Life as we know it

Last week was rough around here.  I am glad it is behind us, actually.  Having three year old boys is a wild ride.  It is so fun and so hilarious most of the time, but every so often, you have these moments/hours/days/weeks where every interaction feels like a battle of the wills . . . and mama is never the winner when there are two of them and one of me.  I was exhausted and impatient and did a horrible job keeping my cool last week.  I think that everyone I came in contact with has been praying for us, because this week has been noticeably better—and, not even just a little better, but enjoyable.  I am so grateful for that!  (and, as a sidenote, always feel free to pray for me and my brood of tots.  this mama is not patient and is always in need of prayer!)

One of the things that I love about three year olds is that there imaginations are unstoppable at this point.  Cardboard boxes become boats and then transform into igloos in a matter of seconds (how these boys even know what an igloo is, is beyond me).  Hudson makes up songs and sings constantly.  Hatch promised to try to record one of his chant-like songs (which normally has a refrain of “We are kids.  Glory to God.  We are da kids.  Glory to God” in it somewhere.)  William is climbing all over everything like he is a monkey.  I have to tell him to get down off of parts of the playground that are dangerous and not actually built for climbing or dangling into air.  Their vocabularies are growing by the day, and the storytelling is just wild.  Hudson tells these long, winding stories about his day and what he thought would happen and what actually happened and what so-and-so said and what he did and they are extremely detailed and go on and on and on.  For example, a mom at Uncle Judah’s basketball game this past weekend asked Hudson if he has a dog at home.  Instead of saying yes, he told her:  “UM, me don’t have a dog at home today because dere are peoples who are coming to yook at our house to see if they might want to buy it, so daddy takes the dog across the street to Miss Jenny’s house to stay dere and play with my Booker instead.”  William, I feel certain, will be able to win any debate by the time he is 4.5.  If you happen to know me personally and you think that I talk a lot or that I have an ability to persuade others, you just wait.  You haven’t seen anything until you see this child.  He will talk circles around you and you will end up being so tired that you will give him whatever it is he is requesting just because you think that, in return, you may have a mere ten minutes of silence in your future (that is, of course, if the other two are napping).  Mommy, I will not nap today.  I don’t want to nap.  I am not tired.  I am not going to nap.  I find myself praying that the Lord will use this child for GOOD as he grows up. 

Between trying to sell our house (it has not sold yet . . . please keep spreading the word), having a baby who needed a minor surgery last week, and two feisty, lively three year old boys, I have realized that I have been neglecting the blog . . . and, I actually have no idea where my camera ended up . . . in a box in the basement?  in the POD?  I hope not . . . maybe I will find it soon . . . But, for now, it’s iphone pictures.  I took this series today, and it was so funny watching these two (this was after William started his morning at 5am and after I gave the boys a shower at 7:30am because William needed some kind of entertainment in his day since he’d been awake for almost 3 hours and we had only made it to 7:30am):

Most days, they climb into Anna’s crib with her and barely miss smooshing their sister.  Today, they climbed up on her changing table . . .

  

And, then, the show began.  They started singing a made-up song about monkeys in these really loud voices . . . and, it kind of reminded me of that Saturday Night Live sketch where they sing really loudly at the same time . . .

. . . and then they look at each other to try to coordinate what they are singing, when, in reality, neither of them have a clue what they are singing about, but they just keep on belting it out at the top of their lungs . . .

It was so funny to watch them—I really wish I had recorded it!

And, Aunt Courtney was in town for a few days celebrating her bday, so we did what everyone wants to do on their birthday, and we went to a park and rode on a huge, green, plastic dinosaur!

Aunt Courtney also had the pleasure of celebrating her birthday with a fireman the other night . . . (and no, he is not asleep in this picture—ha!)

While the boys are running circles around their mama, Sister is not far behind.  Her opinions have come in early, and while she cannot always say what she wants, she will give you an earful of noise to keep you guessing!  And, this is totally random, but her hair is CURLY.  This is a picture from after her bath tonight . . . what do I do with these curls?  I love them, but I need help!

Okay, it’s 9:15 (this may be a record for early blog-writing for me) and I have hopes of having a conversation with my husband and maybe, just maybe eating some ice cream before my head hits the pillow . . . so, nighty night to you!

Update on AnnaBug

Thanks so much for your encouragement and prayers for Anna this morning.  The tubes surgery went really well!  She did not love having her stats taken, and she was quite a little grumpus after coming out of anesthesia (turns out she is a fiesty Fire Lady!  She really, really wanted her Daddy and "Woo Woo"!), but we are tremendously thankful that she did well in surgery.  The doctor said that putting in the tubes relieved a lot of pressure and released fluid that they had not been able to see prior to the surgery (gross!), so that was further confirmation to us that this was a necessary decision for Anna.  Our friend and Pastor of Children's Ministry, Joe, met us at the surgery center to pray and help care for Anna this morning (he ended up holding her while I did paperwork and waited for Hatch to get there) and another friend's sister in law is a nurse who works at the center and was with Anna during her surgery.  We were so thankful for these reminders of God's love for our little girl--and His constant presence with her, even when we cannot be there.

They said that loud noises may startle her from here on out, so it will be interesting to see how loud her brothers sound!  They are having a great, special day with their Nonna and PopPop today. 

Currently, Anna is napping as snug as a bug!  We are so thankful!

I managed to sneak off to a little consignment sale last night, and got this bow for Annabug.  I took this picture this afternoon—this may be the only picture we have of this little lady with a bow in her hair because she pulled it out after about .04 seconds!

AnnaBug

AnnaBug BananaBug, all 16 months of her (I cannot even begin to talk about how my baby is now 16 months.  OH MY HEART.) is quite hilarious these days.  She has a sweet, loud, and endearing little personality!  Everywhere she goes, she says “HI!”  “HI!”  “HIIIIIIII!” about 700 times and to everyone she sees.  I have a hunch that little love will not know many strangers.  After she had one of her antibiotic shots last week, we had to wait for twenty minutes in the waiting room, and she literally spoke to every person in the doctor’s office multiple times.  The doctor called her their very own Welcoming Committee!  Hilarious!  Twinkle Twinkle little star is one of her favorites, and she toddles around the house singing it (especially the “up above the world so HIgh” verse, of course")  She is talking a lot lately, and she is starting to put two words together at a time.  It is amazing to see all that she understands and says.  When she talks on her cell phone, she exclusively calls her Bumpa.  Don’t even try to get her to call someone else, because it is a waste of your time.  Bumpa is the only one she wants to talk to on her cell piece.  Thank the LORD, she has started to say please (“peeese”) and thank you (“da doo”), and while Elmo remains her biggest love (she literally SQUEALED when he came onto the TV yesterday—she shrieked aloud like a tiny teeny-bopper—the boys stopped what they were doing to talk about it!) she is also very into Cookie Monster (“tooook-tee”) . . . I wonder why!  Sister will eat just about anything you put in front of her (except for carrots and chicken nuggets), and she will eat and eat.  I am grateful for this glorious not-a-stubborn-toddler stage where she actually prefers real food to weird kid food and she will eat whatever is put in front of her.  If I happen to get lost in thought or conversation, she will politely scream at the top of her lungs until her plate is replenished.  Don’t think of feeding yourself or her Brubbies something that you are not going to offer her . . . you can’t slide that past Sister at all.  So, don’t even try it!

Missy is quite persistent and knows what she wants these days.  After our big day in the snow (which she did not love), she decided she wanted to wear William’s old boots.  She brought them over to me and motioned and pointed and groaned until I put them on her.  Then, she was as proud as can be!  Check her out in her corduroy pants and her brother’s old snow boots.  What a sight!

The inspector gave them a once-over to be sure they were a good fit.  Sister checked-out nicely.

And, she’s off!  Yes, they light up.  Behold the awesomeness . . .

Shortly thereafter, she found her new raincoat in the closet, and she brought it to me to put it on her.  She wore the raincoat indoors for most of the night!  I have a hunch that a love for dressing up  may be in my future!?  (Which, I am totally fine with . . . after all, I do still have my dress up box!)

And, Brubby and Brubber would like you to know that there is now a “fire lady” in the house.  She is happy to help you handle any emergency you may have . . . she can help you when you are in a bind or when you get stuck . . . like inside of your hat.

“Fire Lady” likes to wake up in the middle of the night and ask about her brothers.  And, if she awakens in the morning before they do, prepare to endure a little hissy fit from “Fire Lady.”  She does not like to be without her partners in crime.  Not even for one waking minute.  That said, she does enjoy her mornings with Mommy while the boys are at school.  Mommy likes these mornings too.  “Fire Lady” is mommy’s cutest and most friendly accessory, after all, and she gets lots of compliments every where she goes. 

“Fire Lady” has also learned to say “cheese” and look at the camera.  It is quite hilarious.  I especially like this picture because you can see “Fire Lady’s” many chins!

Sometimes “Fire Lady” gets really excited about saying “CHEESE” and it comes out more like “TEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESE!”  Tonight at dinner, “Fire Lady” was yelling “TEEEEEEEEEEEESE” at Aunt Katie because she wanted to eat “Teeese” with her Chinese food (weird, I know).  It seems that, like her mama, “Fire Lady” prefers “cheese on it” (right, nana?)

And, with that, “Fire Lady” wishes you a night where your belly is full of cheese, your Bumpa is readily available on your cellphone, your Elmo (“MEL MO! BEL BO!”) is on the screen, and your eyes close tightly to awaken in the morning to a day full of boot-wearin’ adventure with your Brubbies!

(**Please pray for “Fire Lady,” as she is getting tubes on Friday morning.  Despite all of the positive feedback we’ve heard from others, Mommy is not excited.  We would love your prayers for Jesus to protect and fully heal our sweet girl!)

this weekend . . .

So, this past week, Hatch and I kicked it into high gear to get our house ready to sell.  I feel certain this house has never, ever looked so good.  Or been so clean.  I also feel fairly certain that we may not have ever worked this hard in our lives!

Before we headed into the weekend, we found out that Sister’s ears were still infected . . . so, she is scheduled for tubes on Friday.  After two rounds of antibiotic injections, we found out that she doesn’t like her new medicine and throws up instantly when taking it.  YUCK.  Because we worked so hard this week, we took Friday “off” to go and play.  We went to one of our favorite parks with our friend Meggie, and the boys had a blast!

Hatch and I hosted an Open House yesterday and today . . . yesterday, it was sunny and warm and gorgeous, and we had a little traffic, but not much.  Today, it was freezing and snowing  (so cold our balloons were literally on the ground!) . . . we expected nothing, but we had some visitors!  We showed the house about seven times over the two days, and all in all, we felt good about that.  No offers yet though . . . so, spread the word!

There was a lot of interest in the snow from the little people . . .

 

We love this little jammie-wearing pink pouf!

And, this one, to me, is priceless!  William with Murphy, I mean Dog Dog, I mean Woo’ Woo.

And, the explorer . . . it took him the longest to get in the door because he was loving playing outside!

Here’s to a warm and cozy night in our beds, a great start to our week tomorrow, and here’s to hoping we can sell our house soon!  {SPREAD THE WORD!}

Home Sweet Northside!

We’ve decided to sell our house!  And, all of us (except Hudson—he cried “but me YIB DERE!”) are very excited!  We’d love your help in spreading the word!  If you or anyone you know and love is looking for a house in Richmond, or, specifically, in the charming Northside, we’d love to have them come on by (two open houses this weekend)!  Just email me or comment on our blog for information!

{and, because I know you are wondering . . . we are not sure where we are going . . . or when, but it won’t be far, we know that . . . we’re just hoping for a slightly different breakdown of space for our growing chicks!  and, if you are looking at this blog, you well know the chaos of our lives, so please DO pray that our house sells and sells fast.  life as we know it with three little rascals and dog is challenging without having a house on the market!}

Come on over to the charming Northside!  Beautiful tree-lined streets and sidewalks, walking distance to local shops, and fabulous neighbors that you’ll immediately love!  3 bedroom, 1.5 baths with wood floors, updated kitchen with tile, heated/cooled basement, attic, porch, and garage—such great space!

And, hot off the press:  Our newest addition . . . our yellow door.  I LOVE IT!

I know what you are thinking, and the answer is NO, my house has never been this clean ever before.  I am a little amazed at ourselves, actually!

Home sweet home!  It doesn’t get any better than this!

life as we know it: breakfast boy

So, we learned early on that Hudson has to eat as soon as he has decided he is hungry.  This was true when he was a chubby little butterball and would begin screaming at the top of his lungs as soon as he caught the sight of his bottle out of the corner of his little eye . . . and, it remains true today.  He is sometimes hungry and can’t even identify it, so I always have snacks on hand . . . just in case!  This year, the boys have been waking earlier and earlier, and since I need to get Anna and myself ready in the morning before going downstairs for the day, Hudson has had to do some waiting.  And, well, it has not gone well.  So, we instituted a new plan:  When Daddy leaves for work in the morning (which, by the way, the boys will tell you “Daddy is a hard worker.  Daddy is a good worker” . . . and, it’s true.  He is often seated at his desk by 6am.  I am still drooling a tiny bit on my pillow at that time.  Bless his heart!), he makes breakfast for the kids and sets it on the table.  That way, when Hudson decides he is going to lose his mind if he does not eat in .02 seconds, he can just mosey his little strawberry-headed curly self on down the stairs and begin to indulge in the morning’s breakfast options.  Usually the breakfast is a waffle and some kind of fruit.  Last week, one day, Hudson came down and ate EVERYONE'S serving of strawberries.  Me Yike Strawberries.  And, well, today, he decided that he was not keen on the selection that Daddy had set out for him, so he decided to help himself.  After calling down to Hudson several times to ask him what he was doing and hearing no response at all, I sent William down to investigate for me.  William came up and said “Hudson has the milk, and he his eating Daddy’s cereal.  The milk is on the floor.”  Anna and I flew down the stairs, and we found this busy scene:

Hudson, staring at his mess, watching Murphy “help him” clean it up.  (note:  I like to keep my sewing machine on my table to remember that I own a sewing machine.  Don’t be fooled into thinking I actually use it because it sits on my table.  ha ha.)

 

The damage . . . not too bad, all things considered.

I wish I had taken a picture of the combination of chairs and stools that were in the kitchen to help him reach the milk from the top shelf of the fridge.  I was literally telling someone the other day that I just have to be on top of these boys at all times.  They are such rascals.  My friend said she likes to let her kids play independently (so they go up to their rooms to play and just play in the house while she is generally around) . . . this is what happens with my independent children.  Experimentation and a nice morning treat for Murphy (or Dog Dog, or Woo Woo (she is trying to say “woof woof” ). . . depending on who you are talking to!)

 

***

And, the conversation of the week:

Hudson:  How will Aunt Katie’s Baby get out of her tummy?

Me:  When Aunt Katie and the doctor decide it is time for the baby to be born, God and the doctor will help get the baby out of Aunt Katie’s tummy and put the baby in her arms.

William:  Mommy, what TOOLS will the doctor use?

Me:  I don’t know, William.  We need to go into school now.

HEAVEN HELP ME!

 

***

PRAISE THE LORD TOMORROW IS FRIDAY!  BRING IT ON.

Hair Cuts!

one.

(bruised forehead due to intercepting a large wooden letter on his noggin, courtesy of brother.)

two.

(some of us are VERY excited about this!)

three. 

(others of us are not so excited.)

nope.

(not going to cut those curls!)

and, no way. 

(I don’t cut other people’s kids hair, but is he cute or what? and, you know he asked if his auntie San was going to be in his classroom again today!  OH MY HEART!)

Toodles!

Lately and Overheard . . .

Thanks so much for the emails and kind words about my little Two Tweets!  I forgot to say in my last post that I do not have a website, but I am happy to help you out if you need a gift or two or ten!  Just leave me a message as a comment or email me, and we can talk about what you need or what you are hoping to give!

These last two weeks have been a bit of a blur . . . caring for sick babes, recovering from caring for sick babies (read: laundry + laundry + laundry + trying to nap), and trying to get back into the swing of life as we know it!

We have a new activity that the boys request when Daddy gets home:  Dance Party.  They love it, and even though I am always incredibly tired, I cannot make myself not dance.  Most recently, a guitarist joined our fantastic dancing crew . . . (please excuse the undies!)

The week before last, I begged our friend Meggie (as the boys say) to come and help me figure out how to wrangle three children while having W’s glasses fixed while convincing them not to dismantle the entire store in one fail swoop.  She was so kind to help us, and Hudson really LOVED every minute of being with her—they walked around while we were in the store, and saw not one, but TWO firetrucks!  Then, we got ice cream.  And Meggie snapped this picture on the way back to the car.  Every time I look at it, I think my heart is going to melt . . .

These three are quite a crew . . . and they love being together.  (Gotta love the chalk on W’s coat:  the ice cream shop had a chalkboard wall, and the littles loved doodling on it after inhaling their frozen treats!)

en route . . . and pushing my purse in a stroller . . .

Sister wore the adorable dress that her GiGi made her last week.  Isn’t she so cute?  When I dressed her, Hudson said “Wow, Anna, what a special dress!”  (I have no idea how he knew it was truly special.)  And, she looked down and began to rub and pat her belly.  It was so cute! 

At the end of last week, we had a picnic outside . . . after being inside with our germies for so many days, we decided we could all use some fresh air!

We had a great time in the sunshine on that warm January day . . .

Hungry Hudsey

and William, too

At the moment, I think Sister is the best eater in the house . . .

After we had eaten outside, my tiny decorating committee (self-nominated, too) brought their table and plastic chairs inside our family room play room.  Little Bit decided she needed to sit in a chair like the big girl that she is.  We tried relocating her more than once, but she wouldn’t have it.  So, we let her sit—we moved her and her chair from room to room.  At the beginning of the evening, she couldn’t even get into her chair on her own. 

About 30 minutes later, she had mastered not only climbing in the chair to sit . . . but, she did the dreaded:  SHE STOOD.

 

And, so proud . . . SO. VERY. PROUD!

The littles got a squeeze with their Bumps . . .

And sister with her DaDa . . .

Anna started playing her favorite game “Bye Bye”  (note her chair!)

And, Mommy had a special morning working in Cousin Charlie’s preschool class.  We even saw Hudsey and Wee-mum playing in their classroom while we were on the playground!  Mr P sure enjoyed his snack, and I enjoyed being with him!

 

***

And, OVERHEARD . . .

from last week (all parties were clothed last week during this episode.  I am still not sure what was happening, but I don’t think H’s accusation matches W’s intentions):

H:  Wee-yum, I don’t want to smell your privates.

(I thought I was going to die!)

**

Bumpa:  What do you get when you mix yellow paint and blue paint?

W:  GREEN!

H:  A duck!

**

Me:  Hudson, please put away the coloring books.

H:  Okay.  (but he doesn’t actually put them away)

Me:  Hudson, I asked you to please put away the coloring books.

H:  Mom, don’t ask me again.

WHAT!?!

**

3am:

Anna:  (screaming)  BRUB-BER!  BRUB-BEE!  BRUBBB-BEE!

Yes, she wants to play with them.  In the MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT.  NO, NO, SISTER!

**

while handing out plates at dinner . . .

Me:  Hudson . . .

Anna:  AN-NA!

Me:  William . . .

Anna: AN-NA!

Me:  Grayson . . .

Anna:  AN-NA!  AN-NA!

Me:  No, we did not forget to feed you, Anna!

**

Me: Hudson, please clean that up. It looks like you are making a mess.

H: Mom, don’t stress me out!

WHAT!?!?

I have absolutely no idea where he heard that language.  NO CLUE AT ALL. 

Nighty night!  Anna will be up wanting to play with her brothers in about four hours . . . off to sleep!