Wednesday, April 28, 2010

This Wonderful Insanity Called LIFE!


We've had a rough few days thanks to that second front tooth. Yesterday, in particular, was quite painful. Nothing seemed to satisfy.


Sister and Little Man jumped in and washed the dishes for me. As a bonus, my counters, cabinet doors, and floor were flooded with soapy dishwater and are now cleaner than ever!


While washing, we suffered only one casualty...at the hands of a rather excited Little Man.


This big guy looked on happily.


Sister found a new way to tackle those dusty floors.


Little Man decided the GIANT stainless steel water bowl the dogs have out back wasn't enough, so he supplemented with one of our every day bowls. (That makes two casualties in less than an hour.)


Little Bit, who I have recently begun calling "Cupcake" (not sure why - it just came out one afternoon) is MOBILE. And life has changed. She's not up on all fours, but she sure gets around!


We're seeing a lot of this. (Please don't judge the dirty feet...I sweep multiple times a day and we bathe regularly.)


I tried to get a picture of all three of them. You see what I got.


I asked Sister to keep an eye on Little Bit while I tucked the Little Man into bed. When I came back to the living room, this is what I found. Sister built a tent and made a pile of cheerios for Little Bit and was reading to her.


Such sweetness.


Sister is so ADORED.


This is what they started doing yesterday.


I saw them from the den window. They've figured out how to rig the gas pedal on the jeep and have taken up "hood surfing" - and the like.


I insisted if they were going to perform such dangerous acts, they wear helmets. (In all seriousness, I wondered if I should make them...was I overreacting? Being one of those moms?)


Literally, TWO SECONDS after I made them don the helmets, Little Man tumbled over the roll bar and out the side, LANDING ON THE TOP OF HIS HEAD. I was so thankful he was wearing a helmet. We all had a good laugh and thanked God...and they were off again!

He had three other "brushes with death," if you will...as we exited the preschool building after dropping Sister off, he ran straight into oncoming traffic in the parking lot. Never mind the fact that he KNOWS NOT to go in the street/parking lot. Thank goodness moms have ninja speed - all drivers stopped and I yanked him out of the street. (I am making light of it...it was NOT funny and I am so thankful for God's mercy in keeping Little Man safe.)

After making a return at Target, I put him in the car on the drivers' side and instructed him to climb through to his seat. I turned my attention to buckling Little Bit and saw something out of the corner of my eye. It was Little Man. He was swinging (unintentionally) head first over the top bar of the buggy return. Again, thanks to my stealth moves, I yanked him off the bar, saving his head from cracking on the pavement, marched him to his seat, and strapped him in.

Yesterday afternoon brought cool temperatures, so I decided to leave the kitchen door open while I made dinner. I put a baby gate in the kitchen doorway (there are concrete steps immediately out the kitchen door) to keep Warrior out. Little Man, as I am now told, was "playing wit Warrior." He (Little Man) ran into the gate, body slamming it and screaming at the top of his lungs. As the words "don't do that again" were spilling from my mouth, he did it again. Only that time, the gate gave way and he slid, head first, over the baby gate, and down the concrete steps. Miraculously, he received only a minor wound on his finger and a rather shocking, screaming reaction from his mother.

Boys are SO DIFFERENT than girls.



T left for work at 4:45am yesterday. He got home at 7pm. He works SO hard. Our plates were steaming while Little Man said the blessing, followed immediately with "I need to go poo poo. Daddy, peas come wif me."

There is something incredibly attractive about a man who has worked all day long and is exhausted, leaving his hot dinner, to sit on the tub, and tell his three year old son about bull dozers. T didn't even bat an eye when his presence was requested. Nor did he ask me to go. He went. He loved his son well and laid down his life for me. Very. Attractive.

13 comments:

  1. How precious! These days are FLYING by and you WILL look back and wonder where they WENT!! ENJOY ENJOY ENJOY!! We have had a few dish casualties lately too...as we have a broken dishwasher to be replaced...LATER...so the kids and I are tackling the PILE of dishes and breaking more than usual.

    Have a WONDERFUL evening my dear friend!

    Love,
    Camille

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  2. Steve got up with the baby for the first time last night. It was so sweet and it made me feel very loved.

    Wow! God has his angels working overtime for your boy!

    Loved the pic of the kids fighting. How refreshing! We're normal!!!!!!! LOL!

    Life is good, isn't it?

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  3. That Little Man. Whoa. He laughs in the face of danger. I still can't get over the broken window due to tongs. Not funny, just hilarious. :) love you

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  4. I love your stories about Little Man (especially as a mom of 2-soon to be 3-boys). They always make me smile and encourage me that I'm not the only one who has to deal with the amazing antics of little boys. Thanks for sharing, Anna (Poythress) Beall

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  5. Sorry about all the mishaps. Love how you love that man of yours!!

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  6. Hood surfing, body slamming into the gate, are you sure yall don't have cable? :) There's a catalog that Jake and I get called Moosejaw (camping stuff)...their motto is "Love the Maddness", I should get you a shirt with that on it :) They are growing up so fast. Good luck with the teething, I relied on the teething tablets...James is working on molars now.
    Love yall!!!

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  7. Honestly, I think you're one little boy is more active and mischievous than both of mine put together; he is so full of personality and ideas. Precious.

    And isn't your girl such a great big sister! I'm always so touched by the ways that she finds to "help" you and how she cares for baby sister.

    Oh my your crew is creative and before you know it Little Bit will be a part of the fray!

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  8. Of all the lovely moments you shared in this post, the best was your reflection on T as husband and father---brought tears to my eyes! You are blessed, and further blessed to know it so well!Love, BettieBoyd

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  9. Okay, the shots of dare-devils on the Jeep are HILARIOUS! Hope you're doing well!

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  10. Hi again J! I was thinking about your little man the other day and it reminded me of something one of my men did (he will be anonymous for this story)...

    Emma was minding her own business (one can only assume) and suddenly I heard a shriek! *The boy* was using the power head of the vacuum on her HEAD!! She had long hair and it left a bald spot the size of a nickel...there was blonde hair twisted in the power head...WHAT they won't come up with hey?? :)

    Have a great day!
    Love,
    Camille

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  11. I LOVE the picture of the three of them. So classic. It made me chortle out loud, because it is so real.

    What a beautiful (albeit harried!) family life.

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  12. Oh, boys, boys, BOYS! They MUST be made out of steel to survive so many conks, bumps, falls, tumbles, crashes, slips, etc. etc.
    You are doing great with your rambunctious (sp?) guy, not to mention your darling little muffin girls! :) "Cupcake" is cuter than ever, and looks like a mischievous little elf! :)
    They're all so wonderful! And your hubby is good to you and the kids. :) You have every right to appreciate him. LOVE YOU!

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