Caleb "isms"

1. "Mama, wook! I found a Jee-suh book!" (Apparently any book with a cartoon on the front with a bunch of guys with beards and animals is a "Jesus" book.) "Jesus is my favorite." (No coaching.)
Me: Caleb, did you know this is called The Bible?
Caleb: (pointing to the cartoon people on the cover) "Yeah, his name Bible...her name Mama...That Jesus...That Cay-ub!!"
(I couldn't correct something so cute...So what if he thinks "Bible" is a guy's name.)

2. "No! Cay-ub NOT want you cut my foot-nay-o's!" (Please don't cut my toenails.)

3. (Puts his hand up) "Wight be back...K?" (Be right back, okay?)

4. "ohhh...Cay-ub yuv sulstooer, Ava...Ava soooo CeeeeUTE!...Ava good groouul...Ava pal, Cay-ub...(kiss) Sweet dweam, Ava Dayne." (Ohh, Caleb loves his sister, Ava. Ava's sooo cute! Ava's a good girl. Ava's pal, Caleb. Sweet dreams, Ava Jayne.)
(So cute...yet this is all after "boop"ing her forehead, tummy & cheeks with his finger, "rocking" her (aka: nearly tossing her out) of the swing, and steam-rolling over her several times.)

5. (As he throws his blanky on me) "I catch you! Say 'MOO', cow!"
(I'm not offended.)

6. "Oh. I hoot my bah-yum, Mama...kiss it." (Oh- I hurt my bottom, Mama...kiss it.)
(kiss it?)

7. "I make a cwap fo Gwamma pweeze?"
(Huh?)
(Did he just say cwap? Oh man...I knew I needed to stop saying that! Now what am I going to do...)
Me: "A...A cwap, Caleb?"
Caleb: "Yeah- make cwap fo Gwamma...pwee pwee cwap."
Me: "Ohhh! (whew.) A pretty, pretty craft??"
Caleb: "Yeah, Mama. Make pwee cwap fo Gwamma pweeze."

8. "I wipe Ava teets." (Again...Huh?) "Teets, Mama...yike dis!"
(Ohh- cheeks!) Sure, go ahead and wipe her face. (Whew.)

9. (As he's trying to go to sleep, I hear him in his room...) "One-sa-time. Boy name Cay-ub. Yuv pway dwums. Pway Pway Pway. Soo tye-oed. Dee end." (Translation: Once upon a time there was a boy named Caleb who loved to play drums. He played and played and played until he was soo tired. The End.)
(He told 3 similar stories about BJ, Baby Bop & Barney and their individual instruments. Then he fell asleep.) We tell lots of stories, but he completely made these up on his own.

With such cute language, I am tempted to completely stifle his growth and not teach him proper English.

Smarty

While reading Put Me in the Zoo (for the 356,000th time), I point out the sign in the picture that says "Z-O-O". And then I underline it with my finger and say "Zoo!" There are a bunch of these little "zoo" signs on the pages, so I continue to do this. He picks up new ideas pretty quickly, so I thought there was no way he wasn't going to get this. I was picturing his brain growing exponentially. We'd soon have to apply to one of those "special" private schools that only genius's could get into (did I spell genius right?) Anyways...my kid was about to break some kind of reading record, and I could just see his name in lights. So I did my example one more time for him as I pointed to each letter. "Z-O-O", "Zoo!" Here it came- I saw his wheels turning. He points to the sign... wait for it, wait for it:
"O-O-O-O-Z-....DOGGIE!!"
He was so proud.
Maybe next time.

Think Happy Thoughts

The word "blog" is perfect. It definitely sounds like the noise I make when I'm trying to say a bunch of stuff at once: "Bloooogg!". Here goes...

1. Ava will not take a bottle or a binky...at all. There is NO way for anyone but me to comfort her. I will never be social again. I can feel a shell forming over my back that will become my new home as I morph into a hermet crab.

2. I am a spoiled brat these days with dishes. After 4 years of living with out a dishwasher (and being completely fine), 4 MONTHS into having one, it breaks. (*insert appalled voice here*) You mean I have to wash a dish?!!

3. Caleb crosses his arms, makes a "hmm" sound and pouts like a teenager...and so it begins.

4. I have laundry in the sink ("soaking"...and now growing things on it probably) and laundry in the bath tub (well, actually Caleb pulled a perfectly clean bath towel in the tub with him 3 (yes 3) days ago & I haven't washed it...or him for that matter.)

5. I made bacon and french toast this morning and made my bacon wavy before putting it into the microwave so I could feel "cool". You know, like the food network people.

6. My nail polish is peeling. Do I have time to use my thoughtful mothers day spa gift card to get a mani or pedi? Are you kidding? Ava would starve & then scream until she turned blue & steam came out of her ears.

And breathe 2, 3, 4.

7. I went grocery shopping and bought a ton of healthy food...but somehow I have eaten almost an entire cake by myself (that I made at 11pm...ah-hem...for friends), several cookies that I found hiding, and a bunch of chips that I didn't even know were in my pantry.

8. I'm beginning to notice that I think the way an author would write a novel. For example: I notice that there is only one piece of cheese left in the fridge. But my exact thoughts are: "She opened the fridge and saw the lonely cheese. It was then that she realized...this would be the last piece."

Oh man- did I really just share that last one? What can I say- I'm not normal.

Well, it's true. Blogging is good for the soul. Think I'll go do some laundry and wash some dishes. (or eat some cookies and watch some food network)

Laundry Loser

I love doing laundry. It gives a sense of accomplishment that few things can measure up to. There is nothing like opening up your closet to find neatly hung clothes all lined up in a row (according to season and color). Before we moved, I had the best laundry routine ever. Sunday was laundry day...I'd have hangers in the laundry room just waiting for the clothes to come out of the dryer...I'd fold and hang and hang and fold...until there was not ONE dirty article of clothing to be found...Ahhh- the good old days.

So how could I become such a LAUNDRY LOSER??
I could come up with at least 50 reasons why I am behind on my laundry, but even I am sick of excuses.

Before I completely bash myself, I'm going to give myself a few gold stars:
1. hold on...let me think of something... Oh! I cooked very healthy dinners this week. (gold star for me)
2. I grocery shopped with 2 kids at 2 stores in less than 2 hours! (and got a TON of stuff) (2 gold stars for this)
3. I cleaned & vacuumed the house (major gold star)

On to the bashing...

Here are the top ten ways to know if you're a laundry loser:

10. You have nightmares about the washer and dryer. (I really did.)
9. Your sweet baby girl is swaddled at night in a blanket covered in snot & bugars.
8. You go on a hot date with your husband in jeans that have your 2 year old's pee on them (hey- they were dark.)
7. You hear strange noises (i.e. growling) coming from your husband while he searches for something to wear in the morning.
6. Your baby is 4 months old, and you still have maternity clothes at the bottom of your hamper. (sad but true)
5. Your laundry heaps do not get smaller as you do load after load...they only spread out...all over the house.
4. You re-wash one load of laundry 3 times because the clothes have gotten mildewed from sitting so long in the washer.
3.The load of clean clothes taken out of the dryer gets mixed in with the dirty piles, and now...oh no...you can't tell the difference.
2. You get spit-up on your shirt every day, but since it blends in very nicely, and you're the only one who can smell it, you don't bother changing it.

And the #1 way to know if you're a laundry loser:
1. Your pillow case still smells like a campfire from the camping trip you took a month ago. (I'm so ashamed.)

Charlotte, Bob & Freddie

Lately our house has become the main attraction for various living creatures. We have encountered more spiders than I have ever seen in my life. We have had rats up in our crawl space that I was completely traumatized by. And now, we have flies...very unintelligent flies. I decided I would like to have a conversation with each of them...

Charlotte, oh Charlotte...why do you have so many friends? Please tell them they owe me rent. When I'm sweeping the floor and you see me waving my arms and yelling, it's not because I'm saying hello. When I take a glass out of the cupboard and immediately see you take its place with a string of your sticky web, I am not flattered, I am disgusted. When I am in the shower or going...um...potty, please don't make your appearance. I am incapacitated and cannot chase you. And finally, please don't attempt a bath with my son. Sometimes I don't realize he's serious when he calls out "spider!" and I miss the opportunity of taking your life.

Bob the Rat...where do I begin? When you first made your entrance through the roof of my house, I thought you were a bird getting electrocuted. As I walked outside with my flashlight, expecting to see feathers, I saw your beady eyes instead. I do apologize that my husband set traps that were too small. I'm sure your family is just as traumatized as I am. I know you're a living creature who some kind people would consider a family pet...but please remember that we are not kind...in fact, we will karate chop you in half if we ever find you in our house again.

Freddie...poor little Freddie Fly. You didn't know that the holes in our fence were not big enough to let you through. When you tried to fly through, you didn't know that your body would get stuck half way and that we wouldn't help you out. I suggest you also stay clear of my kitchen. You might have heard the rumors of my karate chopping skills.

I have always been an ultra-sensitive, creature-loving girl...raising mice as pets and taking bugs outside instead of to the trash. But my skin has grown thick, & my heart is now only soft for humans...too bad for Charlotte, Bob & Freddie.

Enjoying the Ordinary

Aside from Caleb completely melting my heart on a daily basis, he impresses me with his willingness to enjoy his life. One of my favorite things about him is that he stops to soak things in. Yes he's only 2, and he is as active as ever, but every so often throughout the day he chooses to stop what he's doing, look around and comment on how much fun he is having ("I having fun!" "This a fun game!" "This a fun day!"). He'll simply look around and observe that the whole family is eating "together" or swimming "together" or in the car "together". Or he will suddenly stop his wild game of chase to give a huge hug and say, "I Yuv you soo much, Mama (or Daddy or Ava)". My heart overflows so many times every day.

Tim & I have found ourselves following Caleb's lead by enjoying certain things that, well, might be less than enjoyable to anyone else.

A few examples: 1. Yesterday morning I walked into Caleb's room to smell and see some matter on the floor that I will not go into detail about. What can I say- he's learning to potty train, and he's learning to not "yike" it in his diaper anymore. I most definitely did not "enjoy" this moment at first. In fact my first 5 second reaction was "Oh Caleb!" However, as I cleaned and listened to his joyful chatter, I was simply reminded of how thankful I was for this little guy and how short this young time will be.

2. In the last week, Caleb has demonstrated some kind of "fear" of going to bed. His excuses are innumerable...and hilarious at times. He usually begins with "gotta go poopoo, Mama". We go. "I hungry, Mama." I think to myself-'you should've eaten dinner then.' and ignore the request. He points out the "alligator" in the room. I try to explain shadows in the most simplest way and finally assure him the alligator is gone. "I need meh-i-cine, Mama." Well, honey, you're not sick. When I finally put him in his bed last night, he really REALLY begged for Daddy. Okay- battle won. Daaaaaddy- please come in here. This is where the enjoyment began...

Tim & I both decided to lay down next to his bed. Lights were out & Tim began telling him stories. Suddenly Caleb sits up in bed and whispers, "Story of the yi-yon (lion) peeze Daddy". So Tim begins telling his favorite story in the most calming, loving way possible. Finally Caleb drifts off to sleep, happy and hopefully feeling more secure.

Tim wrapped it up in one sentence when we came out, "I was annoyed at first and just wanted to get out of there to go relax & watch tv...until I realized what a privelege it is to be able to take care of my son that way."

3. I've always thought it was rather morbid to cheer as a fire truck or police car zooms by with their lights and sirens blaring. I know it's exciting, but it usually means someone is in some kind of danger, including the fire fighters and police officers. So Tim told me about a family who prays every time they see or hear fire trucks or police cars go by, and we've done the same a few times. Today I was sitting with Caleb at Chick-fil-A (yum), and we saw a fire fighter go over to talk with a girl. As he left, I was telling Caleb that he was a fire fighter and it is his job to help keep us safe. He looked at me, half-closed his eyes, folded his hands, and said "Mama! Mama! Pway fo fire fighter." As I looked at his crinkled eyebrows with his eyes shut tight, I've never enjoyed praying so much.

The title for this blog was going to be "Enjoying the Ordinary". But I have realized these "ordinary" things are anything but ordinary. These are the EXTRAordinary moments that make a simple life more.

In the Beginning

When I first began to read peoples' blogs, I felt like nothing less than a stalker. I would run into them in person and kind of freeze like a deer in headlights: "umm- what? No, I didn't know that about you (i just read it in your blog!)...no, I haven't been stalking your every post and no I don't feel like I am now your best friend!" I felt like such a weirdo.

I've completely analyzed the world of blogs, though, and I've decided it's a wonderful world not to be missed out on.

I think blogs are specifically for nosey people. And I mean that in the best way possible. The reason this new social networking trend (ie Facebook, Twitter & blogs) is working out so well is because we're in a world full of nosey people! We want to know what other peoples' lives are like, and we want to look into peoples' windows or be a fly on their wall...or at least I do.

In my opinion, this is who we were designed to be.

Your first impression of my blog might be strange, but I do have explanations.

I think we were designed with a nosey gene so that we would CARE about other peoples' lives. This is crucial to existence. We need to share in peoples' joys and sorrows. Remember that movie (or book) "Into the Wild"? At the end, after being alone for so long and experiencing so much alone, he writes in his journal, "Happiness only real when shared." Poor guy. He didn't realize it until it was too late.

I am starting this blog for mostly 2 reasons. 1. To document our family growing and changing- it's one of my favorite things to do. 2. To share our memories, funny stories, & thoughts with others so the joy will be doubled.

Thanks for visiting me! I hope you'll continue to be nosey!