don't feel as though he tried to force any belief on anyone then and there, but instead encouraged questions and continued discussion.  (Hopefully it will show up here within a few days if you're interested.)

Saturday, March 26, 2016

Saturday: waiting day

Today always feels like a waiting day for me.  We remembered that Jesus died yesterday, and we know that we will celebrate that he rises from the dead tomorrow, but today we're just in a holding pattern.

So we did some egg activities.  We tried dying eggs with cool whip.  They're still in the fridge and we'll see how they turn out tomorrow.

Joshua was not really that excited.  This is about one of two times that he was actually participating and not screaming.

Isaac enjoyed it though!


Then we did an egg hunt.  Joshua figured out very quickly what he was supposed to do and really enjoyed it.


Isaac got right to work finding his eggs.  He ended up finishing about the same time as Joshua, although received significantly less help.

And there was candy inside!  I only put one smartie in each egg, so we did two rounds.

Then Isaac hid the eggs for Ben and me.  His hiding skills have improved significantly in the last month, let alone since last year!!  It took Ben and I about fifteen minutes to find all but two of them, and we needed a lot of help.  There are still two missing, and Isaac can't remember where he put them. :)  Then we had Isaac make an easy hunt for us...and it was much easier.  He definitely understood the difference.

Friday, March 25, 2016

Friday: Good Friday

Tonight we went to the Good Friday service at church.

One of the songs had the line "Come as you are."  Normally I think of adjectives such as sad, happy, etc to describe my state.  But today's adjective was distracted.  I was distracted by a squirmy four-year-old next to me.  I am distracted by the normal ins and outs of life.

But I went to church, to help remember that Jesus loves us so much.  Even when we're almost too distracted to remember it.

Thursday, March 24, 2016

Thursday: sleepover and microwave

Last night we have a very short power outage.  Just long enough for us to say, "woah, did the power just go out?" and for all the clocks to reset.  This included the microwave.

I'm not sure if I mentioned it or not, but a year or two ago the beep on our microwave stopped working.  At first I found it odd, but then I found that I loved it!  No more trying to stop it from beeping to help people sleep.  No more annoying beeping noises at you; it turns out that the microwave makes plenty of noise and you can quickly learn to listen for the absence of noise.  I probably forget about something in the microwave every month or two, but it can usually just be reheated.

Well, the microwave also started beeping again.  Turns out there is an easy way to turn off the beeping.  I just had to push the settings button and then turn off the sound.  Phew.  I'd recommend taking a look at yours and trying it for a bit. :)

Also, I'm sure you're wondering how the sleepover last night went.  Not so well.  Isaac woke up at 10pm with Joshua, slept through the 4am waking, and woke up (and went to his own bed) at 6am.  He wanted to sleep in Joshua's room again tonight so he enjoyed the change of pace, but I think we need to wait a bit before trying again.  I didn't feel comfortable letting Joshua wimper for a few minutes to see if he would go back to sleep since I didn't want him to wake up Isaac.

Speaking of Joshua and Isaac, at daycare I usually pick up Isaac first and then we get Joshua.  We went in the room and Joshua was so excited!  Isaac went around the corner for some toys.  Joshua started to come over to me and then stopped.  He looked around a bit.  "IIaac?"  "He's around the corner."  Joshua goes around the corner.  "HI!"  It seems like it should make me sad but it really doesn't.  ...we just need to figure out how to get Isaac to enjoy being with Joshua a bit more.  Hopefully that'll come with time.

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Wednesday: this and that

I feel as though Joshua is doing so many cute things lately.  (To be fair, he's also doing a lot of non-cute things.  But we won't go there.)

He's rocking.  And asking for more songs...and saying please.


He's setting up the self-timer on his play camera and saying "cheese".

I gave blood today.  It's the first time in quite a while, but it went very well.  There tend to be shortages after the winter holidays and during the summer.  While it is neither of those times, I am hoping to donate more often.

I cut the boys' hair today.  Isaac's only ended up ok; Joshua's turned out pretty good.  The person not getting their hair cut got the squirt bottle.  The floor was soaking wet by the time I was done.  However, Isaac had a grand time squirting the box.  He probably went through 1.5 bottles of water.


Isaac is sleeping in Joshua's bedroom tonight.  We billed it as a sleepover, but really it's an effort to get Joshua to sleep a bit better.  (Someone mentioned that sometimes seeing other people sleeping will trigger you to go back to sleep.  Since Isaac sleeps so soundly, it seems worth a try.  But also fun.)  He was up three times last night, although I only had to get out of bed twice.  I do have another idea as to what could help solve the problem, but don't really want to do it.  At least, not for about another month.

Tuesday: finished dream

This morning my dream finished right before I woke up.  We (my group of adventurers and I) were getting on our flying carpets after our mission when Joshua cried that he was awake.

It was so odd to wake up and feel a sense of completion.  Usually I'm happy to get out of a bad dream or sad to get out of a happy one.

Monday, March 21, 2016

Monday: when we're home...

Today we stayed home for most of the day.  (We went to the gym, but that was in the early evening.)  I couldn't think of any errands that really needed to be done and it was rather cold out.

Isaac worked on a kite for the kitchen.  He made it yesterday during quiet time, but it still needed tape.  Green tape (scotch) and yellow tape (double sided).  Then it needed strong tape (masking).  Then it needed really strong tape (packing).  He also told me I could add some stickers if I wanted to.


It also took him forever to get dressed.  I'm not always sure what he does, but it can be nice.  He was asking for quiet time all morning...we just put some new toys in his quiet time drawer and apparently they're a hit.  (The quiet times for Friday-Sunday all lasted about twice as long as normal.)

Joshua was acting a bit weird today.   He wanted to read on the floor of his bedroom with his quilt over him and the cedar chest runner over me.  That would have been fine.  But then after a page or two something would be wrong so he'd get up and deal with it.  But then he'd need the quilt back on... It was funny at first and then got annoying.

Lastly, this week is V week for Isaac.  There aren't a lot of things to bring that start with V.  We have a website that we look at that is pretty good and he really wanted to bring a Venn Diagram.  Not having any handy, we made one.  I'm pretty sure it is a glimpse of things to come, as it felt oddly like a school assignment.  It was a pretty cool thing to do with stickers though...I'd recommend it as an activity.

Sunday, March 20, 2016

Sunday: a busy day

Today was fun, but busy.  We had Life Group at our house and then after nap time meet up with Ben's family for bowling.

Life group: the discussion was interesting.  The chapters we read were about being passionate (about doing justice) and being deeply committed to a ...cause, for better lack of a word.  We all realized that while we want to be passionate about God's work, we're doing a pretty bad job at it.

Bowling: It was Joshua's first time.  He did really well for eight frames and then he was done.



Isaac got to do more all by himself, although an adult was usually nearby.  He loved it.



Saturday, March 19, 2016

Saturday: kids

We were driving home from the gym today and Isaac exclaimed, "I just saw a giant bobbin!  It was huge!"  We were a little confused at first until we realized he probably saw a spool of wire; they're about to do a bunch of construction and materials are all over.  I was rather proud that he called it a bobbin.

Joshua enjoys dancing.  So much more than Isaac ever did.  He'll turn on music from some toy, dance (usually spin in circles) until the music is done, turn the music back on...

Friday, March 18, 2016

Friday: siblings

 I forgot to post this on Wednesday.  Isaac has sometimes just been taking Joshua's hand to help him.  I think it started because we asked Isaac to hold Joshua's hand while going into the play area at the gym and now he does it randomly sometimes.

I think Joshua likes it too.  He loves his big brother and will often notice if he's not there when he should be.

Thursday, March 17, 2016

Thursday: happy spring break!

Spring break is here!

I was actually surprisingly productive at work today.  I had been expecting to grade all of the current lab next week on my work days, but instead I finished 2/3 of them. Woot-woot!

Class was a bit sparse.  Probably only 2/3 of the people showed up.  But the topic was pretty easv, so it worked well.

We got home and I gave the boys some goldfish.  Joshua proceeded to do this...three or four goldfish in every plate.  I admit...I don't wash dishes that have come out of the drawer.  They go right back in.  These probably will too, because by the time I find them the goldfish dust will be gone and they'll be in someone's bedroom.


Joshua saw I had the camera out, so obviously he laid on the floor for some pictures.  He is wearing green today!  He has one very green sock and one sock with just a little green.  That was all the green I could find for him.

Puppy Dog, on the other hand, was a little worried that he was going to get pinched by Silly Willie since he didn't have green pants on.  I said that green socks and a green shirt were enough to not get pinched.  (And I was a little sad that he learned about the pinching thing, probably in school.  However, apparently only Silly Willie does it, so Isaac didn't pinch Ben this evening.)

Wednesday, March 16, 2016

Wednesday: pool

We were invited to the pool again today with Betsy and her family.  The kids got cold a little faster than I was hoping, but we still had a good time at the pool and then we had enough time to have lunch together!  So it worked well.




Tuesday, March 15, 2016

Monday, March 14, 2016

Monday: hobbies

One of the things I like about quilting is that it is semi-difficult for the kids to hurt my supplies.  Today we got a backing.  Isaac loved it because it was black.  It ended up in the basement...


We also had a bunch of circles in bowls for dinner in celebration of Pi day.

The bad part of the day was there seemed to be extra "Joshua's touching me!" and "Joshua hit me, but it doesn't hurt!" and "I want to play with you" [in a whiney voice] and "I'm hungry".  I finally yelled and them and told them to stay apart or deal with each other because I didn't want to deal with it.  I was apologizing to Isaac later and he said, "It didn't hurt my ears."  "Did it hurt your feelings?"  "Yeah, my headache is almost gone."  So...it doesn't seem as though it phased him.  Phew.  Except that I still don't know what to do about it.

Sunday, March 13, 2016

Sunday: life group

We had our Bible Study today.  It was nice to get together.  It was nice to discuss the book we're reading, Overrated.  The book makes me think and it's interesting to see how it makes others think too.

Saturday, March 12, 2016

Saturday: family activities

This afternoon we went to Life Sized Candyland at the library.  We went on the later side, so it wasn't busy and it went a lot faster that I was expecting.  But it was kind of like trick-or-treating, so that was fun.  Team Blue (Ben and Isaac) were ahead the whole game until Team Red (Mom and Joshua) took a last spin lead.  I'm not sure where Team Blue and Team Red came from today, but we did a lot of competing.  Mostly on who could get their buckles on or off fastest in the car.



Then after dinner tonight Ben and Joshua were playing on the couch as they always do.  Joshua started falling backwards at the slightest tap from Ben.

Friday, March 11, 2016

Friday: a story from Wednesday

Wednesday while we were outside I was trying to show Joshua that he couldn't go in the road but had to stay in the driveway unless he was holding my hand.  (This didn't go all that well.)

At one point he went a few steps up the driveway, got down on all fours, and started crawling backwards.  That's what he has to do for the stairs.

Roads and stairs.  Both dangerous.  But unfortunately they require different mitigation procedures.

Thursday, March 10, 2016

Thursday: madlibs

Today I did some madlibs in class as a fun activity.  We used VLookUp( ), so it was educational too.

When I got to Isaac's school, I found out that he did a MadLibs too.  His was a lot more funny and he was pretty excited about it.

How fun is that?!?

Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Wednesday: an excellent day

Today just worked.  It was wonderful.

The plan had been to do some errands this morning.  However, we were pretty slow in getting ready.  Then, just a few minutes before leaving there was a squirrel by the bird feeder.  Isaac and Joshua went outside and chased it away.  But that began the great morning.

First Isaac declared that "it's a nice day for a party" and brought out all the kids' place setting stuff - spoons, plates, glasses.  I thought about telling him no, but then I realized that I don't really care.  What's the worst that happens...I have to put it through the dishwasher?

That didn't last as long as I was hoping, so I gave them each a cookie for their party.  While they were munching, I started my school work.


They proceeded to play inside and play outside, to play with balls, and to sort of play with each other for the rest of the morning.  I interacted with them and helped dry some tears, but mostly they entertained themselves.

We went for a short walk to visit some neighbors, had lunch outside, and naps.  Isaac wanted to play outside a bit more, so we did that.


Then off to the gym for racquetball.  I played much better than normal, and we had some awesome volleys.  I even won a game!

The rest of the night has been pretty normal, but I do like our routine.

Tuesday, March 8, 2016

Tuesday: voting

I voted today.

I haven't voted in primaries in the past.  Mostly because I don't want to identify myself with one part or the other.

I normally feel as though the candidates want the best for the country, even if I don't agree with them.  With the race I don't feel that way, so I wanted to cast my vote for a different party member.

As a bonus, everyone got "I voted" stickers.  The boys were so excited for them.

Monday, March 7, 2016

Monday: games

Last night didn't go so well.  Joshua was up so many times and wouldn't go back to sleep like normal.  I brought him into bed with me for a few hours, because that seemed to be the only way to calm him down, but after those hours he didn't get any better.

Isaac was on a game streak today.  We played several, including spirograph (which is in the game closet).  I did the one below, Isaac did the one above.



Then he saw the plus gear in the box.  "Oh, that one looks like a plus and this one looks like an equals."  And before I really knew what was going on he had the following drawing.  He did say, "Oops, I made the three sideways."  But the overall gist is that 1 +2 = 3.


Isaac and Joshua also did a lot of running today.  I sang this song about 20 times, at which point I recorded myself so I didn't have to sing it for the next 50.  (Audio only.)

Sunday, March 6, 2016

Sunday: hair

I recently realized that my hair is just long enough to be put in a ponytail again...and I love it.

I also realized that I don't have the same problem with Joshua pulling my hair as I did with Isaac.  I think I've had to tell Joshua not to pull my hair once...ever.  Maybe because it was a different length when he was born?  Anyway, that has been a nice fight not to have.

Saturday, March 5, 2016

50 months

Isaac turned 50 months old last week.  Wow.  A milestone that I completely missed.


I'm not sure a ton has changed since last month.  So we'll just do a recap of life at this point.

Likes: black, being a puppy, doing the remote control for the TV, asking how many nights until Disney world, taking pictures, playing in his room, playing with Mom or Dad, (really, any playing at all), imagining things, and treats.

Dislikes: naps, going to the gym, getting hugs from Joshua, soup, salad, tomatoes, and the flash of a camera.

Likes: helping me in the kitchen, playing computer games with Dad, getting the mail, bringing the garbage and recycling into the garage, running, running while being a drill, running while bonging into walls, and being a gate.

Dislikes: hard pants, getting water in his face, sharing with Joshua, cleaning his room, and eggs

Likes: medicine, grandma's house, typing on a keyboard, the alphabet, -nators, pools, books, the solar system, sewing, Circuits, playing games, going to people's houses (mainly to play with their toys), making Joshua laugh, cleaning toilets, and being silly.


Look!  Isaac and Joshua wore matching socks!