Permanent Record

There's nothing like a permanent marker to put me on edge. That would be a permanent marker in a 5 year old's hands. I even went to hiding them after CSR wrote on his bedroom wall, the counter and a slat in the living room blinds. Of course, it turns out I must not be very good at hiding things. I can't find a marker when I want one and CSR seems to have a stash he's willing to dip into to help me out. I stress "loan" because he hovers around until I give it back. We must have a hundred pens, markers and crayons for the kids to use whenever they want, so what is it with the Sharpie? Forbidden fruit?

Lucky Charms

When you have children, apparently all holidays become a big deal. We don't really celebrate St. Patrick's Day, unless you count wearing something green as celebrating. So when talking to CSR about St. Patrick's Day, he floored us with what he thought we should do. First. we have to hang up our stocking so the St. Patrick's man can come and fill them up. Then we have to have Lucky Charms cereal. Hmmmm, not so sure about the stockings. But could probably pull off the cereal. Of course, though knowing CSR's sugar habit, I didn't want to suffer through the battle of dealing with an entire box of Lucky Charms (am I weak?). So on Monday night I remember about the cereal but realize that it's too late for me to go to the store. So I ask Tyler if he can remember to stop at the store after working late and get one of those multi-packs of cereal that have the mini-boxes. That I could deal with. So I take the mini-box of Lucky Charms, tie a silver (didn't have any gold) cord to it and string the cord from CSR's bedroom door knob to the living room and hide the cereal. I have to say, it seems like money well spent, considering how surprised CSR was and how much he seemed to enjoy the treat. Nothing like sugar for breakfast. How lucky am I?

Red Rubber Boots

This is exactly what rubber boots were invented for... splashing in puddles. RTR wasn't quite ready to get in the car as we left our baby n' me music class this morning. So there he was wading through all the little puddles along the teacher's driveway and yard. And there were a lot of them. It was quite a study on his part. He would pause, mid-puddle and seemed to be giving the dynamics of water and rocks and leaves a lot of thought. Consider the depth of each puddle and what happens when a rock is dropped in. He even tried to peel the rocks out of the landscaping for more splashing action. Of course, one little slip, and he was done. He doesn't seem to like getting his hands muddy. Another lesson for me too that I should slow down and not always be in such a rush to load up and drive off to the next place.

Brothers

We've hit a milestone... at least CSR and RTR seem to have. Playing in the backyard together. CSR headed out to the backyard to play Friday afternoon. RTR (aka Mr. Me Too) of course, couldn't be left inside. He put on his boots, pulled me over to the coat rack and pointed to his vest. This fleece vest that's almost too small. It's tight across RTR's middle, reminding me of a middle aged man with a spare tire. But I digress. So once zipped into his vest, he heads outside too. First I see him carefully scooping up water and dumping it back into the muddy soup that's developed in the sandbox. A little while later, RTR is following CSR along the back fence, carefully stepping along the rocks trying to keep up. Both wearing their rubber boots. Another glance out the window and I see the two of them and what looks like them having a conversation with RTR pointing at something and CSR saying something. And then it's all topped off with a soft knock at the door. I open the front (!) door to find both of them smiling, ready to come in.

Trying To Get Ahead

Why take all those digital photos if all you're going to do is let them either sit on the memory card or languish in some file on your computer? Although, even filing the prints in photo albums isn't necessarily rewarding either-- the only people who seem to look at them are CSR and maybe my mom and mother in-law when they come to visit. So I'm dusting off the picture files and sharing a few recent ones. The quality of some also make me think we need a new camera. What's the life span of a digital camera?

Carefree carousel days




Fun times at the aquarium

Treating Your First Child As If It's Your Second

I got this title from a chapter in a book called "How to Raise Children at Home in Your Spare Time." While the book is a little outdated, I thought the chapter title made some sense. I wish I had treated our first born as if he was our second. It seems our second born is a little more independent-- figuring out how to put his shoes on, grabbing his coat when he's ready to go and trying to dress himself. At almost six years old, there are still times when I have to do all those things for CSR. Makes the 21 month old child look so much more advanced.