Monkey Kick-Off

We are still getting the carpet installed in the basement (day 3). Typically, when Obed takes his morning nap, Ezra, Asher and I either go outside or go downstairs so Obed can have a bit of peace and quiet in which to rest. Today, it's rainy outside and the carpet guy is still working, so we are trying to find quiet activities inside to keep the boys interested. We watched a bit of PBS, and then moved on to Monkey Kick-Off. Vince's "personal best" is 5007 meters. Mine, not so good. Apparently I'm about as good at Monkey Kick-Off as I am at bowling. I also seem to have passed my giftedness in Monkey Kick-Off to the boys... Asher kicked one 39 meters, Ezra averaged about 102 meters. You try it... it's harder than it looks - and maybe just a little addictive.

** UPDATE **

Last night Vince was playing Monkey Kick-Off with the boys while I was getting supper together. It seems that my mad skills in Monkey Kick-Off have actually earned their own classification... any time either boy had a bad kick, they'd say, "oh, that was a mommy kick."

And the Oscar Goes To...

Obed is learning the fine art of being a drama queen (aka: emotional manipulation). Here, he's letting me know, in his not-so-subtle way, that he is not pleased with the food items currently on his tray. He's gotten so melodramatic at times, that even Ezra and Asher often tell him, "Obed, you're being a phony bologna." He's working hard towards a career in acting. I suppose if his two and four year old brothers know when he's faking it, he has a bit more to learn before he's ready to head to the Oscars.

Hide And Seek

This is how hide and seek typically goes at our home.

Ezra: "I'll count Asher, you go hide. One, two, three... eight, nine, ten. Ready or not, here I come."

Asher: "Come find me Ezra. I'm hiding in bathtub."

Clive, Male Nurse

When Clive was a puppy, he was most certainly our "fur child." The dog went everywhere with us. He did everything with us. He even slept with us (all 90 pounds of him) for many years. With each child we had, however, Clive became less "fur child" and more dog.

There are times (very rarely) now that Clive once again ascends the ladder from dog to fur- child. Clive seems to have some canine Spidey-sense to know when his people are sick. Any time I am ill, Clive comes and lays right next to me, as if to offer the only support he can give - his large, furry presence. Obed is sick. I went up to check on him one last time before I fell asleep last night, and I guess I didn't have the door to his room all the way closed. When I walked in, I found Clive, lying on Obed's floor, offering his presence to the sick little boy. I know today, as I am trying to deal with a sick baby, two busy toddlers, and life in general, Clive will once again be relegated to the status of dog... but for a few short minutes, he was once again a fur-child as he watched over his smallest family member.

Versatility

One of the things I love about kids is their imagination.... it gives every object and toy such versatility, and hours upon hours of entertainment (for both the child and the parents). For instance, one might look at Ezra in this picture and assume he has a pull-up on his head, which in fact, may be true. What you might not realize, however, is that he is a "motorcycle man" (as termed by Asher) and this pull-up is actually his helmet. I don't think the padding of the pull-up would offer the same protection as a helmet, but it's probably better than nothing, eh?Ezra is a fireman in this picture. The "safety goggles" are actually his air mask (although the safety goggles also double as workman glasses, swimming goggles, eyeglasses, and a variety of other eye protectors). The helmet also serves as a fire helmet, football helmet, motorcycle helmet, basketball man hat (not sure what that is), hard hat, baseball man hat and a hat to wear on a trip.
You might think that Asher is holding a Bob the Builder saw, and at times, he might be. Today, however, the saw is actually a "hair cutter." The boys like to get their tools to cut and style my hair (which always results in a fabulous style, which closely rivals bedhead). The tape measure measures the hair to see how much needs to be cut, the hammer breaks the hair (as far as I can tell), and the saw cuts the hair. This saw also serves as a fire ax when the need arises.Finally, Obed insists these days on feeding himself. It is almost always a messy process. During this meal, however, I don't know that Obed was trying to be messy, but rather, he found the value of cheese noodles and zucchini as both a facial and hair mousse.

Things I Never Knew I'd Say

When contemplating becoming a parent almost 5 years ago, I think I probably thought I'd say things like "don't pick your nose." What I didn't anticipate saying was, "I'm not a Kleenex. Please don't wipe your boogers on me." I think I probably anticipated saying something like, "don't spit." I know for certain I never anticipated saying, "please don't lick the windows and then wipe them down with your blankies - it really doesn't actually clean the windows for me."

Tonight a new phrase came out of my mouth... one I could have never anticipated. Vince had a meeting tonight, so he was a bit late getting home, thus, the chaos of getting dinner on the table was a bit exaggerated because I had three small boys all vying for my attention while I was trying to make the last touches to dinner. I wasn't paying attention to the two oldest boys - all I heard was, "that funny mommy?" As I was cutting up chicken into non-choking sized pieces, dishing up the zucchini, and slicing the bread, I mindlessly commented, "uh huh." Clearly I wasn't paying attention, for when I turned around to take the plates to the table, I realized what, "that funny mommy" referred to... Asher was taking bites out of the butter. I never knew that as a mom, I'd have to say, "son, don't bite the butter."

Jekyll? Hyde? Obed?

Obed is a little over 10 months old now. From my experience, babies tend to have a Jekyll & Hyde complex... in any two minute period, he can go from screaming to laughing, to fussing, to being the tornado, back to fussing, and then laughing again. It's quite the roller coaster ride quite dependant on his activity of the moment!

This is Obed's fake cry face. He scrunches up his nose and yells at anyone within earshot - but he never really gets too upset, but he certainly wants me to know he is NOT pleased.This is Obed's "happy place" these days... he's pulling up to standing. He's also crashing down a lot, but he'll pull up on any and everything he can find. He's trying to stand in a way that is flattering to his thighs - I think he learned this pose in modeling school.

Obed's other favorite things are his brothers. Bottle time is the only time Obed will sit still for any considerable amount of time. Asher and Ezra both enjoy feeding Obed. I have found the bottle seems to be the safest thing for the older brothers to feed Obed... anything involving a brother and a spoon means that Obed gets covered in food and very little food actually gets in his mouth.

Monkey Toes

Every week we have a night set aside for family night. Tonight for our family night, we went to the zoo and then had a picnic at the park. While at the zoo, the apes were eating dinner. One ape picked up a banana, stuck it in his toes, then proceeded to pick up a chunk of potato, stick it in his other toes, and then filled both hands with food before he walked upright to his dining spot in the shade. Vince asked the boys if they thought they could pick up bananas between their toes. Ezra responded, "I think I could pick up a 'bwana' with my toes."

When we got home, both Ezra and Asher wanted to try to eat like a monkey. When they were unable to actually pick up the said "bwana" between their toes, they decided the next best course of action would be to stomp on the "bwana." They smashed the it with their feet, splitting it open on the side. I guess they both have a bit to grow in their monkey-skills, as well as understanding that much is accomplished when one has opposable thumbs on their feet.

Obedient Jack

We have a book titled "Obedient Jack." The story is about a boy that was so obedient, he took everything literally in order to always be obedient. His mom told him that after a day's work, he was to put his earnings in his pocket so he didn't lose it. He was paid in butter one day, so he put the butter in his pockets which ended up melting all down his legs and being ruined - but at least he was obedient.

Ezra is my Obedient Jack. He's a rule-follower and he loves to please. The family room in the basement is in shambles right now since Vince is still working on it. There are pieces of copper wire all over the floor, a stray nail here or there, splinters of wood.... it's a mess. The boy's toys are still in family room - but the room is off limits for now - especially when the boys are not wearing shoes.

Today, Ezra and Asher were playing ball in the basement hallway and Asher's ball rolled maybe two feet into the family room. Being the rule-follower he is, Ezra found a pair of boots that he could wear in order to retrieve the ball... sure, he probably could have reached for the ball - but since he is Obedient Jack, he had to follow the rules. I love Ezra!

Nothing Exciting

Not much exciting to report on from the Black front. Just a cute picture of Obed - already playing cars and at such a young age! It's hard to believe he'll be 10 months old this week... where does the time go?

Breakfast Conversations

Ezra: "I smell something - what is that?"

Asher: "I think it's deer poop."

Ezra: "Daddy, Asher said I smell deer poop - is that deer poop?"

Not sure that Asher even knows what a deer is, much less what deer poop smells like... but apparently, he smelled it this morning at the breakfast table. Either his nose was mistaken, or I need to check under the benches at the table to make sure there are no deer hideaways.

Helmet Envy

Ezra got a new bicycle helmet today. He has recently learned to pedal his trike and the kid can get going pretty quickly, so we decided it was time to buy him his own helmet. We traveled to Wal-Mart this morning and tried on several different styles... only one fit. The helmets for children 3+ were too small... so were the ones for children ages 5+... our kids have HUGE heads! He finally settled on a red one for children 8+ (he's only 4 years old). Asher wanted a new helmet as well... but I told him when he learned to pedal a bike, he could get his own. He seemed satisfied with that answer.

When we got home, Asher asked Ezra if he could wear his new helmet. Ezra was kind and agreed. So Asher wore the helmet... all morning... tags were still on. He wore it to eat. He wore it to play. He even asked if he could take a rest in it... but I decided maybe that wasn't the best idea. I guess in a way it's a good thing that Asher wanted to wear Ezra's helmet. Asher, being so accident prone, could really benefit from wearing a helmet all the time - and clearly he thinks that would be a great idea!

Demolition

We've been in our house now for a little over three years. The house was clean and structurally sound when we moved in - albeit it a bit dated. In the three years we've been here, we've done much... removed the chain link fence from the FRONT yard, replaced the counter tops in the kitchen, painted almost every room, renovated a bathroom... the list is long. We have finally begun the basement renovation. We made the discovery that under our hot orange and red shag carpet lies another layer of carpet... orange indoor-outdoor carpet. SWEET! We were tempted to just keep it - but decided maybe it would be best to find something more neutral.

I think most kids like to be "helpers" (by helpers I mean time-extenders - something that would normally take a few minutes, can take upwards of an hour with "helpers"). Ezra and Asher wanted to help daddy the other night as he began on the basement. So, with hammers in hand (note, Asher got the smallest, girliest hammer we could find in order to try to avoid any knocked out teeth or black eyes with our terribly accident prone son), the demolition started. Asher was mostly just enthralled with the shiny, non-plastic, "real" hammer.

















Ezra was quite efficient with the hammer and actually knocked some holes through the drywall. We made certain to tell the boys that knocking holes in the wall with hammers is a special treat (I love the age with kids when "special treat" can be defined by hitting a wall full of holes).

















Obed spent most of his time helping by trying to push all 80 pounds of Clive across the floor. He didn't have much success.

The Fun of Boys

I find every day has humor in unexpected ways. Three boys keep me on my toes, very busy, and laughing a lot. These were just a few of the humorous items of the morning...

Obed insisted today that his bib was definitely NOT intended to keep his shirt clean, but rather, to help him become the super-hero he longs to be. And really, clean shirts are totally overrated!













Thanks to daddy, Ezra and Asher have learned the fine art of "pantsing" one another when wrestling. Today, Ezra came out of his room, where he and Asher had been playing wrestle-mania on the bed. He said, "look Mommy, Asher won this round." Then he ran back to their room for another round. Thanks daddy - you teach the best things!


















And finally today, the part where I laughed when I shouldn't have... Asher has been having trouble today communicating his displeasure. Rather than using words, he's chosen to use his hands and feet. Ezra came and told me Asher had hit him yet again. I called Asher to come to me, and in he walks, wearing his shades (upside down ALWAYS) and saying, "I a cool dude." It was hard to discipline and keep the laughter at bay.