brotherly love....

Oh how my boys love each other. They are becoming 'friends' which is soooo precious! Ethan and Judah love to play together which often times leads to mini-fights (normal right? right. they're boys)

...yesterday morning they were playing with their foam swords and I was in the bathroom (as I always seem to be when something eventful happens) and I hear the start of a fight...then some yelling...then crying...then Ethan came running into the bathroom saying "mommy come out here - see what I did to Judah - help him!"

You can only imagine what flashed through my mind when I heard "help him" - I was picturing Judah stuck behind the stereo or under the couch or something....

....instead I was greeted by a poor Judah with a bloody lip. Not to tragic. I'll take that. After a little hug and a cold, wet rag he was back to playing with his big bro.

Another cute snip-it into their lives as buds happened at the YMCA last night. Ethan has swimming lessons so Judah is in KidStuff by himself for the 30 minutes; Judah has had a tough time in there without Ethan (which is precious in itself!) and last night was no exception. We walked in to pick up Judah and they (the KidStuff staff) said Judah seemed a little sad without Ethan (they see them together in there quite a bit)...

..then Ethan ran through the door proclaiming "Judah! We're here! We're here to get Judah!"

Judah heard this and ran to the pick up door smiling ear-to-ear. After getting checked out Judah walked out the door and Ethan ran to him with a big bear hug! Both kids smiling and giggling and HUGGING from being apart for a mere 30 minutes! awwwwhhhh. melt my heart.

They sure do love each other.

10 on Tuesday

1. If anyone read my previous post and wondered what the 'mad gab' (thanks Jamie!) answer was.....'A Bear Has Gas' was how Ethan told daddy we were eating 'asparagus' with dinner!

2. We have thunderstorms right now (as I type) and I have the blinds shut....they are glowing yellow with the brightness of outside....it's past 8:30pm...eerie! LOTS of thunder!

3. I actually went shopping today! I can not remember the last time I went shopping for myself; I walked away with 2 pairs of shorts and a pair of pants! nice:) Under $10 each to make it even sweeter.

4. I came home today to a BEAUTIFUL bouquet of colored roses on my front step! Joe had them sent to the house for me...how sweet! I love flowers:)

5. My cold is FINALLY on the way out. That was a long one.

6. Judah got some mosquito bites Sunday and Monday the poor kid had swells the size of dimes where they were! ouch! I guess he needs to learn how to slap them off!

7. I had yet another lab appointment yesterday to see if my HcG levels were back to normal yet (after my m/c) and THEY ARE! YEAH!

8. I love my kitchen clean. I don't always love cleaning it. BUT I love it when it's sparkly.

9. Speaking of kitchens; we want to update ours a little..we have the lovely 80's wood and are thinking of painting it....any color suggestions? We're also going to paint the walls too.

10. One thing I LOVE about warm weather is that I don't have to wear socks. I don't like socks.

what'd he say?

I can't think of the name of a game for the life of me...it's the game where you read some weird combo of words out loud and you have to decipher what it sounds like....you know what game I'm referring too? If you do - let me know the name! Once you figure out the name - or even if you don't - here's one for you:

Say this out loud and see what it sounds like:

A Bear Has Gas

Ethan said this to Joe the other night and we both CRACKED up until we figured out what he was trying to say.... let me know what you think it is and I'll post the correct answer later - GOOD LUCK!

Potty talk

Ethan has some issues with #2's...always has since he was born. We load his diet up with fiber and encourage him when it's time to go...but that's not what this post is ultimately about....it's about what he SAID while he was trying....without further stalling here you go.....

*in the bathroom; Ethan on the toilet; trying to go #2*

Me: Great job Ethan! Keep pushing!

Ethan's pushing....
then he stops - grabs my knee and says with ALL seriousness:
Ethan: mommy! The monkey's are holding onto the poopies so I can't push them out!

Me: what? (while trying sooo hard to hide my laughter because he said this so seriously)

Ethan: the monkey's inside of me and holding the poopies and won't let go so I can't push them out!

Me: (trying to roll with it) maybe if you push they will let go

Ethan: (pushes and then stops suddenly) NO! When I push it scares the monkeys and I don't want to scare them!

...about 20 minutes later he did have success and hasn't talked about the monkeys since then. How he came up with that is beyond me; but it'll be a good story to tell him when he gets older!

10 on Tuesday

1. I'm ready for my cold do go away. Bye Bye:)

2. Ethan loves his manners; he's very good with please and thank you...his newest fave is "excuse me"....about every 3 minutes I hear "excuse me mommy...." so cute! Now, it normally follows with a question of some sort that I need to answer - that's a different story!

3. Judah got another hair cut tonight - thanks Grandpa Tony! I hold him while he cuts it and I was COVERED in hair; that boy was in desperate need of a haircut! He looks like such a little man now (pics to come soon)

4. Ethan's in swimming lessons at the YMCA; we're on week 5 tomorrow (once a week for 8 weeks) and he LOVES IT! yeah! He can actually propel himself around the pool with a noodle/floaty thing!

5. I don't mind sorting laundry to be washed; I don't mind washing laundry; I don't mind switching and drying the laundry. I DO mind folding it. Why? I wish I knew. Thankfully my kids don't mind the wrinkles:) It gets folded eventually.

6. I have a load in the washer currently...probably my reason for sharing my dislike of folding with all you.

7. I tried to sport a side-pony tail today; I think my hair's long enough that it doesn't look too childish. ;)

8. I can NOT believe it's the end of JULY. Where in the world did our summer go?

9. Ethan played with acorns this afternoon for seriously over an hour; moving them from one cup to another; washing them in his little 'pool'; counting them; seeing which ones float or sink; yelling at Judah for touching them and so much more!

10. I think Ethan and Judah look SO much more alike now with Judah's new 'do. So cute.

cold

ick. So I have one of those nasty, stuffy nose colds in the summer! Double ick.

In general I don't like colds but I especially don't like them when it's SUMMER time - there's something very unnatural about sniffling and blowing your nose with your eyes half shut when it's SUNNY and WARM outside. Maybe it's just me. I think colds need to stay with winter.

But I can't change the fact that I have this nasty cold. I just took some DayQuil with hopes that I will be able to breath out of my nose at some point today...I'm not a fan of popping pills but I'm AM a fan of breathing and that's all I could think of this morning! All that to say....

...what do you (yes you...if you are reading this you are included...) do for nasty colds? Especially in the summer. I feel like when I get a cold in the winter it's not that hard to let it run it's course...maybe because everyone else is carrying tissues around too!

I've heard of the NediPot (or however you spell it) - does that work? Would it help me right now or is that one of the preventive deals that you do when you feel you may be getting sick?

I LOVE to take HOT showers to drain my nose....2 problems with that right now: #1 - my kids. I can't just hop in the shower whenever I please:) #2 - it's hot outside! (but I still take when when I can when Joe's home)

help. please? any and all suggestions are welcome!

thanks,
your stuffed up blogger.

The mind of a 3 year old

Last night I got to take a peek inside of Ethan's mind....this is how it went....

**background: I had just put him to bed; our routine is we read books while he eats a tiny snack and drink a small drink; then he goes potty and brushes his teeth; then into bed to pray***

Me: Goodnight Ethan, I love you!

*I leave the room*
*about 30 minutes later*

Ethan: (softly) mommy? mommy? come in here mommy.

Me: (go into his room) what's is it Ethan?

Ethan: mommy, my tummy hurts.

Me: I'm sorry sweetie, have you tried laying on your tummy?
**that's what we suggest for when his tummy hurts with #2 pains**

Ethan: yeah - I already tried that 2 times; I layed on my tummy 2 times and it still hurts

Me: ok - do you want a cuddle?

Ethan: yeah....

Me: (while holding cuddling him) do you think you have some poopies?

Ethan: no. I don't have any poopies

*I continue to hold him while he relaxes*

*about 30 seconds later*
Ethan: mommy...I think I drank too much juice before bed. I need to pee some out. Maybe next time I won't drink so much juice before bed. My tummy hurts.

*we went potty and sure enough he peed out A LOT. I mean A LOT.

Me: (back in his room) Good night Ethan, I love you

Ethan: Good night - remember tomorrow I don't want that much juice. It made my tummy hurt.

I was super impressed that he was able to figure out why his tummy hurt! And that he tried the methods we normally suggest for an upset tummy (laying on it)..it was so cute to be holding him and literally see the light bulb go off when he realized he drank too much juice!
Oh I love my little thinker:)

18 month stats

Judah had his 18 month well-child check at the doctor yesterday; a few weeks late but we still made it! (he turned 18 months on June 27th...close enough right?)

Here's the stats for my littlest guy:

Height: 2'5.5" (0.78%)
Weight: 20 lb 13 oz (1.75%)
Head Circumference: 48.9 cm (77.82%)

Little man sure is little! He's very proportionate with his height to weight (which my doctor said is a good thing) and I'm sure he'll grow into that big head of his...
Way to be a happy toddler Judah - you make me smile all the time!

10 on Tuesday

I missed a few Tuesday but with good reason I think!

Here we go:

1. I love this warm weather! Even getting to sit on our front step and watch the kiddos play is so much more enjoyable when it's warm out:)

2. Ethan and Judah saw fireworks for the first time this past 4th - we watch them from my parents sailboat at Madeline Island - they put on quite a show! *Both Ethan and Judah LOVED them too!*3. Joe is THE best husband ever. He offered to paint my finger nails and toe nails (because I am super uncoordinated with that) to pamper me:) And it worked - I feel so nice with polished nails!

4. Ethan loves to read. Before bed he can pick out a few books and we read them together; he goes in phases every few weeks with his books. The most recent choices: If you give a mouse a cookie; Love you always and forever; Bebe goes shopping and his Kids Story Bible. In weeks past it was a few Go Diego Go books and before that Bob the Builder Books.

5. We had cherry tomatoes with dinner the other night and both Ethan and Judah weren't too sure about them....Judah now likes to puncture them with his teeth and suck out the insides and Ethan is popping them like candy! Literally...he'll eat 5-6 of them in one sitting!

6. I went back to the YMCA today for my first workout since I miscarried; I kept it simple and ran for 20 minutes...in the shower my legs felt like I had ran a marathon! I guess my body could tell I hadn't worked out in 2.5 weeks!

7. Judah's been sleeping in till 9am or later! Such a blessing at this time! I'm able to get Ethan set with some food and a drink and he'll let me sleep on the couch (with minor interruptions) *watch tomorrow Judah will be up at 6 because I bragged!*

8. We bought a 'breakfast nook' a few weeks ago (that I forgot to mention) that we LOVE! It's a corner seating thing (think restaurant corner booth) in dark wood with a bench and table. Works perfectly in our small space and the kids love it! I think it makes our living/dining room very 'bistro' like.

9. I'm now back on caffeine...I couldn't resist my diet coke and coffee! I'll give it up when I need to next time:)

10. I love it when Ethan prays: tonight it was "thank you God for my books; thank you God for my food; thank you God for Jesus" ahhwwwh.

Wait a little longer....

God has decided that it will be a little longer until we add baby #3 to our family; two weeks ago He called our tiny baby home. I was 9 weeks pregnant when I miscarried…two weeks later and it, the miscarriage, is almost complete.

I am not mad at God for it; I know His plan is perfect and He has a plan for our family. I have wondered ‘why’ but am able to rest in the fact that God is sovereign and nothing that happens to me is a surprise to Him – He plans it all.

I’m learning to be content in every situation – even these tough ones.

Not that I am speaking of being in need,

for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.

I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound.

In any and every circumstance,

I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger,

abundance and need.

I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

Philippians 4:11-13

I can now say that I have been ‘brought low’ – and I can confidently say I can do all things through Him who strengthens me…even go through a hard miscarriage.

I’m slowly re-entering my normal routines with the kids; it’s getting easier to talk about and I know that will continue to improve with time.

God is good – all the time – even the tough times! Blessed be the name of the Lord!