You can't be serious

The hits just keep rolling over here at Chez Needham.

My kids are so busy. So so so so so so so busy. The endless motion is enough to send me into the corner with a paper bag.

This morning Blake was sitting up at the counter with Parker, eating his breakfast. Of course, with non stop movement. There are points in the day where I am so tired of repeating myself, that the tiniest amount of sarcasm will sneak into my voice. Naturally.

"Blake! I have an idea. How about you sit down in your chair, and eat your breakfast like I have asked you to?"

In the sweetest, most sincere voice, he replies, "Mommy. I have an idea. How about we use our nice words?"

Stop.

Just stop.

Oh Wow.

I am surprised that I don't have a counter mark indented into my waist. I spend so much time in the kitchen, that I think that if I pushed hard enough on the counter itself, it would make my stomach flatter.

Because I live such a life of leisure and have so much free time for myself, I was thrilled to hear what Blake had to say when I came home from the gym this evening.

I literally was gone from 5:01 until 6:09. I walk in the door to all three boys (big and little alike) crowded around a coloring book.

No one looks up.

"Mommy. You forgot to come home and make us dinner." Color color color.

"Don't worry, Daddy went ahead and made it." Color color color.

Sigh....

The good kind of sigh. The kind where you can actually hear yourself sigh.

Right before bed the other night, both boys were quietly engrossed in their own project, in opposite ends of the house. Dave and I were beside ourselves.

For a good four and a half minutes.

Peeky Likes Pizza

So I have been trying to stay home more often. I want my kids to enjoy the toys that they have, rather than the dirty broken pieces that they endlessly adore at the Children's Museum, or craving the snot infested climbing toys at the mall.

This means I have to get a little more creative when it comes to doing fun stuff at home. Hate playdoh, dread finger paint, and we all know, I loathe chalk. And you can only create a traffic jam with 117 matchbox cars so many times, until you wish you were in the middle of one.

So on Sunday, we made family pizza. Nothing gross, just dough, sauce, cheese and olives. I rolled the dough, spread the sauce, Blake sprinkled the cheese and Parker ate the olives.

Sleepy Bunnies

My kids LOVE Annie's Chocolate Bunny crackers. So much, that when you try to replace them with a box of Annie's Graham Crackers, you get a swift reminder that we need to stop by the store. "Remind me Mommy, when we are out and about."

Parker spent the entire car ride home trying to open the package, that he fell asleep from exhaustion.

Let's Just Be Honest

I am not big on surprises, and am usually known to tell it like it is.

So here goes.

There are days (more lately than before...) where I find this parenting thing not so much fun. I actually find it exhausting, frustrating and somewhat annoying.

SURPRISE!!!!!

Please refer to the two included photos as just 2 of the 613 reasons why my children have spent a great deal of time lately in their bedroom, "waiting for Mommy".

If you are looking for a free oversized box of chalk, you can look no further than my garbage can.

My Favorite Photo of the Week

Young Love

Sorry ladies, Parker has a love. Her name is Ava Summer, and she is about as cute as they get.

The mere mention of Ava, sends Parker into giggles and dancing. It really is the perfect match considering how much they have in common.

1. They both enjoy cutting new teeth, and the drool that follows.
2. They both LOVE to scream.
3. They enjoy stuffing their faces with food.
4. They both LOVE their mommies.
5. They both hate having toys taken away from them.


Angela and I are convinced that they will make the most beautiful babies someday, if we can pry them off of us first.

The Ughs of Parenting

Sleep time in our house is non-negotiable. Always has been, always will be. Your bed is for the purpose of sleeping, so make it happen.

When Blake transitioned into a big boy bed, he was 23 months old, and we worked really hard at placing a large amount of fear into him about ever getting out. This has worked amazingly well.

Until now.

I heard the sweetest little singing in his room about an hour after I put him down for his afternoon nap. I tip-toed to his door, and quickly opened it to find him playing in the middle of his room. There he was, with those big blue eyes staring back at me, absolutely frozen. I told him in a very flat voice to place his rear end back in his bed and that mommy was not happy.

"Okay Mommy, okay. Here I go, I am getting back in my bed."

Then, to Blake, the worst possible thing happened. I took Bruce.

Time outs are for babies and spankings are for wimps, but if you take Bruce, you have devastated my child.

As I walked out to place Bruce on top of the fridge (where you can see him, but can't touch him!!!) Blake cries out in a whisper, "Goodbye Bruce..........Goodbye."

Where Sharks Come From

This is how the conversation went in our car yesterday on our way to the Dady's Housewarming Party:

"Blake, don't forget to mention how excited you are about Auntie Kari's new baby girl that is in her tummy. Maybe if the baby kicks, you will be able to feel it!"

"Oh Mommy! Kind of like when Bruce was in my tummy and he would kick me!"

"Wow, Blake, how did Bruce end up coming out of your tummy?"

"Oh, easy. He just came out of my belly button. But you see Mommy, when Bruce came out, he didn't have any arms."

"Really?"

"No Mommy. He didn't get arms for a long long time. Then he went and got some at the Shark Arm Store."

HA!!

This morning while Blake was eating his oatmeal, he was doing this weird dance with his eye closed. I muttered under my breath, "You are such a spaz"

He then laughed and said, "You are such a spatula."

A Hot Good Time

I might just be the meanest mom in the world. It is possible.

Today Blake and I have played hand after hand of Memory. I am the Ultimate Memory Champion, and have been for more than 25 years. Now that I have a three year old, we are back at it. Blake is actually really good. I only caught him cheating once today, when the match to the fish and the red bird were missing. Dave would tell you he learned that from me, I would tell you he is competitive because of his daddy. At one point, he got right in my face and said, "Mommy, I am beating you up!!" Nice.

We played two times while he was suppose to be napping. Both times, I won...by a landslide. There is no way, no how, I will let him win.

Even if he does have a temperature of 103.