Mommy's Potpourri

At this very moment, Anthony is riding around on his Lightening McQueen car fake crying. He stops, says (very dramatically) "I don't waaaaaanna cry," and puts his head in his hands and continues to fake cry. He clearly thinks this is hilarious because he looks at me and giggles after each "episode". Where does he get this stuff? Also, at this moment, Lukie is attempting to eat a paper towel. Don't worry, I stopped him and he is not happy about it.  So now I have one fake crying, and one crying over his lack of paper towel ingestion. Just a little life snapshot to share!

Went to the docs today. Luke is 21lbs 13oz. 28 1/4 inches long! Healthy boy! :)

Having 2 boys, I tried to prepare myself for the reality that the boys are going to get hurt. They will probably break a bone, skin their fair share of knees, and see the inside of an emergency room more than once in their adventurous childhoods. But nothing prepares you for that horrifying moment where you hear that blood-curdling scream, and see blood but cannot identify it's source. It happened yesterday when we were at the park. Anthony tried to go down something that is meant for climbing. He lost his footing, and I caught him before he hit the ground. Then came the scream, and the blood. He bit straight through his tongue. We called the doctor who asked a lot of questions and determined that a trip to the emergency room was not necessary. Today Anthony seems fine. He is talking and eating and his tongue looks much better, thank God. I know this is just the first of many injuries, but even though I know that, I doubt that scary feeling will ever go away.

Last night Anthony had his first real, terrifying nightmare. He has had bad dreams before. Usually he cries, Daddy goes and lays down with him and they both go back to sleep. Sometimes it takes a while for him to calm down before sleeping. This was a whole different thing. At 1am, Anthony woke up screaming. Daddy went in to lay with him, and they went to sleep for a few minutes. Anthony woke up freaking out. Screaming at the top of his lungs, swinging violently and shaking his head back and forth. He was hitting both of us when we tried to comfort him. He was looking around the (dark) room, and reacting as if he was seeing something. So we took him to the couch, gave him some milk, turned on the light and he calmed down. We asked him what happened and all he said was that he was scared. And when he thought about it, he started doing the shaking and jerking back and forth thing. We reassured him that nothing could hurt him, that dreams are not real, and we prayed to ask God to hel...

I have figured out the pattern. 3 weeks out of the month Anthony listens relatively well. Then there is the 1 week where he decides to test everything he has ever been told. I actually questioned if he had some kind of hearing impairment because I have been talking to the air. Nothing registers in his mind unless I throw in the word 'popsicle' or mention watching the movie "Cars". Needless to say, this week has been one of those weeks. With the Lord's help I have had a grip on my patience and tone of voice - although I have screamed in a pillow more than once. Tonight, at the suggestion of a seasoned mommy-friend, I decided to put the boys to bed a half hour earlier than usual. This of course did not go over too smoothly and I ended up laying in bed with my 2 year old, rubbing his back and watching his little eyes grow heavy. (While silently hoping the giggles and squeals from my almost-one year old did not keep him from dreamland for too much longer.) As I ...

My kid must think I have these amazing artistic abilities. I do not. At all. But surprisingly, after months of drawing on demand, I was feeling pretty confident about my skills. That is, until this morning. "Mommy, draw fish" *I Draw a fish* "Mommy, draw baseball" *I draw a baseball* "Mommy draw dinosaur" *I draw something that looks like a dog, with stegosaurus plates on it's back. He even gives me a look saying that it clearly did not look like a dino, but he will let it slide.* "Mommy draw a jelly fish." *oh good, something easy after that dinosaur debacle* "Mommy draw Elmo." *yep, I can draw Elmo with my eyes closed* "Mommy draw feet." *Yes! Another easy one!* "Mommy draw racecar." *eek. I draw one with terrible aerodynamics.* "Draw Daddy" *I Draw a stick figure* "Draw Hannah" *The only difference between Hannah and Daddy is that Hannah has longer hair and is wearing pea...

I don't know about you, but nobody told me that when you become a mom, poo becomes a major part of every day life. I now know so much more about poo (as it relates to my children) than I would have ever thought possible. I know how much, how often, time of day, color, smell and consistency that is normal. When things look off, I investigate. If I had a magnifying glass, I would use it. And I don't mind doing this by the way. It is almost automatic. Take the diaper off, clean the kid up, double check the poo. Maybe I am crazy, and the only mom who does this. It does have its benefits though. My studies have shown that my Anthony does not chew some foods as thoroughly as he should, and that some fruits and veggies have quite the effect on color (think carrots and blueberries). Studies have also shown that Lukie eats anything he can fit in his mouth. I have had my share of googly eyes staring right back at me from inside that diaper. So now I can encourage Anthony to chew those ...