Reunion Randomness

So, we went to Utah last month. Did you know? What? I didn't post anything about it on my blog? Well, to be fair we didn't get back until THIS month, and we were very busy doing family reuniony things while we were there... I know, I know, it is now April 22nd and my posts and pictures about Utah are long overdue. Luckily, (drumroll please) here they are! First up we have some random pictures and anecdotes that didn't fit nicely into the other Utah themed blog posts I have planned. Enjoy.

Stephen and Shirley Ricks, the founders of all this insanity.

One thing we always enjoy at these big family gatherings is playing games. This year, Jonathan brought a card game he is developing that is like the game Spaz, if the game Spaz were taking steroids. It was a lot of fun. We also enjoyed Scribblish and Blurt. I think my favorite gaming moment was during the game Blurt (a game in which you quickly try to guess a word as a definition is being read) when Kaleb, our 9-year-old nephew heard the definition "An alcoholic beverage made from hops" and yelled out "Beer!" before anyone else did. Marcus, his dad, said it was one of the proudest moments of his life.

Before we played all these games, we had put the little kids to bed. Apparently they were not-so-much asleep . We caught the twins sneaking up the stairs and stealthily placing hangers on the railing. They were able to hang quite a few before we saw them. Stinkers.

Here is my beautiful niece Meagan who, though not in very many of my pictures, was a never-ending source of good conversation and much needed help. She did far more than her fair share of watching our little boys while we there. Thank you, thank you, thank you Meagan! May you be blessed for all your service by only having extremely helpful girls when you get married some day.

This is Cai, another under-photographed member of the family. She is a super sweet dog and was extremely patient with my boys. She also had a knack for sniffing out stinky diapers. Benjamin enjoyed sharing his food and sometimes his binky with her.

One thing I really enjoyed about this trip was how much our boys enjoyed being with their cousins. They spent a lot of time outside playing who-knows-what in the backyard and possibly even more time on the basement couch watching shows and stuffing their mouths full of popcorn. Opa got a theater-style popcorn popper for Christmas and put it to good use. Although it has been three weeks, my boys are still quoting movies I did not know they have seen. When I ask them when they saw that show the answer is inevitable, "With Opa! In Utah! We had popcorn!"

On Saturday, after our family photo session, we all went out to lunch at Tucanos. We hope this becomes a tradition because we LOVE Tucanos! For those of you who are not familiar with Provo, Utah, Tucanos is the most affordable Brazilian-style steak house on the planet. The food is so good! Anyway, part of the experience is that the grilled meats, fish, pineapple and vegetables are brought to your table still on the roasting spit. The servers slice the meat while you grab a piece with your tongs. Our boys opted to use their tongs as eating utensils instead. I love this picture of Gabriel feeding Maya some pineapple with his tongs. For such a tiny girl, that mouth can open pretty wide!

This last random picture is of a typical encounter between Benjamin and his cousin Liam. Liam is four months younger but about the same size. Liam is very enthusiastic about other babies and wants to touch and grab. Benjamin, on the other hand, approaches other babies with extreme caution. This is probably the result of being the youngest of four boys. He's never sure what to expect. He wasn't so sure about Liam either. I think, in the end, Benjamin decided they could be friends.

An Apiarian Anecdote

A conversation overhead today while Gabriel and Elijah were coloring a picture of a bee.

Gabriel: Do you like bees?

Elijah: Yes, well, yes, but I'm kind of scared of them.

Gabriel: Don't be scared. They won't sting you.

Elijah: I know, but I'm worried they will get my stuff.

Gabriel: They won't!

Elijah: Or, I'm worried they will get some chalk and eat it.

Gabriel: (incredulously) No.....

Elijah: Or they might eat some garbage!

Gabriel: No! They eat honey!

Elijah: I know! Stink. Captain Crunch.

That was the end of the conversation. I guess "Captain Crunch" trumps all other arguments. They have a point. How can you argue with someone who wears such a ridiculous hat?

March Madness

Here are some fun pictures from the month of March:

Benjamin has decided that he LOVES the dishwasher. Is there any better place to play than inside a dishwasher? If the dishes are dirty, there are free snacks. If the dishes are clean, you can still play with knives. Ahh, the simple joys of life.

We ate these happy little shamrock pancakes for breakfast on St. Patrick's day. My boys are completely spoiled in the pancake department now. If their pancakes are not colored, fancifully shaped or don't include chocolate chips then I get complaints. In addition to these shamrocks, this month I made doggy pancakes, kitty pancakes, and violet pancakes. (My boys discovered some violets in a friend's yard and decided to eat them. No, I don't know why. They wanted me to "buy some violets at the store, they are delicious!" Our stores are lacking in violets. The pancakes were a successful substitute.)

Here is Gabriel with some green milk. Our house has seen a rash of random acts from March leprechauns. They turned batters, yogurt and milk green at various times throughout the month.

Benjamin stole this sucker out of his brother's hand and would not relinquish it. I guess he figured if he couldn't play the games at the little fundraiser we were attending then gosh-darn-it he was gonna get some candy! You have to love the combination of snot and sucker residue all over his face. We had to wash the baby bjorn after that.

This golf game was the decided favorite at the fundraiser. My boys all had a different approach to these games. Elijah would give it an honest try and would usually succeed. If he didn't, after a few attempts, he would accept a consolation prize. David John refused to be coddled and had to keep playing the game until he won without help or cheating. Gabriel, on the other hand, just wanted to win. He had no qualms about blatant cheating.

This month, Elijah had decided to be camera shy. I can't really complain. I know I did this to my parents and they were using film cameras. Mom, I am so sorry.

I have decided to try and take more pictures of myself to prove that I was actually around. So, here I am, crazy mother-of-four at the school carnival fundraiser without my husband. I am sporting a pink plastic lei which David John won for me. Thanks, son.

Have you ever seen a cuter clown puppy?

Gabriel's favorite color is green. St. Patrick's Day was the perfect opportunity for him to go all-out. Here he is sporting his shirt with green stripes, green necklace, green bracelet, green ring and pants with a green stripe. He is holding his green balloon, green bouncy ball and green stickers.

We had unbelievable weather this month. I think that was the true madness. Some days felt like spring, others like summer. For Cleveland, in March, warm weather is almost unheard of. We lived at the park. Benjamin is getting big enough to really enjoy playing outside with his big brothers. Thanks to my friend Sarah for taking this cute picture!

I can't believe this boy is going to be 1 on April 1st. I just love this scrunched-up baby sleeping position. As hard as it is to care for a baby, I know that I will miss the little moments like this.

Towards the end of the month, Marc and I took all the boys to a Spring fun-fest put on by a local church. It featured tons of inflatables, dressed up characters, hot-dogs and games. They had a blast. Sponge Bob and Mickey Mouse were hanging out by the entrance. Once volunteer, seeing how excited David John was about this, told him, "You should go inside! Elmo's in there, and Batman!" David John put his hand on the man's shoulder, raised a warning finger and whispered loudly "No! Batman is scary!" It was pretty funny. We did see Batman inside. He wasn't scary. David John gave him a high-five. The next four pictures are from that event.

These big boys all piled on the bed in our guest room with a huge stack of books, then called me in to take a picture. I love it when they play together and I love their love for books. This picture is pure joy. I am one blessed mama.

Shenanigans

I chose this title for random tidbits about the boys thinking that the word was Irish in origin. Apparently, it's origin is "unknown" and the first known usage was in 1855. Weird, huh? Regardless, here are some of the latest shenanigans and quotables from my boys:

Gabriel's preschool class read "Green Eggs and Ham" this month. How do I know? Well, it was in a note sent home from school but I would have known anyway because Gabriel is constantly quoting from it and adapting the text to the current situation. At dinner the other night:

Elijah: Mom, I don't like fish or cauliflower or potatoes!

Me: You haven't even tried them how do you know?

Elijah: I just know!

Gabriel: Try them and you may! Try them and you may I say!

Last week, Gabriel was very angry with me. I don't even remember what it was about but I certainly remember his response.

Gabriel : "Fine! I don't love you! I don't love you here! I don't love you there! I don't love you anywhere! And I won't smile! I won't smile on a train or in the rain! Or ever again!" I'm pretty sure Dr. Seuss is rolling over in his grave.

Before I go anywhere with the boys, we have a little meeting about what behaviors are expected based on where we are going. I think in this particular instance we were going to the library. I asked the boys what the rules were.

Gabriel: No yelling!

Elijah: Stay with mommy!

Gabriel: No running!

Elijah: Don't climb on the shelves!

David John: And no panicking!

Good advice, David John. He must have read the Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy.

One of the blessings of having boys is that when you are at a park without access to any bathrooms and someone needs to go, you can just find a secluded tree instead of packing everyone back into the car and driving home. My boys, and I think boys in general, are very interested in peeing outside. They find it fascinating. Unfortunately, being 2 and 4, they don't always have the best aim. Poor Elijah was using a tree at the park when he decided to look down and see how things were going. He simultaneously turned the stream upward and got himself right in the eye. I felt like a very bad mother because I couldn't contain all of my laughter while I helped him get cleaned up. Boys are so weird.

Gabriel has found a new passion this month. He has become a letter-writer. Often, he makes cards and writes letters just to show love or appreciation for someone. However, he also uses his letter-writing to advocate for social change. He wrote a letter to one of his teachers at school because he did not like getting messy during arts and crafts time. He wrote the letter, read it to me, and I rewrote what he said in somewhat more legible hand so that his teacher could read it. The letter included the following sentiment, "I don't like getting my hands dirty 'cause that makes me crazy. Please get me an art smock." He also wrote letters when I told him that he will not be able to go back to his preschool next year. He filled an entire box with letters to his teachers and school administration asking for a tuition decrease. He also threw in some change and a few plastic toys to sweeten the deal. I didn't rewrite those letters for him. The school board will have to figure it out themselves.

Elijah likes to use a calculator to "send emails". The other day, Elijah was sending emails to friends and family and periodically asking Gabriel who to send an email to next.

Gabriel: Send an email to the zombies.

Elijah: No! Zombies can't read!

Gabriel: Yes they can. They write notes.

Elijah: Well, they definitely don't have computers. They are dead. I am not sending email to the zombies.

Good thinking, Elijah. The last thing we need is undead using the internet.

Most of you know, but for posterity let me note that David John broke his nose this month. When the boys were supposed to be in bed and sleeping, they were instead playing "circus act" in the dark. Circus act involves feats of derring-do, like jumping from bed to bed and doing flips. David John did a flip and landed nose first on the headboard of his bed. I am sorry to say, I failed to take a picture of the resulting swollen nose and black eyes. He was definitely in pain after the initial accident, but was back to his dare-devilry by the next day. His nose is slightly flatter and wider across the bridge than it was and we considered getting it fixed. However, the day before we had to decide David John did the exact same trick and landed on his nose again. He did not re-break it, but the incident convinced me that fixing his nose at this point would be premature. He will likely break it again. Besides, it will be a nostalgic reminder of his toddler shenanigans.

Little Shopping Trip of Horrors

I got some bad news recently. The preschool that we are sending our boys to this year, and which we could only afford because their tuition was unbelievably low, tripled the tuition for next year. It is still a good deal compared to other preschools. Most parents are unhappy but undeterred. Most parents will not have three preschool-aged children next year.
Marc and I crunched numbers and concluded that we just could not afford the new higher tuition times three. I got a little choked up when I handed them my letter today informing the school that Gabriel and Elijah would not be returning. I knew I would miss those 2 1/2 hours, four days a week when I only had two children and could run errands without fear of losing control of the situation. However, I had convinced myself that it wouldn't be so bad. Gabriel and Elijah are getting older. It had been a while since I took them all to the store... surely things would have improved.
I tried it today. It was not so good.
It wasn't even the worst shopping trip ever. Nobody climbed the shelves, squirted cleaning solution in their eyes, licked yogurt off the floor, opened unpaid for groceries, sat in an empty cashier's station and started pressing buttons, tried to shoplift or yelled and screamed. "What bad behaviors are left?" you might wonder. My friends, there are plenty. First, there was just the general chaos of having three small bodies running around my cart and constantly getting in the way of other shoppers despite my pleas to "Please put one hand on the cart unless mommy asks you to go get something." Then, there was the arguing about whose turn it was to get something off the shelf and put it in the cart which included blowing raspberries and elbowing each other. Sometimes, I am tempted to just buy three of everything to avoid these fights. Of course there was also a lot of whining and begging for grocery items made of pure sugar like marshmallows and shiny foil-wrapped Easter candy. Benjamin was no saint either. It does not seem to matter how tight I make those little belts on the grocery carts, he wiggles out. Invariably, I look away for a moment and when I look back he is standing up on the seat, one hand clutching the cart and the other extended like some sort of baby surfer. Sometimes he responds to my exasperated face with an "uh-oh" and a smile so big I can see all six of his teeth.
All of this craziness was happening and I was handling it pretty well. I did get some looks. Older women often chastise me about Benjamin's surfing habit and a new father out with his wife and baby looked positively terrified that one day his child might start behaving like my boys. I wanted to reach out and pat his shoulder and say, "There, there. You only have one. And she's a girl." Anyway, as I was saying, despite the insanity I still felt in control. Then we hit the produce section.
Picking produce is the most dangerous part of any shopping trip. Pay too much attention to the fruits and vegetables, and your kids might pull a disappearing act. Pay too much attention to the kids, and you end up with rotten tomatoes in your bag. I made the former error. I was choosing a cauliflower when from behind me I heard, "Pickle fight!" I whipped around to see my three boys sword fighting with English cucumbers. They were each wielding two, one for each hand, and were wildly slashing the air. Luckily, the cucumbers seemed to be unhurt and I hurriedly replaced them and shooed my boys back to the cart. At this point, I knew we had reached the limit of their mildly bad behavior and were fast approaching catastrophe. We made it through the checkout line with only a few minor incidents. (Elijah jumped in and out of the cart a few times, David John tried to fill the belt with gum and other check-out items, and Gabriel put up a sign that indicated our lane was closed. Several shoppers went to other lanes before I noticed what he had done.) I was relieved when I had all four boys and my bags of groceries safely stowed away in the van.
I am REALLY going to miss preschool next year.

This Month in Marc and Sarah History

Feb 2nd- Marc and Sarah go on their second official date. After dinner at a Peruvian restaurant they head to Marc's cousin's house to watch a movie. During the film, Marc holds Sarah's hand for the first time. How could he resist? "The Three Amigos" is such a romantic movie! Marc and Sarah become hand-holding fiends after that.
Feb 3rd- Marc takes Sarah to meet some friends who are in town. He introduces her as, "my friend Sarah". His friends tell him later that night that he needs to do something about that. Sarah did not seem like just a friend. Later that week Marc and Sarah decide that they are officially a couple.
Feb 8th- Marc and Sarah go to Marcus and Rebecca's to watch the opening ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympics. On the way there, Marc invites Sarah to Disneyland later that month. Sarah invites Marc to come home with her to Ohio in April. When Marc drops Sarah off that night, they kiss. It's Sarah's first kiss ever. Marc is a player. He's kissed one other girl before.
Feb 10th- Marc comes over to Sarah's apartment. She has a feeling he wants to talk about something serious so she makes excuses about why they can't talk right now.
Feb 11th- Marc comes over again. This time, Sarah agrees to listen. Mostly, she is just out of excuses. Marc lets her know that he is serious about her and hopes to marry her someday. He realizes she is young, so he won't bring it up again until she's ready to talk about it. He just wanted her to know where he stood.
Feb 12th- Sarah decides that if Marc is that serious then she better figure out if she is serious too. She spends the day fasting and praying when she is not in class. By the end of the day, Sarah decides that she wants to marry Marc and if they both feel that way then there is no point in waiting. She calls him.
"Hello?"
"Yes."
"Yes... what?"
"Yes, I want to marry you."
Feb 14th- Marc brings Sarah flowers for Valentines Day and a book, "Ella Enchanted". Marc and Sarah start reading it together. Sarah loves to listen to Marc reading. He does all the voices.
Feb 15th- Sarah's friend, Mary Smith, arrives from Ohio for the winter Olympics. Marc plays chauffeur. Sarah and Mary enjoy Olympic hockey and the sights and sounds of Salt Lake City. Marc keeps dropping to one knee and pretending to propose. Unbeknownst to Sarah, Marc has already purchased a ring. Mary gets to see it before she leaves.Feb 18th- Marc surprises Sarah with a cozy romantic dinner in what will be their first apartment. It is still under construction. The dinner features Sarah's favorite, chicken caesar salad, and there are rose petals everywhere. Marc gets on knee again, but this time he has the ring. He asks Sarah if she will marry him. She says yes, again.Feb 19th- Marc and Sarah celebrate their officially engaged status with a road trip to Disneyland with Marc's family. He reads to her all the way. Like Ella, Sarah feels her life has become enchanted.

Ten Year Trivia

So, Marc and I are coming up on the big 10 year anniversary in May. We know we won't be able to do anything huge so we are celebrating in small ways starting this month. Because our courtship was so short, every date and small milestone seems significant to our relationship. I thought it would be fun to post a few of the things that happened in January of 2002 which led to the establishment of the Marc and Sarah Ricks family.
Jan 9th- Marc walks into Sarah's honor biology class. Sarah is ticked off because Marc was in her honors astronomy class the semester before and he wrecked all the curves giving her her first B+ since Junior High. Sarah thought he was dating someone because he always came to class with some girl, who turned out to be his sister. Sarah is dreading another semester of his curve-wrecking ways when he announces that he is the T.A. Phew!
Jan 10th- Sarah goes to a scholarship banquet and discovers that Marc has the same scholarship. They chat over hors d'oeuvres and then Sarah sits down with friends at a table. Marc actually asks someone to move so that he can sit next to Sarah. He has her attention...
Jan 14th- Marc shows up again! It turns out he has guitar lessons at the same time as and in the room next to Sarah's voice lessons. He is also in the major office when Sarah goes to declare a new major of genetics. They chat again. Sarah inquires about Marc's lunch plans. Marc says he will be eating a frozen burrito and then promptly leaves. Sarah feels confused. She would have taken him out to lunch on her meal plan. Maybe he's not interested? Sarah should have realized then that Marc is just not good at picking up on hints. Even not-so-subtle ones.
Jan 24th- Sarah, lacking a car, asks Marc after voice lessons if he could pick up some music when he goes to get guitar supplies. He says yes.
Jan 25th- Marc asks for Sarah's phone number, you know, for music buying-related questions. They talk for at least an hour later that night. Marc asks her on a date, but only after clearing it with the biology professor. He is her T.A. after all.
Jan 26th- We have our first date. Our double backs out at the last minute so after buying music, we head back to Marc's house to decide what we want to do. We end up staying since Marcus is cooking something amazing for dinner. Sarah has a good time with Marc's niece and nephew despite the fact that we watch Willow. Marc's dad tries to be generous by offering Sarah large quantities of gummy bears. Marcus causes some embarrassment when he indicates that Sarah can only eat dinner if she agrees to marry Marc. Who knew she'd actually keep her end of the bargain?
Jan 27th- Sarah invites Marc over for dinner with the excuse that her printer needs fixing. Could she have fixed it herself? Probably. She attempts to make rolls without success. It turns out she is using powdered sugar instead of flour. Sarah is still wondering why her roommates had a gigantic canister of powdered sugar and only a small container of flour. After discovering the problem, rolls have lost their appeal. She makes bread instead. Dinner is a success. The printer gets fixed.
Jan 29th- Marc casually stops by after Sarah's German class to give her a homemade card and a present. It turns out to be a bread knife. Marc had to cut the homemade bread with a butterknife the night before so he knows Sarah could use one. Sarah still loves that bread knife. Sarah also listens to an amazing devotional by Dallin H. Oaks about the Lord's timing. This concept of the Lord's timing will be important when Sarah realizes she might not be going on a mission before she gets married.
Here is a picture of us at a campus ice-sculpting contest from January 2002. Awww.

Kiddy Krack-ups

Here are some funnies from my boys. I confess, some of these are from last year and I just never posted them, but they are too good not to share.

Elijah: "Mom! I keep asking Gabe a question and he just says nothing!"
Me: "Are you sure he heard you?"
Elijah: "Yes! I told you he just says nothing. Watch!"
(I follow Elijah out of the kitchen and into the living room where Gabe is playing with blocks.)
Elijah: "Gabe, do you want to play a game with me?"
Gabe: (without looking up) "Nothing!"
Elijah: "See! He just says 'nothing'!"

We try to have clean up time each evening before Marc gets home from work. One day, Gabriel refused to help.
Gabe: (with a sincere pained expression on his face) "Mom, I can't clean up because my feelings are hurt. I'm really hurting inside."
Despite my assurances that hurt feelings do not prevent one from picking up toys Gabe did not lift a finger. When Marc arrived home Gabriel apologized for his lack of help.
Gabe: "I'm sorry I didn't clean up, Dad. My brains were hurting."
His list of mental excuses needs some work, and where did he learn this melodramatic behavior?

Sometimes we feed the neighbors' dogs when they are out of town. One morning I ran next door to feed the dogs and let them out then ran back into my kitchen where the boys were eating breakfast.
Elijah: "Wow! Mom, how did you feed the dogs so fast?"
Me: "I don't know. Was I really fast?"
Elijah: "Yeah. I guess Heavenly Father just made you that way."
I guess I can add speed-feeding dogs to my list of God-given talents.

We recently purchased booster seats in a fit of optimism. Gabriel and Elijah were really excited about the new seats, but after we measured the boys' heights we realized they were still a little too short to safely use them. They asked why we couldn't put the seats in the van right now and I explained that they needed to grow three more inches.
Gabe: "Three inches! (moaning) That will take forty years! Or four days! That is a really long time."

In November, Marc participated in Movember. For those of you who don't know, Movember is an awareness and fund-raising campaign for men's health. Men all over the nation grow facial hair all month in order to get donations for causes like prostate cancer. Marc has never been big into facial hair, partly because he looks a little sinister and partly because it just doesn't grow that well for him. Anyway, at the same time he started his mustache growth he was also working really long hours. Gabriel put the two and two together and came up with the following statement after seeing his milk mustache in the mirror: "Uh-oh Mom. I didn't get enough sleep, so I have a mustache."

David John occasionally abandons his pleasant persona and goes on a little naughty spree. During one hectic day when Marc was on call and we were having company for dinner he managed to clog the toilet several times with non-toilet-friendly objects. Here is a catalog of everything he tried to flush down: 3 toddler toothbrushes, 2 t-shirts, 3 baby toys, 2 battery-operated trucks, an entire roll of toilet paper and a shoelace. This last item was flushed while we were eating dinner. My apologies to the Cleveland water department if this caused havoc with any of their machinery. Also, do you have a lost and found for items pulled out of the water-treatment plant? We are missing a few things and I think you might have them...

Benjamin is quite good at getting around now, but when he first learned to pull himself up to standing he took several spills. He would be clinging to the side of the coffee table and reaching for a toy that was too far away. He seemed to realize that he needed to move his body to get it, so he would start sliding his hands along the edge of the table toward the toy but he never moved his feet. As a result, we would witness Benjamin's head slowly leaning then disappearing entirely when he finally fell over sideways. I'm glad he learned how to move lower body and that he is no longer the rising and setting baby.

Elijah is really interested in the family pictures that I recently put up. (No comments please about how we have been in this house for 2.5 years and I am just now hanging pictures. I am aware.) He loves this one of Marc from our trip to Alaska.After studying it for a while he asked, "Mom is that you next to the big pole with Daddy?"
Flattery will get you nowhere son.

All three big boys received mini tape-measures in their stockings at Christmas. I love to watch them measure the furniture. "Mom, the coffee table is 50 degrees and 3 pounds." David John's apparently works much like Mary Poppin's measuring tape. When he measures you he usually assigns you an adjective. "Mom, you are pretty." Thank you son. Flattery will get you everywhere.

I love how literal 2-year-olds can be. I frequently have conversations like this with David John:
David John: "Mommy, I hurt myself!"
Me: "What did you hit?"
David John: "The floor."
or
David John: "Mommy, I feel sick."
Me: "Where do you feel sick?"
David John: "In the living room."

Gabriel was very angry at me one day because he misbehaved in the library and did not get a good behavior fruit snack when we got in the van. On the way home he was loudly expressing his feelings.
Gabe: "Mom, I don't love you! You belong in the garbage! Actually, you belong in the dump truck which will take you to the garbage!"
Elijah: "Gabe, that is not nice. If you die, you will go to the bad-guy place."
Gabe (fearing fire and brimstone I guess): "Mom, I changed my mind. I love you now. You don't belong in the garbage."
Elijah should work in the penal system reforming inmates.

Okay, last one:
David John loves to sing and he takes his songs seriously. He got very upset today when his brothers were singing the wrong lyrics. He started screaming at them, which has been a general problem of late. Marc and I sat down with him to talk about what he could do instead of screaming.
Me: "David John, what could you do next time you feel frustrated or annoyed with your brothers?"
David John: "Um, probably cry and scream?"
Me: "No, what could you do instead of cry and scream. You could use your..." (we were looking for "words")
David John: "Body?"
At this point we had to stop the conversation because Marc and I were shaking with silent laughter. We are always telling the boys not to use their bodies (i.e. hit and kick) to communicate. At least he was being honest. Using his body is probably what he would resort to if crying and screaming didn't work. We did come up with some other ideas. We'll have to see what happens next time someone flubs one of his favorite songs.

Cabin Fever

It's January. This means it is a New Year, which is great. It also means that we are finally getting some serious snow and that the boys have a lot of school holidays. After two weeks off for the Christmas/New Years holiday I have a whole new appreciation for those 2 1/2 hours a day, four days a week when Gabriel and Elijah go to preschool. Without it, we all succumbed to the dreaded Cabin Fever. Don't worry though. My boys are nothing if not creative. Here are some of the ways they have found to entertain themselves while stuck at home:

1. Computer Games
Okay, so this is not creative, but it's new. This is the first time we've let them play games and they are hooked. Primarily, they play simple phonics games for *FREE* at starfall.com. If you don't know about this site, you should check it out. The games are very short so it's pretty guilt-free to let them play one or two letter games each when you know that only means 5-10 minutes of computer time AND it's educational. Poor Benjamin is left out of the fun, despite his best efforts to get in on the action. Now that he is nine months he is crawling and cruising and bothering his brothers like a pro.The other game they like to play (with Daddy's assistance) is a quirky game called Plants vs. Zombies. They are very serious about this game. Elijah is especially intense about it. Frequently I will hear exclamations like, "Watch out Dad! That zombie is going to get into the house! No, no no! (pause) Okay, phew! Sorry Dad, I just really thought that one was going to get through." All the boys have also taken to talking in zombie voices on occasion. If you see them walking around in a stiff way with glassy eyes and muttering, "Brains!" you'll know why. We've banned the zombie voice in certain situations such as saying prayers. I don't think zombies pray, do you?

2. Fun With Mattresses
One advantage of sharing a room with your brothers is that you have more mattresses to play with. These mattresses have been used as Noah's Ark, forts, tents, and slides. Here is a picture of one of the more dangerous uses they found- a teetering bridge......and here is a picture of them shortly after falling off said teetering bridge.In this picture they have just finished creating a giant mattress, blanket, pillow and stuffed animal "hamburger". They are quite proud of their handiwork. Sometimes, brothers are an added secret ingredient inside the hamburger. Today, they are just the sesame seeds on the sesame seed bun.

3. Playdates
These have been few and far between since most of our friends were traveling for the Holidays. I am ashamed to admit that at two of the playdates we did go to I had to leave early because of toddler misbehavior. Of course, the boys didn't make leaving easy. After several attempts at trying to get everyone's coats and boots on before one of the other boys kicked his off and ran away, I had to swallow my pride and carry each tantrum-throwing child out to the van individually without boots or coat and then dress them and buckle them in before returning for another naughty little person. Cabin Fever will do that I guess.
Sometimes, though, friends are just what we needed. Here is a happy picture from the day after Abbie and Will came back from their trip. They all piled into the rocking chair and asked for their picture to be taken. Elijah informed Abbie that it was okay for her to sit with him for the picture because they are engaged.

4. Robots
Several days in a row, the boys dumped out containers of toys in order to put the empty containers on their heads and play robots. Tired of picking up so many toys, I decided to just make designated robot boxes. The boys were thrilled about this idea. I also thought they might be less trouble if they could see instead stumbling around blindly so I cut eye-holes in the boxes for them and helped them decorate their robots. Of course, as soon as they but their new robot boxes on Gabe said, "I have a great idea! Let's crash into each other!" The other boys were amenable. I tried to control their behavior by explaining that robots are programmed and always do what they are told and that these were non-crashing robots. Apparently, the boys have read I, Robot because they explained they were of the evil robot variety and didn't have to listen. Oh well. It was worth a try.

5. Building Starship
Okay, so they didn't build a starship. They built towers with their blocks while singing a Starship song. Yesterday, I almost died laughing as I watched Gabriel, Elijah and David John busily stacking their colored blocks and belting out, "We built these towers on Rock and Roll!" Marc occasionally shows the boys music videos on YouTube so we think that's where this song came from but even if Marc did show it to them it was a long time ago. Their all-time favorite and frequently requested music video is still Boris the Spider by The Who. Boys are so funny.

6. Kicks with Kix
Today they experimented with Kix cereal. They discovered you can make it roll of the table if you blow hard enough, that it makes a very satisfying sound when stomped on and that it is very fun to throw handfuls up into the air and watch them rain down like little yellow hale stones. Most importantly, however, they devised a very amusing way to eat Kix which involved disconnecting some tubing from their toy vacuum and placing one end of the tubing in someone's mouth then loading Kix into the other end so that they rolled down into said mouth. They all took turns in between fits of giggles. Benjamin enjoyed the spectacle and was happy to eat the Kix cereal that was all over the floor. I guess the New Year will be bringing us a new box of Kix since that one was rapidly consumed today. Did I mention I love my kids? Even when they have Cabin Fever? Oh, good. Well, it's true. I do love my boys and I love being at home with them even if things get a little crazy. One thing is for sure, I never know what they will come up with next.

December Recap

Okay, so I did it again. Why am I only able to write one measly blog every December? It's as if my time is completely consumed by Christmas shopping, crafting, and planning Marc's birthday or something. Weird. Anyway, here are some of things I planned to write about this month but just never got around to it:

Dear Santa
We took the boys early in the month to a fun breakfast with Santa hosted by one of the community churches. The boys enjoyed the free food, cookie decorating, ornament making, chance to see Elmo and, of course, the chance to tell Santa what they wanted for Christmas.
This is the first year any of them has expressed a desire for a specific Christmas gift. In the line to see Santa were tables with little printed wish lists that you could fill out for Santa to give to his elves. The boys dictated, and I wrote down what they wanted. David John asked for an Abby Cadabby doll, Elijah asked for cookies and slippers and Gabriel asked for slippers, cookies, milk, juice and water. I wondered what Santa might think about these sparse requests. Frankly, I'm surprised he didn't refer our family to social services. Any child who has to ask for water for Christmas must be deprived. I was tempted to write a disclaimer stating that I really did provide adequate nutrition and thirst-quenching drinks on a daily basis. Despite being a little embarrassed, I did feel grateful that my boys were not greedy and didn't want anything terribly expensive. My gratitude deepened when I heard the little girl in front of us telling her sister what to write on her list. "I want a smart phone, a Coach purse and some serious bling." Maybe having four boys is not such a bad thing...

Party Like it's 1985
Marc went to our friend Kevin's birthday party with an 80's theme. I put together this gnarly outfit for him last minute. We also provided a very 80's gift of some He-Man coasters that I made. We couldn't find a babysitter (all of our friends were out of town or at the party) so I stayed home but Kevin got a kick out of his gift and Marc's get-up got 2 votes for best 80's ensemble so all-in-all a good night. :) (For the record, Marc offered to stay home and let me go to the party. He's a totally radical husband.)

Sock it to Me
Benjamin is crawling, cruising and scooting everywhere. One of his favorite things to do is locate a sock of any variety (dirty, clean, tube, ankle- he's not picky) and then chew on it until it is a disgusting sodden mess. While he is chewing, he searches for other socks until he has gathered a little collection of the toddler socks that are perpetually strewn about the house. Since he doesn't want to put any of his socks down, he gets around by keeping his torso and arms still while propelling himself forward across our wood floors using only his toes. The result is quite hilarious and just cannot be communicated with a picture. We invite you to come over any evening and witness the sock-eating ritual. Then you, too, can enjoy watching Benjamin who looks like a baby-shaped vacuum being moved about by some unseen force and picking up socks in its wake.
We have learned recently that not only are socks good for chewing on, but they are also quite handy for effectively stopping large pieces of machinery. One of Benjamin's Halloween socks, aware that October was over and knowing that it was destined for a long wait in a storage container, chose to wriggle its way under the washing machine instead of going into the washing machine. As a cry for attention, perhaps, this sock managed to scoot all the way to the back of the washing machine where it was sucked post-haste into the engine causing a loud "pop" sound and the immediate cessation of the washing of laundry. We were not aware of the emotional distress of the sock or its misguided plot. All we knew was that we could not do laundry and that David John had chosen the very same day to have a record number of potty-training related accidents. We attempted to discover the cause of the sudden breakdown over a couple of days while a wonderfully odiferous collection of pants and underwear accrued in our basement sink. Finally, we called a repair man who charged us $150 to fish the baby sock out of the gear box. I think sock therapy would have been cheaper.

A Christmas Miracle
As most of you know, Marc was born on Christmas Eve (I won't say how many years ago) in Jerusalem. However, his birth by his patient mother who had to be carried up the stairs (whose idea was it to put the maternity ward on the second floor?) and try to communicate with an Arab woman who could only say "Bush!" instead of "push" is not the miracle I am talking about. No, this was the miracle of the ice cream cake. Each year, I get Marc an ice cream cake for his birthday. This year, we had a party on December 22nd so I went out to get the cake the night of the 21st. I took Benjamin with me. When we arrived home, I was bringing in both the baby and the cake when the cake slipped out of my hands and tumbled through the air. The big plastic dome top came off as did the plastic bottom, but somehow the cake stayed with the cardboard liner. The miracle was that the cake landed right side up with only one barely noticeable nick in the frosting.
The birthday party was very fun with homemade pizza, popcorn, candy, fruit and root beer (Marc's favorite things). We also played chimes and had a Marc trivia game. His friends learned that Marc can do an awesome velociraptor imitation. They also learned he will not do it at parties.

Christmas
Here are the four boys and me in our new Christmas pajamas at my parent's house. We had a great time while Marc, as usual, worked. I am happy to report that Santa did bring David John an Abby Cadabby doll as well as Elmo slippers. Gabriel and Elijah received Lightening McQueen slippers and special cookies from the North Pole. Santa decided to let us provide the milk, juice, and water. It was Benjamin's first Christmas and he enjoyed the paper and boxes as well as the new binkies and binky clips that Santa brought.We opened presents at home with Daddy today. Our boys are very fun to give to because they express extreme satisfaction with everything from new socks and pants to awesome new toys. I am always filled with gratitude for my little family and sweet husband at Christmas time. This year, when I arrived home after the drive from Fairborn, Marc had this beautiful vase of lilies waiting for me. Each time I walk into the kitchen I breathe in the sweet smell. They make me think of the new year, a new start, a new chance to love and live and grow.