The Paul and Andee Show...

Blog Plug

2009-12-14T10:09:00.000-08:00

My friend Chanda is on a mission to save little girls in Cambodia and you can help just by leaving a comment!

Here's the Mission: "Starting November 1, 2009 I am forgoing my four-latte-a-week habit. Every dollar I save will go to help little girls in Cambodia. Check back every Friday for an update."

Here's what you can do to help: "I've been blogging about my attempt to raise money for Cambodian children caught in the sex trade--and recently a very generous business owner came forward and offered to *sponsor* me and donate a set amount for every comment on the page. Hooray!So I'm asking you, in the spirit of Christmas and joy and sharing, to consider putting a Comment on my blog. It doesn't have to be profound; it just has to be there to count. If you want to bookmark it and comment every week, you get a gold star in my book. (I post once a week; the rest of the week I try to avoid Starbucks.)"

Click here to read Chanda's Story

Click here to visit Chanda's blog, Saving the World one Pumpkin Spice Latte at a Time

Click here to find out more about World Vision

It's begining to look a lot like Christmas!

2009-12-09T16:08:00.000-08:00

(Christmas Tree drawing by Benton)

After much debate about how to re-introduce myself to my blog readers after such a long absence, I have decided not to. We'll just jump right on in.

Christmas time is my favorite time of year. I love everything about it. My husband proves his undying love for me every Thanksgiving when he lovingly climbs up over the garage and hauls out box after box after box of Holiday decor. Then without complaint, he climbs up the ladder in the cold (usually wet and dark) to hang the outside lights and clean the gutters. These are done in conjunction because he's already up on the ladder in perilous conditions and feels it saves a trip.

Since I'm such a Christmas freak, I am indoctrinating my kids too. We put a small (fake) tree in their room that we're using it as an advent tree. Every morning they get to open a little present and hang the tag on the tree. Today was day 14 and their "gift" was hot coca to go with their pancakes. So far, I have gotten away with spending exactly nothing on this little endeavor, but I'm afraid I'll have to hit the dollar store before long. There were a few other reasons for the decision. I love a pretty tree. I also love a nostalgic and whimsical tree. And although I've seen the two combined beautifully, I've just never been able to pull it off. I also have enough ornaments to decorate about 3 full sized trees. I just can't do it all! So the boy's tree gets to be the nostalgic one. They each have a few of their own special ornaments and we hung up fish too. It's pretty cute, and they did it themselves.

On to the weather. Its been positively frigid around here lately! This week is supposed to warm up, but in the mean time, we've been consuming a lot of hot coca. The boys really get into it, as you can see. The drink until they have mustaches then call themselves "sir." Inevitably, the mustaches get wiped off on pajama sleeves, so we've been using a lot of Oxy Clean as well.

Last Saturday, we made the trek up to Portland to see Zoo Lights along with the rest of the world. After fighting traffic and standing in line in the cold for about half an hour, we finally go to ride on the bus (Nathaniel's very favorite part) to the zoo. Once we were in, we had a great time. We plan on going at least one more time this season--perks of the membership, so I'll put more pictures up then. If you plan on going, here is some advise--don't go on the weekend, and dress warmer than you thin you need to.

Five. Five? Five!!

2009-10-13T13:54:00.001-07:00

I fell in love with Benton from the first time I saw him all scrunched up and partially formed in that ultrasound picture yesterday. I guess it wasn't yesterday that my husband and I held hands and watched two lines appear on the test. Yesterday they didn't pull a wriggling baby out of me, unwrap the cord from his neck and put him, wailing, into my arms. It just seems like it. Since yesterday, aka October 4, 2004, my 7lb 1oz bundle of joy has grown up! He turned 5 last week. Now instead of screaming for hours on end, he talks for hours on end. He creates art as often as he is able. The other morning, he asked if he could have his markers and paper. I told him he needed to get dressed and make his bed first. He sighed heavily. "It's just that art is the only thing on my mind." We're doing pre-school at home together and he soaks up knowledge like a sponge. He reads (as long as they are three letter words that follow all phonetic rules involving short vowel sounds); he writes (as long as the previous applies); he quotes commercials, Bible verses and theme songs; he makes up stories ( I wonder where he gets that); he loves animals (I really do wonder where he gets that); he keeps us entertained and on our toes. Here is an example of a few questions hurdled in my direction today: "If a quadruped has 4 legs and a biped has 2 legs, what to they call an animal with 1 leg?" "Why does glass make things look bigger than they are?" "Can you set the timer so I know when I can get up? Only don't set it for long."

Benton counted down his birthday for weeks. He planned his party--dinosaur theme; invited two friends--Soren and Kyler; filmed his infomercial; and waited. It must have seemed like forever. The week before his birthday, Paul took on the challenge of the dinosaur birthday cake. No ordinary dino would do. This one had to be 3 dimensional and a replica of a real dinosaur. I was in charge of making the cake. I used funfetti cake mix, but since cake mixes are not as dense as this one needed to be, I had to do some tweaking. I made 4- 8" rounds and 2- 8" squares per the instructions of the architect.

The architect, after careful research, pondering and measuring, crafted a skeleton for what would become an Argentinosaurus.
The skeleton became sandwiched between cake layers, cut in the necessary shapes, and glued together with strawberry cream cheese frosting.
I also got the great pleasure of tinting the frosting. I started with a rather brilliant shade of bright green and my challenge was to turn it to a shade of green between "sage and peat moss."

The artist took over from there, carefully applying the crumb coat before slathering the beast with a thick layer of moss green butter cream.
Here is our decorated dino before he spent the night in the deep freeze.
The morning of the party, we hooked up with Soren and Kyler and headed to the Kroc center for a morning of floundering in the pool.
The kids had a blast, and I almost used my allotment of 109 pictures. after we were all dried off, we came home for a special lunch of dino shaped peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, grapes and dinosaur fruit snacks.
and, of course, the cake.
Happy birthday, my sweet boy!

If You Give a Mom a Muffin

2009-09-26T07:48:00.000-07:00

I found this on a friend's Facebook wall and couldn't resist passing it along. For those of you who don't read a lot of children's picture books, it's a take off on the fabulous "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie/a Pig a Pancake," etc books by Laura Joffe Numeroff. So after you indulge in a great read for the kiddos, here's one for the moms.

If you give a mom a muffin,
She’ll want a cup of coffee to go with it.
She’ll pour herself some.
Her three-year-old will spill the coffee.
She’ll wipe it up.
Wiping the floor, she’ll find dirty socks.
She’ll remember she has to do laundry.
When she puts the laundry in the washer,
She’ll trip over boots and bump into the freezer.
Bumping into the freezer will remind her she has to plan for supper.
She will get out a pound of hamburger.
She’ll look for her cookbook (”101 Things To Do With a Pound of Hamburger”).
The cookbook is sitting under a pile of mail.
She will see the phone bill, which is due tomorrow.
She will look for her checkbook.
The check book is in her purse that is being dumped out by her two-year-old.
She’ll smell something funny.
She’ll change the two year old’s diaper.
While she is changing the diaper, the phone will ring.
Her five-year-old will answer and hang up.
She’ll remember she wants to phone a friend for coffee.
Thinking of coffee will remind her that she was going to have a cup.
And chances are…
If she has a cup of coffee,
Her kids will have eaten the muffin that went with it.

by Kathy Fictorie

Birthday Wish List

2009-09-24T17:58:00.000-07:00

As Ben's birthday gets closer, he wants to make sure the whole world knows what he wants. He has filmed his own info-mercial to tell you all about it. The interpretive movement is his original chirography.
Here's a link to the real thing. I promise he does not sit around and watch TV all day. He is, however a prolific artist, so you can see how such a thing might have some appeal.

Female Bonding

2009-09-21T13:19:00.000-07:00

I had a hard time coming up with a title for this post: Rub-a-dub-tub, 3 women in a toilet didn't have the right ring to it. Dippy-dip-dank, 3 moms in a tank works a little better, but I wasn't sure where to go from there. The rest would have to involve honest toddlers, toy trucks, a toilet bowl, some canola oil, an out of town hubby, a cell phone, yarn, a paperclip, a coat hanger, and a Super Mom (well, 3 of them, but the superest mom is the one that finally succeeded).
Are you intrigued yet?
So my friend Meghan was watching the boys on Saturday so I could go to a baby shower. (The baby shower was fun, the baby was cute, the food was yummy). My children wanted nothing to do with me when I got there, so I visited with Meghan for a bit. Next thing you know, Nathaniel has a bloody nose (an aftershock of the one he got the day before). Once the bleeding stops, I say, "OK, now it's really time to go." I stop in for a quick trip to the restroom. I dispose of the bloody tissues from the nose fiasco and try to flush. Nothing. I try again. Nothing. The only thing in there is tissue! What have I done?! I have breaking toilets at other people's houses. I tried the plunger. No dice.
I called in Meghan for reinforcements. Maybe there is some sort of trick to it. At a different angle. I notice something red and plastic at the bottom. Meghan rescues a pickup truck from it's watery resting place. Maybe that was it. Nope. After some groping and digging, it became apparent that something else was in there. Wedged as snug as a truck in the throat of a toilet, there was no moving it. We dumped soap in the basin hoping to lubricate the wheels and get things moving. Nope. We tried vegetable oil next. Another failure. (I don't know about Meghan, but my skin felt so soft and supple the whole next day...). Meghan's husband is out of town, so we called mine and made a back up plan for him to do some plumbing after work. In the meantime, he gave us a couple of ideas. The string and paperclip scenario flopped. The coat hanger wasn't working either until Meghan's mom rode in to save the day. Just as we were about to call it quits and wait for 6:30, out rolled pickup number two. (I'm sorry. I just could not resist that one).
I asked Nathaniel if he put anything in the toilet. His reply: "I put a car in there. Then another one." At least he was honest. Christian's answer was similar. Hard tellin' who instigated the event. As Meghan and I were arguing over whose fault it was (I claimed it was mine since it was my kid. She thought it was hers because she hadn't supervised well enough), her mom reminded us that these things happen. I just want to know why they happen so often?! Meanwhile, Meghan and I got in a very unique bonding time for an hour or so in her bathroom. Almost worth it :)

2009-09-17T16:23:00.000-07:00

What follows is quite possibly the worst poetry ever written. Continue at your own risk.

'Twas right before dinner and all through the house
the creatures with screaming in a pitch that would surely frighten a mouse.
The stockings were piled up high in a bowl
in hopes that no guests would arrive that I didn't know.

The children jumped gladly on top of their beds
while I hoped that no injury would come to their heads.
With Daddy working away in the heat
Mommy stood guard at the stove with the meat.

When out of the bedroom there elapsed such a quiet
I sprang from the stove to see what had caused it.
Away to the bathroom I flew like a flash,
opened the door and sucked in a gasp.

The afternoon sun warmed up the small room
While the gentle breeze spun around a perfume.
And what to my wondering eyes should appear
but a toddler in pink looking proud as a pear.

With a little old painter so lively and quick
I knew in a moment it would make me sick.
More rapid than eagles the curses they came,
though I reined in my tongue, in my mind still they stayed.

"What in the name of heaven have you done!" I said, feeling faint.
The proudest reply came, "I paint!"
The smell of nail polish assaulted my nose;
He was painted in pink from his head to his toes.
So I grabbed the camera and took these photos:

Another Zoo Trip

2009-09-15T07:57:00.000-07:00

This one was our first field trip now that we have officially started school around here. It was also the second day of school. The Predator's of the Serengeti exhibit opened for members only on Friday, so we were all over it. We packed our lunches and made it to the zoo by 9:30am. Parking was, well, a zoo. I'm pretty sure all of Oregon and Washington turned out for the event. We had fun anyway though. Before we left, we read a Bible Story (Daniel and the Lion's Den) and colored pictures of lions. On the way up, we talked about predators--animals that hunt other animals. Benton had a hard time with that one. "Why did God make some animals to kill and eat other parts of his creation?" Gulp. Anyone have a good, theologically sound, scientifically accurate answer for this one? A question as astute as that one deserves better than, "That's just the way God made it." I'll have to do a little more research. While we waited in line to get in, I gave each of the boys a lion trading card/fact sheet that I printed from here. They loved having something to hold--for a while. And if nothing else, I felt good about at least trying to teach them something. The lions and cheetah's were in hiding (can you blame them with that many people gawking at them?), so we cam home and watched this video. The boys didn't seem to notice the difference.

Full Scale Search and Rescue

2009-09-14T09:51:00.000-07:00

Benton has a stuffed arsenal of what he calls "comfort friends." The group consists of Puppy (a girl), Evelyn (a boy elephant), and Stitches. Stitches was a gift from Salem Hospital the night Benton got his first stitches. Clever name, eh? He has been the one constant in the group of comfort friends. The one "must-have" in order to sleep or go on a long road trip. And a few weeks ago, Stitches went missing. Friends and family were notified to be on the lookout, the toy box and stuffed animal basket were checked and double checked. The bed was looked behind, the van searched thoroughly. All to no avail. Benton handled the situation remarkably well. The other day, we had the following conversation.
Ben: I'm starting to think I will never ever see Stitches again.
Mom: (Sobbing on the inside) Why is that, buddy?
B: He's been gone a very long time on his adventure.
M: How do you feel about that, Benton? (I didn't want to make a big deal about it and freak him out if he wasn't worried about it).
B: Kinda sad. But happy because he is having a lot of fun. (long pause). Unless he was attacked my hungry lions and they ate his legs off and he can't walk home.
M: (Still can't think of a blessed thing to say).
B: But he's made of stuffing, so he wouldn't taste good to a lion.
M: (Biting a hole in my tongue)
B: So the lion probably brought him home for his baby.
M: (Not sure if he was brought home as a friend or a snack).
Today, I had planned a full scale search and rescue operation after school. Paul and I were more traumatized by his departure than Benton. Meanwhile, the boys's room could use a thorough going through anyway. Before I got a chance, the boys's bedroom door burst open, spilling out a four year old walking on air. "MOM! LOOK WHAT NATHANIEL FOUND!!" And clutched (around the neck) in his fist was our beloved Stitches. We spent some time catching up. His adventures included running, jumping, skipping and swimming in a pool.
It turns out, Stitches was hanging out behind the toy box. Benton proceeded to chase Nathaniel around the living room saying (and I quote) "Nathaniel, you are my very veryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryvery
veryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryververyvervyvervyveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryvery
BEST BROTHER!" (I may have missed a very or 100).

Nathaniel's First Staples (x5)

2009-09-11T14:30:00.000-07:00

When a baby breaks, he needs his mom. Even when Daddy is the one holding him and carefully examining the owie, "Mommy" is the name escaping with each whimper. Even though the doctor is the one who staples him up, Mommy is the only one he has eyes for. The nurse may give him stickers, but Mommy is the only one who can make it all better. Mommy is the one who will sing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star 100 times (in front of witnesses). Mommy is the one who gets the blood stains on her clothes. The responsibility is at once wonderful and terrible. Nathaniel is just fine by the light of day. Still laughing, climbing, rabble rousing, etc. I'm relieved, humbled, privileged, blessed.

Cooking with Benton

2009-08-25T08:21:00.000-07:00

The week on review

2009-08-18T13:58:00.000-07:00

Here is the definition of trampoline: "It's all fun and games until somebody breaks a tooth on his brother's head." Seriously. I looked it up. OK, so I didn't look it up; I am relying on memory. Saturday night, well after dental office hours, the above occurred. The hard head belongs to Nathaniel--confirming quite a few suspicions--the broken tooth, to Benton. His eye tooth fractured clear up into the gum line, but held steady until Sunday School when it came out with a bite of frosted animal cracker. Not the whole tooth, just a sliver. "Does it hurt," I asked later that day. "Not since it came out on the carpet," came the reply.
On Sunday, I volunteered to help out with our church's VBS, hoping to be disqualified on the basis of the two year old I would have to bring along. I was not disqualified, and was asked to be the story teller. Since I can't say no, especially to a good story, I said sure. I was handed the paperwork and told to be at church ready to tell my story Monday at 5:00. No problem.
Monday morning, Nathaniel woke up at 6:23. Waaay to early. I bent to pick him up and haul him back to bed, just like I do every morning, when my back decided it was not going to cooperate. Hunched over like Quasi Modo, and in searing pain, I took him back to bed and promptly collapsed on the couch. Paul brought me 100 ibuprophin (I wish), got breakfast ready for the boys, turned on the TV so they would be entranced by it the moment they woke up and scurried out the door for work. I could share every detail of the day with you, because, trust me, it was hillarious, but I will spare you the pain and simply bullet point a few of the, er, high points.

Benton refused to watch more than half an hour of tv, because, he told me with tears in his eyes, "too much TV isn't healthy, Mom. Do you want me to do something that isn't healthy?"
I could not get my left arm inside of my sweatshirt, so I went around with half a shirt on for most of the day.
I made an appointment with a chiropractor at 3:30
Nathaniel let himself out of the house 3 times.
Kendra arrived to pick up the Bible Story book just before noon. I was flat on the couch in mismatched half on clothing and Benton was getting ready to make all of us peanut butter and jelly sandwiches all by himself. Kendra was kind enough to help him and not point an laugh at me.
Just after noon, the cavalry, in the form of the Hammonds, arrived to take my children away. My sweet husband arranged it so the kids had a fun afternoon with friends and I didn't have to rely on the sterness of my voice alone to keep them in line.
The chiropractor took an hour and a half to fix me in one crunch.
I took Ben to VBS and left him there for someone else to bring home.

So that was Monday. Our VBS ran from 6-8:30, so it was a lot of long evenings in a row. It was so fun though. The kids loved it, and I'm pretty sure the grown ups did too. Wednesday and Friday I had follow ups with the chiropractor, and Thursday Benton went to the dentist. He got x-rayed and examined and the dentist said it's pretty rare for a tooth to break like that. They put a sealant on the tooth to make up for the missing enamel and said to watch for signs of decay. We might have to sacrifice it for the big tooth, but so far,it looks OK.
After VBS on Friday, I decided we all needed a treat. We stopped at Dairy Queen on the way home--way past bedtime--and ate dipped cones and made messes and laughed and laughed. It was a good end to a busy week.

Sunday Hair and Monday Haircuts

2009-08-17T18:29:00.000-07:00

One of the great pleasures of parenting is messing with your kids' heads. In this case, I mean literally. On Sunday mornings, I like to give them "Sunday Hair." I'm just strange that way. I comb their hair and put gel in it and style it in some sort of 1982 part-on-the-side look. Then I laugh, they laugh and I pray it won't hold. I never does. I decided I needed to take pictures of their Sunday Hair this week. Aren't they charming?

In other news, Benton told me today that he needed a haircut. I asked him what kind of haircut he wanted, and he referenced a couple kids at church who are sporting the summer buzz cut. When Paul came home from work, they sat down at the computer and went over a few haircut options. We got a lot of "No way!" "To messy!" "Too spikey." "Too crazy." What child is this? A rebel to the core!
Paul took the clippers to the boys on the deck, and they handled it like old pros. (I think this is Nat's 3rd haircut ever). A dad will do what a dad has to do to clean up after such an event, so he took the leaf blower to the deck and the boys. Ben thought it quite fun, Nathaniel, not so much. Both of them love their new hair-dos though. Nathaniel goes around rubbing his head saying, "my Nano hansom." And Benton has been asking everyone he meets how cute he looks.

Zoo Trip

2009-08-06T07:48:00.000-07:00

Paul ended up with a rare day off yesterday, so we decided to take advantage of it and make a trip too the zoo lat in the day. We took Soren and Keiton along since we were supposed to be babysitting. It was really a perfect afternoon (aside from the zoo concert crowds we didn't account for). The sun was out, but not to hot (note my eldest in the sweatshirt. He must take after his mom). Going to the zoo with kids is seriously the best fun ever. Their reactions and responses and excitement is simply awesome. Soren's favorite was the snakes, Ben "loved all of them," Nathaniel will not stop talking about the giraffe, and I have never seen a kid so mesmerized as Keiton watching the elephant take a drink. My favorite? The four little monkies sitting on the rock.

"Up the hill, up the hill; stomp stomp stomp."

Up close and personal with a reticulated giraffe.
"Mount up, littles!"

I caught Paul dancing when he thought no one was watching.

Running through the mister.

Monkey see, monkey do!

On the way home, we played a few rounds of the quiet game. The last round lasted passed the five minute mark, then the 10 minute mark, then eyes started dropping closed, and heads started nodding. By the time we got to Keiton and Soren's house, 3/4 of the kids were out. A very successful trip indeed!

The Great Bedroom Makeover

2009-08-04T21:56:00.000-07:00

So our bedroom used to be a color I like to call "Why did they Paint it that Color?" This is what you call any color you see when touring a home and it makes you wonder "why did they paint it that color?" For once you get to know the secret. It was the night before Paul's day off. As we were drifting off to sleep, I said, "Let's paint our room tomorrow." Paul said, "what color?" "I'll sleep on it," I said.

Caramel, I decided in the morning. Caramel would go nicely with the black we already had and not require the purchase of new bedding. First thing in the morning, we loaded up our only child (We didn't know how easy we had it) and broke every paint color picking rule in the book. We did not go into the paint store together--someone had to stay with the baby; we did not test the color in our own lighting; we did not test a larger swatch on our wall...
And instead of a luxurious caramel, we ended up with what Paul calls Burnt Pumpkin. I lean a little more toward butterscotch pudding--the instant kind that comes in a plastic cup and you don't have to refrigerate.

Anyway, we were long overdue for a makeover. Paul was a little concerned that black and white would be boring. Once the ivory was on the walls, I handed him a paint brush and a can of paint. He did the rest. Our dressers were vintage Fred Meyer pine in a natural veneer. About 8 cans of flat black spray paint and some brushed nickel knobs later, we ended up with dressers that match our room.

My part time job bought us a new bed, on which I scored a great deal.

I do wonder though what a stranger touring our home would say about the result. Too much? Nah!

Cooling off

2009-08-03T09:30:00.000-07:00

Our good friends were sweet enough to take us out in their boat in the middle of the heat wave. We cruised up and down the Willamette, ate turkey sandwiches on the water and got good and wet. We stayed out past bedtime and came home smelling like the Willamette (not the nicest smelling river), cool and refreshed. All in all, an awesome evening!

Macho Macho Man...

2009-07-31T09:07:00.000-07:00

My kids like to be dressed. It's a little abnormal compared to the other children I know who prefer to run around in the buff. Not mine. Benton insists on wearing pajamas to bed and the tops and bottoms must match. Nathaniel freaks out if he is not wearing pants. Weird. But with the scorching temperatures around here for the last few days, they are happier to run around topless. Toplessness has all sorts of interesting side effects. A belly is an empty canvas waiting to be scribbled on with markers or showcasing the latest sticker collection. And the need to show off muscles at any given moment.

You might have a hard time discerning muscle from ribs on this one, but doesn't he look intimidating with the black eye he got in the title match? (OK, so he got hit in the eye with a cabinet door in the play kitchen at the Kids Club. But still menacing, no)?

I guess this one heard you were supposed to slather your body with oil before the body builder competition to really show off those ripped abs. In the absence of oil, I guess he thought raspberry yogurt would do. Talk about a delicious body!

Making a Splash

2009-07-29T08:58:00.000-07:00

Back before the act of stepping out of doors resembled stepping on the surface of the sun, we spent a day at the park. Nathaniel is a little monkey, keeping up with the big kids every step of the way. This park has an awesome splash pad, and the boys loved every minute of it!

Yesterday it got up to 107, and it's supposed to do the same today. We have the little AC in our room going full blast and the fan blowing cool air into the rest of the house. This method keeps the downstairs a cozy 80-85 degrees during the worst of it. Never have I been more thankful for new windows!

Maybe we'll hit the beach tomorrow.

Black Lake Trip

2009-07-20T22:14:00.000-07:00

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

I'm hooked on Smilebox. It's so easy!!

Mr. Independence

2009-07-17T21:34:00.000-07:00

"I have cereal, Mommy!"
It was in the cupboard.
Over the microwave.
It required a stool.
From another room.
He was supposed to be sleeping.

Playing Catch Up (Part1)

2009-07-12T20:28:00.000-07:00

It hasn't been so long that the hate mail has started roiling in, but it has been a while since my last post. We've been verrrry busy around here. Since my last post we went on a day trip to OMSIand Ikea, finished out bedroom re-do, visited my parents at Black Lake, Paul, marathon deck builder, finished our deck, we had a great 4th of July and went on a camping trip with friends. I also have a few things growing in my garden, despite by black thumb. So for the next week or so, I will catch you up on all the various details of our craziness. Of course, since the world won't stop while I catch up on blogging, I'll probably be behind for a while. At least it will give me something to talk about!!
Here are a few pictures from our OMSI adventure. Paul had a day off, and I wanted a new bed, so it was off to Ikea for breakfast--99 cents for bacon, eggs and potatoes--and some shopping. When we had exhausted our enthusiasm there, it was off to the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. The current feature there is Experiencing CSI. It was ridiculously fun. If you're into CSI stuff, that is. It is all about investigating homicides though, and not recommended for audiences under 12. For that reason, the boys stayed up in the pre-school room, and Paul and I took turns investigating crime scenes and supervising the children. On some days, that statement could contain a bit of irony, but the boys stayed out of trouble :)

Nathaniel never leaves the water play area when we are there. He throws boats, splashes in puddles and turns into a raisin. Ben's interests are a little more varied. As in, he likes to do it all. Here are the boys pretending to be beavers in a beaver lodge.

Stay tuned!!

Why I Like Bedtime

2009-07-05T22:22:00.000-07:00

Make a Smilebox postcard

Happy 4th of July!

2009-07-03T21:14:00.000-07:00

To Heaven's Finest Soldier and the Source of all Freedom

Just Curious

2009-06-29T22:27:00.000-07:00

(Gratuitous picture of boys eating applesauce and not whacking one another)

I really can't get over the fact that they will let just anybody have a kid. Parenting is an enormous responsibility. Somehow I have to figure out life and everything in it and interpret it for a little brain with a ravenous appetite for knowledge.
Yesterday, as I drove, I was peppered with questions from the back seat. At last Benton said, "All I want to know is where everything came from. How do they make garages? And garbage cans and music and stars and coats and goggles and motorcycles and signs and jewelry and games and I know I came from your tummy, but where did you get your belly button?"
Once he finally came up for air, I asked, as patiently as possible, "Do you think I know everything?"
"Yes." He said. "It's your job."

Too Quiet

2009-06-29T21:13:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, Benton's friend Kyler came over for a few hours. I gave them the ten minute warning before it was time to take him home, and things got eerily quiet. I heard the bedroom door close softly, then nothing. I know enough to know that when two four year old boys and the two year old little brother are around, quiet may be easy on the ears, but it usually means disaster in some other form. I gave them two minutes. How much damage could they do in two minutes? Ok, five. I can clean up five minutes worth of quiet.
Seven minutes. Time to check. They could have torn down a wall by now.
I was prepared for a mess.
I was prepared for breakage,
rippage,
and other damage.
I was not prepared for this:

They were reading! Benton was "reading" Curious George and the Dump Truck to Kyler and Nathaniel who listened in rapt attention.

I snuck out, and they got an extra ten minutes or two.