Yo Baby!

Back off ladies.... He's Mine!!

You Make Me Feel Like a Lanch or a Woman!

Gabe came home yesterday joking about a conversation he had at work about when people (this includes you too- you know you've done this - come out of your hiding place and admit it!!) think they know the lyrics to a song and confidently sing it out loud only to be laughed at by others. That conversation led me to remember when I was elementary or junior high age. I was walking around my house belting out...."You make me feel like a lanch or a woman" My sister rolled her eyes and laughed hysterically when she realized what song I was singing and what the lyrics really were. It was supposed to be, "You make me feel like a natural woman"! So, on that note, I have some challenges for you....

1. If you have ever done this (and you know you have) respond and let me know what your mixed up lyrics were.
2. What's a lanch? You tell me.... respond with your very own definitions for "lanch"!

Commonly Heard Around Our House....

Julia to Oliver: "No gog, No gog, Hush gog"

Mom to Oliver: "Isaac.. um, Julia... um, Papa...um, UGH - STOP DOG!"

Oliver to Isaac: "If you do not stop chasing me around and screaming, I am going to bite you on the heel!" (obviously took liberty in interpreting that for Oliver)

Mom to Isaac: "No, Oliver can not ride in the dump truck or the baby doll stroller. And he definitely does not like being shut in the play kitchen oven."

Mom to Julia: "Stop putting Oliver's chew toy in your mouth -YUCK!!" (ok, so she just did that once, but still YUCK!!)

Isaac to everyone (as he is "flying" Oliver all over the house) : Dum, da, da, dum..... Super Oliver!!

Mom to Oliver(as he thinks he is hiding behind a skinny little bar under our bed): "Yes, I can see you Oliver. Come out."

Isaac to everyone (as he takes Oliver to his room and shuts the door): "Only boys allowed in my room. That's the rule"

Isaac to Oliver: "He he he he he he he......." (as he chases him around with the play weed wacker. Oliver becomes our "ferocious" guard dog. Hilarious to see such little puppy barking with all his might to save us from the "alien invasion" of the dreaded weed wacker!!)

Mom to Oliver (as I am reminded of the movie Turner and Hooch): "This is not your room!"

The dialog in our house is a bit different now that Oliver has joined our family. Little Oliver's personality is coming out more and more. He is lively and energetic but also loves to cuddle in our laps. He loves the kids and tolerates their "torture", I mean play ;) (well, only for so long - then he runs and hides, usually under my bed) We are now past some of the initial puppy frustrations. He is doing great with house training. No accidents this week! I am actually enjoying being a pet owner a little more this week.

(Oliver loves to sleep with his face in or on our shoes! So cute!)

Best of all, Oliver serves as a great "tantrum buster". The other day Julia (with her almost two year old temperment) decided to throw an all out, on the floor tantrum. In comes Oliver to the rescue as he licked and pounced her right off the floor. It was funny to see how fast she forgot her troubles and stood up. Thanks Oliver!!

"But Mama"

I have come to realize that my first name is no longer Cheryl or even just Mama, it is "But Mama"! Isaac is very much in that stage of wanting to argue his way out of everything which is always preceded with, "but Maaammmaaaaa"! Very annoying! I have heard rumor that this stage does not officially end until well past adolescence. I am sure my sister, Karen, can confirm that rumor. She has two teenage boys. YIKES! Anyway, back to my sweet but very argumentative son. His latest addition to his growing vocabulary is, "I don't believe you love me anymore". This is said as he is sitting in time out for who knows what. It is funny that children learn to lay down a serious guilt trip so early in life. -------------"CALGON, TAKE ME AWAY!!!!!"


SIDE NOTE: The guilt trip does not work on me!

The Dog Whisperer has met his match!!

Look what I found Oliver chewing on today! Maybe he thinks he can chew his way out of getting trained! Uhhh - NOPE! He is such a mess. Literally!!! The house training is definitely not complete as of yet. Though frustrating, it is funny to see his obvious "I done it" look of guilt. He knows when he has done something wrong and will tuck his tail and hide. (usually under my bed - another training issue!!) And even though he has only been living with us for 3 weeks now, he is SO VERY MUCH a house dog. I took him out the other day when it was wet and cold outside. He completely refused to put one paw in the soggy, cold grass. Pathetic! I made him go and he hesitantly obeyed with a very serious pouty face. Oliver high stepped it through the grass like he was "above"this means of torture to his delicate house loving paws. It was one of those moments that I couldn't help but laugh at his little personality. Not all is bad around here with Oliver. He has managed to upgrade his sleeping arrangements from the garage to the kitchen. There has been less whining when he is crated. And today, he learned to sit and stay. Owning a dog has definitely presented its own set of challenges and frustrations ,but all in all I love our dog and wouldn't trade him for anything.

Isaac's 4th Birthday!!

As of yesterday, Isaac is officially a four year old!!!! He is pretty proud of that fact and had a few "four year old entitlement" issues to work through yesterday. He thought he could do and have anything now that he is a "big boy"! HA - no worries we worked through this misunderstanding!!

The birthday festivities kicked off last Saturday with his "bug infested" birthday party. It was tons of fun!! Most of the kiddos came dressed up as a buggy creature and posed in front of a backdrop for a cute picture. Isaac was a grass hopper and Julia was a ladybug. Two of Isaac's friends came as a praying mantis and a love bug. SO CUTE!! And let's not forget, the aunts. Phyllis, Peggy, and Billy came in with bumble bee hats on their heads while waving bee wands. Isaac and Julia loved it and soon took over the bee hats! (well, I guess Gabe and I did as well) We started the party with the kids decorating a homemade bug keeper which immediately led to the sandbox for a bug hunt. (plastic bugs hidden in the sand) That was a huge hit!! The last activity was a balancing game. The kids had to balance a large plastic bug on a flyswatter, walk a few feet, then drop the bug in a bucket!! Easy success for all !! After gift opening, in which Isaac got some really neat books and science activities (and lots more), we did the birthday cake. It was appropriately named "backyard bugs". The cake looked like a mound of dirt with some plastic grass and bugs all over it. Easiest cake I have made yet and it looked and tasted great!! All had a wonderful time!

Yesterday morning ( the 14th, Isaac's birthday) Gabe and I woke Isaac up at 6:45 with a birthday muffin and candle while singing "Happy Birthday". He woke up, grinned, then grabbed the muffin and ate it in bed. Gabe also made Isaac pancakes for breakfast - one of his favorites. The rest of the day was spent at the park and lunch with Gabe at his office. For nap time, I let Isaac stay up . We made a pallet of blankets and pillows on the living room floor, popped popcorn, and watched a movie. His birthday ended with dinner and lots of fun and games at Chuck E. Cheese's. Phew - that was exhausting!! You would think our fun was over, but NO -- I took Isaac and Julia to the Children's Museum today. We usually do some sort of fun outing on the kids' birthday and this was Isaac's choice. Again, fun but exhausting!

Can you tell we LOVE to celebrate birthdays around here?! Isaac is worth celebrating. We have been blessed with four marvelous years with him. This birthday has been harder on me than most. Isaac is not my baby anymore. He is grown past the toddler stage and is going full speed into the "big" boy stage. I think at each milestone for our children, parents are forced to feel a bittersweet pain. It is fascinating and exciting to see our children grow and learn, but sad to see how fast time goes by. This may sound like a cliche, but it does feel like "it was just yesterday" when I was holding my sweet firstborn son in my arms. Gabe often quotes the song from the musical "Big" called "Stop, Time". This is exactly how I feel.....

Two months old, he looks up at you How his smile melts your heart You want to say, "Stop, time" Don't move on. Even as you watch that look is gone. Then he's two, such a little man. So alive and so smart. Again you say, "Stop, time" . Stay just this way,but the future comes and he can't stay. Nobody warns you of this parent's paradox. You want your kid to change and grow,but when he does, another child you've just begun to know leaves forever. Birthdays fly - 7, 8, 9, 10 . Every kid he becomes you clutch and say "Stop, time". Hold this one fast. But it's not supposed to last. And that time has come and passed for he's growing and he has to go.....

I LOVE YOU ISAAC! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

BUBBLES!!

I am reminded of the fish in Finding Nemo as Julia squeals with every ounce of little girl joy, "BUBBLES BUBBLES"!! She absolutely loves her bubble baths. She has always been a nut for bath time. As a screaming infant, baths were sometimes the only thing that would calm her down. She has now become very territorial with her bath and huffs and puffs if she has to share her precious bath time with Isaac. Such a diva!!

Playful Papa

Gabe is such a cool Papa! He does not shy away from silliness with the kids and they delight in his fun and games. As you can see in the picture above....double decker swinging! How fun is that?!

Chopped My Locks

What do you think? I told Gabe I wanted to go short again. He simply laughed. I tend to go back and forth.... I want long hair, now short,now long, so on and so forth! Gabe stopped me before I went into the salon and took a picture of my "long" hair. Ha ha - very funny Gabe. Good thing he did, because it is gone now. Isaac commented when I got home that I didn't look like his Mommy! I guess it has been awhile since I have gone short!!

Two Kids and a Dog

Ok, so it was two kids minus a dog today. Oliver went missing. YIKES! He was literally right beside me, then he vanished into thin air. He likes to get under things to nap, like the desk or our bed. He loves our closet the most. After searching for him nonchalantly around the house, I soon realized he was not in any of his usual spots. I started to panic. We searched our yard, down the street, and even asked the neighbors if they had seen him. We looked for an hour. When he never turned up, I was truly sad that our first pet (one that we haven't had for even a week) was gone. I felt like I had let the kids down. Isaac was of course "so big" about it. He just kept repeating over and over, "I am sure he is here somewhere Mommy." How is that my almost four year old can be so mature in a time of panic and his 30 year old Mom is going nuts looking for this silly dog? This story is strangely familiar. Anyone remember the lost Bear incident?! When Gabe got home ,we gathered in our bedroom to think of anywhere else we could look. In the chaos of the moment, out strolls sleepy Oliver from our closet. Do you want to know how many times I searched that closet?!!! I pulled all the shoes out, the laundry basket, clothes.....EVERYTHING! I have no idea where he was hiding, but there he stood looking at us like "Hi guys, what's the big deal?" I was happy and frustrated all in the same moment. If my life wasn't crazy enough to begin with, Oliver has definitely added another layer of insanity! Don't get me wrong I love my dog and welcome his mischievous ways. What fun is life without a little drama here and there?!

INTRODUCING........

OLIVER (Ollie for short!!)

Isn't he the cutest puppy you have ever seen?! Gabe brought our little Boston Terrier puppy home yesterday. We picked him out about a month ago, but he is just now big enough to come home. We had several names picked out(like Max, Buster, and Rex) before he arrived and we planned to let Isaac choose the final name. However, when we saw him none of those names seemed to fit. I commented pretty soon after I saw him that he has some green in his eyes and it made me think of the name Oliver. It stuck as you can see!

Gabe arrived home with Oliver while the kids were napping. We taped up clues all over the backyard and took the kids on a scavenger hunt with our new friend as the surprise at the end. The last clue said; "The goal of this search is not a prize,but a friend. If you want to meet him, go to the garage and peek in". It worked great. Isaac and Julia had no idea that there was a puppy waiting for them in the garage. Gabe opened the door to reveal our new puppy and Isaac in true form was a bit unsure and reserved. He wanted to know specifically where we got him and why he was there. Without those answers he was not going to go near that puppy. Once we assured him that he was in fact our puppy then he was delighted. Julia was as well. I think we heard maybe a hundred times or more, "Hi gog" (hi dog!)

Today my heart melted as I watched Isaac squeal with little boy delight as Oliver chased him in the backyard. Then a bit later I peeked outside to see Oliver nestled up to Isaac's back as he played in the sandbox. Ahhhhh heartwarming moments.... that was until Julia thought it would be funny to pour a bucket full of sand on top of poor Oliver. He took it well. I guess he is just going to have to get used to living with kids!!

Gabe is planning to post some video of the kids discovering their new friend. So be sure to check his blog for that.

Homemade Ornaments

I mentioned a few posts back that one of our favorite family Christmas traditions is to make our own ornaments. We actually got them finished before Christmas this year. YIPEE!! We let the kids paint one side and we painted the other. It was messy, but lots of fun.
Here are the pictures of this year's ornaments. Isaac got a tree. Why? you ask. Isaac just recently learned how to climb trees. He even climbs the thin branched Crepe Myrtle in our backyard. One day those branches are just going to snap under his weight!! Julia's ornament was a pair of shoes. No brainer there... she learned to walk this year. Now she is climbing, running, and almost jumping. Our family ornament was a mini van. Silly you might think, but we LOVE our mini van. There is nothing more pracitcal and affordable for a family with little ones than the beloved mini van. Bonus.... the third row seat makes a great "bed" on long trips!