Coming Out of "Hiding"

It’s been about two years since I’ve regularly blogged. I could blame it on several things:

• Getting a new job (teaching third grade at the same school as Ryan--I love it!)
• Coaching track with Ryan and manning the weight room together in the offseason
• Different technology (camera hit by a basketball, phone hard to get pictures off of, have to log out of one account and into another in order to blog)
• Boys getting older and being in more activities (3 in baseball, 2 in basketball, 1 in choir and a running book club)
• Boys getting older and not saying/doing as many cute and/or bloggable things
• Laziness

The boys have asked to read old blog posts a few times lately, and we’ve all died laughing at their little-kid antics. I’ve been struck by the fact that I have forgotten SO much of our day-to-day life! And so, at the boys insistence (“You need to blog more!!”) and for the sake of preserving memories, I’m going to try to chronicle a bit more of our crazy life. Here’s a jumbled blob containing what I want to remember about our life from the past two years (what I can remember of it) and right now:

• Reed had a hard time adjusting to his new school. He and I braved third grade at the same time. It was an adjustment for both of us. He liked his teacher, made friends, and did well, but he still would’ve picked returning to his old school if given the choice. A few months into fourth grade, he finally felt like it was “home.” I knew this when he finally told me (with hidden tears) that it was ok to throw away his old school shirt-- It was a monstrosity - ripped like the Hulk.
• Calvin had a great first year in first grade. He didn’t really play with anyone at recess, but he, in true Calvin style, didn’t care. He said he was friends with a few boys, but they were playing “a stupid zombie game” at recess, and he didn’t want to play, so he just did his own thing. The friendships became tighter somewhere between then and now, and he has tight buddies (who now play basketball instead of stupid zombie games).
• Max has grown up so fast! I honestly don’t remember what he was like last year, and that makes me super sad. This year, and even these last few months, he has grown up in so many ways. He (sort of) ties his own shoes and has started doing big-boy math and reading. He’s all the time making up math problems (Two biscuits plus two biscuits equals four biscuits!) and he’s just started trying to read words (he sounded out “pause” - “paws-ee” from the treadmill in the weight room yesterday morning). He is super ready for kindergarten - and we are ready for him to be with the whole family (and save us almost 40 minutes of driving a day!)
• Coaching track with Ryan has been amazing! The first season is a bit of a blur, but it was crazy, stressful, successful, and usually fun. This season started super stressful, but went so well that I really only have fond memories! It’s been really nice to have a shared passion. We don’t always see eye to eye, but overall it has been really good for our marriage! I feel like we are a real team--more so in our community than even at home! This summer, I even started going to his cross country conditioning sessions and running with some of the girls. Distance running is SO not my thing, but I’ve really enjoyed it and gotten to where I can run much longer than I ever could before!
• We put new flooring in our living room, halls, and one bedroom and have done a few little improvements, but we’re starting to dream about moving--maybe even building--a little closer to work. Just praying and dreaming right now, but it’s fun to imagine the possibilities! The boys like to play a game where we each design (out loud, usually in a car) our dream house or backyard or car. Most recently, we perused Pinterest looking for the ultimate swimming pool. Calvin settled on one in the shape of a foot--with five hot tub toes. There would also be a slide, diving board, sunken trampoline, and nearby fire pit. This is the most realistic dream design we have created to date. Most of the other plans involve robot servants and teleporters.
• Life is great! I feel like I have arrived as a mother! The boys are self sufficient (they put away their own laundry, make their own breakfast, and have even started cooking supper together one night a week), portable (we take them with us to conditioning every day. They happily read or play at the park while we run and take turns looping around to check on them), and fun (they are creative, genuinely funny [sometimes] and so fun to watch in sports)! They are also loud, annoying, and fight like dogs. I oscillate between thinking I have the smartest, most talented, most wonderful young men on the planet and wanting to lock them all in a sound-proof padded room, not caring who emerges alive. Such is motherhood, I suppose...

Four

The Squiggy Squiggs officially turned four. We were home for snow day #2 on his big day, so we celebrated with sleeping in (ok, Mommy and Daddy slept in. The Squiggs and his brothers watched a movie), opening presents, playing in the snow,

drinking hot chocolate, and sneaking a take-to-daycare cookie out of the freezer for each person to eat. His party won't be for several days, so we ended the night with birthday sundaes instead of cake.

Not a bad way to celebrate four years of awesomeness.

At this age, the birthday boy:

• Wants to do whatever his brothers are doing
• Is into Lego Ninjago (see above) and race cars

• Is starting to notice letter sounds. Ball starts with “b, ”dog starts with “d,” frog starts with “fee,” Squiggy starts with “Squee”
• Equates “hungry” with “desire to eat” - ie. I’m full. Oh wait, we’re having dessert? I’m hungry!
• Is shaping up to be quite a little athlete
• Still has that scratchy voice we adore
• Has mostly given up his nightly request for a "regular, bonus, and tada moose" kiss, but is still spontaneously affectionate - “I love you...so...can I give you a hug?  Two hugs? Two kisses?” and "I'll trade you a hug for a kiss!"

Tonight, he told us he wished that, instead of four, he was “Ninety...seven, so I can go to heaven!” But I’m sure enjoying four so far. Let’s not rush to 97--or heaven--too quickly!

Three

Ok, this is super late but I have to write it down just for my own sake. Because someday (probably soon, given my memory), I'm going to forget what Max was like at this age. And he's stinkin' cute, so it needs to be preserved.

Max turned three a few weeks ago. Here's what little man has been up to lately:

- He bounces everywhere he goes, usually narrating his actions.
- He cries -- and, thankfully, dries it up -- very quickly.  A typical (and very exhausting) conversation goes like this:
       Mom: Do you want to juice up your toothbrush, or do you want me to?
       Max:  Wah wah! I want to go potty first!
       Mom: Then what do you say?
       Max: (in chipper voice) Can I please go potty first?
       Mom: Sure!
       Max: Ok! I'm going to go potty and den brush my teeth. Wah wah! I want to juice my toothbrush!
- He's coined a new phrase: "Tada Moose." We really have no idea where it came from or what it means, but he uses it frequently in a variety of unrelated ways.
- He does this thing with his cheeks/lips/eyes when he gets happy-serious that I can't explain or impersonate (or catch on camera, dangit) that is absolutely adorable and makes him seem so grown up.
- He loves starting pretend sword fights and wrestling matches, but he hates it when his brothers fight back. He'll come crying to me for protection, then go right back to picking another battle.
- He doesn't usually like main dishes. He takes for-e-ver to finish a meal, but insist on finishing it (usually) if dessert is being served.
- He still sits down to pee.
- Every night, he pretends like he doesn't want a good night hug and kiss, expects me to fake cry about it, then relents. Then he insists on a regular hug and kiss followed by a bonus and then Tada Moose hug and kiss.

We had his birthday party last weekend. It was a gorgeous sixty degree day, so in true redneck fashion, we did what we did at his two-year birthday party: we shot skeet. Max shot a bb gun for the first time. Reed and Calvin shot a shotgun. My babies are growing up! Wah wah!

Sick

Last week I had to take a day off work to stay home with this little guy. 

Sicky-Squiggs with his best pal and constant companion, Ruff Ruff

I had been with students either on the bus or at a school event for 13 hours the day before, so I have to say I wasn't too torn up about it. Not that I want my baby to be sick, but if ever there's a time where a little low grade fever is ok, this would be the it. 

Ryan had put the kids to bed the night before, and he warned me there was a good chance Squiggy would need a day home. He'd been sleepy at church, a little feverish, and didn't eat well. So I e-mailed good sub plans in that night and when my alarm went off at 5 a.m., I did the "mommy test" on his forehead and called in. I may or may not have done a tiny happy dance when I crawled back into bed. Just keepin' it real. 

Reed and Calvin got to ride the bus all the way to school from our house for the first time, so that was exciting. Even more exciting was waving down the bus that doesn't usually stop at our house in my jammies and crazy hair. 

Squig slept until 7:30. When he got up, I wondered if I was staying home for nothing. Though he still looked a little pale and had the "sick eyes," his fever was very low-grade and he seemed happy enough. And his appetite was back - he insisted on a cookie for keeping his diaper dry (our compromise since we stopped rewarding pooping on the potty--our argument, "Mommy and Daddy don't get treats for pooping." But we so should!) 

But after noshing on a cookie, he didn't want much to eat and he mostly wanted to snuggle on the couch. Twist my arm! After one or both of us slept for a while, I decided I needed to accomplish something with my unexpected day off. Thanks to all the recent snow days, there won't be another day off until the end of May! So, I started working on laundry and other chores, but I had a little shadow. He followed me around and made conversation about this and that. 

The convo turned to Mufasa and Simba (we'd recently watched the Lion King) and then we had an argument about weather Simba was a boy or a girl. I decided to prove it to him and put the movie in. He was so happy that he was proven right - Simba IS a girl, Mommy! (Sorry JTT - he's got a point...you do sorta sound girly) When I corrected him, he burst into tears and ran away, heartbroken. So I did a little damage control and consoled him while we talked about voices changing and then just changed the subject. Little Man was fine, but also warm and snuggly, so I decided to sit with him, just until the scary parts were over. Well, the whole movie was so scary that I ended up sleeping through it like a lazy lioness with Cuddle Bumpkin on my lap.  Hakuna matata!

We ended up having a super-relaxing Mommy/Baby bonding day. He wasn't super sick, but he wasn't quite himself either. And after his extra-long (and, for me, extra-productive) nap his fever spiked a little and he said he had a headache, so Ryan went ahead and asked for the next day off just in case. 

How did Daddy's sick day go? Little Simba popped out of bed at the usual time, and was a chipper, talkative, and needy little guy the whole day! Sorry, Mufasa, but Sarabi lucked out this time! 

Squiggie

Our littlest guy has been extra cute lately. There's something about this age that I love. While his face is slimming down and he's losing that baby look (wah!), he's still little enough to be full of funny anecdotes. Here are a few of the cutest things he's done lately that I just had to write down before I forget them:

- He's noticing letters, mainly those in his name. Any time he finds an M, A, or X, be it on a sign, box, or my shirt, he points to it and shouts, "Me! There's me!"
- He mimics other people's emotions, even when he has no idea why they're feeling what they're feeling. He's full of awkward laughs, delayed-response whines echoing those of his brothers, and excitement over things that don't even apply to him. Until now, Reed-and-Calvin were always a separate unit and he was the baby. Now, he's starting to lump himself in with the big boys. They (well, at least one of them) have to explain things to him all the time, and he answers in his I'm-trying-to-act-big, "Oh" followed by the cutest self-depracating laugh.
- He names his poops. It started when he noticed a two-fer and declared, "Friends! I got friends, Mom!" Since then, he's added "big chunks," a banana, crab, several snakes, and a kangaroo to his repertoire. You would think a mother would discourage such behavior, but I say if it keeps "friends" from getting  smashed in a diaper, you roll with it.
- The other day he was deciding if I had brown or blonde hair. We settled on blonde, but "some of your hair is dead." I was about to call the beauty shop, when he pointed to a darker section of hair and explained, "Somebody got it brown."
- He's always excited. Everything from the arrival of Grandma and Grandpa to it's time to put on your jammies, to an "I gotta poop!" announcement elicits yells, skips, and bounces.

- He's taken to being called "Squiggie," Ryan's latest name for him. For a long time he resisted all nicknames, insisting he was "Max Daniel Layton!" Then, he started adding on any recently coined names, "Yeah. I'm Max Daniel Layton Goober Sweet Swartzendroodle." Now, he asks to be called simply Squiggie. Squiggs is ok, too, but not Squiglet, unless Daddy is the one saying it.
- He wants to be my little hero. Twice now we've gone through a charade where he dons a cape and grabs a sword, then tells me, "Mom! Say you need me!" He waits expectantly, until I "need" him, then comes running, asks me where the bad guy is, then shoots his sword/rifle in the offending direction and trots off into the sunset. It's adorable! The first 42 times.

I sure do love that Squig!

Bonding and Poop Dodging

Picture taken AFTER hosing down

The bigguns are at a sleepover. As I type this, I'm sure they're on a sugar high, zoned out in front of Saturday morning cartoons. I'm guessing they're in heaven, and I'm not too dishonest to admit that I am too!

Max and I had some sweet bonding time yesterday before Ryan got home. He seemed so big as we walked into the house alone. He was happy and hyper - probably thrilled to have Mommy to himself. We sat side by side on the floor, dancing to iPod tunes, sticking a million stickers on paper, playing Play-doh, and analyzing the Common Core State Standards. (Both parties didn't participate in all events, but they did giggle at each other frequently throughout). We cooked sloppy joes together. Then, Ryan and I got to have an entire conversation at supper with only a few interruptions! Bed time was a breeze.

And, even though I didn't get my wish that Tiny would sleep in, Saturday morning has been sooooo peaceful. We headed out to the porch to enjoy the cool time of day (6:40 a.m. - ughhh!). I graded papers and wrote lesson plans (and so it begins...) while munchkin squirted poop with water guns. Yep. As much as I love these guys:

and I really do love having a fresh supply of these:

...we also get a healthy dose of something else from the hind ends of the chickens and ducks. I'll spare you the picture, but you can see a small sampling in our priceless back to school pics (nice, huh?) This week, especially, they've decided to hang out on our porch while we're gone. So, Max and I had to step carefully this morning. He decided to help "hose off" the deck - something he's seen Mom and Dad both do this week, though you couldn't tell they did if you were looking at the porch. 

When he tired of the clean-up doody and had a little jaunt on the trampoline (with no big brothers to knock him off balance), he asked for his matchbox cars. I'm sure the porch would've made a great obstacle course, but I didn't relish the thought of him scooting around all that nastiness, so we busted out the hose for the third time in four days (it's been that bad!) and cleaned 'er up. I turned off the hose and came back just in time to see him slurping water off of the porch. I'm really hoping he doesn't get salmonella--partly because that would be really miserable for him and partly because I'm guessing severe diarrhea might interfere with the whole potty training roll we've been on lately!