Peep Peep

Jack and Wesley experienced Peeps for the first time this Easter. We had to document the occasion.

Before the first bite

Our “merciful” son didn’t automatically go for the head

Wesley’s turn…we couldn’t get him to pose with the peep before his first bite

A mouthful of peep

I think he likes it

He Is Risen

He is risen indeed

I know coloring eggs doesn’t really have anything to do with the real meaning of Easter, but it’s a tradition I don’t want to give up. Jack had a great time coloring the eggs and was fascinated by what happened when we combined colors. He kept telling me “This is like a game, Mommy.”

Squawking

I think it's safe to say that the new baby adjustment period is over and there are two little boys at our house that LOVE their baby sister. We often hear "Look at Elise, Mama. She's so cute," from Jack. And Wesley giggles and points anytime Elise makes an entrance into the room. I think Jack really likes to see Elise smile and hear her cooing because he frequently asks "Wanna talk to Elise, Mama?" Yesterday I squatted down to talk to her (to initiate said smiling and cooing) and Jack insisted that I needed to sit down on the floor. I told him I was sure I could just squat and talk to her. He responded with, "Quit squawking, Mama. Sit down!"

Lessons

Like many mothers out there in blog world, I follow MckMama's blog pretty closely. I followed Stellan's story in utero and tearfully rejoiced when he was born and, seemingly, completely healed. Last Monday, I went to check the "Not Me Monday" post and found something a little less light-hearted. Go to My Charming Kids for all the details.

I've been upset about the situation all week and couldn't figure out why I was all worked up about someone else's baby. I don't know this woman and, while I like to think I am sensitive to what other people are going through, I know I'm not that empathetic. After hours of introspection I have learned two things:

1. I have never been tested regarding my children and I don't ever want to be because I don't know if my faith is strong enough to endure such a trial. I am inspired by MckMama's peace and ability to completely trust God in her situation.
2. I do not have the right attitude about my children, specifically the privilege I have to spend so much time with them.

There are changes ahead for me...

Fire Bells

Getting the kids cleaned up from breakfast each morning is quite the process. Wesley was first this morning and, after being wiped up, was playing with the parking garage. Said parking garage has an elevator that dings every time it goes up and down. Ding, ding, ding it went over and over and over. As I was walking over to Jack with the wash cloth, he was frantically flapping his hands saying, "Ding, ding, ding! There's a fire! There's a fire!" I got a hold of one of the flapping hands and he immediately stopped "ding-ing" and said "Oh, someone must be cleaning the fire bell!"

A Little (and I Stress Little) Color

The siding has been going up on the house this week and I'm a little nervous about the end result. We didn't have a lot of color choices and we went with the "boldest" options they had (green on the bottom, tan on the top), but it still looks a little drab to me. I'm hopeful that when the garage doors go on (they're white), the door is painted (it will be the color you see on the upper story) and the pillars are on (green with white trim) that it will all pull together and the colors will look a little bolder. Here's to hope...

Who needs toys?

I've known for a long time that the simplest things entertain our children for the longest periods of time, but it hasn't been until recently when we've been cleaning things out that this has been more evident. In this picture you can see Jack playing with a plastic-coated wire shelf, you know...the kind that you find in closets (thus far it has provided hours, and I mean hours, of entertainment being used for a trailer, a boat, a combine, a dock, etc.) while Wesley examines the underside of the dinging room rug. Apparently the rug is more interesting when different table and chairs are sitting on it.

We also have an abundance of boxes floating around. This particular morning, Jack and Wesley were playing together as "neighbors" in their own box-houses. "How sweet," I thought, "I should get a picture of them." Below is the best picture I got of the boys together. And by "best" I mean that they were both in it. Who knew that box-houses were meant to be entered and exited so frequently?

I did manage to get a couple good shots of them individually.

Conclusion: If you want to entertain your children (or "young-at-heart" adults for that matter) without spending any money, find a few big boxes and dig out some old junk that's been sitting in your closet for years.