Missing tooth

For the last couple of weeks, the excitement around my house has been building.  Youngest discovered he has two loose teeth!  These are the first of this teeth to wiggle, so the excitement just could not be contained once he made this discovery.
I'm not terribly surprised that he has two loose teeth at once, when he was a baby and was cutting teeth he would get them either in pairs or four at a time.  Good times!
Yesterday, youngest told me he had something to show me.  One of those teeth was just barely hanging in there.  He allowed hubby and I to give it a yank, but he kept moving his mouth and we'd lose our grip.  The tooth was hitting a nerve and was a bit sore.  He couldn't eat his dinner, he just kept holding his hands over his mouth.  He did NOT want anymore hands near his mouth.  It was pretty pitiful. 
At bedtime, he was beginning to cave.  The lure of the tooth fairy visit was giving him cause to waver.  I read him a bedtime story and once we were done, he said that he wanted me to try again, only he wanted oldest to hold him down.
He laid very still, but silly mom forgot to dry the tooth off first and again I lost my grip. I called hubby to let him have a try.  He told youngest that he was just going to dry it off, as he was pulling his hand back out, he grabbed hold and pulled the tooth right out.  Youngest was still wincing waiting for Daddy to pull the tooth.  He was shocked that he hadn't felt a thing!  Of course, being ALL BOY, he was thrilled that there was blood in his mouth.
He needed to immediately call both grandparents and let them in on the good news.  Of course there was much excitement around the whole thing. 
We got a glass, put a little water in it, plopped the tooth in and youngest quickly went to bed! 
He could not have been anymore excited to wake up and find that the tooth fairy didn't disappoint.  She left him a very loud whistle (because when you lose a tooth, you lose your whistler too, nevermind that he doesn't know how to whistle) and $5.00! 

I'd imagine he's really working on that second tooth today....the tooth fairy is going to be broke if he keeps losing all of his teeth!

Hard work does little bodies lots of good....

In my last post I'd told the tale of oldest's woes and having to get his hair buzzed.  He promised he was going to change his ways!  Keeping up with his appearance, making sure he keeps his room picked up, not picking on youngest, etc...We had a sliver of hope that this would be a real turning point.  AND THEN, hubby and I hired a babysitter so we could go out to dinner and catch a movie. 
Before we left, we told the boys to be on their best behavior, to not play in the mud-pile (formerly a dirt pile from a foundation that's being dug next door, but two days of rain quickly turns dirt into mud) and lights out by 9pm.  Most any parent that leaves their kids with a babysitter knows that there is some fudge room in there...that's the fun of having someone new watching you!
So, off we went to re-find ourselves.  We had great mexican food.  We caught up with each other, I mean we had an actual uninterrupted conversation, can you imagine??  We laughed, we flirted, we even discussed another baby (again).  After dinner we headed to the theatre and bought tickets for Captain America (surprisingly awesome!!).  We indulged in some fabulous people watching, and I casually mentioned that oldest is nearing the age that I was when I started babysitting. I idly wondered aloud if he could handle the responsibility of keeping track of the two of them without mass destruction of life or property??  AND THEN....we went home.  My question was answered almost as soon as we pulled into the driveway. 
The list of wrong-doings and misbehavior is quite extensive.  Had they not been so rotten, I would almost be impressed by the number of things they were able to accomplish in a four hour period.  It was almost as though they were working off of a checklist that they'd complied 'let's add this to the list of things to do next time Mom and Dad leave us with a sitter'.  Youngest managed to almost scalp himself (in a few different places on his head) AND clean my table with various chemicals that should not be used on a hardwood table AND play in the mud (again, he was told not to do this).  Oldest helped himself to our video camera and tied it to string hanging it from various unknown locations around the house and yard to capture what can only be described as the dizzying world around him (as well as playing in the mud...again he was told not to do this, but did not have the where-with-all to at least turn the camera off first) AND grabbed his airsoft gun and had a mini shootout with his buddies that came over AND performed experiments in the middle of the street with various pantry products.
Of course, there's more....there always is!  I just wish we could bottle all of this genius and energy and us it for good rather than ornery! 
While I cannot account for where the sitter was or what she was doing, after their night of fun, my party-all-the time boys paid their dues!  They 'happily' washed my car as well as three cars that do not belong to us (thanks neighbors...I hope you enjoyed your free car wash), both dogs received baths, one kennel got scrubbed, and they helped relocate some of the 'dirt' from the mud pile to a landscaping bed that hubby is working on.  Last but certainly not least they have to tuck their tails and apologize to the sitter for their behavior. 
At the end of last night both of my boys had thoroughly and completely learned their lesson!  Mom and Dad's rules apply even when they are not home!
Sometimes it's hard being a kid...it's even harder being a parent and figuring out the right way to handle these situations.  I really believe that God allows us to face these obstacles for a reason....for the life of me I can't get a handle on what that reason is though!

Submission

Our children have been having a difficult time learning how to be productive members of our family.  The talking back, refusal to pick up after themselves and sassy mouths have hubby and I at our wits end. Don't get me wrong, we would walk through fire for our boys that are normally very good children. It's just as of late, this crazy thing called 'free will' has been getting the better of them and they're having a tough time making the right decisions. 
Just before school started, hubby told my oldest that he needed to get in the habit of making sure his hair was presentable every day before he leaves the house and he needed to keep his room picked up.  He was given two weeks to 'practice' fixing his hair AND keeping his room clean or else he was going to the barbershop and he would be getting a buzz cut (NOT his normal 'do'). Can we predict where this is going???
We land on Saturday morning and that child couldn't get it together and help around the house.  He sort of just lolligags and drags his feet in hopes that someone else will do it for him.  Not this day!  This day....he pulled the final straw. 
Now......he sits in the barber chair.  Learning a hard lesson.  HE is not in control.  HE doesn't make the rules.  HE must learn to be a member of our family.  Now, perhaps when he looks in the mirror he will remember following instructions, keeping himself presentable and watching the sass that slips out so easily.
If this doesn't work....he'll be wearing the outfits that hubby and I choose for him.  White or Navy polo shirt and khaki pants or shorts....a uniform!  Can you imagine? 
Somtimes lessons of childhood are difficult.  Parenthood is always difficult.  Maybe that makes us even somehow?

FUN-DOOR

My youngest has always been afraid of storms.  When he was much smaller and still sleeping in a toddler bed, thunderstorms would occasionally wake him in the night.  Of course, he wasn't about to stay in his bed, he would bravely walk down the hall to where hubby and I sleep.  I was woken by a face about 2 inches from mine saying 'That fun-door cared me right out my room'! That made two of us that were now 'cared', I was certainly not expecting to wake up with someone standing so close to my face.
Fast forward to current day.  My little man is now 5 years old, still scared of thunderstorms.  Last night we had a BIG storm blow through our area.  This was a vicious storm that left the backyard a mess and lots of people in surrounding communities without power.  While this should be old hat, I was still surprised to have a visitor around midnight telling me he was scared.  He hopped up into bed and almost immediately fell back to sleep.
As any parent knows, children come equipt with about 900 knees and elbows.  They somehow hide them as they carry on with their everyday lives, but when they are in bed with you all you can feel are knees and elbows merilessly jabbing you!  This is not the most pleasant way to spend a night's sleep!
As soon as he was asleep, I carried him back to bed.  Two hours later, the storm was still going strong and there was my youngest, scared again...poor guy!  I threw in the towel and just let him stay in bed with us.  How does one body manage to take up so much space?  Somehow that wiggly little body managed to put itself horizontal on the bed.  I had feet in my back or stomach all night and hubby got the rock-hard head!  There was our little boy sound asleep with not a worry in the world.  Ahh to be young again!

Handle with care....

Fragile: easily broken, or destroyed, constitutionally delicate : lacking in vigor




Yep, that's about right for me today!

And we're off....

Hello!  I'm so glad you're joining me here!  I've decided to start keeping track of all of the craziness that happens around me, that adds up to life. 


A bit about me....I'm a wife, a mother of two, doggy parent of two, a daughter, a sister, an aunt and always looking for an easier way!  The main stars that you will see here will be my family of four and the possible innocent bystander that dares to cross our paths!  Sit back, relax and enjoy the journey with me....you never know what the day might bring!


To bring you up to speed, this year I took 4 consecutive weeks off from work and soaked up some much needed time with my kiddos (ages 9 1/2 and 5).  The first week, my hubby and I took a road trip with our boys to South Dakota.  We'd been planning the trip for about 5 and a half months, but kept the whole thing a surprise from our boys!  About an hour before we left, we told them we were going on vacation, they were shocked!  All of that secret keeping was worth it in the end. The weather, scenery and company were perfect!  The last three weeks flew by!  Between various play dates with cousins, trips to the swimming pool and basketball camp I'm not sure where the time went.  I've been back at work for a little over a month and in no time at all it was like I was never gone.


In the meantime, I've come down with a severe case of baby fever! I was a bit blind-sided by this overwhelming need, as both my hubby and I have felt like our family is complete for quite awhile.  Now, I keep thinking....what if we had just one more???  It seems that everywhere I look I'm surrounded by baby things lately!  Pregnant people, neighbors with new babies, commercials for babies.  I hear a new little bundle calling my name.....maybe!