The Language of Boys

 

I think it's a guy/boy thing.

 

"Mom, the bathroom smells good!"

"That's because I cleaned it."

"Oh, ok."

Translation - Thanks for cleaning all the pee my brother and I spray everywhere.

"I'm hungry."
"Then go get a snack out of the pantry."
"Wow, mom!  We have a lot of food!"
Translation - You are the best mom ever for stockpiling our house with food that will last three days.

"Mom, I made a hot dog poop!  And a bun.  I made a hot dog and bun poop!"
Don't ask me, I just went with the flow on this one.

"Does this match?"
My two oldest boys ask me this every day when they pick out their clothes.  I'm positive they have no clue exactly what they are asking, but I refuse to let them look like hobos unless it's laundry day.  Then all bets are off.

"Let's play Fight!"
"I'm the good guy; you're the bad guy."
"No, I wanna be the good guy!"
"You can both be good guys." - Me
"OK. Sawyer will be the bad guy.  Let's get him."
"NO!" - Me
This is pretty self explanatory.

"Dad, why do your farts smell so bad?"
"Don't say farts, son.  Say toot."
"But it's the same thing."
"Yes, but say toot."
"OK.  But why do your toots smell bad?"
"I don't know, son.  I just don't know."
I laughed so hard I cried when Andrew told me this!

"Mom, Cassidy is a girl."
"Yes, she is."
"Girls don't have a penis."
"No, she doesn't."
"She has a butt.  Two butts!"  Runs offs laughing.
I've had this conversation probably once a week since Cassidy was born, and they discovered she was different.  Then I'm told I am a girl, and you get the gist.  The joy of having boys who believe everything should revolve around a penis.

I saw this on a blog I regularly read and had to share it.  Catholic guilt parenting at its finest!  And yes, I would definitely say this to my children as my mom would have said it to me.

Alone with 2

The past couple of days my house has been unerringly quiet.  There is no constant bickering, complaining, whining, screaming, and no laughter.

Jackson and Cullen have been at my in-laws house since Sunday.  They are at 'cousin camp' with their cousins from Andrew's side.  They seem to be having fun, but my house is not quite the same.

Granted, I still have the two littles here.  Sawyer is a lot more talkative now that he actually has the chance to talk.  Seems as though the two older brothers tend to rule the roost with talking.  Sawyer has fully taken advantage of this and is now talking my ear off.  He seems to be enjoying the extra attention from Mom and Dad.  More books are being read and more snuggle time.

Cassidy hasn't really been phased my her lack of big brothers.  She still gets sat on by Sawyer a dozen times a day.  It's gotten to a point where she isn't even phased by it any more.  No screaming or crying when he plops right down on her.  She just looks at me with this expression saying 'yes, this is my life.'

I, on the other hand, am not used to the house being this quiet.  It hasn't been this quiet since Jackson was Sawyer's age.  Even then, I don't remember it being like this.  It's a little unnerving.  Granted, I am taking advantage of the lack of mess and total destruction of my house.  My kitchen counters have stayed clean for a full 24 hours!  Miracles due happen!

What's the first thing I did yesterday?  I cleaned the downstairs bathroom with about 3x as much Pinesol as is called for.  Why?  Because little boys are disgustingly gross.  I can't even begin to tell you all the places I had to scour in that one little tiny half bath they use the most often.  Let's just say, my boys will be cleaning their own bathrooms as they get older because I'm not touching that!

On a side note, Cassidy is in physical therapy being treated for Torticollis.  Before anyone panics, it is a minor case.  The left side of her head was a little flat when she went in for her 4 month check up.  Our pediatrician said it was due to torticollis, and he would be sending us to physical therapy.  She and I went on Monday.  Our therapist said she was a doll baby and had a very minor case that is easily treatable.  I was showed stretches and molding techniques I perform on her several times a day.  She's not a huge fan of it, but I still do it.  Little Cassidy is still perfectly healthy and growing like a weed.

Jackson and Cullen are due back on Friday.  I'm sure they will regal us with tales of their adventures.  In the mean time, Andrew and I are enjoying a little break from our normally loud, chaotic family.  Although, I will admit I do miss my boys!

Last day of School

Today is officially Jackson's last day at Harmony Hill Preschool.  Even though he graduated from Pre_K back in May, he went to Kinder Ready this summer.  Now, he will officially be a Kindergartener in a month.  My toddler is gone and has been replaced by a little boy who is growing up quickly.

It's Cullen's last day in his class as well.  He'll start his Older 3's class in September.

August will be a test of my patience with all four kids home with me all the time.

Grandma's 90th Birthday Party

Our family had a whirlwind weekend.  We made a fly-by trip to New Orleans for my Grandmother's 90th Birthday Party.  She doesn't actually turn 90 until August, but this was the best time for everyone to get together.

We drove in Friday and rove through rain and thunderstorms all day.  The only break we had was in Austin because the storms hit us the day before in late evening.  The four kids were troopers since we left at 4am, and the drive took us about 10 hours with the crazy weather.

Grandma's party was a success on Saturday.  Everyone on my Mom's side was there.  I saw some family I haven't seen since my wedding.  It was really good to catch up with everyone because all of us live our own busy lives.

After the party, we took all the kids to Café Du Monde to eat beignets.  It was Sawyer's first time, and probably, the first time Cullen actually remembers eating them.  True entertainment.  Sawyer made a mess all over Andrew.  Jackson and Cullen made a mess all over themselves.  And the piece de resistance, Cullen spilled Andrew's lava hot coffee on his Andrew's leg.  Not all of it, thank goodness.  The best part was I, incidentally, snapped a photo of Andrew's face when it happened.  When we saw the pictures, we were both in hysterics for 5 minutes.

Sunday, we packed up early and left the row house we rented at 5am.  We made better time coming home but got stuck in traffic outside of Houston when part of the highway was shut down for construction.  All four kids were just as ready to be home as we were.

All in all, it was a quick, good visit.

The first taste.

He likes it!

And now he just wants to lick the powdered sugar.

Have I mentioned my kids made a huge mess?

Yes, he is licking the powdered sugar off of his plate.  And it is in his hair.

Cassidy is 4 months!

Ok, Cassidy was technically 4 months old a week ago, but I'm on it now.  Her stats:

25 inches - 73%
15lb 5oz - 73%

What does that mean?  She's a growing!

I'm not sure where the height is coming from, but it's not me.  Although, I am fairly certain it will level out at some point because the 'short' gene will kick in.  Cassidy is rolling over and is very good at holding herself off the floor on her tummy.  It has to be a survival technique to ensure she knows where her brothers are at all times.  As soon as she loses sight of one, it's usually because they are about to lay or sit on top of her.  Luckily, only Sawyer seems to be prone to this behavior.  Jackson and Cullen just get as close as humanly possible without touching her.  I don't know if that's any better, but at least they aren't crushing her.

Sweet big brother kisses!

Good Samaritan

I had to make the trek to Sam's today.  My kids demand to eat every day, several times a day so food is apparently a necessity now.

I have Cassidy strapped to my chest in the Bjorn, Sawyer is in the front of the cart, Cullen decided he wanted to ride in the big part of the cart, and Jackson is walking around sliding and spinning himself on the concrete floor.  Nope, I'm not joking.  He thought it was the coolest thing he could slide around on the floor and kept doing it the entire time.  After the first few times, I just gave up and hoped he wouldn't contract some unknown virus.

Overall the trip wasn't too bad.  After getting in line, I started looking for my Sam's card.  It's not in the usual spot in my wallet, so I started digging.  I looked in every crevice of my wallet and my purse.  Still, no membership card.  I finally chalked it up to Sawyer deciding to pull it out and leave it in some unknown place I will find in three years.

After hauling everyone over to Member Services, I received a temporary card for the day.  I finally was able to check out.

As I get to the car, I start trying to put everyone in their seats.  A man crosses the parking lot after loading his truck and says, "Would you like some help loading your groceries into your car?  I only have one who's 7, and he's difficult to do this with."

After stammering from shock, I finally spit out, "Yes, that would be helpful. Thank you. Thank you very much."

I loaded up all four kids in the car while my good Samaritan loaded my cart of stuff into the back.  He even put my cart away for me!  As he was walking away, I told him thank you about a dozen more times.

I didn't know this man, but he made me remember not everyone in this world is self centered.  He didn't have to come over and offer to help, but he did.  He didn't expect anything from me.  He only saw I was struggling trying to keep everyone and everything together and offered his assistance.

I am truly grateful for his selflessness when I needed the reminder.  There are people who are willing to help for nothing at all but the fact you need it.  Today, I did need help, and a stranger was there for me today.

To the man who helped me today, thank you.  Your act of kindness was there when I needed it even when I didn't know I did.

Happy 4th of July!

Happy Fourth of July!  Or as my two oldest like to say, Happy Birthday America!

So What if I Wear a Bikini

It's summer time in Texas which means it is hot.  So like all moms trying to wear their children out, I take my kids to the pool.  They love the water, it's hot as Hades outside, and I can be outside and not be worried about my ass crack sweating.

But yes, I wear a bikini to the pool.  With my four kids in tow.  Am I ashamed of my bikini?  Nope.  Do I get weird and surprised looks from other people?  Yep.  Does this bother me?  Hell yes!

I might come off as bitchy when I say this, but I'm just going to be blunt.  After having my four kids and working my ass off to get back in shape, I am wearing my damn bikini at the pool.  Other people be damned.  I am proud of my body.  It may not be the 22 year body from 10 years ago, but I still look pretty damn good right now.

I have been pregnant, cumulatively, for over 3 years (that's 36 months!), in the past five years.  My weight has consequently yo-yoed because of the pregnancies.  I believe in a healthy lifestyle which include eating healthy foods (although I have a serious weakness for sweets and alcohol) and working out regularly.  I don't have the luxury of working out whenever I want to just because I am a stay at home mom.  I have kids' schedules, nap times, feeding times, and other assorted stuff to keep my day plenty busy.

Do you know when I work out?  I work out at night time after I put the kids down to bed.  After an exhausting day of running around with children, cleaning, cooking, doing laundry, kissing boo boos, playing in the backyard, and making sure my kids live to see another day, I haul my ass to the gym and put in a good hour workout, at least.

Wanna know why?  Because I want to be around when my kids grow up.  I want to be able to play and keep up with them as they get even more active.  I want to feel good about myself!  Exercise helps alleviate my stressful day while keeping me in shape.  And I do all of this after the kids are asleep or at some crazy time in the morning if I wake up early enough.

So if I want to wear a bikini to the pool, I damn well will.  I'm not doing it to show off.  I'm not doing it to ask for attention.  I'm doing it because it makes me feel good about myself.  It makes me feel like the hard work and sacrifice I make every day putting my healthy choices above what I really want to do (aka sleep and rest) are worth it.

My whole point is do not judge someone for being comfortable in their own skin or thinking they have the time and luxury to do it all because they do nothing else.  Because that is complete bullshit.

I own my choices.  I choose not to let my health and body go in the gutter because I decided to have four kids.  I choose not to eat junk food.  Instead stock my house with healthy choices, so I'm not tempted.  Just like I choose not to wear mom jeans and pleated pants.  I choose to drag my exhausted butt to the gym after bed time to ensure my sanity for another day.  I make all those choices.  When I choose to wear my bikini at the pool, suck it up because it didn't come as easily as you may think.

And no, I will not be posting a picture of myself in said bikini.

Swim Lessons

Jackson and Cullen completed swim lessons last week.  They both went two days a week for a month which ended up being a lot easier on Andrew and I.  Jackson is finally in Level 1, and Cullen is still in Preschool lessons.  They both did a fantastic job!

Jackson is quite comfortable in the water.  Although, I'm still not quite comfortable with him being in deeper water by himself.  At least I know if he gets in trouble, he can bob up for air and float and kick.  Cullen in very comfortable in the water as well, so I definitely have my hands full.  Sawyer loves splashing around and sticking his face underwater.  The boy will just dunk his head in the water without any qualms.  Crazy kid!

I took all four kiddos down to the neighborhood pool by myself yesterday.  No one drowned, no one came close to drowning, we had no meltdowns, and everyone listened and followed the rules.  A successful trip!  Looks like we will be spending a chunk of our summer poolside.  I'll need to stock up on sunscreen.