Merry Christmas 2010

Gingerbread Houses

These houses kicked my tail. I had to read and re-read the instructions and even then I didn't put the icing bag together right. After a bit of frustration and the boys saying a thousand times "when can we decorate them" I figured them out and away they went.

They had so much fun! They would eat some candy and then put some on the houses, eat some more, put some more on the houses. Both the boys are really enjoying Christmas this year and all the goodies that go along with it.

I enjoy seeing the excitement in their eyes as Christmas draws nearer. They can hardly wait to see what Santa has brought them. I can hardly wait to see their faces on Christmas morning!

Halloween 2010

Picture taken with iphone 4

We trick or treated at Nana's house this year. The boys were doggies and I made their costumes. We all had fun. The boys ate themselves into a sugar stupor. I sneaked two or four pieces of candy from them as well. Four year olds are so much fun! Highly opinionated and sassy to boot, but FUN!

Meeting with the Teacher and a Flashback

Monday, Jimmy and I attended our first parent/teacher conference. I'm happy to report that my former preemies are doing great in school! They are right where they are supposed to be. The teacher said they are a blast to have in class. Kolton is a jokester, which we knew, and Karter though quiet at times can already skip and snap his fingers.

She reported that they like to play with different kids, but always keep tabs on each other. They sit at separate tables in class and are encouraged to be their own person.Pre-school as been so good for them.

I went to their fall party last Friday and got to see them interact with their peers. They seemed to be well liked and unafraid to join in with the class.

These little guys who started out so tiny are running and jumping and making jokes and sticking wood chips in their pockets at school and bringing them home.

I've not shared these videos before. I don't even believe that our family has seen them. This was July 17 2006 , the day they were born. The video's where taken by Jimmy approximately 2 1/2 hours after their birth. I'd yet to see them and wouldn't for about 10 more hours.

The first video is of Karter and the second of Kolton both video's were taken with a cell phone.

They went from that to this.

 Kolton

 Karter

Words cannot express how proud I am of them. For that matter I'm proud of Jimmy and I for making it through it all with our sanity and marriage still in tact. We make a pretty good team if I do say so myself!

Finally Pictures

The kids had school pictures scheduled for today, so while they were dressed for that I finally got my camera out. They were not really into having their picture taken by me that much, but I managed to get some decent ones.

Today's Ramblings

School is going so much better. They have stopped crying everyday, but still say they don't want to go. However, when I pick them up they almost always say they had fun. Our schedule seem to be busier at home too. I now have to schedule appointments around their schooling which has provided difficult at times, but we are managing.

I would love to say I have ample time to lounge in those two hours they are gone, but they are mostly filled with laundry, vacuuming, grocery shopping(which I despise) and all other errands that are usually easier to do without two four year olds trailing behind.

The boys have brought home their first art projects from school. They were learning the color green and how stop lights work, so they colored a picture of a stop light. It's so cute and they were super excited to show us. However, now Karter has become a back seat driver, and it's kind of funny. He tells Daddy to slow down that the light is yellow and he has to stop on red.

I've not had my camera out in weeks and all the pictures I took on my iphone from July on disappeared when I updated my iphone, along with all my apps. So annoying, but thankfully I didn't lose my contacts. I'm hoping to get some great pictures of them when it gets a little cooler. I've yet to take their 4 year old pics so I'm a little behind hence why there are no photos.

I've neglected this blog for awhile now and for some strange reason I actually feel guilty about that. I like this blog it's chronicled our lives since the boys were born, but thankfully our lives are pretty boring at the time. Boring is good considering how unboring life was for 3 years or so.

So that's all my ramblings for today. Time to go fix lunch.

Art

Two weeks ago the boys decided they wanted to decorate the front of the fridge with artwork. They got a few markers out some safety scissors and tape. Not just any tape, but red electrical tape. And this is what the front of our fridge has looked like for the past two weeks.

Four Year Old Birthday Party Pics!

The theme for the birthday party was Toy Story. My sister Keelan, made the cake and it was delish. I don't have photo's of the boys blowing out their candles, but I do have video, which I hope to post at some point. Karter was really into the birthday song this year! The boys where so excited for their birthday this year. They kept asking when it was time for their party and who was coming to their party. Everyone seemed to have fun. I believe it was a success.

Dinosaurs

In May we also went to the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History. The kids are kind of getting into dinosaurs, so we decided to take them to see some real dinosaur bones. The only part that held their attention was the dinosaurs, all the rest they could care less about. I would have enjoyed browsing around a little more and to actually read the plates with some of the exhibits, but this was also not too far from our house, so maybe Jimmy and I can go some other time with out the kiddos.

It was neat to see dinosaur bones among other things that had actually been found in Oklahoma. I mean when you think of Oklahoma I'm sure that dinosaurs don't even come to mind, but non the less they were here and I find that neat.

Pops

In May we went to Pops, which is on the Historic Route 66, not too far from our house. It was a neat place that was filled with any and every kind of pop you could want. It also has a restaurant in it and the foods pretty good. The grounds are gorgeous and it's right next to a tree farm and just down the rode from the historic round barn where my sister got married.

The kids loved it especially the pop! We hope to go back sometime soon, preferably on a weekday as it was a weekend when we went last time and it was quite busy.

July 4th 2010

We had a wonderful 4th of July. We celebrated at our house with a BBQ and lots of family. All the grandparents, parents and great grandparents were there along with tons of cousins. It could not have been more fun. It did rain a bit but we didn't let that stop us.

 As it got dark we popped all our fireworks and then watched all the surrounding neighbors.It was crazy how many fireworks were going off around us. Literally every direction we looked we could see huge, loud fireworks. It was awesome!

I was too busy talking and visiting and stopping the kids from drinking too much pop and eating too many cookies to get any pictures. I would normally be bummed about that but it was nice not worrying about my camera.

The kids LOVED the fireworks. This year they had no fears at all, which was both good and bad as I had to tell them several times that it was fire and they needed to not only be careful while holding their sparklers but also not to run up on any fireworks before, during or after they were popped.

It was the best 4th of July I can remember. At least since I was a kid and we used to have tons of friends and family over for burgers and fireworks.

Favorite Books-Berenstain Bears

The boys are really getting into reading every night before bed. I've found some books that I'm really enjoying and the boys seem to like them as well. Not only are they fun to read but they teach a lesson as well. I've found that I've benefit from the books as well. I love the way Mama Bear handles some of the situations that we have actually faced in this house.

I highly recommend these books, they are fun for both parents and kids!

Summer Time

A week or so ago I enrolled my little men in pre-school. We are all a little nervous about it but Kolton is warming up to the idea. Karter no so much yet. They will be attending the afternoon class and will be in school for about 2 1/2 hours. I think that's a manageable time for both them and me. It will get them ready for kindergarten the following year, which will be an all day thing.

I almost waited too long to enroll them and they only had a few slots left. I had no idea they had a pre-enrollment day a week or so prior to the day I enrolled them. Had I not gotten them in a class I don't really know what I would have done. I would have been irritated at myself though because I guess I should have checked on that sooner.

Other than that, life has been pretty slow go around here, which is the way I like it. We've been spending lots of time in the backyard and in the pool and playing on the tree swing and helping with the garden. Lots of outside time which sometimes is and inconvenience because I get nothing done in the house, but other than that life is good!

Oh The Things They Say

Some funny stuff the boys have said lately.

*While singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star to Kolton one night before bedtime, he began to sing along and said "I sing it better than you mom."

*Someone put too much paper in the toilet and Jimmy had to plunge it. Karter said we needed to call the toilet people and if they didn't fix it daddy was "going to have to kick their ass!"

*Tonight after the boys and Jimmy came out of the home office(which we call the computer room) Kolton told me you have to have a ding ding to go in there. To which Jimmy laughed at and said he hasn't told the boys that in weeks, but they like to call it their boys club.

Tonight while putting Karter to bed he said " you have to have a ding ding to go into the computer room unless you are doing your paper thingy(scrapbooking).


*Karter likes to drag out old computer stuff. One morning he had the coffee table completely covered, I said Oh Karter look at all that mess, he said in an exasperated voice "I know".

Spring Has Sprung

People I can not tell you just how happy I am that Spring is here! As a matter of fact everyone in this house is happy about that, right down to the animals that live here. Winter seemed liked it lasted forever, after the first snow I was done, but alas I live in Oklahoma and you really never know what you're going to get from day to day here.

We are coming upon the rainy season, also possible tornado's here, so I'll probably be complaining about that soon. :) Anywho, we've been going outside a lot lately despite all of us being miserable from allergies at one point or another in the past week or so.

The boys are doing great and really nothing new has come up with them. We have been telling them that they will be starting school in a few months and neither one is very happy about that. Kolton keeps asking why he has to go and when I tell him to learn his colors and numbers and letters, he says can't you teach me those mommy. Well technically I could, but I'm not a teacher or home schooler nor do I want to be. Plus they really need the interaction with other children, both socially and mentally so they can began to branch out on their own, without each other by their side all the time.

I'm nervous about it too. And my sister who works in a pre-k class tells me they need to learn to wipe their own butts. That's got us all a little worried, because how well can a just turned 4 year old really wipe their behinds? I guess we will work on that and find out in Aug. huh!

So besides that everything has been going well around here. Boring almost and that's fine by me. I'm in no need of drams right now or ever for that matter.

For me I've been cleaning off the last remains of Winter from the front porch and getting some flowers ready to plant. Oh! And wearing flip flops.

Why Yes, We Do Have An Arcade Game!

Last Saturday after I got out of the shower and got dressed, it was too quiet in the house. I called out the boys names and no answer. I called for Jimmy, no answer. So I went looking for them.

I found them all in the office or what we call the computer room.

Here's what they were doing.

Yes, they are playing an arcade game,Ms. Pac-Man to be exact(hubby called me from work to inform me it was ms. pac-man not pac-man. I stand corrected). Would you believe that my hubby build that arcade game with his own two hands? He did, took him about 2 weeks and still needs to be painted, it works and looks and has all the games you could ever want like a real "vintage" arcade game.

Hubby has a love for "vintage" computers. Things that he could not afford as a child, or a young teen when he was developing his love for computers and I might add developing bad eye site after looking at all that tiny code. And those horrible greenish screens that always looked blurry to me.

We have quite a collection of old computer junk around here. The boys love it all three of them!

A Day In Pictures and a Few Words.

Riding in big dump trucks.

Dirty door and door knob from dirty little outside hands.

Left the room for a moment, came back to find this tower of foot stools. Made by Karter.

Hide Away Bed for Two

I don't know why I haven't written about this before. Maybe it's just because I'm lazy or busy but probably lazy. Anyway, it's been going on for probably six months now. What am I talking about you ask? Well let me tell you.

For about 6 months both boys have been coming into our room almost every night and wanting to sleep with us. For a month or so we would let them climb in bed with us. I tried putting them back into their own beds, but with two of them getting up at different times no one was getting much sleep. So we let them get into bed with us just so we could sleep, but that didn't work either. Kolton is a kicker and he turns sideways in the bed pushing everyone else out. Karter is a pillow hog.

So I racked my brain trying to figure out what to do. Then I remembered something I read a couple of years ago. I don't remember if it was online or in a magazine, but it was about the same thing. A child coming into the parents bed in the middle of the night. The person made a bed on the floor with a sleeping bag for the child and had them sleep on that. Another parent put toddler beds into their room for the kiddos. I didn't want to do that. The boys have their rooms and we have our room.

Then it hit me! I still had their crib mattresses. I could make those up with the crib sheets and some blankets, put it in the floor beside our bed at night and during the day push it under the bed. It worked!!!!

I told each boy that if they came into the bedroom at night that was fine but they needed to get in their "little bed" quietly and sleep there. I told them if they whined or threw a fit, I would send them to their own rooms. We've not had a problem since. Most morning we awake to a little boy in the floor beside us, and sometimes during the night they wake us to help cover them up, but it has worked for everyone. We have all slept better.

My sister tried it with her daughter who was hogging their bed and it worked for her as well. So to all you moms out there with kiddos who keep coming into your room at night and waking everyone up. Try this!

Let me know how it goes for you.

My Ears are So Tired.

For several weeks now, Kolton has talked non-stop, all day every day, from sun up until sun down.
Non-Stop.

Of course I love him dearly, but I find myself at times tiring of answering the same questions over and over or talking about the same thing for an hour or more. I don't want to discourage asking questions and learning things so I usually just answer them the best I can over and over. There are times when I try to distract him with something else. It usually dosen't work.

In all that talking they usually say something funny every now and then. The other evening while cleaning Kolton's room I asked him why he had all that trash in his room. He said because I'm slobby. I asked him why he was so slobby he said I'm just made that way. He has an answer for every single thing.

I on the other hand I love their vigor for life and learning even though it wears me out at times.

The Doctor is In

Paging Dr. Kolton.

 

While Kolton likes his bunny, Karter LOVES his bunny. His name is, you guessed it, Bunny! He takes Bunny everywhere and daily tells me that he loves his Bunny and Bunny is his best friend. He also adds that Bunny is so cute.

I think Bunny's owner is cuter, how about you?