Critical mass

The Legos have exploded in our house and while they may not be toxic, my reaction is reaching the nuclear level. So far the annoying little blocks have left their mark in four different rooms.

Exhibit A: The living room

Exhibit B: Ben's room

Exhibit C: The computer room

Exhibit D: My room

I couldn't take it anymore. We have thousands of Legos, including numerous expensive City sets, yet the boys never even touch those because it is impossible to find the necessary pieces. To their credit they do build with Legos and I love seeing what their imagination holds, but if they were just going to build that way we could have saved several hundred bucks and just bought them some basic buckets of bricks. So, I did a little online looking and sent Mike to Lowes in search of some organizational items that would hopefully save my sanity. Oh, and help the boys find what they need. He came home with three organizers and Nick was so excited to get right to work.

We turned on the iTunes and spent more than an hour sorting the Legos in the computer room.

Zander tried to help but ended up getting in the way more than anything else. I finally gave him a pile of the standard larger blocks to sort by color and that kept him happy for awhile.

This will not be an overnight process and I have no idea if it will even work in the long run, but at least for now I feel like we are doing something to address this issue. I guess I figure it can't get much worse!

A little to much love

Ben is usually perfectly content to just chill in his rocker seat by himself. The cow, pig and sheep keep him entertained while I get a few things done around the house or on the computer.

 

But, if Zander is anywhere near Ben when he is in that seat the poor kid can't get a minute to himself. Zander starts off nice and easy, talking and touching him from the side of the chair. It's usually pretty cute.

Then he moves to the end of the chair, still just talking nice and being a cute little brother.

Then he attacks. Seriously, can he get any closer? One of these days Ben is going to surprise him and either reach out and bop him or bite him. Personally, I wouldn't blame the kid. Even babies need a little personal space once in awhile.

Workin’ the core

None of my kids have ever been very fond of tummy time. And because I don't like to hear them cry I've never pushed it. So far, they seem to be doing just fine. Thankfully, though, my aunt/daycare provider likes to switch things up a bit and usually gets the babes to do at least a little tummy time each day. So, imagine my surprise when I rolled Ben over on his belly (wanted him to work those muscles so he was ready for his 3-month pictures) and he was already holding his head high like a champ. He even seemed to like it! There's no obvious straining, though he does look awfully serious.

 

If only it was a little bigger

Ben's mouth that is. He's constantly trying to shove his entire fist in there, though lately he's been settling for just his thumb. I'm really getting nervous about this kid.

 

Already planning for Christmas

I had an epiphany the other day as I was recharging batteries for the 435th time. I’m tired of batteries. I’m tired of toys that operate on batteries. I’m especially tired of the noises they make and the noises my children make when the toys stop making noises. So this year, we are doing Christmas a little different. This year we are going to do our best to buy the kids toys that don’t require batteries. It might be hard, but it might also be just the kick we need to change the way we think about Christmas. Our kids have a lot of stuff. And we like to get them the things they want. Their grandparents do too. It makes for a pretty full house come holiday time. And it’s only going to get worse with a third child. Though frankly, I have no clue what we are going to buy for him unless his brothers start breaking the things they already have.

So, this year we are focusing on items that make them use their imagination. Our boys love those kinds of toys just as much as the ones that make noise (and really they usually play with the ones that make noise without the batteries in them). So, I’ve started brainstorming and have a few ideas already socked away, but if one of the four people who reads this has any more feel free to share. I have a feeling I’m going to regret this decision as I am trying to fill the spots under the tree but we will see. Oh, and did I mention that we are hoping the grandparents will follow suit? (Yeah, that means you mom. Put your thinking cap on.)

Proof positive my kids don’t need the flashiest toys to have the most fun. I already shared the tape road. Nick’s been playing with his cars more than ever lately.

And these rocks (which started out in a construction sensory bin with the above tractors) have been everything from cupcakes to building supplies in the last week. They may make a mess, but they have kept this kid busy for HOURS. And he had to use his imagination to make it happen. I love hearing what he comes up with. It’s always something new and usually a little crazy.

This is what it’s all about

The boys have been begging me to play outside in the rain all summer long. But, it seems like we never get the right kind of rain for playing in. First it was too cold. Then it was too stormy. But, when the rain started coming down this morning Mike looked at me and said it was time. It was hot. The rain was coming down hard and there was some thunder but it wasn't lightning. It was perfect play outside in the rain weather. So, they did. Nick was a little hesitant for about 2.5 seconds but as soon as the garage door was up Zander was running for freedom. He was soaked before Nick could catch him in the driveway. And they were loving it.

I don't know that it is all that safe, but we let them ride their bikes anyway. Barefoot. And in their pajamas. Yeah, it was that kind of morning. I talked to my neighbor later and she said she so enjoyed watching our boys play from her living room. She said you could just tell they were having so much fun. And they were.

Zander kept getting stuck in the current. His training wheels would get up too high and then his actual bike wheel couldn't get any traction. It was so funny watching him spin and the water splash around him.


But, when he did get some traction he would blast through the water.


He's even learning to stand up and pedal. Lord help us all.

Nick loved going full speed through the rush of water coming down the gutters.




Think it's raining hard enough? They didn't mind.


Mike had the bright idea to race two little Little Tikes boats down the street. The boys thought it was great until Zander failed to catch his in time and lost it down the sewer. Oops. Mike avoided any major meltdowns by making the boys paper boats instead. Zander was so excited to try his out.




Too bad he didn't really know what to do. He took it out in the street, held it under the water and then just let go. The then-flattened boat took off down the "stream" and Zander chased after it just as happy as a clam.


This was my favorite part of the morning. I love seeing this carefree smiles on my kids' faces. They were having an absolute blast and loving every second of this special time. I need to remember these faces the next time they ask to do something that I don't really want to do because it might make a mess or mean a little extra clean-up work for me.




And a video for your viewing pleasure.

Tape town

As my one last hurrah to “stay-at-home motherhood” I decided to make the boys their very own tape town in our living room. Nick saw a picture of this online and was certain their was no way I would do it because I wasn’t going to put tape on our newly cleaned carpets and because he just knew we didn’t have brown tape like in the picture. So, he went off to pout downstairs while Zander I got to work on the creation. Like most everything we do in this house I can’t take the claim for this project either. I first saw it at The Mother Huddle and knew my boys would love it. I was right. Zander got to playing right away. We took all his Imaginext toys and put them along the street to make a little town.

He had to rescue the boat from the water.

And when Nick finally came upstairs I got the best reaction of all. He told me how cool it was and that he was so “impressed.” Seriously. That word came out of his mouth. And it made my night. The boys even played nicely for quite some time, stopping only to eat dinner.

The hallway was a road to nowhere!

Nick got sidetracked during the monsoon. There was so much rain it was streaming down the road. But Zander just kept on playing.

And the best part: They begged us to keep it up overnight so they could play again in the morning. And sure enough Zander rolled out of bed (my kids have taken to sleeping in their clothes and it’s not a battle I care to fight) and started playing. He got another good two hours out of it before he finally got bored. They both agreed we will have to do this again sometime.

Where did the time go?

My 11 weeks of maternity leave ended today. At 3:30 I went to get the older boys from daycare and started the weekend. Now, it’s just like any other weekend when I have to go back to work on Monday. I’m not going to lie – I’m going to miss these days I spent home with Nick, Zander and Ben. There was a time I never thought I would get married and I definitely didn’t think kids were in my future. Now, I can’t imagine my life without my family. But, staying home full-time just isn’t in the cards. So on Monday I will get up at 5 a.m., get myself and three boys ready for the day and head out the door by 7 a.m. I will miss the three days each week I got to stay home bonding with Ben. I will miss the fun play dates I got to enjoy with the older boys. And the weekly library trips. And the art projects. I will miss having the time to keep my house in order so that I could enjoy all those things.

Going back to work full-time is going to be an adjustment. Nick starts T-ball the same week I go back. I already have a photo shoot scheduled for the same week. Mike will likely have to travel for work sometime soon. And then school will start in just a few more weeks. But, we will find our rhythm just like we did when Nick was born and again when Zander joined us. It might take a little longer this time and the interim weeks might be a little uglier but we will make it work. We always do.

Two month shots = no fun

Ben’s pediatrician was either booked or on vacation for the last two weeks since Ben actually hit the two month milestone so we just got in today for his two month well baby visit. The doctor said he looked good and is growing nicely. The officials stats are:

• 11 pounds, 6 ounces (25 percentile)
• 23.75 inches long (50-75 percentile)
• 15.75 inches head circumference (25-50 percentile)

After the easy part was done my poor baby got three shots and one oral vaccine. He screamed for a few seconds and then seemed to be just fine. We went home, I nursed him and he took a nice nap. When he woke up (early afternoon) he was crabby as all get out and would just scream for no apparent reason (he would be sitting completely still so nothing was even touching the spots on his legs where he got the shots).

I tried twice to nurse him and the screaming only got worse. Finally, I sent Mike to the store for some infant Tylenol, which seemed to help. He took some and then nodded off for another nap. By dinnertime I thought things were looking up. He sat quietly in his seat while we ate, but when I tried to feed him after our dinner the screaming fits started again. Earlier in the day I had posted about his crying jags on Facebook and a friend/nurse responded with some pretty serious complications that could arise from the oral rotavirus vaccine. I freaked, called the Nurse on Call and then, on her recommendation, took Ben to the emergency room. He hadn’t nursed for about 8 hours and I was getting really nervous.

Turns out, it was nothing. By the time we got to the ER he was talking to the nurses and acting just fine (though he still hadn’t ate anything). They checked him over and then I tried to nurse again. It looked like he was going to do just fine, but after just a couple of seconds he started screaming again. The nurse left and went to let the doctor know he could come visit, I tried the other side and, of course, he latched on and ate like a champ. The doctor came in while he was eating and kindly let me finish before trying to look at Ben. I still don’t know why exactly he had such a bad reaction all day (my guess is a poorly timed and very expensive gas bubble that just wouldn’t go away coupled with some discomfort from the vaccines), but at least I’ll know what might be coming when he gets the same round of vaccinations at 4 and 6 months.

Who thinks of this stuff?

I truly believe that most toy inventors do not have children of their own. If they did, they would never think to put some things in the hands of small children. The latest case in point: Moon Dough. My mom bought a two-pack of the stuff for each of the boys for Christmas. She had heard great things about it and since the boys love Play-Doh she thought they would enjoy Moon Dough. She was totally right. I mean, look how happy these two are.

I, on the other hand, was not so happy. This stuff smells disgusting and makes an even bigger mess than Play-Doh. And I am not alone in my assessment. The smart parents over at Amazon.com think the same thing. Further complicating my clean-up efforts is the fact that my table has crevices where the “wood” planks come together. There is still Moon Dough stuck there.

My spirits were lifted some when I found Zander doing this.

This is a pretty big accomplishment for the kid who usually throws a royal fit every time I ask him to clean-up after himself. His new favorite thing to say is “Why do I have to do everything” in the most exaggerated and melodramatic voice imaginable. The comment is usually accompanied by a scream, a thrown toy and a time out. If only he was always this helpful.