...Not that old...

Tonight my husband said something about how old he is getting at the dinner table. Bubu looked up and said "When you get old you die and go to heaven". Hubby starts to tell him that he's not that old but Bubu cuts in and says "Then we get a new dad". Wow, the things that come out of that kids mouth. We started to laugh because it was so random and then Spike said "You're crazy Bubu" and we all lost it. It was stated so matter of fact. These boys just crack me up, I was laughing so hard I had tears in my eyes. I don't thing my hubby will be talking about getting old around the kids again any time soon.

*

Same topic, different angle, the questions Bubu has right now about life are WILD! He is one deep thinker and when he doesn't have the facts he just fills in the blanks with something usually WAY out there! He's not even five yet and I find myself intimidated by some of his questions already! He is total fixated on life and death right now to the point that he often sounds morbid. He's also fascinated with good and evil and talking about what makes someone evil. He is constantly saying, "mom did you ever hear of a boy that did__________(fill in the blank with something awful from the mind of a four year old)?" Or he will say something along the lines of "there was this bad guy and he_____________(again fill in the blank as above)." He has a great imagination which I love, but the stuff he is focusing on right now is freaking me out. I know he's at that age where he is starting to understand life and death, good verses evil and such, I guess I'm just having a hard time realizing my first born son is growing up and moving on to the sad parts of life. Reality. Mixed with odd, outrageous, and just plain wacky comments that only my son could come up with. Spike was right Bubu's just plain crazy! :)

First people ever!

We love to scribble. Mommy loves it. She loves seeing us color.We use lots of different colors
and there's always some body art involved. Mommy doesn't always love that part.

It's so much fun really! Mommy saves every single one and she says we are amazing.

But my brother Bubu has discovered something different. He just discovered the world of drawing, controlling the pen to make circles and lines and....people! Imagination on paper. It was so exciting. Mommy almost cried. Bubu's first little people. He was so proud of himself, and he should be, it's a whole new world. Mommy says we are all growing up way to fast.

Bubu's very first people drawings. He said it was mommy and daddy. Use your imagination, that's what he did.

Not sure how I should take this...

"Mommy did you do this when you were a person?"

"Um...do you mean a kid hunny?"

"Yeah, when you were a kid and a person."

Oh, okay then...

Reindeer!

"Bubu get down off that chair and close that window it's freezing outside!"

"But Daddy's getting a Reindeer!"

"What?"

"A Reindeer, Daddy's getting a Reindeer! I want to see the Reindeer!"

"What are you talking about..."

"A Reindeer!"

(Spike and Atty come racing.) "Yeah Reindeer, Reindeer"

"Bubu, Daddy said Rain Gear, he went out to the shop to grab his rain Gear."

"But I want to see a Reindeer"

"Well you will have to wait for Christmas then, if you're lucky you might spot one."

"Bubu, seriously get down off that chair, Christmas is still a little ways away."

(Although coming up fast isn't it!)

So...Praise the Lord, my hubby was grabbing his rain Gear because the Carpenters Hall finally called and he has a Job! We don't know how long, but this one sounds like it will at least last more then a week (which was all he got the last time they called). We have both been praying for something and we both got a little emotional this time around. Being that he has worked less then three months out of this whole year! So...Praise the Lord!! I'm doing the happy dance!

Just kidding...

A conversation just had with my four year old.

Me- Bubu please stop running around the table with your socks on I don't want you to fall and hit your head.

Bubu- Why?

Me- Because it would hurt and I might have to take you to the doctor and I don't want to do that tonight.

Bubu- Why?

Me- Because it would be sad and it would take forever and I'm tired, that's why...

Bubu- ...Because the doctor would shoot me?

*What!* Where does he get this stuff? My sister and I couldn't even answer him, we just started laughing, which made Bubu laugh and then he started saying, "just kidding, I'm just kidding" which made me laugh harder. The kid seriously cracks me up...

All the Buzz...

So I've been meaning to post pictures of Bubu's super awesome Buzz Light year Birthday but it's just been crazy in my corner of the world lately. Any ways he had so much fun turning four. Although I am convinced body snatchers came in the middle of the night and took the place of my sweet little three year old because OMGoodness has he turned into quite the skunky boy since his birthday! I'll save that for another post though, or maybe not.

*

He loved the book he got, he's always loved books, so right when he opened it he needed me to read it to him. Then he opened his next present and the book was forgotten because...

Buzz Light year is so beyond cool! He was over the moon excited. He's been a big fan of Spider Man for quite some time now, but lately he's been leaning more towards Buzz and his two bestest buddies (as Bubu calls them) have Buzz costumes that he just adored.
So I figured it was time to move on. He wore it to bed that night and every day until his Buzz Light year sleep over with his bestest buddies ever.

Here he is still in his Buzz outfit. Doesn't he make an adorable super hero. He was so excited for his own special sleep over with his friends for his birthday it was all he could talk about for the rest of the week. We brought a tent into the playroom and set it up and he could barely contain himself.

Then the big night came and his buddies showed up and they were all dressed up in there costumes and the excitement was visible. They ate homemade pizza and then I packed up the three Buzz's and we ventured out for a special treat.

Ice cream! I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!!!

Bubu's favorite color right now is blue so he picked the bluest ice cream available...

Up, up and away...no wait that's not it...To infinity and beyond, there we go that's better. Then when we left they spied these awesome stepping stones and for seriously like ten minutes they played a game called...

ONE.

TWO.

THREE.

...and yes I know there were four stepping stones and lame mom even pointed that out...but that wasn't the game apparently, because it stayed the one, two, three game and they just basically ignored me. What do I know.

*

I finally got them to jet back to the van and we went home where they ran around out side until dark, then Bubu got to open more presents from his friends, they watched the Buzz Light year movie and then time for bed. Those boys were still going strong after ten, so mean mommy camped out in front of their tent and crashed the party. Poor Bubu, he kept sighing to let me know how extremely lame I was until he finally drifted off to sleep. Do you know those boys were awake again before I was even up at six in the morning! I don't even know exactly when they woke up but good grief! They volunteer that they needed naps because they were "sooooo tired" first thing in the morning. It was kind of funny listening to them discussing how they needed a nap. So being the sweet women I am I made sure to relay that information to their moms. :) Probably not necessary though because by the time they got picked up their eyes were drooping closed and their heads were nodding.
All in all it was a fun time and Bubu was so happy that he got to have his first big sleep over at his house. I finally got the Buzz outfit off of him to wash it and that was that. Much better then a big birthday party I thought, and Bubu seemed to enjoy it more too.

*

Then my husband's birthday was on the 6th and mine is today, so it's been a flurry of birthdays around here! Fun times.

The moment a child is born...

My first born son turns four today. Four years ago today, September 2nd 2005 I became a mommy. He turned my hubby and I into a family. He gave us the first time title of mommy and daddy, something we will now be for the rest of our lives. He started it all. I can remember staying up all night just staring at him, thinking about what it was going to be like watching him grow up and all my hopes and dreams for him. That feeling when you first become a parent is amazing. Every child is amazing, but I feel like your first is something truly unique, the feelings of a first time parent are practically indescribable. There is a poem I love that goes like this.

*

The moment a child is born

the mother is also born.

She never existed before.

The women existed, but the mother, never.

A mother is something absolutely new.

*

A whole new world for me as it was for him. We took our first breaths together as mommy and son. The adventure had begun, a brand new path in life waiting to be traveled.

This is the next day at the hospital, still staring at him. Big and beautiful. 10 lbs 10.5 oz. Shoulders up to his ears, frog legs from being breach, no neck, just a solid baby.

Out in the sunshine, a couple days old. Snuggled up and sleepy.

Sleeping on the daddy. He was such a chunk!

Bubu's first birthday, cake face! Little did we all know he was about to be a big brother, times two! With in months of his first birthday I found out I was pregnant and our heart child was placed with us at six days old. Through it all Bubu dealt with it in his gentle peaceful way. He embraced it all. A natural big brother.

Bubu's second birthday, see him eyeing the celery...he has cake right in front of him that you can't see but he also has broccoli clutched in his hand and he's craving some celery...he's always loved his veggies. He was such an adorable two years old, didn't even bother with the "terrible twos." An out going and pleasant personality.

Here he is on his third birthday, another cake face. A wonderful big brother and son. He could have made things much more difficult on me, having three children three and under but he didn't. Always the helper, caring, loving and kind. Even though he saved the "terrible twos" for his third year, it was nothing, barely a fuss.

*

Now he is turning four. How the years have flown by.

*

I love you son, seeing you grow up and turn into your own little person with all your likes and dislikes has been amazing. Your insights, your vocabulary, your wit fill my life with joy, most days ;). I love being able to have conversations with you now, to hear your take on things, to see things from your perspective. You are such a wonderful, caring, loving son and brother. We are so lucky to have you in our lives. I marvel at who you are and know that who ever you become, it will no doubt be magnificent. Your dad and I still aren't sure what we did to end up with such a wonderful you but we sure are thankful beyond words. We are so thankful that God chose us to be your parents. You have taught us so much, more I think then we have managed to teach you! I look forward to learning with you through the years.

*

HAPPY 4TH BIRTHDAY MY LOVE!!

A little conversation...

...with my wise and protective first born son.



Watching me make tea at the stove with hot boiling water.

(Just so you know I've burnt myself many times cooking in the kitchen...I get going a little to fast and before I know it I've done it again. I just recently got a super bad burn on my finger that had the whole family a bit grossed out.)



Bubu- "Careful, don't burn yourself Riah."



Me- "That's right Bubu I'll be careful, Safety first."



Bubu- "Yeah"



PAUSE



Bubu- "You're pretty brave Riah."



Me- "Thank you sweetheart."



ANOTHER PAUSE



Bubu- "I want you to be safe and brave," hand gesturing back and forth, "safe...and brave" he emphasized.



Me- "Yes that's a smart combination huh, you're right, safe and brave."



Bubu- Looking right at me with a serious expression "Yes safe and brave."



Oh my sweetest, you are so wise. Always the loving son, how did I end up with such a wondrous you?

I just need to break out mom!

My oldest went on his first sleep over at a friends house Friday night. He was over the moon excited, and as for me? Well I'm an overly zealous stay at home mom who gets a little freaked out when her kids go anywhere with out her...but I've survived so far. After he left I only called over there twice, even though I thought about it about a million times. I know I'm annoying... My son let me know with out a doubt that he was ready, he needed a break. I asked him a few days prior if he was interested in going over to his friends house and staying the night and boy was he! Trying to tell an almost four year old super excited little man how many more days he has to wait...not fun. We were talking about it and he kept saying "just me mom, not my brothers". So I asked him if he needed a break from his brothers and he said that indeed he did. So we started talking about that and how even mommy needs breaks sometimes, but that when he saw his brothers again he would be so happy to see them and he would realize how much he missed them and such. After I was done babbling he looked at me with this thoughtful expression and said "Yeah, but I just need to break out mom". That was his catch phrase for the next few days. Every time we would talk about the sleep over he would say "I just need to break out!" Pretty cute.
So the big day arrived and he was ready right when he woke up, except he had to wait until the afternoon and I'm pretty sure that was like a life time for him. Then around noon his daddy had to leave so he gave Bubu a kiss and told him to enjoy his sleep over and all of the sudden Bubu looked all unsure of himself, his voice got all wobbly and he asked his daddy if he was going with him (to the sleep over). It total caught me off guard because he had been so excited for days. My hubby told him no and gave me a look. Then Bubu looked at me and asked me if I was going with him and I reminded him it was just him and that he would have lots of fun and changed the subject. He never did cry about it and he seemed to go back to being excited but now I was worried. Was I pushing him into something he wasn't ready for? My husband hadn't been so keen on the idea, and I didn't want to be wrong, but it really did feel like he was ready for a sleep over.
Well it turns out I was right because as soon as they pulled into the driveway and my friend stepped out of her car he was shouting out the window "remember I'm going to your house". Over and over again. He was out of there. He didn't even kiss me goodbye as he ran out the door. He made it all the way to the car before finally hearing the reminder for a kiss from me. Then he ran back, and gave me a kiss while keeping his eyes on the car and his friend. He half heartily hugged his brothers and made another dash for the car. Gone. Not a tear, not a worry, gone. He was ready.
I'm not going to lie to you, I almost cried. Almost. I've tried so hard to raise him with confidence and to see that confidence in action was overwhelming. To see him so grown, ready to leave his mother behind and survive on his own, to feel so self assured. He had never even been over to this friends house before, so it was something extremely brand new for him. I can't wait to pick him up today and hear all about it. To see his excited face. It's funny how as a parent you can feel so proud of all the little things. The firsts.

It makes for a good laugh.

"Daddy I want to shit on you."

"What?!"

"I want to shit on you."

Hubby shoots me a bewildered scared sort of look.

"He's saying sit honey, he wants to sit on your lap."

giggle, giggle...

nakie time...no not for me...

My oldest is a nudist. I have lost all hope of this being a passing faze. Just keeping him in underwear is an on going struggle. I am afraid he will be answering the door in his undies as a teenager! He will be dressed one moment and streaking the next. We had a talk about modesty a while ago and how when you get older you have to learn modesty and wear clothes like mommy and daddy and just about everyone of your friends that don't feel the need to strip down on a regular basis. He seemed okay with this and would proudly tell people he was learning about modesty. It was really cute, and I though we were making some head way. Then for no reason I can understand it all came crashing down. He follows me around asking if he can be nakie. I say no. He asks why. I tell him. He asks why again. I firmly tell him it is not nakie time, (after bath I let the boys run around nakie, it might be there favorite time of day.) maybe later. He bursts into tears. Not throwing a fit crying, the kind of crying were I have destroyed his life and broken his heart. He runs to his room and bawls his eyes out, when he is done he will come out with his eyes all red and look at me with a reproachful look, sad to the core. Some days he will start in again with a sad lip trembling "why I can't be nakie?" I will remind him about modesty, and he will run back to his room to cry all over again. Then I just feel awful. I don't guilt easy. I'm a pretty tough mommy. It's just that I've always loved that he feels so comfortable with his body, and I hate to see him so confused and sad about why he can no longer have that freedom of running around in naked bliss. But he's almost four! All good things have to end some time. The other problem is that I have been potty training the younger ones and I let them be nakie cause it's easier that way and they potty train faster, and so he gets jealous of the little ones. Spike didn't run around nakie for long though because he's already figured out the potty thing and likes to wear underwear for the most part, thank goodness! Plus I have been more insistent with him that it is undies or diaper, because I can't handle another full time nudist. Atty, well I went back to diapers with him, because the potty training was getting frustrating and he has stomach issues he can't help right now, so I gave up for the time being. So there really are currently no naked babies running around and my oldest is still pining over his naked days. He admittedly spent the majority of him baby days naked, potty training days naked, little toddler days naked, he's just always wanted to be naked. Most of my pictures of him from his first couple years I can't show to many people, cause he's naked. I guess we just go use to it, and barely noticed he had no clothes on. Now I look back and think my goodness the child was never dressed! He just doesn't seem to feel comfortable in clothes. He still makes me cut all the tags off his clothes because they drive him crazy. If he has to be in clothes he would prefer pj's or his spiderman outfit. Nothing restricting. I seriously don't know what to do, I think I will have to resign myself to the fact that there is a very good chance my son with grow up and start a nudist colony.

ET phone home...

"Mom, Riah, mommy, MoM, Mommmmmieeeeeeee!"

"What Bubu?"

"Muffmaruffnumafnubrunafu...farunnnaba...nalanbuna."

"What?"

"Lunamonadumadala...nadalala."

"Bubu please don't say my name over and over again if you don't have anything to say to me."

"okaaayy..."

"Mom."

"Yes Bubu."

"Runnanulanda."

"Bubu!"

The kid is driving me crazy. He actually sounds like he is mumbling something, but when you try to decipher it, there is nothing there. He has either lost his marbles, or has remembered his home planets language. A planet in a galaxy far, far away. His brothers watch in fascination, I am afraid they are all going to pick up on this fun way of antagonizing mommy. If they all start talking to each other this way, and seemingly understanding each other, I will then be afraid, very, very afraid.

lost in translation.

"I want the bugs in pants movie mom."

"What Bubu?"

"I want the bugs in pants movie."

"Bugs in Pants?"

"Yeah."

"I don't know what you are talking about Bubu."

"The new movie." Insert exasperated sigh here, and possibly an eye roll.

"Are you talking about the Antz movie?"

"No! The bugs in pants."

"This one." Hold up the Antz movie for his viewing pleasure.

"Yeah, the bugs in pants movie!"

"This is Antz Bubu."

"No, bugs in pants." followed by defiant three year old stare.

"Alrighty then, bugs in pants it is." You win some, you lose some.

BTW, I don't suggest this movie. Didn't like some of the language in it, and it seemed a bit too violent. After the second viewing, the "bugs in pants" movie was on it's way back to Netflixs, hopefully never to be seen again.

Heart beat!

I had my first midwife appointment last night. Exciting. Even though it's not my first time being pregnant, it always seems just as exciting. Bubu wanted to go with me to the "baby doctor" so I took him along. It was nice to listen to his chatter all the way there (and back). That boy can talk, and talk, and talk! He kept listing two random things that he would then want me to sing about, it was sort of funny. "Sing the car and sun song." I didn't have the best lyrics, but he didn't seem to care. I couldn't help but think that in a few years the way I was acting, singing all loud and silly, would embarrass him instead of bringing a smile to his face. Must treasure.

Bubu was my brave super hero at the appointment. I had to get my blood drawn and I am a huge needle wimp. He held my hand and helped mommy feel brave, and watched the whole thing. Didn't even faze him. He was so proud to be my hero. The midwife I met last night was a new one, and she wasn't going to listen for the heart beat this time around, cause it's still early, but I asked her if she would anyways. I was able to hear it early with both of my other boys. So she humored me and got out the equipment and put the cold sticky gel on my stomach and sure enough right when she put the thing on my tummy, HEARTBEAT! She was surprised. The baby moved right away and she had to locate the sound again, then we called Bubu over and he was super excited too, he seemed to really understand what was going on. I was so glad I got to hear the heart beat because it always makes it seem so real to me. I will never cease to be amazed when I hear a heart beat that is not my own, beating away inside my body. Wow. The first appointment is always the longest and it took about an hour and a half, and Bubu did so well, I was really proud of him. Looking at his standing in the same room I laid in the first time I heard his heartbeat brought tears to my eyes. He is so big now, so self assured. The big brother, my first born son. How does it all fly by so fast?

because...

Bubu- "why...why...why...why...why...why...why...why...why..."
Me-"well....because...it's...you see...sometimes....when...there's...because I said so!...STOP!...Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

The "whys" started a week ago and I have been reduced to a babbling mess. He does it for fun. Does it not only to learn, but also to argue. Just to drive me crazy. So today I have a new tactic, today I flip it around on him. Today I make him think. Today I ask him why. "Why do you think Bubu?" I've used this before with other childcare children and it works like a charm. Hopefully it will help with him also, because he is seriously, no kidding, I might check into a lunny bin, driving me CrAzY!

A part of me wants to start asking him childishly, "why, why, why..." every time he talk, just to see how he likes it. With him though it would just be adding fuel to the fire, upping the anty, daring him to take it one step further, and I would lose. No doubt about that.

Just so you don't think I am complaining about nothing, it's not your average run of the mill whys, it's intense people, over the top, never ending whys. Run on sentence whys. The kind of whys that make you think your singing that song, the one that goes like this...

"This is the song that never ends, yes it goes on and on my friends, some people started singing it not knowing where it goes, and they'll continue singing it forever just because, this is the song that never ends, yes it goes on and on my friend..."

Remember that one? Yeah, well that's the theme song around here, "This is the whys that never end, yes they go on and on my friends..."

"It's nice out today, we should go to the park." "Why." "Because it's sunny." "Why." "There's less clouds today." "Why." "Bubu can you please just get your shoes on" "Why" "So we can go to the park." "Why." You get the picture. The conversations get pretty funny sometimes, and I would laugh about it, if it weren't happening to me.

Thank You Mayor of Whoville

So some time last week Bubu started calling his brother, Spike, a boob head. At first I thought he made this connection from seeing his brother nurse, get it, but then he turned to me yesterday and said this gem "Your such a boob mom." After I got over my initial shock I asked him "Where did you get this from, where did you hear this?" "From Horton, my Horton, Horton do that" he says. What?

Then sure enough I heard the boob reference this morning when he was watching his newest version of the Horton Hears a Who movie (for the one millionth time!). The mayor pleads for Horton to show the people of Whoville what a non-boob he is. Just one short sentence. Bubu picks up on the littlest stuff.

This morning he has told me a few times already that he is a boob now. "I am a boob" he tells me proudly. Good Grief...next it will be a perfect stranger at the grocery store, I can see it now. "Mom that man is such a boob" he will say, pointing his finger at some unsuspecting man and making the statement in a knowing and none to quiet voice at the exact moment that we are passing by the said man, well with in ear shot. I will then melt into a puddle of embarrassment, like I did when he use to shriek with excitement "Dada" at every man he saw. I remember all to well the little old lady at the grocery store looking at me with that "tisk, tisk" look because I had two little ones and a huge belly and wasn't wearing my wedding ring (because it didn't fit) and my child clearly didn't know who his father was. Oh the fun of it all...Thank you mayor of Whoville for giving my child one more thing to embarrass me with.

"You're driving me nuts!"

"Uggg, this is so annoying", "I'm so frustrated", "It's bothering me", "Urrrrggggg!"

"Would you like help with the play-doh Bubu?"

Being three is hard, very, very hard. Right now everything and everyone is driving Bubu crazy.
"You're driving me nuts" he will say with a sigh of annoyance. Where does he get this stuff from...it must be from his dad's side of the family.

"They tor-tur-ing me, ahhhhhh, urggggg, they tor-tur-ing me!" Followed by ear splitting screams and pitiful wailing. Telling him that his brothers touching him is not torture means nothing to him. "Your so annoying" is his new favorite phrase.

And talk about bossy! OMGoodness, he is constantly on rules patrol. He was bossing the babies around last night and I asked him to stop bossing, told him yet again he is not the boss. He looks at me all annoyed and says "You boss them". I tell him I will take care of it, talk to the babies and turn to leave and the little stinker tells me "No you Boss them MoM!" Apparently I didn't tell them off well enough.

He actually turned to me the other day and said "I'm sassing you mom". What the...

He falls apart about everything, and I mean everything. A sobbing pile of child done wrong. His world just falls apart if his underwear happen to be inside out when I ask him to put them on. Oh and telling him that he has to stay dressed, that he is to old now to run around nude all day, has been for a while, that alone can send him into a tizzy. Modesty means nothing to him. The boys Hates to be dressed, always has. I have had to take all the tags out of his clothes and everything just to try and appease the naked monster. Every little thing about being clothed drives him crazy and he then feels the need to follow me around the house telling me about it. "it's to tight", "it's to itchy", and of course the good stand by, "it's annoying me".

I know everyone talks about the terrible twos, but my little angel, turned psycho child sailed through the two like a breeze. Little did I know at the time he was saving it all up to surprise me with later. What a sweet little boy, he knows how much I like surprises.

Where are the reindeer?

Bubu was excited that the reindeer liked the carrot he left out for them, but was sad that they didn't stick around for him to meet personally.

Stockings are my favorite part!

The wagon was a super hit.

Tank was so happy to have his own bike now.

Spike loved his new doggy jammies.

Super cool Spiderman socks!

Bubu loves this book "A Camel that Took a Walk". He is so excited that he doesn't have to take this one back to the library.

Cousin H is cool, Bubu follows his older cousin everywhere!

I caught the ever elusive teenager and forced him to take a picture with me.

All my boys, could I be any happier, Hubby took this picture, I was really impressed. Picture taking is Not his thing!

My mom made her angel food cake for Jesus, and we all sang Happy Birthday, long family tradition.

Ah, the morning after.
~

So I hope everyone had a wonderful time together with their families.

~

We had a nice time, my mom came down after all. She called in the morning on Christmas Eve and was super sad because she decided she couldn't drive after all, in the ice and snow and would have to spend Christmas alone. I just couldn't bare that idea, so Ryder drove all the way to her house to get her. He was our super hero, braving the icy roads, driving for over 4 hours because he had to go at a crawl for most of it. The boys were so excited to see her.

~

We had our Christmas Eve chili, it's a tradition my mom has been torturing us with since I was a little kid, I like it now, but I hated it when I was a kid, and I can't say that my boys like it much more then I did. Oh well. It's a sweet chili, kinda strange, she even puts kiwi and pineapple in it, which is well, just strange.

~

I got over my whole Santa hang up and we sprinkled our magic reindeer food that we made in preschool out on the lawn, and put out milk and cookies and a super big carrot for his reindeer, they got spoiled this year. I decided I like the stocking thing to much to not do it, and no one else can stuff stockings as well as Santa!

~

When the boys woke up and I was walking down the hall with them I was talking to Bubu about checking to see if Santa and his reindeer came and he cried out "I don't see any reindeer!" He was really upset about this. I explained that we wouldn't be actually seeing one, that they come during the night when you are sleeping, and I showed him the carrot that had bites taken out of it. He was a bit disappointed. Poor thing apparently he thought that Rudolf would be waiting for him in the living room! None of the boys were willing to even look at the tree let alone get into the stockings until they had their morning cocoa. Which gave Ryder a chance to make coffee thank goodness!

~

We got into the stockings, then took a break for our special Christmas morning breakfast, then back to presents. I had found a favorite book of Bubu's that we had read a million times this summer, a book we had checked out from the library. Now he has his own special copy, you should have heard him scream when he saw it, super funny! It's a book that only him and I seem to understand, no one else really seems to like it. I had to read it right there on the spot, and he soaked in every word. Spike and Tank got a special book too. The big hit with all of them was the red wagon I believe. Bubu has all the sudden become obsessed with Spiderman, and I got him some Spiderman socks and a Spiderman pillow case and he was over the moon excited about that!

~

We went to hubby's mom's place in the afternoon, got to see J that was nice. Hubby's sister was there too, and Bubu was super excited to see his cousin. I had asked them not to do the present thing, because we weren't, except for something small for cousin and J. Either way they got us all presents anyway and went above and beyond again like always. It is sweet of them to be so giving, but it's also frustrating because I asked them not to. It was hard to be around *Jnut* (hubby's mom, I think I will call her this from now on!) but hubby told me I did a good job, I am a good pretender when I need to be. I did hid in the bathroom, a lot, they probably thought there was something wrong with me! J looked so grown, he is taller then me now! It was so good to see him, I hugged him a trillion times, drove him crazy, he is almost 14 so he can only handle so much snuggling. I wrapped my arms tight around him over and over again while he squirmed to get away, but I could tell he like the snuggles, he just needed to pretend to save face. He told me he loved me a few times and was being really sweet, I miss him so much! I know he can easily drive me crazy, but not being around him is hard too. He is growing so fast, it was quite shocking actually. I cried a bit on the way home, which hubby was sweet about this time.

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We got home well after dark, and hubby then got back on the road and drove my mom home, he didn't get home until real late, it was so absolutely sweet and unselfish of him. Over all it was a great day, although completely exhausting for all. One of the funniest things I overheard was my husband saying to Bubu while he was having a melt down at the end of the day, "you had to much sugar huh" and Bubu sobbing "yes". We all had too much sugar...

Lima beans please

"Oh yeah, Lima beans *squeal* um yum!"

Did my ears just deceive me or did my oldest just squeal in delight at the sight of Lima beans on his plate?

Yes, yes he did.

The boy won't eat cooked Carrots, but he loves him some Lima beans.

He refuses to eat Corn right now, but will chow down on steamed Kale.

Won't touch Celery, but loves Broccoli "trees".

He's a puzzle that one.

Collard greens, "yum", steamed Green Beans, "yes please", Cauliflower, "love it", Bok Choy, "Delicious", Asparagus, "oh yeah".

Do you know what he picked for dinner, when I asked him the other night what sounded good to him? "Rice and Beans and Broccoli". What! Speechless. I mean really, what about fish sticks and fries? I'll even throw in some Lima beans on the side. No, I'm sticking with the red beans and rice with some broccoli mom, thanks...

And not to be out done, his littlest brother last night, threw the biggest fit over wanting more tomato, instead of eating his fish stick and tatter tots! He was coming unglued. Real tears and all!

Yes my go to meal in a pinch, is based off of fish sticks right now...just so you know.

Atty on the other hand balances it all out by rarely, if ever, taking a bite of his veggies with the exception of potatoes...that boy is a MEAT (and potatoes) eater big time, it's almost scary how he can pack it away! We are talking real meat, off the bone, kind of eater.

So I guess if I serve Lima beans, Tomatoes, and some MEAT (fish sticks don't fly with Atty, bummer) for dinner tonight I'll be covering my bases. Dinner at my house anyone?

Pray for the monsters

Lately bedtime prayers with Bubu have been an interesting experience. He prays for everything and I mean everything! From the light in the ceiling, to his shoes, to the ketchup he had with dinner. He will list every family member, extended family member, friends, neighbors, pets, the cashier in the grocery store we said hi to that day... the list goes on. But last night was a first, last night he prayed for monsters.

"Dear Lord Jesus I thank you for (everything under the sun) and please send your guardian angels to protect (everything under the sun)... and the monsters."

Apparently even monsters need prayers.